The Boy Scouts of America just announced a BIG change yesterday – for the first time in their 100+ year history, they’ve decided to admit GIRLS.
This announcement fell on the International Day of the Girl, and it wasn’t without controversy.
Obviously a decision like this will make many different people angry, but do you know who’s really upset? The Girl Scouts.
The Boy Scouts decided to start letting girls who are between seven and 10 years old join the Cub Scouts as of next year. And they’re going to let them start working their way up to Eagle Scout as of 2019.
Each local scout organization can decide whether to have both boys and girls together in the same troop or to have separate troops for boys and girls.
So why would girls want to join the Boy Scouts anyway? A study found that the Girl Scouts tend to push more activities like art and, of course, selling cookies, while the Boy Scouts push more science activities and individual problem-solving skills.
Their words not ours.
Also, being an Eagle Scout tends to be seen as more “prestigious” by the public, who might not even know the highest rank in the Girl Scouts, a Gold Award. The Girl Scouts don’t agree with ANY of that, though.
They’ve been against the co-ed idea since the Boy Scouts first started tossing it around earlier this year. Andrea Bastiani Archibald, a psychologist who helps guide the Girl Scouts, said yesterday, quote, “We are unparalleled in our ability to build great female leaders who contribute to society at every level.”
Today the BSA opens a new chapter in our history w/a unanimous vote to welcome girls to Cub through Eagle Rank. https://t.co/CYl8tU1yJJ
— Mike Surbaugh (@BSAchief) October 11, 2017
The BSA expands programs to welcome girls from Cub Scouts to highest rank of Eagle Scout https://t.co/WbFQxCXZBN
— Boy Scouts – BSA (@boyscouts) October 11, 2017
While being discussed this morning, two listeners texted in the following:
I am a Girl Scout Troop leader. My girls just bridged to Cadettes and have been scouts since 3rd grade. They also just earned their Bronze Award. The special thing about Girl Scouts is that a girl can choose any path she wants, whether science, math, art, husbandry, etc. But The corner stones are leadership and service. Girl Scouts have just as many science programs as Boy Scouts, including STEM. and the Gold Award IS equivalent to Eagle Scout, it is our society that has placed more “importance” on the eagle, not recognizing the effort and time that go into a Gold Award project, or the lasting affect these projects leave on their communities.
And
This is frustrating to know that boy scouts are allowing girls into their program. The reasons alone do not hold for me. As a girl scout mom, I see every activity includes math and science. My daughter’s first patch that she will proudly tell you, is from STEM fest, an event highlighting math and science. As far as cookie sales, boy scouts push popcorn sales, its just fundraising. I am proud to have my daughter be a part of girl scouts and feel that this is just to help the declining interest in signing up for boy scouts.
So what do you think of this? Should girls be admitted into the Boy Scouts?
Let us know how you feel.