HiLo

While it doesn't have much to do with polls, I agree with a lot of that, but just have to remind the writer that Scouting is a lot bigger than America. (It wasn't even invented there, nor in my country.) I would say.... Scouting is one of the very few institutions in the world that is still trying to instil the core human values.

Statisticians claim that meaningful results can be obtained by polling a number of people equal to the square root of the total population you're interested in. For the whole US population, that means polling around 17,500 people. Obviously much fewer if you're only interested in existing or potential Scouts.

I had a breast feeding mom on our family camp last year. Tell that mom with the young'n that she will have a ball! (I know it's not going to work for everyone. Just having a boast here really.)

No, it's not true to say that "any poll in reality is really meaningless". A simple poll of Scouts who have recently left asking "Why did you leave Scouts?" is going to give you some simple, useful information. And we all know that polling even the most successful (numerically?) units still excludes some people and some options, eg. girls.

Yes HICO_Eagle, there's a lot of truth in your last paragraph. But there can be some useful results from polling those who leave. A letter gets sent to every youth member who leaves Scouting in my Australian state (computer generated of course) asking why they left. A lot of the responses (apart from the obvious valid reasons) are then sent back to the relevant local leaders to respond to the reasons. We do see some interesting perspectives, like the boy who claimed he was bullied, but was, we knew, the subject of a serious crackdown by the leaders on his own bullying behaviour, and didn

You've done it again. Gone back to that majority thing in "... there are those on this board who seem to think that a large majority of scouters would like major changes, I think they might be surprised." Scouters are there now because they presumably broadly agree with current policy and practice, so I wouldn't expect a lot of them to seek major change. But Scouting is not for the "majority of current Scouters". It's for current and future kids. You need to look long term and broadly. As other threads have hinted, change may have some negative short term effect. Probably will. But if it'

Skeptic, the problem with your "benefit to the majority" view is that it explicitly excludes some minorities. I would love to see a Scouting program that is inclusive of all. To an outsider looking at BSA, the biggest difference from most of the rest of the world's Scouting is BSA's total dependence on and subservience to the Chartering Organisations. If I was being asked what I think BSA needs to do to move forward, I would be saying "Free yourselves from those other bodies. Let Scouting be Scouting, not a church youth club with a Scouting flavour." Back to the topic, my answe

The next generation is always looking for ways to prove how different they are by doing exactly the same thing all their friends are doing. Tattoos are very in around these parts right now. I wouldn't be surprised to see large slabs of very bright colours in very obvious places, like on the face.

I have some people very close to me travelling in the USA right now. It's nice to know they're in good hands.

My thoughts are with the security staff who have to implement the sillier policies that arise from time to time, and look out for 8 year old terrorists.

Too hard to find a uniform to fit. And then there's not enough room for all the patches.... And we all know how important correct uniform is.

My dentist is female. Is that OK?

Closing threads after a predetermined number of pages can be a good way to keep a forum under control. Closing threads because one or more posters has gone out of line is less useful. It doesn't identify those posters the mod thinks have misbehaved. It doesn't tell them THEY were the problem. It won't lead to improved behaviour from the miscreants in future. If certain posters are seen to be a problem, the need to be censured, not necessarily publicly, but in a way that ensures they try to change their ways, or move on. For all I know, I may have been seen by OGE as one of the guilty par

SSScout - That link is not to any statistics about cycling and helmets. It's to a letter to the Financial Times of London, plus a blog of responses. The letter refers to an alleged unpublished report, but doesn't publish it. We don't see the statistics. Just the conclusions the writer claims he can draw from it. Worth a read, but not conclusive. The rest of the blog contains many posts defending helmets. Also worth a read.

Yes GaHB, I was thinking of you, among others, when I spoke of bigotry here. You convinced me of that when you posted your totally irrelevant story about gays cruising. As for Internet bullying, I've been playing on the web for a long time, and I know it happens. I can do it, and have done so (rarely) when I felt that another bully deserved some of his own back. You're very good with words, and you're quite capable of doing it too. In my humble opinion, you have already done it several times in this thread. Threats to "out" people (for being associated with something you don't like) is bu

Don't waste time and effort on a vote. Most kids will only vote for a movie they have already seen, or the one that's currently being promoted the most. Jungle Book is good, and relevant.

Don't stress over it. Making public patriotism compulsory devalues it.

I am neither pro-gay nor pro-atheist, but I am strongly anti-bigotry. Some here are very good at bullying with words.

Just curious. Off-topic, I know, but what are the rules re horse riding and helmets?

With the younger kids I think they have to be aspirational goals, and probably always were, just to different degrees. At the time they join Scouts most kids haven't really sorted out the God thing for themselves. They are still learning about lying, or not, and the care for other people and things aspects of the law. I like to see those tools used as reminders of what is expected. The kids know they have made a commitment to be something that many non-Scouts are not, but they need a bit of guidance on the details as they go along. By the time they reach anything like Eagle standard

This thread has turned into one about the posters rather than the topic. In Australian politics there's an old saying. (Not sure if it's common in the US.) It's about what you do with dissident party members..... "It's better to have your opponent inside the tent with you, p|ssing out, than outside the tent, p|ssing in." A good discussion can handle all sorts of opinions. Someone who only wants contributions from people who already agree with him is ultimately likely to get his spirits (and other bits) dampened. I think we would all like to see Scouting continue to succeed. Let

Oak Tree - Asking "drop outs" why they left is an excellent idea. It happens where I come from. You don't always get the absolute truth, and certainly get some interesting perspectives, but it can be very valuable.

This is the Internet. Most people post under names that are not their own. Does it matter? Many different views are expressed. Do you want views you disagree with banned?

Eamonn - I really like the fact that you're considering polling those not in Scouts. If the only people you survey are those already involved, it stands to reason that you will find they don't want it to change much. Otherwise, tey wouldn't be mebers now, would they? As for what to ask, as someone who is unlikely to ever be a member, I'd go beyond the specific discriminatory areas like gays and atheists, and look into the whole concept of chartering organizations. You can't change the gays and God thing while the CO situation is like it is. I would ask if Scouting should be able to m

brodiew tells us - "Seeing as we are from Fl, these boys and girls are not into speed, but into staying on their skis in an upright position." For starters, yes. However, I've taken many groups of kids to the snow for first visits. By the second day I almost always find two or three out of every dozen wants to try straight down the fall line, and not just on the bunny slopes. Sometimes that even includes the girls. There was one who definitely terrified me. But she ended up working as an instructor and insists all the kids in her classes wear helmets. She has had a few injuries, and almos