I wonder if they’ll still have the WEBLOS rank after all this.
I actually wonder if there need to be other “Scouts” that would not be so much about camping, since that’s an activity that seems to appeal to only a certain subset. I remember a lot of black comics saying that camping seems absolutely stupid to them. And I know a lot of city people who likewise think giving up the city comforts is dumb.
Everyone talks about Scouts as teaching good morals and such, but it seems they are more limited than, say, Girl Scouts. They have troops that don’t do any real outdoor stuff at all. Those boys who would prefer that seem to just be left out.
Well, let’s see. The only merit badge that is both required for Eagle and involves camping is Camping. There are plenty of others that can be earned while in activities like camping but most could be done in a totally urban environment. Lots require actually going out into the world and doing things, but a boy could earn Eagle in a troop that’s pretty urban and doesn’t get out too often. Personally, I think he’d miss out on a whole lot, but there are plenty of ways to participate, including boys with physical and/or mental disabilities and even Lone Scouts.
Amusingly, some of the badges I earned as optional 15+ years ago are now Eagle required (I’m looking mostly at cooking, which was practically a required badge in my troop. I think Hiking was optional when I earned it as well. I’d have to unpack and look at my sash.)
Personally, as an Eagle and OA member, if the Mormons (or anyone else) doesn’t like it, they’re free to leave. It will only makes the BSA better. Now, if they’d just do something about the undue emphasis on Reverent, the people running National may finally make it into this century.
Thank you for supporting Scouting, and for bringing your children to Scouting! My son has Asperger’s, and earned his Eagle. It can be done, if that’s what your son wants.
I used to be my troop’s Committee Chair. In case you didn’t know, part of BSA’s policy on advancement includes flexibility for Scouts with disabilities. A Scout can get more time to complete his Eagle requirements, A Scout can have some merit badges substituted for Eagle required badges. There’s even a standard list of substitutions, but the District Advancement Committee is allowed to make customized changes on a case-by-case basis. BSA does not want to deny the Eagle rank to a Scout who, for example, uses a wheelchair and cannot hike.
If advancement is not what your son wants, that’s cool too! My attitude has always been that if a Scout is having fun and doesn’t care about advancement, he’s still a Scout.
I have heard it described as “the three fumes” - car fumes (they want to drive around with friends), pot fumes (they get a bit distracted by Mary Jane) or perfume (girls suddenly become very important).
To no one’s surprise, the LDS church is moving away from scouting.
As noted previously in the thread, the Mormon church is the largest sponsor of boy scouts. This move will affect about 6% of the total numbers of scouts.
They’re claiming that this isn’t related to the decision to allow gay scouts, but at the time the threatened to leave.
They claim are developing their own program to “replace” scouting, but it’s unlikely that they will actually have anything equivalent. From my experience, there was barely any effective leadership for many of the Mormon troops.
I won’t be surprised if they completely stop scouting in the future.
As part of the Pioneering merit badge, see how much fudge you can pack in these saddle bags… but seriously, in Boyo Jim’s home turf, dozens of Scout leaders drafted a scathing letter to the national Board*, demanding local control. So the passing the buck is okay with me, due to the overwhelming anger on this issue from the local troops, many of which have had multiple gay leaders for years.
*According to the Lawyer/Scoutmaster who spearheaded this, there were a handful of Mormons on the board who were responsible.
Very unfortunate, and I don’t think history will treat them kindly for it.
It doesn’t look like the Mormon youth will be the winners here.
Looking at the replacement program, the top activity for each major area is as follows:
[ul]Spiritual: Place a Book of Mormon[/ul]
[ul]Social: Dinner for elderly singles[/ul]
[ul]Physical: Clean a church building[/ul]
[ul]Intellectual: Learn skills, then serve[/ul]
I’m sure that my 14-year-old self would have been really thrilled about cleaning the chapel instead of scouting.
The last one looked like it had some promise, so I clicked on it.
Compared to the resources which BSA offers to the leaders, this seems pretty thin.
Heading over to socially, you need to drop down to the number 31 to hit Building Self-Confidence, and the written suggestion is anemic. An overwhelming number of the activities are directly tied into church and preparing the boys to become missionaries, rather than well rounded individuals.
It is unfortunate. Scouting has such potential (although from my experience and from listening to many others, the potential was never really seen in most Mormon troops). Now it’s not going to be even less interesting and rewarding.
The Mormon church has doubled down against LBGT issues theologically as well, and history will not judge them well in that was well.