nolesrule

Things clearly have changed since you "retired". I provided the current Scouts BSA joining requirements that went into effect April 18, 2022. While you are correct on the disabilities portion, it is not relevant. The question is about the earliest point someone in Cub Scouts (or not in Cub Scouts) can join a Scouts BSA troop, not how long someone can stay a Cub Scout.

@fred8033 They never updated that FAQ. Shocking. here is the current youth application with a revision date of 04/2023. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/524-406.pdf I agree the wording is somewhat ambiguous, but it's been clarified elsewhere (by some national volunteer somewhere) that the intent is that it must be on or after March 1 of the 5th grade school year. The idea behind this particular clause was that a kid not already in Cub Scouts would be allowed to join at the same time as their buddies already in Cubs would be crossing over.

No, the joining requirements for Scouts BSA changed on April 18, 2022, and are as follows: At least 10 years old, currently in the fifth grade and register on or after March 1 or At least 10 years old and have earned the Arrow of Light Award or At least 11 years old (but not yet 18)

My daughters are both on their way. They also left at the crack of dawn today (so even though I'm not going my day also began at 4am today... need more coffee). They are handling things much the same way as BAJ's jamboree troop. Other than a handful of designated times where there are pre-scheduled unit activities (such as the flood bucket service project mentioned above), they are free to do what they want during the day with buddies.

I just want to address this, because I think it misses the point of uniforms. Uniforms are part of everyday life, sometimes subtly, sometimes not so subtly. A uniform is really just an outward expression of an individual's commitment to the aims and ideals of the group the uniform represents, and can act as a mirror to help reflect that back at yourself. It adds a level of outward expectation to strive to live up to. When I worked as a bagger at a grocery store in high school, I had a uniform (branded polo, black pants). When I worked at Blockbuster Video in college I had a uniform (light b

I don't know about Arlington, but my youth troop was posting photos placing flags at the Bay Pines National Cemetery in St. Petersburg, FL this weekend. And it was good to see them continuing to do that service project 30-something years after the last time I was involved.

In April, our troop SM's and CC's training records disappeared. My brother had to dig up proof he took IOLS from his emails recently because it never got recorded by his council (he was not in an SM/ASM position at that time, so it wasn't imperative to double check accurate data entry).

I'm not sure I understand. The 20 miler has been part of the requirements for as long as I can remember. The recent requirement change is from 5, 3 x 10, 15, 20 (6 hikes, 70 miles) to 4x 10, 20 (5 hikes, 60 miles) They have reduced the total distance by 10 miles and the number of hikes by 1.

This topic is covered in GTA Section 4.2.3.6 I like what it says about service hours and service projects. By the book, anything done toward a requirement may also be used toward another requirement, as long as the requirements for one of them do not expressly forbid it, and all requirements are met as written.

I'm not sure that matters much. You can have high quality regalia and it still will appear as cosplay... just highly dedicated cosplay. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard the word "cringy" used by scouts in reference to the Native American aspects of the OA. And yes, I do recognize that my screen name refers to a university that uses Native American regalia and symbols... with permission (although there is no doubt in my mind that permission comes with a price tag).

The proposal section is fine... until you get to Page D. Everything past the "Giving Leadership" section is straight up project planning. My daughter didn't do a Planning section either because she found it unnecessarily redundant to the proposal. I can see the planning section being helpful to scouts for complex projects to help keep organized, but a project doesn't have to be complex. If you have to practically plan the project in the proposal, you don't need the planning section.

Yes, but.... The cub scout requirement for single overnight experiences has the caveat that it is a pack coordinated overnight. None of the other pack-level requirements have that phrase. Therefore it puts an extra condition on when single night experience restrictions apply. They could have chosen to leave out pack-coordinated to give it broader applicability to cub camping. I postulate that the specific use of "pack coordinated" and "den coordinated" is intentional as to allow Webelos/AOL dens to continue 2-night overnight trips with troops, while restricting pack-level overnights to

A camporee is a multi-unit event making it a district or larger event. A troop camping trip is a single unit event. The prohibition on camporee overnight attendance means a Webelos or AOL den cannot camp with a troop at a camporee. I don't know what makes a camporee inherently more risky or what other reasoning they are using. One would have to ask national. The GTSS clearly states that Webelos and AOL dens can conduct den coordinated campouts (see the screen grab a few posts up). The single overnight experience limitation specifically applies to pack coordinated overnights. Something can

Preparation and practice so that the timer isn't really necessary. The last thing you need is someone rushing through the content near the end of the presentation because they went too long much earlier. But I do like @InquisitiveScouter's low-cost idea.

@RememberSchiff nice to see our efforts here in Mecklenburg are providing a positive to a difficult situation. We've been seeing year over year increases in in our Scouting for Food collection and I hope that continues.

That's really the crux of what I was trying to say and apparently I did a lousy job of it.

I'm not saying there is maliciousness in peoples behaviors toward others by not recognizing differences (there can be, but that's a different topic). What I'm saying is that people who only have experience with others like themselves and don't see differences make assumptions based on their own experiences of similarity. You hear things like "I treat everyone the same", which is okay to an extent, but not everyone is the same. To get back on track, this merit badge is about learning to observe, recognize and think about those differences. Treating people the same is asking someone one on

We don't do popcorn, because we'd never be able to compete with the Cub Scouts. We sell Camp Cards in the spring and last year First Aid Kits in the fall. Unfortunately we are never able to get table sales in front of a high traffic area. The one time we did get in at a Walmart they doublebooked us with girl scouts selling cookies and that was a disaster.

Not claiming more knowledge. Claiming more experiences with differences and how differences are treated. People with experience being different tend to have more consideration for those who are different from them. It's just the way the world works, and it's because experience informs your how you think about things which informs your behavior. That's not to say people who aren't in minorities don't, but it's certainly less likely. I see evidence of it all the time. We could also talk about some of the negativity that came with girls being allowed in Scouts BSA, and we still see 4 year

Lowe's corporate HQ is literally 10 minutes outside our council borders. I wonder if the stores were just giving us a line.

You can sell at Lowes? We reached out to do a fundraiser at 2 of them nearby and they told us they don't allow them anymore as a corporate policy.

Yes, that's my scout. Who is also a minority gender in scouting as well as a minority religion. People who tend to be from a group that gets marginalized to any degree tend to discuss those challenges. As a female Jewish person in organization comprised mostly of white Christian males she wonders (and so do I) why people afraid of having conversations about differences? What are they scared of?

The Oath and Law are just suggestions that we give lip service to.

And you are going to get differing opinions on whether it can actually fit into the other Citizenship merit badges. I don't think it effectively can, as I think it works better as a single focused topic. But again, that's an opinion. On the other hand, I think Nation and World should be combined. And I think that you could incorporate outdoor food safety requirements into the cooking part of Camping merit badge and drop Cooking back to an elective. But again, that's my opinion. I also don't think it's something that can be effective as part of the Scout Spirt requirement. The setting is dif

The output is a fillable PDF, so your scout can manually complete the missing data. But as @qwazse said, report the issue at the linked discssuion form which provides support for scoutbook.