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1936 was not wartime unless you were in Spain, Ethiopia, arguably China, arguably Palestine, maybe a few other places. I do not think the U.S. had any military forces in combat anywhere, and probably relatively few land forces outside the U.S. The Den Mother position was not created due to a shortage of men. It was probably designated as "Den Mother" because it was the expectation that den meetings would be held after school, and dad was at work, and mom was "working in the home," so she was available. (Things have changed, obviously.) I would say that by the time I was a Cub Scout (mid-6

I think you all who are shouting "do not let new scouters near first year campers" need to chill out. (and aren't cub scout leaders also scouters?) While I understand that cub scouts and scouting usa are different, I don't think one can make the general statement. It's better to decide on a person by person basis. What this adult is going to be doing is exactly what @69RoadRunner says - herding cats and be a general assistant.

Local LDS Scouters Tasked to Stay Fully Engaged from Moapa Valley Progress, June 6 “We have been instructed, and we are asking all of you now, to remain a fully engaged partner in the Scouting programs for the coming nineteen months,” said President Chuck Burt, a member of the LDS Logandale Stake Presidency. “We are approaching a transition period where it will be up to each of you to set the tone in your units and in the community. We hope that it will be a unified tone.” In a brief instruction session, Logandale Stake High Council member Elwin Brown, who is also the Commissio

The BSA already trains adult leaders in the Patrol Method - its part of the Scoutmaster-specific training. The expectation is that Scoutmasters will learn this, that ASM's will learn this - and that they will bring it back to the units, and implement it. The Scoutmaster is the "chief program officer" of the Troop - one of his responsibilities is to bring the committee/parents up to speed on what the program is all about - and that means "training" the committee/parents in the Patrol Method and how it works.

Moderator Note The BSA Museum at PSR now has its own thread. Please reserve this for discussion of trek cancellations, reschedules, and alternate plans. Thank you

I'm wrapping up my year as a Tiger DL and I can that our year was pretty much the inverse of what you describe. I can think of maybe 2 den meetings that were heavy on arts and crafts. The rest of the year we were playing games, learning scout skills, we did 3 service projects, went camping 3 times, went on multiple fishing, hiking, and other day-trips, etc. Maybe your program is 90% arts and crafts, but if that's the case, that's a unit issue, not a Scouts issue.

It's really not. A pack's or troop's program is what they make of it. You want more outdoor and less crafts, you need to be part of a pack or troop that focuses on it. If that doesn't work, then I would encourage you change it.

I keep seeing this said.... I get the idea, and it probably has merit most of the time, but I have a problem with the statement generally.... it's basic premise demands that the veteran scouters that are presumably teaching those first years what's-what, a) are teaching them, and b) understand it themselves... sorta like the idea that if an adult was a scout as a youth, that they understand the 'code' or whatever.... or when questioned about something a veteran of the (job/trade/hobby/or whatever) says something like, "I've been doing this for X years...". to that the inside my

The co-ed we cannot address. In the short term, you can simply elect to have an all girl or all boy troop. Despite how people are interpreting the marketing, the Scout level (11-17 year olds) is not turning into a family camping club. Your troop can and should make clear the impact of siblings and parents. The purpose of a Scout troop is to do Scouting - not have kids running wild.

This seems antithetical to the very foundation and purpose upon which BSA was founded. Scouts were supposed to actively look for ways to serve, and then do them. Both individually and as patrols. Not sit back and wait for the adults to determine and then supervise the operation. Youth need to be allowed to take short flights before they leave the nest. They need to learn that they can plan and accomplish things without the hovering presence of an adult. The task of placing small flags on veterans graves is well within the ability of any patrol to perform on their own. By forcing

We're glad you did as well! (And we now return to our discussion only of current events at Philmont in this thread, so I don't get my fellow moderators annoyed with me.)

A bsa file https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/membership/pdf/522-500_web.pdf

Want to know whose job it is to keep the program grounded and cool? Not the executives at the BSA Corporate. Not the members of the Board or Executive Board. Not some figurehead like a Bear Grylls (and lets be very honest here - Bear Grylls is in that role for one purpose - and one purpose only - marketing - to sell the Boy Scouts to boys and their parents in the UK). Every volunteer Scouter should look in the mirror if they want to know who is responsible for keeping the program grounded and cool. When it comes right down to it, the Scouts in your units aren't looking at Surbaugh - m

T21 programs? Hate the things. Just hate 'em. Most camps have them taught by the youngest staff members, the classes ( didn't we come here to get away from school ?) are so large that one on one time is minimal or non existent. The reqs may say " demonstrate how to..." but there is not enough time for 15-25 scouts to do that so the instructor demonstrates the skill , then signs off everyones book. Because it looks good if everyone passes the class. I have lost count of the scouts who proudly wear their First Class badge, but don't know what a square lashing is.

I'm not big on Brownsea / T21 programs. IMHO, those skills should be taught one-on-one and are great opportunities for both senior scouts and adult leaders to have direct interactions with the scouts. Work those requirements into the natural result of camping and being active. The key is get the scouts doing activities that are fun and new. Inspire these kids to want to be scouts. Sometimes the Brownsea / T21 programs are just about checking off requirements and forget about having fun. If done well, it's "ok". Very rarely great. Done poorly, you've potentially lost a scout.

Problem is national is NOT discouraging it IMHO. As has been posted on several other threads by others, BSA does NOT provide adequate information or training on the Patrol Method. I beleive Hawken and Latin Scot both commented on the lack of information on the Patrol Method and Boy Scouts while they served as Webelos Den Leaders. I admit I have not gone through the current online training. But from what I am hearing and seeing, Cub Scouts and their parents and leaders for the most are not prepared for Boy Scouts. The few units I see that truly prepare their Webelos are those that either have o

While I think national could most certainly take a more firm stand here, I continue to see this as a unit issue. If a pack or troop has a bunch of parents running around saving the kids - that's a problem to get addressed. I've never seen any training from national that says - "let the parents do it". All the materials I see encourage us to have the scouts do this stuff. If it's not happening it's because folks are ignoring that.

I agree with Eagle94-A1 in his comments. I'm not at all against girls in scouts. But the issue Terasec points out is not to do with girls. It is with reducing the program. We need to keep our scouts safe. We need to help them have a good experience. BUT, we don't save them from every issue and absolutely not from every challenge. I don't like calling it the "mommy and me" approach, but there is something to this. Scouting's value is teaching the scouts independence, responsibility and that they can handle way more than they think they can. If the parent or another adult keeps sa

I really dislike the spiral-bound books. They feel flimsy and weak compared to perfect-bound. And from the adult-who-carries-a-bag-full-of-stuff-to-every-meeting perspective, the perfect-bound books were just more compact, easier to cram into a bag with other materials. I was happy to have the option, but now it seems the option is gone. There is definitely a heavy amount of photos featuring girls, which will surely make some heads explode (I'm still floored that someone said they'd quit over any inclusion of girls in the handbooks). But I think they're all really well-done photos a

Our crew advisor received a call from Philmont today. Long story short, our new trek date is the latter part of July. Same itinerary--for now. Even if we're hiking through ashes, and programming is reduced to nothing, we're still going! Gladly! PS Added: sounds bizarre, I know. I was looking forward to going this summer. The cancellation and second chance to go all the more highlighted my motivation to go back. Plus, we live nearby. We just have to throw our packs in the Hudson Super Six, and we're there pretty quick. For those of you coordinating airline/train/bus transpo

Ute Park Fire Update June 5, 2018 at 5:30 P.M. Fire Update: The Ute Park Fire is currently 36,6644 acres and 25% contained. There are currently 598 personnel including 15 crews, 8 helicopters, 29 engines, 5 bulldozers, 9 water tenders on scene. We can confidently confirm that unfortunately all Dean Cow structures were lost and miraculously, Harlan only lost one outbuilding. Our primary focus remains the safety of our team and the management of the fire. We appreciate your patience as we work through this rapidly changing situation. Ute Park Fire Info: https://inciweb.nwcg.go

Liar liar pants on fire! People that say that nonsense should just go away. ... Oh, wait a minute. Sorry, my bad. I seriously did try to get it started. The scouts weren't too interested. And a few months later I stepped down as SM. This really is a good point. If it's not motivational then it's just busy work. One thing I've realized over the past year is that I've never been externally motivated. Grades, salary, those things never did much for me. To be honest, I also ignored JTE until about a week before we had to turn it in. So I had to ask myself why I should expect any diffe

I wish more folks would realize this. We had a sibling at the meeting last nite running around and distracting folks with their soccer ball. Parents were no where in site.

I bolded that because it is spot on. Either National is screwing up royally, is preparing for coed patrols. I have a feeling it is to prepare for coed patrols. Otherwise why do 18-20 year olds not count for YP purposes? And I agree with you. I remember doing hikes as a patrol. I remember patrol meetings without adults. I remember doing my Eagle Project on my own with my fellow Scouts (OK mom was there b/c she drove me, and had snacks for us as we did the project. But she was not registered, and she stayed with the car). After October 1st, the Patrol Method as had been preached and practi

The current edition does. A "deliberative assembly" (which is what RR focuses on, it could be anything from a five-member troop committee to an Elks convention to a house of a state legislature, or beyond) can have an "electronic meeting" as long as (and this is a paraphrase, I don't have it in front of me) everybody can hear each other, in real time, as if they were all in one room.

What I imagine you are registering as hypocracy stems from a very real dichotomy of personal feelings. Allow me to help you understand my position better, as my feelings are very consistent, but obvious expressing them on an online forum makes it easy to be misunderstood. The reason why some of my posts reflect my dedication to supporting Scouting while others demonstrate more frustration than appreciation is that, frankly, I no longer consider "Scouting" and "The Boy Scouts of America" as synonymous terms. And for me that is indeed grievous to suggest, but that's the way it is. Sc

*cough* Wrong Avenger *cough* Try Star Lord 😎

I don't think the answer (to what question, I am not sure) lies in recruiting someone to be the "face" of the BSA. For one thing, look at Bear Grylls and the UK. What I have learned in this thread is that a significant number of people seem to think he's a fraud. (I have never really paid attention to Bear Grylls, and the only episode of his show I have ever seen was the one with President Obama, which I doubt was representative of his shows as a whole.) So if he is viewed as a fraud by a significant number of people, how does that help the image of Scouts UK? I also doubt that the an

I disagree. BSA can deny a persons membership application. It can also ban someone from BSA owned property. BSA cannot, however, dictate to the Chartered Organization who can/cannot have contact with the unit. That authority rests solely with the CO.

First of all, I am always 100% behind every decision the Church makes, because I sincerely believe that whatever decision our leaders make, comes from the Lord. So, that said, I am excited to see what the future will bring after these next 18 months are over, because I know that Providence never takes anything away without given us something better in return. So what keeps me all in? Simple. The boys. These kids have 18 months left in Scouting. At that age, it seems like a MUCH longer time than it seems to us. And it's my duty, my opportunity to see that the last 18 months of Sc

There's a lot of hate for those in the profession, including me when y'all don't even know me. I mean I get it, there are A LOT of bad, even crooked Pros out there. Whatever, it's not gonna stop me from doing my job of trying to grow scouting and give kids opportunities. Again, I believe we work together and have the same goals in mind... I'm sorry if that's not the case in your council. Thank you all for what you do for scouting.

I'm sorry but this is incredibly shortsighted and frankly insulting to a lot of good professionals out there. We work TOGETHER to provide a program FOR THE YOUTH. Do I think National execs and some SE's make too much? Yea, i kinda do. But to think cutting their salaries is the magical fix to all the problems with the BSA, that's just silly. I try to be humble about our jobs because this truly is a volunteer driven organization, but to say we do nothing to support the units pisses me off to no end. Don't for one second think i'm doing this job to give my boss a bigger paycheck, I do it bec

My school/parish/diocesan administrators make more money than me, but they don't make 10 times, 100 times, or a 1000 times my salary. As I said before, I am satisfied with my salary. I do think, however, I could become a bit resentful if my bosses were to start receiving huge salary increases. It is one thing to make sacrifices in order to have an affordable school for my students. It would be an entirely different thing if I was asked to take a low wage in order to make my boss rich.

Title IX does not apply to the membership practices of the Boy Scouts of America. That's actually in the regulations. It will apply ONLY to those parts of the program that received federal financial aid. For instance, Title IX would apply to the Soccer and Scouting program in those Councils that received HUD grants for the program. When it comes to the Cub Scout, Boy Scout or Venturing program, I do not believe that National, Councils or any local units receive any federal funding to support it so Title IX would not apply.

I am looking for alternatives everyday now other orgs are swamped with request nearest alternative to me is over an hour away yet may join them anyway 2 breaking points for me had discuss duty to god in a hallway where no one could hear us even though we are an all boy pack our council camp is forcing us to integrate at camp all camp activities are coed