I'm astonished by the comments here from individuals who apparently would love nothing more than for Scouting to fail. I don't agree with everything the BSA decides, but I am thankful for all of the volunteer and professional Scouters who support our future leaders through Scouting programs. Life Member, National Eagle Scout Assn.
I'm astonished that the BSA caved to pressure from social groups rather than stand up for what was right for over 100 years.
LOL ... the girls fight back... https://www.marketwatch.com/story/girl-scouts-sue-boy-scouts-for-trademark-infringement-2018-11-06
i got my licence win i was at boy scout camp this year. me and my friend missed free time to study for the test and it was worth it.
BSA didn't invent Scouting. It was General Robert Baden-Powell, a 19th century British war hero. WOSM is the organization he created to govern and set standards for all Scout associations around the world. BSA is NOT some totally independent organization as most seem to think, and we certainly didn't invent the program.
BSA has made some much needed changes to keep up with the times - the pressure came mostly from within the Scouting community, not other groups. As a former Scout historian and chairman of the board of a large Scouting museum, I would never want to see us return to the program we had 100 or even 50 years ago. Scouting's founder, Robert Baden-Powell, wanted his program always to be on the cutting edge and never fall behind. Unfortunately, too many American adults fell in love with the early program and never let it progress. Scouting in France, the UK, the Netherlands and many other countries modernized years ago. It had to happen. The old program was no longer attracting enough kids, and numbers have been falling since the 1970s. I'm hoping it's not too little, too late.
And the Girl Scouts could not be happier.... "Girl Scouts sue Boy Scouts for trademark infringement" From post #79 above. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/girl-scouts-sue-boy-scouts-for-trademark-infringement-2018-11-06
Same here, just see shirt with jeans or shorts.[/QUOTE] The pants are pretty expensive, and most parent's balk at the cost for boys who grow several inches every six months. Our local Scouts are always in full uniform. Some years ago, a local philanthropist set up a sizeable endowment for our troop. The troop buys uniforms for every single boy who joins, and covers summer camp costs for any family in need. I know of other troops who periodically purchase uniform pants and provide them to new boys. Parents are asked to keep them in good condition and trade them in for new ones as the kids grow. When I was took over as Scoutmaster for our regional troop, I found the same thing going on. I met with the merit badge counselors one on one, both in the community and at summer camp, and let them know I expected every boy to actually earn the badge - no freebies. I got lots of pushback, partly from the counselors (some of whom I replaced), but mostly from parents who just wanted Eagle Scout on their kid's college application. I won the battle by convincing the boys themselves of the real value and enjoyment they would get by learning the material for real. The parents had no choice but to go along, and I've had several quietly thank me years after I retired. I also converted the troop from adult leadership to boy leadership, the way the program was designed from day one. It's still that way twenty years on, and they're turning out some spectacular kids.
I wish GSA luck with that one. BSA used the Scouts BSA name starting back in the mid-seventies, but shelved it after the program was mismanaged and nearly killed BSA. Plenty of precedent here. GSA is just terrified of losing more girls to BSA. I think they'll lose some, but their program is substantially different and attracts a different sort of kid. It's highly craft and career oriented (depending on the age group) and not so much into camping and hiking. We've always had some unofficial girl members in troops in our area, and most were motivated and gave the boys a run for their money. That made the boys up their game, and we felt badly about not being able to properly reward the girls with official advancement and merit badges. One girl in a neighboring troop earned Eagle, but of course couldn't get the award, so one local adult Eagle Scout presented her with his own badge and pin at a Court of Honor.
Historically, they've changed uniforms every twenty years or so on average. I like the current version better than anything they've had since the early 70s. I had a collection of all the different uniforms back to 1911 (the first BSA uniform), and the one the modern kids like most was in use from 1912 to the mid-forties with minor changes. For our troop's 100th anniversary a few years ago, I dressed kids up in every era's uniform to serve as the color guard. It was quite a sight. I retired from the program a year or so later, and have since sold most of the more valuable pieces in the collection. Our museum was already well stocked.
To be precise, BSA was founded in 1910, but Scouting itself was officially founded in the UK in 1908. Argentina was the second country to get the program after a visit from Scouting's founder in 1909, and a large number of countries joined in 1910, including the US.
BSA is one of the few Scouting programs left in the world that uses the term Boy in its name. Nostalgia aside, it's about time.
I think it's unlikely in the short term. GSA's program doesn't have much to offer 95% of all boys, but a large number of girls have said they'd prefer the BSA program over GSA. GSA won't lose membership because these are girls they never had.
Eek! Please don't type ham in all caps - it's not an acronym for anything. It's like shouting the word.
