Both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were founded by the Baiden-Powells, and designed to be separate but equal. This statement has nothing to do with being "politically correct", but is only an honest assessment that the genders have different interests, and should be allowed to be honest about who they are and what they want to do. But even though they are different, each program was designed to offer an equal ability to lead, to make decisions, to become prepared for emergencies, and to live a moral life. That is what the Baden-Powells wanted scouting to be.

In the past, there have been rumors of trying to get girls into the Boy Scout organization.   I have never been in favor of that.  I think it would be much better to amend the program to put the organizational techniques and attitudes back into the girls' program.

Back in the '30s, a seventh-grade girl was a Tenderfoot. In the beginning, the programs were very much alike when it came to rank names and awards. Over the years, however, the program requirements have become "optional". While this may have been aimed at being considerate to those who had a problem, the result was that everyone chose to take the easy way out.

Fr. Andrew Apostoli, a Franciscan monk, says in his books on the Holy Spirit, that being too aware of what other people think can become a sin.  Being afraid of what other people think of you can keep you from doing God's will, and being a part of His plan.  There is a time and a season for being considerate and compassionate, but too much can lead to sloth and lack of zeal.

If you want your troop to be what the Baden-Powells had in mind, keep these fundamentals in mind as you plan your program:

1. A goal.

What is it that makes scouting different from the other programs this girl could join? What are you trying to achieve? What is "be prepared", and what are you trying to prepare the girls for?

If you look at your elementary school, the goal of schooling is to take a child that has never been in a classroom, and year by year, skill by skill, get him or her ready for high school. The goal of scouts is the same. In Daisies and Tigers, you take a child who has never been to a meeting, and topic by topic, game by game, badge by badge, get them ready to face peer pressure, life choices, whatever career they decide to pursue, and whatever perils come their way. You try to give them tools they can use to live a good life. This is what makes scouting scouting.

The Daisy and Brownie programs keep this goal well, when the leader focuses on earning "Try-its". Try something new, do your best....that what all scouts should be told.

At the Junior level, many leaders become confused. There are 97 badges to choose from, and if you don't want to do badges, you can opt for other activities, and hand out a patch. Take a look at the next Junior vest you see, and compare how many patches, versus badges, Juniors tend to earn.  In our area, the vests are covered from top to bottom with one-activity patches, and have few or no badged at all.

When you only do one fun activity, and hand out a patch, you are not really preparing the girls. But, this goal can be kept by working the four "signs" as a three-year program: sign of the rainbow, sun, etc.

Hold the requirements for the signs  up next to a Boy Scout rank advancement chart, and you'll find a program that encourages both youth to become more self-reliant. The first rank, and the first sign, both contain learning the oath and promise, and the last rank and sign both entail a service project. Little by little, and requirement by requirement, both programs ask the youth to complete more of the work on their own, and to take on the next level of responsibility.

2. Have standards.

A famous business manager once noted that people will only achieve seventy percent of any goal you set for them.  If you want 100 percent results, you're only going to get 70.  Lower the standard to 70, and you'll only get 50.

There are two ways to deal with standards.  You can lower your expectations, or you can look for ways to help people meet the standard you set.

If you look in the leader's guide, you'll see that almost everything the Boy Scouts consider a "must" has become an "option" to the girls. Two-deep leadership, merit badge requirements, uniforms, troop structure, the basic program, are all options.

Before you exercise an option, ask yourself if you really need to. An option means that you CAN if you WANT to.  Ask yourself questions about who and what you are dealing with.  As one leader told me "We don't care what the other troops are doing--we're going to do it better." Use the options to build a troop with a strong character.

In the example of uniforms, some of the girls you are dealing with might be on a tight budget. Even so, you can still keep your uniform standards. You can exercise other options that only lower your standards as much as you have to.

There's more than one way to come up with a uniform. You can buy the pattern and material from Jo-Ann Fabrics, and sew them yourself. Teal was a very popular color a few seasons ago, and teal twill shorts can be bought at a thrift store for as little as $2.00. You can ask your cluster to organize a uniform swap so that girls who are moving up to the next rank can sell their old uniforms, and buy used ones at the same function. You can start your program off with "Art to Wear" or "Fabric and Textiles" and make troop T-shirts. You don't have to cop out all together, just because of a minor detail like money.

3. A fun program.

Whenever possible, turn a boring requirement into a game. Keep the girls motivated to finish a badge. When you do, you'll be teaching them something much more important than just the subject you're exploring; you'll be teaching them that everything in life, their job, their marriage, their children, will have things that they want to do, and things that they don't want to do, and in order to be satisfied with the result, they'll have to do both parts. If they want happy children, they'll have to both play with them, and change their diapers. By not finishing a badge with your troop, you're cheating them out of this important lesson.

Don't wear yourself out by trying to do the whole thing on your own. Work together with other troops, or combine as many levels together as you can, and you'll cut your paperwork, make camping more affordable, and have more adult volunteers to help.

Some leaders insist that combined age level troops won't work. They can if you use the patrol system. Use the troop crests for patrol names, and form one patrol for each grade. The patrols can have separate meetings if they want, or you can have a common opening and closing, and then go into separate corners or rooms to work on your various signs. Think about what a Cub Scout Pack is. Each "den" is a patrol that has a separate meeting to work on separate requirements. They then have common award ceremonies. A combined troop can be just as efficient as a pack if you get enough volunteers.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. Tell your parents that if you're spending three hours a week coming up with a program, then they should have to spend some time selling cookies.   I go around the table, point to each girl, and say "okay, your mom's a leader, your mom did cookies, it's your mom's turn for this one."  Youth are very interested in being fair, and when you point it out to them that way, the parents show up.

By breaking up everything that needs to be done into smaller pieces, you and your parents are teaching the girls to pitch in, to carry their fair share. That's an important lesson, too. Let's face it, we're not in this for the money, we're in it for the kids. Teach them something useful, motivate them to achieve their best, and have a little fun along the way, and your girls will stay in scouting.