Introduction

Hello everyone. I just this cyber-roundtable and am enjoying reading
the last couple of months of discussion. I'll just introduce myself for
the moment. I went through the whole scout experience starting at 8 as
a bobcat. I know I'll date myslef a bit but I even earned the Lion
badge. At 17 I got my Eagle and my first palm I earned a month before
turning 18. I have been an OA Lodge vice-chief and am a Vigil member.
About 7 years ago I got back into scouting and in that time have been a
charter rep (going on 3 years), asst. SM, Cub Day Camp program director
(2 years) for our district having 250 cubs and WEBELOS attending for
three days (talk about a baptism of fire). I'm currently the outgoing
Asst Dist. Commissioner and the new Roundtable commissioner. In Aug 96
I finally got to Woodbadge and have only one item left on my ticket to
get my first beads.

I love scouting and what it teaches our young men. Lately, however, I
am becoming disillusioned with BSA and need a "pick-me-up". In the last
year during my attendance at our monthly district meetings, it seems
that all that ever is discussed is fund raising for the BSA. We never
seem to get the time allotted to talk program for the boys. I hate to
say it but I get the feeling that the BSA want the volunteers to raise
funds for the professional payroll and have us ignore the boys. More
and more I see price hikes in registeration, awards, less ability to do
printing to more widely advertise upcoming events. I see more Council
get in our business to get money we manage to save from those events to
go into the council coffers while the local districts are left to
flounder in supplies (such as getting a decent supply of merit badge
books into the local library for all the boys to have access to). I see
the push to continually move the renrollment ages downward to get more
boys (I've heard rumblings of starting to register 6 year olds in the
program) which increase fees.

Finally, and this one irks me the most, we keep getting the Boys Life
crammed down our throats and it isn't even anywhere near the quality
publication it was 15 - 20 years ago. I am hard pressed to find even
one article in that magazine that covers scout skills and offers ideas
(new or old) to increase a boy's scout skills. There is always articles
on sports and what Pack or troop xyz did for summer camp or on some high
adventure outing. I hardly ever see the how to's in it.

I am afraid that we are getting away from Baden Powell's ideals of
scouting. The program is for the boys and it should be teaching
citizenship, physical fitness, and moral character. I see it becoming,
just like Christmas, a commercial venture for economics and less
quality where it counts.

Sorry for the soap box sermon. This has been building for some time and
I can't seem to find good answers here locally. So I'm reaching out to
you. I hate to see the program going the way it has. For you
woodbadgers out there, can you help get back the Gilwell spirit?

John C Calkins

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