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Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/23/18 in Posts

  1. 17 years of working in government here quickly killed off any thoughts of conspiracy in the corridors of power. I suspect the same is true of many other large organisations
    5 points
  2. No a hobby is something I do when I have time. Scouting is something I make time for. However, your comment is consistent with the contempt I've felt from many professional scouters.
    4 points
  3. I was just called a "conditional Scouter" by a council professional for expressing my displeasure about girls in OA. 🤢 I guess being an adult volunteer for 15 years and helping 49 Scouts earn the rank of Eagle Scout, being OA Chapter Advisor, taking Venturers and Boy Scouts to Philmont 4 times, and having held key district committee positions several times doesn't count for much. Oh yeah, my dad's an Eagle Scout, I am too, and so are both my sons. But somehow I am not "committed."
    4 points
  4. I believe the last world scout jamboree to be held in the United States was in 1967, long before the WOSM policy was adopted. So, it shouldn't be surprising that the topic hasn't received much attention here (before now). I think it is obvious that the timing of these articles is due to the 2019 jamboree being held in the United States, and has little to do with the other issues. This would have been a "story" even if the membership changes hadn't taken place this year.
    4 points
  5. Most Boy Scouts would be shocked to learn that their phone can actually be used for voice communications.
    4 points
  6. District Director is a DE who supervises 1 other DE, usually in another district. Next step up is a Field Director, who supervises multiple DEs and DDs. DEs Are suppose to be serving in the background, supporting the district level volunteers who in turn support the units. If a DE has the right support, the units actually don't see him, they see the unit commissioner, or the event chair, or the advancement chair, etc. But when volunteers can't professionals must. So a lot of the jobs that volunteers don't want to do, the DE must do it.
    4 points
  7. There's a difference in a Scout and his/her parents making an informed decision about an event and its rules vs. the BSA endorsing a set of rules in contravention of its own policies. The G2SS very clearly says, No Alcohol, No Sexual Activity allowed at scout events. There's no asterisk. "WOSM made me do it" is weak tea.
    3 points
  8. Someone at national turned the burner up too fast on the frog... I think you're going to see a lot of leaping where just the inclusion of girls would have weathered most of the storm.
    3 points
  9. It is...and please don't call me Shirley.
    3 points
  10. I think you over estimate the news worthiness of stories about scouts. WSJ held abroad isn't a story. On home soil it is. Same for every country. With you chaps it's got the added bonus for the media of the membership changes but the the rule still stands. The home soil press will go looking for jamboree related stories the rest of the world generally won't.
    3 points
  11. To me - I've always felt that Scouting was about developing self confidence and leadership skills. Over their time in the program they go through all kinds of life challenges that they overcome - camping, earning awards, etc. In the process, they develop the skills and tools that stay with them for life. I've always used the example. Because I was a scout, someone could plop me down anywhere - in a city, in the desert, in the middle of the forest, and I felt confident that I could find my way home.
    3 points
  12. A response to above link. Note in this response, Vice Chairperson of the World Scout Committee Andy Chapman is American. What remains unanswered is how the hosts Scouts Canada, the Scout Association of Mexico, and the Boy Scouts of America will implement the requirements. Will it be by hosts, nations, units,...? How will parents be notified (this was news to me!)? https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/boy-scouts-condoms-jamboree/ And a link to WOSM Guidelines for Hosting World Jamborees Original topic is still under moderator review. Please keep discussion professional and re
    3 points
  13. I talked to a guy in town that took wb from Hillcourt. Each patrol made and led games that taught outdoor skills. That was the program - fun with a purpose. That would have been a great course.
    3 points
  14. Thank you! I'm here all week. Remember to tip your wait staff.
    3 points
  15. On Wednesday, May 23, 2018, the National Order of the Arrow Committee approved some exciting updates to the Order of the Arrow program! Beginning February 1, 2019, unit elections will be permitted in Scouts BSA, Venturing and Sea Scout units. The new Order of the Arrow membership requirements are as follows: • Be a registered member of the Boy Scouts of America. • Have experienced 15 nights of camping while registered with a troop, crew, or ship within the two years immediately prior to the election. The 15 nights must include one, but no more than one, long-term camp cons
    2 points
  16. I know what it is. We have Chartered Organizations. They don't.
    2 points
  17. It is best left unspoken. BSA is a youth organization. It is not a cult.
    2 points
  18. Making items available to deal with a situation that you know is going to occur, does not amount to endorsing, condoning or allowing sexual activity at Scouting events. Maybe the condoms they hand out should have wrappers that say, "Don't use this until you get home, and (assuming you are of the proper age) get married, and even then, only if the precepts of your religion permit." Then everybody's conscience can be clear.
    2 points
  19. One more log on the fire is a better analogy. Rather than blame the messenger (media outlets), why not blame (and change) the WOSM policy that makes Scouting a vulnerable target for criticism? And some blame should be appropriately focused on BSA for acting as if they have no leverage over WOSM on the issue.
    2 points
  20. GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WORKSHEETS!!!! 😡
    2 points
  21. From the Girls I know that got the Gold award and being part of that process, I hold that award higher than Eagle. The requirements are much more involved. I have seen many paper Eagles. Those Eagles are the one undermining the Eagle rank.
    2 points
  22. Final pack meeting of the year was held and out early adopter status is coming to a close. It was a fun pack meeting and the addition of girls is starting to become old news. Starting in 3 weeks the program is mainstream. We have started a parent survey about our Pack year. We didn’t specifically ask about girls (as we are only asking questions that we can and are willing to change). That said we did ask an open question about how this year went overall. Feedback is the typical mix of compliments and complaints... not one negative mention of girls in our Pack. That doesn’t mean thos
    2 points
  23. Hey Mods, since this thread was started on my tangent, I think it has long run its course (and then some).
    2 points
  24. It’s unspoken but yes there is a belief those that “drank the kool aid of Scouting” will always be paid members and give an annual FOS donation even if they arent active. Same goes for enrolling their future children.
    2 points
  25. Once upon a time, Sea Scout Ships and Explorer Posts cold hold OA elections. That ended sometime in the mid-late 1980s. So I am not to concerned about that. What concerns me is the Lenni lanape Lore as I have been told that chapters are to no longer do Arrow of Light and Cross Over ceremonies, nor are they to wear Native American regalia. I think the OA will lose alot as a result.
    2 points
  26. Obviously, leadership is playing the ultimate long game. In 2002 our present leaders saw that condoms were available at World Jamboree, so launched a campaign to host the 2019 Jambo in the US, knowing the firestorm that would rain down, very much like the prophylactics that will surely rain down as they're launched from one of those T-Shirt cannons into the crowds. Their superior foresight and planning skills also allowed this apocalypse to coincide with the world-shocking announcement to allow girls into Boy Scouts (forgetting for a minute that they've been in since the 70s). Now their ma
    2 points
  27. Where did you read that BSA does not approve? The BSA has sent scouts to seven WSJ's since this policy was implemented. (Thanks to @RememberSchiff for the quote gathered by snopes.) It's a policy BTW, hewn from the WHO playbook. I remember the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports from that time. Not fun watching the start of a pandemic. (Graphs that looked like tracking planes off an airport runway.) Nobody knew if or how death would be forestalled -- especially in many third world countries. A world of very poor and desperate people quickly warmed to the use of latex, and death rates b
    2 points
  28. Many, many, many vols are great people and want to help pros succeed. Just like anything there are people that arent so nice. My experience was that there are some vols that are jealous and some that are offended that professionals get paid to do the hobby the vol does for free. There is animosity among some vols. Only Professionals, former professionals and their families realize how much they commit and sacrifice to a volunteers hobby. I know I’m getting under some volunteers skin but for volunteers it’s just a hobby, how much or how little time you put into it, it’s still an
    2 points
  29. Salary is consistent with what I was making when I got out of the Navy and college with similar work hours. Especially considering the possibility of an 80% pension! Sorry, no sympathy here.
    2 points
  30. That's pretty good and I must agree. I was talking to my daughter about some things that bothered her and I realized that she was confusing bullying with being offended. I think bullying is being so over used today that it's loosing the real value of meaning. Real Life is hard and to survive we must learn how to deal with those things that cause us stress. I have said often that a troop environment is real life scaled down to a boys size. The typical troop program puts the scouts in a lot small stressful situations to practice and learn how to handle big stressful situations in their
    2 points
  31. But it is a zero sum game in its current incarnation. Ask the baker in CO or the florist in WA if their rights are being respected or if somebody else's moral code is being imposed on them. All laws enforce somebody's moral code, enforced by a gun.
    2 points
  32. Is it? We've had a few comments on this site over the years about how some places in Europe the boys and girls just pile into a common tent. If the argument to go co-ed is "the rest of the world does it" doesn't it follow that anything the rest of the world does should be acceptable here? E.g. condoms and alcohol at scout events?
    2 points
  33. There is a reason for this... A National Council employee, the current associate director of volunteer training for National BSA, never was a Cub or Boy Scout as a youth. This person doesn’t have sons, never had children in the program. Before their National Council position they served as a Learning for Life Executive and promoted to Field Director in charge of traditional units (Packs, Troops, and Crews) So, the second in charge of training at National was never in Boy Scouting as a youth or adult volunteer and was not a traditional unit serving executive.
    2 points
  34. My DE has always been available and helpful. He must put in 70-80 hours a week. He attends several Pack meetings a year, our annual planning meeting and gives guidance from Pack planning to various ceremonies. Yes we discuss FOS... but it’s respectful. We could definitely use some more District vouchers but my larger gripe is with council. They put on very few events and seem remote and only there to add bureaucracy. Perhaps I just don’t see their contributions. Also Note that not all executives have that 6 figure salary that is referenced.
    2 points
  35. And the challenge is that sooo many Scouters take WB and assume they are now the end all be all when what needs to be conveyed is likely how to actually run a program, make sure they have a fun program, and know how to run a unit While leadership and management team development is important, not sure it is what the focus of the "premiere" BSA training course should be. Really needs to be focused on what the heck to do outdoors, how to have a successful unit program, how to implement Boy Led units.
    2 points
  36. This game is nothing new. My college did something similar back in the day, and I was required by one of my teachers to attend the 3 hour time-wasting exercise as a part of one of my classes. He would later have cause to regret it. The game was a little more complicated than WAYC, with a few more embellishments (bells and whistles), but it was basically the same. It was about the distribution of the world's resources, and we were supposed to conclude that everyone would be better off if everyone would just share and share alike. You can imagine how this went over with me. In our gam
    2 points
  37. I was a professional from 2004-August 2015. I served 3 Councils as a DE, DD, SrDE. I had many other assignments some include Summer Camp Director, OA Staff Advisor (2 Councils/Lodges), Council Popcorn Advisor, Council Day Camp Advisor. I am also Wood Badge trained. I used to be a beaver and a good ol beaver too. Im here to see what people think about the movement and maybe give an opinion or two when I can give some insight.
    1 point
  38. A hobby is done for pleasure, I don't do this for fun, I do this because I find meaning and purpose in it. I do it so the boys (and girls) under my charge get the fun. I don't have contempt for council professionals and enjoy working with them quite a bit, but your condescension for volunteers is palpable.
    1 point
  39. You're right of course, and I generally agree, particularly outside of scouting. But, that's not what the BSA has been selling for the last many years. They've been selling No Alcohol, No Sexual Activity. The Scouter Code of Conduct specifically states: And the G2SS threatens expulsion for drugs, alcohol or sexual activity. The problem here isn't really condoms or alcohol or girls in scouting. The problem is mealy-mouthed leadership in Irving trying to have it both ways. They give imperative directions when it suits them to keep the base inline, but ignore those directives
    1 point
  40. In summer 2019, girl troops and boy troops will start attending BSA summer camps at the same time. Following your logic, should condoms be made available to Scouts by camp staff (regardless of what G2SS says)? Or should G2SS be changed to permit sexual activity at Scouting events?
    1 point
  41. Mamma don't allow no hiking/camping independently with your mates 'round here .... The real reformation: NESA extends open invites to Summit and Quatermaster (dare I say even GS/Gold) awardees.
    1 point
  42. Wow! That is quite good. I can see clever satirical humor is the method to get malicious posts past the moderators on this forum. I admit being enthralled by the shrewd approach for throwing the clever spiteful wit in the faces of target audience, who themselves laugh, if not applaud. Calling this form of dialogue "unscout-like" just seems adolescent. This is adult condensation at it's best. Still, as good and entertaining as it is, the source of motivation is still uncontrolled emotional without balance of humility. It's directing anger to belittle and denigrate opposing opinions. Is
    1 point
  43. How it's written is actually thou shalt not murder. but non the less, show me your compromise on pedophila. You said, and I quote "There must be discourse and compromise in all things." this is not a straw man. this is not a slippery slope. all things.
    1 point
  44. Regarding a breaking point, it is all adding up quickly for me. Scouts BSA announcement, Councils turning a blind eye to a lack of female leaders in packs, professionals pretending early adopter packs are not running co-ed dens, professionals ignoring conversations right in front of them about troops planning to run co-ed, and now the OA membership eligibility changes. I am not anti-girls. I have had young women in my crew for almost 12 years, including trips to Philmont, but this is all starting to be too much.
    1 point
  45. Disagree entirely. Should people bully? no, but that's pie in the sky utopia. IMO, We need to drop this anti-bullying everyone should be safe from bullying crusade once and for all, and instead go back to teaching resilience. As someone who was mercilessly bullied in grammar school, I learned some valuable lessons out of those awful experiences. I learned to stand up for myself and confront my bullies head on, I learned the importance of surrounding myself with good friends and family, I learned get emotionally tough. The bullying stopped shortly after I gave one of the bullies a bloody
    1 point
  46. But we're not putting them in the same troop or tent. I don't disagree with Mike's comments on safe spaces, but he's using strawman arguments to build his case. Interestingly enough, he makes a good point about creating a unified effort in challenging the "safe spaces" movement. I think he could still make as strong a point without resorting to the "boys and girls tenting together" fear mongering.
    1 point
  47. Ha ha, very good. Ian (UK degenerate) P.s. moderators, seriously, if it was anything I said, or stirred someone else to say from my comments, my heartfelt apologies.
    1 point
  48. Welcome to liability underwriter attorneys having the only voice that counts, he says cynically.
    1 point
  49. 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?"
    1 point
  50. It's often not even as straight forward as believing or not believing. Often it's a case of looking at it differently. One of the best sermons I ever heard was a priest who said that if anyone stands in front of you and claims to understand every word of the bible and have all the answers they are lying either to themselves or to you. I am a Christian. I do though understand that the bible as we know it today is a collection of 68 texts, written by many different people, some where the author is unknown or unclear. They were created over thousands of years in multiple languages that were
    1 point
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