shortridge

I agree, to an extent. But we also need to keep in mind that starting a troop completely from scratch is something most boy Scouts will never ever be asked to do. For the most part, they have an automatic program pipeline from Cubs to Scouts BSA and don’t have to lift a finger to join — whereas we’re telling the girls to be masters of their own destiny and complete a task that plenty of grown men and women have failed at before them. These first few years of girl Scouts will darn sure be earning their badges, and their tents and packs, and their summer camps, and their flags, and their ri

Can you explain why you think this format requires adult monitoring, when text messages and emails and Facebook Messenger and snaps and Instagram messages between and among Scouts don’t require monitoring?

It will turn out fine. A Scout is Tustworthy, and it sure seems like you’re going above and beyond to make sure your fellow patrol members know that you didn’t do anything wrong. These things happen! Once you have this issue solved, you might want to make a suggestion to your patrol or the Patrol Leaders’ Council to move to a pay-in-advance system. Everyone chips in a flat fee - like $5-$8-$10 - and the grubmaster goes shopping with that cash. Any extra money can either be spent on luxuries (a bag of chocolate chips, a carton of fresh strawberries), staples (rice, flour, condiments), or g

First of all, congratulations and good luck! One idea I heard over the weekend was to rotate PLs on a monthly basis until all the Scouts have done the job. They all get a campout to lead, plan for, etc. Some of them may want nothing more to do with the job; others will have their appetite whetted. Depending on the size of your troop, you may not need an SPL, especially at first. Consider just having the PLC run the show for a while. The leaders will naturally emerge. Scale up and add ASPL, etc., only as needed. If you only have one patrol, you just need a PL - no SPL necessary.

For those of you who’ve served as Scoutmaster or Assistant Scoutmaster: What is your estimate of the amount of time you spent (or currently spend, If in those roles now) on Scouting each week or month? If you could indicate which role you filled, that would be appreciated. My back-of-the envelope numbers: >> There’s the troop meetings - say 2 hours a week. >> Planning for troop meetings - let’s say another 2 hours a week, to encompass everything from PLC meetings and SPL calls to Lowe’s runs for supplies. >> One troop committee meeting a month -

I really wish I had treated mine better. Bleach splashes from cleaning at summer camp don’t look that great.

Now if they would just produce some merino wool socks ... My feet are fairly consistently out of uniform because I am a 100% Darn Tough loyalist. Those socks are simply amazing.

The Webelos requirements do include tracking some fitness items. A single worksheet can be a good tool to help them organize their notes and see progress. But a binder with multiple worksheets? Ugh, no way. You absolutely can require that the parent attend with their Cub. A direct, straightforward, non-accusatory conversation with the parent will help. “Hey, on the last overnight, Johnny had some moments where he was frustrated. That resulted in him throwing pieces of wood around, which could have hurt another Cub. We are going to need you to attend the next campout with him to keep an ey

What folk ballads or narrative poems have you seen work well at a campfire? Bonus points if suitable for Cubs! A lot of the ones I’m finding are rather macabre, and I don’t want to get blamed for nightmares.

See, that’s not the way this works. My girls don’t have to show direct harm in order to get equal treatment. We are all Scouts - not boy Scouts, not girl Scouts, just plain Scouts. The overall decision tells them that they are lesser than the boys, which is the fundamentally frustrating part. But here’s a very basic example: My local camp has five weeks of Scouts BSA summer camp. Two have been designated as boys-only, leaving just three weeks for girls to choose from - one in June and two in July. - Boys have the freedom to go to camp any week they choose out of those five. Girls don

Very messy! The pros in my area are entirely focused on Cub recruiting right now since that’s what’s in front of them. Zero talk of girls’ troops.

As do we all. The framing of your question suggests that church attendance is the default way of doing one’s duty. The spectrum of Scouting experiences means that it’s not. An open-ended question when dealing with Scouts is best.

That still doesn’t answer the “Why,” but I understand that’s the lawyered reply. Can you address the issue of a female Scout camping with her father that @Eagle94-A1 raised? Thanks!

That has been updated. Thank you for pointing out my error.

Please don’t put words in my mouth. No, @walk in the woods, I’m saying that Scouts BSA is a unified organization for both boys and girls, and that one should not be prioritized over the other. Scouting is no longer a same-sex organization. If you don’t like that, then you need to make your choice. Your concern is that your Scouts’ feelings and wants will be negatively impacted if boys are forced to share a survival overnight or a COPE course with a girl. There is no part of the aims or methods or the Oath or Law that includes this value of Scouting. My concern is that my Scouts’ enti

I think our program is failing our adults if they don’t know how to welcome Scouts to their campsite. Is there something else to this?

There is no conversely about it. Each Scout should be treated the same. You suggest that the boys’ investment in their week is more important than the girls’. Or that boys should have priority because generations of previous boys paid for the camp infrastructure. No. That’s not the way it works. Scouts are Scouts. Girls and their troops do not have to earn the right to have a quality program or a seat at the table. Boys do not control camps simply because they were there first. It’s simple: Scouts BSA after Feb. 1 will no longer be a unisex organization. A CO can control its youth

No, it really doesn’t. It sends the message that some Scouts’ feelings are more important than your Scouting program experience. It sends the message that those other Scouts have the power to exclude you because of their feelings and wants. It sends the message that you are of secondary concern to the people in authority. Camp is not “their ‘hood,” referring to existing boys’ troops - it’s the ‘hood of all Scouts. No Scouts should have the ability to exclude other Scouts based upon arbitrary factors. It would be the same if during the 1950s an all-white troop said that no black Scouts cou

Can you point to that language in YPT? Perhaps I’m operating under a fundamental misunderstanding. The prohibition is against one-on-one contact, and that’s separate from two-deep leadership. One adult and one Scout is a no. Two adults and one Scout, or one adult and two Scouts - as in your original example - are OK. I’m not seeing anything about this closed-door, 21+ female interpretation. Can you show me where that’s written?

And yet those are the rules, which the SM is fully aware of.

I think that there is some confusion as to the rules. The rules require a 21+ female leader present at all activities. The activity is summer camp, not the MB class. Under your interpretation, all classes or instructional sessions involving female Scouts must have a 21+ female leader present. That is simply impossible in a summer camp environment.

I’m not involved in GSUSA, and this thread isn’t in the GSUSA forum. I don’t concern myself with how they run that program. They made a decision that’s best for their organization, and that’s their business. I *am* involved in the BSA, which is adopting a unified program offering what purports to be equal program and opportunities to members who are girls and members who are boys. Allowing one troop or CO to unilaterally block off program opportunities for another troop or CO is just flatly unfair. I would have the same issue if girls’ troops were blocking boys’ troops from attending.

That says it has to meet BSA resident camp standards. Under those standards, the camp director and program director must be National Camp School-certified. If you’re 10 minutes away from EMS, your health officer has to be at least an EMT or paramedic. You have to have an NCS-certified aquatics director if you do aquatics programs. And more ... That’s a very high bar for a basic Scout troop. Do you mind pointing out where?

@qwazse, I fully understand that the councils are looking at it as a business decision. But it strikes me as fundamentally out of synch with the aims, methods and values of Scouts BSA. The troops are equal; the leaders are equal; the programs are equal; the Scouts are certainly equal. Why not give them all equal opportunity to attend camp? Why grant boys priority status? That sends a very negative signal to the new Scouts who will be joining beginning Feb. 1. The messages include: - Boys are more important than you - Boys have the power to exclude you - You have to take the

I’m agreeing with Barry on something! 🤨 A thousand times this. It’s a lot more intensive than you’d think. Also be aware that a unit-run camp does not count for OA eligibility.