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Great post. Why is it so hard for parents to let their kids do all the work? I'd ask the rhetorical question if parents do the same thing for the kid's school work, but the answer I suspect it most likely affirmative. There seems to be a high correlation between the parents that hover in Scouting and those that hover for school work. This is the equivalent of cutting a kid's meat for them. @Eagle94-A1, I really feel for you and your efforts. If the SM has not fully bought in to the patrol method and boy-led approach, AND he is not afraid to act as gate keeper to keep the adults at bay, th

I cannot imagine what this guy saw. "Daniel Konzelman was one of thousands of commuters barreling along a highway outside Seattle on Monday morning when the emergency response training he learned as an Eagle Scout kicked in." http://komonews.com/news/local/commuters-help-people-out-of-derailed-train-comfort-victims

Camping is at the core of the Scouting program. Shooting and Fishing have *never* been core scouting skills. Camping, hiking, and cooking are Eagle badges. Orienteering and Pioneering are linked to 1st Class requirements. High Adventure usually requires Backpacking, Canoeing, Sailing etc. Besides the MBs and the Venturing Shooting Sports Medal there is not a real pathway for shooting within Scouts. I see a lot of value in kids getting comfortable with guns and gun safety at camp and Leopold very eloquently defends fishing and hunting as a key element in his land ethic. But, given a choice I'd

I saw him on ABC this morning. He's one of the reasons we do what we do as Scouters. To produce young men who do the right thing at the right time whenever possible.

Evil?

Report said he was on scene for nearly two hours. I hope post trauma counseling is available to responders. CBS This Morning had a video interview, Eagle Scout Hero.

This one paragraph, I believe, is a large part of the problem in many Scouters minds, and why you see so many negative reactions from them. badgering two ASMs because - every minute an ASM/SM spends with you is is a minute he does not spend with the youth. Not to mention badgering gets old.....and why are you asking rather than your son? I really wanted to know if there would be opportunities for my son - you wanted to know, not your son wants to know. What is important to the ASM/SM is what your son wants out of Scouting not what mom or dad think their son wants/needs to get out of

Polish scout escapes Auschwitz by impersonating German officer. In yesterdays Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/kazimierz-piechowski-early-auschwitz-prisoner-who-led-a-risky-escape-by-car-dies-at-98/2017/12/17/e77ded92-e33e-11e7-a65d-1ac0fd7f097e_story.html?utm_term=.d45ba54d9fbd

My apologies Cubber. I over reacted to your post and find myself not being very scout like. I will try and set a better example. Barry

IMHO Current WB is a problem because it is now a management course and not a leadership course. As someone stated the pre-WB21C courses were different than today's course. Back then there were 2 to 3 different WB courses ( Boy Scout, Cub Scout, and briefly an Explorer courses). Not only did you have to complete specific basic training for the course, you also had to have 2 years tenure in the program was for. Only way to waive that was the 18 and 19 year olds who went straight from Scout to Scouter. Now WB is a one size fits all management course. And from everything I hear and read, includi

Exactly. We tell our Scouts (and parents) none of our outings are advancement focused. That being said, there is always an opportunity for advancement, it's just the scout must initiate that advancement. We are a large troop so there is usually enough leaders on the outings for many key items. Also we have Life scouts and above sign off on any advancements for Tenderfoot - First Class. No adult leaders sign off, we participate in some (present yourself to a leader packed etc). Yes, the young maybe 11 year old has to go and have a conversation with an older scout about what they have compl

Barry- I can see you took that differently than I intended. I'm being completely sincere here- honestly trying to understand. I read your answer and I guess it did go over my head because you referenced adults in general and changes in general, and an experience with one specific male leader? I've only been with the BSA for 3 years and a CM for 2. I was a scout and my brother an Eagle, but that's the sum and total of my experience. Help me out. Is Wood badge a new thing created by or for female leaders, or has it been altered by or for them (seriously honest naive question)? Are females

Agree, it does sound like Wood Badge training problems. What I have seen with female troop leaders is a tendency to focus on specific program areas - scoutcraft, nature, hiking . Maybe advancement related, maybe just sticking with what they know. Fishing, shooting sports not so much. My $0.02

Lots, but at the top of my mind scout independence declined because the adults didn't know how to implement the Eight Methods without directing them to the scouts. Instead of scout activities that required scouts to learn and use scout skills, they created classes to teach the skills. The adults started directing the scouts to follow specific patterns in their activities. One issue that grew from the old Wood Badge course was adults started forcing the scouts to follow the same agenda they experienced in their course. For example, the WB staff ate their meals with the Patrols in the old course

@ Col. Flagg So again, I hear your experience and recognize some people share it. That's all good, and it shapes your perspective and enriches the world to have these differences. My experience is different. I don't not run in the same circles you do. I get different answers than those given by your friends and family when I ask those questions. 'Girls' and 'guys' weekends just are not a thing in my world. People hang out with people and have people weekends.

THEY. STILL. DO. NOT. GET. IT! After the meeting on Saturday where we went over the entire advancement process, i.e. how meetings and activities are not meant to earn awards but work on skills, etc, as well as how the PLC plans the program not the adults, they still don't get it. We had our Christmas party last night, and all the adults ended up together and talking. Some of the discussion was talking about trips done in the past, and how we hope the PLC plans some cool trips this year. Two of the dads started talking about places they've been to on their own, and how they talked with

If the CC's first priority truly is to support the Scouts in their Scouting experience then he will not have a problem with Webelos visiting active and healthy troops so each Webelos can identify a troop that is a good fit for him personally.

I hear this sometimes and while I understand it comes from, experience or how our society currently is. There's no denying those experiences are real and meaningful. But it does not have to be where we are going in the future. In actuality, you'll have few brave pioneering girls join up at first, but most won't want to deal with the lukewarm reception they will receive in most troops. They will wait it out and miss an opportunity. The ones that join will have some support and much opposition. They will be encouraged and they will be discouraged. They will be made to feel equal and

David, CO. I am not sure why you have generalized that I refuse to acknowledge his authority because we disagree on this particular approach in this area. To squelch dialogue, questions, about disagreements with authority is a losing leadership strategy, and I have faith that my CC/COR will not do that. I have no intention of escalating this to any sort of show down about who is right or who gets to call the shots with higher authority. My goal here was to get a reality check before I discuss it in detail with him- to see if his perspective is either a policy that I have not read, or it is sta

My thoughts as well, although I didn't express it nearly as well as you have. This issue should have been addressed while the Troop still existed.

Your Webelos have to visit with a troop. If your CO doesn't have a troop to visit, they cannot finish AOL. The COR should have thought about this years ago, not now when they have no troop.

AAAAHHHHHH, the CC is also COR. That changes things a bit. As David CO points out, the COR has the ability to decide who the Scouters in a unit are. Only person who can override the COR is the IH, and I've only seen that happen once. So in theory the CC/COR could fire you for not following his directives. And the CC/COR is doing his job in promoting the CO's troop. To expect anything less, is them not doing their job. Plus the CC/COR wants to keep the troop alive, so they need fresh blood. So it is understandable. The problem I have is not so much forcing the den to look only at

As a servant leader my obligation is to help instill the values of Scouting in the youth. I have agreed to abide by the CO's rules and policies. Within that framework, my duty is to the youth not the CO. I would question the mission of the CO that tells me that it is more important to keep a youth under their authority at the expense of helping the youth reach their full potential and growth. That would be equivalent to a youth directory impeding a youth from going on a mission with another church or a science club adviser impeding a youth from growing their knowledge by joining

I get where you're coming from but I think you have the right answer to the wrong question. If the question was does the committee (chair) have the right to tell the den leader to promote the sponsors troop, then yes, I fully agree with you. But that is not the question being asked. The questioned being asked is does the Committee Chair (or Chartering Organizatoin) have the right to tell the parents what Troop they MUST transition to and the answer to that must always be no. They can encourage it, they can try to force it by banning den visits to other units, but they cannot tell P

One things to remember about @David CO, he is a COR who is actually doing his job. I bet if there are problems between the pack and troop, he's doing his job and getting them ironed out. Sadly most of us are dealing with COs who are paper only. They provide us the minimum, meeting room and storage, and have a hands off approach. I know my pack's CO has no interest in Scouting. We've invited IH, COR, CC, etc to Blue and Golds, Cross Overs, etc and never attended. The troop at the CO scheduled an Eagle COH three months in advance with the church to make sure they could have the facil

I recently saw Terry Fossum speak. He is an Eagle Scout, successful business man and winner of the realty survival show Kicking and Screaming. He thanked every Scouter in the room for what we do, because he said it was Scouting that saved his life. He and his brother grew up in a gang riddled neighborhood, they lost their father at a young age and were even told they would not survive living in that neighborhood long enough to grow up. He credited Scouting for teaching him, the adults for leading, caring about and protecting him. Both went on the earn their Eagle. Both have been very succ

If I am in Japan I will bow. If I am in France I’ll do the kissy thing. If I am in Sweden (and they’re girls) I’ll pretend I’m French and do the kissy thing. If I’m in the USA I’m shaking your hand whoever you are. That’s what we do.

Ok, I'll be the killjoy with all this talk about "parents". Baden-Powell's original concept was that "each scout should earn his own way." Also, any unit fundraisers, per BSA policy, need to approved by the Council Scout Executive...there are rules that govern what you can and can't do as a fundraiser. Also, I am a fan of the "Unit Budget Plan" which is planned by the Troop Committee (with PLC input) each year...you will need to account for projected expenses such as awards (not cheap anymore), Court of Honor expenses, outings, camp, equipment, etc. Then figure out what income sources will

Having to struggle with disabilities (of which most of us have that don't have acronyms) is not something to be jealous of. We all struggle in different ways. How we overcome these disabilities and desperately try to fit into society is what one needs to focus on. Everyone prefers to be "normal" but even that is not a constant. I have found that having worked with young people during their developmental years a source of great joy when they are able to overcome society's demands, and heartbreaking when they can't. Yet the human nature in us all hopefully finds a common ground in the ab

I wear a multi-pocket vest. All the weight may be on my shoulders, but I don't worry about my pants falling down.

Thanks for all the perspectives on this. It is a divisive one. In answer to some of the questions... By 'us'- I meant the CM, the DLs, the committee members. The CC is also the COR in our case. To clarify, we are not using any resources other than our web events calendar and email (paid for by the pack and run by me) to let parents know about invitations to visit other troops at their troop hosted events off site. We were asked not to communicate these events by our CC/COR. Our CO provides space, but no other resources. The last two scouts 'eagled-out' of the CO sponsored