Posted on 11/15/2019 1:11:51 PM PST by lowbridge
A group of girls in Pearland, Texas, are blazing new trails as the members of Scouts BSA Troop 4640.
Troop 4640 performs the same tasks as any group of scouts. They camp, earn merit badges and even participate in axe throwing. But this troop is unique because it consists of only girls.
"I wanted to join Scouts BSA because my brother has been in scouting for a very long time and I've always loved the things he's done," said Brenna Tate, a 13-year-old member of Troop 4640. "I've always just wanted to go camping and, in general, learn about the outdoors."
(Excerpt) Read more at abc7news.com ...
It's already ruined. Stick a fork in it. Our church dumped the BSA and now has another, less well known boy's organization.
Having read most of this thread, I find it disheartening to see how many Freepers, supposedly conservative and dedicated to traditional values just blindly accept girls being brought into a boys organization.
Just sad.
Officially, all Scouts BSA troops are gender-specific now. They may be tightly aligned with another, as my daughter’s troop 5062 meets alongside longstanding boy troop 62 - sharing opening & closing ceremonies, and doing many things together, but have different leaders and do many events separately.
We’d tried Girl Scouts 3 times, but each fizzled a different way. She then expressed interest in joining Scouts BSA, and is having a blast. Actually started as an “Arrow of Light” Cub Scout, then was the first to cross over to Scouts BSA in our council (large fraction of Georgia).
And yes, it’s “Scouts BSA” now, not “Boy Scouts”. Longtimers are struggling with the lingo change.
The problem is that, over time, boys are less inclined to join as more girls join. Eventually there are 0% boys, and 100% girls. Death of an American institution.
It was nice for boys to have their own “safe space” (interesting how the Left is so keen on creating their own, while ferociously shutting down pre-existing ones), and I think (as an Eagle) there will be undesirable consequences of the change.
That said, what’s been done is done, and it’s still the best such organization available.
The change was fought long & hard. From a business angle, they had to do it to increase plummeting membership (not realizing it would still plummet when the Mormons pulled out). Modern culture has deeply demonized male-only organizations, and BSA couldn’t & wouldn’t fight the sentiment.
The Boy Scouts program was renamed to Scouts BSA.
My guess is that the organization is still called the Boy Scouts of America, but will probably be renamed BSA within the next 2-3 years. Kind of like the YMCA or KFC.
Get life.
It is 2019, not 1919
The girls troops are having success andteaching scouting values and skills and most importantly leadership.
The girls troop with which I as a 55 year BSA member am familiar is actually an out growth of a large and extremely successful and well managed old Troop.
There is very solid BSA orginization skill and administration from the boys troop (which btw already has venture girls) overlapping into the girls troop
Your comment indicates ignorance and total misunderstanding
My Eagle Scout brother mailed all his Eagle Scout award swag back to BSA headquarters, along with a nasty letter, because of this.
There was also a growing number of girls who aspire to be leaders; BSA accommodates them for all ages except 10-14 yrs of age, and my guess is that girls who love the outdoors don't like Girl Scouts.
BSA decided that IF more and more families are doing things together, and if there is an unmet demand, then they should open up BSA to girls. The belief is that, the century+ of well-forming the character and leadership skills of young men can work on young women. Furthermore, parents can be leaders AND spend more time with Mary and Johnny.
Now, it is fashionable to bash the Boy Scouts - they've gone SJW, blah blah blah. And certainly even with controls around girls going on camping trips but being separated from the boys, problems seem inevitable.
But my experience is that at the troop level, there is strong leadership that keeps things upright. I'm not sold that the BSA program of character development will work successfully on girls, just because it did with boys. However, for the right group of adults and the right girls, this could be a winning combination that, candidly, would likely reinforce the morals and values we classical liberals cherish.
That pretty much matches my take on it, but I haven’t had anyone involved, thankfully.
My brother was an Eagle Scout. I respect(ed) the organization.
Sorry my friend, I have a life already.
I will stipulate that BSA is filling a gap, but they would have been far better served to retain the timeless values they talk about and helping another girls organization step up and fill the adventure need. Instead, they tell boys that they don’t have the same value as girls.
Interesting that Scouts BSA continues to lose members while true traditional values organizations serving boys are absolutely busting at the seams.
They are a flash in the pan and will have no staying pwer oncte the antiscouting zealots burn out.
How’s the Kool aid taste Bert?
Do you Enjoy the ignorance induced bliss?
So did I...
No ignorance here sir. 15 years as a Scoutmaster. Timeless values has meaning for me, it’s not just some platitude.
When we left, I’ll admit that there was some time of grieving to something I had dedicated my life to.
Our new organization is dedicated to helping boys grow into godly men and we teach the timeless values Baden Powell postulated.
A group built on ignorance doesn’t grow from nothing to nationwide in just a few years.
I have no problem with all-girl Boy Scout troops. I am against mixed-sex troops. Boys that age need fraternal socialization. Guys need to hang with guys sometimes.
Sorry, gals.
Notice her brother isn’t in the troop any longer.
I see nothing where she couldn’t go camping in a girl scout troop. This is so freaky similar to trannies wanting to be in the other group.
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