Scouting the Web

My district held its annual Fall Cub Day Camp yesterday. We're fortunate to have a great group of volunteers that put this event together every year. Best I can tell, it's staffed mostly by older adults whose children have long since aged out of the program and whose ties to local units have dissolved. We're also fortunate to have a DE that was an Eagle Scout in this same district and who makes everyone feel like the most important volunteer in the council, even though he himself is the one working long, odd hours for what I'm sure amounts to ~$15/hour.  The Fall day camp is a great way to get Cubs outside before the crummy winter weather in our region limits our options. I was even able to piggy-back our monthly Wolf Den meeting onto the event and complete an Orienteering Adventure. The only downside: several activity stations were closed on short notice due to what our DE cited as "recent changes to the national guidelines for the operations of range and target activities." I'm not too familiar with the G2SS, but we were unable to have archery, slingshots, or paper rockets ~ all of which had been offered in previous years and were popular among Cubs and parents. This will hardly be a surprise to many forum members, but it feels like the national organization is making Scouting marginally safer at great expense to the program. Honestly, I was more concerned about someone catching a hook in the eye at the fishing station yesterday than I would have been about launching a homemade paper rocket using an air compressor operated by an adult.

As an old scout leader once said, “what’s predictable is preventable” 

YP was not in place as it is today, and even early suggestions sort of related to "supervision" and so on were not focused.  And, while BSA did "something" to protect with IV files, it was still not an issue in the broader society. until probably the late fifties or early sixties forward.  Add in the messed up legal system and simple ignorance of much of the problem and we ended up where we are today.  Ironically, even in the midst of the uproar, the BSA YP was still held up as better than most other youth serving groups.  

"Adventure Point is located on  30+ acres adjacent to The DeVos Family Center for Scouting in Walker, MI – just 5 miles northwest of downtown Grand Rapids.  The campus features an outdoor 35’ Climbing / Rapelling Tower, Zipline, BB, and Archery Range and a Low COPE Challenge Course.   Combined with 2 miles of groomed woodland trails along Mill Creek, and 5 modern Yurts for Camping – Adventure Point offers Fun, Adventure, and Outdoor Education for all ages." I found little mention on Adventurepoint's separate website of Scouting or its parent Michigan Crossroads Council. But I did read this story regarding Adrian College with Michigan Crossroads Council/Adventurepoint offering 3 college credits upon completion of the Summit Leadership Course. Your transfer credits may vary. Is this the future for BSA/SA facilities - more mainstream, catered, compressed outreach of scouting program strengths outside of Scouting ...Mini-courses? An observation at this point, not a criticism.      

We thought it could handle pedophiles, too. Yet, here we are.