fred8033

I fully agree with the exception that we should stop talking about "scout-run". "Scout-run" should be for the adult training and part of the internal philosophy of training. But for the "scouts", I just don't think they really care at all about "scout run" or "adult run". They want adventures and to hang with their friends. Beyond that, "scout-run" is an argument 98% involving only over-passionate adults. I fully agree with the ideas of "scout run". I just think the results of our obsession with it is part of the reason we have an image issue.

Latin Scot ... Very well said. Well written. Very considerate. I do take issue with BSA not standing on principle. BSA's has always promoted that scouts need a faith component. The "principles" of that component comes from the families and the charter organisations. Did BSA remove membership restrictions for BSA as a national entity? Yes. But that really reflected the "principles" and "values" of the charter organizations and families. BSA has been asking these charter orgs for a long time to give their facilities, money and time to support BSA. The trouble is many chart

"Where" ? It's about resolving the contradiction between "charter orgs" and BSA. Who defines sin ? Most of our charter orgs are churches who specialize in defining right and wrong. The trouble is not really BSA's membership as much as how publicly the issue is debated right now.

Agreed. It often felt like a square peg for a round hole. Never really fully matching. It was more LDS used BSA as a youth program as the program was 70% matching. It seems more a left-over relationship from the 1920s-1960s. But as society evolved, the LDS faith development program needed something else. I don't view it as LDS strong arming or BSA leaving LDS. Rather, society changed. LDS could have chosen to use BSA within the context of LDS but instead decided it was finally time to create their own branded youth faith development program. It may have a huge financial impa

I did not know that, but it could be BSA admitted girls but at a lower level (volunteer and paid leaders, but not participants). I still would argue that there is a reasoning / logic link between the two.

The Jaycees. ... What's sad is that the local Jaycee organization is now gone. Was that due to the court ruling? Or society trends? Not sure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberts_v._United_States_Jaycees I always thought the Jaycee case was similar to the Boy Scout case.

I remember researching and reading on this as it was fascinating. I always wondered if this case would be decided differently now ... or differently depending on the mix of the Supreme Court (which has recently gone conservative again). I reference the membership rules for a local community organization. I'm trying to remember the group. Not the Lions. ??? ... I can't remember the name. Back in the 1980s they did not admit women. Then they were sued and lost. It bounced different levels up the court system but they did conclusively lose in the end. The argument was was the organizatio

I've seen many worn on the shirt like the original poster. Mine have put them on the back of the MB sash. I'd like to say it's because of I'm a rule follower and I've read the insignia guide. I have read it. I like to follow the rules. But there is a more important reason. Sewing dozens of little segments is a lot of work !!!! What happens when they grow in size ? One mother said you cut that panel off the old shirt and re-sew it to the new shirt as a panel. My family is lucky to keep the main patches accurate over the years. Rank. Position. Misc. We'd never succeed keep

I'll be very sad if it's the end of meritbadge.org. I very much enjoyed using the Wiki interface to look for scouting information.

Kudos to my council - Northern Star ... centered in Mpls / St. Paul, MN. I listened to a presentation last night about pending district changes and re-aligning how the council / districts serve units. Re-engineering to serve units first. Re-aligning districts. Though few precise details were given, the right words were said and the presentation was very good. The timing was right to ease into a significant change. The right change processes seem to be happening. ... I trust the delivered changes will rise to the level suggested in the presentation. I'm proud to be in the cou

I agree, but I disagree on focusing on effectiveness, max class size or things like that. Rather, I'd want people to focus on making these as interesting as possible. For example, a merit badge class day on metal working better include most of the day working on metal. Bending. Welding. Etc. I remember an oceanography course that I wish my sons could have gotten in on. It had lots of kids in it. But it was led by an active duty submarine officer and an oceanography researcher who could talk real life. That was cool. IMHO, these classes have their place. But it should be done i

I absolutely agree. The "outdoors" is BSA's big unique selling opportunity. It's debatable on BSA's track record with physical fitness, leadership and citizenship. BSA is generally really good, but those can also be addressed with sports, ROTC and other programs. But I really don't see a quality youth outdoor nature program other than BSA.

You are right. Sometimes it's best to agree to disagree. Failures and problems can easily be re-created in a new form. Knowing what happened is critical to avoiding it again. Many projects in my career have had a close-out review. The term varies depending on the "type of" close out. Retrospective. Postmortem. Often, it's a required step in the project mgmt life cycle. I fully agree that should be done with the unit commissioner program. I fear we are mushing how to change with the fact that change needs to happen. Perhaps a retrospective on unit commissioner programs woul

I hope you find the right answer for scouting. I love the scouting program ... when it works. But if you don't find the magic, it's okay to look for alternatives. Your kids are only young once. Find the right answer to give the experiences to develop friendships and grow as a person. Scouting is a great program when it works. But don'[t chase windmills. There are other answers too.

Problems need to be understood so that we can move on. At some point though, we need to cut bait on a concept / structure / program that just isn't working 90% or more of the time. I'm sure there are some districts that magically make it work. But I've yet to see one in a really long time. From what I see is that unit commissioner is such a low involvement position that quality people won't stay in it and are then recruited into or find a better way to spend their time. I think the unit commissioner program is a direct reflection on BSA's bigger problem. The inability to cut p

Not sure. I've been thinking about this for 10+ years. I've been a key unit leader for 18 years. Effectively never having seen a commissioner in action. Unit commissioners are supposed to be one per charter org (one pack, one troop, one crew). That can be 20+ commissioners in a district. You will NEVER get that many quality volunteers well coordinated doing the same function. A tight knit crew of experts to triage only those units needing help would be easier to staff as it would have a well-defined purpose and volunteers tend to stick around for that.

I hugely agree. The unit commissioner program should be dissolved. I've seen districts so desperate to fulfill commissioner number requirements that any warm body is signed up. District committee staff. Former unit members with grievances or agendas looking for a title. No show commissioners. ... Sadly when they do show up, I've seen a few that over-step their boundaries. To be honest, I've NEVER seen a unit commissioner that really helps. If there is an issue, it goes to the district exec or a senior district staffer (district chair, advancement chair, etc). Here are two ideas

Hugely agree. I think BSA is close, but it needs to do something to simplify and get the adults to back off. Keep the passion, but let the scouts be scouts. This is huge. Of my hundred+ BSA training line items, I think very few were enabling. Though training is important, it's mentorship and experience that scouters need.

Council bailout. thank goodness. $72 for yearbook. We only buy on their transition out of the school. ... high school graduation and completing middle school year. Just too much money and a real waste in hindsight. Most people never look at anything but they year they graduate. Even then, they take up significant space and are just weight to move around.

Our individual experiences may vary, but statistical trends are pretty clear. Total number of licensed hunters/fishers has changed measurably down (some up, but mostly down) ... but "per capita", it's significantly down. Further, the "median age" shifted from mid 30s up into the 50s (my interpretation is those who learned to hunt/fish when they were young still hunt/fish). The median age is significant because it predicts the future. It reflects the pool of future hunters / fishers that will maintain the trends. https://www.outdoorlife.com/why-we-are-losing-hunters-and-how-to-fix-it/

... What causes scouting to struggle ... I think you have nailed it very well. Extremely well. BUT you also need to add in technology, competition and chasing resumes. People aren't hunting and fishing. People aren't gathering as families every weekend like they used to do. Technologies (phones, computers, cable, etc) are keeping people "inside". When people do venture out, all the other options have geared way up. All season sports starting at very young ages. "Traveling" sports. (what ever that really means). New leagues (Robotics and lego leagues). Finally, people are chasing line

I must admit I'm still confused. Paying victims from decades ago with non-profit money recently collected just doesn't make sense. Penalizing BSA using evidence that can be interpreted as well as a good system that was put in place decades ahead of current national standards. Penalizing BSA while leaving shielding organizations that have done much worse (parents, public schools, police, etc). I'm not blaming others. I just believe the BSA statistics are probably no worse than other organizations. Penalizing behavior from decades ago using today's knowledge is wrong when

There is overlap, but this is about money. Deep pockets and cash.

My interpretation ... he wants the assets sold and added to the settlement funds.

It's not just setting standards, it's repeating the same stuff over and over again with only slight yearly growth.