fred8033

Late at night. Forgot this channel is not just about EBORs. It just came up because of comment about Eagle scouts not having skills. But the point is the same. BORs are not the point to fix advancement failures. BORs are the time to find out the troop is having trouble. I do 100% agree the advancement program needs drastic redesign. I'd be up for something significantly different. ... The most fundamental part I'd like to see is the scout-facing advancement requirements be at least half the number of words.

Fully disagree. EBORs do not exist to change advancement expectations at the end after years of failure by troops and many, many adults. I agree that every Eagle scout should be able to light a lantern and do basic 1st class scouting skills. I disagree that it's okay to try to enforce it right at the end. ... EBORs are more of a friendly conversation similar to the SMC, but done by other adults. Now ... if you want to assert all BORs should be youth or non-troop. We can talk. If you want to say the advancement program, shoudl be drastically different, fine. I just disagree th

Agreed. I'm writing from the point that I am comfortable now with units that shut down. We should not feel bad or guilty or a failure. It's just that the magic mix is gone. Primary concern is giving our scouts (and our sons) the best scouting experience possible. That might mean letting small troops close. Not the right answer for everyone.

We (adults) can get so caught up on if we are doing it right that we get distracted from whether the scouts find the troop fun and meaningful place to be. That means program. ... Yes we want scout-led, effective PLCs, teaching leadership, etc, but program drives the health of the unit.

I think this is well stated, well thought-out and responsible. Don't force a fight with a bad situation. If another troop is doing well, you can be serving your scouts well by getting them into a larger, healthier troop. It's not an easy or automatic transition, but it's often the best choice.

Yeah. The 60% down in cubs will follow and track to 60% down in troops. The peaks and valleys can be tracked as they age. The 911 attack happened during recruiting. We could see that in numbers for years.

After years of my arguing, I'm flipping sides. I'd like to see youth run/staffed BORs too. Troop adults get much value out of the BORs. It's often uncomfortable and clumsy. But, there could be lots of value having scouts listen to one of their own give them feedback. Perhaps one or two adults sitting at a distance, but within hearing range. It opens conversations between the scouts. It creates connections. It also would help an 11 year old feel comfortable talking to a 16/17 year old. etc, etc, etc. I will respect, salute and fulfil the GTA rules, but I'd like to see it changed.

Never encountered the issue, but then again we never used the lamp at the same time as the stove, etc. Our challenge was always too many things close to each other and too many hoses coming off near each other. The really bad was when multiple patrols tried to tap off the same large propane tank. If you use a large tank, still have one per patrol so they can camp and cook separately. Because of that, I prefer the small propane tanks for unit camping. But then again, I prefer white gas because of energy density and cold weather use.

Agreed. The MB program is not highly consistent. I'm not sure it needs to be. I have less trouble with summer camp than others as I'm more concerned about giving the scout new, unique, growing experiences. Others treat jumping the MB requirements as the key point of the game. ... It's probably somewhere in between. Then again, I don't think the leadership or troop program or camping expectations are very consistent either. Scouting has a huge variance away from average. It's one reason I'd almost rather have rank reflect number of nights camping / hiking, etc. IMHO, ther

That does not 100% map. Even if the unit leader signs, the unit can still apply the above GTA 7.0.4.7. GTA 7.0.4.7 exists to give the unit flexibility to correct a bad situation. Very similar to the BOR discussion in this thread. My point is it is absolutely wrong to think / treat the unit leader signatures as approving the badge. That is absolutely not the point of the unit leader signing the badge. The point is: The MBC approves the badge; not the unit leader.

Minor clarification. It's just the MBC signature that defines the badge as done. The unit leader signature is just evidence that the badge was handed over to the unit. Proof that "hey, I gave you the merit badge card. I have proof." ... it's not confirming the badge was earned. That's fully in the hands of the merit badge counselor.

Think of it not as "power" and more as "flexibility". There are too many possible situations to write clean, concise rules that handle everything. So, BSA documents the recommended approach and mindset. ... From there, the BOR can address scout misbehavior, parents abusing the advancement system, etc, etc, etc. If the BOR uses good judgement, the appeal levels will backup and support the BOR. If not, then the BOR can easily be overridden to support the scout. Recently answered here. Short answer yes. https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2022/08/26/ask-us-anything-

Yes. BOR has that option. IMHO, a scout not participating in a BOR can and probably does trigger suspending the BOR. ... The key is it's to be extremely rare that a BOR faces saying NO the requirements have not been fulfilled. Missing badge? Short on POR time ? All badge signed by the dad? ... The BOR triggering this condition is to be very rare.

I'm on withdrawal. Any news / update?

Yep. 100%. Adventures does not mean expensive. Perhaps it's a rarely used local/regional spot (museum, park, etc) that has a related open area where you can also grill hot dogs for lunch. I view adventure as getting away from "meetings" to do something. Be active. Often, the adventure is waiting to be discovered.

Thank you. I had to find the reference. I was surprised. https://4-hshootingsports.org/#:~:text=Each year%2C 4-H teaches,boys and girls each year.

I'd like to see numerical comparison (seriously). Almost every scout that goes to summer camp experiences the shooting sports programs. I'm not aware of 4-H having shooting ranges or a broadly offered program. I appreciate your post. Thank you.

Preferred? It's actually not. Handguns first. Second is an AR-15 styled riffle. The AK47 riffle is an outlier ... from what I've read. Depending on "mass shooting" definition, you will see it's one use every several years to less used. As of May 2022, this noted a previous use from 2019. Rest were handguns or AR-15 styled. https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2022-05-27/mass-shooters-exploited-gun-laws-loopholes-before-carnage ... Perhaps, it's better said that "assault styled" weapons are the preferred firearm. But that is not useful either as it's way, way overly br

My experience is BSA does a solid job. Perhaps, the Guide to Safe Shooting and it's implementation needs to be revisited yet again to remove remaining quality control variances that can allow incidents to happen. ... Perhaps should 1st graders be allowed to use any type of bow and arrow or bb-gun? I'm not sure. Sadly, BSA is the only national level organization that broadly offers a youth shooting sports activity. I doubt the YMCA will expand to pick up the responsibility. Kids benefit from physical exposure to guns and how to safely handle them. It removes the mystic and t

Any SM worth their salt would support a scout that comes motivated with information and a plan. Research. Plan. Promote. Make it happen. That's huge and is what scouting is about. ... If you are excited about it, then find a way to make it happen. I'm betting you can find one or more adults (parents??) that would be willing to support your efforts.

IMHO, this is the telling statement. SM should have a SMC and ask about the role. If the SPL is not interested, then look for another. Or you don't even need an SPL with a small troop. IMHO, SPL does not have to go to NYLT or another training course or even be a XXX year or XXX rank scout. SM can coach the new SPL. They key is to find the scout that wants to be SPL. My advice feels like a broken record. Find a solution that works for your unit, but get the troop active and doing interesting things. That is what drives excited scouts.

Strictly speaking, no it's not too late. ... depending on vendor ... To do it well, it needs planning in August/September. Pack hands out sales materials before October 1st. Scouts selling in October. Order placed with vendor around Oct 31st to Nov 5th; delivery just after thanksgiving. BUT ... maybe you can find a vendor with a great on-line sales site. THEN, your pack can advertise via Facebook, twitter, emails, etc and people order directly from the site and your pack gets a cut. I've seen that happen recently too. So, it might not be too late, but it's a razors edge close t

Welcome A charter org willing to financially support a cub pack is a very rare thing. For any and every check you get, be very, very thankful. Budgeting is a great idea. I always used my own spreadsheet. Find an existing template to start. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/510-278_wb.pdf https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/xls/13-273.xls ... excel spreadsheet version https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2017/04/05/create-budget-pack-troop-crew/ ... good article Google. You will find lots of great examples Pla

Lots of great advice above. Your response sounds reasonable. I'd also recommend to keep watching. Kids at his age feel lots of pressure.

Don't push too much formalism onto the scouts. Celebrate their planning. Your job is a loose one. Is committee / COR comfortable with their plans? ... i.e. no sky diving with paint ball guns? camping on Dec 25th? ... conflicts. safety. budget. ... Beyond that, your job is to help the troop infrastructure support the scout's plans. CC & SM should partner to decide how and how much to support the scouts. Sometimes committee reserves and pays for camping sites; buys more tents; coordinates cars; publishes schedules; processes advancement. Other troops, scouts do a lot of tha