Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/11/19 in all areas

  1. Did you find "gently flowing water" here? https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/HealthSafety/pdf/680-685.pdf I always first refer to the Guide To Safe Scouting. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34416.pdf Page 15 says "Cub Scout activities afloat are limited to council, district, pack, or den events that do not include moving water or float trips (expeditions)." I fear BSA's internal documentation has internal conflicts way too often. Their age sheet says it's okay for wolf and above. Their G2SS Safety Afloat says no. BSA really needs to gear up their quality
    2 points
  2. Barry: My effort is to create a positive, encouraging thread that highlights positive program activities about all-girl troops. Under the rules of this blog it is proper that off-topic postings are removed from a focused thread, and that is what happened here (and not at my request). Nothing aggressive about that. I look for the better side of people, like the overwhelming majority of bloggers here. My scouting bio includes AOL, Eagle, sea Scout QM, camp staff, vigil, unit leader, district Chair, Council President and Area President. Now I am focusing only on being a Scoutmaster.
    2 points
  3. Eagle may be scouting's highest rank, but there are awards that are FAR rarer and more prestigious. The oldest of these is the Silver Hornaday medal. In many years, the number of these awarded nation-wide is in the single digits. Many scouts find their Eagle project to be a daunting challenge. Imagine having to do at least FOUR projects of equal or greater complexity, all of them focused on different areas of conservation....and requiring approval by national. Well, that's the kind of effort a highly motivated scout must have to earn a Silver Hornaday. My heart soared today at the news t
    1 point
  4. Dear Friends, including Moderators: I agree with those who think we should mainstream discussion of Scouts BSA all-girl troops. Pigeon-holing us into a politics chapter continues a negative cast on a decision that, while not supported by all of our members, is actually working out quite well. We should not have to defend against negativism when what we really want to do is discuss how the program is best working in the new units. Please make the change. I've been the senior volunteer at the Unit, District, Council (major metropolitan) and Area levels, and served on national and
    1 point
  5. The adults in my units have always known how I handle their private information. They trust me with their children, they also trust me with their information. I have never had an adult with any concerns or objections as to how I handle any of the paperwork, whether applications or med forms. I have had several who have expressed appreciation that I am aware of issues that may arise as a result of medical conditions that either my adults or Scouts have. There has never been a question as to how I handle their information from anyone in my units, only random strangers on the internet. While
    1 point
  6. This is fantastic! Long Beach is less than an hour north of my place (I'm in Orange County Council); I will plan to head up there ASAP to check out the exhibit and get some ideas for my own council's 100th anniversary next month! Hopefully I can get my Troop and Pack to come along too.
    1 point
  7. Tatung42 ... My apologies. I never meant to infer you did not know or that you were unreasonable. I fully understand and I've been there. I was in your situation 12 years ago with my second son. I had taken him on long canoe trips. Overnights on a local slow moving river with my father-in-law. I think it created some great memories for both of us. Then, the den wanted to go on a canoe trip as part of their fun. But we did follow BSA's rules and we grumbled quite a bit about it. It seemed ridiculous that an outdoor program put such tight restrictions on their members. On BS
    1 point
  8. I am seeking some clarification if we are allowed to take Cubscouts on a Rafting trip down a river. According to the age-appropriate guidelines, it is ok to take them rafting on "gently flowing water". I guess that it all comes down to: what is the BSA definition of "gently flowing water"? The river that we are planning to run is mostly Class I with half a dozen class II- features that can be easily avoided by running river right or river left. The overall gradient is 4 fpm. Other details that are important: Safety Afloat guidelines will be stric
    1 point
  9. We are having girls simply materialize at our Troop meetings and want to join on the spot based on what they have read about Scouts BSA and heard about our Troop. A 14 and a 15 year old just this week. So we are now at 28 without any specific recruiting activity since January. And, 19 are going to summer camp so far. As I have been at the granular level on this, for about 1.5 years, my intuition is that this is going to indeed be big. It is almost as though a dam is about to break and will flood us with new people — boys, girls and Scouters. This is going to happen in 2 or 3 years and no
    1 point
  10. Thank you for the quick reply. Yes I was looking at the age-appropriate guidelines, but you are right that the G2SS says no. I guess that answers my question, and we will wait until scouts BSA. And yes I know that just because my 9 year old daughter can do it, that doesn't mean that the cub scouts should be allowed to do it. I was just using that as an example to illustrate how "easy" the river is. My family does a ton of stuff that any reasonable person would consider totally safe, but that is not allowed in cub scouts (and sometimes even not allowed in scouts BSA). Interesting
    1 point
  11. Talking to a few folks at National, the numbers are really surprising them. The new ScoutsBSA girl numbers are growing daily and still gaining at around 800-1000 per week. There are now over 1600 troops formed. Interestingly, it is anecdotal at this point, but the reports from the “linked” troops are that they are seeing more new boys of varying ages. The reports generally go along the lines of families coming together. And, although also anecdotal, it appears the recruiting and sign ups as mentioned here in a couple of posts of girls is quite different than boys. The girls absolutely co
    1 point
  12. Would normally like to do that, but this comes from official reports as of the end of March, the details of which are not published. But, this is indeed the actual number. All-girl Troop unit formation has been incredibly strong — much better than expected for the off-cycle start in February. As a result, the big scale-up of these units will probably take place in the fall when the core girls who attend summer camp begin to really take charge of their troops and bring in their friends. That will also be a very natural time to reel-in additional Scouters specifically interested in sta
    1 point
  13. sadly, most Eagle boards I sit on I am depressed afterwards because they just checked off the marks, got a project from the scoutmaster or committee and went through the motions. They are Eagles, yes, but the variance is great between them. It goes on their resume, mom and dad are happy, and we all move on. Hornaday, Ranger, and Quartermaster awards carry more weight as a group imho.
    1 point
  14. The number of Scouts BSA youth is 3.1% bigger compared to last year at the end of March. Hard to believe but true. When the girl-specific numbers come out I am certain it will provide more evidence of our developing organizational membership turn around. And, many girl troops are relatively small, having just started off-cycle. I will be really interested in the October and November figures, which will show us all the potential for stabilizing and re-setting us for long-term growth. But, this very early indicator is very encouraging.
    1 point
  15. Our troop's SPL recently did exactly that as his Eagle project. An emerging area of concern is also household cooking grease being put down kitchen sinks. Many people think that this will be automatically filtered at the local sewage treatment plant, but the fact is that kitchen greases have been getting into water resources and causing bacterial growths damaging native aquatic life. An enterprising young scout could develop a Hornaday-eligible project around this kind of problem. See: http://ceasethegrease.net/
    1 point
  16. We had an Eagle scout who in a six months time frame was our SPL, a Venturing Crew Leader, planned a high adventure trip for a Troop Crew to Montana, and was very active member in OA. Remarkable doesn't even describe this kid. He also got a high enough score on the SAT to earn a full scholarship to MIT, THAT SAME YEAR. I agree with Qwazse that the BSA undersells opportunities within the program for it's members. I grew to be disappointed with adult leaders because while they think they are pushing a scout beyond his goals to reach Eagle, they are actually limiting or holding the scout ba
    1 point
  17. Precisely. An Eagle rank is good preparation for the basics in life, and it is definitely admirable that so many boys aspire to the rank.....but it's really no Hornaday. In 2017, BSA awarded 55,494 Eagle ranks. In that single year, it's more than 5 times the total number of Silver Hornadays awarded over more than a century! Just like we all applaud our kids when they achieve a high school diploma, we applaud the boys who earn their Eagle. But it's a different kind of accomplishment altogether when a boy earns his PhD. Same with the scouts who have the ambition and drive to compl
    1 point
  18. I think @The Latin Scot we all are victims of an inordinate elevation of Eagle rank ... to the point that I fear many scouts who could do otherwise just "stop there." Case in point: avid readers of Bryan's Blog, know that Eldred was the first Eagle scout. How was the first Quartermaster, Silver Awardee, or Summit Awardee? A scout's Eagle project should be the first of many such endeavors. It is truly impressive when youth coalesces his/her next four projects along a single theme in a few short years. The Hornaday award (along with awards in Venturing, Sea Scouts, and Exploring) have
    1 point
  19. It's lovely that this young man has worked so hard to achieve so much. However, I think it's important that we don't adopt a perspective which leads us to use phrases such as "mere" Eagle. The Eagle Scout Rank is still representative of extraordinary effort, service and leadership, and while this young man has certainly gone far beyond the usual expectations, it in no way lessens the full significance of "just" earning one's Eagle rank. Rarity and prestige are not, after all, the real reasons we earn these awards, though certainly we honor those who achieve them. Again however, it's great
    1 point
  20. I met an Eagle Scout a few months back. Talked to him for a bit coming out of the hospital. He was 20 years old, about to marry his high school sweet heart and was enrolling in college. He wants to be a biomedical engineer. He lost both legs below the knees and part of his hand in Afghanistan. I assume from IED, he didn't say and I didn't pry. He did say he was an E4 and a squad leader over there. I couldn't imagine telling him he was not ANYTHING enough to be a full fledged Scout leader if he chose. Yet I have met fifty-something year old Scouters I wouldn't let walk my dog let al
    1 point
  21. Health forms aren't a permission slip. They aren't just about if you are "fit" or not. Part A is a liability waver. Part B is a voluntary history that provides your unit with the information needed if emergency First Aid is needed or if you are taken to a medical facility and not able to provide a history yourself. I maintain that this could probably be accomplished with a sealed envelope and a "is there anything on here that we need to know about?" That makes things on the scouter/parent not on the unit. Part C is the "Fit or not" part. These are for long term camping a
    1 point
  22. There's really two seperate issues here. First - does the BSA even need anything more than a assessment of "fit to participate" or not? Second - if the BSA requires health forms for participation - should troop adults review them? If the BSA is going to require health forms for participation, then unit leaders ought to review them before an event. It's not HIPAA case because the forms are provided voluntarilty and for the purpose of participation in that activity. Really, the whole thing with privacy of health forms has more to do with people seening that that you don't expe
    1 point
  23. Ummm... ... Per HIPAA, if BSA was a covered entity, Awanatech reviewing medical forms prior to an activity would be permissible, and your son/daughter telling someone in another patrol about their patrol-member's food allergy would be a sue-able, mandatory-consequences-inducing act. That's what a legislated solution will get you, so be careful what you wish for. More interestingly, what I believe I'm seeing is a greater need for safeguards for units, so that they can protect themselves and their scouts against medical-safety issues induced by paranoid scouters who would r
    1 point
  24. The medical history information is not about whether someone is fit or not. It's about whether the unit is prepared for whatever medical complications the person may bring to the activity with them. If you believe that it's fine for you to come on activities with my unit without informing us that you have a communicable disease that requires extra attention to personal-protective equipment if someone must assist you medically, while you are allergic to things that we need to know in advance for planning or for maintaining your safety during the activity, or any number of other medical is
    1 point
  25. I certainly try to be! I've made no assumption that Awanatech is a qualified medical professional. HIPAA contains no requirement that only qualified medical professionals have access to a person's medical data. That's simply not what the law is about, what it does, or how it works. Now, what HIPAA would do, is make it a finable offense subject to mandatory reporting to the federal government and a defined punishment and sanction program, if your child told a member of another patrol, that a member of his or her own patrol had a food allergy. It's not clear to me how a "qual
    1 point
  26. Ok then, let's resume the OP discussion. Thanks RS
    1 point
  27. And now we can return to the OP topic....
    1 point
  28. Dear SSF: This thread is focused on examples of positive activities and outcomes of girl troops. There are plenty of other threads where you can engage in advocacy against girl troops. Because you have decided to leave the BSA, I wish you good luck in finding different civic activities and organizations better calculated to your preferences.
    1 point
  29. We conducted a parent meeting yesterday for our girl troop regarding going to our council summer camp. I needed to spend time explaining the basics because girl parents are used to the standard “sleep away” and GSUSA camps that operate differently. They were thrilled with the focus on skills acquisition and merit badge advancement. And, the concept of the entire troop attending together was fresh to them, as they were used to sending their girls as individuals to camp. Our council has done a great job by including girls in the camp promotional materials. We have just begun our sign-ups an
    1 point
  30. Whether the committee is a big single committee using the linked format or effectively separate, the object is the same — to manage the incoming number of Scouts caused by this enhanced program. The program is identical, but the implementation has some differences. One thing we are experiencing is a greater tendency for girls to bring in their “best friends” into the troop. Girls are also crazy-proud of their uniforms beyond what I have experienced in Boy troops. We are making sure to emphasize those things. I just would not get hung up on the structure behind the troop operation.
    1 point
  31. That is much harder than it sounds and requires dedicated adults. Even harder are two dedicated CCs and SMs. Don’t just ask for volunteers, seek out talented adults and personally recruit them. Barry
    1 point
  32. I up voted your post because I agree with almost all of it. The one point I disagree with is a new forum or section. Both G-Troops and B-Troops issues can and should be covered in the existing framework, because it is all Scouts BSA. Will there be issues unique to girls or caused by the presence of girls? Certainly, but in the scope of scouting, I think they are minor and can be handled in the current structure, just like we are doing in the real world away from this site. Other than that, bravo. There will always be curmudgeons that don't like change, regardless of the chang
    1 point
  33. As per December 4, 2018 Moderator Policy in Forum Support & Announcements An Original Poster (OP) can state in that first post "Only on-topic responses, please." Off-topic responses will then be moved or deleted by moderators.  Consider so stated. Any member could have done this. If we mods miss an off-topic response, use Report Post function in upper right corner of post to bring to our attention. Only on-topic responses, please in this thread. RS @MattR , @desertrat77 , @John-in-KC , @NJCubScouter
    1 point
  34. I am getting ready to pass out Scout rank pins and cards tomorrow during our regular Saturday meeting. 13 of our 25 girls have earned them, and I expect the balance to so so in a week or two. We might have some Tenderfoot ranks to award before our COH in early June. Our Scouts BSA girl members are taking to the program as-is, and having a lot of fun along the way. We are having so many sign-offs from our 6 ASMs that I needed to have help to get the Scoutmaster conferences done. There will be a lot of happy girls around DC tomorrow. On the issue of tents, we have decided to go with 2-
    1 point
  35. The horsemanship merit badge idea is really a great example of something that will particularly appeal to girl troops. Some council camps have horse programs. We are going to arrange a special week of horse activities at a council camp, and expect it will be quite popular.
    1 point
  36. 19 of our girls spent this weekend doing the Horsemanship merit badge at a local stable. This was our very first outing, and a huge success! The girls did a great job, considering that they're all Scout rank. It's definitely a unique challenge not to have more experienced scouts to pass along scouting skills and such. They had a lot of fun and are starting to gel as a Troop and as patrols. So excited to be a part of this.
    1 point
  37. This is our nearest troop. Our Venture Crew (all girl) shares a CO and meeting location, so on the one night a month the crew meets and the scouts are there, we tend to peek our heads in and see what's up. The troop is continuing to have girls sign up, with a reported two additional in March. I think they're over 20 now, but would have to double-check on that. In any case, they sure put 100% effort into the Klondike, with a few of the older scouts training ahead of time, even though the charter wasn't official yet. https://rennamedia.com/new-bsa-troop-280-places-high-in-regional-r
    1 point
  38. Not really a scouting story but one doing the rounds here that I thought you chaps might be interested in is the Mi Amigo 75th aniversary fly past today over Sheffield and Cambridge this morning. For those who have never heard the story Mi Amigo was a US bomber in the Second World War based in the UK that crashed on its return from a mission over Europe in 1944. The story of what happened though is quite moving. Unable to make it back to its base due to damage it had to make a crash landing. Initially to avoid crashing into local houses in Sheffield the crew attempted to land in a public
    1 point
  39. First class mail is now 55 cents. I know this because I reminded my wife to stock up on Forever stamps before the rate hike went into effect. The Post Office dutifully held her "Stamps By Mail" order form for about 2 weeks before processing the order...at the new higher rate.
    0 points
  40. Cburkhardt, since you are using a passive-aggression to promote your opinion of the new scouting program, tell us more about yourself. Your past scouting experiences and your future experience goals. Are you a father, mother, grandparent? Barry
    -1 points
  41. I see that this message board continues to live in a bubble of 'we think.' Only the views of the elites are allowed and anyone who disagrees is silenced. So much for the freedom to disagree on what is supposed to be an open forum. Cburkhardt I hope that your efforts to feminize the BSA fail, but as I said in my post that was removed, this war has already been lost. The real BSA is dead. Congratulations to you on your victory in contributing to that.
    -1 points
  42. You are clearly troubled by any criticism against girls in the BSA. I'm not sure why you keep responding, and with the same copied and pasted response no less. In my original post that got removed, I called out the absurdity that was highlighted in the shameful and biased, "Girl Power" 'reporting' from the article that cocomax shared. If you put something out there that others find objectionable, then someone is likely to let you know that. And, just for the record, this is not a blog. It's a forum. That's why it's called "Scouter Forum."
    -1 points
×
×
  • Create New...