NeilLup

Hunt makes these very good points: "I will agree with those who say that a declining membership is not a valid reason to change core values of the organization. On the other hand, I would suggest that a strong membership and a long history are not reasons to avoid questioning policies on ethical grounds." I would suggest, however, that declining membership, other factors, and even passage of time are exceedingly valid reasons to assess carefully what the core values of an organization really are and what instead represents the interpretation and practice of core values at one time a

I don't think in this case that it's a matter of the squeaky wheel getting the grease. A better analogy might be that the party that buys 10,000 cars is much more likely to get cars designed the way that they want than is the party that buys one car.

I believe that the correct organizational structure to consider for the BSA is a franchise operation. The National Council grants a franchise (charter) to a local council with exclusive rights to administer Boy Scouting within a particular geographical area. That local council then recommends various local organizations (sponsors) to be granted franchises (charters) to administer the Scouting program. Those franchise holders can either agree to carry out the program the way that the franchisor directs, or they can choose not to accept the franchise. If they fail to carry it out, t

There may be a subset of dissent which is worth mentioning -- maybe it is the same thing, maybe not. There may be those of us whose feelings on a particular issue, like gay leadership, are not particularly strong one way or another but who are concerned that by taking the extremely adamant view that the BSA has, it risks marginalizing itself and no longer being the broad scope, nation-wide, unifying organization that it has tried to be through its history. At one time, we said "Scouting is for all boys." Is that still the case? Should that be the case? One side may say

I can speak a little about one National Committee where I do have some knowledge. I believe there are three youth members on the National Boy Scouting Committee: The National OA Chief (who is also a member of the National Executive Board) The National OA Vice Chief The Antarctic Scout (who is also a member of the National Executive Board) The OA Chief and Vice Chief are selected in a double selection process where all the voters are youth. The Antarctic Scout is selected in an extremely rigorous process involving volunteers and pros coordinated with the National Science Fo

Hello SM Ron, Check out the 21st Century Pioneer Award offered by the Boston Minuteman Council. This is a diversity award intended for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and is offered at several different age/ability levels. www.bsaboston.org then go to resources, then to 21st Century Pioneer Award. If several of your Scouts earned this award, it would be a definite diversity item.

Let me pour a little gasoline upon the troubled fire Suppose the boy were asked a question that I was asked at my Eagle Board "Is there anything about any of your ranks that was not done according to the requirements? Did you cheat on any of the requirements? Is there any reason that you shouldn't be an Eagle Scout." What would you have the boy say? If I were on the Board and he told the story of serving as APL, I would pass him for having demonstrated Eagle Scout level Trustworthiness.

Hello Scoutldr, With respect to the Eagle BOR, they may have phrased the question a bit more helpfully. I would suggest that the question should be "How do YOU honor the point of the Law 'A Scout is Reverent.' " or "How do YOU do your best to do your Duty to God?" It isn't supposed to be some abstruse philosophical discussion, rather it is very practical and personal. At the same time, if the boy doesn't have a very religious home life, he may require some help and guidance and counseling by the Board. Boleta lays out very nicely how this can be done. I have heard of Bo

I believe that I have read that in about 80-90% of these cases, the charges are accurate and in about 10-20%, they are completely inaccurate and even intentionally false. And, without a complete and thorough investigation, it is IMPOSSIBLE to tell which is which. Sometime even then (he said, he said). It is completely appropriate for a leader accused in these circumstances to be removed from contact with youth until matters are resolved. Other than that, one can only say that these situations do happen and when they happen, Scouting does its best to address and resolve them qu

When my wife joined the advertising business, she was taught this little poem which could also can be very useful for job seekers. Tell me fast and tell me true Or else, my friend, away with you Don't lecture on how it came to be But say what the darned thing does for me When someone interviews you for a job, there is only one thing in the person's mind -- what can you do for them. How can they make a lot more money than you cost as a result of you're being on their team? (Or the non profit equivalent; provide a lot more service, etc.) Being an Eagle Scout is certainl

The source that I found said the change was made in 1949. And if 1965 is old for you, FOG, you're not old

Am I correct, Fuzzy Bear, that in the early days of the OA, an Ordeal member wore the sash over the right shoulder and a Brotherhood member over the left shoulder. This would have given the desired bandolier effect if worn with the MB sash. I also remember as a Scout that we speculated on what one would do if one had enough Merit Badges to fill up the front of one sash. We postulated bandolier sashes for the additional MBs. With your sense of humor, you would fit in well with some of the members of our training team.

A few years ago, there was a nationally televised commercial by WalMart showing the way they had helped some boy complete his Eagle Scout project. The boy consistently wore official BSA blue jeans. I have to believe that either the local council didn't know anything about the commercial (they would have provided uniform trousers) or else the Troop was one of those "We refuse to wear uniform trousers; our uniform is blue jeans."

Why does not BSA just change from Boy Scouts to just plain Scouts and allow girls 11-17 as well join.>> The merger of BSA and GSUSA was considered extremely seriously in the early '70s. I believe it was killed by GSUSA who feared they would become second class citizens. BTW, at one time there were a number of GSUSA equivalents of Scout Executive who were male. Currently, there are only two and one is very active as a BSA volunteer in the Northeast Region. I believe that the BSA believes that single sex programs are appropriate for youth below age 14 and coed programs

There is, I believe, one circumstance where wearing the OA sash to the Court of Honor is appropriate. If the boy has been designated Troop OA Representative as his Position of Responsibility, then he can be considered to be doing an OA job as he serves as a leader in the Troop. Clearly, the boy is extremely proud of being an OA member. I would have probably let his wearing the sash go at the Court of Honor and gently told him about it the next week. I would respectfully suggest that the last thing that an enthusiastic 11 year old needs is a visitation by the uniform police.

Hello BSAbrit, The finest SM I ever recruited was a bank president. He made it clear that he could only make a fraction of meetings and would rarely make campouts. However, he was a magnificent organizer and inspiring leader, organized the ASM's extremely well, set a vision and ran a great Troop. He also was extremely well respected in the community. When he signed on, within a couple of weeks, we had ten new Scouts whose families said "Well if Mr. XXXXX is going to be SM, that is something we want to do." He also is an Eagle Scout and was later presented the Distin

I know of at least two women who are/have been Scout Executives. One was in Connecticut, I believe, about a decade ago. The other, I believe, is still serving in Illinois. There may be others. There also is more than a smattering of District Executives. I believe that I heard figures which suggest that about 18% of professional Scouters are female.(This message has been edited by NeilLup)

One thing I might suggest. Consider inviting a Cub Scout Pack or, if there is a new Boy Scout Troop in your area, inviting them to the Eagle Court. I well remember when my year old Troop was invited to an Eagle Court by a nearby Troop. It was the largest single factor in convincing me that I could become an Eagle Scout and I should set that as my goal.

I received my beads only 3 days ago>> Congratulations again, Pete. Wear them with pride as you do good things for youth.

Hello Pete, I hope you have the opportunity to be on WB staff. I believe that first time WB staff service is the finest training course that we have in the BSA.

Hello Pete, Your CD is required to send in a report to the local council with a copy to the area, copy to the region and a copy to National. Copies of these are kept for awhile but then are discarded after a few years. The main purpose of these reports is to learn about changes that the CD thinks should occur and about statistics concerning the course. The CD is then required to send in a final report 18 mmonths after the course. This gives statistics on who has finished and what the completion percentage was for the course. Please feel free to ask whatever questions you w

Hello Zahnada, There are youth staff for one and a half days of 21st Century WB. They do instruct and run physical activities. The adults clearly see what the youth can and should do. However, as far as staffing the entire course, I believe I disagree with that for a couple of reasons. Teaching capability isn't one of them. Youth certainly can have that capability. One reason is point of view. An important objective of WB and adult leader training is teaching of the purposes of Scouting from an adult leader's point of view and clarifying how to structure the progra

Am I correct, Eamonn, that you mean all the courses held at Gilwell Park, not all courses held anywhere in the world?

News to me, Pete and I have been to Gilwell Park. No such record was mentioned. I believe that there is not any recording of the names of Wood Badge holders in the National office or in the regional offices. In the local councils, it is catch as catch can. At one time, all Course Director certificates were issued out of Gilwell Park and later they were all issued out of the National Council. But those names are not kept Nationally either. All persons who have completed Wood Badge training are "members of Gilwell Troop 1." But this is an honorary membership. There is,

Where have I seen something like the measuring sticks Eamonn suggests? Could it be 21st Century Wood Badge? Hmmm. Remembering that the objective of everything we do in Scouting is the improvement of citizenship, character and fitness, if we enable a Scout, either by himself or in coordination with his adult leaders, to set standards, work toward them, judge his progress, amend the standards if appropriate, and then weigh his performance against these standards, we have achieved a major step toward our objectives. Actually, my understanding is that today's youth are prett