Beavah

Yah, hmmm... Like da rest, I would encourage yeh not to go this way, @@Fehler. These things always sound good, sorta like zero tolerance policies and mandatory minimum sentences, eh? In application, all they do is cause grief and injustice. They also increase your liability. Don't try to turn Scouting into a legal system. Da reality is that responding to bullying always depends on the ability of adults to relate to and be alert to kids, and to have vision and guts. Writin' a "policy" doesn't help the adults have guts to respond to bullying, and policy-responses make it harder

Yah, hmmmm.... We all get upset from time to time, eh? Are yeh really sure that da lesson yeh want to teach your boys is that an award in a kids extracurricular program is so important that yeh must ignore the words of Jesus himself as written in the Bible? Now, to be fair, I don't know if you're a Christian, but da quote was about if someone physically attacked you yeh should let him hit you again, eh? If he stole your coat, yeh should give him your cloak as well. Makin' a lad spend a few more nights out camping with his buddies in order to get a patch in a kids' program ain't ev

Yah, and I reckon at that point yeh have managed to annoy everybody and they've all rolled their eyes and wished you'd just go away. Probably someone along da way has insisted on it, much like what happened to @@SSF. Da BSA provides materials for a youth program. We expect COs and unit leaders to adapt it to their needs. We expect unit leaders to sometimes struggle with it, sometimes try different things, sometimes get creative. Scouting is not "rules", not anywhere in da world. It's sharin' ideas and approaches and offerin' guidance and training. Yeh need to think about Scout

Yah, hmmm... I don't understand this comment at all, @@TAHAWK. Can yeh explain? It sure seems to me that a CO startin' a scouting youth program is an act of pure kindness. It's voluntarily takin' on expenses, responsibilities, and a significant liability exposure just to do somethin' good for kids. In some cases, it's welcoming a controversial group into their facilities and that has caused many of 'em some grief da past few years. Seems like kindness to me. We certainly aren't payin' 'em for da privilege.

Yah, hmmm.... I know it's hard for us furry critters who are gettin' longer in da tooth to understand these newfangled media, eh? Stuff we don't understand always causes folks to become fearful. Reminds me of how my parents felt Rock & Roll was goin' to rot our minds and corrupt us. I wonder if my grandparents were worried that da telephone was goin' to cause bad things to happen, too? I reckon we need to get a grip and think about this for a minute. So if da youth leaders who have been background checked, are known to da parents, are trusted with kids in remote situatio

Yah, yeh should actually consider readin' da materials, @Tawhawk. If yeh go to that page, you'll see a link to da Rules & Regulations of da BSA, which is a specific document, and a page full of da policies we're talkin' about – leadership selection, required YP training, mandatory child abuse reporting, barriers to abuse, etc. Flaunting those things might get da BSA to choose not to renew a charter, sure. Especially if they become a PR or liability issue. We're not talkin' about campin' 12 times a year or only wearin' full uniform or how yeh administer Advancement. Nobody

Yah, hmmm... These things often go this way, eh? When a disgruntled parent doesn't get what they want, they escalate da rhetoric. So things move from relatively small advancement issues like how da troop defines active and then suddenly become reports of bullying and racism and other impropriety. My advice to yeh, @@SSF, is that yeh stop that nonsense. Now you're startin' to try to hurt other people, rather than just advocate for your son. You're tryin' to whip up other parents, even though almost none of 'em are interested. You're doin' that to try to hurt da SM and CC, even

Yah, hmmm... Lots of confusion here it seems. Nobody's entitled to membership in a unit, eh? Da unit can remove whomever it wants from its membership rolls. Yah, yah, in terms of registered adult leaders da call is technically da COR/IH's, though in many cases da committee is involved. In terms of removin' a youth, da BSA's recommended procedure is to involve da Committee, but da SM is usually the one makin' the call and the COR certainly can. Nobody's entitled to come on a trip or to a meeting. In many cases da BSA may also act in addition to da CO and remove someone's registr

Yah, you got it, @@UncleP! Scoutin' grew up in da era of the John Dewey democratic citizen education stuff. Go do things and learn from doing is the way boys thrive. Doin' it in the outdoors makes da lessons stronger, eh? In town, yeh can not do the dishes and mom will either do 'em or make yeh do 'em. Outdoors yeh have gross dishes the next morning, and unhappy friends. ISP was a disaster in the 1970s. It showed just how bad da national office was at really understandin' Scouting. Paid scouting "executives" worldwide have a checkered history at best. Da 80s brought back tra

Yah, I hear yeh @DavidCO. I reckon da difference is that schools have a lot more clout in dealin' with this sort of thing than an average troop can muster. For one, yeh have paid professional staff, like Athletic Directors. Yeh also have school grounds that yeh own and control, where a troop really doesn't, eh? Can't ban a parent from a state park campground. Yeh have da finances and legal expertise to go get restraining orders, and yeh aren't spendin' the night with the kids in remote areas, eh? Like I said, I've seen it work once or twice where one parent agreed to stay aw

Yeh do leader training with 'em. Preferably in da outdoors. That's the time for the adults to help 'em set up systems and learn how to handle various types of challenges. It's also a good time for the adults to get comfortable with their capabilities. By doin' leader training the PLs and older boys get to learn and figure things out and work out teamwork on da PLC in a practice environment where they've got time to debrief and they're not embarrassed in front of da whole troop. Generally speakin', I think a Patrol-Method, youth-led troop needs a lot more time spent on Patrol Le

Yah, hmmm.... Not sure, eh? Depends on what your version of "better sense" is. It seems that most folks in the troop let the troop pay for their gas money. This is somewhat common in troops, eh? Splits the cost among kids more fairly, because no matter what da troop there are always folks who do a lot more driving than other folks. The boys just have to build it in to trip budgets somehow (or bring cash). In terms of your own pocketbook, this is likely da best choice. just buy the gas myself and submit the miles for a write off I mostly do this just because I hate

Yah, @@SSF, do yeh see what you're writin' here? This is a decision to pull your boys out of this troop now. Yeh can't continue, eh? It's not good for you, and it isn't good for them either. Go find another troop or another program that meets your needs. The troop you're leavin' is goin' to keep doin' what they feel is best, so long as they have da support of other parents and kids, eh? Sometimes a program that isn't a good fit for one family works just fine for other families. Regardless, it's no longer your concern, eh? Time to follow your own advice, put your kids first, and

Well, da first problem is that da way JTE is used is not really to evaluate da unit, eh? It's to evaluate the district professionals and district. Tell me, how does the district and the district pro really affect retention in the unit or advancement in the unit, or even unit recruitin'? The only way to do that directly is to run advancement mill weekends and paper signups. So that's what yeh get, sometimes. In terms of da unit, do we really think that the best thing for folks is to introduce 'em to some CMM or continuous improvement models? Really? I'm not sure we've got any good d

Yah, for sure. Nobody losin' their membership or charter though. One of da most common sources of contention is da thing we're seein' here, eh? A unit that passes a lad along to Life Scout, then when the lad is comin' up for Eagle they discover that they don't like the outcome and they try to fix it in da bottom of the 9th. It's most common in troops where adults are still learnin', or where there's a new sheriff in town and he or she is tryin' to up da expectations for the boys after some years of neglect and mediocrity. In my experience it's ordinarily a good sign for a troop

Yah, sure. We "want" yeh to. Uniformin' works best when it's, well, uniform. Besides, Supply Division needs to make its annual revenue projections! Now think for a minute about all da times yeh have seen an adult or a youth member commit da sartorial abomination of wearin' da field uniform shirt with blue jeans. Imagine that improper uniformin' hideousness in its full glory. Make 'em cut-off jeans on a rotund scouter if yeh like. You don't think we're actually revokin' registrations and addin' people to da Ineligible Volunteers List over that, do yeh? I can't remember ever

Yah, hmmmm.... Teenagers are such fun things, eh? Up one moment, down the next. Like tryin' to eat spaghetti on a roller coaster. I reckon I'd shoot a quick email off to da SM and let him know that your son is a bit down because he couldn't hook up last week to get this done, and that yeh don't want to push your lad but it would be great if da SM could give him a gentle pull. Just a quick request to see his stuff at the next meetin', or even at a SM conference next week or whatnot. That's usually about all it takes. Or as a parent yeh just hop in da car to take him to the nex

Yah, where's da FACEPALM emoji?

Yah, @@John-in-KC just threw da gauntlet down there, eh? JTE exists primarily for da evaluation of professionals and (to some extent) councils. It's really an odd sort of thing for folks in unit service, and has been since da beginning since it really isn't for unit service. I confess I'm not a big fan, but I help get da numbers a bit as a good turn for our pros. On da unit side, I think it's like any of our materials, eh? Use it if it works for yeh, modify it or drop it if it doesn't. I really don't get why we can't fill in half of da things ourselves at da council level rather

Except if we're bein' honest, that's not what we have, eh? Da Committee Chair, and presumably the Committee are in agreement with da Scoutmaster. As far as we know, da COR is on board with the CC, Committee, and SM. From what we can tell, da ASMs aren't linin' up to support this family either, eh? Knowin' boys, I even expect the other boys fall in the "if I have to keep up my participation for Eagle, why shouldn't he have to?" camp. After all, da younger brother doesn't seem to be wantin' to quit over the way his older sibling has been treated. So what was that about automatic ass

Yah, you all are funny, eh? That's not at all the way the BSA works. If that's what you're lookin' for, yeh need to find a different organization for your volunteer time, eh? In da BSA, councils are chartered to provide service and support to Chartered Organizations and units. That's it. We're there to help 'em use Scouting as part of their organization's youth programming. They don't have to use it "as designed". They can run Troop Method instead of Patrol Method, they can do lots of Outdoors or very little. We don't make 'em wear uniforms or throw 'em out for puttin'

Yah, hmmmm.... Sorry to hear all that, @@SSF. We often say that Scoutin' is a lot of fun, except for the adults, eh? I suspect that da only viable thing is to take your younger lad out of the program. How can yeh possibly send your boy out into the woods with these folks given what you're sayin' about 'em here? Either it's irresponsible, or yeh really don't think they're that bad if you're willin' to trust your son to them on a regular basis. Yeh have to really think about which it is. On da flipside, no adult in their right mind should choose to assume responsibility for y

Yah, that's because Scoutin' works its magic in da background, eh? There will be troop and patrol elections, so your nephew will see up close and personal how elections affect his life and other people's lives, eh? How sometimes the fellow who is da best talker or da funniest or da one he agrees with most isn't the hardest worker or the best leader. He'll come to see a Patrol Leader's Council act as a legislature of sorts, settin' budgets and choosing activities. He'll watch a Senior Patrol Leader and the fellows he selects serve as a sort of executive and cabinet, eh? Gettin'

Yah, I'd say your $275 is pretty much in line with what da actual costs are for a reasonably active troop, eh? Depends on where yeh are in da country and how much gear yeh have vs. what yeh have to rent (around here, canoe rentals have gotten steep...). On average, I'd say troops run the range, eh? Some of 'em charge roughly that as dues (usually split quarterly or semi-annually), some of 'em commit to fundraisin' da whole thing. Most split it in some way, either through scout accounts/family choice, or some other formula. Lots and lots of variations on that. So you're not out o

Yah, @@blw2, take a break, grab a beverage, and then sit back down and read your original post, eh? There's an awful lot of adult-driven stuff there, yeh know. Yeh tell 'em how much. Yeh tell 'em how (a "pouch" they have to bring to meetings? really?). Yeh set up a whole accounting/reporting system that goes back to da adult treasurer. Yeh have to have adults approve purchases, etc. And yeh haven't even really identified any reason they might genuinely want to do this themselves, eh? Gack! How 'bout this instead. Yeh encourage the lads to think about stuff they might