Re: REAL Mag?
(no name) ((no email))
Sat, 27 Jan 1996 12:45:23 -0600
Jeff wrote:
>>While many of the articles found in _Scouting_ are written or co-written
>>by volunteers like both of us, the slant of the magazine is geared toward
>>the BSA's promotional efforts. There is NO conversation about contriversies
>>within the program, NO conversation between Scouters on uniform issues,
>>and definately NO differing opinion other than the "official BSA lines".
>
>Sorry Mike, whilke I often agree with your posts, I must say I am in greater
>agreement with the folks who are pleased with Scouting magazine, for I
>also find the stories to be REAL, and the information inparted to be useful
>and interesting.
If you read further, you would have seen where I stated that there's NOTHING
WRONG with _Scouting_ as it is: an official magazine stating the BSA point-
of-view on various topics. _Scouting_, as I went onward, has a job and it
does it WELL...VERY WELL (getting several national literary awards in it's
time isn't nothing to sneeze at; also, several of the writers have been
recognized by their peers several times over...it's a good, quality
magazine!)and tells the "official Scouting story" with words and pictures
(even if they get the pictures not exactly correct and the articles staffed
for content).
I too, am pleased with _Scouting_, for what it is: the "internal
communications medium" of the Boy Scouts of America.
>The magazine should be supportive of the "official BSA lines", and encouraging
>to Scouters who wish to do their bes to provide BSA Scouting to the boys in
>their community!
I agree with you on this point as well.
>Controversy can be devisive, and perhaps there are plenty of other forums in
>existance where they may be aired... but I would like to see Scouting magazine
>remain the freindly promoter of BSA scouting that it is....
This is where we differ, Jeff. I would like _Scouting_ to take on an neutral
ground when it comes to coverage of Scouting program issues and problems.
If we see things like this, perhaps we will begin to see MORE Scouters get
involved with their Council and District and stop being "spectators".
Also, we will have "various opinions", and perhaps many of our District
meetings and activities will stop becoming "bobbing head demostrations"
whereby the DE or Chair says something and everyone bobs their heads up
and down without *thinking* or *evaluating* the relative merits or not of
the issue.
Nothing devisive there, Jeff...as a matter of fact, isn't that how
democracy (remember the three aims of the BSA: "citizenship" being one of
them?) is demostrated?
I would like to see more innovative, different, challenging approaches to
membership, finance, unit service and program. I want to know how the
National test-bed Councils are doing with some of the ideas WE as volunteers
gave them to try out. (I get some ideas, but it's not fair that the
AVERAGE volunteer doesn't get to read some of the findings!) I also want to
hear about the *failures*. There should be nothing in our program that we shoul
dn't be at least aware of.
Many of those topics DO get talked about, but it's only the professional
side of our partnership that even hears about those things. I want to know
about major personnel changes at National (those things never get placed in
_Scouting_ unless a person is retiring from the profession or has died...but
they are mentioned in OTHER internal publications (the OA Bulletin, the
NESA Eagletter, the Supply Division Bulletin, _ProSpeak_, the Direct Service
Council Newsletter...) and I want to know more about the professional-
volunteer relationship that gets "swept under the rugs" in most of the
articles found in _Scouting_ (under CSE Ben Love, however, this was
changed as the BSA found itself needing a great many new professionals...
there were FOUR articles which profiled the professional-volunteer
relationship during his tenure!).
Right now, we only read of the "good stuff". That's fine for most of us,
and extremely important for the new volunteer to read about. However, for
those of us that know that "everything does NOT go like the videos lead us
to believe"; for those of us that realize that "there's has to be a secret
to this role somewhere....how come I don't know about it, and whom can I
find out from?", and for those of us that want to read about things to
AVOID as well as things to PLAN FOR, up until _Scouters_Journal_, we didn't
have a choice...we had to go and find that information out ourselves.
Don't get me wrong, gang. I LOVE _Scouting_! I get it each time and read it
at least twice a month. But to *me*, there's a lot that is left out of it
and that's where SJ comes in. Also, as BigEd stated, coverage on what we
do here in cyberspace is NEVER mentioned (okay; it is mentioned as a "by
the way" point and not as a major article or issue (and yes, there was
TWO articles in _Scouting_ which addressed the Internet aspect of Scouting
so far); Boys'_Life_ had one article written).
But SJ speaks to me as a Scouter and as a member of the online community.
It also lets me read differing opinions than my own, which adds to my
self-education every day and reminds me that "I don't know everything
there is about Scouting!!!"
>You opinion is just as valid as min, of course : )
*giggling* Yep. And a few times, I end up on the invalid side *hehehehee*
(Again, I do NOT own a part of SJ....I do submit, as ANY volunteer or
professional can, articles to Terry Howerton for future submission. To
subscribe to _Scouters_Journal_, call toll-free 1-800-SCOUTER.)
Settummanque!(MAJ) Mike L. Walton (Settummanque, the blackeagle)
(
co-Owner, Blackeagle Servics of Kentucky (502.826.7046) __)_
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