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and that is a primary fear for introducing family scouting, holding the boys back, or worse, forgetting about the boys in lieu of the girls. Boys have enough major challenges their facing down statistically (lower college graduation rates, higher HS drop out rates, higher suicide, higher and younger drug abuse, etc) in this country at the moment.

We give out the rank badges at the end of the meetings when the scouts complete the BOR. Scout does BOR and bam...he is recognized and goes home with the new rank patch. Neat thing is seeing them with the new rank on their uniform at the next meeting. At the COH they are awarded the card and small pin. Yes, we do pick up rank patches on occasion. One scout came up the next week and was seeing what could be done as he had lost his patch. We asked what did he do with it last week, he said put it in his pocket, as he touched his left pocket on his shirt. I asked if he checked both pock

Any sort of "collection" project is generally frowned on in my district. The one Scout in our troop who had a collection project approved was a Scout I have written about before in this forum, who has cerebral palsy and is wheelchair-bound, and I assume that was done as an accommodation for him. He did a good job though.

It's gonna be a free for all. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes... The dead rising from the grave!.... dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

Who is the source of any of these quotes and ideas? None if it is coming from National. National says there will be single gender Troops - they specifically said there would be no mixed gender Troops. 24 hours later, there's "reporting" all over the place that the BSA is going to have mixed gender troops, and maybe even mixed gender patrols. Where did that come from? Scouters speculating like wild because they can't seem to take what National has said at face value and they say they can't take what National says at face value because they don't trust them. Trust is a two-way street -

I think that there are times when collections drives can work as Eagle Scout projects, but they are more than just collecting items. Here are a few examples: Bryan on Scouting: Reminder about nontraditional Eagle projects was music to this Scout’s ears This Scout did more than just collect donated musical instruments. He also got them repaired and refurbished. In addition, he organized local musicians who came in and gave a 1-hour lesson to the foster kids who would be getting the new instruments. Bryan on Scouting: An Eagle Scout project doesn’t have to be permanent W

Regarding the surveys and policy changes, I think it is safe to say national doesn't care what we in the field think. The homosexual membership policies had slim majorities against the change, and they did it anyway. And let's not forget the Instapalm survey in 2015. 94% agreed or strongly agreed with keeping the 3 months tenure for palms, and national created instapalms anyway. And if the surveys, which were IMHO deliberately limited to avoid a good sample AND had such biased questions that it was ridiculous, truly reflected the majority of members, Scouters, and family members su

LOL, to think if they had used evaluating instead. Oddly enough, their use of assessing actually has the more common definition (evaluate) than the one we all assumed it to mean (set the value of a tax fine or fee). Perhaps it was the "The fee will be $120" that trained our brains to think the decision had already been made to "set a fee" instead of evaluating one. Even rereading the quoted section my brain still automatically knee-jerks to "charging a fee" instead of "considering one."

This may be heavy-handed, but our PLC put in place many years ago a definition of what constituted "active participation". Why? About 12 years ago our troop recirculated back to a younger-aged unit, but we had a large number of older Scouts (15+) too. Big age discrepancy. About a year later the younger Scouts became part of the PLC, saw the lack of participation from the older guys, read the GTA and, with advice from the SM, decided to define "active participation". The PLC set baseline minimums for service projects, camp outs and such. Rather than requiring attendance at 50% of all camp outs

I think that's ultimately the key here - educate the Scouts on the traditions, the peoples, the cultures and the controversies - and then let them decide. I don't think National - nor any one Native American nation - should have the right to dictate what they can or cannot do from there.

So here's what I have found so far (a number of people have not yet responded): So far, none of the people from my district that have replied to my inquiries have heard about this (and we are by far one of the biggest and most influential districts in our council). The one person from the Council office who had heard about this pointed out a key part of the message that I feel rather foolish for not noticing myself: What I was told by my friend at the Council office is that they are assessing, as in they are exploring the possibility of, a filing fee, and that such a fee may

In all the news stories I have been reading about girls joining boy scouts the one quote that I keep seeing over and over again from scouters that sums it all up and sticks with me is: "It doesn't matter what boys think, it only matters what girls want." That should be the new scout motto.

That article does not mention that at one point in the meeting, one of the Senators "forcefully delivered" (I believe that means "threw") the stick to (or "at"?) another Senator and the stick hit a shelf in Senator Collins' office and broke one of the knick knacks on the shelf. Sen. Collins then put the stick away and they switched to using a small rubber ball. This is mentioned here: http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/22/politics/susan-collins-bipartisan-talks-congress-shutdown-talking-stick/index.html Other than that it apparently worked reasonably well.

No implication made. Just that in a representative government, there should be a wider range of ages doing the representing.

I would be surprised if you did find confirmation for that statement, because it isn’t true. If the “unit” is involved in any way, BSA rules apply. The way some people (including some people in this forum) try to get around this is by saying that the activity was organized by a group of parents, acting as parents, and the unit has nothing to do with it, and it’s just a coincidence that some of the parents are also Scouters, and all or almost all of the participants are members of the unit or their relatives. That way they think they can take Cub Scouts whitewater rafting or go shoot paintbal

We have not heard from the OP today. I would like to know more about his Council which may not be Orange County Council.

Well, my definition of mess kit is pretty broad. They vary from the old aluminum mess kit, to the plastic mess kit with bowl/plate/cup utensils in a mesh bag, to frisbees and utensils, to plastic origami looking bowls/cups to collapsible silicone bowls/utensils with a cup (my choice), to whatever they want. Reusable water bottles ranges from Nalgenes (which were your words, not mine :-) ), to whatever drink bottle they drank on the way to the campout, to empty gatorade bottles, or smartwater bottles. Nalgenes are the top choice, but that's just because they look cooler than smartwater bott

Exactly. There are ES projects that can be done at almost any community organization. To answer the topic of the thread, I've noticed that ES projects are varied in how they come about. I gave an idea to my oldest son--outdoor Stations of the Cross at our Parish. The Parish loved it. My youngest son was asked to build a fire pit on our Parish church grounds for use by the youth group and the Easter vigil fire. The Parish also loved it. Another Scout talked to the Priest, and lucked out in that the Church was having a bat problem, found while they were fixing the roof. He bu

That sub reddit is wrong. I am IN Orange County Council, and if you read my post earlier in this thread, you will see there is no such fee being charged here.

"The American Wood Badge Alumni is a group of volunteers who have completed Wood Badge Training. This group is part of Scouting Alumni & Friends at the national level. It takes its place alongside NESA (National Eagle Scout Association), OA (Order of the Arrow), the four National High Adventure Bases, and Sea Scout Alumni Association. "

If it has a personal meaning and have a valid reason behind it, then I’d be onboard. But doing it because it’s the “easiest and least effort” Project is not the right attitude. I had a bigger project planned but my beneficiary ended up asking me to change it due to them wanting to keep items as a memory.

My problem with collection drives is that Scouts rarely know what their goal is. "Collecting stuff" is not a goal. So we always challenge them to come up with a goal, just like any other project. If collecting food, they can use SFF donations by unit statistics from district to gauge how much might be realistic. Clothing drives can contact local shelters and missions to see what their efforts usually obtain. But just collecting stuff without a goal (and one that is hard to reach too) is usually frowned upon in my area too.

Remember when scouting was fun? We camped in shelter halves, rode in the back of open pick ups, burned our trash, trenched tents, pit latrines on all outings, canoed with the life jackets sort of in the canoe...fun times

I think he said that all along. What he seemed to be asking was "Did national (adults) just make this decision about regalia? Or did they ADVISE the youth and the YOUTH made the decision." If the former, that's adult-led. If the latter, that's boy-led. I suspect it was the former.

Wow, who was it that actually said that? Was that somewhere in this email?

My point exactly. These are completely different things.

How does co-ed = "Family Scouting"? The two aren't mutually inclusive. Girls in a troop does not necessitate the whole family being involved. I love when people remind me that issues I fought for, issues I believed in and petitioned the BSA to address, along with thousands of other Scouters, that the result of all of that was really just that the BSA "caved in" to my agenda. This nefarious "THEY" is right here. People wearing the same uniform that you do. I'm not some outsider working to poison this program. We're all here because we love this thing.

Completely agree. Parents pushing their own personal agenda to make the Troop tailor the program to suit their vision (NOT the troop vision) is a daily problem.

Well said.

@Back Pack I think everyone joins in their admiration for a Scout such as you. Perhaps our troop is an exception in this regard, but once our boys hit high school their participation slows to a trickle. We never see them at meetings or outings. Then in a desperate last-minute scramble, they inevitably resurface shortly before their 18th birthday - sometimes expecting that everyone else will also scramble on their behalf to help carry them across the finish line. That's not a formula I can get excited about. I am the father of three teenagers, so I get it. I witness their busy lives f

When I was SM I would not count cabin camping nights for Camping MB or OA eligibility, and I made sure the Scouts all understood well in advance.

I think that's a good point, and that's an interesting article, but I am disturbed by your implication about people who are 60, which I will be in several days.

Nah, I'm not saying you are right or wrong. And you do make a good point that our politics are tied in to our beliefs. I'm just saying it isn't his politics that led you to your conclusion - it is your politics that have done so.

That is a good group We have had 138 in 33 years. So much depends on the group that comes in, how they get along, and whether the peer group(s) work together. I like to think overall program is more important; are you seeing more scouts on outings, how is the High Adventure interest, what about attendance at meetings. Eagles are important and seem to be the KPI (Key Performance Indicator) of the day. More critical is are you bringing in new scouts, are current scouts not in 5th or 6th grade bringing in their friends. We had 5 - 6 scouts join last 12 months that we not crossover webel

And the OA can’t use regalia? 😒

On a different tangent I was pleased to hear my son#2 (aged out, ex SPL, Eagle) after rejecting the 18 year old ASM route and Venturing is considering being a MBC for the camping, hiking, backpacking Merit Badges.

Sure

I suggested a few projects to my son, but he settled on an idea of his own. He has a lot of school pride and wanted to do something for his school that would have visibility to his peers on campus. The school headmaster suggested they could use a new Lost and Found shed. The project was completed just last month. My son was excited that it was recognized during morning announcements and also featured in the school newspaper. A personal thank you letter also came from the school principal. A weakness of this project is that it required the use of many power tools to construct the shed

Another option I would recommend is one used by scouters going back many years. The US Army used to issue a wool jac shirt that was considered a cold weather shirt, usually for wear in Korea or Germany. The color is OD green, the pockets are identical to a scout jac shirt but only have one button instead of two. These have been used my scouters on or near military bases for years. You can find them on ebay regularly. Sometimes they are overpriced, but sometimes you'll find a good deal. I got one for 9.99 a few years. I put an NESA pach on the back, and the red universal BSA patch on the front

You seem to be focusing more on the authenticity of the regalia, while I am largely concerned with the fictional characters and stories and how close they come to lampooning Native American culture. I think an OA skit might be more of an "honor" if it portrayed real people and events in a respectful manner. Our historical society does an annual event which has actors portraying real people from our community telling their stories (from the grave). Some of these historical people have been Native American. The historical society has often been complimented on both its accuracy and the resp

Just found this post now. (I hate this new software.) I’m a current youth as most know. I’m saying flat out that it’s most likely not because he has ADHD or is taking classes (which is great that he is helping himself). Scout Troops have the amount of drama as school has, including the same issues. Older scouts usually want to play games with older scouts only, or want to play with their friends. I’ll admit I’ve said no before since I wanted to play with the older scouts & my friends. I wouldn’t take this personally, I over think everything as well. I would’ve thought the s

...and BSA would never charge a ridiculous and arbitrary price for anything? **cough** foreign-made uniforms **cough** **cough** Jambo volunteers paying reg fee **cough**

If it is done correctly, I don't see it as an issue. Many regalia pieces are based on historic pieces and are meticulously researched. Some are even more "authentic" and historically correct (in not only appearance but construction) than what many actual tribal members will wear to a typical Pow Wow. If done correctly and respectfully, complaints are pretty rare around my neck of the woods. That entails actually learning the culture and learning what is appropriate and what is not. That said, you do see the "Chief Wannabe" types as well, which unfortunately give the Order a bad name.

Exactly. FOS would be non-existent. I'd encourage everyone to take that money and donate it to the troop or our CO instead. $120 to process the Eagle application is ridiculous. Our unit has a series of checks with the applicant to confirm all the data on their application and associated paperwork is 100% correct. It takes council less than 5 mins to check this. If they are going to charge money, charge based on incompleteness or readability of the application.

Really? I think it's pretty clear when we are lampooning something and when we are not. Black face? Clearly lampooning. OA regalia? Given that native nations are not in agreement that this is bad or good, I think you have your answer. Is Halloween, or any costume party for that matter, could fall under "lampooning". Are we to end that tradition too? Santa Claus (the fat American one) is essentially a lampoon of the European-based St. Niklaus. Stop that too shall we? Sometimes we, as humans, are just too sensitive.

If it were me, I would suggest to my son that he find a buddy his own age and/or in his patrol to play cards with. Presumably your son was not the only boy who was not playing cards.

Buzzfeed was founded as a social media story aggregator to track viral social media stuff. It’s like a blog of trending hashtag-like stories. It wasn’t meant to be journalistic until they brought over the guy from Politico. That’s another source of dubious integrity. No one I know trusts any single source. We’ve been taught to read both sides and try to find the truth in the middle. There are no independent news sources anymore.

@Col. Flagg Exactly. I say that and folks look like I am crazy. I stopped attending the Committees due to a work conflict and missed 2 PLC's and 'WHAM". I am still hanging out enough to help out a few of 'my' older scouts but I think I will just adopt a policy of avoiding events that will just irritate me. That includes a lot of the neighboring Council Boy Scout events that sure feel like cub-scouting. I think that may be because if you have a Council event and a lot of people show up then it is a success regardless if it really reinforces the principles of the traditional Boy Scout program (

I've played that game as a kid and it was lots of fun but you can't use that name in the US. In the UK it is harmless, but here that name would be seen as referencing capital punishment and at least at our CO , pretty quickly get the COR and IH involved as violating our churches moral principles. Edit: I don't remember what we called it but it should be easy to rename... flaming tree, bottomless pit whatever....