RememberSchiff

At least this time he didn't call any women nasty names or talk about grabbing their body parts.

I think he was heading in that direction with that monkey business yacht story. 

If this goes through... I see this playing out as such:

 

new resources, materials get dedicated to facilitating this.

you see a brief influx of girls join (but no where near a 100% increase of heads joining as some believe). 

you see a drop off of families who wish boy and cub scouts to stay single gender

girls quit after a while and numbers drop

bsa sees bottom line numbers of girls drop, changes program in effort to stem girl departure (ie, become more like girl scouts/reduce camping/hiking/service requirements)

more people leave

genie is out of bottle, so they can't go boy only again for fear of outrage/outcasting the small % of girls still left in

numbers continue to dwindle

bsa doa in 10-15 years. 

 

Theyve already made earning Eagle far easier than ever before in an attempt to prop up numbers for recruitment. They will continue to modify/chip/change the program till it's no longer recognizable and it'll be far to late to save it. 

 

anyway, thats my humble opinion.  maybe im proven wrong. we shall see I guess. 

How many women appear in National BSA org chart and at what level?

Col., my apologies for my first post.  I didn't mean to post it, but I hit the wrong key in my effort to get out of the editor. When I edited it after it posted to remove the content, the editor would not accept my changes, I don't know why. I sent a note to the moderators.

Barry

My apologies too. I was slow to respond. Hopefully all reset now.  - RS

This is the only reason that my son and myself might not go to 2019, all I keep hearing is Patch Trading.  My son (12) hasn't been bitten yet by the trading bug, he still loves the adventures so he wants to do Northern Tier in lieu of Jambo 2019.

In '69, I had a choice between attending the National Jamboree or Philmont.  I chose Philmont which was one of my smarter choices as a teen.

Ever notice how "timeless values" change over time?

What if after President Trump's speech at Jambo, female interest in joining the BSA dramatically dropped.    Er, nevermind.  

I have not attended a Jamboree, but we make it crystal we expect our scouts will follow the Scout Oath and Law and the consequences if they do not.  Parents are informed.

Bullying or theft is ticket home in our unit.  I can't remember the last time we had any thieves among our unit. Bullies, yes. Home they went and they chose to leave scouting.

I wonder if any culprits were caught and how they were reprimanded. If one of my scouts stole, he would be heading home.

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/07/williamsport_boy_scout_extends.html

WILLIAMSPORT-It is a record that will never be broken. And if his health permits, an 88-year-old Boy Scout in Lycoming County plans to extend it.

Anthony L. DiSalvo is the only Scout known to have attended every national jamboree including the one that ended Friday at the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in West Virginia.

...

"I enjoy it," he said, when he was asked why he'd still want to attend the jamboree at his age. "I just wanted to break the record again," DiSalvo said with a smile.

...

National jamborees certainly have changed, DiSalvo said. When he started going, Scouts brought their own tents and cooking gear. The tents did not have floors so "we had sleeping bags on top of newspapers," he said. Cooking was over wood fires.

Now tents, cooking equipment and tables are provided, and cell phones and other electronic equipment are prevalent, DiSalvo said.

"I didn't think I was at the right place," he quipped.  

Photo and more, including meeting Presidents, in above source link.

Scout Salute

What if the two Eagle Scouts standing behind Trump censored their boss? Just step forward, flank him, and redirect the speech into more appropriate and relevant topics. Like they might do with a drunk uncle giving a speech at a family gathering. Granted they would have to be BRAVE, as they would likely no longer be Cabinet Secretaries.

@@MrJim  welcome to scouter.com.  That's a lot of hay, er straw

@@hemispheres  welcome to scouter.com

Locally, I imagine we all have experienced behavior issues of the "other troop" at camporee and scout camp. Other than some talk not much changes - boys will be boys, just having a little fun,... Sad that we find our scouts falling back on street smarts or perhaps friendly caution is a better term at activities with other units.

Wouldn't it be great at closing ceremony  to award such units?

    Troop xxx come forward and receive the Granny Knot. You will not return (some period of time)...

My $0.02,

I thought Nixon originated the phrase Grab them....and their hearts and minds will follow but it was another President.

I'm good with that approach. I was thinking more along the lines of a local official at a troop meeting, not a larger, more public venue.

 

Yes, good point. At the town level, this is where helicopter parents earn their pay.   Local officials are becoming more of a problem, rather than talk about how government works, they often use their invitation to rant about politics. Anyway parents either step in or leave and now the speaker realizes he/she is just ranting to perplexed kids.

Well if I am teaching character-building, I would expect if my scouts felt it was inappropriate they would tell their SPL who would then inform me or better the SPL would say Mr. Schiff this is inappropriate, we should leave. I would allow them to quietly leave. No disruption, if no one bars our exit.

Freedom of speech goes both ways - speaking and listening. We have the freedom to respectfully listen or not listen (leave).

Either way, we would debrief later.

So if a government official (whatever party, topic, venue) acts inappropriately in front of your scouts, just stand by and watch?

My grandmother had this warning. Only reason to wear a hat at MY table is you are getting ready to leave, Now are you leaving or do you want dinner?

It was automatic for my Grandfather and Dad, years of training I suppose.

The list of "inappropriate" government officials appears to be growing. Should the BSA just mail in "The Report to the Nation" in 2018?

With apologizing for the free-speech of the President, you encourage follow-up sanction demands: What will you do to prevent it in the future? Ban the President from future Jamborees, require video only with 7 second delay, fire him as honorary President of BSA, ban government speakers, ban trips to D.C., allow units/scouts options in attending any speeches at Jambo ...?

My $0.02,

I guess, because I rarely ever did structured fitness, I would not buy into this. But I could see myself helping guys who wanted to master some of these skills.

 

But, this shows that BSA, by denying adults advancement, created a vacuum that someone else will try to fill.

I wonder if some dads will join and pull their boys out of BSA into this program? Cost about the same, uniform provided, no fundraisers, no women...

"...a parent can sign up for an account and do the badge requirements with their children. Once they have marked off the requirements in the system and are eligible to purchase a badge, a parent could buy multiple badges — one for them and one for their child."

Me neither.

Let's see if I understand

In 2017, the Boy Scouts of America apologized for the bad behavior of the President of the United States who attended the Jamboree.

In 2010, the Boy Scouts of America did NOT apologize for the bad behavior of their scouts and scouters towards the President of the United States who did not attend Jamboree.

Bonus: a link to 2010 Jambo comments

http://scouter.com/index.php/topic/8230-obama-not-speaking-in-person-at-jambo/

My gawd, rather than teach skills and values, I am suppose to shield scouts away from scout-only patrol activities, ladders, power tools, now the President of the United States. 

This is an award from BoatUs , a marine services company and not the BSA. Unit competition seems to be disappearing from BSA culture. Remember when camporees had patrol competitions instead of merit badge classes?

Maybe a third party, say Bass Pro or Vista Outdoors, will sponsor a Best Troop award nationwide.

My $0.02

The Sea Scouts program recently bestowed its 15th annual Sea Scout National Flagship Award to the Sea Scout Ship 100, SSS Dominion, of Manassas, Va.

Sea Scouts is a specialized program within the Boy Scouts of America that is intended to improve youth boating skills with on-water practice, outdoor, social and service experiences and boost knowledge of maritime heritage. There are about 6,500 participants, about one-third of whom are female, on 550 vessels nationwide.

The flagship award was created by BoatUS in 2002 to mark the 90th anniversary of Sea Scouts. It recognizes excellence in program quality, youth achievement and adult commitment.

Chartered by the Freedom Museum (an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution) in Manassas, SSS Dominion, was formed in 2012 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Sea Scout program. With 20 active scouts, SSS Dominion maintains an active and diverse program around the western suburbs of Washington, D.C.

The group meets weekly at Manassas Airport or Dominion Boathouse where it stores its small boats and gear and runs a fleet of seven boats from 22 to 46 feet. Members have sailed the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay, completed leadership programs, hosted American Heart Association First Aid and CPR courses and participated in food drives in the local area.

source

http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/2017/07/sea-scouts-present-national-flagship-award/

Check out their photo gallery

https://bsaship100.shutterfly.com/

Scout Salute

Great retirement gift for any scouter ready to ride into the sunset. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WWKLgwaXLI

Really? What were the immediate membership loss percentages after those changes? Because the most recent policy changes doubled the "average" year on year losses and have remained so since 2013.

 

I'd be curious as to your source for the % reductions immediately following the changes you cite.

 

NOTE: To be clear, are you referring to the changes GBB made in '79? Or the changes made in '72?

Here's one source. Others more digging is required.

http://www.allcountries.org/uscensus/443_boy_scouts_and_girl_scouts_membership.html

1970 to 1980, we had almost a 50% drop. No change in membership policy .