JR 137
Grandmaster
Well, if they’re going to quit, then that’s the way you do it.
Boy Scouts
- Thread starter Monkey Turned Wolf
- Start date
granfire
Sr. Grandmaster
That's not to say they won't return at a later point.
It's their time now to experience the world.
They will take what they learned with them.
In BSA most of the martial arts are "prohibited activities."
The only ones you can do are judo, tai chi and aikido because apparently they are nonviolent. Wrestling and fencing is ok under the sports merit badge.
So in the six years since this thread first posted my oldest joined Boy Scouts last fall and is having a blast. And I have just been entered onto the rolls as an assistant scoutmaster and hoping to heavily involved with the outdoor program. It is a small troop but it has some incredible resources.
JR 137
Grandmaster
One of my CI’s students became (promoted to? earned? whatever the technical term is) an Eagle Scout before I joined. My CI was the person he gave his mentor pin to.
It was before I joined so I don’t know very many specifics.
granfire
Sr. Grandmaster
well, you earn the rank. It's at least 2 years of hard work.
But when everything is said and done, you are going to be awarded with it...
So during my time away from Scouting I worked with a number of LDS troops when their prospective Eagle scouts were looking for service projects. Unfortunately because the troop had become the defacto male youth development program for the church many of the kids weren't really there for being "Scouts" they were there because that is just what you did. My hope is that the result will be a leaner more focused organization in the future.
I was a boy scout, I really enjoyed it and learned quite a bit. If you make it to Eagle that's really great, quite an accomplishment. I've got a cousin whose an Eagle Scout but I never did make it to Eagle. I made it to Star which Im satisfied with. Most of all I just liked the activities, particularly the camping where you really do learn a lot.
dvcochran
Grandmaster
You think it is that big of a deal? BSA is going strong in TN.
OP
OP
Same here in NY. I think it might be different in places that are much more mormon though.
granfire
Sr. Grandmaster
The LDS church had a huge influence in the organization, as they made Scouting mandatory for their boys, and the church pumped a lot of money into their troops, so the kids didn't have to wonder about the financial aspects of the game. it is a huge thing, as not all venues are generous wit their support (not BSA, but a friend had to pay rent to her own church for her Girl Scout troop to hold meetings there!)
You won't even know where the LDS churches are, as they are everywhere, inconspicuously so. I have a rather large one around the corner from me, far away from Utah.
What puzzles me though, is the new allegations. Some of them reach as far back as the earliest days.
the organization put rules in place, and some of them are near impossible to uphold when you want to run a community involved troop, but it seems that one just needs to be a hard a**, if the kid has no ride to the meetings, tough luck.
dvcochran
Grandmaster
I was really surprised at the numbers. According to Google there are about 3.3 million boy scouts (in the U.S.) including adult volunteers and 14.8 million Mormons (worldwide).
If you Google just scouts the number shoots up to 38 million but I am not sure what all that includes.
granfire
Sr. Grandmaster
there are several other scout organizations around, Frontier Girls, Herritage Girls, Girl Scouts, and a Boy Scout offshoot, from when some folks decided to leave, because gay people.
but even 38 million isn't that huge of a number. the pressure is on, a lot of organizations are competing for the same pool of participants, and of course, electronics and internet.
OP
OP
Wikipedia has a table in their scouting page Scouting - Wikipedia
Google also told me that 20% of boy scouts last year were mormon, according to the washington post (Mormon Church breaks all ties with Boy Scouts, ending 100-year relationship), although I'm not sure where they got the number from.
granfire
Sr. Grandmaster
you can say that again
and again.
I have heard other numbers, but I am not sure anymore. The numbers were high though (as mentioned, it was mandated)
I know that there were a lot of folks who did not miss the LDS troops rolling into summer camps....
drop bear
Sr. Grandmaster
And look if they have those sorts of numbers it would make sense to start their own brand.
granfire
Sr. Grandmaster
why bother when you can dictate policy.
I don't know if they replaced the scouting mandate with something new. The defectors largely opposed inclusivity of gay boys, and the change to allow gay leaders finished that off.
But the troops are only as good as the supporting community.
dvcochran
Grandmaster
We are a different denomination and our son was a Royal Ranger. Very similar activities and had a patch/badge program as well.
