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Zuzyson, huzzah! @, many councils (like ours) comprise their EBoR's mainly of troop committee members with one district representative who coaches committee members on appropriate questions, the goals of the review, etc .... Other's comprise them entirely of district representatives, typically from the advancement committee. In both cases, the board may be referred to as a committee. The SM, sometimes the parent, introduces the scout to the committee and waits outside. The sash really wasn't necessary, but I can see how, if the guy in front of you has his, you'll feel naked without yours.

Generally, the way @@thrifty's troop does it is pretty much the documented standard. Every SM will vary that based on the facts on the ground. Some variations are more productive than others. Well, it's kind of like why we don't have a say in the president elect's cabinet. If he/she winds up surrounded by idiots, it's his on him. If every officer were elected by popular or representative voting, well then it would be the electorate's fault for crippling the presiding officer. And OA ... it seems like a formality until your "borderline" kid steps forward for election. Maybe you don't have that 1st class scout who got it in his head that he can be all high-and-mighty to the crossovers. But, when you do, and he gets voted down ... three years consecutively ... its a beauty to watch his behavior change once he dries up his tears.

True it's no big deal, but there's this "Do your best" motto that's kind of a nag. Does the boy still have his handbooks? That's the first thing you should ask. Anything worth earning should have been signed off there.That little exercise will help prepare him for taking charge of his own progress. Then, just look at his uniform. Have him bring in whatever he's bling he has managed to keep. What pins does he have? Make this fun for the boys. Have his den help you identify anything on his uniform that will help "set the record straight"! Then give him a "welcome back" patch. (I'm sure by now you have a few spares from past events that he might have missed.) Sure you could drop a line to some other council HQ and try and chase paper. But where's the fun in that?

Well, the other data point is from the US. Venturing has had a boom and bust cycle. So you might conclude that adding girls might give you some growth out of the novelty of the thing, then membership will plummet faster than any other. Of course, boys have the option of dropping out of venturing quite readily. So, there's no way of telling what they would do if they didn't like going coed but the segregated option was not readily available. You could write the Baden-Powell Service Association and ask them to publish their membership statistics. But it speaks volumes that they have no recent press releases touting a groundswell in membership. I have no data-driven reason to believe that going co-ed will increase membership, let alone stop BSA's losses. In America there are some parents who would love their kids to have a co-ed scouting experience, but they are far outnumbered by parents who love the segregated model. Think about it, we here a story about one cluster of girls that appeals to participate in the MB program or one CO who encourages segregated unites to work together to the point they are co-ed on all but paper in the ENTIRE nation. As cool as we are, the ladies simply are no knocking down our doors to get in, and our boys aren't holding them open. I figure any gains in membership that may be had, would not be had for decades. Could that outlook change in a couple years? Maybe. But that would require unforeseen factors.

The Eagle Huntress (http://sonyclassics.com/theeaglehuntress/) just made it to our independent theater. I was very impressed. It's an ideal movie for young venturing youth. It would be great for Troops, but not so much if your boys have trouble reading subtitles and speak neither Kazakh nor Arabic. Also, if your people have qualms about skinning and butchering animals, you may want to give them a heads up. The heroin is a 13 year old Mongolian. Her father is her sidekick. I think any dad who has taken his daughter hunting (or in my case, tracking) will really appreciate this one. It's also a great way to get psyched for winter camping! Of course it's an added bonus is when, after the closing credits, you can walk across the aisle to the families with three young girls, say, "Would you guys like to see an Eagle feather?" And pull the one you found on your last hike out of your wide-brimmed leather hat.

Okay, first I don't equate learning with getting some lecture. The first thing I remember doing with my BSHB was opening to the knots section, going to the garage, getting some rope, and trying to tie half hitches according to the pictures. This is probably why I don't believe in the EDGE method. Explanations came later ... not until camp. I see scouts coming into the troop (venturers into the crew as well), and they are there because they want to accomplish something ... not necessarily check things off of a list. They read or saw something, maybe heard a tale from an older scout. And they want to do that. Then they want to do it better (longer, higher altitude, with just a tarp, across big water, under open sky, helping more people). In their minds, learning is part of the fun. Those are the ones who become first class scouts (the concept, not the patch).

One year, my wife got me a coat, with a pocket in the sleeve of the outer-liner. Put my cell-phone in it. What does this have to do with co-ed? Not much, except one female advisor who helped me chaperon my crew on a winter backpacking trip who was duly impressed when I answered the phone without unzipping my jacket. BSA - all the right pockets on all the wrong gear.

Usually my ASM role at camp is something like: 1. Provide SPL/PL maps and suggest gear for the weekend's activities ... just enough for them to improvise from there. 2. Figure out a suitable distraction for the adults ("Hey, would you like to peruse the camp facilities?", or "I brought my pizzelle iron, lets make some treats while the boys hike/fish/get the provisions we didn't buy for them/play capture the flag".) 3. If the crew is nearby, I might suggest something in-between. ("Hey, why don't you find the ranger and ask to see his motorcycle collection? You might help him tune an engine. If scouts find you and are bothersome, let them know that the adults are making pizzelles and preparing to eat them all.")

For the sake of Yanks still wondering what's so funny: On the west side of the pond, we call that prophet "I zay yah" On the east side, they call him "I sigh ah".

Well, if people have been "above board" among themselves, and someone says, "We need to change because sooner or later your $s are gonna walk away." They will take it as a false accusation or at best a vote of no confidence. How do you react when falsely accused or declared good for nothing?

Get the CC to rally the parents for you. Commit to training. Tell the boys you expect them to do the same. You've seen on this blog that there is plenty of good advice for nearly every problem an SM has had.

Welcome to the forums! Some trust issues going on here. If you're getting this much push-back, apologize to your people and move on. It will spare you a lot of extra work. If someone eventually walks away with den dollars, you just say "sorry about that. nothing I can do. Ask some other den to float you something from their tin." Thanks for your service to the boys.

I think I'm in the "learn" camp. Scouts are constantly learning. As a result they discover new ways to have fun. Boys who aren't learning aren't scouting. As a result they miss out on all the fun.

I often invite adults to join me on the orienteering races that the local club puts on. Sometimes that is the best way to get them up to speed with map and compass.

In the 70s and 80s, I always wore my uniform to school on Feb 8th. Never got ridiculed by anyone while wearing it. Enjoyed the company of female classmates who came up and asked me about one patch or another (thanks De La Renta). Got plenty of ridicule when I wasn't wearing it. I guess my Arab American showed through more without the uniform. Scouts younger than me felt intimidated to wear the uniform at school. The question never came up on a BoR. Our MC's never wore uniforms. Our ASMs hardly ever did. I don't think it was out of shame or anything. Maybe cost was a factor. But, I think they believed it was out of respect for the SM who was doing the "real" heavy lifting. In any case, they weren't all that focused on uniforming. That was the SPL's responsibility.

Maybe he should start addressing the SPL as Mr. Turtle.

Wouldn't fly in the community where I grew up. Formalities had nothing to do with the patch on your sleeve. As soon as I was old enough to toss a keg on the beer truck, I had the right (obligation, really) to call any driver, including my dad's business partner by first name. Veterans: first name. College professors, if they were in your church: first name. Associate pastors, first name. Pastor, if on a youth service trip: first name. ASMs who never spent a day in the mines: first name. Active duty servicemen, teachers, farmers, retirees, coal miners, mothers, and journeymen: last name, with pride. Now, when we were in uniform, doing some public service: title and last name to adults and youth. So, when I was SPL addressing a PL for roll call, Mr. ___ was in order. But most camping activities and meetings, the above rules generally applied. So, I feel a little odd in my current community. I, by upbringing, would expect to be called by first name. (At the very least, among Arabic speakers to be called Abu-Son#1). But, all of the youth have it pounded into their heads to never do that to a senior. I remember when, in our Bible study, half of the parents (especially transplants from west of the Mississippi) were concerned about their little children addressing us by first name. I thought to myself, "What an odd conversation to be having." It's a big country.

Really great points, @@bsaggcmom. This isn't about the guy who huffs and puffs up the steps. Okay, maybe it is a little. These incidents are frequent enough, even in adults vetted for thier HA base. But that guy or gal might not be in our troop. We might come across him/her on the trail. This is about equipping scouts with the gear that, when the Bad Day dawns, they won't doubt that they will have had everything that can be carried to forestall death. The tech might not be ready for us, yet. But no harm pushing it there.

(@kypton_son, it's like you're my evil twin! Except my first ASM patch is probably a little more faded than yours. ) Every young adult is different. But the goal is to make him feel respected as an equal. Have him set up camp with you adults. Let him hang with the SPL and ASPL during free time. Let him sit in on a few SMCs. Have the SM ask him for feedback. When there's a one-off project that one of you adults might do, set him to it. (For example, at summer camp, I noticed a permanent orienteering marker was missing. So I called the ASM out of his electronic device funk, walked over to the QM, requisitioned the fallen post a shovel, and he and I dug a post-hole in a swamp.)

If there are three MCs and a quarter of an hour to spare, they will drop everything and have the board on the spot. (What else are they going to do? The boys are running the meeting.) Lacking that, the CC will will make sure adults are available next meeting. My troop growing up, the committee met on one meeting night every month. Reviews would start after the meeting. Boys would wait downstairs and go upstairs when called. Then SM would give his report and the meeting would be closed. I remember because my dad was an MC, so I sat downstairs after the troop meeting waiting for them to finish.

@@RichardB, thanks for stirring the coals! In some of our preferred super-activity locations, extraction times are >4 hours. Combined with weather and fire risks, they can take up to 24 hrs. That said, delivery of a medic to a known location can happen relatively quick, weather permitting. An AED that doubles as a GPS/Signal beacon upon activation might get some traction among the back-country market. Emergency 2-way communication would be gravy. Maybe not voice, but texting extraction way-points or shelter-in-place instructions could turn it into just enough of a multi-tool that hiking clubs would consider it.

That's like me observing the greater numbers of western Pennsylvanian teens who hike and camp with their mates independent of BSA or GS/USA and betting BSA lifting it's ten-year-old ban on patrol overnights. Not gonna happen. Unless ... Venturing does a turnaround and becomes overwhelmingly popular, or Major political upheaval and an opinion from POTUS, or Market surveys show large segments of young males who will only participate in co-ed organizations, or Boy Scouts start demanding that BSA open to girls. Although I believe the last scenario the most likely after the next world jamboree, I don't see any of those scenarios making boots-on-the-ground leaders happy. We would likely follow the Brits' trajectory and loose many units until a new generation of leaders could be trained to fill their place.

Yes, the bishop is playing fast-and-loose with the advancement method. But if your son still thinks it's a good idea -- even if it's not required, he should talk to some clergy ... starting with someone closest to what he'd likely believe. Needless to say, some clergy will have a harder time with a post-modern scout like your son. He is defining reverence on his own terms, and that's okay for some practitioners of religion and not others. You'll only find out by asking them.

They aren't necessary, but they are fun. And, yes, for me they were a bit of a retreat. But they gave me hobbies (e.g. Orienteering, Astronomy, and Geocaching) that I enjoy to this day. They also put me in touch with lots of different caring adults. I think that last bit is the angle you need to work with your son. Every time he tells you about a MB, ask some leading "people oriented" questions like ... Who was your counselor? How did he/she do? Did he/she teach you boys anything special or let you try something cool? What would you do differently if you were counseling a scout on that badge? What from what you learned would be cool to do with your patrol or troop?

@@NJCubScouter, as @@Stosh describes, venturers like to live the differences. But, VOA officers and crews who would rather identify with the national movement their unique unit ... those members are supposed to be in The Green Shirt and any convenient grey pants. When it looked like my crew was settling on an activity shirt, I wore the prototype. But when they did not implement it, and I was attending a lot of council and area events, I sprung for The Green Shirt.