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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/12/18 in all areas

  1. More reliance on stoves, fewer campfires for warmth, cooking and fellowship...less backpacking and more troop trailers full of heavy gear...patrols all cooking near a single dining fly, under the direct supervision of the SM...troops camping elbow to elbow...less axemanship (directly related to fewer campfires)...camping at council properties or public areas with established latrine facilities...camp outs designed as entertainment/carnival style events, orchestrated by adults, instead of scout-planned/executed traditional activities such as hiking, fishing, pioneering projects, etc. These
    5 points
  2. Michael B. SurbaughChief Scout Executive Just sent me an email, he says everything is going to be fine!
    3 points
  3. Hello All - it sounds like I'm going to be getting more involved with scouts than I expected! I did some cub scouts as a child, but my pack dissolved and we didn't continue on. Fast forward 20+ years, and my son asked about cub scouts. They've just got his Den started (so few boys in his age group they finally started despite how small it is) and the den leader quit. If I didn't volunteer it sounded like they wouldn't do much and next year would be an even larger question mark. Sooooo, I'm now Den Leader to a Wolf Den of 2 boys (my son and one other boy). I'm here looking for ideas and possibl
    2 points
  4. While we would like to get a lot of moms who already have outdoor skills, we don't need them to have the outdoor skills immediately. As with many dads who come into Scouting with little or no outdoor experience, and pick those skills up right along with their sons from camping and outdoor veterans, moms will learn alongside their daughters, most likely (in the beginning) from men with Scout camping experience who volunteer to help out in the girl troop. For now, we need to sign the moms up as female adult leaders in girl troops for YPT purposes. Get them signed up to just be there, and thei
    2 points
  5. This is very much what I think the 'linked' model is supposed to look like. Share a C.O., committee, resources, but operate as two separate and autonomous units. Having the boys and girls troops meeting together, with the girls operating like another patrol is, I am sure, going to happen in some cases, but it is not what is intended.
    2 points
  6. I think it would be awesome if a bunch of us gathered around a real campfire someday.
    2 points
  7. I think you're conflating issues here. Yes there are YPT rules. The point is that we shouldn't fall into the same trap we all describe the GSUSA of doing - assuming the women need to the leaders of troops with scouts who are girls. Aside from YPT rules, I envision a lot of fathers who are looking for ways to participate in the Scouting activities of their daughters. If my daughter wants to join a troop I'll volunteer.
    2 points
  8. Looking back at this thread it seems I mentioned my impending trip to Brownsea, so it seems right to feedback... We actually did it. It's probably only a 2 hour drive from us, but I'd never, in 42 years of scouting (on and off, man and boy), been to Brownsea. Executive Summary: It was glorious. Okay the weather helped but...And had just enough of the heritage side of things, and "the feels" to be a great nights camping. We only went for one night, right at the start of our week long summer camp. There were 42 Explorer Scouts, aged 14-18, 18 girls, 22 boys, and 5 leaders. We had
    2 points
  9. Only partially true. It matters to Scouts BSA if just two men leading a troop for girls,
    2 points
  10. The promise of Scouts BSA isn't that there are outdoorsy mom that serve as Scoutmasters. It that it no longer matters that it's a male or female Scouter who serves as Scoutmaster. Scouts no longer cares what your gender is.
    2 points
  11. Post script, forgot one of the most important shifts: More campsites festooned by a dozen hissing propane lanterns...the sounds of nature and starlight shut out....
    2 points
  12. Finally finished all the paperwork and meeting tomorrow with the district. Any tips or common errors that any of you see in the workbook?
    1 point
  13. 1 point
  14. Unfortunately, that's only one of two metrics. If BSA attracts two million girls but loses its intended nature in the process (for the reasons described above), I wouldn't count it as a success.
    1 point
  15. Well, that's half the metric, the other half is the number of boys that decide to leave due to the gambit. Earlier in this thread (I think) someone suggested the BSA's goal should be a 50/50 representation of boys/girls. There's two ways to get there, recruit a lot of girls, or lose a lot of boys. We'll see.
    1 point
  16. Update: A year later, a changed life and more... “That (day) was a huge turning point in my life … I felt like it was an arrow pointing me in the direction where I want to go,” Konzelman said. Konzelman was born and raised in Puyallup, growing alongside four brothers and one sister. Konzelman and his brothers were all Boy Scouts who earned their Eagle Scout ranks. Growing up, he jumped to help those who needed it. On more than one occasion, he responded to car crashes on the road outside his home in Puyallup. “I think just the way that I’m wired: If I see something that nee
    1 point
  17. My daughter also had that situation in two of the GSUSA troops she was in over the years. I think so, at least for Daisies, Brownies, Juniors. In our area, very very few girls continue past Juniors (5th grade.) But that is not what is happening. None of the other girls from daughter's GSUSA troop are planning to join BSA. I think that at least half of the interested girls in our prospective girls troops were never in GSUSA. I think that only a few currently are in GSUSA. We have yet to see. Under BSA rules all but one of the adults can be men. And it being B
    1 point
  18. My model for linked would be linked infrastructure: CO, committee, equipment, and fundraising; and separate activities: meetings, PLCs, campouts. Our troop's greatest strength is probably the support we receive from our CO, a Catholic parish. They are generous in direct support like funds and space, and the parishioners are generous in supporting the troop when we do things like fundraising and frankly in having their kids join. I think leveraging that support would be critical to a new troop's success, but I don't see any reason why the new troop would need to hold meetings or campouts
    1 point
  19. Are the boys in these troops truly for it, or is it adults saying OK with being linked? I ask because in my neck of the woods, the majority of the boys are against being linked troops. But the majority of adults seem to have no problems. In the troop I just left, the majority of adults were fine with being a "linked troop." The adults stated it would be coed in all but name. However when they asked the boys, they were overwhelmingly against becoming a linked troop. Enough stated they would leave over being "linked" that the CO and adults backed off on it. I would go it alone
    1 point
  20. No worries. Don't remind me of the Kingsdown sell off. I know it had been a Scout camp since the 1940s, and I have some good memories there. And I was repeating what someone told me about UK neckers. Sadly in the US since 1972, neckers have not been required as part of the Boy Scout uniform. Each troop can make the decision to have one or not. And national has not made it easy to have either. Their standard neckers have been the wrong size for a long time, and when they finally come out with correctly sized neckers, they limited to 4 styles, then they discontinue making them. My old troop
    1 point
  21. I would enjoy that very much, but not to observe your scouts experiencing true back country camping. I would just enjoy being with friendly like minded company. Barry
    1 point
  22. Sounds like the troop should start a Sea Scouts Unit and focus on that boat monthly. If its truly the Old timers show, I would cut losses and go to another troop or start your own. Take the hit now and cut your losses.
    1 point
  23. Sounds like all involved need refresher training as to how a troop should operate. Since your troop is chartered to a now-defunct entity, perhaps you don't have a troop at all. Your DE needs to sort that out. To answer your original question, NO...non-registered parents do not get a vote. The registered members of the Troop Committee handle the "business end" of the unit, while the SM and ASMs execute the program side. All registered leaders serve at the pleasure of the Chartered Organization (which you don't have). Technically, all funds and equipment belong to the Chartered Organizatio
    1 point
  24. Good comments so far. Here are a few of my thoughts. It's hard to judge this sort of thing from the outside. A 21' motor boat is a big luxury for a troop to use once or twice a year. Depending the age and features, a $4000 repair could be 20% of the value or 120% of the value. I strongly question continuing to hold that asset. Broke due to misuse? ... How? It would help to have context ? Boats are pretty durable generally and hard to break. On the flip side, using boats have common accidents like running into docks, losing anchors, hitting rocks with
    1 point
  25. Camping merit badge is still required and so is outdoor cooking (both camp and trail) for the Cooking merit badge. While some outdoor requirements have gone away since I became an Eagle in 1999 (like thr option for the more indoor Sustainability instead of the outdoor oriented Environmental Science), Cooking, with its outdoor element, only became required in 2014.
    1 point
  26. I was worried about that, as was our troop when asked about starting a girls troop. In fact, there are a number of moms of web 1's that do a lot of outdoor stuff and are very interested. They're all younger moms, though. (When I meet parents in their 30's it really makes me feel old.) Anyway, I said I'd help start the troop assuming that there would be a mom taking over as SM after a year and wanted to do the outdoor program. We have a half year or so to figure things out. I think it will help the patrol method and I can't think of a better way to illustrate different patrols doing differ
    1 point
  27. I am stepping down at the end of the year after a long tenure as Scoutmaster. I have been SM longer than all my scouts have been alive, and some of their parents too! I plan to stay active with the troop in any way that I can, but it will be a difficult transition for me. I don't want to impede the new regime, but still want to help out. Any advice from anyone who has been thru this situation or had their troop go thru it? Thanks for your help!
    1 point
  28. I may no have been common, but we did it when I was a scout, 69 thru '77
    1 point
  29. All of the troop's assets (including money raised or in bank accounts) actually belong to the charter organization. Troop money is supposed to benefit the unit - not individuals. The Troop Committee is not required to invite all parents to committee meetings. In many troops, the members of the Troop Committee are the ones who vote, and the Scoutmaster is an advisor / non-voting member. Different troops may choose to do things differently. Like @T2Eagle, in my son's troop, we invite all interested parents to attend. If we vote on something, we allow parents to vote. The Chartered
    1 point
  30. In Judaism there are many terms for God (which is also not a proper name). Lord is just one of them. Father, King, Adonai, Elohim, Elohai, Adon Olam, Hashem, .....I don't know how many there are. Also, Adon is Hebrew for Lord, Adoni is my Lord, and Adonai is literally translated as my Lords. If you're getting confused as to why the plural of God is used then good for you. However, it's treated as God. There's a famous prayer/song that uses the words Avinu Malkeinu, which translates to Our Father, Our King. Two words, same God, but different views. Father is someone that looks out for their chi
    1 point
  31. As someone posted earlier - "Lord" is almost distinctly Christian (or maybe I should say has Christian connotations) and, of course, "father" assumes a male deity. I have translated the Philmont Grace into a few Northern New England native languages - replace "Lord" with "Creator" , get rid of the Judaeo-Christian "Amen" and replace it with "thus may it be" (yes, I know that's essentially the meaning of "Amen", but it's not religio-specific), and it becomes much more generic. It's not a matter of trying to be PC, but rather trying not to be slanted toward a specific religious group/
    1 point
  32. I think the Philmont Grace is appropriate for any occasion.
    1 point
  33. There many ways to do this, I would suggest a landing page with the CO name /Scouts then in the menu have choices Troop 100 click here Troop 100G click here. These pages would have their own menu choices. Use google calendars for each troop and link both troops to a calendar that you display on the website. Mostly likely the girl troop wont have someone ready to be webmaster yet so the adults could support that part of the websits and if the boys do have a webmaster he can work on the boys part of the website (or visa versa). We use Scoutbook and use their calendar but we have a goog
    1 point
  34. Transferring this worthy question to the Faith and Chaplaincy Forum.... oh, wait....
    1 point
  35. So ... First of all, I assume you mean the Cubmaster, correct? If you are a Bear Den Leader, then I assume you are dealing with Pack leadership (Scoutmasters work with Troops). Secondly, if you're going to seek advice from strangers on the internet, it would help if you gave more information about the situation so that we can have some idea of what, exactly, is going on. Why were the leaders so upset? How did this all start? If they were to post here, what do you think they would say about the incident? There are always two sides to every story, and the more we know about what happen
    1 point
  36. Check in with your District. Your experience would be very welcomed in several areas, I am sure. Some Ideas: ** Eagle Coordinator. EBoR organizer and fact checker. Very appreciated fellow. ** Training. IOLS, NYLT, BALOO... many possibilities for your years of Being There, and Doing It.... ** Commissioner. Different types, as a Commisher, you can do almost anything you think needs to be done. ** Program Committee. These folks organize the Camporees and Webelos Weekends and such. You could even invent something new, like one of my new Scouter friends. He develo
    1 point
  37. See Liberals! There is a Santa Claus! Can't you just hear the wine-coolers clinking together?
    0 points
  38. 0 points
  39. I’m skeptical gentlemen, the only time I’ve seen Troop Scouts in the last 20 years dig, umm “man-made” plumbing facilities was on high adventure trips in the wilderness. Brag all you want, but scouting hasn’t gained adventure just because the older Scouts used a trowel once a year. As for the BSA adding more adventure, I believe National figured it out. Badon Powell was wrong; scouting develops character and leadership simply by sending Scouts to Philmont once a year to backpack. That patrol method thing is a myth. Next year all troops are required spend a day at Six Flags. The Eagle is
    0 points
  40. The lack of actual requirement for anything related to outdoors beyond First Class as well. Youth of today are growing up in such a different environment, on many levels, and the numbers who are into outdoor activities like hiking, camping, biking, even fishing are smaller in many parts of the US. Speaking here in MA, the Boy Scout membership numbers are so horribly decreased even in the last 15 years, that council mergers were a necessity to decrease expenses. And we are not done, there will be even more consolidation to come. The safety bubble has also contributed to a lack of actual in
    0 points
  41. I know girls in Girl Scout troops that would love to go camping and hiking, but can not because their leaders do not "do camping" and do not want to hike. . . So I signed up as the Outdoors person with our local GSUSA troop and took the Outdoor training class only to be told afterward by the troop leader that "men are not welcome" on Girl Scout trips. . . So I go out and find an old Girl Scout that hikes, in fact she did a 180 mile hike this last summer and she would love to take the girls camping or hiking. . . that was a no go, the troop leaders did not like her and all Girl Scout
    0 points
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