SSScout

Some sad things: * The adult who tells you "I wish I had finished Eagle" "* The kid who tells you "I wish my (old man/ mom/ granddad) would quit bugging me about ""Eagle"". *** The Scout that tells you about how his Troop goes camping once a month, and his (old man/mom/granddad) never goes or takes them. **** The Scout who hears about the previous Scout and says "Our Troop goes to summer camp. That's it." ***** The adult "leader" who insists that every Scout event (defined as any group of Scouts doing Anything together) MUST have two adult registered leaders....

Being a "registered" Scouter/adult does not mean they are a "Scout Leader". The Pack/Troop can have many "adult registered" and still have many stand back and "I don't have the time" "I don't know anything about this Scout stuff but Susie loves it" "Here's some money, take care of Jake for me" type people. Then too, you can have the "no, no, that's all wrong" type person, too....

Oh, I can relate. I retired from county government service. Our Transit Service was a local creation, the original idea being that the local folks could do a better job "locally" than the bigger multi juridictional agency. I started out as a part time driver. . I got promoted thru the years. One of the people I learned from, I'll call him Dave, had been in it from the beginning. He knew it all, had the responsibility to get things approved and done. I loved working with Dave because he was not afraid to assign jobs (to me, for instance) and express appreciation for one's initiative. When he retired, they LITERALLY had to create three new positions, with three new sections/departments to take up his responsibilities. All of a sudden, no one seemed to have the responsibility to assign, or approve or take the blame..... Our service seemed stagnated for a long time. But, we survived . The busses rolled., anyway.... But I remembered the idea that it took at least three new people to take Dave's place...

And boy, try and understand the time effort and work that went into THAT. photos, Identify, shape recognition, dentured or not, color, leaf orientation, ,,, A five year old human should be able to identify any English alphabet letter, no matter how it is oriented, sized, type face, slanted, italicized or colored. Same for a Chinese child, but wow.... the pictogram collection there. And the IT folks are having fun making sure the App can differentiate Poison Ivy from Raspberry or Jack in the Pulpit. Back in my pre-retirement days, I was tasked with collecting various destinations (libraries, election precinct sites, museums, historic trails , parks, ) and listing the bus/metro routes to get there from here. Drudgery, but useful drudgery so I was told. That led to the computer gadget that did the same thing.....

Cell phones.... True story.... CSDC. I have the Nature Pavilion. On day one, we do "Leave No Trace" (Outdoor Ethics). After passing out the LNT hanger cards (thanks to Protect the Outdoors - Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics (lnt.org) and some stories about Unintended Consequences ("I thought I put out the fire", ) I had the Cubs and their buddies each lineup by a corner of the pavilion, and take 200 steps out, turn 90 degrees, walk 50 steps, turn 90 degrees and walk back to the pavilion and on the way, pick up ANYTHING "God didn't put there". After the day, I was (not really) surprised at the pile of trash and human debris we collected. And the park was cleaner. At one session, during the walk, one of the adult Den Walkers was in the background on her cell: "I can't BELIEVE I said I'd do this. I know SOMEBODY else could do this Den Walker thing... Yeah, but I dread the amount of work I'll have next monday. It doesn't matter to Jake, it could be ANY... " and she went on for the three minutes the Cubs were out... I sometimes wish we might go back to only in person telegram delivery.... "Ahoy, ahoy? No , this is ONE. You want two. Yes, that's right. Two. You're welcome, Goodbye."

It has always been BSA's policy that so long as the CO follows the basic BSA policies (requirements, YPT etc.) the CO can set other membership requirements. Note the CoJCoLDS example. Some years ago, I helped establish a Troop at a Roman Catholic Church. They openly required that boys and families be Catholic. The Troop was very active for about three years, then gradually dried up and disappeared. We had a Muslim Troop some years ago, they declared anyone could join, realizing that their diet and activiites would be faith driven. Unfortunately, their membership was drawn from a very wide area( like 30 miles some folks !) and eventually lost their leadership due to work assignments. Sic gloria mundi. I also hear some other issues in the background of the OP's comments. I am sorry we cannot counsel better from afar.

Never hurts to bring your campcup. Properly secured by cord or carabiner. Might be Seabase mugs available for souveniring....

A Bug's Life (1998) - don't look at the light! - YouTube

Well, there is a way for to avoid "missing working with them"... Jes' sayin' . . . . hint hint . . .

Rules to live by: 1) The work is done by whoever shows up. Show up. 2) Train'em, trust'em, turn'em loose. 3) Ye canst not please everyone all the time. You will have three possible "bosses". Please these three and you will be doing good: a) Your God, however you perceive him/her /it. b) .Someone, somewhere, sometime, will ALWAYS be telling you what to do. A teacher, your spouse, a traffic cop.... At what peril do you NOT please THEM ? c) The fellow who pays you for doing what you do to get paid. Ethical? Legal? Satisfying? Fun?

"Good evening, Scouts. I've asked your SPL for some time tonight to present a special event. an opportunity, I guess. First I'd like to introduce Jack Arrowsmith and Jefferson Fletcher here. These Scouts are members of the Order of the Arrow. You may have heard of this piece of Scouting, maybe not. Let me explain a little from my history.... Each of you Scouts know about earning rank and getting awarded stuff for things you do and accomplish. Win the camporee competition? Hike thru Philmont? Canoe Northern Tier? You get a patch and bragging rights, right? Well, the OA is a different thing, but kind of the same.... We want it to be a recognition that these Scouts have accomplished something and deserve a ... recognition.... The Order of the Arrow is sort of a club, but to join it, you have to be elected by the Scouts in your Troop. They do the choosing. It is meant as a recognition that the kids that are elected are deserving of that honor. You Scouts know who helps you, who taught you, who got you thru that stormy night. I may not, but you do. Now, enough form me. Here, Jefferson, Jack, , take the floor..... "

This is the "latest" from NCAC: Amangamek-wipit lodge Let’s go camping guide (ncacbsa.org)

"" The Boy Scouts of America posthumously awarded Chester County's Evan Bass the rank of Eagle Scout at a ceremony Monday in Chester. Evan, a Chester County high school student, athlete and dedicated member of Boy Scout Troop 61, died in a tragic ATV accident on April 10, 2020. He was 17. Family , Scouts and Community finished Evan’s Eagle Project. The Palmetto Council of the Boy Scouts of America also presented the Bass family with the Spirit of the Eagle Award, a posthumous award recognizing the achievements of Scouts who lost their lives to “untimely accident or illness.” Salute . Gone home too soon ."" https://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/community/article251970098.html?fbclid=

So how do we address this ? How to email, USPS the camp, how? Texas is a mite fer for me to travel.... Yes, the charcoal chimney works. Newspaper, twigs, hot coals, old Cub books.... The one I use is easily 20 years old. Self tapping screws hold it together now.

Many moon ago, I worked for a county gov't agency. Big committee meeting about a problem perceived by the upper echelons (I was lower middle management, for lack of a better descriptor). When someone mentioned who should we report "X" to, the Big Boss said, why to me. I need to know about such "problems". When someone else said, I think I would call the police and 911 first, the BB said why? If it's already happened, we need to handle our end of things. But the occurance is dangerous and illegal.... Exactly . And our office needs to handle it. Contact us first. The meeting was then dismissed.... The BB was later given a "sideways" promotion.....

The following discussion explains why. This strongly implies the Scouts WANT to work/serve/help. Perhaps the place to do these is in the OA, and their efforts are not welcome in the Troop? Example of "Scout Led" vs "Adult Led"?

No comment on the Council stuff. Professionals come and go. DEs? Creating Districts is often a matter of "because I can". I used to work for the County Government. Every time a new department manager/chief was named, "things changed". The new guy wanted to leave his/her mark on things. Did it really make things more efficient? People more responsible? Often debatable. Same with the BSA organization. Regions? Sections? Districts? I have lived in the same house for almost 30 years. I have worked with pretty much the same group of dedicated Scouters thru that time. I have lived in 5 (maybe six, depends on how you define things) DIFFERENT named Districts/Service areas. Our present District is almost EXACTLY the same defined area that I knew in 1995. We still camp and hike.

Slow down, folks. We have two things here, conflating them. Maybe three. Each has a place in this discussion, but need to be considered separately, I think. Scouting has two concerns. The first is why Scouting got started: The "program". The WHY . How does it get presented to the kids/Scouts. WHY should the kid (and by association, their parents) get involved? Why (and How) does the "volunteer" Scouter do what they do? Hiking, camping, personal skills, personal confidence gained, service to others. Outdoor, getting dirty, identifying trees and Poison Ivy. Scout Promise and Law, how to inculcate those ideals (assuming we, the adult leaders, want to inculcate them?) ? The second is the "professional" part. The "official" part. The umpires, the referees, the bank owners. The publishers of the "Handbook for Boys", now titled "The Scouts BSA Handbook" . Record keepers. Supposedly the "enforcers" that have gotten into trouble by not enforcing enough. Or , in some cases enforcing too much? These poor folks are concerned not only with (we hope) the ideals and program us volunteers work with , but with the "company", with their livelihood. The present problems/travails stem from that concern, no less than us volunteers not following thru with our own observations. The possible third thing, mentioned above, is the supposed change in modern youth's psyche, social milieu, if you will . How is the present day 12 year old different from the 12 year old of the 1950's or 70's , for instance? Does schmart phone in the pocket really mean the kid doesn't want to take charge of things and plan out hike or camp trip with his fellows? We talk about Train'em , Trust'em , Let'em lead, and some of us here on S dot com mention knowing some Scouters that don't agree with one of those things , if not all of them. These Scouters don't want the kid to grow up. Demonstrably do not want the Scout to try their wings. How is that part of this brou haha? What is it about today's kids (reference to Bye Bye Birdie) that really requires changing the way we recruit? And WHY do we want to recruit? Why should the kid WANT to be a Scout and not just a kid running around in the woods. He/she may find the college outdoor club when they are 19, 20... These three items are certainly meshed together, but need to be considered somewhat separately, yes?

What think ye on this? A "Promise to Parents", not a "promise to kids"? https://www.crossroadsbsa.org/wp-content/uploads/Scouts-BSA-2021-Promise-to-Parents-Troop-Brand-Standards61.pdf I address your attention especially to the last paragraph. Metrics? Control? Pro's vs volunteers? National vs local? Will the Scout remember the ribbon on the flag or the rain on the canvas?

Look for Openel.

Yep. All the above. Councils usually have a "Scout Digest" or some such newsletter. Each District , if they are fortunate, will have an eNews of some sort. And the local facebook pages..... And by the way, where are your new clear wessels?

Speak to Messrs. Sabin, Salk, Ehrlich and Pasteur...

And... Scouts go to Antarctica..... Have had girl Gold awards and Boy Eagles in years past..... https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/award/antarctic_scout-1667.asp And now, a new research support opportunity: https://scoutinginantarctica.org/ Shiver......