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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/14/20 in all areas

  1. My experience is that units, districts and even councils do have some leeway toward a custom structure, but councils motivation depends on what they will get out of it, which often gets in the way at the unit level. I was given the the go-ahead by council to develop a completely new concept of a Council Level Junior Leadership Training Course. The concept and syllabus was completely different from Nationals JLTC/Brownsea courses both in the objectives and the structure of the course. Council was motivated for something completely new because the previous course directors developed such a bad c
    4 points
  2. A few things: 1) Entry into scouts at different ages. There seems to be this model that we have to grab youth when they're young because after that we'll never see them again. Hence tigers and lions. Rather, I like the idea of splitting cubs in 2 and encouraging the idea that the older cub and scout programs are a great time to enter scouts. Less burnout for one. Also, a lot of kids are starting to drop out of sports just about the time scouts starts up. That's a big, untapped group of kids. I don't know how to encourage this. I think too many parents, that don't understand scouts, j
    3 points
  3. I'm kind of a big picture person, so I don't look at national standards and flexibility as choices. I believe organizations need a consistent structure that doesn't change from state to state, or even from generation to generation. Scouts across the U.S. and their grandfathers should feel they come from the same program. But, my experience at the council level showed me that there has to be flexibility for different cultures and personalities of members. The education and experience of the average leader in a city is far different from the leaders 30 miles a way in farm communities. So there h
    3 points
  4. Some random thoughts based on some of the comments here: Update uniforms for simplicity, economy, and functionality. Program fees are likely to go up. BSA can help by making uniform expenses go down. The year to year uniform changes required in cub scouts is a good example. Theoretically, a family needs to replace hat, scarf, belt clasp, slide, and socks every year. At the Troop level, the "field" uniform is more like a dress/parade uniform and yet we expect scouts to show up in it for everything short of marathon running. In other areas of their lives, most kids are used to weather fri
    2 points
  5. I had a fourteen-year-old who joined BSA with extensive backpacking experience who absolutely detested and despised the name "Tenderfoot". Go back to Baden-Powell's original definition, "A Tenderfoot is a boy who is not yet a scout" from Scouting for Boys page 36. Call the kid a "Tenderfoot" as soon as he or she turns in his/her registration form. Leave the rank requirements (and insignia) for "Scout" and the current "Tenderfoot" the same as they are not, but call them "Fourth Class Scout" and "Third Class Scout". It really seems backwards for "Tenderfoot" to be a lower rank t
    2 points
  6. Perfect timing, @Cburkhardt. I just spent last evening talking to a financial guy about how totally screwed up our council is. The SE hires the board, so they will never complain. A capital fundraiser of $6M is in progress and the SE is already siphoning money off of it for other things (he can't explain what, though) The council president is a yes man. And the area leadership is chummy with the SE, so they will never do anything about the issues. The point is, for at least 20 years our council has been run by 2 different SE's that have no expertise in how to run a business. It used to be that
    2 points
  7. As I have stated before the JTE is a measure of quantity not quality, therefore not a way to measure "excellence". I think it thus a barrier to improve units, and scouting in general as it perpetuates "check box" philosophy which then permeates other areas of program.
    2 points
  8. The volunteer organizational structure of the BSA today is one that is largely based on a promotion model seen in large organizations. You start as a volunteer in a unit, a few years later you get involved in a district, a few years later the council, later the area, etc. Problem solving works much the same way. A unit is an entity that works in isolation and receives coaching from a unit commissioner or district volunteer. A district receives some coaching from a professional or council volunteer. The net effect of this system is that it engenders consistency. In an era where we have se
    2 points
  9. New this year, the latest uniform inspection sheet from national accords 15 points to a handbook: ... without any further specification as to where it might be placed on the uniform. Perhaps it can hang from one's belt -- opposite the rack for the MB sash. Suddenly, a patrol of scouts looking sharp for a parade or an honor guard at a memorial are only 85% uniformed if they each don't have a SBSAHB? How on did this tome become part of uniforming? A couple decades back, we had a UC turn scouts away from a BoR because they didn't have book in hand. That kinda makes sense. B
    1 point
  10. With a national Financial Restructuring Ch. 11 Bankruptcy filing likely in our future, this posting will focus on structural changes that might be good for the national BSA organization. This posting will focus on corporate, governance, professional staffing, volunteer involvement (area, region and national committees and appointees), council oversight, public relations, insurance, financing and fundraising functions. If you want to discuss a program issue, please engage in the companion National Program Changes posting, which is now active. I ask that Supply Division and High Adventure Bas
    1 point
  11. I agree. It may have seemed funny 100 years ago, but it seems remarkably obsolete in this age of anti-bullying and anti-hazing policies.
    1 point
  12. Simplifying the program means fewer people needed to monitor and maintain it over time - lower costs. Simplifying and focusing the program makes it easier to sell to busy families - more membership, more revenue. Flattening ScoutsBSA advancement and making it more experiential should make it easier to recruit older youth (who might be turned off by "Tenderfoot" rank or by being outranked by a Scout two or three years younger) - more membership, more revenue. Uniforms that look contemporary provide an up-to-date, relevant image to the public, putting more focus on what the you
    1 point
  13. This actually something we are working on putting in the Troop handbook. Asking that the parents continue to medicate the scout so they have the best possible experience.
    1 point
  14. 1. Reduce and focus the subject matter areas covered in the Cub Scout and ScoutsBSA programs. That is, reduce and focus the subject matter areas covered in the advancement requirements in those two programs. Likewise, focus the subject matter covered in the Venturing program. In order to compete against specific, well-understood youth activities such as soccer, piano lessons, tae kwon do, etc., we need to be able to state -- in three or four short phrases -- what youth DO in each program. Identify those specific areas and clear out program elements that do not directly fall in those areas.
    1 point
  15. Well said. Isn't this what servant leadership encompasses?
    1 point
  16. Seems a strategic measure for Publication group facing downsizing. The inspection sheet is out of touch with economic reality. Our SPL developed their own uniform sheet and I see that as the future direction with a continuing decrease in Scout shop purchases.
    1 point
  17. Probably national should be able to dictate that its offered, though I could see leaving the option to not offer it as part of a unit decision. I would kind of envision something like a structure wherein a pack has two elements in it (the younger and old elementary), in the same way that it seems like a lot of troops kinda have a venture crew around, though more formally. I'd be open to refinement though, as I suspect that it would take specific experimentation to find the right answer.
    1 point
  18. I didn't think a green arrow was enough support of your post. The ideas in your post have been mention several times on this forum for 20 years. And we will just keep mentioning them. Well done. Barry
    1 point
  19. So I can mainly speak to the cub half of the program as we haven't hit the troop yet. (1 year to go for the first) I would like cub scouts broken into two halves. I've mentioned this here before, so it should be familiar. Regardless, my idea would be that you have two different levels of K-2 grade youth and 3-5 grade youth. Make the K-2 level program more like the old tiger cub program, where you meet less frequently, have a few more guidelines on what you can do, etc. Then you move to a 3-5 grade program where you get a bit more freedom because you don't have to accommodate the K-2 aged
    1 point
  20. ParkMan: This is, absolutely, how it works at the current time based on personal experience. I've been an observer and participant in the national structure since 1976, when I was elected a regional youth officer in the previous East Central Region. Since then I've been variously involved in the national program development, membership, fund raising, event, base management and council merger functions. There are many very good people involved in the professionally and volunteer ranks of the national structure. I encourage anyone considering a post to this entry to consider biting off
    1 point
  21. Councils, especially those with land, will be sued over the next several years ... many already are subject of lawsuits and as National goes bankrupt they will be the next targeted entity.Their primary job will be protecting camp(s) that are critical to program success and I expect that means their legal fees will skyrocket ... leaving less paid roles. I believe National, supported by councils, should perform a national call for volunteers. Contact former scouts directly (especially those under 30) and former long term unit leader plus advertiser the need on Twitter, FB, YouTube and oth
    1 point
  22. Four very specific things I'd do: Make the primary task of the DE to build and support the district team. Not FOS, popcorn, program, and not even unit service. It's like the oxygen mask in an airplane - you cannot help others until your team settled. National needs to define specialized training for district volunteers. This training needs to be delivered live. National needs to define a regional training for district key three members. Camp School for district key three. National needs to create a problem solving team to help troubled districts
    1 point
  23. I won't flame you, but I do have a slightly different experience. We had two different scouts that were on the spectrum. One might have been co-morbid with ADHD. Anyway, one scout had a parent that was heavily involved, knew the issues, and taught us how to work with his son. Everything worked great. Another parent didn't want to admit their son had challenges. They did volunteer for a while but eventually their son got in so many fights that they took him out. So, it depends on the parents. I will add that kids with hyperactive ADHD likely will not sit still for advancement. They should have
    1 point
  24. I'm seeing the same dynamics. Training is perfunctory at best. Several years ago, before the on-line training, each month the council would point out that we district staffers were in single digits for training. YPT was all done. But the council had not conducted a district staff training course in years. Yet they still showed us deficient for training each month, with the upshot being it was on us. Us to council: "When will you schedule the training?" Council: "Some time in the near future." Never happened. The on-line course arrived first. The lack of training has not only im
    1 point
  25. One recommendation on this is to be clear with parents in advance that if a scout becomes a distraction or problem the parents will be called regardless of time or distance, so do they really want him on a medication holiday?
    1 point
  26. That's no problem. We have 1 volunteer for every 3 scouts. Would you believe...1 volunteer for every 10 scouts? How about a retired Health teacher with a rusty pen knife?
    1 point
  27. I'm thinking district roles really need to change. We keep looking at restructuring from a top down perspective. I think we need to start from a CO/unit level up perspective. Everyone is talking about recruiting good volunteers, more volunteers, any volunteers. Well, volunteers are disappearing or at least morphing in the Millennial generation. This may be blasphemy to some but I think more district roles may need to be paid resource positions. I think more district roles will necessarily need to be in direct support of unit volunteers, making their lives easier and providing resources that ar
    1 point
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