All Activity
- Today
-
I don't think calling another scouting organization that doubled in size a joke is scout like, my friend. Nor is it something to draw laughter. I'm trying to recall the part of the Scout Law that teaches us to do either of those things. BSA losing 1.2+ million in 5 years doesn't give those in the BSA a solid perch to smirk from. Those are 60,000 youth being served in the scouting movement.
-
Youth sports dwarf scouting. Around 80% of kids ages 5-18 each year are enrolled in sports and prefer their chosen sports to scouts. Scouting currently involves only about 1%-2% of the kid population. That reality means there is no point in comparing scouts to sports, yet a lot of energy and attention in scouting is spent on blaming sports -- as if sports is the reason more kids don't do scouts. There are few kids today who, after a day of near inactivity in school, want to sit around in den or troop meetings for another hour or two of "being good". In an outdoor youth program, leaders shoul
- Yesterday
-
It’s all gone a little bit American….
curious_scouter replied to Cambridgeskip's topic in Open Discussion - Program
Good time to practice using the most important gear a leader has: Your chair. And, a close second, working on your coffee (or perhaps tea) skills. -
Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council,Boy Scouts of America > News > Top News > California Assembly Bill 506 and Youth Protection Training California Assembly Bill 506 and Youth Protection Training Online training and Live Scan background checks required by law for all volunteers. A new law has taken effect in California, effective January 1, 2022 and will further support our mission to pr
-
That is true for many sports, but I pay fees to be a NICA mountain bike coach. There is an annual background check fee to a 3rd party and annual registration fee. To be a level 2 coach I have to take a specific training course, in person. In addition I have to pay for mountain bike first aid and CPR every two years. NICA tracks the level of coaches and has very strict rules on rider to coach ratios, including coaching levels. It ensures the program is run well and consistently. I do wish BSA used the same background check company as other organizations so and then that fee would be o
-
No longer the case in California, and I believe a few other states. Coaches fall under the updated State requirement to be accredited by the State in YP and reporting. That includes fingerprinting. Now whether anyone is policing that, I have no idea. But it is a part of our council level requirements.
-
Scouting charges fees to its volunteers to register. I don't know any sports coaches that have to pay a registration fee. The training can be extensive for a scout leader. Sports volunteers might get a rules document to sign, then they just show up. But I also have some stories of terrible youth coaches.
-
It seems contradictory. Be open to everyone but clearly define what the the program is and how it works? The promise is adventure and outdoors. Scouting let's you choose how you want to achieve those objectives. They provide the framework. Your unit decides how it is going to meet it.
-
So, instead of making a simple first class requirement like we had for the majority of BSA history like " On one overnight, serve as patrol cook & prepare breakfast, lunch, & dinner that require cooking." Instead we have the following: 2a. Help plan a menu for one of the above campouts that includes at least one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner, and that requires cooking at leastt wo of the meals. Tell how the menu includes the foods from MyPlate or thec urrent USDA nutritional model and how it meets nutritional needs for thep lanned activity or campout. 2b. Using t
-
For being a joke, I have a couple of great nephews who TL/USA helped guide into adulthood. The BSA troop’s available to them were inadequate.
-
Thanks! Like I said... not my forte. Also, I was pointing out the inconsistency that BSA has no Training required for BSA unit leaders to supervise an activity here. Just the statement in G2SS, "All shooting sports activities held outside of a council’s camp will follow the program as outlined in the BSA National Shooting Sports Manual (www.scouting.org/outdoor-programs/Shooting-Sports)." -
While some of the article is questionable, there are some truths. Trail Life does clearly define who they are, what they do, and what the benefit may be. One has the right to disagree with their messaging, but it is clear. BSA (SA??) has an extremely broad message about what they are. The current focus seems to be all things to all people. Not sure you can excite and entice people with that. There may be confusion in that all are welcome seems to mean BSA (SA??) will do / provide whatever you want in it's program. IMHO there is a Balkanization of what BSA (SA??) provides in that
-
Trail Life is a Scouting program. Scouting is the movement. BSA is a business. You should really separate the two in your thinking. Otherwise, you miss the point of the article.
-
This is why there needs to be a doctrinal pathway to complain to district/council advancement about bad leaders adding to the requirements; that SM is going rogue. I see what you're saying, I think it's more of someone without guidance trying to get trained and figuring this out is facing a huge uphill struggle. On the other hand there's something like this: There's a parent in my unit that said he won't do the adult training unless he's paid to do it. We're trying to spoon feed the adult training and everything that goes with it to him and we can't get him to buy in. For sports it
-
LOL, he says they have doubled in size while BSA has steeply lost members. Their self reporting that they have 60k members right now, total, nationwide. Trail Life is a joke.
-
BSA has evaluations. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/Outdoor Program/Shooting Sports/430-065_WB.pdf -
I haven't looked at the SSM in awhile, but I know as of last year, you don't even need an RSO to run a range during summer camps. Outside summer camps, yes. During...no. Hmm. -
https://www.foxnews.com/media/boy-scouts-tragic-mission-departure-left-boys-needing-mentors-competitor-says-alternatives
-
But after 13 years of pushing this the membership numbers are still going down. What bad assumptions are they making? Maybe it's a bad assumption that just having scads of documents around will make it easy for parents to pick this up and do well. Have you ever wondered why so few parents are willing to volunteer for scouts? Is it really all their fault because they're lazy or is it too complicated on top of the fact that their work life is already insane. If summer camps can't get parents to show up unless they have wifi for checking into work then that's a hint there's a problem. I coac
-
National Annual Reports
InquisitiveScouter replied to RememberSchiff's topic in Open Discussion - Program
We do (about) three meetings per month, with a short PLC after each. These build up to the outing. Then, the outing... The regular meeting night after an outing is a full PLC (so one per month), where they go over all stuff necessary. The other Scouts/parents get that night off to further recuperate from the outing. We have one day trip/service project per month... mostly an outdoor activity. So 4 meetings and two outings per month... 1/3 of our activities are aimed primarily at outdoors. We have the most successful Troop in the council. Most meetings (mid-spring through - Last week
-
BSA has a Safe Swim Defense, Safety Afloat, Climb On Safely, Cave Safely, Trek Safely, even Drive Safely.... where is the cert for Range Safety for BSA leaders??? Same concepts as the others for the training... you assume responsibility, here are the rules and limitations, and make sure you have an RSO and NRA Certified Instructor (2 subject matter experts)!! They could (should even) write in instructor : student ratio requirements... I think it is 1 : 5 for NRA, but Range and Target Activities, formerly know as Shooting Sports, is not my forte.
-
See attached for the history of rank requirements. You can see the trend from simply... Cook for your patrol to getting meals approved against a budget following my plate. Just an example of how this becomes an issue... My nephew was denied his first class cooking completion because he went over his self estimated budget. The SM told him that staying within budget is part of the requirement.... Could you imagine better ways to kill motivation of a 12 year old then talking about food budgeting? I digress... Even through the 1990s, the rank requirements were almost exclusively outd
-
Another way to look at this. 4 indoor troop meetings a month 4 indoor PLC meetings a month 1 campout a month 1/9 activities are outdoors.....
-
It’s all gone a little bit American….
Eagle94-A1 replied to Cambridgeskip's topic in Open Discussion - Program
So jealous. -
I'm about to preside over a cub scout rank advancement ceremony that includes two scouts that joined last month and two months ago, respectively. They went after that advancement hard and finished, using the opportunities for outdoor activities and knife safety we offered to the max. Both scouts asked their parents to sign them up, not the other way around. Since they're cubs they would have advanced without the badge, but they really wanted to be scouts and do the program so that's what they're choosing to do. It will be a pleasure to give them their badges and new neckers.
-
Posts
-
By ToKindle96 · Posted
I don't think calling another scouting organization that doubled in size a joke is scout like, my friend. Nor is it something to draw laughter. I'm trying to recall the part of the Scout Law that teaches us to do either of those things. BSA losing 1.2+ million in 5 years doesn't give those in the BSA a solid perch to smirk from. Those are 60,000 youth being served in the scouting movement. -
Youth sports dwarf scouting. Around 80% of kids ages 5-18 each year are enrolled in sports and prefer their chosen sports to scouts. Scouting currently involves only about 1%-2% of the kid population. That reality means there is no point in comparing scouts to sports, yet a lot of energy and attention in scouting is spent on blaming sports -- as if sports is the reason more kids don't do scouts. There are few kids today who, after a day of near inactivity in school, want to sit around in den or troop meetings for another hour or two of "being good". In an outdoor youth program, leaders shouldn't need to move activities outdoors to make scouting more appealing -- the rank advancement and merit badge activities themselves should be appealing because they are things you can only do while outdoors. At a monthly campout or summer camp, it's not unusual to have kids sitting around campsites doing homework like tasks to complete requirements. It's like having a soccer league where the kids sit on the pitch and study the rules of soccer and talk about soccer and write reports about soccer maybe more than they actually play soccer. -
By curious_scouter · Posted
Good time to practice using the most important gear a leader has: Your chair. And, a close second, working on your coffee (or perhaps tea) skills. -
Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council,Boy Scouts of America > News > Top News > California Assembly Bill 506 and Youth Protection Training California Assembly Bill 506 and Youth Protection Training Online training and Live Scan background checks required by law for all volunteers. A new law has taken effect in California, effective January 1, 2022 and will further support our mission to protect youth in our program from neglect and abuse. Pursuant to California Business and Professions Code Section 18975 (formally referred to as AB 506 of 2021), volunteers, employees, and administrators are now required to take an additional training and complete a Live Scan background check. INSTRUCTIONS: Complete Mandated Reporter Training from the state of California Upload certificate of completion for training to SVMBC council portal on www.californiascouting.org Get a Live Scan Fingerprint & Background check Download and print the Request for Live Scan Form (unique to our council) Find the Live Scan site near you, bring the completed form to the service provider. Each individual must pay a fingerprint rolling fee ($20-$40) and FBI background check fee ($15) to the Live Scan provider. Live Scan Location: Verify Group Inc. located at 262 E Hamilton Ave Suite A, Campbell, CA 95008. Click on https://verifygroup.youcanbook.me/ and select “Live Scan Fingerprinting” to schedule. Any Live Scan Location is allowed. We are offering Live Scan Background checks at many upcoming council events. Visit www.californiascouting.org for full details and resources. -
That is true for many sports, but I pay fees to be a NICA mountain bike coach. There is an annual background check fee to a 3rd party and annual registration fee. To be a level 2 coach I have to take a specific training course, in person. In addition I have to pay for mountain bike first aid and CPR every two years. NICA tracks the level of coaches and has very strict rules on rider to coach ratios, including coaching levels. It ensures the program is run well and consistently. I do wish BSA used the same background check company as other organizations so and then that fee would be once for multiple orgs.
-
-
Who's Online (See full list)
-
Popular Contributors
-
1
-
2
-
3
-