qwazse

My flip phone would beg to differ! So would my iPad 2.0. So would the wilderness where there is no reception! There's lots of places where the handbook works and Scoutbook doesn't. (There are also places where both work poorly, e.g. in aquatics areas, at pen-freezing temps, and under the usual torrential downpours that involve camping with me. But, in most of those scenarios, it's easier to set up shelter where a HB works and SP doesn't.) It's far more reliable for a scout to get the sign-off in the book, then later touch base with the SM/ASM whose device can check it off. We still use the HB as primary. Even the BSA uniform inspection sheet mention's it, and not SB, on uniform inspection. Although, if one of our scouts isn't wearing his handbook, there's no way that the SPL's docking them 15 points on uniform inspection.

Two years later https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/Report-to-the-Nation-2019-FINAL.pdf

Anybody else have a vintage BSA keepsake box? I used this hunk of plastic for my (no idea where I got it from), then handed it down to sons #1 and #2 (who for the life of them couldn't keep anything in one place).

Still too complex. I can name organizations that have each of these or two or three in combination. In this al la carte society, wasting your 15 seconds on things parents can "purchase" singly for their kids gets you nowhere. My "fast pitch" based on integrating our previous discussions: We guide young people to be truly epic citizens by inculcating a vision of the pinnacle scouting experience of hiking and camping independently with their mates. In inspiring them thusly, they learn to love one another in their community, country, and the world, to cherish our land, and to forestall death. 10 seconds, I timed it. Or just stick with the congressional charter [with one small insertion] We promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys [and like-minded girls] to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916. 15 seconds Maybe too short and pithy the aims: Character, Fitness, Citizenship, and (new since 2018) Leadership "Subject-matter" areas are ancillary. We have 136 of them that scouts unlock as they mature from Cubs, to Scouts, and beyond to Venturers, Sea Scouts, and Exploring. The crux of the matter: can national keep creditors at bay while maintaining these aims? Can anyone maintain youth-facing aims without the threat of litigation over the misdeeds of others?

I guess the point is to keep the certificate of your current rank in your wallet along with your membership card. Just in case you're out of uniform and need to vouchsafe your rank. What is special about the pocket certificates, IMHO, are the signatures. They don't prove anything beyond what's already in the scout's book and unit records. Years later, however, pulling those cards out of the shoebox in the attic and seeing the signatures of SPL, SM, and CC while your kids fiddle with your sash and loose patches can bring back fond memories. They might remind you of a story or two that you could tell. Or, maybe, your kids might know that SPL's kids or the SM and CC's grandkids. A few more cards in the stack of blue cards ... no harm in that.

This has been asked before, and the answer is yes.

Sorry, something is funky with "return" today. So this is gonna be one paragraph. The cases so far tell us a lot about how COVID-19 spreads: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission.html In other words, long before you shake hands -- or touch in any way -- you will have picked up viruses from a contagious person. If you all abstain from handshaking, but don't wash, you're transmitting the virus. If the infected person is wearing a mask, and washes thoroughly, and you wash thoroughly, you're not transmitting the virus. (Although, mileage may vary, this is the general pattern.) I also emphasized with the boys that this is not about stopping the infections. (That was tried, it failed.) This is about slowing the spread so hospitals aren't inundated with folks needing respirators all at once. We're all getting it, but if your grandpa needs to go to the hospital this week, and my mother-in-law the week after, we might just manage cut the mortality in half or more.

@yknot

So here's the thing about handshakes and respiratory viruses: handshakes represent a very narrow means of transmission. You all could avoid shaking hands and come through the same door that someone breathed a million viruses over. If on the other hand, you wash correctly frequently, especially before touching your face, you will have ripped from their lipid envelopes every viral blueprint that you picked up from every table door knob, table top, and parachord that you just touched -- rendering them desiccated and completely uninteresting to your cells. FWIW, I'm going nuts counting the number time I touch my face in an hour. Time to start singing that Happy Birthday dirge.

My friend helps CDC with picking flu vaccines -- or as I like to call his job, the highest stakes gamble on the planet. He gives a whole new meaning to men's prayer group. We're rethinking everything from mission trips to communion. He reached out to a Korean colleague. The reply: "Can't talk now. In a pandemic. Please pray." Anyhow, he sent me this link to the WHO's hand-washing specification: https://www.who.int/gpsc/tools/GPSC-HandRub-Wash.pdf Last night the SPL was quizzing a few boys on 1st class skills. I dropped this in his lap and threw out a few questions in the mix. Which is more effective sanitizer or soap? How long with sanitizer? How long soap? I then told them the CDCs suggestion to scrub as long as it takes to sing two rounds of "Happy Birthday".

Yes, I was the one who suggested the adults set up at camp. I like your plan. It depends on your PLs and their assistants (in this case, the assistant may not be the APL, but the patrol's best navigator). You adults could add an SAR component to it. You could "dead drop" a package of each patrol's favorite treats, mark the waypoint on a GPS, and as a patrol approaches a drop, radio in the coordinates. Our summer camp is similarly situated, and scouts can sign out with a buddy (or five or six) to go on that 4-5 mile hike. It's a mix of road and trail. It has some interesting stopping points and I sometimes challenge them to get a picture of something along the way. From time to time I and another adult leader have shadowed buddies/patrols/troops on that hike. Troops are the worst regarding discipline. Buddies are the best. Patrols ... somewhere in-between. Although, I guess if we sent out 20 buddy pairs a day, we'd find one of them would get into some shenanigans.

Depending on the location of the 20 mile hike, I would argue that adults don't have to be walking with them the whole time. Drop them off on one side of town, pick them up on the other. Or set up your hammock or camp chair at the nexus of a couple of loop trails ... maybe near your favorite fishing hole. (We are quickly approaching opening day in most states.) They can check-in from time to time. If they are aiming for an extended hike in a wilderness area, then you might need to consider continuous adult supervision. But, it is very hard to cover 20 wilderness miles in a day ... even over existing trails.

This is where NSPs go wrong. As I mentioned earlier, no patrol should have rank advancement as it's goal. Broadly, the goal of a patrol is, according to Webster, " reconnaissance, security, or combat". A scout is, according to the same source, is " to reconnoiter." Therefore a scout patrol's goal is, in the purest sense of the term "reconnaissance." They are to observe and report. Obviously, at a youth level, that act of patrolling is scaled to their abilities. And for our program, the goal of the patrol is to go hiking and camping. The goal of the patrol leader is to qualify to take his/her patrol hiking and camping. The goal of the NSP, therefore, should be to pick up a bit of troop discipline, find out about whatever upcoming hike or campout is on the troops calendar, and get to know the scouts in other patrols. Last night our latest batch of crossovers started their NSP. They are very anxious to be assigned to their "real" patrols within a month. When the SPL suggested it might be a little more than that, they were displeased. Sitting in a room with their TG for much longer than a few weeks is not on their radar!

-- Insert rant about increasingly verbose requirements here -- These guys are earning Hiking and they haven't got past 2nd class? Bully for them! Log the miles, because they may count for the National Outdoor Award. But, the letter of the 2nd and 1st class requirements dictate "troop/patrol activities" for no apparent reason. So only those hikes where they brought along at least their patrol would count for those ranks. And to @SSScout's scenario, if a patrol wants to come mow my lawn for an hour, the PL's may indeed have their scouts count that as one of their 10 activities. He can then walk over to the Hiking MBCs house (about three miles away) with his blue card, and mow that guy's lawn! Nothing says you have to log any of that detail anywhere. Back when I was a scout, the SM would note such things in his shoe-box of scout files just in case you made Eagle, then head read off the miles that you've covered by foot, boat, or bike. No patch. Just bragging rights!

If it weren't for venturers meeting at my house on my birthday, the salsa would have had been insufficiently spiced, and I my "It's delicious dear ..." would have lacked sincerity. There is something to be said for regular meetings at a set location. The public counts on that. But, if your family has a culture of hospitality (as my SM who lived with his sister did), then you'll want scouts and parents to know they are part of that circle. For upper ranks, especially, SMCs may take time ... especially if you have a scout who is somehow trying to figure out life. So, if at the regular meetings things are too disruptive or stressful (some spaces just seem to amplify the chaos), you need to figure out where and when might be a better time to talk personal growth. (Often, we've found those times during campouts or hikes. But homes or nearby coffee shops might work just as well.) The ideal patrols should meet independently, and with current YPT that may mean at wherever two adults are available to chaperon. That could include someone's home or place of business. Frankly, the only way that I see BSA growing under the current restrictions is if a large number of leaders -- long after their kids have moved on -- maintain their clearances and registration so that they can "be there" to provide space and time for independent patrols.

You're reading a lot into my words. What I am suggesting is scouting should not be like school If a crossover has the dedication an desire to master a rank a month, he can do so. His patrol leader who is still working on tenderfoot can test and sign off with the guidance of the TG. (Wow, a TG who actually guides instead of signing off!) The PL might learn something in the process. There is nothing lock-step to mastering Tenderfoot skills. Some scouts will be excellent with knots, others armed and ready for that 1st camp-out, others ready to start that month of physical conditioning, others, none of the above. But, nearly all of them will want to try adventure, will want to hike across town for an ice cream, will want to actually help on a project, or wear their new uniform, or sing a silly song. No NSP's agenda (or the agenda of any patrol) for that matter should be hijacked by someone else's fictitious advancement needs. There are troop competitions and camporees to win.

Who said anything about three ranks and MBs all at once? Go back to my mildly highlighted point: 1st class 1st year is a lie, the rank is hard, the skills therein are difficult to master. If FCFY is not a concern in your troop, then these NSPs will be focused on mastering Tenderfoot skills over about six months. The TG can certainly work toward getting the PL/APL to master those skills. Then the PL can teach and test those skills to each scout. The obvious advantage to the PL is the focused instruction, the disadvantage is the expectation of better performance than his mates. The TG monitors the PL to be sure he's being fair in testing. Meanwhile at each campout, the SPL, QM, and TG are coming up with suitable adventure for the NSPs. This goes on for about 6 months of fun and adventure, then the NSP prepares to enter its second year -- either dividing up into existing patrols or holding together.

I suspect Scouting.org and Scoutbook are synced. But, again, that isn't a unit's problem. They've done their due diligence. They can certainly undo anything this scouter might do. Again, the point is making sure council knows that things have changed. You can't control what they do with that information. Hopefully they will do something useful with it.

I'm not opposed to getting steps and following them. Procedure matters. But, to whom does it matter? Not the unit. The scouter resigned. It would be nice if he put this in writing, but verbal agreements still mean something. Not the CO. If they agree in writing that a person is no longer affiliated with a unit as of x date. That's it. The UC? Sounds like he heard the guy say "I quit!" No other action besides paying attention is required on his part. Council? There is nothing they can do except maybe help this scouter find another unit or transfer to the district. $1, please. Otherwise, the registrar should make it so that all those annoying reports and the next issue of Scouter don't get printed unnecessarily. It would be nice if they could refund the guy's registration fee. Us? Well maybe, if this person is a criminal who needs to be on the naughty list, but that should have been done already with a hasty call to the SE. So sure, if an exec gives you a form, fill it out. But two scentences from the IH settle the matter.

The one formidable competitor is TL/USA. File under "Who's next, quoth the lawyer."

I cut-off two hours before bed time as well. Especially if it's below 20F!

I agree with a letter signed by the IH informing the council that the scouter's resignation was accepted, and he is no longer on the unit's roster. Copy the SE, COR, CC, and unit leader. Then, it doesn't matter what council does our does not do. He's not on your roster, even if his name appears on a printout somewhere.

Regarding your final statement ... let me reassure you as calmly as possible: First Class First Year is a lie. Tell your crossovers and their parents the truth: it is hard to obtain First Class rank. The skills therein are difficult to master. Furthermore, for those crossovers and parents with Eagle in their sights, I remind them that I have not seen a difference in who earns Eagle based on how soon they earn 1st class. A large proportion of 12 y.o. 1st class scouts either quit or take 6 years to get to Life rank. A scout who finally earns 1st class at age 16.5 has accumulated the requisite MBs for the next three ranks and merely needs to develop a little more leadership. Solid patrols who challenge and teach each other in scout skills, along with older scouts who lean in to their positions of responsibility, continues to be the most reliable way to bring up 1st Class Scouts -- in concept and with the patch.

@tpolly, welcome (back?) to the forums. There are advantages and disadvantages to NSPs, but I feel that when an average troop with undifferentiated patrols gets swamped with crossovers, NSPs become essential. Dividing crossovers is a challenge. You don't know who's friends with who and who will work well together and (most importantly) who can't stand to be with the other guy. More important than rotating patrols, I would have your TG keep an eye out for crossovers who aren't enjoying themselves. They might need to move to a new patrol. The NSPs otherwise operate by the book. Each one elects their own PL, who then selects an APL. They work with the TG to determine an agenda (hint, the rank requirements are a handy list of things to choose from). The the TG then helps by teaching those skills and by teaching the PL/APL how to manage their patrol. The PL position does not rotate. If the PL is not doing his job, they may elect a new one. If the NSP hangs together, they become an OSP in a year. If not, they can be recruited by other PLs.

@dkurtenbach, think about the you in "your hikes". Of course I do my hikes through local parks and pick up litter along the way. And, once upon a time on a normal day, if a patrol would want to a similar hike, I'd give them guidance. Multiple patrols, multiple hikes, multiple trails. Lots of community exposure. So ... Under current regs, not only would I have to change my hike plan, to be in the vicinity of all three patrols. I would have to pull a 2nd registered 21+ adult from his/her activity, and probably pull all of those patrols together. Relative to previous decades, that yields less area covered, less litter collected, less trail repairs, less public exposure to youth operating under the auspices of the BSA. Or, I could encourage youth to get skills, get their buddies (who might also include soccer kids after the game) together, plan, ask me for suggestions on improving that plan, cover real territory in this world, on their own time, maybe be in a real position to forestall death. It won't count for "under the auspices of BSA" because of YPT, but it won't be a 15 minute stop, spit and polish the nearest eyesore for publicity's sake either. To be clear, I am very much for troops being active in their communities. If any good comes of camp closures, it will be more more camping nigthts in city parks, more day activities like orienteering races or dutch oven cook-offs next to soccer fields, more town hikes in uniforms, and less time on the road. But, let's not fool ourselves into thinking that anything like that gives us more exposure than each patrol posted at an intersection, a couple scouts at each corner, helping folks cross streets, with adults nowhere to be seen.