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I agree with this. There is a ton to the scouting program and you don't know what you don't know. On the other hand, when I was a new leader I took it upon myself to familiarize myself with Scoutbook, which led to me to all these awards, which led me to research. There HAS to be some type of proactivity on the volunteers side as well, or at the very least, show them where to look.

I agree with a lot of what you posted. Several big reasons for membership loss... In the 70's some folks shied away because they thought we were too militaristic, then there was a proliferation of other youth sports and activities. Volunteerism started to dwindle, single parent families exploded and mothers were no longer 'stay at home' to become den leaders for cubs. Tigers were added and Webelos became a 2 year (really 1.5) program and the added time in Cubs caused a drop in retention and crossover recently exacerbated now by Lions. The program drifted more into urban emphasis as Green Bar B

For how long have we here at Scouter.com advocated for required mBs to be in groups/categories of which the scout could choose?

I feel the biggest reason why awards like World Conservation and Nova were not undertaken by more Packs is because the requirements were not printed in the handbook! Most of our Pack leaders are new to scouting and didn't know they were available. They have their hands full getting through the rank requirements,. Then there are plenty of electives to do once the requirements are done, and those requirements are printed in the handbook. The issue isn't whether the award is a patch or beltloop. After Lions were added to the program, plus the beltloops for Tigers, Wolves, and Bears... It doe

Long time. Citizenship and classroom merit badges are often catalysts.

I guess if the decision to let girls participate in our program was ordained by a president, or the courts, or legislature removing “Boy” from the letterhead would be intuitive. But, what happened in this country was that men and boys developed, then preserved, a program that was fun, character-building, and largely egalitarian to the point that a percentage of American girls preferred it to programs with “girl” in the name. The enthusiasm of those girls moved the hearts and minds the preponderance of men and boys leading it. Basically, girls can become Eagle Scouts because the boys said they

Bring back a Bird Study as Eagle required! Or make it one of a group... Bird/Mammal/Insect/Reptile and Amphibian/Fish and Wildlife Mgmt/Forestry/etc etc etc Drop Cit in Society ASAP...

True - oh so true. When we are out and about during the outing closing etc leadership always tries to bring up that the state parks, WMA's, National Forest, National Battlefields etc are preserved areas and it takes support to keep them. We mention that as Scouts we may have have camped / hike at the same place. We need to do what we can to help preserve and promote the public lands. Outdoor Code is more than 27 words and Leave No Trace needs to apply any time you are out in the woods. BSA should be the experts in this and SMEs (Subject Matter Experts).

Hey, wait... are we in the same council? Just looked at the training stats for our council/district. Only 68% of unit leaders have finished their position required training. Or, from the other angle, 32%, council-wide, have not completed their basic position training. There's a good place to start... We are the only unit with 100% trained adults in our district. Council-wide, we are the largest of 8 units with 100% trained. Gold JTE for the past 7 years... (so >= 85% retention year over year, >= 9 short term outings per annum, >=70% of Troop at summer camp, etc. etc. e

I often say, the Scouting program is a mile wide, and, if you choose a specific area, you can go a mile deep as well. Ranks and requirements are the breadth... merit badges, awards, and further training (Kodiak, NYLT, NAYLE, etc) are the depth... For adults, you can go even deeper in the training opportunities offered in Aquatics, Shooting Sports, High Adventure, Outdoor Ethics, STEM, etc, etc, etc... I wholeheartedly concur with @OaklandAndy, in that most adult volunteers are simply ignorant of the opportunities Scouting offers for all ages.

@niagarafalls welcome to scouter.com

Boys and girls are different. That includes developing behavior maturity, or character in the specific case of scouting. Girls and boys have different instinctive behaviors that add to developing maturity in moral and ethical decision-making. So, mixing genders can, and does, interfere with the best potential of developing mature decision makers of integrity. For the best development of character and integrity, some folks would rather use the environment of single gender units, at least up to puberty. Barry

We were, but gave it away. In the 80's the BSA did just that when we worked with the Bureau of Land Management to formulate Leave No Trace (LNT). The BSA had the opportunity to lead LNT but did not. In the 90's, NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) took over LNT with the US Forest Service. Other government partners joined. Government funding of these education programs was always a problem. which lead to the creation in 1994 of LNT, a non-profit educational program which marketed courses to many groups including the BSA. More details at this link https://lnt.org/sites/de

A great decision and parents of girls in the program are much more likely to step up and take leadership positions which has been on the decline for decades. We need both. About the only decision made in the past 5 decades that I 100% agree with.

Thank you for the history lesson. I didn't believe you, so I looked it up. You were right. This is from the USScouts.org neat page on the changes over the years. From 1972-1979 Camping was not required. 7 years. A whole Scout generation. The strike outs didn't copy and paste. The reds are removal and greens additions. I earned my eagle in 1990 and Cooking wasn't required, but Safety was. 1967: Camping, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, Conservation of Natural Resources, Cooking, First Aid, Lifesaving, Nature, Personal Fitness, Safety, Soil and Water C

While a good plan, just be careful to make sure the challenge and adventure is included. In the 70's and in the skill award days you could pick from 12 and had to earn 8 for Tfoot - 1st Class. Only required ones were First Aid and Citizenship. You could earn Family Living, Community Living, Communications, Environment, Physical Fitness, and Conservation and do minimal outdoor stuff. Swimming, Camping, and Cooking merit badge were not Eagle required. Yes, you could attain Eagle Scout rank and NEVER camp, NEVER build a fire, NEVER hike.

And we are missing a great opportunity to be THE organization that puts outdoor stewardship as a core value while we are in the outdoors. We dabble in it... to get requirements signed off...

Don't underscore or short sell the seismic changes BSA National determined were the next best thing in the 1970's. When incorporated (skill awards were going to be awesome) BSA Membership 1971 - 4.8 million, 1981 - 3.2 million. That is losing a 1/3 of your members in 10 years. The organization has never recovered from the decision switch to focus on advancement and not adventure. After the great change in the mid-70's it was possible to earn Eagle Scout and never swim, never camp and basically never go outside. If you were on a hike and got lost the advise IN THE SCOUT HANDBOOK was

The GSUSA Promise and Law are similar, but different. Some of the differences include the following: Organization Model BSA uses the charter organization concept, think franchisees, whereas GSUSA owns each and every unit. As a result you get Scouts BSA units that are 25, 50, 100+ years old GSUSA units last until there is no longer enough folks left to be a troop, and have short histories, Philosophy BSA believes that "OUTING is three-fourth of ScOUTING," and in 2019 had 85% of its members camping at least once per year. GSUSA in 2019 was proud that 12-15% of its membership ca

Campfire. If memory serves, Campfire Girls, now Campfire was the official female counterpart to BSA, started by a bunch of the same folks.

My Cub Scouting days were back in the 1980s, with the yellow and red beads marking progress toward Wolf and Bear, and with the gold and silver arrow points for electives. While I had lots of fun, I especially loved getting a new bead or arrowhead because of the sense of progress and accomplishment it gave me. Plenty of the other boys in pack felt the same way.

We make earning the awards fun 😜 Fun with a purpose. The purpose is to experience the personal growth (and other Scouting methods) reached while pursuing the award. The award is simply a "tangible" milestone marking the intangibles we experience along the way...

Yes. This was a part of the presentation at our council leadership summit yesterday.

When an organization's focus is on Quantity; Quality suffers. When the focus is on Quality; Quantity will also improve. Just summarizing our esteemed colleagues' aforementioned experiences.

I am not sure that agreement can be presumed. I am a lawyer, 40 years in practice and our council executive, pompously affecting "CEO" is paid twice what I earn. And so, fine. BUT, the CEO manages half a dozen "professionals" who do menial tasks. (Actually, the tasks I've done as a volunteer-and much better than the "professionals.") And, if I make a legal mistake, I can lose my net worth-easily so. If the council CEO makes a mistake-frankly-who will ever know? I have no pension. Scout professionals have a superb pension. So, why does my scout CEO get paid over $300,

My hope would be (though not likely) is that they actually take one of 2 paths for this new set of requirements. Whether one thinks the DEI initiative is a good thing or a bad thing, it is likely not going away. BSA National has opened the door, so they will not be able to close that door 2 Hopeful Paths Restructure the Citizenship Merit Badges to include some new items. Some of the DEI requirements could relate to community, nation, or world. Remove the Citizenship in the World MB from Eagle required and insert the (obviously reworked) DEI merit badge in it's place Dou

Do I understand you correctly to be saying that all the millions of scouts that have scouted in gender-integrated programs over the decades did not develop the best character or integrity?

The Rovers are back! Who Are the Rovers? The Rovers are a group of young adults aged 21-34 with a passion for the outdoors, giving back to the community, and hanging out with like minded peers. Our Goal Our goal is to provide a community for young adults who would have previously “aged out” of other Scouting programs. You don’t stop learning and growing when you turn 21, so we want to continue fostering the values of Scouting as young adults. The Benefits of Rovers The Rover program benefits the

I wonder who will sue who over the term Rovers. I know BSA used it in the past, but I do not think they have legally defended the term, and thus may have given up rights as a result.

What does "the patriarchy" mean to you? What exactly do you think is laudable about it?