Leaderboard

The real key is to accept the fact that First Class First Year is a lie. Assure a scout that if he doesn't want to complete that requirement now, you'll give him an opportunity next year, and the year after that, until he's ready to give it a try. Obviously that means he'll miss out on some activities and rank advancement will be delayed, but that's okay. He can focus on other activities including loading up on MBs that interest him and maybe figuring out something fun for his patrol or the whole troop to do.

OK. Now I get it. Throw him in the strait. At first, I thought it was a misspelling.

William Boyce would be another. Back to the OP, whatever new literature (program or merit badges) comes, there should be an accurate historical account of the BSA in this regards. Discuss Negro scout troops, Interracial Service, Japanese-American scouts during WW2, how we can be a character building organization with flawed characters, ...There is bad but IMHO more good in our history, and the lessons to be learned support our mission - prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. A

I talked to my wife who is a swim coach about this and does our swim tests. She says that most backyard pools aren't big enough to realistically conduct swim tests because on the amount of time spent in the turns. She suggest finding and open neighborhood pool or YMCA pool to conduct the tests in. You still need to abide by the Covid restrictions for your state so you might need to schedule times to keep it the scouts distanced.

I'd like to start by saying that I was a member of troop 45 from 1980 till 1987. I attended CBG from 1981 to 1983 and was a staff member for the summer in 1984. CBG opened in 1959 and closed after the season in 1985. I have many great memories from attending this camp. This summer I was vacationing in Wisconsin with my parents and was planning on staying in Wausau. Before I left home I went through some of my old scouting items. I found a map of CBG and the directions to the camp folded up in my field book. After I checked into the hotel I grabbed the map and a camera and headed off to f

You and the skipper must confront the behavior directly. List bad behaviors. Explain that they have to stop. Then ask if there's another problem that you don't see that's motivating her to violate protocol. Be prepared for it to not go well. But for the sake of those scouts, you need to give it a shot.

The District Advancement chair should sign both places I believe. The fundraising addendum is usually not a big deal, they are looking for reasonable and scout-like fundraising.

There is not an easy way to deal with this other than strait on. I like Double Eagle's suggestions, but some parents just can't help themselves. I had one such parent that was so bad that he took his sons patrol to McDonalds when they were complaining about food. When we talked to him, he shutdown and eventually took his kids and left. Another was continually hours late from campouts, There are things to worry about because "WHERE ARE THEY?". He also had a problem of stopping off for a meal. He was asked to step back and we never saw his again either. He didn't take his son out of the program

My understanding from the rules are that fundraising and starting work on the project prior to the district signing off will invalidate the project. If it is just putting a hold on a facility, I think that would be ok but no actual fundraising or solicitation until the paperwork is signed. It shouldn't take too much work to get the paperwork signed. My son was able to get that done over the course of a week of phone calls, emails, and video conferences. Good luck on your son's project as well.

With the Scouts home since mid-March there has been an increase in the number of projects both within our Troop and District. They have had a lot of free time! Unfortunately none of the projects are for the Charter Org.

The Scouts are raising anywhere from $500 to $1,000 depending upon the project. My true concern is being fair. We have more than one Eagle Coach in the Troop and I want them to be able to say to our Scouts that they can ONLY reserve dates on the calendar after XXX is done.

I've had several scouts, including my own son, who were much more afraid of open water than a swimming pool. It's tough when you can't see beyond the surface. Doing a test under pressure can have the same result, I'm sure. I try to tell them this isn't like a school test. You can keep trying until you succeed. There's no penalty for not succeeding the first time. We just want you to be capable in the water so you're safe.

That is great to read! I am glad the Scouts and Scouters had an excellent time.

On the speaking of Japanese BSA scouts. On ebay i bought a patrol leaders handbook from 1929. I found a name in the book and did some research. I reached out to the family and found out that it was his and they were very happy that I have it and will keep it safe. It was owned by Jiro Aratani. A little google sleuthing got me to this info about Mr. Aratani. Mr. Aratani was interned in a Japanese relocation camp in WW2.

Talk to various local pool officials. There has to be a way to make it work. Kids who can't swim pose tremendous risk of death. I met my requirements in a pool, and it opened acres of lakes to me, including a Great one that my family swims and boats in regularly. Most state parks are open, and many have ideal lanes for swimming. But face facts, instruction is an intimate affair. Your scout may have to wait out the year.

Some kids don't like to swim in anything but a filtered, chlorinated, tiled, heated swimming pool. They don't like the feel of nature. They can't stand having the weeds touching their feet. I tend to think that this is what scouting is all about. Getting outdoors. Learning to not be so squeamish about the natural world. Yes. I know. The rules allow the scout to be tested in a swimming pool, and I am not suggesting that we impose our own requirements on the scout. I just have the feeling that this scout, and many others just like him, are really missing out on the scouting experien

This is a very valid point. Here in VA pools CAN open with those restrictions. Our neighborhood pool did, but many others are closed all summer, including all county pools.

If you can meet the rules, I can't see why you can't use your pool. Keep in mind, unless you have a really big pool, you'll need them to do more laps to meet the distance requirement. https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/gss/gss02/

If people looked at all culture of all kinds throughout history and banned it on the issue of the day, we would have nothing left. Humans are sight oriented and use that and every sense to distinguish friend from foe, who one likes and doesn’t like, who deserves derision for conduct, Humor, satire, music and everything else. There is no guarantee against hurt feelings. There is no guarantee or right to be liked, desired, appreciated, respected, or even tolerated by others in a human level. Human being seem to increasingly forget its fun to laugh at differences, draw fascination and intrigu

Retired Rear Admiral Charles R. Kubic was recently elected as president of Tidewater Council. In Kubic’s own words, “It is a rare privilege to work alongside the very best Scout volunteers and professional Scouters while guiding the development of our nation’s very best youth as they live the Scout Oath and follow the Scout Law each day on their way to becoming our nation’s leaders of tomorrow.” Kubic began his Scouting adventure at the age of eight, as a Cub Scout in Greensburg, PA. He continued in Scouting throughout his youth, through a Boy Scout troop and high adventure Explorer

"gettting to Eagle as fast as possible"...I find that sad. Scouting is about the journey, not having something to prove. Advancement is a by-product of the journey, not the purpose of it.

Forget BSA marketing, which in my mind totally misses the point. In very simple terms, scouts learn to forestall death:

A step, rather a metric, that I would like to see is to recover past corporate donors who left citing BSA discrimination. My $0.02,

" I have thought for some time now that the roots of racism in our country lie in the fundamental inability of white people to see black people as human in the same way they see themselves." No. The concept that my many black co-workers, a couple of black good friends, and my black GP might not be human has never entered my mind. (Oh, I forgot that my daughters boyfriend is from Liberia, so I guess that he is considered black; even though his English is crisper than my own.) But why should I waste my time protesting my racist label? I am a Caucasian who refuses to genuflect at the

An interesting anecdotal article. Sorry for what happened in his experience. From that one experience he decides to then paint with a very very broad brush Too many involved in the BSA are Trump supporters, bullish on his foreign and economic policies, silent when it comes to his stoking of racial divisions. So now we see the real reason for his article. Not an honest comment on BSA and it's policies, but a soapbox to criticize the President. And he has every right to, but if you are going to do that own that criticism and be straightforward. Then he again makes a very v

Unable to view the opinion piece...no WaPo subscription. Since the letter was broadcast, I have had conversations with experienced local Scouters who see the BSA's letter as (their words) "pandering", "bandwagon", "a PR stunt", "an attempt to remain relevant", "inflammatory", etc. Although most understand the intentions behind the letter, there is general sentiment that BSA should have simply reinforced existing parts of the program which apply. Most also agree this will probably be the end of the DRP, or BSA risks another label of hypocrisy.

The OA Lodge I joined followed the Lakota tradition. Every other year we sent a group of 12-18 (2-3 station wagons) to the Res to be trained in Lakota dancing and ceremonies. They did not want us to perform the Ghost Dance for religious reasons, and we did not. I was trained as a drummer, not being graceful. Of course, they were very conservative. They routinely wore European clothing, ate European food, and drove motor vehicles. It never occurred to me that they were engaged in "Cultural Appropriation, " but this was back before PC. American Indians were on

So... BSA has decided to change the Eagle requirements AND add a new merit badge with little or no input from volunteers. Sort of on a whim. Great move. This falls into the "let's do something even if it's not well thought out" category BSA has decided to add to the required training for volunteers with little or no input. Another great move Not saying these are necessarily poor initiatives. They wreak of knee jerk reaction and a lack of actual leadership

So, I decided to join the community to decide if I'm really interested in scouting, soo I hope all this info will help me to make the right decision. I'm going to check as many history threads here as it's possible.

This is a fine example of how we are missing the boat today. The focus here is on what the Scouts did and are doing to help the country. The article of course does not come from BSA directly, though you can see the West touch I think. Point is that there is no reason why BSA should not be finding similar ways to loudly toot our horn, or blare it even with all the positive that SO outweighs the negative that the media focus on. In truth, while we are mostly concerned with BSA image, the larger dearth of positive news, which actually predominates if you actually look, is an opportunity.