MattR

I don't see nearly as many girls selling cookies as I used to. Sounds like GS is suffering like the BSA. Not sure their cookie overhead is any different than that for popcorn. Honestly, the drop in membership for both organizations is a sad statement about our drop in community more than any problems with leadership.

Makes sense, protection in numbers.

I'd push that just a bit further. Make webelos start a year earlier and last a year longer, so 4 years instead of 2. A lot more new scouts are afraid of the outdoors because fewer parents camp, so they're even less mature than before. So make the program about getting them ready to camp with a troop. And as you said, make it part of a troop. If a webelo is mature enough to move to a patrol when they're 11 then go for it, but most aren't. Anyway, as part of a troop they'd still have their own program but they'd see the scouts, get to know them and the transition would be easier. If this were done than cubs could be skipped all together. Yeah, I know, that will go over like a titanium balloon (lead's not so healthy ). So, end of my 1 1/2 cents of wisdom.

Well, the girls membership has dropped by roughly 20% in 18 months. My guess is the boys are similar, given that the girls percentage is nearly the same over that period. The point is a 20% drop in 18 months is ... more than a bunch.

I read this and what caught my attention was that the OA has, essentially, taken on the role of keeper of the flame for SA (Twitter, no!, X, no!, BSA, got it!). Joking aside, I wish them luck. If national is okay with this then ... maybe that's a way to participate? The OA asked for feedback. That's a change. The comment that troops are now much smaller is the first honest description of some of the problems troops are facing. More support for at least troops via something other than district beaurocracy sounds good to me, even though it sounds hard. Maybe the OA can come up with better training? I really wish them luck.

$600k per shower house? I'm sure they need new ones but what is this, $500/sq ft? Seems really pricey to me. And they need 8? Something doesn't sound right. Just an idea but how about build one while teaching some scouts some trade crafts? Forget merit badges at camp, teach them some useful skills. High schools have votech classes, use those.

Welcome to the forum, @KayLH23.

Our difference of opinion is off in the weeds compared to the differences I have with the description above. Whoever talked about coding and bullying as a way to convince anyone to join scouts really doesn't understand the program. If they're talking to kids it should be something along the lines of fun with friends and learning how to enjoy a good challenge. If they're talking to parents it should be something along the lines of "teaching your children to be trustworthy when it hurts, friendly and cheerful when you're having a bad day, courteous to people you're not sure about and brave when you're afraid. Scouting is learning how to enjoy life when it gets tough. Scouting is in the outdoors because that's a great place to learn all these skills. It's not a classroom." It's not great but it's closer than coding and bullying.

That's odd. Whenever I asked older scouts what they enjoyed the most it involved friends and high adventure trips. There were other things they said they got out of it but they lead with friends and HA. Some mentioned outdoor skills like shooting, kayaking, climbing. Eventually they got around to working with younger scouts and teamwork. Nobody ever, once, mentioned coding, rocketry or cyberbullying. And yet, scouting could solve these problems they mention.

Right, but Simpson isn't of Japanese descent. Presumably he didn't live in the camp. So once a week he walked past the barbwire and guard towers to join a troop meeting? There's a good story there.

Well, I suspect I know what the results are. To put it mildly, if the report was good news then we'd already have it.

I'm still stuck on there was a scout troop formed within an internment camp. Or was it something else? The point is Simpson was in the same patrol as Mineta. Anyway, for all the grief going on in the heads of the people that created these camps it seems the locals didn't think much of them because they had their kids playing with "the other" kids. That could be an interesting story.

I'm sorry, but that was hilarious. Though I will be on the lookout for really old first aid kits

I like it. Very much about community.

@BetterWithCheddar, I think that's about the same age my son got fed up with cub scouts. We took 2 years off and came back in time to do webelos and then join a troop. Kids in that midrange of cubs can be so far apart in maturity. Anyway, for us that break really helped. BTW, my son now has his own, so this was a long time ago.

If the only patrol activity is eating then that raises a question. What is going on the rest of the time? Is it fun, challenging or in some way memorable? If so, then do them by patrol. If not, then it certainly explains why few scouts are going. Another challenge is whether or not there are scout leaders. I'm not talking about someone with a position of responsibility patch. I'm talking about the scout everyone wants to hang out with because they create fun. Those people need the patrol leader patch and support from the adults to put on a good program. Here's an idea for you to try out being such a leader. Suggest a competition between patrols to create the best patrol flag. Bling is good. Flashing lights are great. Spend part of a meeting for patrols to think about ideas and another meeting to make them. The hard part will be finding material so ask the adults if they could help with that. This is the type of activity that can be fun, create good memories and help patrols develop.

I think better relief is a wet, cotton t-shirt. Or a wet bandana wrapped around your head or neck. We got some fantastic neck wrap things at a volunteer thing. They weren't cotton but they were wonderful. I guess this only works if the humidity is low but that's where I live.

I don't know the answer but if you looked in the guide to safe scouting and can't find anything then they likely don't care. Your other option is call the camp and ask. They're usually quite helpful. Good luck and have fun. It's a good summer to be in the water.

If you're using an off brand web browser, say Firefox for example, try something more mainstream, such as Chrome. I've had all sorts of problems with user interfaces on Firefox by companies that probably only tested their sw on one or two browsers. This is nothing but a hunch.

@qwazse, I beg to differ. I would not make a good cse. I'm not sure how much emphasis UK scouts puts on school work type advancement or King's scout vs fun and adventure, but Grylls certainly belonged to the later. I had never heard of him before your post so I googled him. While some people focus on his being super competitive, sucking up the pain, etc, what he writes seems a lot more balanced. Eg: competition is good but too much will ruin your life. Face it, Grylls used to hollow out a yak and sleep in it to stay warm.

Think of how many scouts knew nobody else. Add to that that the scouts knew who the chief scout was and that's an impressive tenure. I wish him the best, and that the BSA could find such a person

The page is blank. I once camped in a US graveyard in France as a scout. I went to Normandy with my parents but that would have been a great scout trip.

Fewer people read a local paper anymore, where news about scouting used to be. Bad experience/ didn't like the unit is why what percentage left scouts? If they had said no time, not interested, etc then it's an issue of other activities crowding out scouts but a negative experience is a big red flag to me. What's worse is the "people don't know they can be in any unit." I read that as whoever asked the questions is blaming the unit leaders. "Don't like the unit? Find another, problem solved." Yes. My experience was being a den leader is the toughest job because neither the scouts nor adults help out. Add to that the program being repetitive and I had to put on a weekly program on my own for 8 kids. It was only 2 years for me but do that for 5 and of course the parents are exhausted. I never saw newly entering parents that were cub leaders want to jump in at the troop level. There was always a 3 to 6 mo leader gap. That was great in that it gave them time to also learn because we had plenty of adults helping out. Now, however, the new parents are pressed into service as soon as possible. It's really bad when the key 3 are new to a troop. They mean well and they have hearts of gold, but it's usually not good. I've seen units collapse because nobody will step up. The leaders were great, they tried to find successors, they finally told the parents it's time, they left and the units folded. Rather than blame the adults that won't help out maybe some consideration should be given to why it's so much work to put on a successful scout unit. The idea of an hour a week is the easiest scouter joke to get a laugh. At one point I was telling new parents that close to one hour of scouter time was required for each scout in the troop per week. 50 scouts meant close to 50 hours. Troop meetings, committee meetings, conferences, campouts, records, keeping gear and buying patches. OA, roundtable, training, PLC coaching, eagle coaching, .... and it doesn't include MB counselors. Parents see this effort and back off for a reason. Hence, my request to simplify the program.

Unfortunately that doesn't encourage them to join scouting. I mean, if so many people know the benefits then why aren't they involved? Thats an important paradox to understand. It's just my hunch but maybe people are just parroting what they've heard and really have no idea what Scouting is about. Most scouts, when asked if they are trustworthy, cheerful, friendly, etc, will say yes because the scout law says "a scout is ..." so they must be. I've come to the conclusion that I'm none of those things. I certainly try but I'll never live up to that standard. It's easy when everything is going right but wind and cold and hunger and whiny kids and traffic and some other guy being an idiot and, when I'm doing really well, I can hopefully stay ahead of that welling up of anger and just let it go. It's the difference between selfish and selfless and everyone fights that battle. I don't know, maybe a long time ago everyone realized how hard that battle is but these days selfish has won. Teenagers tend towards selfish because they don't have much experience but it seems so much harder now. Or maybe it's always been a struggle. Either way, we all want absolutes and no pain for our children and yet, the hardest part of being a parent is coming to terms with the need for struggle. Just like noone wants their child to get sick we've found out that colds are needed to develop a good immune system. So it goes that struggling with selfish is the only way to develop humility. How many parents of 11 year olds understand that? An 11 year old has barely learned to walk when it comes to humility and their parents only know that the struggle they went through as a child is something they don't want for their kids. They look at the kool-aid that character comes from doing requirements and they rightfully have their doubts. Sure, maybe scouts does develop character but not for my kid. It would be really useful to ask those 90% why they don't put their kids in scouts.

Beauty and expensive are in the eye of the beholder, so I'll leave that be. Momentum? The membership in 1995 was about 1M scouts (so not cubs or anything else). Right before covid that number had dropped about 25% to 750k. Covid has cut that number another 40%. Time will tell if the BSA withstood or fell to a thousand cuts. I wish the BSA would focus on those first two sentences. I would add that it also helps learn about working with others. Yesterday a scout called me up asking about some volunteering info. Well, he was my first scout that joined when I became SM some 20 years ago. He had a rough time as a kid and I won't get into why but he has fond memories of scouts. We talked, mainly because I'm an old man and also have fond memories. He said scouting really helped him learn some important lessons. He talked about leadership, the outdoors, working with younger scouts, just having fun with his friends. He made good memories. I think that's another aspect of the BSA's staying power. A lot of parents want for their kids what they had as kids.