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I wouldn't ever consider not getting Eagle a failure. I was 2nd Class, and yet the mantra I live by is "help other people at all times". 6000+ hours, 6 Red Cross disaster relief operations averaging 3-4 weeks at a time. Last Monday I went out at 3:00 am, to help an elderly couple struggle through the loss of their home due to a fire. Tomorrow night I work with my church youth group serving Advent dinner between services. Last week I dropped off about 300# of squash from my garden at the Salvation Army kitchen. Not getting Eagle made no affect on my life. What Scouting taught did.

I fear the eagle has already been lightened up significantly. I have seen many scouts come back from a merit badge colleges (a one day event) with 2 completed merit badges that should take, at minimum, several days if not longer. something simple like basket weaving maybe but no communications, Law, public health, personal management etc.. I'm not eve going to go into the eagle mills. We do our scouts a disservice when we given them credit where it has not been properly earned.

I did not blame girls or women, in fact I did not state the genders, dating is inappropriate at a scout activity. Or did that change?

I got both noble and selfish reasons. Noble: I want to pay back the adults who were involved in Scouting when I was a youth. I want my sons and their friends to have as good, if nor better, experience in Scouting than I had. I want to be a positive influence in my community. Selfish: SCOUTING IS FUN! "SCOUTING IS OUTING" I get a "rush" talking to my Scouts and hearing about their lives journeys and seeing their successes. This topic came up at a funeral this weekend. Oldest son's first SM, "went home." He left instructions as to what he wanted done

The elephant in the room: "more leaders." In my neck of the woods, getting Scouters is like pulling teeth or herding cats. Several units have told me that they will go full fledged coed irregardless of what National wants. At my council's town hall meeting on the topic, this was mentioned, and every Scouter there, except the council key 3, said that will happen in their units and/or districts as they all have challenges getting enough volunteers. Key three ignored the comment. Even the CSE in his video indirectly acknowledges this. He stated that dens of different levels had to merge in one o

@He-who-must-not-be-named, I noticed you can also just click on more than one quote and it will add them to the end of your reply window. Like so...

It took me awhile to break in; it took much longer for my wife. Sometimes it is just simple turf issues that I have seen again and again at lots of organizations (school, PTA, Church). Another is that it takes a long time to develop a good Troop culture and it can easily be undermined by a well meaning new parent; I was that parent! Luckily I was shunted off for some other work for a while. But there is a "tyranny of those who show up and do the work"; the ones who show up day in and day out eventually grow their influence. But yeah we once had a guy who loved cook for masses of people an

@CalicoPenn Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but I don't believe anyone ever claimed to have created this on their own accord. This came from the Health and Safety team at the National Service Center. It's a BSA document and can be found on multiple, official BSA sites. Moreover, given the imperative mood used, I'd consider it to be hard and fast policies from these "safety points... taken into consideration": Never attach a hammock to any object that could move, such as vehicle bumpers or trailers. Never “stack” hammocks one above another. Do not hang a hammock abov

No, I don't have it all figured out--that's why I continue to teach training classes and take classes myself. I want to learn and grow and be able to do my job better. However, I do have a lot of time, money and some blood, sweat and tears invested in doing my best to ensure the boys in my community have a chance to be involved with units delivering a quality Cub and Boy Scout program. My father is an Eagle Scout and he was my Scoutmaster. I am an Eagle Scout, as are both of my sons. I have a lot of years invested in BSA. I am insulted when people new to Scouting take a condescending to

Let's please stop the personal commentary.

great question! For me.... primary draw was to do my share. My son joined scouting and I'm not so inclined to just let others do for me. Just like at the end of the meeting when it's time to put away the chairs, I'm usually among the first to jump up and start stacking..... while others are leaving the room. Secondarily.... I enjoy "doing the things that scouts do" to borrow a phrase from Clarke Green, so naturally I'd like to do those things with my son (doing those things that scouts do to me, means the camping, hiking, backpacking, canoeing, etc.... not so much the classroo

There is coffee all over my screen. Scouts going on a date while at a scout activity? Not happening.

There are some parents of boys already in the program who think the same thing.

So the iconic yellow neckerchief is only for kindergartners? Interesting to see if the feedback will be, "What, no yellow like when I was a kid?" I'd be cynical once finding out to enjoy that traditional combination of blue and gold would require signing up at 5 years old. Ugh. If it has the traditional Cub Scout emblem on it, I'd be tempted to make yellow the standard Pack neckerchief until Webelos. That way parents are only on the hook for a new hat as a distinguishing element for each program year.

@WisconsinMomma, these girls aren't a product of fiction. I know one SM who's quite proud of the members of his "unofficial troop." I'm suspect there are dozens of such units throughout the country (beyond the one or two that make the papers). We can expect Eagle applications from them by 2020, if not sooner. No telling which one of us will be invited to their board of review. The value to most girls will be what is involved in earning the award, not the award itself. Like your boys, it's as much about the journey as the destination.

Or maybe, Getta Life.

Bridgeville town council in November voted to rename Locust Alley to Eagle Way in honor of BSA Troop No. 2. Nearly 70 scouts from have earned Eagle Scout since the troop started in 1982 http://www.post-gazette.com/local/west/2017/12/08/Street-in-Bridgeville-to-be-renamed-in-honor-of-Boy-Scout-Troop-2-Eagle-Scouts/stories/201712070001 Nice way to get Eagles and the BSA on the map.

Yeah, He Who Must Not Be Named. You can speak my name, I don't bite....hard. (Sorry Austin Powers).

I agree with what most said, however I think marketing it to the girls that they can become Eagle Scouts is something they rightfully should promote. The gold award doesn't have that universal recognition that comes along with being an eagle. They will inherently be forced to see what the whole program entails as they climb through the ranks. Hopefully they don't bend the rules to get these first female eagles pumped out, but placing the mindset into young girls' heads that they can finally become an eagle scout will be more effective for recruiting than just telling them that boy scouts is le

I do it because I want the Scouts in my troop to get a better experience than I did as a Scout, and I got a pretty good one!

I agree. On the flip side when they go bad you feel a responsibility in that maybe you missed something. And when they pass you grieve deeply. I feel much more bonded to my Boy Scouts then the hundred different Cub Scouts I saw in my leadership there. I think because I saw them develop from children to men and I had so many shared experiences with individuals in the field where we shared joys and adversity and we saw each other at our best and less than ideal.

She was a MBC but did not feel welcome for the 1st two years. She helped out at some fund raisers - the "all hands on deck" ones. She was not interested in camping or doing advancement. She was much more sympathetic to my stories after dealing with the scouts! In the last year when the Scouts and Scouters are away on a big trip or Summer Camp the ladies plan a ladies poker night or party. I think it is a good sign.

NYLT is a week long course similar to WB. except there is no ticket. Rock Doc's program sound more like the old training from the 1980s, or maybe older, that I took to be "trained" as a PL. My course was TLT, but on a camp out.

A view from across the pond.... First of all NJ Scouter is exactly right. That massed email or announcement to a room full of people very rarely gets results. You have to go and ask people in person and that is what gets you pairs of hands. In addition.... you have to give them something to do. Now that might sound odd but consider this. The scout movement is a much respected institution (despite what some might have you think) with many traditions and ways of doing things that, to the outsider looking in, including that new parent who may not have been a scout themselves, look

My experience is type A personalities will persevere. Either the unit leadership will learn to use the volunteers energy to the units advantage, or the type A person will eventually be the unit leader. As for recruiting, nothing works better than asking in person. I learned to match personal skills to the required need. I was rarely turned down because our human nature is to feel flattered when our time is requested specifically for our skills. And more often than not, the volunteer stayed in the position for a long time. Barry

This is probably because you were never brought up as a PL, SPL, JASM, then ASM years before your own spawn took their first breath. As a result you don't have the broad definition of "my kids". My boys, first were given to me at age 13. I'm still keeping an eye on half of those lot! I didn't think of it that way at the time, but a couple of young women were my girls because the leadership development rubbed off on other areas of life. Son #1 and #2 might have been my re-entry back into scouting, and Daughter into venturing, but in the crew/troop/district/council, they really were some ot

I'll be the nerdy one, I really really enjoy watching the scouts get it with decision making. I also found that I enjoyed being an adult trainer for the same reason. And it is the main reason I hang around here. I love this scouting stuff. Barry

For my sons. I try to give back as others gave to create and sustain the program that benefited my sons. I often wonder how long I will participate after my sons age out. I just don't know. I often think that scouting is best when it's a youth program. And, I'm not qualifying as a youth anymore . Perhaps I'll volunteer as a camp master. Perhaps I'll continue my current roles. But, I just don't know. I do love sleeping under the stars, listening to a rain storm at 2am, socializing and playing cards. But it's a lot of work to pack-in, pack-out and deal with all the issues.

Oh boy. I don't think there's anything wrong with requiring an annual YPT refresher, but the full course, I don't know. It has been tough enough for our CC's to get some people to take the course every TWO years and some people have been dropped from positions because of it. Personally I think the annual refresher could just be requiring that people read the YP guidelines again and sign a form swearing (or affirming) that they have read them, and maybe add that you just have to take the test online, not the whole video. As for the full course going back to being over an hour (which it

Don't tell the leaders that. They might not want to camp as much.....

::Tap tap:: Is this thing on? Let's please stop with the personal commentary, including debates over what other people meant by a post, or whether other people should take offense at something, or what other people should or might learn in the future, or anything like that, and just discuss the issues.

Yes - we have a responsibility to adhere to established program policies and rules - ACTUAL policies and rules. We also have a responsibility NOT to create our own policies and rules. Part of that means not turning things the BSA sends out as helpful hints or safety reminders that have nothing to do with policies and rules into some kind of defacto policy or rule and then get even more people upset about the ridiculous policies and rules that the BSA creates when the fact is the BSA never did so in the first place. These are NOT BSA policies and rules. They are simply safety tips t

Okay, I think I can see where this all went wrong. I'm pretty sure Win.Mamma meant the *parents* going on a "date night" while their boy and girl kids were at Cubs or Scouts. The rest of this spiral seems to stem from that, if I'm not mistaken. Oh, and yes, us debauched Europeans have also heard of "Jamboree babies". No actual proof of course. Just juicy salacious gossip.

I guess, but even your reply is contradictory. "Stories told over and over", AND, "babies made all over the place". Where does "don't blame the girls" come from. I really don't feel you understand the members of this forum. Most of us are older with a lot of life and scouting experience. We have been Dancing for quite a long time. Barry

They program has a way of sucking you in. You can get attached to some of the lads and really want to be there for them though they may not really know it.

Correct. That is why I like folks to step away from Boy Scouts directly from Cub Scouts, observe what is being done, getting trained, and being mentored. Even I stepped away as an ASM when oldest joined, not only because I was a DL, but also observe troop dynamics and learn how things are doen in the troop. And this is from someone with years of experience, and has served as an ASM previously, and was a training chairman. I had to step back at times and remember it is not Cub Scouts that first year.

If your sons are Boy Scouts, they know about girls being able to join already. The word has been out since before Jamboree. Scouts in my troop know it is coming. That's nice you know parents, especially a mom, who will be involved. But will it be enough? For the trip that got cancelled, we have 9 active Scouters, plus the helicopter parents, yet only 3 adults were willing to go because it was backpacking. More importantly will the moms be comfortable doing the trips? One helicopter mom, who refuses to let her son camp without her, would not do the survival camp out, nor the survival

Yes, but based on whose perception of how to guide scouts through the Eagle requirements. I remember you asking how to lead a few MBs classes and your perception was not in line with how most experienced Scoutmasters would do it. So, who will set the standards for your sons. I think this is exactly the concerns are with what folks are calling helicopter parents. I don't know if you fit in that parent description, but your post seem to be a bit centered. Most of the better Scoutmasters don't base their actions from personal objectives. This is why I like this forum. Barry

Here's the thing, I feel that the best thing for me to do is to worry about my kids and our family's Scouting experience, and to care about our Troop and Pack's sustainability, etc. I have no control over troops who are bending the rules or making up their own stuff, and it doesn't really affect me. A Scout who is given an Eagle without doing things properly does not hurt my kids experience at all. My kids work will benefit them, and it's who they become as people, not the plaque on the wall. We agree on that! If this is happening in my Troop, then it's my concern, otherwise it's not

Yes, although it is unofficial at this point, so I do not want to name them. A Cubmaster of a pack with approximately 70 Scouts was asked by a Council-level Pro if he would be willing to soft launch allowing girls in the pack. In another council I am told the exec board is discussing the same thing. This is all unofficial with nothing in writing.

Eagle 94-A1 you are dead on every point. I am seeing the leadership problem now in my Troop: (1) The old hand Scouters are throttling back their participation because of uncertainty and disapproval -backing off rather than completely walking away. . While they are not at every meeting these folks (which includes some women) are the ones that, since their boys are gone, have more patience with the odd boys, pass on Troop traditions, and seem to know the best about field and wood craft. I do not know if they will come back and engage more because they just love scouting too much or will lat

The paperwork was so easy for my Eagle, I didn't need anybody else to navigate some paperwork maze. Application: pen and ink. Project report: 3 pages triple-space typed (as in typewriter), one hand-drawing. Personal statement: one page. Cover: celluloid with decal lettering on the title. Done in half the time involved in the tech hassles Son #1 and Son #2 went through. The best thing about using a typewriter: it never distracted me with instant messages, E-mails, and website notifications.

Or..... my oldest daughter achieved Silver, went to college and is a stay at home mom. My youngest daughter was valdictorian, got a full ride to a major university, dropped out after a year and a half and is a stay at home mom. Both will home school their children. Sometimes bling doesn't mean much. Depends on what one feels is important. I am pleased with their accomplishments, 3 great grandchildren!

These aren't the only places where such an accomplishment matters. Outside of the United States I'd argue that "Eagle Scout" is much more known than "Gold Award." Plus, some small mom and pop shop you're trying to get an entry-level job at I would argue is much more likely to know Eagle Scout over Gold Award. And it's a shame it is such.

That is the date we started in 2016, got thunderstorms on most afternoons. Only saw one cinnamon bear on the trek and more mini bears than we cared to count.

Regarding troops and going coed. I've been told by Scouters that it will happen in my district, heck my troop is the first one to tell me this, because of the lack of resources and manpower to have two separate units. When I brought it up to my Council Key three at the town hall meeting, they ignored it , and everyone else in the room agreed it will happen. Even the CSE in his 20 questions video indirectly states it will happen.

Full disclosure here, I stopped at Life, but it is my perception that it has NOT gotten easier. In some ways it has become more difficult. Up to a certain point there was no Eagle project. (I know that was still true in 1965, and I am pretty sure that when I became a Boy Scout in 1969 there was a project, so it must have been in there somewhere.) Now the paperwork for the project is a project in and of itself. I also believe that there are more requirements for some of the required MB's than there used to be. (The "Cits" would be included in that.) In the other direction you no longer h

You are just trying to be helpful, the Great Summit Bechtel Reserve Resort and Amusement Park is not gonna pay for itself....

Some I like, others not so much. But to point @The Latin Scot is making, if we allow everyone their own little "change" to things then you really don't have a "uniform" uniform, do we? I could get behind allowing units 1-2 places they can ad lib with their own dongles. BSA already allows hats, neckers and patches to be customized. How many more special things do we need? I love the sentiment behind such things, but I do agree we need guidelines and limits.