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  1. Today
  2. skeptic started following What is it about the BSA that has allowed it to survive? and Asking for a Friend...
  3. skeptic
    Not a huge issue. Someone representing the committee signs, maybe with a notation as to why. DO not hold up the youth.
  4. swilliams
    If a scout is finished with all requirements and is filling out the Eagle Rank Application, but finds out that his Committee Chair is out of the country, and the scout will turn 18 within days of the CC's expected to return to the US, is there anyone else who can sign the application in the CC's absence? Does the scout need to wait for the CC? What happens if there are flight delays, or something else unforeseen happens?
  5. skeptic
  6. Yesterday
  7. yknot
    I am an editor by trade -- or at least by one of them. For many years, I edited peer reviewed medical journals in a variety of fields. It was part of my job, with the help of medical review boards composed of national and international experts in their fields, to assess the validity of research in articles, or the citations used to support a recommended standard of care. With sometimes millions or even billions of dollars at stake, major pharmaceutical companies often employ strategies similar to what BSA did to produce or highlight favorable research or recommendations. These strategies are o
  8. qwazse
    We have enough backpacks and tents in circulation from alumni scouts, that we now encourage first-years to borrow from our “gear library” until they figure out exactly what they want. I think that is a metaphor for what remains BSA’s strength. Here are a series of parts, practices, and techniques that can be passed from generation to generation.
  9. SiouxRanger
    Without doubt. For all the rest, one word: "Tufte."
  10. SiouxRanger
    I misstated my practices. If any vehicle fell behind for some reason, I slowed down until all caught up. Convoying as we practiced it was slower than a single vehicle driving at legal limits. Slowing for others to catch up, however, caused me some concern, as I am not comfortable driving below the speed of other traffic. More-a lot more. For over 24 years, I've attended every troop meeting (less 3 or 4), every campout, troop activity, and summer camp (less 3 or 4), attended Roundtables, held District and Council level positions, been Chair of cub summer camps, cub weekend campou
  11. qwazse
    @AwakeEnergyScouter, I’m a statistician by trade — primarily in psychology and cardiology. My employers and clients pay me for my independent evaluation. That does not mean they have me in their back pockets. The opposite holds. I retain (and have exercised) the right to withdraw my name from any document that misrepresents facts. But by-and-large, authors — even industry clients — defer to me on matters of presentation and interpretation. Reputation is the only capital worth acquiring. The same applies to time volunteered reviewing manuscripts for journals. The questions you and @yknot
  12. mrjohns2 started following Scouting Podcasts
  13. mrjohns2
    I’ve enjoyed Scout On Chattanooga. https://www.cherokeeareabsa.com/podcast . A lot is hyper local, but I like their chemistry enough to listen. I was irritated with Scouter Stan when he specifically gave out incorrect uniform advice. If I recall it might have been a recruiter strip for adults and maybe a district patch.
  14. Last week
  15. AltadenaCraig
    I've run across a couple of Scouting podcasts that remain freshly updated: Scouting on Purpose: Mark Cherry's presentation could use some pep & sound production, but his heart is in the right place Scouter Stan: Stan Richards provides over 180 short subject episodes (5-10 min. apiece) as an "Online Scouting Commissioner Podcast", but are a great resource for all Scouters. Alas, two of my old favorites appear destined for the worldwide web graveyard: Bobwhite Blather hasn't been updated in nearly a year ScoutmasterCG at least used to partially resolve, but now
  16. skeptic
    I am a bit confused that this is even still working. The answer is simply NO. The reasons have been explained in a variety of ways. It can cause dangerous driver actions, and just because it is not an actual convoy, it is still NOT allowed. Plan and if need have meeting spots to regroup. Know where you are going if driving; do not expect to just "follow". How often does it need to be said?
  17. Jameson76
    The best method we have found is rally points along the way. We all depart at the same time and maybe meet at some designated break spot, then meet at the next logical point. For our winter trip this past January departed the CO, met about an hour down the road (got outside the major city we live near), then another hour to our first trip stop. We departed there a few hours later and the meetup was an hour down the road for the camping spot. On heading home day met an hour down the road for a tour stop at a historic place, then an hour or so up the road and after we hit the main hi
  18. AwakeEnergyScouter started following What is it about the BSA that has allowed it to survive?
  19. AwakeEnergyScouter
    I'm with you! The ventilation and being able to transfer the weight onto the hips is huge. I have two external frame packs and I'm not getting rid of them at any price! My old, smaller pack for my scout, the larger volume one for me. The soft packs were originally for climbers and it made sense for them, but I'm not a climber, I'm a hiker.
  20. InquisitiveScouter
    Which means they would have to exceed the legal limit?
  21. qwazse
    Saw the driver ahead of you rush an intersection and get t-boned, and I never set convoy again. We arrange rendezvous points. The scout riding shotgun navigates for me. (I have paper maps for the very purpose.) He also checks my texts while my car is rolling.
  22. BetterWithCheddar
    I no longer view Scouting as "inexpensive," but when assessing the program, I consider cost a strength because it still fits in most family budgets. Cub Scouts can be done well for $50/mo. Scouts can be done well for $100/mo. Sure, it adds up fast, but those are reasonable numbers for 2024.
  23. SiouxRanger
    That is the hard part. Never had that happen. I had to anticipate light changes and a green light in the distance, well, I'd slow down to make sure we all had to stop. I am not saying it was easy-it was not. Very stressful. Sometimes the light was so short that the whole convoy did not make it through and we'd pull onto the shoulder for the rest to catch up. I'd only do that if very low traffic, etc. If not, then I'd proceed at just at legal limit so folks could catch up.
  24. SiouxRanger
    Well, as to cost, it depends on just how far a scout moves through the program. Having 3 scouts who earned Eagle and a number of Philmont treks, and having helped numerous other scouts borrow or purchase gear over 20+ years, some truths have appeared: In a scout's early career, they usually get by with their existing clothes, heavy duty shoes, family camping type sleeping bags, blankets, rain coats, and such. It is already owned, heavy, bulky, adequate for troop car camping, cabin camping, or situations where in the event of really inclement weather, scouts can resort to the shelter of
  25. DuctTape
    Total cost is on a continuum. I have seen high quality active outdoor troops which were relatively inexpensive. I have seen low quality less active troops be more expensive. And everthing in between. A quality program is not synonymous with expensive. Quality, Easy, Cheap. pick two. A thrifty troop fills the $ gap with more work/effort.
  26. MattR
    Beauty and expensive are in the eye of the beholder, so I'll leave that be. Momentum? The membership in 1995 was about 1M scouts (so not cubs or anything else). Right before covid that number had dropped about 25% to 750k. Covid has cut that number another 40%. Time will tell if the BSA withstood or fell to a thousand cuts. I wish the BSA would focus on those first two sentences. I would add that it also helps learn about working with others. Yesterday a scout called me up asking about some volunteering info. Well, he was my first scout that joined when I became SM some 20
  27. Cburkhardt
    Outdoors and Camps. Our movement teaches our young people how to master the outdoors. The thought of heading outdoors for the weekend is very positive and that helped us get through the difficulties. Some of our camps approach matching the beauty of our national parks. This is what comes to mind for many when they think of Scouting.
  28. Cburkhardt
    We are Inexpensive. The annual expense of involvement in our Troop is about $1,000 per year. That includes annual national dues, our council program fee, summer camp and fees for troop participation (campouts, etc.). That is under $100/month, which in my experience as a parent is indeed quite inexpensive. You cannot name another youth organization that provides anywhere near that deal for a quality year-around experience. My Sea Scout Ship is a bit more (around $1,200/year). So yes, we are inexpensive. Our unit always supported the Friends of Scouting effort, so our families cont
  29. AwakeEnergyScouter
    You don't mention your academic background on your profile, so apologies if this is telling you something you already know, but if Scouting America funded the researcher (as implied by "engaged" in the press release), then they weren't independent. I looked for the funding and conflicts of interest sections in the paper that I would expect to find, but either they're behind the paywall or weren't included. Either way, it's not clear to the public that the researcher really was independent. It's well-known that studies often end up biased in favor of the funding source in social sciences (see f
  30. DannyG started following What is it about the BSA that has allowed it to survive?
  31. DannyG
    Scouting empowers young people to leadership through its methods: Scout Oath and Law, Patrol method, etc.
  32. JSL3300 started following What is it about the BSA that has allowed it to survive?
  33. JSL3300
    100% this. Our council just announced that they'll be doing a council fee that matches the national fee so now before one single activity, it is $170 to be a scout. As far as I can see, this gets you zero fun. My family has two scouts and two leaders. We're looking at $470 before a single camping trip, rank patch, anything. Maybe the small expense was once a draw (When my boys started in 2018, it was $33 for national, $42 pack fee and that wasn't even very long ago!) but that's in the past.
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  • Posts

    • skeptic
      Asking for a Friend...

      By skeptic · Posted

      Not a huge issue.  Someone representing the committee signs, maybe with a notation as to why.  DO not hold up the youth.
    • swilliams
      Asking for a Friend...

      By swilliams · Posted

      If a scout is finished with all requirements and is filling out the Eagle Rank Application, but finds out that his Committee Chair is out of the country, and the scout will turn 18 within days of the CC's expected to return to the US, is there anyone else who can sign the application in the CC's absence?  Does the scout need to wait for the CC?  What happens if there are flight delays, or something else unforeseen happens? 
    • skeptic
      What is it about the BSA that has allowed it to survive?

      By skeptic · Posted

    • yknot
      Scouting America

      By yknot · Posted

      I am an editor by trade -- or at least by one of them. For many years, I edited peer reviewed medical journals in a variety of fields. It was part of my job, with the help of medical review boards composed of national and international experts in their fields, to assess the validity of research in articles, or the citations used to support a recommended standard of care. With sometimes millions or even billions of dollars at stake, major pharmaceutical companies often employ strategies similar to what BSA did to produce or highlight favorable research or recommendations. These strategies are obvious to anyone working in the field.  There is a gray area where reputable researchers, reviewers, and publications often operate as part of the medical publishing system and each person, publication and review board, and sometimes the medical board organization it might represent, has to assess for itself what is acceptable. In this case, though, maybe the best way to describe what happened to BSA and its paid consultant is to say that they veered out of grey areas and stepped directly into fudge. I think it's relevant that BSA doesn't seem to mention this episode itself much post 2019. I believe some future transparency and data reporting is eventually supposed to result as part of the bankruptcy settlement with survivors, and that probably will be the first useful information to emerge from BSA if it ever does see light of day. 
    • qwazse
      What is it about the BSA that has allowed it to survive?

      By qwazse · Posted

      We have enough backpacks and tents in circulation from alumni scouts, that we now encourage first-years to borrow from our “gear library” until they figure out exactly what they want. I think that is a metaphor for what remains BSA’s strength. Here are a series of parts, practices, and techniques that can be passed from generation to generation.

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