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Eagledad

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Everything posted by Eagledad

  1. No, I won't. I'm confident that I didn't say anything where one gender is lesser than the other because that is not in my heart. You will find that I'm very much a proponent of growing by practicing the Oath and Law. That being said, each gender is born with different instinctive behaviors specific to their gender that aid them in maturing mentally and physically to adulthood. It's not just humans, All animals have these instincts. Once we understand these instinctive desires, we learn how to use them to their best advantage. I know from life experiences and education that mixing g
  2. Well done! You certainly have the right to brag. However, your program is rare. Typically only one or two packs and troops in a district are that successful. Most Scout Leaders enjoy volunteering. But only 5% are passionate enough to build a top tier program. Most of who you see here on this Forum are in the 5%. Oh, some of them will even announce they are done with scouting are leaving the forum. But they still hang around bringing experience to our campfire. We couldn't get rid of Fred even if we wanted to. Which we don't. Man he's good. Barry
  3. All well said DuctTape. From our experience of letting scouts do sign-off. I think you can do all the ranks up to first class. Honestly, it's not a hard process for the scouts. But, we limited it to first-class scouts to ensure they, theoretically, knew the skills and had the maturity to take it seriously. The Scoutmaster will be the quality controller because they look at the Scout's book during the SM Conference. We held a class every six months after the elections to train the new First-Class scouts on the proper procedure for testing (verifying the skill) and signing off. Th
  4. Our Scouts signed off everything up through first class except for the adult required signatures. The only issue that ever popped up was the scouts for some reason didn't put dates. That caused some issues at first until we retrained them. And we did invite senior scouts in the BORs. I do miss the old days. Barry
  5. This has nothing to do with the intrinsic value of either gender. It's about providing a program that gives each the best opportunity for growth. We could just call the genders A & B, so the biases don't cloud the discussion. Barry
  6. I learned over the years with Cub Scouts, that the scouts usually do what the parents guide them to do. Now that can mean the scout wants out and the parent agrees. But, I did pretty extensive research with the Webelos and I'm convinced that adult burnout contributes to at least 70% of the Webelos non-crossovers. That is conservative. I even started a district program called Longbow that encouraged troops to help the Webelos den leaders provide a fun program. I killed the program because the target group of burned-out leaders wouldn't attend any of the activities to communicate with the
  7. I have 40 years of working with youth, some training, and a couple of mentors who are professors in child psychology and life in general as a father and husband. I've experienced enough to know. Well that's a nice generality. I don't even know how to respond to such a generalization, but it is a bit condescending honestly. Just what do each gender offer that the other will learn that isn't in the Scout Oath or Law? Before you go on with your observations, the actions and reactions of youth are generally instinctive. Someone said boys like to hang around boys. Well yes, and if you
  8. Yes. Each gender grows and matures differently and mixing the genders dilutes the strengths of the program for developing character and integrity. Barry
  9. 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
  10. Just curious, is there room in your program for units that want to be single-gender? Is it optional? Barry
  11. Here is a timely article. Seem a few Native Americans like their heritage. https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/pro-native-american-activists-fight-save-indigenous-traditions-nationwide-war-wokeness Barry
  12. Sadly, true. It's political in it's nature. So it's emotional. Not logical. Barry
  13. The Tiger age Daisies scouts in the GSA are a separate program from the older Brownies. That makes managing the groups much easier with age appropriate activities and materials. The BSA doesn't have to quit recruiting First Graders, just develop a separate program. The could even add pre-school age youth. Trying to plan a Pack Meeting that is fun for both toddlers and near preteen scouts is very challenging. Barry
  14. I here what you are saying, I also always had balanced growth of both youth and adult membership. My nature is problem solving areas where performance is lacking. Whether in my job, home, even scouts, I like to evaluate and search to improve performance. And I have done a lot, A LOT, performance evaluation over the years of why the BSA is loosing membership. And it comes down to National changing policies for the purpose of increasing membership. The changes made in the 70's basically shifted adventure part of the program to more focus on advancement. When you look at the policy changes
  15. Yep, we grew from 15 scouts to 100 in five years and I'm convinced it was because of our adventure program. Barry
  16. My experience is older scouts are stubborn about change. Much easier to kind of let them keep their old habits while starting change with the new scouts. It takes a little creativity, but can be done. Barry
  17. When women were brought in as Troop leaders, I remember the sudden fear of axes in wood tool’s training. Many commented that saws would be their troops go to tool. I reminded them that the saw caused more trips to the emergency room than any other wood tool in scouting. One of the things I loved about scouting was the teaching of using tools properly and safely. I remember well how to use the hammer and saw properly at my first Cub Scout Den meeting at the age of six. From the simple poncho to mighty axe, a few simple instructions and some practice turns 12 year old middle schoolers into
  18. Yep. If parents are waiting for more safety policies, I can't imagine what they would be other than reporting the incidents at higher levels so they don't get covered up. We had a lot of discussions here about safety improvements and nothing significant was brought up, mostly because BSA policies are pretty good. Funny, you don't hear parents being worried about schools when sexual abuse is report every week in the news. I will say I have observed parents of units hesitating to act on issues of adults making bad decisions. Not just abuses, but issues where adults need correction. I think
  19. This is a really good suggestion. When I think back of the several troubled scouts we experienced, the parents were the key to our decisions, successes and failures. Some parents are the cause of the problem and cause further unforeseen complications (drama). Some parents are all-in for helping provide a positive environment to give their son positives role models and experiences of good behavior. It is remarkable to witness the change. A few become great adults. I taught in adult leadership that scouters HAVE to see themselves only as part of the parents team to develop their kids i
  20. Folks always seem to revert to extremes when discussing the uniform. The uniform is part of scouting, so don’t make less than that. The uniform gives the youth identity and a tool for developing character. The community responds to the uniform with fondness, respect and support. The uniform is part of the romantic adventure to the image of scouting. Make the most of it and have fun. Barry
  21. Piers and role models set the expectations. In cubs, our den leaders wore the uniform and encouraged unity. In the troop, the PLC set the expectation. of course it will never be perfect, but the uniform is part of the fun of scouting. Have fun. Barry
  22. My high school teacher son said his experience of low quality schools to high quality schools come down to expectation from the faculty. My experience as a scout leader from cubs to council was the same. Scouts will make an effort if they are appreciated for it. You are not giving the scouts the opportunity to shine. Even a scout shirt and football pants shows willingness to show their pride of being a scout. Barry
  23. Our town use to include the scouts in emergency prep drills, but then liability became an issue for a real emergency. Tornadoes are common around here. Leaving youth out of the process is safer and less risky for the community. Barry On a personal note, Albuquerque is home to me. I lived near the Sandia mountains as a youth.
  24. But not to ready. The largest group of first year scouts that quit our troop in 6 months had experience camping every month during webelos. They were simply bored. Part of the adventure of being in a troop is learning scout skills from other scouts. A few scouts skills to get them wanting more is ok, but cubs with first class experience tend to leave because the troop program doesn’t live up to the hype. I used to teach webelos leaders that we would rather have scouts with no outdoors experience who are confident standing in front of groups and mingling with older scouts than trained camp
  25. I respect what you are saying, but we will have to agree to disagree. Barry
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