Eagledad

I agree, but I have never met a Scoutmaster who didn't think their troop was scout-led. I will come up with some things that made me feel really good about our program, but what makes scouting so great is that the rewards change as the program changes and matures. Look forward to those wonderful unexpected rewards too. Many are coming your way. Barry

This, by far is the most hostile post I ever read on this forum. Can you imagine how many of our kids would get education and skills instruction if every teacher, little league coach, dance instructor, and so forth who doesn't agree with all the policies of the organization stayed away from kids? There would be nobody. This forum has had hundreds of these kinds of discussions for 30 years, but there is a difference between posters today and the earlier years; Posters today don't want to learn why folks think differently, and they want to censor any speech they disagree with. Ironical

Whatever each one of us wants to think we are, there does seem to be a predictable tendency to diverge away from the center to one side or the other; instead of toward the center where we each seem to think we should be. Barry

It depends on the interpretation of threats. I believe that bringing in girls has created, well lets just say a less welcoming environment for boys. There have been several discussions over the years of how adults are pushing the girls program and performance over the boy's program. And there was even mention of how the differences between girls and boys put the boys at a disadvantage in this program. I stand for the fairness and safety of all the scouts. But, in these discussions, it is fairness and safety of the boys' side of scouts. I understand that emotions are powerful for forcing c

There is a huge difference between not agreeing with a policy and passionately working with youth. I'm a firm believer that the Tiger Cub program is the cause of thousands of families dropping out of the BSA, but I found a way to raise our numbers. I believe education about the struggles from policy changes is healthy because it provides dialogue for ideas to approach and improve or fix the issue. Sad that so many folks feel that censure is the only way to stop discussions they don't like. Barry

Or Explorers. Barry

I like what you're saying, but your posts don't reflect more than two sides. In the first discussion we had about mixed-gender scouts, you, in so many words, told me to butt out. I didn't and don't take offense, your style of moderate "my way or the highway" is common these days. But, how can you encourage a less pick a side discussion if you intimidate the discussion to go one sided? Is it so hard to not die on the hill of your opinion? That is why I keep bringing up using the Scout law for Civil discussions. The Scout Law is common to all of us, so we don't have to lecture or dictate o

My apologies for not understanding This is a challenging time for young people. Politics and cultural extremisms are driving everyone to pick a side with no gray area. Life was simple when I was a scout, it was a little more complicated when I was leader, but nothing like now. My high school teacher son is very frustrated. He had a student commit suicide a few months ago. One of three in the past few years. The problem from his perspective is social media. Kids today get all their identity from social media and that puts them in a very volatile place to find themselves. One day socia

I'm curious, what is the latest traditional male gender role that is considered a threat? I'm one of those people who believe mixing females into the patrols puts the males at a disadvantage for personal growth, and possibly some harm by the adults. So, I struggle with the idea that girls are the ones at risk. I've seen way too much overhype on this forum to not be concerned for the boys. One poster was bragging just the other day about all the girl cubs on the podium after the derby races. What was the point of the statement? Were boys also on the podium? We don't know, but we can imagin

How can a troop over ride the camp director? Barry

I guess it depends on what side of the fence one stands on where the haters are. Just look at the title of this discussion, The BSA should get tough on scouts and scouters? One fairly new scouter even suggested I be censored on a discussion of mixed genders. Seems some folks are willing to push hostility to a new level to get what they want. So, explain to me why I should encourage my grandkids to join the BSA in this hostile environment. The game has lost the purpose. Barry

I think the choice for single-gender troops and patrols is the right approach. Barry

Here is a good start from an SPL. http://scoutmaster.org/boy led troop.pdf

I guess. It’s a new term to me. And it’s sad that standing up for someone today is considered noble. In a time when being offended is considered a right and safe places are the norm, acting scout-like requires courage and is truly noble. Barry

We would welcome the lad, but require a parent because while he is old enough, he may not have the maturity to suddenly camp with a bunch of strangers. The BSA looses more scouts at this age because the experience of the sudden change of culture can be overwhelming (scary) especially on an overnight camping experience. And I would suggest doing only one night for the same reason. Encourage a patrol to take him under their wing with the parent hanging out with the adults. It will likely go very well. Barry

Strange post. Experience cannot by definition be a conspiracy. Yet several members here still push their ideal program as best or preferred despite experiences showing to the contrary. Doesn’t really matter, when left or right becomes part of the definition with one more so than the other, it’s just bias hype encouraging more bias hype. And, it show’s motivation for the post. Loyalty to each other doesn’t mean hyping misaligned program practices over good practices. Expressing, discussing and educating good and successful practices is what this forum is all about. Barry

Ah, sounds like you have the right team for a great troop. I also had a great new CC while I was learning. We went from 15 scouts to 100 scouts in five years. It takes a good team willing to change from what doesn't work. Learning is part of the process for growing, and part of the fun. Barry

Yep, delegate, delegate, delegate. If you are doing your job right, you really don't have time for that stuff. It's better to stand back the day of loading the cars for summer camp and let others deal with the chaos of final checks, signatures, and so on. You will get plenty of your own questions. There is also a real benefit for getting parents involved. They will have more pride and buy-in if they are involved. You really need to find a good CC. They make or break good troops. Barry

Lots of good ideas here. Who is leading this charge? Should be DE, but you never know their experience. You could be that person, but if you do, delegate, delegate delegate. Running a pack is hard enough without trying to help another. It's OK to have the ideas and let others run with it. But, I would ask for a meeting with the pack adults and ask them how they feel about these ideas and learn their temperament of the situation. You are not there to take advantage of them, you only want to lend a hand. Let them know that. I have worked with some splits and mergers, so I will help anywhere

Why do they want to merge? Barry

Does there have to be a productive aim if the discussion is civil and managed within the Scout Law? Sometimes the best reaction to a discussion one doesn’t enjoy participating is to choose not to participate. Barry

I tried using reason in a discussion a couple weeks ago; emotion and cultural loyalty is strong. I don’t think the boys have chance of a fair program in the BSA anymore. Honestly, I didn’t see it coming. Barry

This is a humbling well-written article. Most, if not all, of the contents of this article have been discussed on this forum many times over the years. And we are just getting started. I love this scouting stuff. Barry R

I wish that was the solution, but the problem is more of a lack of experience. And more importantly, a lack of a BSA youth Scouting experience. Even with all the training, inexperienced adults still struggle with the idea that youth managing their program activities actually develops character and integrity. Or, they believe it works, but just don't know how. So, these adults tend to fall on their training and start setting goals for scouts to advance. They build a First Class skills program where most of the activities have an objective of advancing in rank and stature. The adult nature

I agree. And it will dumb down "Patrol Method" to the point of the method used mainly to manage large groups. The economics of the program is already intuitively pushing Adults to get more personally involved in the scouts' activities, which is more like the cub program. Scouts will have less control of the program management and make fewer decisions for the outcome of the activities. It will be fun without a purpose. This is what happened to the Canadian Scouts program about 30 years ago and the membership numbers have never recovered. They were the largest scouting program in the world