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While I appreciate your optimism I think this is simply naive. First, no matter what settlement comes out of the bankruptcy, it will be belittled in the MSM and progressive media as insufficient. The BSA will be portrayed as a greedy organization trying to short-change the victims by declaring bankruptcy. Second, I can think of at least 4 additional membership fights to come (in no particular order): Local option for fully co-ed packs and troops because separate but equal isn't working Mandatory fully co-ed packs and troops because nobody should be allowed to discrimina

If you like good news, I have some to report. The patrols in our unit are much stronger now. I nudged a little, and the SM and ASMs were quite open to the changes. There was a reforming of the patrols along the lines of natural gangs I spoke of in my original post. The patrol with the older boys chose to keep their old patrol name. The patrol of younger guys created a new patrol with its own new identity. There is now no question who is in what patrol. No more going to the list at the back of the room to check. There is now a patrol meeting during each troop meeting. These ar

I am more of an optimist and I take longer view. Surbaugh is doing exactly what is needed and the BSA is succeeding. We will be much better-off. Over the past 25 years the BSA has faced increasing market competition in the form of the explosion of athletic and other options for youth and high-paying parents to choose. Simultaneous with that time, the BSA was made into a cultural punching bag when an internal group forced adoption of "don't ask don't tell" (DADT). For the first time in our history the religious dogma of certain entities was being mandated on many units which, until t

I'm a white guy who burns pretty easily if I spend too much time outdoors. I live in Texas too, where the summers are even fiercer than in a lot of places with more shade and milder climates. Of course that means I worry about having sun block when I go outside, along with a water bottle and a hat. In recent years, I've added another weapon to my arsenal of sun defense: my shirt. Like most people, casual outdoor attire usually calls for me to wear a T-shirt. When I'm out with the scouts, that usually means I'm wearing a "Class B" T-shirt. The problem with the typical Class B is that it

I would take it one step further in why the ethical decision making will be tossed onto the scrap heap, and @Eagledad nailed it with the note of "challenging a scout". If we as leaders (adults, youth troop, youth patrol) challenge a youth on his decisions; not only ethical but practical ones on an outing; are we not potentially bullying the Scout into our way of thinking. The concept of bullying has evolved into one being made uncomfortable by someone else. I would also say that this statement while optimistic, is rose colored glasses. As BSA morphs from what is was to what

Hmm, that is a complex question because their are so many dynamics of setting goals and developing skills, toward, or as a result of those goals. It might be easier to define the differences as a result of scout choices. And many of these things come by accident. For example we had to take a scout to the emergency room during summer camp because the he subbed his toes while running through camp. The adults camp at a separate campsite across the road from the scouts, so I have to walk over to talk the SPL. And in short, the SPL saw the whole thing happen. He knew the rules of shoes being requir

Now hold on just one second there! I said I wanted QUALITY content, so any cash raised has to go to those who check their facts and write like professionals! The way I see it, y'all owe ME a whole heapin' pile of Benjamins... Please make the check payable to "mrkstvns".

The program is changing enough that ethical decision making will fad into a myth because the method of challenging a scout to make ethical decisions requires a moral reference. The YMCA was created for moral and ethical development of boys. Does our culture today respect the Young Men's Christian Association as an organization built on the foundation of morality? Or even ethical development? Oh, some will say the oath and Law doesn't require religious reference to be valid, but once a consistent moral reference (god) is taken from the ethical decision making process, character is left to

Well now...feel free to pay a subscription to scouter.com if it makes you value the postings here more.

Uh, yeah, sure.... And I'd like free donuts for life and hot swimsuit models to entertain me for free and a free Ferrari to get around town in. There's an old adage that "you get what you pay for<' and as the world has discovered, when information is available for no cost, it also tends to have no value (or even a negative value). I would prefer BSA pay professional writers to actually research their material, and to write it professionally using good communication skills that they paid real money to develop in real universities. I would prefer BSA to pay real fact checkers a

Do scouts even read BL any more? The youth are the intended audience but I don't hear the scouts speak of it. Ever. My Venturer would never look at it, and she's a certified bookworm and outdoorsy type.

In my backyard this transition has been happening for at least 10 years now. Our biggest packs and troops are those who'd quietly moved past the political questions of the last 5 years. They are welcoming to all, now are finding space for girls, and don't worry too much about the religious component. They have great outdoor programs entirely in the spirit of patrol and scout led programs. They have no problems getting scouts to join. Where we are shrinking is in the small units who just don't try anymore. They all have less than 20 scouts, leaders are overwhelmed and burned out. Say

Also BSA may have issues with these activities Firebuilding - which contributes to global warming Citizenship in the Nation - which continues to support the capitalistic dogma the country was founded on Knife basics - which promotes use of (yikes) a knife Fingerprinting - Which supports the overreaching police state Swimming - which promotes class separation as not everyone has equal access to a pool Automotive Maintenance - which also promotes class separation as not everyone has equal access to a car

We have to teach troops the difference and the trust that it works. But, lets start with a brand new troop; how do the new adults insure the new scouts learn how to set up tents for the first camp out. That has the appearance of a conflict right at the beginning. But in reality, using adults as resources for teaching when there are no other resources is just fine. The challenge for new adults of a new troop is learning how to step away from teaching methods as the scouts master the skills. That is where adults typically develop bad habits of controlling the methods as well as the Aims. Ba

I should add BSA has a relationship with the NRA BSA teaches scouts to murder and butcher fish BSA promotes scout Sunday thereby disenfranchising their open/closeted atheist members to my second list of bullets above. The list is almost endless...

My son's patrol sometimes likes ramen --- especially on backpacking trips. At first glance, that might seem to be a cheaper lunch or dinner, but in practice, it's often not. The reason is because ramen by itself is not particularly satisfying. When the boys have ramen for a meal, they virtually always mix in something: occasionally dried peas, but more often, diced chicken (like Sweet Sue, which sells for about $1.50 per pouch). If you buy a pouch of chicken for every scout and 2 packs of ramen, you're up to about $10 for a patrol of 6 scouts (though the ramen itself is a small fraction

Apologies? You have a very fine troop, no apologies required. I don't mean any disrespect, I just personally feel that giving the scouts the responsibilities of their activities and just taking responsibilities for their decisions is the next step in adult leadership maturity. But, I admit, that is my big picture of developing Citizens of Character and Leaders of Integrity. Vision keeps us going strait, which isn't always easy. I commend anyone that stays in the lane away from the gutters. Barry

I was hoping to see a couple tips in the article. I am sure living in a rich area and having peers' parents who can afford the $21,820-$26,630 tuition for the school he goes to doesn't hurt him at all... Now you show me a kid who lives in downtown Detroit and sells this much popcorn I will be very impressed.

I think that if someone is complaining about the lack of a fleur de lis on your temporary insignia patch, they've missed the point.

Sadly it is not only different from council to council, but also Scout Exec to Scout Exec. While the volunteers are suppose to be in charge, I have seen the nomination process rigged first hand at the council level, and was encouraged to do the same at the district level when I was a DE. Last district event I ran, the DE overruled myself and the volunteer in charge of the IOLS training that weekend. We had been working on the events for over a year, and at the last minute the DE added a 3rd event the same weekend at the same time. We had to scramble to get additional supplies and I had to red

I fully acknowledge I'm getting pretty far off the original topic. But, since the comment is out there in response to mine, permit me to add my perspective here. I know this is a common perception out there. Perhaps this is different council to council. I should probably have defined "big decisions" a bit more. If I look at programming, I find that almost all decisions are made by senior volunteers. These are your event chairs, council VPs, district program chairs, etc. Most of these positions have a professional advisor who do impose some rules on money and facilities. But, b

If National registration was the "all-in" cost of Scouting, I could easily sell an increase to $75/year. But it's not. To most people all that fee gets you is your name in a database. Registration fees don't cover the cost of one badge or pin, much less a camping event. Anyone that has done an actual cost study on the true cost of Cub Scouting, knows that it already takes close to $200 to put a kid through a year of Scouting. That's just to run a bare-bones program for Cubs (no trips, no campouts, etc.). That's $600 in popcorn sales before we even begin paying for outings and adventure

I’m a bit pessimistic. More wealthy families no longer see scouting as critical to their children’s success and they don’t see how scouting can fit in their schedule between mandarin classes, coding clubs, sports and music. Middle class families are being priced out with national, council and camp fees. Yes, there is fundraising, but scouting is not about fundraising and if that takes up considerable time just to pay registration fees you’ll lose interest. Lack of quality new volunteers is my biggest concern about long term health. Several Troops in my area are led by older

The adults have a different agenda, or they are supposed to have a different agenda. I taught that adults are responsible for Character, Fitness, and Citizenship. Scouts are responsible for Patrols, camping, advancement, relationship with adults, growth in making decisions, decisions base from Oath and Law, leadership and uniform. Scouts don't have much of a problem with their responsibilities, it's the adults that can't seem to stay in their lane. So, to your point of the SPL driving a fun program; scouts know what fun is, so the scout should be driving the fun. You are right to

Sounds fair. I think there's another issue. Where does this drive for efficiency come from? Scouts are busy. Parents are busy. Everyone is trying to cram more into a week. Asking for more volunteer hours is like squeezing water from a rock. Unfortunately, scouting growth is kind of like a good loaf of bread, it takes time to rise. The longer it takes the better it tastes, and using yeast can really wreck it, not to mention make it less nutritious. (Can you tell I'm hungry?) I was surprised the first time a scout told me one of the best things about scouts is you can just hang out wit

One area in which we all can improve is the removal of barriers to the Patrol Method. In general, all of the things adults do to make it easier or more efficient which could be done by scouts may be barriers to developing the patrol method. For example, adults towing the troop trailer which stores equipment to the campout for easy access to gear which allows scouts to go back/forth whenever something is needed. This habit denies the patrol the opportunity to communicate, plan ahead, and learn to cooperate. Better would be the following: While planning the outing, the patrol determines whi

A moment of silence for the starry-eyed young scouter who evidently didn't survive the game of life.