LeCastor

Welcome to the forum!  Glad you could make it.  

Our circle has been widened to receive you! 

The OA chapter has its meetings as the same time as our Roundtable, so there are always youth around to see the adult volunteers in uniform. However, regardless of whether or not there are youth present, it is still a good idea, in my opinion, to wear the uniform and help play the game of Scouting. If we are ashamed to wear the uniform then it's going to show to the Scouts. Personally, I wear my uniform(s) to each Scouting-related meeting I go to...and that's a lot.  (Who doesn't wear multiple hats these days?)

Wear the knots if you want to; turn in the paperwork if you want to.  Don't wear knots if you don't want to; wait until someone turns in the paperwork for you.  Either way, let's not judge other Scouters for their uniform choices.  

Are we still carrying this thread..?

The unit leader award of merit, for Scoutmasters at least, requires a letter from the SPL by way of nomination:

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/512-003_wb.pdf

I think that's what makes that award neat.  It comes from the Scouts.

There are two "issues" here:

1.  Gender identity in society and how it is perceived.

2.  Whether or not Girl Scouts USA should allow girls (who are biologically boys) to join a GSUSA Troop.

It is clear that not everyone "gets it" or "understands" gender identity issues.  Got it.  Also, we don't make policy so statements like "it's no place for youth organizations" is strictly a personal opinion.  Got it.

I don't want to quash the political back-and-forth and exchange of ideas, but in my opinion it is this kind of talk that might explain whey there are only a few posters on this forum today.  Personally, I don't want Scouter.com to be an entertaining politics forum but that's not my call.  I just read these threads and get depressed.  

Sorry, my rant is over.  

 

Luckily I have no personal experience with this.. I would hope I would treat them normally, but I do not think it would come naturally until I really got to know them, and my friendliness I fear may come off as forced or fake..

Well, at least you're honest.  

@@Twocubdad, you've certainly given a lot to Scouting over the years and you've doubtless touched the lives of more people than you know!  Thanks for everything you've done--and hopefully WILL do in the future.  

 

 

So the ISP was discarded, and Green Bar Bill rewrote the handbook (a superb one at that).   

@@desertrat77, I love my 9th edition!!!  In fact, I take it with me to SM/IOLS training and read from it when I want to stress keys points about the job of the SM as it relates to the PLs.  (Yes, I add to the training syllabus; sue me!  )

I hope that, by spreading the message that GBB worked so hard to put together/fix in 1979, I can make a little dent in the indoors-centric attitudes we see these days.

Ok, Skeptic would like to pull it back a little from the negativity.  We've hashed through some key points already, so I suggest we move along.  

There's a new Chief Scout Executive coming on board soon.  We'll see what changes, if any, come about in the coming year(s).  In the meantime, let's continue to give our youth the best possible experience we can at the unit level--or at whichever level we serve.  We can only control what we can control.

@@Stosh I thank you for introducing me the Along the Mohawk Trail  by Fitzhugh.   I keep two books of matches in my campaign hat (like the Scout in the story) to remind me of the true adventures of Scouting.

I've enjoyed watching our young Patrol gel and get to know each other on the playground, teaching Scouting skills, and growing up together.  They have a lot going on in their lives, so camping on the weekends isn't always possible.  But our JASM came up with a first aid activity and the entire Patrol was there to practice their skills in a mock triage event.  My job was to corral all the adults who felt is necessary to hover.  They came back to see why I was hiking so slowly wayyyyy back on the trail. SCORE! 

I work for the "evil empire", aka "the district", as membership chair.  So my Evil Empire uniform has one knot: New-Unit Organizer.  I feel like that knot fits the uniform and recognizes that I, as the one charged with growing the empire, have in fact started new units.  

Man, I sure hope ppl don't think I'm a jerk...

I have a good friend who transitioned several years ago and people from work and life would come to me and ask ME to explain it.  My standard reply was that we'll likely never understand what it feels like and, to be honest, we shouldn't spend time trying to understand.  It's best to just respect the other person enough to call him/her by the gender s/he desires.  

"Q", I agree: "They still are people with all the humor, talents, problems, and joys of the rest of us."

Send it to I&P.

 

 

Sentinel and I were trying to keep this out of I&P but I'll move it if it heads farther in that direction....

SSScout, I clicked.  It seems pretty vague to me...

@@desertrat77, so in addition to a new CSE perhaps we should also have a National Director of Scoutcraft.  Who would be our next Green Bar Bill?  What role would he/she play in today's BSA?

 Change is necessary.   But my beef with many of the BSA's changes over the years is that the changes dispensed with traditional, outdoor-oriented, successful aspects of scouting (think '72/ISP, and plenty of stuff like it since), and then adopted uninspiring/indoor/top-heavy programs. 

 

 

Desert, absolutely!  I definitely share that beef.  We need a new Green Bar Bill, don't you think??  

Discussion about whether or not to bring in an outsider or stay with an insider is interesting.  The latter has the risk of keeping things insular and perpetuating the "good old boys club" we've heard about recently.  The former runs the risk of having someone who is too unfamiliar with the Movement that they rub people the wrong way.

How do you find a middle ground?  Perhaps ya'll are right that a younger CSE is the best route...

While I know some here don't advocate for change, I think being progressive and evolving with the times is a necessity.  Isolating the BSA from change is dangerous for future membership; yes, yes, I know some will retort that change will drive existing members away.  We all know that change isn't always easy but, let's be honest, things can't stay the same forever.

Declaration of Religious Priniciples

 

 

Thanks, Q!

Yeah, it is a bummer.  The younger Patrol has been together for 2 years and they've gone to camp together twice with mixed enthusiasm.  2/6 wanted to camp but the rest said, "meh" and left it at that.  I suggested they hook up with my friend's Troop because they're going to Bear Paw this summer.

The older Patrol has been together for 4-5 years and they have more and more "extra-Scoutal" opportunities now and, in some cases, they'll be 18 by summer camp.

We're in a rebuilding phase, to use a sports metaphor.  

Thanks for the offer of joining up with your Patrol!

 

My item #1 local option, speaking for our unit, goodbye DRP and we would likely double our new young scouts. Keeping them is where item #2 helps.

 

"DRP"?  Sorry, Schiff...I'm having trouble following along today.  

I think what others have said about each member of the Patrol having a job is very important. 

Green Bar Bill Says:

“You will never get anywhere with a one-man system. The farthest it can bring your Patrol is into the ditch and one might assume that that is exactly the place of all the places where you don’t want to see it.

If you want it to succeed you will have to build up a system of organization in which every one of the boys is a part with special duties and special work to perform for the good of the Patrol.

I'm trying to think back to my time as a youth in Atl and I don't remember ever voting for which summer camp we would attend.  Pretty sure it was decided by the Troop Committee and put on a rotation between Woodruff (GA) and Skymont (TN).  Then, when I joined the Troop in NOLA we voted as a Patrol to go to Salmen (MS) and Thunder (GA) every other year.  

Now, the Troop I serve as Scoutmaster has two Patrols and the younger group has voted not to attend camp at all this summer...However, two of the Scouts are hooking up with a neighboring Troop for a camp "up Nort".  The older Scout Patrol is split between Philmont contigents and summer sports programs.

@@LeCastor do you really think them Southern Boys are gonna listen to some Carpetbagger?  

LOL!  Well, being a Southern Boy who moved to the North does that still make me a Carpetbagger, technically-speaking?  

  

 

 

Happy to have you guys come fix the problem. We've tried for years and it didn't work.

I got my bag packed.  Meet me at the airport? 

no adults on patrol outings. 

 

On a similar line of thought, wouldn't it be great if a scout-led patrol could go to Philmont, summer camp, or even a district camporee without adults attached at the hip belt.

OH, I gotcha!  

I love the idea of the First Class Hike where you and a buddy can go out on an outing and practice what you've learned.  Going to Philmont sans adults would be an enormous growing opportunity for a Patrol!  However, I fear that, as litigious as the US has become, this will just be a dream for the BSA.  That being said, I applaud Mr. Brock for wanting to make some serious changes.  Stagnation is bad for any organization, in my opinion.