scoutldr

"gettting to Eagle as fast as possible"...I find that sad. Scouting is about the journey, not having something to prove. Advancement is a by-product of the journey, not the purpose of it.

I vote to borrow the term "Advisor" from the old Exploring and now Venturing program.. With new emphasis that the adult Scouters are there to "advise" the "Leaders" who are the SPL and PLC. The do not decide, they do not dictate, they facilitate. The advise the program that the YOUTH decide on, and ensure safety and adherence to the GTA and GTSS. In the decades that I have been associated with the program, I have seen the gradual "helicopterism" taking over such that the youth merely sit there and wait for instructions from the adults. You don't sign me up for a MB University, I don't earn MB. You don't spoonfeed me advancement and sign me off because I sat there and listened to a lecture, no rank. No direction, no action taken. It's the way we are raising them, and it's wrong. I have family members with "kids" pushing 30 who still can't function as adults. It's sad.

I will treat you as you treat me, hopefully with mutual respect, love and friendship. When you resort to violence, looting, destruction and vandalism, you have lost me, and I no longer care what your cause is...you are a common criminal and no better than those you protest against.

Maybe it's been discussed before, but how does the Chapter 11 affect local council properties, since Councils are considered independent corporations? Our main camp is on the banks of the James River in Virginia and is a former plantation, the deed of which can be traced back to Capt John Smith. The state archeologists are excavating a home site on the river bank dating back to the 1600s when some settlers at Jamestown expanded across the river. The common thinking is that the owners deeded the 800+ acre plot to the Council in 1958, with a similar provision that should it not be used for Scouting, it would revert back to the owner, but I cannot confirm that.

So, rather than teaching scouts and parents that following the rules and laws of the land is what we should do (A Scout is Obedient), we should spin and obfuscate and do what we can to "minimize the chances of an audit", even though it may be illegal. Got it. From my reading of the tea leaves, it will all soon be a moot point anyway.

The guidelines in my state will require DAILY health checks for every student and staff member, conducted by the school nurse. My wife was a school nurse for over 20 years. The only one In a school with over 750 students, plus staff, her days were more than full and she had to go in every summer without pay to get all the required recordkeeping done for new registrations and updating student health records. She was also more often than not, the primary care provider for many of the lower-income staff members. Many of the poorer school districts in the state do not have a school nurse in every school...one nurse may serve several schools for one day a week to conduct state-mandated screenings. And no budget increases are being programmed. Indeed...a plan for failure. The plan for opening camps will also require daily health checks for all campers and adults by a qualified medical officer. How much time will this take out of the program day? If I were a parent, I would have severe reservations about sending my scout to camp under these conditions. That is not to say I do not think infection control measures are necessary...

Our Gov in VA just announced back to school guidelines. Buses will be restricted to one kid per seat, skipping every other row, and all must wear masks. This cuts it down to 11 students per full sized 66 passenger bus per run . My sister is a bus driver and she just laughs. They were woefully short of drivers before this happened. No way will this work. Elementary schools will meet 4 days per week...2 days in person and 2 days virtual. If you have more than one kid in school, you have no guarantee they will be on the same schedule. Out of zone requests will not be accepted. Classrooms must keep a 6 foot distance between kids at all times and masks at all times. No common areas will be used, such as cafeterias and gymnasiums. My DIL is thinking she will have to quit her job because the "telework" option is coming to an end. As of now, our camp is scheduled to go on "with modifications", whatever that means. The regional camps will remain closed due to lack of potable water supply for cleaning purposes and lack of full time medical staff to conduct daily health checks.

My Council required a fresh YPT certificate for ALL adult registrations at the first of the year, regardless of our expiration dates. Those who did not comply did not get registered. I pointed out that I still had a year to go on mine...didn't matter.

FOS = "Fund Our Salaries"

Sounds like a one-time "Initiation Fee"...in addition to the annual fee. That's gonna price a lot of families out of the program.

♦ Q: If my summer camp is cancelled, can my unit get together with other units and have our own camp? No. Chartering organizations play an important role in the program and activities for their chartered units. Chartering organizations promote well-planned unit program for the units they charter and encourage their units to have active outdoor unit programs. Chartering organization are not authorized to plan, promote, and deliver programs for units outside of their charter. It is the role of the council to plan summer camps and the role of councils or districts to plan camporees and other outings during the year that give youth an opportunity to test their knowledge and skills in competitive events with other troops and/or patrols. When units with different chartered organizations do activities together, this becomes a district or council event and requires council approval. In fact, some states require such activities to be licensed. Should your troop, crew or ship decide to do a long-term summer camping program for their own unit (Cub Scouts units are prohibited from this activity) please note that the Scouter Code of Conduct and relevant program safety and training requirements are still in place, e.g., Safe Swim Defense, Hazardous Weather, Wilderness First Aid, etc. (From BSA Website)

Minsi Trails Council 2020 Summer Resident Camp Cancellation Minsi Trails Council has three great camps that have always been a highlight to the year in Scouting. They are safe places where Scouts can have fun in the great outdoors, learn new skills, and develop their leadership. It is with particular sadness under unprecedented circumstances, the professional staff and volunteer Board conclude the Council can simply not responsibly open our resident camps this summer. It is the correct conclusion, but we are immensely sorry to have to do it. 2020 Summer Resident Camp Season is Canceled Under the current local, state, and CDC requirements concerning COVID-19 safety, we cannot provide a summer resident camp experience that would ensure a safe environment for our Scouts, volunteer leaders, or camp staff. Based on Pennsylvania’s phased plans for reopening the state’s economy and the unknown timeline for large groups (like summer camps) to gather, there is simply too much risk to the safety of our Scouts. We’ve heard similar concerns from Scout volunteers and Scout parents about the timing of the 2020 camp season and the state’s reopening timelines. Considering all these factors has led us to the decision that, unfortunately, there will be no summer resident camp season for 2020. Scout health and safety must always be first and foremost, and too little is known at this time to provide a safe, large-group Scout camp experience this summer. A Way Forward to 2021 Summer Camp Minsi Trails Council is working with our volunteer unit leaders on plans for the 2021 camping season. Since there’s likely to be significant interest in camp next summer we are creating an early sign-up system with options available so your unit can reserve its spot for the 2021 summer camp season at Akelaland, Camp Minsi, or Settlers Camp. Please contact your unit camping coordinator for more details. Thank You for your understanding and support! These are challenging times for everyone, including local Scouting and we appreciate your support. Not providing a 2020 summer resident camp experience for our Scouts was a difficult decision and one that was not made lightly. Scouting is resilient and has persevered through many challenging times and we will get through this together. While there is no substitute for Scout summer camp, we are fortunate to have so many virtual and online Scouting resources available to keep our Scouts and their families engaged in the life changing programs Scouting offers. More Scouting opportunities are being worked on for later this summer and fall, so please watch for future announcements. In the meantime, please stay safe and well. We appreciate all that you do for Scouting in Minsi Trails Council. Thank you.

The SM conference and BOR are chances to get feedback on your program. The #1 reason that Scouts become inactive is "boring meetings". If they are sitting in chairs being "talked at", they will leave. Also, many kids are "overscheduled" these days...with school, band, sports, etc. I always told them "show up when you can"...if they were otherwise active in a worthwhile activity. But if they would rather sit at home and play video games, that's up to the parents.

Our Governor (VA) has ordered a shutdown until June 10th. They are still debating how to make up the lost school year...going to school all summer is on the table.

Reading 3 pages of a thread only to realize I'd commented on it 17 years ago. Since my comment, my MIL has passed, and my wife has lost her 50 year old brother and 52 year old sister to smoking. Tobacco kills hundreds of thousands per year, yet we shut down the country and destroy the economy over a virus.