Leaderboard

Those were the days. When answering the question in the Eagle Project Workbook, "what did you learn from your project?" his response was "Paperwork will suck the joy out of anything you love." (bold for emphasis)

A lot of them are faltering because they built out a huge annual process that requires dozens of volunteers is premised on a community need that no longer exists and then expect future generations to continue those processes even when they have no modern relevance. I am in many fraternal organizations and the hardest question any organization can answer to a millennial is "What value does your program provide to the community?" Scouting is different as the value to the community is easy to answer.

The advisor primarily helps the scout with project planning and implementation. My CoR (who also represented the beneficiary) was my de-facto Eagle advisor. My SM guided me to the application and (I think) a one-page list of points for writing the report. I had just learned typing lab reports (and go to the stationary store for correction tape and replacement ribbon), so that three page triple-spaced summary (including a single line drawing for cover art) made an impression. At that time, scouting wasn’t nearly as bureaucratic. Service hours weren’t being tallied by National as some just

The number of issues you have pointed out at one event are clear indicators that the problem is the other leadership and not you. It does indeed sound like your troop is not functioning within the guidelines of the program. I think you should raise the same issues you noted here with your COR, and then have a subsequent meeting with the COR and the SM; it's not you vs the SM, it's not you or the SM goes, it's you or the totality of non scout like behavior have to go.

BugleSon (so named by a forum member here), will welcome help and guidance from whomever Council assigns him. Our unit ‘Eagle Advisor’ has positioned himself in such a way that most adults and scouts in the Troop think they must go to him first, before even thinking about a project, which has resulted in a certain young man dragging his feet even more than usual, and even muttering ‘I’ll just quit.’ I didn’t want to tell him he wasn’t required to do something only to turn out to be wrong, so thanks for helping to verify that he is within his rights to present the proposal on his own

Scouting needs to understand that ability to have a ton of willing volunteers, helping with committee, camproees, Fos, and volunteering in general is not possible anymore. A lot of this is tried to councils pissing off and damaging relationships with many scouters. But the bigger part is that it was one of the baby boomer bubbles, ie there was a lot more people who could help out with everything because there was more people in the age bracket. But now that a lot of baby boomers are getting into their late 60s and early 70s they can't help with as much as they once did even 10 years ago.

The positional authority is that willful violation of the GTSS means the BSA umbrella policy does not cover you in the event of an incident.

Don't remind me. And while he was very personable when he got to talk in his interview, dad seemed to be the primary mover.

This is sounding like a Wood Badge ticket item of putting together a "Feed-O-Ree" where units can show different levels and methods of meals. A lot of good ideas out there. And Scouts could knock out some cooking requirements.

I may be missing something on this. I would describe the Eagle advisor as someone in the troop that focuses on the Life Scouts (like an ASM) to teach, coach, and mentor them to complete what they want and started. I think the project part is bigger than the advisor's role. Most projects takes troops(s), organizations, packet write up, resources, etc. I know of district and council folks that nit-pick a proposal and ok. As an Eagle advisor, I'd want all the help I can get to get the project approved, executed, and finalized. As for the Eagle application, BOR, and records, it cou

I do not know when an "Eagle Advisor" position was created, but I am guessing within the last 15 years. So My questions is, what did folks do when advice was needed for the project before the advisor position was created? I went to my SM.

On paper, I was son #2’s Eagle advisor. So, no, they aren’t required to work with someone appointed by the unit to serve scouts in hat unit.

This 🙄! @BKS, encourage your troop to change its teaching model. Identify those scouts who have mastered some scout skills. Make them instructors. Then adults may sit back, enjoy some coffee, and demonstrate making gourmet meals for their fellow adults.

By the way, you also don't need an adult present when Scout skills are learned for advancement. Get those adults out of those groups, registered or not, and let the Scouts teach the skills. Let the older Scouts sign the younger Scouts off on the requirements. Only then does an adult need to be involved.

I have a hunch that, at least in some areas, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find sufficient volunteer support to sustain programs from start to finish. Hence, the greater reliance on the professional corp. Having returned to Scouting as a Lion Den Leader after a 15-year hiatus, one big difference I've noticed is that the Council runs a lot of multi-district events that used to be ran by the districts themselves.

As I mentioned, the campsites closest to us are starting to require two-night reservations. This is a bad idea.

A lot of leaders don't realize how often they have to repeat, "We need you here. You're welcome. Get trained come camping with us. Sit and fish. The coffee will be strong and hot. Yes, we let scouts do their thing. No we don't want parents to badger kids about advancement. Yes we need you to encourage your scout. We also need you to enjoy watching him/her grow strong and good." If we don't do that enough, we will seem hostile.

The best way to get involved is to talk to the Committee Chair and ask what areas the troop may need assistance from wrt a Scouter. If the response is "we're covered", well that could be a possible red flag. If the response is "we need help in the xyz area", determine if that is something you want to get involved in. What you don't want to do is go in being demonstrative about a bunch of changes needed (even if they are) right from the get go. IMHO, as a Scouter, do you want to work with the Committee behind the scenes or do you want to work with the youth in concert with the