fred8033

@Armymutt ... I have nothing much to add except your situation is not really that unusual. I've seen it several times in my years. Youth issues that reflect of adult conflict. Usually, it results in changing units. Always, look for positive growth experiences for your kid. It might mean changing units or changing hobbies. Wishing you the best.

I fear the mistakes were in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, etc. All those leaders are long gone. For example, most companies in the mid-1990s started having email retention policies because a huge store of emails and electronic documents virtually guarantees having something that can be twisted to be incriminating during litigation discovery. Even if you are the best and most altruistic corporation, a huge store of outdated, obsolete documents is just not a good practice. There should have been a retention period ... not to hide bad practices ... but to protect against dangerous litigation.

An accountant asked me at one point how much risk are you willing to accept when deciding how much to pay myself versus take as a draw. You can be really really safe or reasonably safe or take a risk or just be foolish. ... Somewhere between the lawyers, the accountants and the executive leadership, BSA made massive mistakes with a wonderful program and organization.

Okay. I just saw the following. New requirements online and QR codes to access/ Scout shops to get new MB pamphlet inventory. I always think about the carrying cost. Ouch. https://www.scouting.org/program-updates/important-update-merit-badge-requirements-moving-online/

QUESTION ... What is the change? I see physical MB pamphlets can still be purchased. Is it only to emphasize online MB first and then paper second? Or is national stopping the distribution to scout shops and people need to go online to purchase? I'm just curious.

The mistake was getting involved in the debate. Introducing this a few years caused frustration without gain. Now, removing causes frustration without gain. ... Scouting needs to focus on paddling a canoe and cooking over an open fire; not the politics of the left or the right.

HUGELY AGREE ... I almost wish there was a opt-out if we know the scout already had it covered in school. ... Wasting scout's time kill the program. ... Doing a MB on a topic covered in school makes scouting look 2nd rate (and wastes the scout's time). ... Citz of society was the 5th badge if you count Family Life as Citizenship in the Family. ... There are just too many class room badges and not enough active badges.

I really question that statement. Is it fully true or only true within boundaries? ... If I read the explicit requirements, I really have little problem with them. If I read the larger societal discussion of DEI, I begin to have larger issues. My two big issues are ... #1 the badge was reactionary to a specific place-in-time and the content is redundant with the whole scouting program. The whole concept of the badge was at the heart of scouting. We did not need an explicit badge that was a known larger political firestorm. #2 In my 20 years of troop scouting, the number one criticism scouts had of merit badges was wasted time. Four citizenship merit badges? Five if you count Family Life as Citizen in the Family. Sure scouts didn't have issue with the content, but I'm pretty sure they had problem with their time being wasted. The lesson learned here is BSA should avoid short-term politics and focus on the long-term goals. Scouting teaches character and responsibility thru outdoor adventures. That has never changed and it's hard to argue. Leave the political stuff (membership, orientation, gender, politics, etc) to our character partners. Scouting has an outdoor structure to develop youth. The rest is outside world noise.

Argh. This is where my judgement of BSA is harshest. Originally, my judgement was harsh on poor legal review. As times changed over the decades, better-than-average youth protection practices needed to be updated to protect both youth and BSA legally. So many things failed there. Now reading the last comment makes me question BSA respect for those donating money. If OA and NESA donations were solicited as endowments, BSA had a responsibility to the donor to respect the donation and handle the endowment properly. What I'm reading instead is that OA / NESA endowment donations were really just another way to solicit general fund revenue. It's either poor accounting, poor legal judgement or outright misrepresentation.

I am always a fan of a friendly conversation. Scouting should NOT be complex. Scouts should not have BOR deadlines, etc. If a scout is ready, have a BOR. If a scout is just missing a SMC, then have the chat.

Thinking a bit more ... I am getting crotchety in my old age. LOL. ... I hope the scout can advance. That would be great. ... But when I hear a parent threaten to pull their scout out because they can't advance, I am frustrated. Advancement is just one benefit and not the biggest one. Is the scout having a positive experience in scouting? Having fun? Growing in character and responsibility? If so, that's the big part. ... I wish advancement always naturally followed that, but it doesn't always. And it makes me sad when the scout loses out on advancement. ... But to threaten to pull the scout because of that is also frustrating to me.

4 years in scouts. 49 camp outs. ... He should have had plenty of opportunities to advance. Technically, the scout could have easily earned Eagle by then. Key point is the troop should be watching and supporting the scout getting at least to 1st class.

Sad, but not surprising. Scouting is best when it involves "outings". It's expensive and very time consuming to the country from the ultra urban NY areas. I enjoy the stories of a parent scouter who told me incredible scouting stories from the 1980s where his patrol (on their own) took the subway to rail stations to get out the countryside for activities. ... I really can't see that happening now. Once they were stopped on the side of the road by the police as they walked to their target park.

The BOR is NOT the place to correct for years of advancement failures. ... If a lower advancement standard has been used for years, then it's too generally too late. The BOR checks if the requirements were signed off ... and to encourage the scout ... and to collect feedback on how the troop advancement program is doing. My apologies if I sound harsh, but if we criticize the scout's advancement at the BOR, then we are really criticizing the troop advancement program for the last few years. Each rank had many requirements to be met and that the troop designated approver signed off on. The SM (and his team) should have been watching. Merit Badges are only one part of a larger more complex set of requirements. ... AND, sometimes a scout (and his parents) game the system beyond the controls of the troop leadership. It's ok to be sad for the scout, but not necessarily mad about.

100% agree. ... Could have some adjustments such as Dakotas could be one council to save cost. Or Dakotas + Nebraska. ... Or one per state to keep it simple.