Week 4 in the books. Bring on the 5th.
I write with very mixed emotions today.
My good friend on Staff at Camp Geiger received his White Paint as a Sachem last night. I don't have mixed emotions on that, it is long overdue. The accolades given him prior to his elevation were appropriate, and fitting. Eagle Scout. Long term on staff. Veteran who put it all on the battlefield for his country. None deserve it more.
Part of the mixed emotion is that Week 4 included girls that are Scouts in camp, about a 5th or so of the total number of youth camping. I struggle with this a little, not so much because I am a sexist pig, but more because I try to understand the mission of BSA by including girls. BSA has always been about taking young men and teaching them how to be responsible adult men. That was Lord Baden Powell's vision in the beginning, to have soldiers that knew how to do stuff, and how to take care of themselves. It is not simply teaching how to tie square knots, or how to build a fire. In fact, you won't find any of those things in the Scout Oath and Law.
Having said that, it is what it is. We can either accept that girls are now part of Scouts, and adapt a program to give them what is needed, without selling out everything like the Girl Scouts of America did decades ago, (and you wonder why that GS Gold award is not comparable to the Eagle Scout) or one can quit. Those principles established in the Oath and Law are what set BSA apart, and as long as they hold true to them, BSA will continue on. For now.
If those principles are compromised, then sooner or later (sooner), BSA will go the way of GSA, and that will be that.
It was a lot of fun having young women come through the Trading Post, comparing their maturity to that of the young men. While I had to be mindful that having the girls in camp was a first for the camp, it was a first for them too. Learning new schedules, the map of the camp, new skills, getting accustomed to the routine, and the things to do at camp was just as new to them. It was a fun exchange, and in the end, we are all members of the scouting program. So what was missing?
My troop. Troop 103 in Paola, KS was not in camp week 4 for the first time in years. I missed seeing the young men of our Troop, perhaps even sitting with them in the Dining Hall, and having them stop by the Trading Post. I loved having discussions with my good friends Jeremy and Will. I should count myself fortunate that one of the young men from the Troop is on Staff, and though I seldom see him, I am comforted to know that I have made a small difference in at least one young man's life.
With the changes in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' policy regarding the Boy Scouts, it was inevitable that at least in our Troop, most chose to just drop doing Scouts, opting for something else. Speaking as a man who blew off getting his Eagle, I know that at some point, at least a few of them may regret that choice. So, the Troop has essentially started "waiting out the clock". on the end of the Church's affiliation with the Boy Scouts of America, with only those close to getting their Eagle making even an attempt to do so. This truly is where the mixed emotions come in. No more Mic-O-Say advancements, at least for another year or two when the young man may advance. Probably when I get back from camp I will compose a short history of the Tribe and Troop 103.
Now we move forward in the homestretch. Two weeks to go, plus Webelos. One busy week, one not. Cleaning and scrubbing everything down, but I am getting ahead of myself. One day at time, and that starts tomorrow.
Its Maha week.
My good friend on Staff at Camp Geiger received his White Paint as a Sachem last night. I don't have mixed emotions on that, it is long overdue. The accolades given him prior to his elevation were appropriate, and fitting. Eagle Scout. Long term on staff. Veteran who put it all on the battlefield for his country. None deserve it more.
Part of the mixed emotion is that Week 4 included girls that are Scouts in camp, about a 5th or so of the total number of youth camping. I struggle with this a little, not so much because I am a sexist pig, but more because I try to understand the mission of BSA by including girls. BSA has always been about taking young men and teaching them how to be responsible adult men. That was Lord Baden Powell's vision in the beginning, to have soldiers that knew how to do stuff, and how to take care of themselves. It is not simply teaching how to tie square knots, or how to build a fire. In fact, you won't find any of those things in the Scout Oath and Law.
Having said that, it is what it is. We can either accept that girls are now part of Scouts, and adapt a program to give them what is needed, without selling out everything like the Girl Scouts of America did decades ago, (and you wonder why that GS Gold award is not comparable to the Eagle Scout) or one can quit. Those principles established in the Oath and Law are what set BSA apart, and as long as they hold true to them, BSA will continue on. For now.
If those principles are compromised, then sooner or later (sooner), BSA will go the way of GSA, and that will be that.
It was a lot of fun having young women come through the Trading Post, comparing their maturity to that of the young men. While I had to be mindful that having the girls in camp was a first for the camp, it was a first for them too. Learning new schedules, the map of the camp, new skills, getting accustomed to the routine, and the things to do at camp was just as new to them. It was a fun exchange, and in the end, we are all members of the scouting program. So what was missing?
My troop. Troop 103 in Paola, KS was not in camp week 4 for the first time in years. I missed seeing the young men of our Troop, perhaps even sitting with them in the Dining Hall, and having them stop by the Trading Post. I loved having discussions with my good friends Jeremy and Will. I should count myself fortunate that one of the young men from the Troop is on Staff, and though I seldom see him, I am comforted to know that I have made a small difference in at least one young man's life.
With the changes in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' policy regarding the Boy Scouts, it was inevitable that at least in our Troop, most chose to just drop doing Scouts, opting for something else. Speaking as a man who blew off getting his Eagle, I know that at some point, at least a few of them may regret that choice. So, the Troop has essentially started "waiting out the clock". on the end of the Church's affiliation with the Boy Scouts of America, with only those close to getting their Eagle making even an attempt to do so. This truly is where the mixed emotions come in. No more Mic-O-Say advancements, at least for another year or two when the young man may advance. Probably when I get back from camp I will compose a short history of the Tribe and Troop 103.
Now we move forward in the homestretch. Two weeks to go, plus Webelos. One busy week, one not. Cleaning and scrubbing everything down, but I am getting ahead of myself. One day at time, and that starts tomorrow.
Its Maha week.
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