Leaderboard

@Eagle1993, firstly congratulations! And thanks for stepping up for our youth. Start simple: Respect your SPL Make sure he has a leaders manual Let him know your expectations, they should include that he Has fun with his buddies Is a friend to younger scouts Shares plans and personal schedules with the ASPL Communicates, communicates communicates Respect his time: As you learn more about this scout, you can add or adjust expectations. Get in the habit o

Established Troop cultures are resistant to change because the older scouts just don't like it. And the more experienced adults aren't much easier. Change comes best from the younger scouts. You will have to be creative to keep enough of the older culture so the older scouts feel comfortable, but getting them to bend enough to start melding the younger scouts toward the new culture. You have to get very good explaining why your changes are good for the scouts to get the adults to try you ideas. Remember, their resistance is more of laziness of changing to new ways than not liking your id

Changes to First Class and Scout rank requirements https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/program-updates/

This whole Scouts Canada thing is an attempt to exploit a loophole: trying to join BSA, and now Scouts BSA as a former "youth from another country." This isn't about doing "Scout-y" things because if it were, she could have joining Venturing. In all of their orchestrated press conferences, TV appearances, guest editorials, etc. first dad Gary and then Sydney beat the Eagle Scout drum. Dad Gary repeatedly said words to the effect that "Eagle Scout is something you put on your resume. It gets you into good colleges and gets you good jobs." These people are the Kardashians of Scouting--they never

You might be correct in your interpretation of the G2A, but, the BSA also published Implementation Details for First-Time Members Entering Scouts BSA that includes the following: The intent seems pretty clear. So, we had a standard G2A, then we made an exception because of extraordinary circumstances, then the rules for the exception became inconvenient for one particularly high-profile girl, so now we're arguing that we should apply a broad interpretation of the original standard in this one particular case because she's an exception to the exception to the standard? Where exa

As SM this is your program to run. Start by asking other adult leaders if it would make sense to run the troop by the book, the way BSA describes. Forget about the details, at a high level scouting has a framework and get them convinced that this framework works for any troop that uses it. Once convinced make changes based on BSA guidelines and best practices ant disagreements can be settled using what the book says. -Be prepared to lose some older scouts -Understand that you will make mistakes -Thick skin is recommended - Its your vision that the troop follows, get advice

I think people are conflating different portions of the G2A. I will quote the individual sentences in order. 5.0.4.0 Youth From Other Countries This section clearly allows for non-citizens to join BSA. This section clearly states that prior progress made in another scouting organization may be considered and recognized by the council (note, this is not a call made by Nationals - the authority to recognize resides with the council). The G2A never envisioned the idea that a US citizen would have foreign scouting experience that they would want to apply to BSA so the la

Start with your other adults. Get them on board with the idea or else they will sabatoge anything you attempt. Get PL handbooks, and SM handbooks and be sure the adults first understand their roles and how they fit in supporting the Patrol Method.

@Oldscout448 I sympathize with you. This is not the same program many of us signed up for. But there are some who are fighting tooth and nail to keep it the way it has been for as long as possible. But man is it frustrating. Parents are so focused on the recognition that they do not care about the experiences their child will have. Corporate hiring folks with academic credentials, but no real experience. But again, there are folks fighting tooth and nail. I think about you when I'm on the trail this weekend. Yep my new troop is going backpacking.

There's three hard facts that adults need to accept in transitions like this. "My patch, my rules." Is the level of respect that everyone should accord the one person who steps up to take point. This actually applies to coaches as well. "By the book." Is often what SM's throw back. I focus on the BS Handbook. I also pick campsites that are a couple of miles in from the parking area. That tends to thin the herd of helicopters. "I'll believe it when I see it." is the attitude most adults who are willing to help your program actually have. When they see one or two little successes

What I want to know is how Ms. Ireland got into Scouts Canada? We live in a border city and I was not allowed to enroll my children that are half Canadian in Scouts Canada. I was told by the local council, provincial council and the National office that kids living in the USA weren't allowed to enroll in Scouts Canada due to reciprocity agreements between Scouts Canada and the BSA. The only way my kids could enroll was to be residents of Canada. My daughter wanted to be a Scout so bad she could taste it in first grade. There were no GSUSA troops in our area that would take her. So I call

The patrol camping and cohesion is a good path, but it is a journey. Needs to be in the forefront in camping and meetings When I joined my current troop the camping method was, at best, the blob method. Sort of everyone camps, in a large group. To move towards the patrol method, we revamped the "How" we camped, sort of cold turkey. Working with the PLC we reset the patrol boxes, and every patrol got the box, tarp, table, lantern, etc. First campout (a February one) after we worked through the details, this was the new way. Before any personal gear is setup, trailer is unloaded,

I think that's the crux of the issue for me. We were told nothing was going to change program-wise and we have well documented rules for advancement. We were told no prior credit would be given. Then the exceptions started. Extensions for Eagle, waving the FC requirement for girls for the WSJ, etc. In this case the rules are being folded, spindled, and mutilated for one high-profile scout. It is embarrassing.

Sure - of course. Don't encourage a fools errand. But, I don't think that happened here. She had an idea to get some advancement credit for her invovlement in Scouts Canada and it worked. Clearly someone in addition to me thought it was a good idea. While we want to be as fair as possible, we can get ourselves hung up on "being fair." Is it fair that this one scout was so engaged in Scouting "unofficially" that she became a vocal proponent for a BSA program for girls? Was it fair that she was so invovled that when admission of girls to the BSA happened that she had all kinds

@Oldscout448 Godspeed. And, if you fall in with anyone fielding a program for youth in a way that you can get behind, let us know.

Thanks for stepping up and speaking out. Your posts here are top scout. RS

Sorry to see you go. I just ran a camporee that was all patrol competition. That and making a fool of myself and the scouts had fun. So, it's not all bad everywhere. Anyway, take care.

Several years ago, we did one for my father-in-law who had almost 80 years in Scouting and almost as much in the OA. We had a great Ceremonies Team, but we'd never done such a ceremony. Went more or less "by the book" and were able to get a quick practice in - did the two lines of Arrowmen with linked arms, but in one spot, one Arrowman was holding one end of the Arrow and another Arrowman the other so as to create an "empty spot" for the deceased brother. His sash was draped over the arrow. The same arrow was later broken, so...if you do something like that, the arrow is typically 'notched' a

Safe journeys @Oldscout448

It is documented, as I mentioned (media photos).

I have gotten requests to talk to reporters about this on TV this morning. I very quickly turned them down about pointed them to the press release from BSA. We have to all remember, we do not represent BSA in any official manner but can do inadvertent damage to the program by talking about the issue publicly without any real in-depth knowledge and specific background/training in the domain.

Found this blog on the American History page. The battle between Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts is as old as the programs started. Nice pictures though. A Scout By Any Other Name By Tim Winkle, Amanda B. Moniz, and Amelia Grabowski, March 12, 2019 In May 2018, the Boy Scouts of America changed the name of its program for older children to Scouts BSA and opened membership to girls for the first time. Girl Scouts of the USA initially responded to the change by emph

You must not be a rich lawyer constantly searching for and then shamelessly exploiting loopholes. And if I recall correctly, wasn’t there something about the whole Ireland family claiming dual residency and the father buying a house in Canada so Sydney could be a Canada Scout in the summer or something?

The exceptions and ignoring of the rules when it comes to advancement has been going on for a long time as has been noted in this thread and others. BSA has zero quality control.