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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.
- Today
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Hello from the U.K…. Been a wee while since I posted round here. Anyway I thought I’d swing by as I’m currently at scouts and it’s all gone a bit American! And I’m stood in a corner with not much to do with the PLs in danger of making me redundant. The scout program here while using the patrol system tends to use it as a way or organising a troop rather than the patrols being totally independent. At the moment however I have all 5 patrols doing their own thing having planned it all themselves. (Some looking a bit more organised than others but that’s teenagers for you) I’m in serious
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If worrying about there's alcohol and smoking, then our troop would cease to exist- we meet at an American Legion Post, where there is a bar open for members while we are meting in the room next door. Been that way for over 70 years. We're OK for meeting weekly under such conditions, but not to use a range once a year? I could absolutely see having a checklist and stipulations on what is required when using a sportsmens club versus a commercial range- namely, a fully certified instructor must be present. I've never experienced a sportsmens club that would be OK with a member drinking at t -
Offloading liability? As mentioned, the Hawaiian wrongful death was at a scout camp range. I have shot at more than a dozen "commercial ranges" in NH, ME, MA, PA, VA, NV. Their facilities, staff, clientele, firearms, and safety rules vary considerably. I do not know of any uniform safety or business certification for commercial ranges; it is the Wild West regarding calibers, actions, rent/bring. That said, "commercial ranges" usually have a Range Safety officer at the firing line. At local club ranges. often members are their own range safety officer. At those local clubs, Scout -
Certainly. It shouldn't be 90% indoors. Unless that is what your unit wants from the program. Our troop spends 90 minutes a week in a troop meeting. There is another 90 minute PLC meeting for leadership. That is up to 7.5 hours of meetings a month. The monthly weekend camping trip is 48+ hours. Maybe spend a couple hours working on a merit badge, citizenship or whatever... Still, over 80% of the troop time is outdoors. This is the current program. That's the way I envision it to be.
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This is where we are disconnecting on this issue. In my council there are no BSA approved clubs. This is why I see it differently than you; my council already does not have this, none of the ranges and clubs in my area can pass the BSA inspection. -
My take on this is based on what I see in my area; member-only clubs in my area have bars on premise and allow smoking. The commercial ranges do not allow either. Could that be a national trend that BSA is looking at?
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That depends on the adult leadership. Far too many SM are not qualified outdoorsmen, so they don't know what they should be mentoring the PLC towards. Far too many SM are lazy. I'll pick on my troops SM; we never set up a dining fly to such a degree that the unit commissioner asked me about it; my response was something along "SM doesn't know how to do it, and his ego is so big he can't be helped". This is sort of what is supposed to be happening if you take the time to read all of the literature from national. When you read all of the adult guides, the program features guides, the fie
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Yes, and just at a crossover recently, the new Dad invited us to their rod and gun club. They do have insurance. He joked, if we are limited to "commercial" facilities, they'd be happy to charge us $1 for use of the ranges. -
Shad Stevens’ longtime dream has been to secure a property where youth can disconnect from society and reconnect with their lives. “The dream is that we have a mountain that is able to bring youth groups from all different types," he said. "Our mission is to play with purpose, or have adventure with purpose. So our dream is that we use the mountain to help inspire young people.” “That's my purpose. It's what I was built for. It's why I'm here," he said. "I see the unique issues our youth face in our society. And I see so much of the solution of what they're dealing with is to spend t
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Lilliann ‘Lilly’ Markowitz has earned the Gold Award in Girl Scouts, Eagle Scout in Boy Scouts and Chief Petty Officer in Sea Cadets (US Navy program not Sea Scouts). She is believed to be the only "Chief Golden Eagle". More at source, impressive: https://themadisonrecord.com/2024/05/15/lilliann-markowitz-achieves-top-rank-in-girl-scouts-boy-scouts-and-sea-cadets/ Scout Salute, Well Done.
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Today's scouts don't have 10% of the skills I have from my scout youth days of 60 years ago. And, granted, who NEEDS to know how to make fire, purify water, navigate in rugged backcountry, read a compass (what is that?), read a road map, build a shelter, signal for help, teach your cat to speak French (well, maybe not that), sharpen a knife, tie knots (and bends, splices, whipping (gee-a number of ways to do that (Clifford Ashley) and lashings)), pitch a tent… BUT, all those out-dated and antiquated skills have made me extremely confident that I can take care of myself and reason my
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To be honest, I think the program is too easy to get wrong and consequently scouts are not joining or are leaving because they're not having fun when they're younger or not being challenged when they're older. It's just that simple. Add to that the economy and work environment (always on) and the parents aren't having fun either. The program is confusing, contradictory and looks like it's been evolving over a hundred years in high level committee meetings. @Jameson76's comment that the BSA needs to focus on what the program is really rings true to me. If it's teamwork/ patrol method and
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And that an extended full-size passenger van (Chevy Express, Ford E-Series) must be a 2005 or newer currently - although as both of those didn't have head restraints for the passengers, to my mind they don't make great transport vehicles anyway (Chevy and Ford didn't/don't care about passengers and whiplash...). The newer (well, maximum 10 years old now..) Transit, on the other hand, does have head restraints for every seat.
- Yesterday
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Personally, it wasn’t about any anti-male culture. I just remembered benefiting from multiple adult men in my life, and in scouting. I wanted my sons and daughter to have similar exposures in a weekend/week setting.
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You are not thinking like many young teens who now have jobs, the earnings from which are expected to pay for activities. If their patrols can’t go shooting at their trained ASM/RSO’s club every month, they can spend their dimes joining the club as junior members from what they save on Scouting America registration fees. You might say only a small number of COs and families will let their scouts be so reactionary … just like families who react to the removal of dodge ball, or the removal of unisex program, … It becomes a decline by a thousand cuts. If a troop wants to maintain r -
Well, at least your council isn't cancelling events with little to no forewarning. 3 events have been canceled so far this year. -
Depends. Are the units getting value from the out of council fees? If paying an extra $25-$35 gives the Scouts a better experience, yes it is worth it. I can tell you I have been to some camps that until major improvements in staffing occur, we will not go there.
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Also factor in impact to unit planning. If your council is different than ours, God bless. I can look at our council calendar today for August-December, and there are no dates for camporee listed. I can see OA weekend dates and NYLT weekend dates. Our unit is not unlike many around us, that planning meeting with PLC will take place before the end of July. If we don't have event dates to consider, then those events are not going to be considered. We will give deflection to not plan our weekend for one of the months there is an OA weekend for those who wish to attend that, but we aren't going to
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I am grateful for the scouts I have reached. Whether they were only Cubs, if they joined the troop one year and left, or if they stayed long enough to earn Eagle. Everyone walks a different path. Everyone has lessons they need to learn. They all take something from the program, no matter how long they stay with it. The more you give to scouting, the more you get out of it. This is the right attitude. Realize that families are different, sports are different... There are lots more activities and stresses taking up kids' time than there was 20 years ago. We are not going to have as man
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LOL, thought you were talking about council/district events. Training is another matter... (Even so, training is not a unit mandated thing... those are mandates on individuals.) Disagree Sure, but if a PLC decides they do not wish to participate in these events, you should support their decision. For example, our Scouts choose not to go to many of these events because they are tired of WINNING!! For most competitions, it isn't even close. It just isn't fun for them to whoop everyone's behind. So, they only attend these things about once every three years. And we adul
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It took a while, but I stopped letting overly demanding sports programs, and over the top coaches, get to me. I tried to make the youth understand that there are myriad choices in life, and making them is part of the "growing up" process. Ultimately, they need to choose, hopefully with focus and balance. Too many chose the overly demanding sports road, but with luck may have carried a small piece of the tenets of Scouting with them. A few, returned and refocused on Scouting. We never know. One of the good things about contact with the troop family over decades is that on occasion I see t
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When our troop was 100 scouts strong, I would say 50 percent of those scouts were in sports and other outside activities that demanded some of their time. But, it was seasonal. I average troop meetings between September and December averaged about 60 scouts. 100 scouts January through March, then 60 to 80 scouts until June. We took 100 scouts to summer camp and then the cycle started over again. I agree that parents understand the value of the scouting experience better than their kids, but, I also think if the troop has a good (fun) program, the scouts will attend when they can. They w
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This has always been the situation during my time in scouting. What might be a little surprising is that even some two-parent families look for programs with male role modes to help develop their sons. I'm not sure if the reason is because the culture is anti-male and they are looking for reinforcement of masculine behavior, or the father is out of the picture a lot from work. But our troop had several scouts in that situation. Looking at this further, I wouldn't be surprised that families would be looking for the experiences for their daughters since the evidence also shows that girls s
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I find parents understand the merits of scouting. It's the kids who have trouble grasping it. Sports are fun. They can run around on a field everyday after school, again and again. It's an everyday commitment for a season. If they want to keep up and get ahead, they are encouraged to join offseason programs, another everyday commitment. After you factor in school commitment, then they are practicing/playing sports every day, they are not left much time for other endeavors. Scouting is different. We only meet once a week and have an outing once a month. The rest of the time they are supposed to
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Posts
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By AwakeEnergyScouter · Posted
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. -
By Cambridgeskip · Posted
Hello from the U.K…. Been a wee while since I posted round here. Anyway I thought I’d swing by as I’m currently at scouts and it’s all gone a bit American! And I’m stood in a corner with not much to do with the PLs in danger of making me redundant. The scout program here while using the patrol system tends to use it as a way or organising a troop rather than the patrols being totally independent. At the moment however I have all 5 patrols doing their own thing having planned it all themselves. (Some looking a bit more organised than others but that’s teenagers for you) I’m in serious danger of having nothing to do. Two patrols pioneering, one cooking and the others getting creative with photography and clay respectively. A couple of adults are keeping an eye from a distance. The other two have vanished off to tidy up some camping gear. its all looking a bit American! anyway hope everyone is doing well, I must pop by here more often -
By HashTagScouts · Posted
If worrying about there's alcohol and smoking, then our troop would cease to exist- we meet at an American Legion Post, where there is a bar open for members while we are meting in the room next door. Been that way for over 70 years. We're OK for meeting weekly under such conditions, but not to use a range once a year? I could absolutely see having a checklist and stipulations on what is required when using a sportsmens club versus a commercial range- namely, a fully certified instructor must be present. I've never experienced a sportsmens club that would be OK with a member drinking at the bar and then staggering their way out on to the range. Can't speak for anyone else, but at my club, we absolutely will talk with other members if we see them doing anything that is a safety violation, and we absolutely have politely made some folks former members for not following rules. Apply similar requirements for what we do with any facility that would fall under "short term camping" provisions now and the council can have an "approved" list of facilities- it isn't that difficult, and not that time consuming. -
By RememberSchiff · Posted
Offloading liability? As mentioned, the Hawaiian wrongful death was at a scout camp range. I have shot at more than a dozen "commercial ranges" in NH, ME, MA, PA, VA, NV. Their facilities, staff, clientele, firearms, and safety rules vary considerably. I do not know of any uniform safety or business certification for commercial ranges; it is the Wild West regarding calibers, actions, rent/bring. That said, "commercial ranges" usually have a Range Safety officer at the firing line. At local club ranges. often members are their own range safety officer. At those local clubs, Scout shooting activity would reserved the whole range and have their own trained RO's; insurance through the NRA. Commercial ranges make their money from instruction, equipment, sales but mostly from rentals firing their ammo. Odd we could take Cubs camping at only council-approved camps, but we apparently take Scouts to any "commercial range". What the ... IMHO, Councils should partner with local sportmens clubs. Regarding indoor ranges, I have shot at the same range where the Boston Marathon bomber practiced, along-side Philly gang-bangers in PA, and nutjobs firing full-auto in Vegas. Air filtration (lead) at indoor ranges was a concern except at one place. Scary, never been back to any of those places. I can only recommend one indoor range for Scouts but I am not sure they allow youth or reserve range time for outside groups. Commercial outdoor ranges are less common hereabouts - competition (local clubs and free state ranges), worry of a round getting away, noise, range vandalism, real estate costs. My $0.01 for rambling -
Certainly. It shouldn't be 90% indoors. Unless that is what your unit wants from the program. Our troop spends 90 minutes a week in a troop meeting. There is another 90 minute PLC meeting for leadership. That is up to 7.5 hours of meetings a month. The monthly weekend camping trip is 48+ hours. Maybe spend a couple hours working on a merit badge, citizenship or whatever... Still, over 80% of the troop time is outdoors. This is the current program. That's the way I envision it to be.
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