SSScout

*sigh*

Once upon a time auto rally courses were popular. The idea is to drive at a certain speed for a certain distance, following directions along a prescribed course. The driver who came closest to the "ideal" calculated time for the course without going over it was the winner. I remember one course I drove with my buddy as navigator, we came in , I think 35th out of 50 some contestants. There was one direction that I remember: "Take second right after 138 mail boxes." What??? Well, we passed a trailer park with over a hundred mailboxes all in a row! And if you took the FIRST right, it was a loop and you would come out facing the wrong way ! Such were the diabolical planning in some of these courses. And the fun and challenge. So one can plan the compass course in two ways: Serious ( degrees, distance, note station clue, move on...) or you an add some interest. Start at the Maple Tree with four main trunks. Face the quartz boulder and bear off at ... Reverse bearing twelve meters and at the Honey Locust ..... I like Qwarze's ideas. And yours. Nothing wrong with directing " Measure the height of the Church Steeple and round off to nearest meter. Travel that distance from the NE corner of the church at 175 degrees magnetic..."

And that's how you earn your consultant's fee. You want that chocolate cake donut? Just askin'....

Well, maybe. If the folks that "play the game well" might pay more , the folks that can't "play the game" might pay less. Perhaps time for another thread with very little to do about Scouting.... Nah, not today.

Yeah. It's like the state lotteries. Why not just make our taxes fair and equitable , and not make "school funding" (for instance) dependent on folks' greed and desire to beat out others?

My original "Handbook" is/was titled "Handbook for Boys". The Scout part was inside.....

Hornaday did much good. However..... Read thru William Temple Hornaday - Wikipedia but pay attention to "Racism at the zoo" section.

If it wasn't before, it certainly is now. The Troop of my yoooth did just about everything to make things cheap and affordable. We made our tents (plastic grommeted tarps), some cook sets (#10 cans etc.) . Now, of course, us kids had very little idea what the parents/adults did for us other than drive the car and help with other stuff (money?, How to hold a saw or hatchet? ) I never HEARD of a "District Executive" or "Charter" until I started getting called "Mr. SSScout". by my Scoutson's buddies. MBCounselor? My Music/Bugling was my school Band teacher. I had to call the Council office to get a MBCfor some MBs. My Aviation MB was 30 some miles away, dad drove me there twice. Now, just about any MB can be had by somebody in the Troop. YPT? I have no idea if there was ANY type of such requirement back in the 1950s, 60s, 70s,,,, It was never on the Scout's radar then, that stuff was the adult's concern. Now, and rightfully so, it is everyone's concern, from Lion Cub on up to Eagle and beyond....

Well let's see what the score board shows. Categories: US Constitution: All men created equal . . . Equal treatment before the Law . . . 3/5ths compromise? Sermon on the Mount: "Christianity" actually following Jesus' example? Even He did not have a "golden rule" that was called that. Q'ran: All are brothers (and sisters?) under God/Allah, if I read things right.... Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Adopted by ALL the United Nations in 1948 : All people, young or old, no matter the place or circumstance of birth, should be treated ,? how? The Scout Promise and Scout Law . . . Need I go on? It is almost (almost) never the fault of our ideals . The fault is in the child choosing poor parents. choosing poor schooling and poor role models. The fault is in NOT pointing out the consequences of actions. Nature or nurture? The BSA troubles started way back before I became a Scout. Not holding folks accountable WHEN they needed to be so held. Hoping if we send the trouble maker away, they would cease to be a trouble maker someplace else. Not being willing to face up to the reality of the occurrence. Now, the reaping of the sowing, even when the seed sown was not really known or recognized. "The fault, dear Brutus .... " and so forth. Societal cultural change? Hunger and lack of education and lack of good health care and overt greed and "me first" and less than equal treatment in pay and opportunity... Change is therefore inevitable. Can we guide that change toward the ideals? Do we still have ideals worth pursuing? I've got snow to shovel.... see you on the trail.

1) Check with your Troop's Charter Org and Charter Org Representative. If you don't know who that is, contact your District Executive (available thru the Council Website). I will assume the Adult Leaders you speak of are "trained"? and "registered"? and probably on the Troop Committee? Not much use then, in talking to them? 2) Talk to the other Scout parents. Any others of like opinion? There is safety and value in numbers. 3) Collect your evidence (sounds very persuasive to me) , include past years stuff as appropriate, and contact your Council Scout Executive directly, cc to the District Executive. She/he/they should be very interested in such diversions from Scout policy. 4) Most such "sport pools" of my small experience have only one purpose, the profit of an individual. Any charitable interest is often sidelined by the "organizers". Even 50/50 tag games. 5) Prepare for the self destruction of the Scout Unit as no one steps up to take over the leadership. 6) continue with your plans to move to a better unit. Good Scouting to you and your Scout. Always remember, they will be picking out your Assisted Living Facility.

Well whose fault is that? If one is "in person," that would seem to indicate that a hand can be raised and a question or clarification asked . The Instructor has three choices: "Here is the answer...", OR "That's a good question, but I don't know, I'll find out and get back to you". OR ... " Well, what do you all think? How would you handle this?" EDGE and all that. Make your "In Person" instructor earn her/his pay.

Possibly because it would benefit a private concern, not a public one? Improving the fishing on a privately owned lake might be seen differently than a public park one? Doesn't the city/county collect such? Ours does. No charge, part of the normal recycling service, trash pick-up. Several scheduled pick-ups after the turn of the new year. And, how many trees can you deal with? How big is the neighborhood you would draw from? What would you do with the trees that don't "fit" in your lake? Our county and several incorporated towns hereabouts cooperate and grind up many TONS of old Christmas trees into mulch that is blended with other mulch material and sold to private baggers who further mix and market the organic material. Then to, we have had some Scout conservation projects nearby that included using past their prime Christmas trees for erosion control, habitat formation, and bird feeder creation. Good luck to you and thanks for getting back to Scouting.

Delay the Board. "Extenuating circumstances require we postpone the Board of Review until . . ." No board, no need to approve/disaprove. No need for appeal. Yet.

Whoah... there is no such thing as "useless" information. One cannot tell when any piece of knowledge might be of use. Crossword puzzles, impressing girl friends, finding folks of common derivation at a party, preventing wife from hurting herself by repairing "something" . . . My freshman class in dynamics did not come useful until I started investigating traffic accidents 35 years later. The laws of physics cannot be denied, it turns out. But yes, indeed , we do thrive on such esoteria. Such is very useful. If the shape of an axe head is the "Michigan" pattern, or the shape of tent is a "Baker", it has meaning to them for whom it is needed.

There's a SM Minute in that. Once upon a time, Scoutson would roll his eyes when I would start off "back when I was a Scout..." Now he wants to hear the stories. Sometimes it is hard for the young to understand that yes, the world existed BEFORE they existed. There is a continuum. My dad drove a horse drawn milk wagon when he was 16.... and he confirmed the story that the horse often knew the route better than he did ! ((?? milk delivered to your house? Really?)) My favorite tale of this genre: We were doing history homework and Scoutson speaks up, "dad.... you had it easier than I do in history. You had less to remember !"

The odds of being eaten by a Bengal tiger in the middle of Main Street may be a million to one, but once is enough. One can be sued by anyone at any time for any perceived problem. Ask any doctor. Or EMT. Or school sidewalk owner. Or Busdriver. I was driving my transit bus in the curb lane, approaching a red light. A Pinto (!) dashed in front of me such that I slammed on my brakes and still hit the Pinto's right door and pushed it straight. I set my parking brake, jumped out of my bus, ran around to the driver's side and asked "Are you alright?" His first words to me were: "It's your fault, okay?" I went back into my bus and called the police and my dispatcher. The court case was interesting....

Aha... Something from the Faith and Chaplaincy forum. Oh, wait....

Yep. Search Owasippe here in Scouter dot com. It was an adventure to read, for sure. The CORs managed to wake alot of people up. The local county zoning board managed to take control of their county and by refusing to rezone the property in essence prevented the camp from becoming a lake resort. But Chicago Council still managed to sell off two of their three camp properties before National pulled the strings. I forget, who got the profits there? The CORs are the voting corporate board of a council.

My wife's first husband had nothing good to say about Scouting. Don't know why, of no consequence now. Wife had been a Brownie for a short while growing up, but her father was a researcher for the Fish and Wildlife service, so her family had a good lot of experience in the "great outdoors". When we met and married, my Scout experience became hers (Eagle, OA, many summer camps). My newly enlisted stepsons were a little old for Scouts, and daughter had no use for GIrlscouts (too fashionista and tea partyish) so when youngest Scoutson came along, and he SAID he wanted to be a Cub Scout, we jumped. I became a Den Leader, Cubmaster, wife became Cub Scout Day Camp Director. Eventually, I became Assistant SM, went to WB, served as Chaplain (fully approved by my faith, the Chaplain corps, National too ) at the Nat Jam. and so forth, etc. etc. Scoutson went to Philmont twice (once as a Crew Leader), Jambo Staffed, earned Eagle. Then I applied to be a Nat Jam Chaplain again . I received an email (!) stating I was not approved as Nat Jam Staff. When I inquired why, I was told it was a "Private matter" and the reasons could not be disclosed. Huh? It's MY "private", you can't tell me WHY I am not suitable as a Scout leader? I've already BEEN a Chaplain. What changed? After dozens of emails and phone calls, I was finally told that my local Council had given me a bad rating. Huh? The year before I had been Staff for the WB course, served as BALOO and IOLS instructor. What did who say about me? Sorry, can't say. Let me say it looks like you made an enemy somewhere. Huh? My faith wishes to name me as a Chaplain. After alot more back and forth, the National Staffer (his name was Green) finally read me the rating sheet. I marveled at the comments he noted. Would it help to get some different opinions on my Scoutspirit/attitude/character/skills/interpersonal dynamics? He didn't think so, but he would welcome them. I had 22 friends/bosses/Scout co-workers/faith leaders/educators willingly (eagerly, even) write embarrassingly complimentary letters for me. Still didn't help that year. Mr. Green told me the letters were "enlightening", but the decision could not, would not be changed. But , I said, that means that somewhere in the BSA bowels, there will be a file detailing how unsuitable I am, when it is not true. He said it will be destroyed after the Jamboree, try not to worry about it. Huh? As an added mystery, my would've been fellow Chaplain, with essentially the same type of history, (but from a different Council) was approved and accepted "instantly". Next Jambo, my faith org, The Friends Committee on Scouting, and I, did the same application thing, and PRESTO, I was "approved" very quickly. Owing to the way National and Council had treated me, , lovely wife FORBID me to EVER donate anything extra via FOS. Lack of transparency? Lack of open phone numbers? Names responsible for what? Lack of response to a "volunteer's" earnest inquiry? Yes, and it has happened more recently. Stonewalling? Hope you will just go away? Follow the Scout Promise and Law? Ability to face/confront one's accusers? And people wonder why the National organization should be considered separate from the local Scouting. Yes, I am still a Scouter. I Commish, I train, I explain, and I hike. See you on the trail.

Case in point. Scoutmaster sitting with newly elected PLC and new SPL. The discussion is about next year's activities. Where to go? What to do? None of these Scouts is new to the camp and hike and tie knots stuff, but.... eventually, the SPL spurts out "you mean I can make that decision?" the SM exclaims "DUH ! ! !" It is the same in many of the Middle School classes I sub taught. Those 11, 12 and 13 year olds WAIT to be told what they should say, how they should react to questions. It was more often than not the case that I had to "pull teeth " to have any kind of real discussion. Perhaps we were that way back when I was 12, but then, I had a job mowing grass and cleaning my dad's trucks. I was EXPECTED to be responsible. Kids will join and stay with Scouting for the same reasons they joined in the earlier days. Safe (relatively) Outdoor Adventure. The bling and recognition for "mastering skills" is important in it's own right. Underline MASTERING. ScoutsBSA cannot just be "Doing Your Best" as in Cubs. The skills need to be demonstrated as being MASTERED. My experience in Scouts coming to Bugling MB class at a MBCollege is illustrative of this. The nascent Wynton Marsalis is rare, but the Scout with a borrowed or even brand new (still in the plastic wrap!) horn who cannot even make a buzz is not rare. They come expecting to learn and play and EARN the badge in one three hour session.. Nuts. The last MBCollege I participated in , I had two three hour sessions each in two weekends, a month apart. The plan, for any MB this time 'round, was that the Scout would do two saturdays, the in between days spent applying what was assigned/ learned the first weekend. I teach and discuss the requirements, the science of music, I demonstrate a garden hose Bugle (they always like that), and thus.... So, five Scouts in each session, ten over two weekends. First saturday, of the two groups of five, (ten), one ("A") was from a previous MBCollege ( he still couldn't play the calls), two (B & C) were in their school bands and played well, one (D) was GOOD, and passed the first time ! One (E) had a new (in the wrapper !) horn, but followed my instruction and TRIED. (F), (G) and (H) admitted they were there because their parents wanted them to be and had borrowed horns, and (J) was in attendance because his first choice of MB was full, he had no horn, but borrowed one from another Scout and tried. I gave them all my info and handouts and encouraged them to practice, call on me if they needed help and return. None called me. Second weekend: By this time , they have had 4 weeks to practice.... (A) returned, still couldn't play the calls. (B), (C), returned and completed the MB fairly well. I signed their cards. (D) did not return, I signed off on his card last time. (E) did not return . (F),(G), (H) showed they had gained some skill in the interim, I gave them "Partials" . (J) came back, with his horn (turned out he played in his school band !). I gave him a "Partial". I never heard back from any of these Scouts, partials or not. I hope they found a MBC that held them to the standard....

From 6 to 21 ? Mustn't forget our Little Brothers and Sisters.

Just saw this on another Scout Facebook page: Walkathon to unveil new McMorris Lodge in memory of late Boy Scout - Riverhead News Review (timesreview.com)

The question then becomes, admission of what guilt, exactly? BSA did not, organizationally, abuse children. BSA, thru it's bad decisions, (leaders are people?) allowed pedophiles to go on their merry way without the legal, criminal, consequences they deserved. The "Secret List" did not do what it was intended to do: protect the children. It didn't even protect the BSA. Merely removing BSA leaders from PoR (!) did not, ultimately, prevent them from going someplace else, and doing it again. In another Scout Troop, in another church Youth Ministry, to their nephew and niece. That is what BSA is guilty of. What is the saddest part of this is that most of the perpetrators are long gone, and THEY cannot be brought to take responsibility for their actions and help to "make the victims whole". The Class Action Suit(s) are taking their pound of flesh from the BSA, but how much , if any, can be got from the actual perpetrators?

It hits the same fan . . . Opinion | After a jaw-dropping abuse scandal, should the Boy Scouts survive? - The Washington Post "" It is notable that the alleged abuse spans the better part of a century: One claim was filed by an 8-year-old boy; another by a 93-year-old man. Most of the claims arose from cases alleged to have occurred decades ago.""

*sigh* Yes. The BSA slash ScoutsUSA is/are in a bad way. Caught for not dealing with sexual predators, it is (we are ) reaping that harvest. By making the membership requirement effectively "Be a breathing human being between the ages of .... " I think we (they) have done the right thing. By tightening up the YP requirements, I think they (we ) have done the right thing. By complicating things by ADDING to our Promise and Law with this alledged Merit Badge, and the Churchill study ,it is being claimed that the Scouting Movement CANNOT accept the membership changes and must therefore be REQUIRED to find and sign up "diverse" youth, or be ashamed of ourselves. The PR is faulty. What kid wants to be REQUIRED to accept the kid next door BECAUSE she/he is NOT like them? The average kid wants to play ball or quoits or Monopoly with the other kid next door because they live next door! It worked for me growing up. When I was Drum Major for my HS band, my Assistant/apprentice was a young black lady. So? It might have been a "thing", but no body to my knowledge (to my knowledge !) mentioned it. I don't think things have devolved so much in the intervening 47 (!!) years. My home Troop has some Hindu Scouts, and I know the Patrol does it's very best to accommodate their religious dietary requirements. Go find and see "The Muddy Lions" and "Troop 759 of Harlem". Scouting works because all kids like the camping and hiking. The adults almost always muck it up. You will never please every demographic. You will never sign up every kid in a school. You will never please every parent, not even the ones who insist that their urchin will make Eagle "or no drivers license." Our Muslim/Black/Hispanic/Serbo-Croatian neighbors need to know how Scouting can benefit their kids, but there is no guarantee that any of them will ever join up. Stay tuned for the further adventures of "Mr. Scoutmaster " (Clifton Webb) .