RememberSchiff

Supervision To meet the requirement to “give leadership to others,†your Scout must be given every opportunity to succeed independently without direct supervision. The Scout’s troop must provide adults to assist or keep an eye on things, and your organization should also have someone available. The Scout, however, must provide the leadership necessary for project completion without adult interference. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/510-025.pdf

I think that boast disappeared around 2008, after the NESA hired Harris Connect to send out postcards to all Eagles. They got a disappointing low (30%?) response and not all positive.

Mormons and Scouting explained in 5 graphics http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765694087/Mormons-and-Scouting-explained-in-5-graphics.html

So the United Methodist Church will have the largest percentage of scout membership? Maybe there will be an increased number of 13yr Eagles in LDS troops and camps sold in Utah.

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180,000 boys (ages 14-17) leaving.

Good point, community service except for Eagle project need not be at a recognized scouting activity. There was time when leadership requirements were more open, a scout could be a leader in his community, school, or church and receive rank credit. Should outdoor activities - camping, cycling, hiking, and backpacking with other groups count? I think so. There are some great, fun, challenging adventures out there with other groups. The hardest camping my younger son has done so far was with his school outdoor club. It was backpack on the Long Trail in Vermont. If it was my call, would I credit a Council camporee on a soccer field. No. My $0.02

Welcome to scouter.com This should be an interesting first topic.

Let's give some slack on that line stretching across "the pond". It is more common, that any gathering here quickly becomes political. Why do I worry when any government official is invited to an Eagle banquet? My perception Macy's Thanksgiving Parade - not political Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade - very political My $0.02

Can't take Hydrochlorothiazide ( a diuretic) with the dehydration risks and the frequent pit stops. Lisinopril and its side effects, as in 5 hours, I may need two naps. Together they lower BP, if I don't exercise!

Where did NJ advise that?

downsizing...it's everywhere. The first time I backpacked was a Philmont training hike. My troop was strictly car camping with huge patrol boxes. Everything but the kitchen sink. How huge? They were so huge, we needed 4 patrol pallbearers to transport them

As a scout, the longest I hiked outside of Hiking merit badge, was the Jockey Hollow Trail in Morristown, NJ, which in the mid 1960's was 17 miles. That trail is shorter now. At Philmont, you want time and energy for afternoon activities at the destination.

As far as camping night disparity, consider the distance disparity among the group Swimming, Hiking, and Cycling - 250 yards, 50 miles, 150 mile road bike or 52 miles trail.

Couldn't happen here. My understanding 1. The BSA disallows scouts from wearing the scout uniform while attending a political rally with the exception of briefly serving as color guard. 2. The stated reason that I have read over the years is because it might be interpreted as a BSA endorsement of some party or position. I have not read that "scout safety" was a reason. Q: Why is this the rule? A: The policy is meant to prevent someone from using our brand to convey support of a candidate or ideology. This prevents Scouts from being used by any party in campaign advertisements or materials. http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2016/07/22/can-packs-troops-teams-or-crews-participate-in-political-rallies/ Sadly, maybe this should be reconsidered.

In part, I am drawing this idea from high school outdoor clubs, Outward Bound, AMC. They tend to go on fewer but more adventurous outings. Seems to work for them.

So add to Backpacking 1. Must have the rank of First Class Scout or higher.* * I would add this to Camping, Cooking, Hiking,...

I am wondering if today's scouts would prefer a few adventure treks than repeated low adventure car camping. This is not a new idea to allow required merit badge selection in a "group" category. Current selection groups Hiking or Cycling or Swimming Lifesaving or Emergency Preparedness Environmental Science or Sustainability As Camping merit badge encourages attendance at summer camp, Backpacking could encourage trekking at area HA, eg. Maine High Adventure. My $0.02

The reporter likely went with the first sentence in wiki.

A similar thing happened here, no notice, he just didn't show. Parents questioned his service to the community, but the public school rubber approved. Very un-cool.

Around here, weekend campouts are being replaced with Saturday overnighters - a 7am Sat to 10am Sun activity. Everyone is over-scheduled. Camping is becoming one of the last merit badges that our Eagle candidates complete.

Will we first see a female Chief Scout Executive, a female National President, or a female U.S. President?

Good points. Our Catholic schools still do speed arithmetic drills (100 problem sheets), memorize multiplication tables, no calculators,.. For my older son, Catholic class size was smaller from elementary school through high school (12-16 Catholic vs 28 public). Private schools have a huge discipline advantage - they do not have to take or keep your child enrolled. Don't follow the rules - good bye. Our lay teachers were all ex-public teachers who took a huge pay cut to teach in a safer environment. His high school took an enrollment hit when the sports director was fired. He was more popular and "winning" than the whole administration, BUT he hired great coaches who cursed and maybe did some recruiting, like Notre Dame. Now the high school no longer had a sports director who knew all the college AD's on the East Coast. No sense paying Catholic tuition if a college sports scholarship is less likely. My $0.02

Tip: Be sure scout wears the NEW unit number on uniform left sleeve.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/czech-girl-scout-whose-confrontation-neo-nazis-went-viral-now-n756076 I removed her name -RS The Czech Interior Ministry says that police are taking steps to ensure the security of a Girl Scout after a photo showing her confronting a neo-Nazi group went viral. The ministry's Center Against Terrorism and Hybrid Threats says the move was prompted by threats against the 16-year-old student, which included lynching, that appeared on Facebook. The teenager was among about 300 protesters who confronted a rally of the far-right Workers Party of Social Justice on May Day in the country's second-largest city of Brno. At one point, she was photographed facing up to one of about 150 supporters of the fringe party. Pavla Velickinova, a spokeswoman for the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Washington, D.C., told NBC News Sunday, "The most important thing really is that the police took [the threats] seriously from the very first moment," He also said the girl was worried by the threats of violence and appreciated the move taken by police. The scout organization, Junák Äeský skaut, said it did not have any details on the threats, but pointed to Czech media reports that a Facebook page was allegedly created titled "I support public lynching of the Girl Scout ..." Lukas Neuheisl, a spokesperson for the organization, said the group received a Facebook message physically threatening all of their scouts after the her confrontation photo went viral. "Information about her such as the school she attends and her Scout Troop, are public," Neuheisl said. "So I think these concerns [about her safety] are legitimate." Much to discuss with scouts here,