shortridge

19 minutes ago, David CO said:

I would argue that the act of joining our scout unit makes him a member of our CO. He may not be Catholic, but he is still one of us. He belongs.

 

Do you tell your unit’s Scouts that? It’s a very broad, sweeping statement that is not supported by the Scouting program.

Suggest that he research Hazelwood: https://splc.org/high-school-faqs/

2 hours ago, ham_solo said:

Do the adults now need a buddy system at summer camp to make sure there will never be just one of us anywhere there are scouts in addition to making sure there are multiple youth?

Under G2SS, no. There are plenty of registered 21+ adults at the summer camp, and summer camp is the “activity.” However, your camp may have specific rules about having X number of leaders in camp that have to be followed.

Just don’t go messing with any Chitauri artifacts.

My daughter’s school has had two snow days so far. We had two in-service days classified as weather contingencies, so students now have to come in those days - but don’t have to stay longer into the summer. Fingers crossed that’ll be it.

7 hours ago, ValleyBoy said:

Do we tell a 16 year old scout that has drivers license that they can not drive there self to a merit badge university because the unit cannot supply 2 deep leadership to the event and there parents have to be at work.

I think this is a separate issue, however. A unit doesn’t have to supply two-deep leadership for a broader activity like an MBU that allows individual Scout registration. (See also: den chief training, OA events.) So that doesn’t affect your 16yo Scout.

To be open to female Scouts, the event organizers would just have to make sure there is an adult female 21+ registered leader present and all the other YP rules are being followed.

I’d never heard of charging to attend a B&G, to be honest. My experience has always been a giant potluck in a donated hall with donated placemats; dens do centerpieces and nut/mint cups; pack covers plates, cups, utensils, and napkins.

Making it a moneymaker would leave a bad taste in my mouth, frankly. If you need to charge, cover your costs and leave it at that.

1 hour ago, ValleyBoy said:

Let me ask a question.  Is the unit in compliance if the registered adult female leader was in the adult campsite with no youth in that campsite and 2 registered adult male leaders were in the youth campsite over 100 yards away out of sight of the adult campsite instructing a scouting skill. If this is a violation of YP there would be YP violations at every council and district activities such as camporees and summer camp where a registered adult female was not present each camporee event or each merit badge class that had a female youth taking part in the event or class.  

 

The ACTIVITY is the event itself - the summer camp, the camporee, the backpacking trip, the merit badge “college.” The activity is not the program session, the day hike, or the class. As long as we avoid one-on-one contact, we’re fine.

We do not need need a female registered leader 21+ sitting in every summer camp program session with a female Scout. Think of it this way: We don’t need a male registered leader 21+ present, so why should female Scouts require special babysitting and chaperoning? If that were the case, every female troop would have to have one female leader for every Scout attend camp just to make sure they can attend sessions. That is patently ridiculous.

EDIT: So very sorry about the giant font! I’m really not trying to yell!

3 minutes ago, ParkMan said:

But given how part of the GSUSA lawsuit specifically focused on the actions of individual local units, their comment seems remarkably hypocritical. 

Especially since both use a decentralized organizational structure, you’d think they would have thought more about how going after local unit and volunteer actions could come back to bite them. Frankly baffling.

3 hours ago, dkurtenbach said:

as well as the appropriateness of using an image of a shirtless, well-muscled man to sell Girl Scout cookies.

A shirtless skinny pale geek type would be OK? Steve Rogers pre-serum?

15 hours ago, HashTagScouts said:

 It is/was for 2 deep reasons that you couldn't have a MBC meeting one-on-one with a youth.

Nope. It’s for the prohibition on 1-on-1 contact, different from 2-deep.

4 minutes ago, Ranman328 said:

Can't we just go with a post, read it for what it is and give "Helpful" advice instead of picking people apart? 

Sorry that you don’t like the answers you’re getting.

It actually is helpful to reiterate the name of the program, considering that we’re being sued by another organization that used local volunteers’ incorrect language as evidence that the national organization was in the wrong.

Do you know if the UC contacted his boss, the district commissioner, and asked for feedback and advice? That would have been the most proper route.

Hiking — not every troop is located conveniently near longish trails. In my state, the longest trail is 8.1 miles, and most are 2-3 miles. A Scout has to stack multiple short trails in close proximity or do a loop multiple times, and that can get old and boring real darn fast.

Livesaving - I earned this one as a younger Scout, and it dissuaded me from getting my lifeguard certification. Fighting off-slash-rescuing the burly 6’3” “drowning” aquatics director was enough for me. It was a tough badge to earn and that put many people off it.

My dad was an ASM and went to summer camp my first two years. I saw him at mealtimes and sometimes not even then. He had to have been anxious as heck when skinny shrimpy me did the mile swim and the Wilderness Survival overnight, but never showed it!

10 hours ago, Oldscout448 said:

One  change the election criteria. The main focus from the order to the troop should be " We want your best both in skills and character. " not " We accept anyone with a first class badge and one summer camp under his belt."

You mean like saying things like:

Who in this group is a friend to all and a brother to every other Scout? Who is pleasant and easy to get along with? Is he kind and helpful? In all, if you were a Tenderfoot Scout, would you like to hike and camp with him?

Who is cheerful, even when he has many tiresome jobs to do? Who smiles whenever he can? Who obeys promptly and cheerfully? Does he control his temper? If you were at camp with him for several weeks, do you think you would enjoy it?

Who is always ready to give unselfish and wholehearted service to others? Who, in serving others, can forget his own desires and interests? Who has served your unit all year round, faithfully attending your meetings and helping with your service projects? Do you think he will continue his service in the future? If you were his patrol leader, could you depend on him?

In all, ask yourselves: Who in this group, by living up to the Scout Oath, serves your fellow Scouts with such an example of brotherhood and cheerfulness that you look up to him with deep respect and admiration?

and

Scouts, on the ballot you will be given, print the first and last names of the candidates who, in your opinion, have set the best examples of brotherhood, cheerfulness, and service.

Vote only for those you believe will continue in unselfish service to your troop. If you feel that no one is worthy, turn in an unmarked ballot. If you are new in the troop or team and do not know the candidates well enough to vote wisely, you may abstain by not turning in a ballot at all, and this will not affect the final result.

That’s from the current election script, by the way.

How exactly would you change the objective criteria to accomplish what you want?

I was just reminded of a game my Cub den used to play. We called it “Refuel the Spaceship”; it’s probably known by other names. My memory may be a little leaky, and Googling only turned up stuff about real spaceships, but this is what I recall:

The game is played at night outdoors, suitable for a camp “wide game.” The team/patrol/den is a group of astronauts whose spaceship has crashed on a planet and run out of fuel. They need to bring fuel from a storage depot or natural fuel source at Point A (a full bucket of water) to the spaceship (an empty bucket of water) at Point B, using only the emergency containers that come with their spacesuits (small cups). They will have to make many trips to bring enough fuel to fill their tank (a predesignated amount of water).

There are aliens roaming the planet surface, and if they encounter a group of astronauts, the latter have to dump out their fuel. The alien was played by our den leader, who dressed in dark clothing and had great fun jumping out of shadows and scaring the bejeezus out of us (often causing us to spill). You could have multiple aliens as well.

You could have multiple spacecraft being refueled at once, or have everyone working together against the clock to fill an especially large spaceship fuel tank.

I view this question the same way I view merit badge classes at summer camp. We don’t need a female registered leader 21+ sitting in every session with a female Scout, so we don’t need one riding along in every car. As long as there is no 1-on-1 contact, you’re fine.

My personal policy when driving my daughter and her friends is that either my daughter rides in the front passenger seat or no one rides in the front passenger seat. But that’s just me.

5 hours ago, Mom2Scout said:

The Chartering Org/Scoutmasters never asked the parents if they wanted a female troop associated or if they wanted to stay all boy. 

Not to be brusque, but the parents don’t have a say in that decision. The Chartered Organization owns the troop. Not the Scoutmaster, not the committee, not the parents. It’s entirely the CO’s decision whether to start another unit - whether that be pack, girls’ troop, another boys’ troop, or a crew. If it wants to shut down a unit, it can. If it wants to merge a unit with another of the same type, it can.

Scouting at this level isn’t a democracy. If you dislike the CO’s path forward, you are entirely free to vote with your feet and leave.

FYI, there is a lot of practical advice being shared in two private Facebook groups:

- Scouts BSA Female Troops Volunteers is more free-form and loose. Lots of entry-level questions plus experienced information-sharing.

- BSA Family Packs / Girl Troops includes some National staff members, covers Cubs, and is stricter - posts require approval and admins have a heavier hand in closing threads that get off topic.

Thanks! Can you share a little more about the welcome parties and community meetings? How did you promote, what did you do?

54 minutes ago, Cburkhardt said:

New girl troops require the minimum of 5 girl members, just like new boy troops.  It takes time and effort just like anything else, but especially for Troops.  We had 2 public meetings and 2 open houses to recruit our 16 adults and 24 Scouts.  That was over 6 months.  There is plenty of demand out there, but it does not happen with our effort.

Can you describe your approach and what worked best (and what didn’t)? We have five and are working on SM recruitment, but are pulling out all the stops to get more.

4 hours ago, Treflienne said:

Would I be reasonable if I told a scout, who had just been studying a picture of a knot in the handbook,  that she needed to wait to have her knot-tying skill checked off?  (None have tried this yet.  Hope none do.)   That is, can I expect them to know it cold?

You shouldn’t expect them to know it cold (ie, with no instruction), but it doesn’t seem reasonable to force a Scout to wait for instruction if he or she has already learned it. The method of learning doesn’t matter.

I was a voracious reader as a kid, and devoured the Handbook backwards and forwards. Plus I darn sure knew those knots we’d been tying since Bears. If anyone had told 10.5-year-old me to come back and wait for a senior Scout or ASM to “teach me” how to tie the basic knots, fold a flag, identify poison ivy, or treat for shock, I’d probably have walked out in disgust.

Kids learn in vastly different ways. Some learn largely on their own. If they can do the skill, they can do the skill.

5 minutes ago, Treflienne said:

With a single-patrol troop why have both an SPL and a PL?   What are the distinct differences between the roles in that setting?  

You only need an SPL when the PLC says it needs one. The PLs can jointly manage things until that point. Then the SPL leads the PLs, and the PLs lead their patrols. IMO, Patrol Leader is the most important job in any troop.

Don’t forget Cub day camp and resident camps. Be a presence there at least visiting, and try to get as many Cubs there as possible. 

Holy cow, H&S has a sense of humor!