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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]But this does not take into account that in many (if not most) areas there will not be enough interested girls to field entire dens and programs (after all they will now be competing with Girl ascouts to draw in girls). So either girls will have to drive farther to find "girl" Boy Scout troops, or they are going to push the it's not fair narrative (it won't be) that they are prevented from just joining their local pack, den or troop, and pressure boy scout troops that were told by BSA they would be allowed to remain single gender to be forced to become coed to accomodate the 2-4 girls at each grade who aren't enough to staff a troop of their own and who shouldn't need to drive a neighborhood or two away to find a girl Boy Scout troop.

Boy scouts should not go coed, especially the way they are proposing. Saying that individual packs and dens will have the option of choosing to remain boy only is a lie and tuey know it. In very short order single gender boy scouting will be over if they go with what BSA is proposing.[/quote]

I think you are right but for the wrong reason.  I think more girls will join cub scouting dens in a co-ed pack, not just two or 4. The girl only dens will be active and fun and well organized and will do neat things, and the boys will be drawn to these dens and want to take part.   Pretty soon you will have co ed dens but because the girls were pressured to take in the boys![/quote]

You obviouely have very little experience with boys or Boy/Cub Scouts.

If what you are suggesting were even remotely plausible (it is not) we would have already seen boys clamouring to join girl scouts.[/quote]

I have a lot of experience with boys, and 5 years experience with Cub Scouts.

Kids clamor or are attracted to join groups that seem like they are doing interesting things.

Some girl scout troops manage to do fun, interesting things; but the program really isn't designed well enough to make it easy to do that.  Experienced leaders, or those who have gone "rogue", have figured out how to do fun interesting things in GS (instead of following the Journeys blindly and doing the workbooks etc.) but GSUSA certainly isn't making it easier.  Cub Scouts mostly aren't clamoring to join Girl Scouts because 1) the program isn't family oriented and so younger brothers are much less likely to be tagging along and 2) the program as it stands just isn't that interesting.

The problem with Girl Scouts isn't the girls.   It's that the programming really isn't that great (although good leaders can make it so for sure!)

However -- in my experience, more women than men do a good job of leading a group of kids that aren't their own.   I've seen it in Cub Scouts and I've seen it in other groups.   Men tend to do better when the kids are middle school aged and up -- exactly the age of a Scout troop.   SOME men are great at leading Cub dens.   BUT there's a reason why Scouts invited moms to be den mothers.

Give a mom who is good with young kids a decent program, like the Cub Scout program, and she'll do a great job.  THe den will be active and vibrant and organized and doing fun stuff, and you bet the girls will be drawn to it.  Other parents are not fools, and if someone is doing a good job offering a free program THEY WILL WANT THEIR KIDS IN IT rather than having to offer to run the exact same den/program for their boys, just to have the "same sex" aspect.  Trust me.  If some mom is running a great Wolf Den for Girls with whittling and campfire building and outdoor cooking and Baloo the Builder and she seems enthusiastic and organized, parents will sign their little boys up for that den in a hot second.

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