Toos Day - Women in Scouting

National Women's Day

Today, March 8, 2022 is International Women's Day. I have thought about this for a few days before getting it all together. I know that I have focused on Girl Troops in BSA, but I started thinking about the world of Scouting. Women have played a vital role in Scouting long before they were allowed to join Scouting.

Without women being actively involved as den mothers, scoutmasters, assistant scoutmasters, committee volunteers, the program would not be where it is today. The fact that it took until 2019 when international scouting has included girls for decades sometimes baffles me. Scouting Wire attempted to highlight the accomplishments of five women. They saved 5 for the scout moms.  I looked at the other 4 and I thought to myself, they struggled to look back and honor women in scouting. The organization was exclusively for boys until 2019. Yes, I know that Ships, and Crews allowed co-ed children 14+ for a long time, but as we all know recruiting kids at 14 is not an easy task. It was a difficult task as there are no high-profile individuals to really highlight. I am hoping in 20-25 years an article like this will have a much different appearance. I was glad that this article did mention the unsung heroes, the scout moms. 

I recently completed Woodbadge N6-544-21, and what I found is that the leadership of Scouts is comprised of a large percentage of women. Without these dedicated women, Scouts would not exist. They were the former Den Mothers, and help build Troops by keeping activities fun, and Cubs involved. They gave their time so their sons could reap the benefits, all the while knowing that their daughters were not able to officially join. They brought their other children often girls with them, and they joined the activities, planting the seeds of change over a generation. These countless women laid the groundwork for family scouting. They are the real agents of change. While we look at the decisions of the National BSA, Local Councils, Dens, and Troops making changes, these Den Leaders as we call them now have had an impact well beyond most of their years of service. They went on the campouts, they taught the skills, and they planned the activities that allowed Cub to cross over to Scouts. They are an example that in certain realms, man or woman, isn't an important factor. They are the true unsung heroes of the Girls in Scouting movements. 

I was told that Den Mothers used to wear the pale yellow shirt and had a separate patch to enumerate their involvement. I have met a few female Scouters that still adorn the pale yellow shirt, and they have enjoyed explaining when they got involved. These women who wear the pale yellow still for the most part are the reason that our girls are involved today. I like to think of this uniform as the "throwback" uniform. 

I hope that as we move forward we can look at some of the ways that policies make access to scouting more difficult. We need to look at a world in which two female leaders can take a group of boys on an outing, but a group of two male leaders needs a female leader or parent to include a girl. This extra burden can ultimately impact access and recruitment. A single parent with multiple children might not have the ability my family did when dad just volunteered. It is a double standard, and it does have impacts. 

Today is National Women's Day, while I believe advocacy of equality can be part of it, I do not want to end with that. I would like to recognize all of the amazing women that I have come to know through my time in Scouting. The selfless, giving, and amazing spirit they bring to our organization. To the leaders, committee members, and women who support our organization, there is no recognition big enough to give you. To the young women blazing the path for those to come behind you, thank you for taking a brave and bold step to starting something that you will only watch grow and expand. 

-Adam

Thank you to the ladies that made this picture possible - A Scoutmaster is Sleepy.

Again thank you for taking the time to read and hopefully enjoy this post. If you would like more of these, click the follow button on the blog. Again, I am amazed how many eyes are set upon this every week.  I know professionals would see this as a small number, but to me 1000 views is amazing. Also, I am from New Birth of Freedom, Troop 1019, Linglestown. We love to leave Council and try new experiences. If you ever in the area, or would like to try to meet up as a Troop, feel free to reach out. Expanding the world is part of our goals, and without dedicated Scouters, like yourselves, it wouldn't be possible. Thank you again! 

Toos Day: A Scouting Mindset 2/22/22!

 

A Scouting Mindset

When we are working with our scouts, the use of mindset is an important factor for both girls and boys. Today Troops 10 and 1019 did something amazing with our kids. We hiked around frozen waterfalls! For the sake of the crowd, we used a professional guide service.  If you are in Pennsylvania, I highly recommend Valley to Summit. Our guide is actually an active Scouter himself. Chad is involved with the national level COPE and Climbing programming. Was it the cheapest activity, no, was it worth every penny, yes!  When we are doing outdoor activities sometimes it gives us time to think about things, unwind, connect with nature, and reflect on where we are. Today was one of those days. First, I got to see our girls do something they might have never done, and may never do again. This experience is theirs, forever, it can never be taken from them. These things we give are gifts with no expiration date, and no return policy. These experiences will shape our youth in ways we may never know. This is why I think that mindset is something that needs to be addressed. 

If anyone has looked at my pictures, I am a 42-year-old, overweight male Scout Leader. 4 years ago I contracted a disease that gave me a 33% chance of never walking again, and about 60% chance of never making a full recovery. I am fortunate, that I have made around a 95% recovery and can share this new life with my daughter. I got emotional last fall when I completed a 10-mile hike with our troop.  It was the first long hike I attempted since my hospitalization. 

A little background on my condition. I was diagnosed with Acute Idiopathic Transverse Myelitis (TM). TM is not a common condition, but one day at work, I was not feeling well, and my legs began to feel heavy, almost as if I had done a workout and overdid it. The symptoms continued throughout the day, until around 6:30 PM I was taken to the emergency room due to weakness. I took my last steps for 3 days when I walked to the hospital registration desk. TM is an autoimmune response from the body that attacks the myelin (the lipid structure that surrounds your nerves) and causes inflammation and damage. My damage is located between T12 and L1. It took the lower half of my body away. I was in the hospital for five days, with countless tests. If it were not for the care of the hospital staff, and their drive to find an answer, I may have had a very different outcome. Everyone has a story, I know that, I just wanted to share mine. 

Back to mindset, as I digress. I came to Scouting with my second daughter. The time with her older sibling was sports. Wins/Losses, scores, records, competition. There is nothing wrong with this, in fact, I love sports. However, the background of coaching inadequately prepared me for Scouts BSA. I did not understand a setting where if you engage, you win, if you try, you win. I am not saying you master it and become the best, but you gain. You always get a plus in the growth column.  You fail, you grow, you succeed, you grow. This is quite a different mindset for me because there was no bad vs. good level. It was growth.  Honestly, it made me rethink some of my attitudes towards coaching youth sports.  It was growth for me. I also had to take a look at how I approached activities. Early in my leadership roles, I realized that my attitude, approach, and mindset would have more impact on my results with Scouts than my competencies, my knowledge of the aims and methods, and my understanding of what I was getting myself into. 

In the last 6 months, I had to face my own mindset issues. The first was in October. The Troop chooses to take on the Billy Yank Hike at Gettysburg National Battlefield.  This is a requirement for their historic trails badge. To be honest I was personally apprehensive. As I discussed before, I am still having fatigue issues with my lower body. I was not sure I could complete this myself. How could I approach this with a positive mental attitude? Then it dawned on me; others are counting on me. I had an honest conversation with our Scoutmaster and the Troop. I realized that sometimes as the leader the challenge is also for us. When we completed our hike, we celebrated the accomplishment. We celebrated with each other, not just us celebrating them.  We are in this together. 

Today we did a five-mile hike, on ice, around Ricketts Glenn's amazing waterfalls. We hiked 18 of them in total today. I was nervous I would hold the team back. I was excited, I was getting outside. I was happy to be with such amazing leaders. Nobody won an award today, there was no score. However, each time I saw a leader encourage a scout to push further on when the scout thought they had no more to give, or each time I heard laughing, I realized that there is more to life than keeping score. When your children are learning to work together to accomplish hard tasks together. Adults are coming together to guide youth leaders, and enjoy each other's company. Teaching young men, and young women how to work together, while independent Troops, when they come together they are there to accomplish a goal. Teaching youth to work together is really preparing them for the world beyond youth. Learning how to respect and rely on each other. They will reflect the mindset of the leaders. Due to the amazing support of our partner Troop and the mindset of their leadership, our girls have never been treated as second best. Because of the mindset of our girl leaders, our kids know they belong. When the mindset is growth, the outcomes are limitless. When we celebrate each Scout's contribution, and not "who dominated" we teach growth. 

Today our kids learned that when things get tough they can rely on their own mindset to improve their situation. Our Scouts were challenged today. Some were beyond their comfort zone. They had leaders that wanted to help them in their challenge. They had the right mindset. I watched a 15-year-old take control of a group of 17 kids, and this is not the most assertive kid I know, but he took on the role of leader. I watched kids take on a challenge with a positive outlook.  They rocked it. 

 

The leaders that make this possible come from a "With" attitude. They are there to be with the kids. They are there to be part of the activity.  They come from a point of wanting to participate and enjoy the moment. Attitude is infectious. A negative attitude can derail even the best experiences. That is why leaders need to show up and be excited to engage. Leadership is an active mindset. You have so much influence over the kids, and how they respond. Realizing that challenge does not come with winning or losing. Realizing that growth is the goal, and domination is not, can make you a better leader. We should not be ranking our Scouts on who is the best. We should be recognizing growth, challenge, and accomplishment. This is how our mindset can improve the lives of all the children we touch. 

Troop 10/1019 at the bottom of 90' waterfall. 

Let's Talk Advancement - Keeping the fun, moving forward, and making it count.

First, let me say that I am overwhelmed by the response I have had to this blog. I assumed that through writing this, I was simply making my cathartic journal public. I did not expect the number of eyes that have actually taken the time to read my writing. I am not a writer by trade or profession. I am a school teacher, that simply loves Scouting with my daughter. A father that is proud of his daughter's fearless drive to do something that was never done before in our town. I am so proud of her and her drive. I have noticed changes in her that I did not expect. If anyone here is currently raising a child between 11-17 years old, you all know that sometimes our own Scout struggles with being obedient, and clean, but she's trying harder. I will say I have seen her become more friendly, courteous, kind, cheerful, and certainly, brave. 

If you have not already done so, please click the "Follow" button. 

These writings will always and forever be dedicated to Abby, Troop 1019, and all the young women blazing a new chapter. 

Let's Talk Advancement

I was a participant in Woodbadge Class N6-544-21. I was tasked with writing "tickets" as part of my training. These "Tickets" are essentially what goals do you have for yourself, your troop, and the greater Scouting community.  How will you improve, recruitment, retention, diversity, and access? What will you do?  What change can you effect in 18 months?  One of my goals was to create a social media page where people could get real information from someone that is doing it. A place where we can develop a community of support for each other, and exchange ideas. After I started doing research, I found this has already been thought of. I have found a wonderful active page on Facebook Scout BSA Girl Units, but to complete my goal, I created a more local page Scouts BSA Girls Units - Central PA, but I decided that this was not enough, made this blog. You can find me on Facebook on either of those pages.  

Now back to why I am writing today. 

When people talk about Scouting, the one thing they focus on is the Eagle Scout.  People often mention that some of the most successful people in their career fields were Eagle Scouts. When you look at a simple list of names, these are some pretty impressive people: Neil Armstrong, Justice Breyer, Bill Gates, James Lovell, Mike Rowe, Steven Spielberg,  Ernest Green, Hank Aaron, Martin Luther King, Jr., Colin Powell. These great names, all males, for now, are some of the greatest members of our society. They are part of the 8% of Scouts that attain the rank of Eagle. Yes 8%, they are important, but what about the other 92%. 8 out of 100 will attain the rank of Eagle, but we just don't teach our skills, crafts, and values to those select few. Every child that joins scouts is an opportunity to improve their life. Through the aims and methods of Scouting, each child is learning skills that even if they do not realize at the moment, will help them in the future. 

This brings us to using what is already given to help our Scouts grow. Advancement. Working with your senior patrol leaders, and looking at the requirements for advancement. Outside of merit badges, this is one area that will afford scouts a chance to work on their leadership and teaching skills. This is the way they can demonstrate the EDGE method, and really take ownership of the operations of the Troop. Showing the leaders that advancement skills and merit badges are connected. That many of the skills that you need to advance can be done by working on merit badges. Working on these badges as a group or as partners is a way to increase enjoyment. 

If you look at the path to First Class and the Eagle Required badges, you can find the cross-over. 

BSA Rank Requirements

BSA Required Eagle Badges

o First Aid

o Citizenship in the Community 

o Citizenship in the Nation 

o Citizenship in the World o Communication o Cooking 

o Personal Fitness 

o Emergency Preparedness or Lifesaving 

o Environmental Science or Sustainability 

o Personal Management 

o Swimming or Hiking or Cycling 

o Camping 

o Family Life

If you look at First Aid, you can use the merit badge to complete -Tenderfoot - Requirement-4, Second Class - Requirement 6, First Class - Requirement 7.  The reason I mention this is working on a merit badge often entails more real-world practical exercise and will result in longer retention of this skill.I bring this back to the 92% of Scouts that do not make Eagle. I think that learning basic first aid skills is something that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.  These skills can be worked in a group and be made enjoyable.  Add a little makeup for a bruise, or some fake blood and gash from Party City, and you have yourself a pretty enjoyable and real experience. Take the time to add the enjoyment, and even some of the not as fun badges can get done. 

In our Troop, we rotate our offerings of merit badges. We are small so we can do this with some flexibility for now. We did Space Exploration in November/December. This was a great time. Building rockets, doing a little bookwork, launching rockets. That was great fun. In January we started communication with them. This one is not always the Troop favorite, as there is a larger portion of the population more afraid of public speaking, than death. Yes, that is a true statistic. Letting the kids follow their interests helps keep them interested. By the end of this summer, all of our April 2021 AOL scouts will be First Class. They just kept moving forward because they were motivated, but also because we made them work enjoyable, and they are progressing together as a group. 

I would highly recommend if your Scout is able to pass the swim test, they should complete the swimming merit badge at summer camp. Camping is done in the Troop. As you can see that what works is that the Scouts work as a unit, teach each other, learn from each other, and enjoy the experience.

If you are beating the national average of 8%, keeping them moving forward as a group is essential. Also when others see your Troop is having fun, it makes others want to check it out. Celebrate success, recognize progress, be there when it gets hard, encourage, and strengthen. Even if 90% of the kids that you are working with do not reach Eagle, they are still learning the vital skills needed. They are going to be able to handle adversity, and may get exposed to a future career field they will excel in, and be one of the 92% of extraordinary people in their field that are not Eagle Scouts. 

2021- Summer Camp - Finger Carving Merit Badge Recipient