MattR

Before everyone breaks up the phone company, what services do the councils provide? Or is this just a way to find the council with the lowest fees? As much as I'd like to get away from my council the advantage of having a local council is meeting people face to face. The Atlanta Denver example just doesn't make sense to me. Remote training has already been torn apart. Remote camporees? I don't see it. As much as people talk about working remotely it just doesn't work as well as talking to people in person. I'd rather see each unit have more say in how their council operates. How that happens is up for debate but the idea is make it two way, not just top down. As long as we're changing everything, how about simplifying the program? I look at the BSA program and it's just complicated and expensive. Everyone keeps comparing the cost to an elite sport team. It should be available to everyone - without having to sell $5000 of popcorn every year. Find the poorest neighborhood you know of and make a program the parents of those kids will like without needing lots of donations. A good place to start is tossing out just about everything you can buy at the scout store. The uniform is a t-shirt and a neckerchief. No patches. A POR is an arm band, just like soccer captains. Or maybe a different necker. We need skills to learn, not ranks to do. We need 18-25 year old mentors rather than epaulets, retired old guys for commissioners and knots. We need more freedom in making the program fun rather than announcement laden meetings. So much of the program is wrapped up in defining, supporting, litigating, and promoting advancement that all the fun has been pushed aside. Elite soccer might cost a fortune but all you really need is something that looks kind of like a ball, a dirt field, a bunch of kids, and a few rocks for goals. Anyone can play soccer. What do you really need to enjoy the outdoors? Your friends? A water bottle? A sack? A map? Make it $5 worth of stuff. Put lists of ideas of fun things to do with that stuff on a website and everything else is mostly having fun with your friends. If you really want to go to Philmont and you can pay for it, fine, do it. However, nobody needs camporees that cost $20/scout so the council can raise money. Nobody needs fancy camps, rustic is fine, as is a national forest. We certainly don't need "program development" or "marketing" people at councils. Get rid of advancement and money sucking and councils will get much simpler. So will national. This program, at its core, is about people. Focus on that. Focus on scouts working together to solve their problems and have the fun they want to have. Teach them how to accomplish their dreams.

Councils are independent entities from national, so I'm not sure there will be any impact. That said, you asked how the councils can improve. You seem to be focused on process. The problem at my council is not process so much as people. Good people could solve all these problems so the bad people need to be replaced with good people. The biggest problem is the SE. Given that he'd have to approve anything I suggest I doubt this is a productive exercise. But, just to play along, I'd first fire the SE and take his salary and split it among the DE's. With the added salary I could hire better DE's. I'd implement a servant leadership culture and let them figure out what makes best sense for our council.

Just to let you know, you're we does not include me.

I think this make a great point that seems to be lost: Scouting will make you a better person, not a saint. Sure, we aim for sainthood but we wouldn't need all the g2ss and ypt rules if we realized those goals. Not even eagle confers anything absolute. We claim greatness but when we can't deliver, whether it be a scout that ends up in the legal system or a sexual abuse case, I can see parents that know nothing of scouting asking themselves why they should put their kids in this program.

Yep, it's so much easier to sew it on than talk about it. That has to be a guy thing. Even the adults say they like the knots so they know what to talk about when meeting another scouter. I don't want to pick on wood badge but there are the stereotypical wood badge folks that used to give me grief because I didn't wear the WB neckerchief. I would tell them I had taken WB but I am a scoutmaster and so I will wear the troop's neckerchief. Let's be honest, if there were knots for WB then there would be no beads. I know that people want recognition, I do as well, but there's a point where pride turns bad. When I was a scout I wanted bling, too. I'd rather some adult had sat me down and said "that's great! Enjoy your day in the sun, but tomorrow is a new day and you'll need to start over."

Knots? This really gets down to what belongs on a uniform? How about what you are currently doing is okay and what you've done in the past belongs on your wall? Other than military dress uniforms what other uniforms have history?

I agree. Also, you know these girls, do you expect any problems? Do they work well together? Or are they cliquish? If there is just one older girl that looks out for the younger scouts then nothing more than a quick discussion with all the scouts about looking out for and being helpful to each other is all that's needed. Have fun.

Looks to me like you've already decided and the part you're struggling with is how to say no. I think it's an important skill to have. As others have said - keep it fun.

I'm sitting in Rwanda right now. I've been in Africa for 2 weeks. Some Safari but mostly I've been in poor areas. Over half the population makes less than $1.50 a day. That said, most people are quick to smile. I wave and smile at people and nearly everyone just lights up with a smile and waves back. In a way, it's part of their culture. But I've found it to be more than that. Some people I wave to are clearly down. Its not so much that they have little money but that they have little dignity. Many Rwandan children have been abandoned by their parents and are not in loving homes. Essentially, they are a burden on some other relative and they know it. Many parents are distraught over having to abandon their children. So what happens when someone smiles at these people? A smile says I'm happy to see you. That tiny bit of dignity can mean so much to someone that is down. I would look at adults, look right at their eyes, so they knew I was thinking of them, and I simply smiled and waved. Most would break out with a huge smile. It's as if I just affirmed that they were important. All of these interactions and I don't speak Rwandan. So when you see someone clearly having a bad day, try smiling at them. Let them know you're thinking of them. That's all a part of being cheerful.

Benadryl for allergic reactions (says the guy allergic to bees).

While I like your idea I doubt it would happen. The MB is dumbed down for a 12 year old to pass. Most high school students sleep through it. I think most high school students that I know would have no problem with passing the cit test. But that is a higher than average group.

@Cambridgeskip, I've seen similar and also used scenarios to give scouts some experience at people problem solving. Confidence requires practice. So I'd say keep going with your training. As for the helmet, I was taught to leave it on. It's easier to tape the helmet down to a board than taping or holding a head.

Cubs? Once a day put up a wash line with warm water and get them all through. That way nobody has more than a days worth of grime, and that's reasonable. I always volunteer to wash dishes at night so I can clean my hands in hot water before I take my contacts out. Below zero, doesn't matter. Feels wonderful. I've been told hand sanitizer is worthless unless you use a huge amount.

It's ironic that the BSA claims it knows how to develop leadership.

Done

Given that it's free, or payable on an honor system (that's what it seems like to me) you might be okay as long as the website still works. It might just be that the owner of the hosting server is on vacation someplace warm right now.

I'm in a somewhat similar spot. I learned the hard way I can't say yes too often. Some people can do that and some just burn themselves out. For me it was more of a spiritual depletion. Every job has it's bad parts but when the bad parts start outweighing the good parts it leads to stress. When it comes to a volunteer position this just doesn't make sense. So, the real question is what are the guidelines for saying yes or no? Clearly everyone has their own guidelines. For me and scouts, I'm trying to stay away from things I have no control over. All the national and council stuff is just a rabbit hole of spiritual sucking grief. I can peak in around the edges at times but no more. For me, it seems to be about whether what I'm doing helps someone or not. Teaching one scout that wants to learn how to cook a pancake is more fulfilling than discussing national's issues. I wrote a short document that explained how the methods should be used to achieve the aims back in October, because our SM asked me to. I left it at that and assumed that was the end of it but a week ago he asked me to make it into a short training session for the troop. Okay, that's a yes. Maybe I can help a few people. That helps fill up the spiritual tank. On the other hand, when an ASM asks me to help "sign off" scouts on requirements I'll likely say no. What such a scout likely needs is the confidence to know what goals they have. To help with that requires a level of trust between myself and the scout. That takes a lot more effort. Right now I'm trying to figure out whether I want to do that, or how to get it to fit in with the rest of my life.

Only thing I can think of is someone not setting it up for them. <hint> Personally, I think the requirements should be a second thought to such a great idea. How cool for a tiger or lion to cook a pizza they made in an oven they made that runs off the sun. That is pure gold. Forget the requirements. As you find more great ideas please post them along with resources others can learn from and let us know how they went.

Interesting. I really have mixed feelings on that list. I know one of the board members. Both his sons were in my troop when I was SM. On the other hand, why is the Director of Program (or Director of the Keeper of the Flame, not sure of his/her title) not paid enough to get on this list? Who on that list owns how the program reaches the aims? As others have mentioned, the amount of money isn't nearly as big a problem as how it's spent. I completely respect that things like marketing and IT are important, but someone has to own the core reason of the organization. Shouldn't they be top dog?

I'm asking for the relationship to change. We certainly want them to listen more but are we willing to listen more as well? When I first became a SM I had all sorts of people giving me advice. Lots of advice. It became ridiculous so I just ignored those people and worked with the ones that wanted to help. Just a thought.

We have a new CSE. Not only that but he's been a volunteer for a long time and has worked outside of the BSA. This is different in a very hopeful way. Maybe we have an opportunity to be a part of the discussion, to have our ideas heard. I'm not sure what the odds are but I'll take it. We'd have a much better chance of making things better if we were part of the discussion. Unfortunately, our collective view of national is, mildly saying, not so good and consequently we probably aren't looked upon very favorably and thus, are not part of the discussion. So, what would it take to change that? What would it take for us to make scouter.com an inviting place for Mr Mosby to participate here? Or at least someone close to him? While many people here would like to give him advice on how to do his job I don't think that's going to be very productive. When I started as SM there were lots of people trying to give me advice and it just wasn't helping me at all. Creating a good relationship where we both listen to each other might be a lot more productive. While we have a lot of collective experience there are certainly things we don't know about. My guess is we also suffer from older generation selective memory syndrome (kids these days!)

thanks for the video. Looks nice. Much nicer than my old tent. Do the poles go straight down or do they have to go around the nest? My experience is straight down is important.

It's behind a signup and get too much email wall, wish I could see the picture. I had a supposedly 2 person tent that used trekking poles. It only weighed a pound and was just a tarp. It worked fine, until it rained, for a week. The material was really great but the problem was keeping away from the edge of the tent. Lesson learned: the bug net has more to do with keeping me under the tent than the bugs out. So I went and bought a REI quarter dome on a great sale. It's about 2.5 lbs. For me, the extra weight is worth it. My biggest challenge is finding a pack that's long enough for my torso. All the "large" packs I've tried, once they have weight and are on my hips, are just about an inch too short. So if you have ideas, let me know.

That just means we'll have to make a lot of encouraging noise. I'm in.

Yes, I'm searching for my fun. Sometimes the pressure is easy to avoid and sometimes not so much. Skipping meetings is getting surprisingly easy ;). Telling the SM I have no desire to "sign scouts off on requirements" causes friction. The thread about jte is a good example of how "stuff" gets in the way. Everyone gets caught up in the metrics and don't understand where I'm coming from. I need to find my niche. A happy place where I can help scouts learn while playing in the mud. What I'm not sure of is how being a moderator on this forum ties into that.