Eagledad

I'm not a patch kind of guy, since I have to sew them on, I only put on what is absoluty nessesary. I think I went a year before I switched my ASM patch to the SM patch. Call me lazy, but you won't find knots and such on my uniform. However I like the idea of adults wearing the Eagle Patch. It doesn't make sense that such a big deal is made of the honor, and yet it becomes just another knot? How many folks can identify each knot anyway? That Eagle patch is pretty obvious even to non scouters. From the perspective of the scouts, the Eagle patch makes a lot more sense than Wood Badge beads. And I have seen a lot more adults flashing their beads around to get authority than their Eagle knots. Barry

>>We don't know if those Nay Sayers are LDS, old fashioned traditionalist of the BSA program, or just don't like girls..

>>Leadership cannot be taught - whether at NYLT or at a Scoutmaster's knee.

>>I also think it's in the implementation of the program, how closely the staff sticks to the syllabus, and how prepared and how much fun the staff has.

I can't disagree with you on how National uses their data BadenP because I don't know, I just know that they do ask. I also know that they poll parents, or use too, because I've seen that data. I just don't know how they pick the parents or how the polling is done. Barry

>>Case in point, the guy who was originally put tin charge of SCOUTNET in '97 or '98 had NO IT expereince. non, zip, nil.

>>The results? Well its hard to say. In 1998 number of scouts (tens of thousands I presume) left the program and formed a parallel program affiliated with the Baden-Powell Scouting association. Their numbers continue to free-fall but many of those scouts may have joined the BP scouts so raw numbers are kind of an apple-to-oranges comparison.

HI All First off, National does try to stay in touch with the workers in the trenches through polling the professionals at their conferences and training, and scout leaders in some more local areas. If you attend Training at Philmont, you will likely get polled about the program. I was polled heavily when I was the Council Chairman for Junior Leader Training. Seems they didn't listen. Some of you may in fact be part of a test Council for some perspective program changes. They arent out of touch by any means, but Im not sure they analyze the data well either. >>If the number of NEW members is the reason for decline...meaning that the number of new people joining up is dropping. well,it can't be due to the change in this program or that program.

>>Isn't it ironic that an organization who universally agrees there's a membership decline problem, work so hard defending their right to keep people from joining?

>>Barry, I would be interested to hear what dramatic changes you would suggest.

>>As one who respects your opinion, Barry, I would be interested to hear what dramatic changes you would suggest.

>>A very interesting theory indeed and not without some merit.

>>To think that this constriction in easily accessible and maintainable charter relationships didn't have a negative impact on growth is to say the least, fascinating.

>>Of course today's cubs are tomorrows Boy scouts

>>But also I think the current social conservative bent the BSA (and its major chartering partners) project is becoming increasingly distasteful to younger parents.

Lots of good answers given already. I would like to see a break down of the drops. My personal opinion is the Cub side of the program was getting too heavy and complicated for the average volunteer to maintain. The drops were indicative of that just a few years ago. The first year of the Boy Scout program is traditionally the biggest lose of scouts for all ages, so there is no surprise there. But I wonder if there are any dramatic changes of trends on the Boy Scouts side. I know there was on the Cub side. I have always thought the National would see the light and try to lighten the Cub program so the volunteers weren't working so hard, but the opposite has been the case. Just follow the Tiger program changes alone and you can see the increase of volunteer time required to maintain a quality program. Barry

Its not the 3Gs, several youth organizations in North America over the past 25 years have veered left with more liberal politically policies and their number decreased dramatically. None of them maintained their numbers or increased. While a few here would like to think otherwise, the youth scout programs community is basically conservative. For all the marketing of outdoor activities, they are still viewed as values based programs (Think Character Traits of an Eagle). When the program makes a left turn away from values, they loose members. My opinion is the BSA is loosing scouts from its own weight. Any volunteer with a few years experience in managing a Cub program will tell you its nearly a full time job. The number of Cub families that drop in the first year is pretty high. As for the 1998 mark of membership decreasing, there was a dramatic rise of membership in the early 90s that was attributed to the Gulf war. You pick the reasons, but I remember the theory was the drop in the 1998 was only a leveling of that upward trend. Barry

>>By the way, BSA membership continues its free-fall.

He's ready to be the Scoutmaster. Barry

>>I really am beginning to think that when we return to the ideal that the First Class Scout badge is the true mark of better boyhood, we will be on the trail.

>>The more adult participation in the program, the less the Scout participation. Unless the Scouts are running the show it is, in my estimation, not scouting, it is only a family outing of multiple families.

>>But I suspect some of it has to do with the fact that kids just don't know what to do with themselves if they don't have some definite goal in mind.

Wicking hiking socks (0% cotton). I'm amazed how much more comfortable I feel when my feet feel good. Barry

>>Should skills competence be addressed by the SM during the MB process? Of course it should. That's where the SM's role as gatekeeper comes into play.

There actions make me feel proud of being part of this program. I love this scouting stuff. Barry