qwazse

Well, how we treat women in these circumstances has changed over time. Oooh! I know, I know .... Maybe scouters should instead ask the mom if the boys could come sit with her while she breastfeeds and she could explain what contemporary courtesies are due in such situations.

This kind of thing is an excellent project for a scout (probably one of your Explorers) to coordinate. It's a matter of talking to the cemetery CEO to confirm dates/times, determine supplies/ tools, contacting every potential unit in the vicinity, getting an advance head-count, communicating back to the CEO, identifying youth to lead a service, and maybe inviting local veterans to join you. I'm trying to sort out how to, in the next year, provide a clearing house for the different Memorial Day projects in our district. So, if for example, ours isn't convenient, a scouter could team up with troop X, Y, or Z. My personal challenge: assure that each project has a youth coordinator.

Like the old evangelist said: "Ain't nobody has the sense to knock on doors anymore." Or, in modern management speak "That 360 evaluation is the gold standard, if you can get it." Truth is, it's very hard to get that kind of thing. It's a rare day when Mom, Dad, the youth, and their former leader will be in the vicinity at the same time. In our community, the best bet is to spend evenings at the community pool in the summer. That seems to be when you'll cross paths with a Webelos' entire family. The closest I got to complete coverage efficiently was when two of our scouts visited the webelos den, after introductions, the boys talked to the youth, and the scouts' dad and I talked to the parents. Scouts and I compared notes afterword. Both parents and Webelos were on the same wavelength about our program. That den all crossed over ... TO THE OTHER TROOP!!!! But, it was still productive IMHO. It allowed us, and our boys, to see that a merger was the most sensible thing to do, no matter how hard it would be.

Welcome! It's just one poor beggar telling another where to find food! Look forward to hearing your after-action review (what worked, what didn't, what you'll do differently),

Well our boys are responsible for their own tents (tarps, shelters, open sky, whatever), so we keep our hands off assignments. Older scouts usually sleep on their own. Except for relatives, I don't recall boys bunking together with someone more Han a year or two apart in age.

I remember Nestle corporation formulated a "solution" years ago. It's fallen out of favor.

Not a tax expert ... FYI - charitable mileage may only deduct the cost of fuel (the IRS publishes the rate annually, 18 cents/mile was last year's, I think). The value of your write-off is dependent on your tax bracket. Higher income? The more it's worth writing off. Needless to say, the fuel efficiency of your vehicle comes into play. If you were by some miracle consuming 2 cents/mile and you were in a 20% tax bracket, the write-off would be more valuable than your reimbursement ... unless you have no scruples and will still submit for reimbursement to the tune of 29 cents/mile! Of course time is money. And you might earn those $ in the time you spend chasing receipts. So, as with most advice: your mileage may vary.

Great time to pilot the latest Cub program? Kittens?

Rats! That was supposed to be +1. Love these.

Hmmm, we could have each PL compute a score: sum of camping nights + # of boys added + # aged out + flag + cheer + song + # first class scouts + # scouts with PORs ... Let's call it the Patrol-Oriented Quality Evaluation Manual Assessment Number (POQEMAN) for short. Near the end of the tenure PL's would put their POQEMAN on paper, stick it in a plastic ball. And toss it between his mates what the scribe comes around. It's the scribes job to intercept it. He's gotta catch 'em all. Troop score is the number of patrols + average POQEMAN.

@@Stosh, add to that batter-dipped deep-fried Mrs. Fields cookies (wrapping removed before dipping). Having the trailer at the end of the trail finally made up for its hassles with a stock of oil and batter redeems the commissary issued "dessert." Never see boys run so fast as when they have a bright idea and realize they have the resources to act on it.

In statistics we have a method called survival (a.k.a. Life table) analysis. It's a way of quantifying the proportion of subjects who survive up to a given point. It could be applied to ages in the program, years before dropping, or rank advancement. It's a robust way to look at dats like this. The problem is that a minority of folks would understand it.

Well, now you are moving squarely into the realm of scouting history ... If only this site had a forum for it. Oh wait, it does! http://scouter.com/index.php/forum/37-scouting-history/ Here folks post references to some really informative material. BSA does have some market and organizational research. You can see some of their published material here http://www.scouting.org/About/FactSheets.aspx. My general observations (i.e.,from the cheap seats of dealing with youth programs in my community): we have experienced some "drift" over the years, but it's nowhere near the shifts of other youth programs that were founded at the same time (e.g., GS/USA, Campfire, etc ...). I think we all agree that parents who seek us out are looking for that kind of stability. Most of us here, however, are concerned even slight drifts from our core could amount to a betrayal of public trust.

Here's a "grand scheme of things" way to look at this. Imagine the SPL continuing to fail to be proactive ... It's likely there are one or more boys who don't like it. One are more of these are thinking right now, "I could that SO much better." And he'd be right. But, the harsh reality is it may not be put in a position of responsibility to do anything about it next election cycle. Wouldn't it be nice if out there somewhere there was an ASM who knew what it was like to have to lead from behind, and was graciously modeling that behavior? Well, it sounds like in this troop there's at least one ASM who's getting that specific on-the-job training. There's nothing wrong with setting some benchmarks for an SPL, ASPL, or instructor. Then following up to see how he did them! And as these boys manage to succeed, be sure to be full of praise, especially in front of your buddy, Gunship. E.g., "Did you see that? Joey came to a meeting with a half-baked agenda. That's half more than he did last month!" Big boats turn slowly ... but not at all if the rudder isn't set.

The numbers are very much down from BSA's peak in the seventies. However, a very big youth movement cut in half still remains a very big youth movement. Lots of Eagles wind up in cubicles ... Hopefully however that scouting past gives them a vision of what all can be done to make that a more pleasant place!

Have you looked into Heritage Reservation in PA? http://www.lhc-bsa.org/camping They teach whitewater through their trek Program on the Youghogeny at Ohiopyle. Camp Mountaineer WV http://www.macbsa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=335&Itemid=9 Offers whitewater adventure (I think that includes the MB), I believe in the Cheat River. Both locations are "go to" locations when anyone mentions whitewater in these parts. These camps are probably the leading locations.

I've never seen the importance of keep up to date with NESA. Does bothering with these kinds of shenanigans have any value?

You highlight something we experience all over the country. We have an increasing number of non-joiners. Some dads I know actually find a club to belong to after they see how it helped their son's experience.

Durn thumbs! That was supposed to be a +1 to Stosh. @@Eagledad, seeing as that ship has already sailed and we're awash in mamma bears (and mamma dads, not sure which is worse), and hiking and camping independently with your mates is no longer BSA's vision of the pinnacle scouting experience, I'm not sure we're making things worse bringing in girls and their dads. If their moms weren't camping with them before, they sure won't be inclined to join us backpacking (even if my digger is unisex).

I think it's the other way around. The course director intended for the beads to be something pre-Eagle, so he decided tell the boys that they won't be available once they get their bird. Perhaps, he didn't want to one-up rank advancement. Who knows? Anyway Zuzyson has it in his head the one has to wrapped up before the other. When he finally sits and chats with the SM, I'm sure there will be some head-scratching, but it will all be approved. Now, important stuff: that girl he's interested in ... is she rich? ... can she cook?

Oh, if you got somebody who likes filling in the boxes (be it a youth or adult) let them have at it! They might generate some useful feedback!

FWIW - The Muslim parents I know intentionally seek out Christian or Jewish units over other secular CO's. Consider it a brand they trust. They can actually become insulted when you make too much of an effort to "sanitize" grace on account of them. I guess, they'd rather you spend the energy finding out what they believe than presuming that they'd take offense. And of course, your mileage may vary!

It doesn't say that the woman doing the confrontation was the SM. The way I suspect it went down is that an SM/ASM noticed, asked a female committee member to confront the nursing mom. I also would like to think the confrontation was more of the "Would you mind?" type. I'm not sure the church has any particular opinion on this. Frankly, nursing moms aren't wasting $ on formula, increasing the odds that savings make it into the collection plate. Although, I suspect the CoR would have been called by the SE about it. This is a culture clash. Not everybody is up to speed with revised laws. And although a nursing mom cannot be held for indecent exposure, the law can't stop someone from asking a woman politely to change her behavior to conform to local culture. Think about it using a neutral example. Parents can't legally be prevented from helicoptering our scouts, but we can and do often insist that they step away from the patrol. That said, it is really lame putting this on the boys. Either say, "That's making the other adults really uncomfortable." Or stay out of it.

@@Eagledad, you are making the case against GS/USA and BSA ever merging. That's not the same as a case against admitting motivated elementary and middle school girls into BSA. (Not a scenario I relish, but I'm told by our friends across the waters it's not as scary as it sounds.) The "nightmare scenario" as you describe it would have to do with scads of outdoor-phobic helicopter moms running the show. How would it be different that? We wouldn't to get droves of girls flocking to BSA. Most will still prefer GS/USA. Those girls who come will bring their dads, who may be outstanding leaders but we've missed them for having had to devote time to their daughters (maybe not in GS/USA, but in other extracurricular activities). The moms who will come will do so because they've bought into our culture. Not the other way around. The current training regimen sets the tone. For good or ill, that will continue to be the case. The advancement method sets the program. Thus I am not as worried about the consequences of going co-ed as the fact that there may be some of the nation's finest scouts out their not getting the program they deserve. If GS/USA or Campfire or BPSA step into that gap, fine. If not, that third point of the scout law is gonna nag the lot of us until we do something about it.

@@meyerc13, you are not alone. For the reasons you mention, I consider GS/USA's Gold award one of the most challenging out there for young people to achieve. Unlike Eagle, the blueprint for advancement is just not that detailed. As far as I can tell GS/USA does not demand that moms run a similar program. Some moms do take on multiple ages and no limit of girls, insist that their girls pursue outdoor activities, and push them to take leadership, earn awards, and effect change for the good in their community. But, they are generally not required to do any of that. Most do some, but few do all every month of the year. And, most girls (and their parents) are quite content with that. I wish I could get paid for every time a girl complains about her troop but will never join a crew, or if she does, once in the crew does nothing to plan an activity or do anything that would take her outside of her comfort zone. I've come to the conclusion that GS/USA has regressed to the mean expectation of their constituents. The young women who make great venturers are the ones who are fully engaged in their troop and then put extra time into their crew.