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Unless the scouts confront the SM and say that they think his behavior is inappropriate, you should expect nothing to change. I concluded early on that there’s nothing wrong with scouts having to choose between troop and crew activities. Venturing serves a different purpose for dual registered youth compared to its role for youth in only one program. There is one line that I used to great effect during my time of troop-crew conflict: “I’m not about to be bothered by the burr up anyone’s butt … especially yours!”

My observations generally concur with @gpurlee's friend -- chances are we compared notes. With some added detail: 1) Each American unit was in a different subcamp, so there was only international contact. In contrast to the last WSJ, it felt good to be the minority. For those into trading, US swag was in high demand. Regarding facilities and emergency services, they were adequate to the task at hand, and we saw them improve daily. 2) The contingent management team (including our troop's commissioner) did not visit our site (which I found to be splendid) until after they decided to ev

Each US unit was in a different subcamp, so there was variation in hydrology. No two pieces of drained seabed are alike! This is no surprise. But, US and Brit camps were also worse simply by virtue of arriving a day late.

Heartbroken. It took me all day yesterday to come up with the word for how I feel. It was also how most US SMs feel. The contingent management team, under the guidance of National, is acting against our wishes to remain on site. The KSA had been very good to us. Health services delivery and sanitation were improving daily. They added multiple mitigation strategies. The youth had adjusted to less movement during the day. Our campsite had a constant stream of visitors trading, bringing coffee, or simply chatting. Then at night things began to pop! We exchanged this for hours-per-day rides

I’m too emotional for comment. Will recap when WIFi is better.

@Tron, all I have to say to your committee is that there are no uniform police, only insignia wonks.

Let’s not speak as if BSA is a monolith. ET Seaton (BSA’s exec in the 30s) was very upset that Juliet Gordon Low did not found the American organization using the name of its British counterpart “Girl Guides.” There were other outdoor organizations for girls that steered clear of using “Scouts” as in their brand. Low stepped into that space. The boots on the ground simply didn’t care, Seaton desired to take action so that they would care. He sought Baden Powell’s support, which Powell refused to give. BSA relented. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3346224). The same recently occurred i

If predators were simply identifiable as a buck naked person standing behind any of my scouts, my life would be so much easier. But 20th century America’s revulsion with nudity in public art runs deeper than that. The history of the Liberty Quarter is another striking example. But, as we see in this thread, our multicultural society holds diverse views.

I like the National memorial. I get the point of the the ideal man and woman behind the scout (more Adam and Eve than Greek or Norse, but still trying to harken on multiple traditions). My regret is that they are not full nudes as one would expect. I, too, would have preferred the female scout statue to be more down to earth. I think the body shape does not reflect the average 16 year old, but that could also be the camera angle.

This is pretty much how WSJ operated at Summit in 2019 (albeit with 4x the attendance). There were team activities in some areas, but ad hoc patrols could self-form for those. Scouts wanting to ride the big zip, for example, checked out of camp as early as 5am to get in line. Some units were more tight-knit — especially if they had time slots for performing on one of the stages. But generally, as long as scouts were with a buddy, they had free reign of the place. The Korean Jamboree Management Team, on the other hand, is scheduling many activities by patrol. I last experienced a syst

BTW, it doesn’t have to be a campout. Small service projects that only need a handful of guys are great ways for introverts to find their way in the troop.

If you’ve seen how they behave on campouts enough to think that it’s their personality and not lack of skills, I think it’s a great idea. My SM took a lot of time with us as individuals, and it was a good thing. For example, on one campout in the back of a fellow scout’s cow pasture, he came up to me with a capped metal tube and said, “I think you’ll find this interesting.” It was a WW-1 canvas box kite. Indeed, I was one of the few boys who were still mucking about with kites at that age, so I took to flying it while my patrol went about KP. It gave me the freedom to have my “introvert”

The scenario being imitated here is that of a formal cruise or a Navy junket. So, I would suggest the scout use his own or a similarly sized friend’s pants. If they are too large the scout would find them unwieldy. (Although “acquiring” pants from a larger fellow passenger is a possible means to an end in this scenario, it’s probably not one we would want to encourage.)

More humble brag, “my” scout gives a nod to his roots in the following interview: https://www.yourcommunitypaper.com/articles/cp-interview-patrick-connolly-explores-central-florida-for-a-living/

@5thGenTexan, it sounds like you’re in an ebb cycle. It happens. I’m afraid uniforming won’t help. The age pyramid in your troop has collapsed. That’s not bad, but it will try all y’all’s patience. You’re in a “lead the horse to water” situation with your SM. You can share your vision with him, but I suspect you’ve done that. If there’s no other adult more to your liking who is willing to step forward, you must proceed with who you have. I’m gathering that syrupy sweet doesn’t come easy for you, but your best bet is to find one thing that this SM does right and heap on the praise. Th

I sincerely believe that historically, the causality has been the opposite of depicted. As some troops in the ‘80s and ‘90s took uniforming less seriously, more adults were encouraged to wear a field uniform “as an example” to scouts. This was an attempt to get adults to communicate “I’m willing to wear this proudly, you should be willing too!” Like every social experiment, there are successes and failures. I’m not sure how much one vs. the other occurred. There’s no real poll of the amount of uniforming one way or the other … only anecdotes from scouters when they don’t like how their pe

The assumption is flawed that scouts’ uniforming is dependent on adults uniforming. Growing up, we always looked sharp for our BoR’s, and none of the committee wore a field uniform. Half of our SMs did not wear a uniform, and we still dressed in our field uniform. That’s because we regularly had uniform inspection. Currently, none of our committee wear uniforms, and our SM and ASMs do most of the time. Most of our scouts show up with the uniform shirt on every week. If your problem is scouts not looking sharp, then that’s your problem with the scouts, don’t bring the adults i

So far, I haven’t met scouts who settled for aging our at Life because of his badge. The boys who I’ve polled seem to have enjoyed the badge. Especially compared to the other citizenship MBs.

I didn’t see any of that. I encouraged the scouts to make the evening enjoyable around our troop campfire, which is situated conveniently lakeside. They seem to have managed to do that without much grief. (I wasn’t present because there was a bunch of close-out stuff for me to do.)

Well, if by future you mean two days later at home, there’s room for pessimism. From what I witnessed of the scout-mom interaction, the parents have a tough row to hoe. All we had left was the nuclear option of confining the whole troop to the campsite. I pushed that button for the sake of second- and third-year scouts. It’s a healthy lesson to know your actions impact others.

I love that “primordial goodness” bit, until I butt up against the head of a scout who picks and chooses the points he wants to obey. The day after a critical incident, the kid literally rattled off the law, skipping “courteous, kind, obedient.” I corrected him on his omissions and said, “You made vows. They define what a scout is. If someone is the opposite of 1/4 of those things, they are not a scout. This is a scout camp.” He tried, poorly, and still had to be sent home. After that, I dealt with self righteous older scouts who should know better but disregarded the same point

The net purpose, as with anything in these forums, is to give us a pulse on our nation’s and our world’s youth who enter and leave BSA. I manage to only provide a handful of scoutmaster conferences on youth in my troop, and have other meaningful conversations with youth and scouters (some of them minorities) outside of my troop. That’s not a representative sample. And, when one of these people ask probing questions about why things are the way they are (be it membership policies or taught line hitches) I find the frank observations and reactions on this forum to be invaluable. As to

The German scout association is an example of a highly federated system. It’s a very interesting model to observe. We see hints of it here in the very different uniforms of the various youth.

Please let the devotion be titled “What To Pray When You See Your Rope Fray!”

If it’s any consolation, I was talking to a mom whose kids are in sports and their fees are climbing as well. A sinking tide grounds all boats.