ParkMan

Scouting is done best at the unit level. What happens in a local den and pack is one of the most important parts of Scouting to a Lion. As a Cub Scout, I knew next to nothing of the world outside my pack. Lawsuits, bankruptcies, councils, you name it - they are all interesting and somewhat relevant to adults, but not to most youth, and even more so not at the Cub Scout level. I wouldn't sweat all the distractions and discussions that permeate much of the focus of these forums.

I think this is the price of the BSA being a leader in youth protection. In today's culture being a leader in youth protection means being out ahead of the trends and changing expectations of what it means to protect youth from abuse. You'd like to think that it will never extend to asking you to refrain from certain activities or behaviors with your own family, but then again who really knows.

It would depend on why the governor limited it. If it was an arbitrary "hey, I think patrol based Scouting is the way to go", then yes, I think most everyone would summarily ignore that. If it was based on COVID, then I think everyone would comply. Like anything, it's a factor of why.

It's an interesting side question for certain. How does the evolving of abuse factor into what is reported? Perhaps 10 years ago it would have been considered absurd to report that. Today some on the more leading edge of this topic probably would suggest you do. 10, 20 years from now - who knows? There may be a time when it would be considered shocking that we didn't report it. Or maybe folks will decide that this is overreach. Your guess is as good as mine. I suspect that today the BSA guidance would be to follow the G2SS and report what it describes. If the BSA updates it's mater

@Momleader - I have a sense that short of asking your council what the specifics of their policy is, we are unlikely to know here. I think you will find lots of good analysis of the probabilities and reasoning - but what specifically the policy in place through your council does in a situation like this is something that we are simply unlikely to know. My own hunch is that the policy your council provides will provide coverage in almost every scenario. I find it unlikely that the council would have a policy in place ahead of time that foresaw this scenario. But again, it's just a wild gues

I think that if you start looking at the G2SS and trying to justify exceptions you are going to get yourself all twisted up in knots. I think @David CO said it well - the one-on-one rules in the G2SS will require you and your family to stop doing things that have been a normal part of life for many years - sleepovers, baby sitting, being one-on-one with your niece or nephew. I suspect that the BSA knows this, but wanted to be show leadership in this space. As such, they have set a very high bar. If you are a leader in the BSA, you should live your whole life according to the rules in

What I've come to understand about Scouters is that we all place different priorities on the eight methods - scouting ideals, patrols, outdoors, advancement, personal growth, adult association, leadership development, and uniform. What I've noticed with experienced Scouters is that when people start focusing on making advancement easier or better, experienced Scouters tend to start asking questions around whether the improvement to advancement is at the expense of some of the other seven methods. For example, merit badge mills are great at helping a Scout advance, but they can negatively

I struggle though with how to reconcile the gains and successes we've had as a country in the last 50 years. Even in my lifetime, I see a noticeable difference in the amount of racism and increase in the amount of equality in our social structures. I applaud that we continue to focus on rooting out discrimination and racism. Yet, to listen to my teenage kids talk, our country is an awful place full of racists. I don't know how to communicate to my kids with any credibility that we've come so far as a country from what it was 50, 100, or more years ago.

That's unfortunate. The Scouting world has such a weird dynamic to it. Professionals, council boards, council volunteers vs. district volunteers vs. unit volunteers. For a movement that is all about developing leaders, we seem to know so little about how to develop leadership in adult volunteers. It's very strange.

I'd encourage you to talk with your ticket counselor. Position changes happen all the time during Wood Badge. I've had several people change positions while I was a ticket counselor- one even changing units. What's important is adjusting your specific ticket items so that you can still work torwards your vision - if even in a different role

I'd heard this too and so just did a few minutes looking around. This appears to be a very common, and in fact recommended practice amongst non-profits. I find it interesting as it prepeptuates the notion of board members buying their spots on the board. In an era where qualifications for jobs is more important than ever I find it curious that in the non-profit space there is almost a caste system that suggests board members should have to contribute financially to be on the board. I was at least expecting that this was a topic of debate, but I didn't see much in a quick look around.

Great question! I look at the weekends of training as having three main aspects: specific content taught in classes building a network among other like minded Scouters and staff having fun & building additional enthusiasm for Scouting specific content taught in classes I think this is hit or miss depending on what you know going in. The Wood Badge material is just about entirely focused around you becoming a stronger leader in your Scouting life. So, depending on what you know already and what your experience level is in a leadership role you may or may no

I've always found that photographers get a special license to take pictures during ceremonies like that. Its important to record moments like those. Just be purposefully and dignified when you do it and you'll be fine.

Welcome! Hope you have a fantastic first meeting. That's a great part of the country.

I hadn't seen that before, but that's exactly what I was thinking of conceptually. Makes compete sense.

Haha! I loved being Troop CC. I told my successor that it's the single best job in Scouting. As CC you get to see and experience everything. You get to watch parents succeed and expand their horizons. You get to watch a team come together and accomplish things they never realized that they could do. You get to be the biggest cheerleader and paint the vision. The price is that you just don't get to "do" anything.

Lots of people abuse the DE. 1. Scout Executive and other council professionals. I've seen countless times how our council level professionals turn to the DE for things that volunteers ought to do. Membership, program, unit service, etc. We see DEs working 50, 60, 70 hours a week running around doing whatever their boss tells them to do. In the process, the DE has a tendency to just go solve the issue. This results in weakening the district team. If a DE is doing all the unit service, then why bother to have a commissioner staff? If a DE is organizing the district events, then why

In my experience this is true of lots of things - not just Scouting. There are people on my team at work who have a significantly larger impact that most others. I think this is just part of life - we'll always have superstars and role players. However, the trick for the Unit Committee (and specifically the Committee Chair) needs to recognize that they are building an organization - not trying to put on a program. Our troop was the strongest in the District too and we had an active adult committee of 30+ people. We did that by delegating whenever possible. Sure, there are times that peop

I just think this is the wrong direction for the program. To me a pack where the Cubmaster is spending 40+ hours a week on the program is not a healthy pack. Den Leaders, Assistant Cubmaster, Committee Members, etc all contribute to make a pack successful. When you put too much on one person, the health of the pack become dependent on the ability and bandwidth of that one person. The person leaves, the pack fails. Scouting is inherently an involved parent activity. When we start paying people, it changes the whole dynamics of the program. It's a job at that point. The

Hah - I've heard a number of people suggest that the future of Scouting is paid unit leadership. Paid Cubmasters & Scoutmasters. I think if that day happens, I'll hang up my uniform.

I largely agree with this. As a district volunteer who has dabbled in membership from time to time, I would articulate that there are a few components to a membership campaign: Individual unit recruiting - this is where I agree with you 200%. The successful units I know are the ones who actively work on growing membership. Why? Because more membership brings more volunteers and energy. Individual unit membership is where is all starts. District/Council can encourage and train here, but that cannot force this. Quality unit programs - The most successful units I know are

@Cburkhardt - best of luck with your professional activities. I've really enjoyed the insight, thoughtfulness, and thought provoking nature of your comments and topics. I wish you all the best on the trail until you are able to join us again.

I've been looking a lot at the councils in our area and it's unclear to me that consolidation would bring much benefit. I fear that the primary issue we face at the council level in Scouting today is a lack of technical knowledge on how to effectively grow Scouting. How does a council put together a membership program? How does a district put together a membership program? How does strong program impact membership? How does the fee structure impact program & membership? How does unit service impact membership? How does one effectively strengthen units in a volunteer organizat

As I hope you know, I'm sorry to hear how poorly it is run and how frustrating it is for you. Perhaps your council that might be encouraged to find new executive leadership in the coming year.

I think you're right that this is a council to council decision. In ours, there is no minimum price. Membership is by your ability to have an impact. @Eagle94-A1 - I think you must be a member in a really poorly run council. District Executives that are running around unchecked, District Committees with no power or leadership, a council board which is all about how much money you donate. I suspect there is a pattern emerging in your council's governance. Fortunately, this is not a universal truth across Scouting.