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I have been passionate about Scouting for my whole life, but my motivation is driven entirely from interaction with the boys. I know there are many Scouters out there who derive great personal satisfaction from their relationships with other Scouters. BSA seems almost like a fraternal order to them. This is going to sound terrible and I mean no offense to anyone on this forum, but I really hate hanging out with other Scouters. That is why I have always dodged things like Wood Badge. If a Scouting event is not centered on the boys, I'd rather spend my time at home remodeling my kitchen - l

Goals for my scouting "career" (career seriously??)? Have fun, help the Boy Scouts in the unit have fun, and not get killed in fiery backpacking stove explosion. Other than that, do not plan to give it much thought

"blue and gold" are the colors of the Cub Scouts. The "Pack" and the "wolf" are at the center of the "Cub Scouts". Changing Wolves to red is foolish. Make the lions red.

My joke with many of the Wood badgers (cult of the pink hankie) is "hey, this is a Boy Scout (only works if one the youth is around), have you dealt with any of them recently???

I'm in a similar boat. I was asked recently if I'd ever want to do Wood Badge and I said "No." Apparently I was a little too quick to respond, think I kind of surprised the guy asking. He was looking at me as if it was somehow odd that I wouldn't want to do Wood Badge. This was the same guy who asked me what my goals were for my own scouting career. I had no answer, I don't think about it like that. All I've thought about since I started is the Pack program and my Den. I don't know if that will change over the years, but right now I just don't see myself taking an interest in the Scouter

Breaking point for most will be when substantial change that you are not in favor of or cannot support comes to roost in whatever part of Scouting where you personally find satisfaction and reward. For me that satisfaction and reward is working with the troop at the unit level. Changes in membership requirements a few years back, really did not effect the unit. Adding girls, we do not do any district or council camporees and also plan to be single gender (no linked either) so again does not really effect the unit. Name changes ( to loosely quote Starship - Someone always playing corpo

Rephrase: groups of teens do these on their own ... without the guidance of an organization priding itself on training leaders and being prepared. Last week, I got a picture of a young relative atop his a "tree house" three stories tall -- built from found plywood. Sketchy did not begin to define it! If his former SM was willing and able to deliver on the promise of scouting, that could have been a safe, solid pioneering tower! Our nation's most ambitious kids are in harms way thanks to a litigious society.

both of these are utterly absurd. a group of teens already do just about anything on their own without the guidance of the BSA... but under the guise of an organization priding itself on training leaders and being prepared... they are barred from doing so. absurdity to the max.

It's a different country, a different starting point, and a different culture. If they have good reason to carry those things, and don't arouse the suspicions of the police, they don't get arrested. That's how the law works over here. No doubt you might find a few Daily Mail articles listing ridiculous examples of "outraged" plumber who gets their stanley knife confiscated, or even arrested, but that's the Daily Wail for you. You need a "lawful reason" I think the expression is, to carry a bladed article. There may be exceptions for small penknives, I can't remember. At the moment I thin

Our Pack was selected to be the early adopter in our district of the Chief Seattle Council. Our only Den, a girls' Webelos Scout den, has a woman DL and a male ADL, who is also a parent, and Wood Badge grad. They have successfully completed their Webelos rank requirements in four months, and he council could not be happier.

PDF has the new language. The "online" still has the old language. This is the full PDF version that contains updates as of May 2018. The online version will be updated shortly. After June 1, 2018 you may refer to the online version for the most updated information.

No youth drivers This has been true for a very very long time - at least since the 1970's - and now, many States actually have limits on the number of people a youth driver can have in a car. No skinny dipping This was pretty much true in most places back in the 1970's as well. Even the all-boys private (read Catholic) schools were ending the practice of swimming classes and practice without a suit back then. SM/SPL screen every song/skit We did this back in the 70's as well - though mostly to prevent embarrassing the Troop at a Summer Camp or Camporee campfire but it also m

I never saw it that way. Old timers were part of my game. My SM mastered backpacking in his late 60s because I wanted to do a local 50miler. Adult association has no upper limit.

My breaking point happened 10+ years ago when My wife, who volunteered on our crew's committee, came home from a youth protection class where a fellow student tossed out the, "I thought we had Girl Scouts for girls." One scouter told me I was wrecking the program (promoting venturing) when in fact I was giving our boys more hiking/camping hours. Adults blew smoke over local adult-contrived boundaries that youth rightly found to bIe stupid Yet on each adventure, in a dozen different ways each time, I reaped youths' smiles. I broke. I did. I broke in favor of as many

Obviously, some changes are trivial (shoulder loop colors) and some are not (restructuring the program for girls). Responses should be proportional. When our opinions as volunteers are ignored and disregarded, it seems we have only two ways to object: with our feet and with our dollars. How else to send a message they will pay attention to?

I will bet a weeks months pay that SSScout doesn't care a whit about getting yet another knot on his shirt. if he did he wouldn't be asking for input

I do not question the quality of Scouters in Wood Badge. I just know that I don't want to hang out with them - lol. I'd rather spend my Scouting time with the boys. Would I be better Scoutmaster with Wood Badge? Probably. Would I trade a weekend of camping with the boys for a weekend at Wood Badge? Definitely not.

I have met some very good Scouters who are Wood Badge trained, and many I feel would be just as good had they not gone through that program. I have also met some people that makes me question what the heck they actually teach, as these folks are about as in-touch with the aims and methods of Scouting as a tree.

It is the same with my Catholic boys. We don't like the behavior at the council run camps/activities, so we use our church owned/operated camps and set up our own activities. It works out much better that way.

I don't understand. The boys enjoy scouts. The parents enjoy scouts. The boys want to get eagle. The parents want the boys to get eagle. There was a discussion about whether non LDS troops would respect your beliefs. Why not just run your own troop? Like you already are doing? The loss of LDS scouts is fine by me, assuming the ones that enjoy it stay and the ones that don't enjoy it leave. Scouts making decisions and adults supporting them.

That's fair, freedom first imo. For me, having it on me has proven convenient in a multitude of ways, but mostly because I've only assessed what needs fixing when it's already in hand well away from my work bench were better, more dedicated tools are located. cork screw has proven it's worth more times than I can count and maybe only 1 out of 10 times to actually open a wine bottle, scissors have given me a quick nose trim in the mens room out in public many a time, the blade has cut more than it's fair share of fruit while at work, scored cardboard for kid's art projects, stripped insulatio

When LDS parents send their son off to an event like National Jamboree, and then the boy returns home with stories of pervasive swearing (and other unScoutlike behaviors like patch stealing), it creates an impression that this is how Scouting works in a non-LDS setting. You can then understand a predictable level of concern over joining a non-LDS troop. In reality, the concern may unwarranted, but it is still understandable. To be completely honest, my son expressed interest in attending World Jamboree next summer, but we detoured that pursuit because of these kinds of issues encountered

I'd let it go. Your work as Scoutmaster will speak volumes. I'd you get dragged into it, then it just gets worse. I'd be happy with your service, take the high road, wish him the best, and just move on.

Well, stepped aside and now through the grapevine, I hear the new SM is spreading rumors about me. I am trying to ignore it but I am infuriated that someone would attack my character. Especially when it is done behind my back while being nice to me in person......

Maybe some deeper self-examination is necessary. You may be joking, but that IS the impression made by the 'professionals' time and time again. WE can't help it that quite often the only ones signing up to be paid Scouters are a bunch of bumbling fools. Is that a fair assessment of all of them? Hardly, but you form your opinions based on what you have experienced. What we volunteers can do is often ignore the interference and idiocy and deliver quality as opposed to bureaucracy.

From the linked above: "Knives should be considered as a tool and treated as such. Those who are going to use them should get training for their use, as you would for a saw or an axe. Knives are an offensive weapon so great care should be taken when dealing with them. " Well, Offensive Weapon is a bit of a redundancy. Almost everything I own could be turned into an "offensive weapon." Hammers, drills, broom sticks, my belt or shoe laces, the keys on my keyring, a thrown cell phone or rock, a cricket bat or ball. Hell, I have a big pointy fork (assault fork?) I use for turning m

How can a few people chatting online "establish" what was ultimately behind the BSA's decision? Alas, we can hypothesize all we want, but we don't really know what went behind the move. All I know is that I am against it, and will leave the program with the Church next year. Do I believe in Scouting? Yes, with all my heart yes. Do I believe that the Boy Scouts of America still delivers the quality of Scouting and the purity of the program that it once did? No. I don't believe it does anymore. And I can't invest my time in an organization that has lost the vision of its o

I've lost count of the number of times I've assisted someone in random situations. Out shopping, in the office, etc. All because I always carry a pocketknife. Always. And it's usually the BSA camping knife given to me over 40 years ago. Quite often the response when seeing the logo on the knife is along the lines of, "Well of course you're ready to help, you're a Scout aren't you?"

I think we're going to see a lot of troops go to that mode of operation with the recent changes (if they aren't already doing it.) Both Pack and Troop I'm involved with largely do this now and will likely scale back any district/council participation back to the minimum required. Why? Membership changes and policies are one element. Another is that there is very little value-add involving them in the program we offer. It works, boys are learning and having fun. As a unit, we're increasing our numbers because of what WE do, in spite of the noise and interference from above.

A Venturing crew is not a patrol. Not even close. Most days. But take note ... I've had 18-20 year olds come to me with a good plan that sometimes included younger siblings. I've helped them improve their plans, on one occasion tossing them my car keys. Scouting happens, with or without BSA.

You know why I think it is that way? Most if not all SE's were DE's like in the 70's, 80's,or 90's. From my understanding, the norm back then was to treat DE's pretty much like dirt. My guess is those SE's today don't see a reason to treat current DE's any better, because of what they went through. I'll admit there is a huge culture problem in the profession. On the plus side, I actually do see it getting better on a council by council basis.

you right. We just chill at the office and make lists of how to make life harder for volunteers. By the way have you turned in your FoS pledge card yet?

Do you have a link for this? National G2SS still says Which allows parents not register leaders which is a huge difference and no mention of meetings. https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/gss/gss01/

My breaking point is going to be 2019. I'll be starting graduate school, and I just won't have time any longer. When that's over, I'll reevaluate what the situation looks like. My life mentors I've met in Scouting. My closest friends I've met through Scouting. Scouting has been the biggest influence in my life, just behind my family and my church. Looking forward to NYLT Staff this summer, and providing the incoming Scoutmaster in my unit with the experience and institutional knowledge I've gathered from the last 13 years with my Troop. As for girls, I'm all ok with girls i

I’ve said several times on this forum that humility is the greatest leadership trait because it is the ultimate action of serving. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples (fulture leaders of the Christian movement) explaining the first should be last and last should be the first. Humility doesn’t stop with age and actions of humility shows the Scouts that our character is always evolving. 18 is the age limit for being labeled a youth in the BSA, but it’s not the limit for the game with a purpose. I became a better father, husband and community citizen because of my scouting experiences at age 4

That is exactly what I don't want. Scouting is a game for boys.

'Skip and Ian, send up the chain that detailed plans should be in plain text/jpgs, not .pdf's. Half of the pages aren't formatting properly or quickly on my tablet. Let them know that there are yanks out there who will nick any good idea, and maybe share experiences about not-so-good ideas.

My breaking point was getting too old. Aside from that, I would have discontinued my association with scouting if my church/diocese had pulled out. In the grand hierarchy of things, my religion is more important to me than scouting.

I relate to the "Scouting Addict" label. With three generations of Eagles, I used to joke that Scouting was part of our family DNA. My breaking point was realizing that all levels of Scouting will be moving to co-ed except the individual troop unit. Everything else (every district, council, national event - including summer camps) will be co-ed. BSA's promise of a parallel girl program is yet another lie. Seeing all the new BSA promotional materials focused on girls, it's clear that boys are being left out in the cold in this new "Family Scouting". Boys' needs now take a back seat to incl

When it is not fun anymore. It is still fun when I am out with my scouts.

I view the BSA as a business and I, as an assistant scoutmaster, am a shareholder. My investment is the large amount of time and effort i put into my unit. I view paying the executives extremely large salaries in a time of desperation as a poor business practice. I believe that the decline in scouting is a result of poor business decisions on part of the executives. I, as many shareholders (volunteers working with boys) are beginning to sell their stock and get out of scouting. I have lost faith in the CEOs of the BSA. Unfortunately the board of directors is not a representation of the volunte

One of the older scout’s teaches woods tools safety on the first new scout camp out each year so the new Scouts can use their knife. We require all new adults attend the class as well, mostly so they see boy run in action. I remember one new adult was a little perplexed about how the older scout instructor taught knife sharpening. The technique was different from how he learned when he was a scout. He very politely asked the instructor about it and the instructor responded by giving the adult a page number reference in the scout handbook. You never know how some adults react to these

God will be gone from BSA soon enough, but that won't halt BSA's decline anymore than gays/trans/girls did. With the departure of conservatives/traditionalists, BSA will become the Scouting choice of liberal/progressive families (who have fewer children). That doesn't represent a broad enough membership pool to sustain the movement. Given the huge debt load for The Summit, I honestly don't see a future for BSA. I expect we'll see some sort of bankruptcy reorganization within the next decade, with possible sale of assets.

Yes. It is bad enough that BSA has so drastically changed the scouting program. Do they really need to edit out our history as well? I not only hesitate to talk about the old days with current scouts, I am reluctant to discuss them with other old-timers as well. There are too many people who will get mad thinking that I am trying to undermine their current program. It would be nice to have a safe zone where I could reminisce with my old friends without being held suspect.

Just a song and a haircut, lol.

Last time I camped out with the troop, sitting round the campfire, some of the older scouts asked for a scout story from the old days. So I told them one or two , then turned to go. They asked for another, then another. Surprised and somewhat pleased they were so interested I never once thought I was getting myself in trouble. But the next PLC it seemed all the scouts demanded to know why they couldn't do fun stuff like Mr Oldscout did. I dont think I'm gonna be allowed to tell stories without supervision anymore. And I had left out all the crazy ones. When I joi

Eagle still seems to work for Yale: In getting accepted to Yale, his Eagle Scout project video was ‘a difference-maker’ https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2018/04/19/getting-accepted-yale-eagle-scout-project-video-difference-maker/ Eagle and he helped vets and still got into Yale. Hope still exists!

I use them, and they are ABSOLUTELY beneficial in every way! They let the boys see their progress, set personal goals, and conceptualize their progress as a den and as individuals! I have a picture here of a chart I made for my parents who are Wolf Den Leaders. As you can see, it's simplified, only measuring their path to the rank of Wolf - this makes it easier for the boys to understand the chart. Obviously, our personal records are much more detailed, but the chart is not only bright and colorful, but we mark their accomplishments using sticky notes, meaning we can just remove a

OK, I guess you are serious, so I will give you a serious answer. No jokes this time. Instead of driving the LDS out of scouting, why don't we ask them to share with us their institutional knowledge and experience (which has made it possible for them to run a large, global, and well funded religious institution without paying enormous salaries)?

Wow, the girl in the last pic looks exactly like my niece! Frankly though, I still prefer the yellow neckerchief with the Cub Scout uniform, although I do understand the convenience of establishing uniformity with all the color schemes.