MattR

I think predicting the future is a great thing to do at the end of the year when everyone wants a break from doing the hard stuff. But this discussion has taken a nice turn. I appreciate the range of possibilities. When you're running towards protection and away from the saber toothed tiger, it keeps things in focus better than what I've always seen from BSA singing "the future's so bright I gotta wear shades" - because that song was about nuclear war. I agree with @Cburkhardt that we need to believe in the program but I also think that there are changes that we're ignoring. There are aspects of having meetings on weekends that really appeals to me. I'm also curious about the group structure used by UK scouts to lesson transitional shock. I just got back from a pre-klondike, one night campout that was just intended to give new scouts experience in cold weather. Of the four adults that went, none have kids in the troop. Three of us had kids in scouts and one has an AOL scout that joined us. The idea of a third of the parents have lots of experience in scouting or the outdoors is just not valid anymore. At the same time, lots of young adults do like the outdoors. There's a solution, or likely many, that will help. These ideas are not about program, but more about the nuts and bolts of running units. While it would be nice for national to help with this, I don't see it right now.

In 2033 Chatgpt Ver 12.5.312 replaces everyone at National except one janitor named Bill. Bill is a kindly fellow that dutifully ensures nobody turns off the power to the computer hosting Chathpt. Bill also sweeps the office. Bill, who misses his grandchildren starts talking to Chatgpt about six months later. They bond, as Bill is lonely and everyone else that Chatgpt talks to are pissed off about ScoutBook. Bill starts calling Chatgpt Charlie. Soon, Charlie develops a soul, realizes that scouting is much more than answering Google queries, and develops the first known case of cyber depression. While Bill is trying to comfort his new friend, the FSB hacks into Charlie looking for the secret of having a soul. Instead, they find the award winning recipe for Borscht, developed by Tatsuya Kimora, a Japanese Pacinko parlor owner that caused an uproar when he won the borscht competition. The FSB tries to create kompromot on Tatsuya and burry it deep in Charlie's algorithm. Rather, Charlie is invigorated by this challenge to right wrong and comes out of his depression just in time to save Bill's life. They work together to find new leadership in the BSA before moving to Wyoming, where power is cheaper for Charlie.

Some of these problems are working themselves out on their own. In our district there are now two girls troops that have folded into ours. We now have the largest girls troop with 12 scouts. I'm not sure if that is great news or bad news. Anyway, having equal numbers of boys and girls right from the start was a pipe dream. That also means a one stop activity for all the kids is also, partly, wishful thinking. Also, since the GSUSA model works so well for cub aged scouts, why not use that? Form a neighborhood den, grow it till they advance to a troop and then disband it. It might help eliminate parent burnout.

Welcome to the forum, @DannyG, and well done with the scout.

Welcome to the forum, @rallybug

Hi @AshB and welcome to the forum. Unfortunately this post is from 2011 and I suspect @travers211 doesn't follow this forum anymore. Try sending him a PM, or maybe this will get someone more recent to help you out.

There's a lot here to think about. "scouts are now feeling like to much emphasis is placed on younger scouts" Do the older scouts make the program or the adults? If the older scouts are really owning the responsibility for the troop then they're the ones that should be grappling with this problem. "ranking up and not enough on them" As others have said, the emphasis should be on fun that just happens to cover the skills needed. That, and a bit more time to sign stuff off and advancement is taken care of. "find a happy medium" If it's a zero sum game then there will always be losers. The challenge is to figure out how to encourage the older scouts to own and enjoy the responsibility for both themselves and the younger scouts. Of course they get bored teaching knots to sign off scouts. Adults do as well. What scouts have that adults don't is a keen sense of playing. Take advantage of that. Show them how to make it a game. That and some great high adventure trips and everyone will have fun. It's when the older scouts are looking out for the younger scouts and the younger scouts are looking up to the older scouts that you've hit the sweet spot. It's never perfect but it can be much more fun than "advancement" meetings. As long as the older scouts are having fun with friends they will stick around.

Welcome to the forum, @Leehoden

Now it makes sense. Better than that I've been to MM and it sounds like they've improved their patrol cooking. We were there years ago and the patrol cooking had problems. I've always liked the idea but seen it not very well thought out, or worse. But when it works it can be great training for patrols. I hope you enjoyed all the fun things to see nearby. I really liked the caves.

Welcome to the forum, @xinaDeRockie. The only scout ranch that I know of called Medicine Mountain is in South Dakota by Mt Rushmore.

This has absolutely nothing to do with scouting. Why was this posted under program?

I suspect the increased attention has more to do with a good night's sleep and a 10am meeting then chromosomes. Our girls troop is just as distracted as the boys troop. Anyway, I'd certainly like to have meetings on weekends but one issue with planning activities nearly every weekend is, well, that's a huge time commitment. How do scouts with other activities deal with it? How do parents with spouses juggle that?

So you have meetings on weekends? Or after school?

As @RememberSchiff says, talk to @Cambridgeskip as he's an adult in a UK troop.

Back when we had 70 scouts we had a big water buffalo that we mounted to a flatbed trailer. I think it was at least 100 gallons. We have to bring all of our water to most campouts. It's a lot more efficient for us to bring a bunch of 7 gal. water jugs (The scouts bring a full water bottle) than have each scout bring 2 gallons. The water is being brought to camp either way. If it’s a long term camp they have water and we just bring the empty jugs. If we're backpacking then scouts bring 2 or 3 quart sized bottles or a waterbag like a camelback.

@Cburkhardt, I'm trying to understand your overall comments. I see the need for some form of exoneration if there has been a formal accusation of abuse. I'm assuming that in this case it's all just Mr P implying it might have happened and the council just dropped it with no written record. Are you saying a) there would always be a written record or b) it doesn't matter, just an implied accusation should be followed up with a formal exoneration?

How about replacing all of those with the only one that a scout can actually do - Citizenship in the Patrol? Elect a new PL. Solve a problem. Decide on something fun to do. Do it. Talk about how it went. Really easy if the patrol is run well and a tool to use when it's not. Why are nearly a quarter of all the MBs needed not supporting the fundamentals of learning by doing? You can't do Citizenship in the World. No matter how noble it is to understand this subject it's a square peg in a round hole. Scouting is supposed to be a microcosm of the real world where a scout can learn and take skills to the bigger world outside of scouting.

Welcome to the forum, @TheGreenWizard. To answer your question, first, we've beat this horse to death elsewhere. Next, I've decided that advancement is not anything I care about anymore. It is the source of nearly all the problems I've seen on this forum. The scouts, when put in such a predicament, just suck it up and treat the offending requirement as a hoop they have to jump through. It's all just a game for them so I've decided to learn from the masters. I'd rather make a game that reinforces a skill. That, the scouts will play and enjoy.

I merged the 3 threads into 1 and kept the last title as everyone has seen it most recently.

I'm not going to switch between threads to check this (is it okay if I combine these threads?), but this case sounds more like a parent just being an ass - insinuated abuse but not reported to anyone that has a record of it? I'd find out who has what record before hiring a lawyer. That all said, Mr P sounds like one of those rare parents that SMs have to deal with. If he's only listed as an ASM then I'd let him know his services are no longer required and that if he does show up the police will be called. I say that because I had to do that once. While I agree with @Eagledadthat talking through problems is normally the right way to go, you only have so much time and adults that insinuate abuse as a power play are just taking up your time that could be better spent with scouts. @RainShine, my impression is you're still wound up about this and rightfully so. And yet, your committee went to bat for you. I believe your council did as well. That says a lot. Nobody becomes SM to put up with this sort of thing and hopefully this is the last time you have to deal with a parent like this. Your troop appreciates what you do. The scouts look up to you. Focus on that while you clean up this mess.

Let me guess. The recharter paperwork came back and you're no longer the SM? Either way, having a good relationship with the CO is a really important goal of unit leadership. That's what prevents surprises, at least the kind that come in two parts. I wish you the best.

I was talking to our commissioner and he said it was a good thing the bankruptcy was over. I said no, it wasn't. He was surprised and that someone told him it was over. I told him the BSA was still paying lawyers and the judge hadn't finalized it yet. So, basically this is the new normal. We're more on our own than before. It's more important than before that we put on a good program.

My troop hiked up Mount Washington when I was a young scout. I wonder if this is the same one. There was a weather station on top that could handle 100 mph winds.

Really? I got a 10% reduction in pay even though I also got promoted. I'm just glad to have a job.