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ParkMan

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Everything posted by ParkMan

  1. In my backyard this transition has been happening for at least 10 years now. Our biggest packs and troops are those who'd quietly moved past the political questions of the last 5 years. They are welcoming to all, now are finding space for girls, and don't worry too much about the religious component. They have great outdoor programs entirely in the spirit of patrol and scout led programs. They have no problems getting scouts to join. Where we are shrinking is in the small units who just don't try anymore. They all have less than 20 scouts, leaders are overwhelmed and burned out. Say
  2. Ouch! Sounds like your district volunteer leadership team is essentially non-existent. It sounds like your DE has assumed much of the operational work of volunteers as a result. That's not good. That's not the correct model at all - but sounds like you're stuck until a volunteer function is re-established.
  3. I'm really sorry to hear about that. Guess I'd ask the question - why did you listen to that DE? As this was IOLS, the couse director reports to the district training chair who reports to the district program chair who reports to the district chair who reports to the council president. Nowhere in that org structure is the DE. In turn, you've got 3 people who can sort out this nonsense action by the DE.
  4. There's been an ask from our district FoS team that we all donate something so that we can say that 100% of our district committee has contributed. But, they've never set an amount and suggest that $5 would be fine.
  5. I fully acknowledge I'm getting pretty far off the original topic. But, since the comment is out there in response to mine, permit me to add my perspective here. I know this is a common perception out there. Perhaps this is different council to council. I should probably have defined "big decisions" a bit more. If I look at programming, I find that almost all decisions are made by senior volunteers. These are your event chairs, council VPs, district program chairs, etc. Most of these positions have a professional advisor who do impose some rules on money and facilities. But, b
  6. DEs effectively serve as the glue that keeps Scouting moving at a local level. They help units solve problems, they encourage membership growth, they help the district volunteers to grow and expand local program support for units. They serve as task do-er at the local level for whatever tasks the larger council needs done - fundraising, new unit development, whatever. We "need" these positions because we need districts/councils to exist to provide program support to units. We "need" these positions because we need to keep trying to grow Scouting. We "need" these positions to help prev
  7. Why? They get a paycheck -so what? Why does that mean they need to get grief for this? Scout Executive's do have a channel into national - so maybe. But a local District Executive is an initial professional job in the BSA. DEs are employed by local councils who are separate from the national organization as well. They are not talking with anyone at BSA national about fees. No one at national is going to get a report from a DE who says "a parent in Troop 123" is angry about the new fee model. I talk quite a bit with our local DE. I have a good sense of what he knows, what he doesn'
  8. Sept. 2009 - feeling very much like the new kid on the block all of a sudden. I may have missed the good ol days - but I will say that I think the discussions here have really helped me grow as a Scouter. My depth of thinking on many of the issues we discuss has really grown as a result. @JoeBob - FWIW - we may not have always agreed on the topics of the day - but I'm glad we had the discussions.
  9. I've also heard it will be a very significant increase - not just 10 or 15 dollars more.
  10. As with any language - there's always room for it to be used in a way that you'd not want. I see that the exact language is: The BSA legally has a pretty weird structure. Philmont is held in a trust. Councils are separate legal entities. Units are not legally connected to the BSA except through an agreement to leverage the program of the BSA in their activities. I'm prepared to give the BSA some latitude here. Yet, I would agree. There could certainly be better language and a clear statement that the information will only be used for the purposes of evaluating your status as
  11. While I get your point, I don't quite agree. The BSA is going to learn to improve their process. Other organizations have a more explicit background check authorization. So, the BSA lawyers decided that they needed one too. So, what's the big deal if we all have to collect a new form at recharter?
  12. Seems reasonable to me. Yeah - it's a pain to deal with paperwork, but a form to make it explicit that the BSA is doing a background check seems OK to me.
  13. Our council recently had someone organize a merit badge activity for a small number of Scouts. I'm sure that if you were to organize it and staff it, they'd be happy to get the word out. Who knows, maybe you could find a few kindred souls and have a leather working merit badge session with multiple instructors. I'm a huge proponent of quality over tradition. If it makes sense to have 12, then don't get pushed into 20. What are they going to do - fire you?
  14. Just as a point of note. Your council's scout executive and district executive have just about 0 influence on the national fees. The council is completely separate from the national organization. Ouir council's exec and board is just as frustrated as we all are with this. The national organization is under severe stress right now. Lawsuits out the ears, rising insurance rates. and bankruptcy around the corner. This isn't a time when the national organization is just being lazy. I'm not here to cut them any slack - but I do get it. I think we all just have to wait this one out.
  15. And I have to imagine that the spectre of bankruptcy isn't helping either.
  16. There's a difference between intent and effort. As a leader, you can promote proper uniforming with very little to no effort. With almost no effort, a Scoutmaster can share a positive word or an encouraging remark. I believe that we should have the intent of proper uniforming. In fact, it takes effort to detract from uniforming. Should a Scouter really actively criticize the uniform, should they promote wrong patch placement, should they tell a Scout jeans are ok? Scouters like @The Latin Scot may find the energy to put in the effort more actively promote uniforming, but the rest of us c
  17. The reason this topic gets debated and never resolved is because it's not a discussion about uniforms. The issue at hand is how adults approach Scouting. Many Scouters look at the program, embrace it's structure, and then utilize it to it's fullest. Others look at the program and say "I agree with about 85% of this" and then focus on the aspects they agree with the most. Others of us treat Scouting as a fun activity with kids, are just happy Scouts are there, and don't rock the boat. I could go on... Clearly there's some fear and trepidation here. The root concern is that if you
  18. @MrjeffI respect that you don't want to engage in a discussion on this and that you don't see yourself changing your mind. Permit me to choose some quotes from your comment: I fully understand your perspective here. In fact, the longer I volunteer, the more often than I make the same argument. However, I'm commenting as I think this sets up a false choice. Programming is the most important thing we do as Scouters. Scouting has to be fun - without doubt. But, I also think Scouting is about role modeling. Scouting calls is "adult association". How we as adults conduct ou
  19. I'm reminded about a conversation I had yesterday with my mother (a retired elementary school teacher). We were talking about how the words we write convey a lot about who we are. I was thanking my mother for instilling that realization in me as a young person. I see the same thing with the uniform. As was eloquently said above - a well worn uniform says a lot about who you are as a person and your own personal standards. Teaching Scouts to represent themselves well is a critical life skill - one that will pay off over and over again later in life. Also, I find that others will recogn
  20. Sorry to be late to this. Kids with severe issues, zero control, and lack of partental discipline is not the norm at all. Yeah, as others have said - that's a more challenging age range in general. But, what you describe is unusual - at least in my area. I'd look at other packs before I gave up on Cub Scouts. I'd encourage you to ask around your sons friend circle and see if anyone is in Scouts. There's a decent chance there are some and they might be in a pack nearby. It definitely good for your son to Scout with friends. If that doesn't work, I'd call up the local District Ex
  21. Hi @Scouter4Family I agree fully that you ought to watch what else is going on and talk with the Scoutmaster before acting too much here. But, your premise makes sense here. In an ideal world, a troop of 200 could be run by the SPL with guidance from the SM. ASMs would simply help with spot tasks as needed. But, I've found that very often, Scouts benefit from a bit of friendly adult guidance. So, if the Scoutmaster is more interested in working with the older Scouts, then it makes a lot of sense for someone to work with the younger Scouts. At 40 Scouts, it is not unreasonabl
  22. Could you set it up as a trust held by a local by the leadership of a local troop?
  23. I'd propose that Wood Badge is not a management course - it's a leadership course. To me a management course implies sessions on pack/troop operations - there is very little content to that effect. There is a lot more content in Wood Badge about how to be a leader in a Scouting context. How to develop a goal for your role in Scouting. How to turn that goal into specific steps to take. How to work with other Scouters to make that goal a reality. Surrounding the material on leadership is lots of fun, camaraderie, opportunities to network, and plenty of exposure to Scouting in a larger con
  24. I would encourage you to run this by someone from the district too - probably the district executive. You're starting to get into the area of co-mixing BSA branding and Masonic branding. There are generally rules about this kind of thing. Odds are that they'll say - hey, this is great. But - I'd think it's worth confirming first.
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