Leaderboard

UPDATE: The story has a happy ending. With the help and wisdom from people that read about the predicament faced by my sons, wheels became unstuck and the channels were cleared for them to proceed. My oldest son completed his Eagle Board of Review and his application for Eagle Scout is now at National. My youngest got his proposal approved, and his project was completed this weekend. Massive thanks to any and all who took the time to read and reply. My guys are invigorated, and once again engaged in Scouting!

I get asked this all the time regarding sports. Can the boys on a team get together for an unsanctioned practice. My answer is no. If they do it, they can be kicked off the team. The school could be penalized. It is the same way when I was on the school board. Can we get together at Starbucks, have a cup of coffee, and chat about the weather? Yes, but we couldn't talk business. If we did, it would be a serious breach of the Open Meetings Act. We would be breaking the law. I have a relative who is subject to the insider trading laws. He has to be very careful about talking about busin

Here are my guesses. 1) Going on an adventure is not the attraction it used to be. Maybe it's too scary. 2) Teamwork and leadership skills are sorely lacking, so they're afraid to do things on their own. 3) Too many scouts want dessert for every meal. i.e., can't wait for the payoff. 4) Pushing oneself is not the attraction it used to be, at least for teenagers. Or maybe they just feel too much external pressure to succeed. 5) Too much screen time? 6) Lack of adult volunteers and/or critical mass. I listened to a group of young scouts talk while I drove to a

They may not be overly familiar with what the BSA insurance program is. I would be in touch with your District Executive- they are vested to help get new units chartered, and may be helpful to you in being able to explain the national insurance program, and what the council's insurance program is all about to your church. https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/alerts/insurance/

The numbers are in for 2018. Apparently the addition of Girls into Cub Scouts did not result in the overall jump start that was hoped for in the program https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/2018-Report-to-the-Nation.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3j99qbIlquBwh9QR2FCQwQQMLtzmhDOyTPsBndc4v8g1RgoC65hgYW7p0 As a comparison (Note that 2014 numbers were a little imprecise in the annual report)

If you didn’t see it, available online, a fantastic story on ScoutsBSA and the opening up to young women. Nice to see major national news coverage in addition to the huge amount of local publicity.

We need to face another social shift. Schools are getting public funds to be the venue for what would be venturing activities. And this is an intentional goal. A young friend who I dearly wish hadn't moved away before she could be in our crew is now trying to develop programs that keep kids in school after hours. I joked with her that communities need their kids out on their streets, taking odd jobs, patronizing local business, and generally doing good in the world -- not seeking ways to justify more precious tax dollars going their way. She was not amused. Also, I don't know if you've n

Oops. My mistake. I was going off of here-say and I should know better. Here's an apparently official GSUSA document that includes shooting sports (p.139). My apologies: https://www.girlscouts.org/content/dam/girlscouts-gsusa/forms-and-documents/cookie/Resources/GSUSA_Safety-Activity-Checkpoints_2018.pdf

I thought we were trying to play down the whole shooting thing.

Ultimately the MB Counselor has the final say, not the SM. I assume you are talking about requirement 5d for outdoor cooking. I always teach MB Counselors to read the requirements, base passing the requirements on just what it says, nothing less, nothing more. Which is BSA policy. In this case you read the requirements correctly. Following the requirements as written means your son did not pass. However, as I said, the final say is the MB Counselors. Is cooking for a group vs a group of youth enough to make a difference? Given the difficulty of getting youth on campouts

Some sea scouts walk on water... "The Sea Scouts ( Ship 5001 Akron,OH) were out on Portage Lakes during the cold weather, not as they are usually seen in sailboats, kayaks, canoes or paddle boards, rather on cross country skies." ... One of the programs the scouts have is “leave no trace”. That is what the Sea Scouts did on the weekend was ski on the lakes and collect trash, leaving no trace behind except for ski tracks. https://www.thesuburbanite.com/news/20190307/sea-scouts-brave-cold-to-stay-on-lakes-year-round

The difference between sports, school board, trading, etc ... and a patrol is their objective. The former have a very public objective with lots of public accountability. The objective of a patrol includes 1) fellowship and 2) independence. The role of caring adults being present, based on its location, is protection from abuse. So, does @SSScout's suggestion minimize abuse? Maybe if the coffee shop managers are registered scouters?

The new scout's comment about GS/USA's potential vs. actuality of outdoor program should be a cautionary tale for us all.

I thought it was a great segment. I particularly enjoyed the anchor conversation at the end and thought it was exactly the message the BSA was hoping for.

Here is the link https://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs_this_morning/video/mUObu4_8ouVgu0VRyBo8BuwWgSwwGXcf/a-new-era-begins-for-the-boy-scouts-of-america/

BSA dragged venturing down by a thousand cuts. The worst being last years' youth protection mandates. What group of 14-20 year old co-eds would want to be dependent on the presence of two adults for every meeting and activity? Before that, the distinction between adult and youth participants put an effective wedge between members of a crews with a wide age span. Before that, the jump in registration fees exceeded the average cost of a weekend in the woods on borrowed gear. For late teens, it is now easier to fulfill the vision of a pinnacle scouting experience of hiking and camping indepe

This isn't your question but I thought I would share this. Our CC does not destroy any of the forms when they are outdated. She hand delivers those forms back to the parents. It may seem like a small detail, any of these forms could be photocopied or the details could be written down but I think it shows responsibility and accountability for the details entrusted to her. Maybe the parents care about the paperwork, maybe they don't, but they gave it to her and she gives it back so they can dispose of it instead of wondering or assuming that she did.

Our troop requires two 3 hour long sessions that take the place of the regular meetings prior to going on the Shooting Sports weekend. If a scout doesn't pay attention and/or fails the written test, we don't let them near a loaded firearm. The basics of gun safety are best taught in a tightly controlled environment where a boy's attention isn't distracted by "Enough about safety; when are we gonna shoot!?" So far, none of our instructors have ever been swept with a loaded firearm.

I couldn't have said it better!

Agree with what you say....BUT I also agree with carebear3895... Science and technology are a real part of today's world, and no kid growing up can "Be Prepared" without knowing how to deal with it. BSA's inclusion of merit badges in STEM fields is great --- it lets the boys who want to explore those fields do so. The Nova/Supernova awards are great too --- they help foster awareness of STEM and might also help a boy discover something he wants to pursue as a career. BUT I agree with carebear3895 because he is referring to "STEM Scouts", which is not a purely optional award within t

The BSA leadership really needs to separate out the LDS numbers. While it seems like Scouting is declining rapidly, I suspect much of that is around the LDS decision. Would be better to be more transparent here. Our district had steady membership the past two years.

Did anyone really think we'd see that jump in less than a year? I certainly didn't. I always figured this was a 5-year minimum to get any real sense of how things would go. I never even looked at it as a "jump". It would always be a long, slow progression and a leveling-off after the early years of ups and downs.

Venturing dropping like a rock. Our troop has doubled in the last 3 years. We focused on getting into the Weblos heads early that the boy Scouts program is awesome and then focused on doing the program the way it is said to be done. Forget about focusing on girls (or gender) - focus and program and access to webelos and we will be fine. National or Council needs to sell the value of the outdoors and scouting to parents. We need more positive publicity and relavance so where is it? Our District cant even hire a DE!

I think she's wearing the rank because she believes it is her current rank. She (and her unit) are of the belief that she is Life with Eagle application pending. It's not true, but it's what they are saying by going about things this way. What I don't get, then, is why it even matters to them if National were to approve of her early Eagle Rank award or not. They seem ok with just doing whatever they want, regardless of what is true. Why stop at Life? Just say you're an Eagle Scout then. It's not more less true than saying you're a Life Scout. If that's how she and her unit regard ran

Can out-of-council Scouters bid to serve on EBOR?

Good analogy. IMO at the start of this Eagle Path that Scouts BSA generously provided and communicated, she should remove all insignia not officially earned and get to work. My harsh $0.02,

This is where Sydney starts to loose my support. This is one push too far. BSA has now given her the opportunity that she has been asking for, too be able to earn Eagle Scout even though she will turn 18, and now she wants her Eagle now. I understand the frustration she (and a number of Venturers I know) have about not being able to count camping and activity they have already done. But the fact remains that she didn't complete ALL the requirements, which include signatures from council, and being a member of a BSA troop. Webelos do not get credit for camp outs or activity they do befor

Most of the commentary seems to be on the wisdom or stupidity of the extension- but mostly how it affects an individual Scout. Either way, it does provide potentially a strong program gain. The new troops starting up will have a much better chance of success if they have a few "senior" girls in them. Always tough for leadership development when a new troop is formed from a den of Webelos. To get those girls, there would be opportunity particularly with current Venturers. While not every 17 year old girl will want to work towards Eagle, it does make sense that some of them would- and the t

More thoughtful consideration, less assumptive, contradictory bickering please. Thanks.