Now we are Scouting America! What are they scouting America for? I guess more Diversity Equity Inclusion.

Boy Scouts of America changing name to more inclusive Scouting America after years of woes.

Is it really changing its name for the first time in its 114 year history if it changed its name to Scouts BSA in 2018?

Boy Scouts Changing Name To 'Scouts BSA,' As Girls Welcomed Into Program

Our son is Second Class and mostly done for First Class except for the swimming test and a handful of other things. I won't lose any sleep if he drops out. They haven't published their full Annual Report since 2019, just a web summary in 2023. In 2023 they are down to 392,275 "Scouts BSA."

Annual Reports

They have been a lost cause for quite some time now.

What a shame!

"Scouts BSA" was a program of the Boy Scouts of America (along with Cub Scouts and Venturing).

Their Congressional charter established them as Boy Scouts of America. That's kind of a big deal, even more now that Congress no longer chargers organizations in that way. I suspect that the new change is just a trade name. They're making the "inclusive" pitch, but I think it's just another way to distance themselves from the "old" BSA, the one that's in bankruptcy over poorly managing abuse allegations for the first 100 years.

Want to get even more riled up? There's reportedly now a plan to pilot co-ed troops. When the decision was made to allow girls into the Boy Scouts, much was made about "But don't worry... there won't be co-ed troops. There will be boy's troops and girl's troops." That was only a couple of years ago. Remind me, what's that whole Trustworthy thing, again?

In fairness Exploring was co-ed at the Post level from before I was born until it was spun-off as a subsidiary or affiliate of BSA in the 1990s. Venturing, its replacement, has been co-ed at the unit level since inception. Neither was/has been particularly problematic. But it's a different maturity level at 10/11 than at 15/16. There also wasn't 100 years of organizational history saying "Yeah, this is probably a bad idea."

This is all about the hustle, baby... the almighty dollar, trying to save enrollment and registration fees from the death-spiral of participation that every level of Scouting has seen in the last 20 years.

quote:

Originally posted by DennisM:
When the decision was made to allow girls into the Boy Scouts, much was made about "But don't worry... there won't be co-ed troops. There will be boy's troops and girl's troops." That was only a couple of years ago.

Incrementalism. This is what commies do. That have it down to an art form.

Not unlike taxes. "It's only just a little bit"...each time. Pretty soon all of those little bits are a lot of bits.

Now the Girls Scouts should change their name too. Scouting America has a nice ring to it.

I think all of this boils down to local leadership and how they handle things.

We have female cubs, and just crossed over a female last year. Turns out they would rather learn all of the things the boys have learned than sewing, baking, and shopping. Our leaders run a tight ship, and I have no doubt that all of our scouts, male or female, will be better Americans as a result.

The boy scouts are garbage.

My son and I are doing Trail Life. A Christ-centered scouting troop. It's been fantastic so far.

https://www.traillifeusa.com/

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
Turns out they would rather learn all of the things the boys have learned than sewing, baking, and shopping.

Then who is left to learn the sewing, baking, and shopping?

Kids shouldn't be taught what they want to learn, they should be taught what they need to learn.

quote:

Kids shouldn't be taught what they want to learn, they should be taught what they need to learn.

Off the top of my head, here are a few things that the girls in our program will (or have) learned along with the boys:

Wilderness Survival
First Aid
Life Saving
Swimming
Shooting
Kayaking/Canoeing
Horseback Riding
Safe Knife Handling
Knots
How To Start A Fire
Cooking (including on a fire)
Sportsmanship/Teamwork
Tool Usage (and simple home repairs)
STEM Subjects
Orientation
Benefits of Physical Fitness & Nutrition
Plant/Animal ID

And that's just off of the top of my head at the Cub level. Women don't need to know these things?

That's why our girls are there. They've been participating with their older brothers for years and are more interested in real life skills than selling cookies, bashing Trump, and supporting abortion.

You know who has never changed their name or code to be more inclusive? The Royal Rangers.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
here are a few things that the girls in our program will (or have) learned along with the boys:

(snip)

They've been participating with their older brothers for years and are more interested in real life skills than selling cookies, bashing Trump, and supporting abortion.

Good for them! Whether the kids are girls or boys, I feel like parents and other leaders have a responsibility to make them smarter and better-prepared for life. The kids in your program may not end up using all those skills, but having been exposed to them will certainly broaden their viewpoints and open their minds to further exploration and learning.

Hmm. If they abandoned the name, changed the program and dumped their principles, maybe some enterprising people could start Boy Scouts anew and let the frootloops wither on the vine like James O’Keefe did.

quote:

Originally posted by bigwagon:
Now the Girls Scouts should change their name too. Scouting America has a nice ring to it.

I don't know. Scouting America Cookies just doesn't sound right

My Eagle Sout son now has his own troop. By all accounts, the girls are doing fine. It’s tough enough to get young folks interested in the important life skills Scouting teaches. I’m good with it

My son is a Life Scout who is working on finishing up his Eagle. He has been involved in Scouting since he was six and has held every major Troop youth leadership position. It’s been the best thing for him. He did Philmont last summer and heads to Sea Base in July.

I actually like working with our associated Girl troop. Our units are separate. The girls bring a separate set of strengths and weaknesses. The difference is interesting.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
Turns out they would rather learn all of the things the boys have learned than sewing, baking, and shopping.

Then who is left to learn the sewing, baking, and shopping?

Kids shouldn't be taught what they want to learn, they should be taught what they need to learn.

Then teach the boys AND girls to sew, bake, and shop. It's not 1950 anymore. I've done all these 'domestic' chores, as have many other men.

I still believe boys and girls should have their own gendered Scouts, but we should not discourage girls from enjoying and learning outdoors skills. . .

From the AP article:

quote:

But he described the Boy Scouts’ rebranding as savvy, saying it kickstarts a new conversation about the organization while not being so drastic that it strays too far from its original scouting mission.

Savvy? I'd say they've strayed substantially, like off of the map!

There was an earthquake in Kenya yesterday as Baden-Powell rolled in his grave.

Sadly they are dead to me. From a once proud Boy Scout.