Thank you.

ACLU staffer fumes at University for accepting Nick Sandmann [as a student], calls it a 'stain' on the school.

An American Civil Liberties Union official in Kentucky chastised Transylvania University over the weekend for accepting Nicholas Sandmann as a student, calling the move a "stain" on the institution.

Sandmann made headlines back in January 2019 when a Native American activist stood in front of the teen and began chanting in his face during a pro-life rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Sandmann, who was wearing a MAGA hat at the time and is a supporter of President Trump, held his ground and smiled at the man as he continued to talk in his face.

“Does anyone else think it’s a bit of a stain on Transylvania University for accepting Nick Sandman [sic]? I’m sure it’s a “both sides” defense, but it’s pretty counter to their mission and another instance of there not actually being equal sides to an issue,” ACLU’s Samuel Crankshaw said in a Facebook post, according to The National Review.

The comment has since been taken down.

Following the confrontation back in 2019, outlets such as CNN and The Washington Post were accused of purposely casting Sandmann -- and his fellow Covington Catholic students -- as the main aggressors with misleading reporting. Both outlets ultimately reached a legal settlement with Sandmann after he sued them in court for $250 million.

Sandmann made headlines back in January 2019 when a Native American activist stood in front of the teen and began chanting in his face during a pro-life rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Sandmann, who was wearing a MAGA hat at the time and is a supporter of President Trump, held his ground and smiled at the man as he continued to talk in his face.

 “Does anyone else think it’s a bit of a stain on Transylvania University for accepting Nick Sandman [sic]? I’m sure it’s a “both sides” defense, but it’s pretty counter to their mission and another instance of there not actually being equal sides to an issue,” ACLU’s Samuel Crankshaw said in a Facebook post, according to The National Review.

 The comment has since been taken down.

Following the confrontation back in 2019, outlets such as CNN and The Washington Post were accused of purposely casting Sandmann -- and his fellow Covington Catholic students -- as the main aggressors with misleading reporting. Both outlets ultimately reached a legal settlement with Sandmann after he sued them in court for $250 million.

The defamation suit sought damages for the "emotional distress Nicholas and his family suffered" in the fallout of the network's reporting -- and lawyers for Sandmann have said they will target other major outlets who reported on the story in the same way.

An assistant professor and diversity scholar at Transylvania Unversity, Avery Tompkins, shared a comment on the post before it was taken down, calling Sandmann's “public behavior and rhetoric atrocious and uninformed," adding that the young student must accept his [Thompson's class  lectures] ... as gospel, The National Review reported.

“We can’t not admit academically qualified students due to their political and personal views," he said. "If he ends up in my Intro class, fine. He might learn something that is actually based on research and evidence."

Tompkins added that Sandmann is part of groups that hold “anti-intellectualist views” and would see the professor "as part of some liberal brainwashing machine, but signing up for Transy and my class means he is required to learn that information, even if he disagrees.”

The professor continued: “If he were to cause problems by being disruptive, trolling, or engaging in unethical behavior of any kind, I would immediately document it (just like I would for any student doing the same thing)…and he would just be putting himself in a position for me to file a conduct report.”

Tompkins later issued an apology saying, “I want to apologize for my mistake in singling out a student and any misunderstandings that arose from that.”

“One of my favorite things about working at a liberal arts institution is that our community has diverse perspectives,” he continued. “All students, faculty and staff are able to engage in civil discourse with those whose views may be different from their own, and to learn about those views in an academic setting. I value and support these conversations with students, and I know that students value these conversations with their peers as well.”

The university said in a statement to National Review on Tuesday [September 9, 2020] that it would be reviewing the situation and that “Transylvania, like nearly every campus, is composed of those holding the full range of viewpoints.”

Note that the story does not identify the ACLU unit with which the anti-free-speech advocate is affiliated, merely that he is "in Kentucky."  Not does it say that the anti-free-speech advocate is authorized to speak for anyone other than himself.  It will be interesting to see if his posture is specifically disavowed by anyone at any ACLU unit.  I believe his position is squarely contrary to the national ACLU position:  https://www.aclu.org/other/freedom-expression-aclu-position-paper  But some local and state ACLU chapters are far away from the national organization regarding freedom to express any view they dislike.

The immediately previous President of Transylvania, Seamus  Carey, proposed in 2017, contrary to the national ACLU position, "passing a law" to make "hate speech a crime." He possibly was unaware of the the human right of free expression, protected by the First Amendment, and specifically held to protect "hate speech" by the federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States, Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969).  Carey also defunded the Transylvania U. school newspaper before leaving for Iona, where he quickly hired Rick Pitino as head basketball coach. Multiple scandals had resulted in Pitino's termination from the head coaching position  at NCAA powerhouse Louisville.  Pitino wins.  EDITORIAL CONTENT:  Hail victory!

4 hours ago, MattR said:

@TAHAWK and @Eagledad, you make some really good points, but I'm not trying to contradict them.

There are two ideas here. First, one of the reasons the adults glom onto eagle mills and advancement is because that's the biggest, shiniest thing around. It's well laid out and easy to follow. As Tahawk mentions, the patrol method is not very well described. So it's not seen and therefore ignored. Maybe it should be more visible. Second, one thing I like about the advancement model is that there are stages of development, or growth in Eagledad's terminology. It doesn't have to be check boxes. There is a notion that only eagle counts and I really dislike it. I'd much rather see all the ranks be more challenging and that First Class is a respectable place to stop at. Anyway, the idea of having some defined stages might really help. It might help the adults see that there's more to scouting than advancement.

So, while teaching of outdoor skills can be improved, the teaching of leadership skills can be improved even more. Related to this is teaching adult skills. In all of these I think having levels of skills to master would be much better than the one and done model promoted by BSA.

 

I always thought mastering teamwork was the first step to developing leadership. Having a new PL try and lead a patrol with little teamwork skills is just a recipe for frustration.
 

 

6 hours ago, yknot said:

I agree with you. I think difficulty in navigating the patrol method could be a possible reason why so many kids leave scouting within a year or two of crossing over. There is no road map on how to do it and most of the recent crossovers I've seen have been traumatic. The patrol method is based on the idea that scouts come into the program with some basic skills. However, it's pretty accepted that today's kids do not have the opportunities to develop the same kinds of interpersonal skills that are so necessary for the patrol method to work. My school district, for example, no longer assigns group projects because kids cannot handle conflict resolution and consensus building. Most kids today, and more importantly their parents, also do not accept peer leadership and yet it's a cornerstone of the patrol method.  Troops that have really excellent adult leadership who can model these behaviors and monitor appropriately from afar can do well with it but not every unit has those skills.

So I think looking at whether this a program area that could be given more structure might be really useful. 

 

Almost no Scouts are exposed to The Patrol Method from what I have seen here since 1981 or seen from out-of-council units at summer camps in seven states during that period.  And I looked, asked, and discussed what I saw and heard.  "Andy" agreed with this observation, as did the employee in change of training at National  in 2014. 

I have no idea why, for example, agreeing on a menu for a weekend campout should be "traumatic," especially with adults as teachers and coaches - unless the adults and the kids  are especially incompetent for some reason(s).  If the pancakes are burned, there is an opportunity for constructive evaluation - and nobody dies.

Adults in Scouting should be able to guide the Scouts with questions: "Will you be able to keep the hamburger from spoiling until Saturday dinner?"  The untrained may not know how to "lead" the leaders in this fashion.  But training has been deemphasized, at witness the steadily reduced time allocated.                    

The decline of interest in training at BSA is a good reason to expect poorer performance.  But BSA is inbred - a conversation largely internal and among the "deaf."  I have encountered three "professionals" in the last decade who could adequately explain The Patrol Method.  Our current Council SE certainly cannot - not remotely.  He found the entire notion of Scouting being patrol-centered very strange.  "Where did you get that idea?"  I sent him a statement, with historic and current sources, and never heard from him again - except when begging for $$$ or a change in my will to leave everything to Council.

Wood Badge does not devote five minutes to explaining The Patrol Method, saying it teaches " by example."  So BSA is using the "DGE"  approach to teaching?  HARDLY.  Wood Badge does not "guide" or  "enable" the trainee,  Instead, the remote authors of the Syllabus, through the  "ADULTS (Staff) exert near total control.   So much for 'EDGE" or Wood Badge teaching . The Patrol Method.  Perhaps only "Enable" is left - more like "You're on your own.".  Of course, good Staff may surpass the Syllabus - heresy in our council, where no sentence or word not in the Syllabus is to be uttered by Staff, even is response to a direct question. 

[From this point to end I copied and pasted into a new area as plain text (not rich text)]

Find this in Wood Badge: 

“nless the patrol method is in operation, you don’t really have a … Scout troop.” B.S.A., Scouting.org (citing Baden-Powell) (currently on line at Scouting.org, 09/08/20 https://scoutingmagazine.org/2014/12/help-youth-leaders-build-scout-led-troop/

 "Independent, Distinct and Autonomous Patrols
Patrols need to stand on their own. They need their own identity. This extends to every aspect of the program. When camping each patrol has their own area, their own food, their own leadership and their own program."

“ Scouting happens in the context of a patrol.” B.S.A., Scoutmaster Position Specific Training, (09/08/2020)

“Your … Scout troop is made up of patrols, with each patrol’s members sharing responsibility for the patrol’s success.”  B.S.A., The Boy Scout Handbook, 13th Ed. (2016) at  p. 25

HOW DOES ONE "KNOW" THAT SCOUTING DOES NOT "WORK" "THESE DAYS" WHEN ALMOST NO ONE HAS BEEN TRYING IT FOR DECADES?

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I ATTEMPT TO CREATE A "REPLY."   SEVERAL HOURS OF THIS SO FAR . AND I DID NOT UNDERLINE THESE WORDS EITHER.
[End of mod]

The Ministry of Truth in action: "Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past."

"Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov (Russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Ежо́в, tr. IPA, IPA: [nʲɪkɐˈɫaj jɪˈʐof]; 1 May 1895 – 4 February 1940) was a Soviet secret police official under Joseph Stalin who was head of the NKVD from 1936 to 1938, during the height of the Great Purge.

He presided over mass arrests and executions during the Great Purge. Yezhov eventually fell from Stalin's favor and power and was arrested and confessed to a range of anti-Soviet activity, later claiming he was tortured into confessing, and eventually executed in 1940 along with most others responsible for the Purge."

2 hours ago, yknot said:

I agree with you. I think difficulty in navigating the patrol method could be a possible reason why so many kids leave scouting within a year or two of crossing over. There is no road map on how to do it and most of the recent crossovers I've seen have been traumatic. The patrol method is based on the idea that scouts come into the program with some basic skills. However, it's pretty accepted that today's kids do not have the opportunities to develop the same kinds of interpersonal skills that are so necessary for the patrol method to work. My school district, for example, no longer assigns group projects because kids cannot handle conflict resolution and consensus building. Most kids today, and more importantly their parents, also do not accept peer leadership and yet it's a cornerstone of the patrol method.  Troops that have really excellent adult leadership who can model these behaviors and monitor appropriately from afar can do well with it but not every unit has those skills.

So I think looking at whether this a program area that could be given more structure might be really useful. 

 

Almost no Scouts are exposed to The Patrol Method from what I have seen here since 1981 or seen from out-of-council units at summer camps in seven states during that period.  And I looked, asked, and discussed what I saw and heard.  "Andy" agreed with this observation, as did the employee in change of training at National  in 2014. 

I have no idea why, for example, agreeing on a menu for a weekend campout should be "traumatic," especially with adults as teachers and coaches - unless the adults and the kids  are especially incompetent for some reason(s).  If the pancakes are burned, there is an opportunity for constructive evaluation - and nobody dies.

Adults in Scouting should be able to guide the Scouts with questions: "Will you be able to keep the hamburger from spoiling until Saturday dinner?"  The untrained may not know how to "lead" the leaders in this fashion.  But training has been deemphasized, as witness the steadily reduced time allocated.                    

The decline of interest in training at BSA is a good reason to expect poorer performance.  But BSA is inbred - a conversation largely internal and among the "deaf."  I have encountered three "professionals" in the last decade who could adequately explain The Patrol Method.  Our current Council SE certainly cannot - not remotely.  He found the entire notion of Scouting being patrol-centered very strange.  "Where did you get that idea?"  I sent him a statement, with historic and current sources, and never heard from him again - except when begging for $$$ or a change in my will to leave everything to Council.

Wood Badge does not devote five minutes to explaining The Patrol Method, saying it teaches " by example."  So BSA is using the "DGE"  approach to teaching?  HARDLY.  Wood Badge does not "guide" or  "enable" the trainee,  Instead, the remote authors of the Syllabus, through the  "ADULTS" (Staff) exert near total control.   So much for 'EDGE" or Wood Badge teaching  The Patrol Method.  Perhaps only "Enable" is left - more like "You're on your own.".  Of course, good Staff may surpass the Syllabus - heresy in our council, where no sentence or word not in the Syllabus is to be uttered by Staff, even in response to a direct question. 

Find this in Wood Badge:  [underlining by site software]

“Unless the patrol method is in operation, you don’t really have a … Scout troop.” B.S.A., Scouting.org (citing Baden-Powell) (currently on line at Scouting.org, 09/08/20 https://scoutingmagazine.org/2014/12/help-youth-leaders-build-scout-led-troop/

 "Independent, Distinct and Autonomous Patrols
Patrols need to stand on their own. They need their own identity. This extends to every aspect of the program. When camping each patrol has their own area, their own food, their own leadership and their own program."

“ Scouting happens in the context of a patrol.” B.S.A., Scoutmaster Position Specific Training, (09/08/2020)

“Your … Scout troop is made up of patrols, with each patrol’s members sharing responsibility for the patrol’s success.”  B.S.A., The Boy Scout Handbook, 13^th Ed. (2016) at  p. 25

HOW DOES ONE "KNOW" THAT SCOUTING DOES NOT "WORK" "THESE DAYS" WHEN ALMOST NO ONE HAS BEEN TRYING IT FOR DECADES?

1 hour ago, yknot said:

I agree with you. I think difficulty in navigating the patrol method could be a possible reason why so many kids leave scouting within a year or two of crossing over. There is no road map on how to do it and most of the recent crossovers I've seen have been traumatic. The patrol method is based on the idea that scouts come into the program with some basic skills. However, it's pretty accepted that today's kids do not have the opportunities to develop the same kinds of interpersonal skills that are so necessary for the patrol method to work. My school district, for example, no longer assigns group projects because kids cannot handle conflict resolution and consensus building. Most kids today, and more importantly their parents, also do not accept peer leadership and yet it's a cornerstone of the patrol method.  Troops that have really excellent adult leadership who can model these behaviors and monitor appropriately from afar can do well with it but not every unit has those skills.

So I think looking at whether this a program area that could be given more structure might be really useful. 

 

Almost no Scouts are exposed to The Patrol Method from what I have seen here since 1981 or seen from out-of-council units at summer camps in seven states during that period.  And I looked, asked, and discussed what I saw and heard.  "Andy" agreed with this observation, as did the employee in change of training at National  in 2014. 

I have no idea why, for example, agreeing on a menu for a weekend campout should be "traumatic," especially with adults as teachers and coaches - unless the adults and the kids  are especially incompetent for some reason(s).  If the pancakes are burned, there is an opportunity for constructive evaluation - and nobody dies.

Adults in Scouting should be able to guide the Scouts with questions: "Will you be able to keep the hamburger from spoiling until Saturday dinner?"  The untrained may not know how to "lead" the leaders in this fashion.  But training has been deemphasized, at witness the steadily reduced time allocated.                    

The decline of interest in training at BSA is a good reason to expect poorer performance.  But BSA is inbred - a conversation largely internal and among the "deaf."  I have encountered three "professionals" in the last decade who could adequately explain The Patrol Method.  Our current Council SE certainly cannot - not remotely.  He found the entire notion of Scouting being patrol-centered very strange.  "Where did you get that idea?"  I sent him a statement, with historic and current sources, and never heard from him again - except when begging for $$$ or a change in my will to leave everything to Council.

Wood Badge does not devote five minutes to explaining The Patrol Method, saying it teaches " by example."  So BSA is using the "DGE"  approach to teaching?  HARDLY.  Wood Badge does not "guide" or  "enable" the trainee,  Instead, the remote authors of the Syllabus, through the  "ADULTS (Staff) exert near total control.   So much for 'EDGE" or Wood Badge teaching . The Patrol Method.  Perhaps only "Enable" is left - more like "You're on your own.".  Of course, good Staff may surpass the Syllabus - heresy in our council, where no sentence or word not in the Syllabus is to be uttered by Staff, even is response to a direct question. 

Find this in Wood Badge: 

“nless the patrol method is in operation, you don’t really have a … Scout troop.” B.S.A., Scouting.org (citing Baden-Powell) (currently on line at Scouting.org, 09/08/20 https://scoutingmagazine.org/2014/12/help-youth-leaders-build-scout-led-troop/

 "Independent, Distinct and Autonomous Patrols
Patrols need to stand on their own. They need their own identity. This extends to every aspect of the program. When camping each patrol has their own area, their own food, their own leadership and their own program."

“ Scouting happens in the context of a patrol.” B.S.A., Scoutmaster Position Specific Training, (09/08/2020)

“Your … Scout troop is made up of patrols, with each patrol’s members sharing responsibility for the patrol’s success.”  B.S.A., The Boy Scout Handbook, 13^th Ed. (2016) at  p. 25

HOW DOES ONE "KNOW" THAT SCOUTING DOES NOT "WORK" "THESE DAYS" WHEN ALMOST NO ONE HAS BEEN TRYING IT FOR DECADES?

45 minutes ago, MattR said:

"While I agree, I'm starting to think there's more to it."

Please share.  i thought either they don't know what it is or don't think it is important any more, as they wrote off the outdoor Program in 1971.  What possibilities am I missing?

45 minutes ago, MattR said:

Is it possible they're so hands on because the advancement side of the program is so well defined? There are requirements and stages and a sequence that is clearly described in the scout handbook that explains how to develop an eagle scout. It's easy for the adults to follow that, so they do. It becomes the program because there's nothing else described. There is no such program for developing an independent patrol. No equivalent to tenderfoot through eagle for a patrol or a troop. There is a vague description of patrol method but even if it were given to everyone it certainly doesn't have a 3 to 5 year sequence of more challenging levels to conquer. No requirements for improving teamwork like there is for sharpening a knife. No requirements to organize so many events as a patrol like there are requirements for numbers of nights camping for a merit badge. There's a lot of bling for skill advancement and barely anything for patrol advancement.

I think that's the type of idea that a troop could just do on their own. It would be interesting to see what it might look like, though.

The advancement rules are pretty clear, and systematically ignored. 

 I have repeatedly heard Scouts sharing insights into who is the easiest merit badge counselor for a given badge.  Not especially  great  "preparation for  life."

Could be kids stay around at mills  to get "Eagle" on their resume, even if not earned (a good  moral lesson?).  Also advancement has been accepted by "professionals" as a measurement of success, especially to show their bosses, although advancement is a tool and not an objective. 

The scouts of Mr. Watkins, mentioned above, had confidence because they were able to solve problems, rather than have someone else do it for them.  That was something I hoped to accomplish as well. 

In contrast, the Scoutmaster of the Year averaged 4.5 Eagles given out, but they had little to no outdoor skills and  almost no experience in leadership/problem-solving/responsibility - at least in a Scouting context.   

I worked with a near- Eagle Crew Leader at Philmont  twenty years ago who received Eagle within a couple of months of returning.  He was, beyond doubt, the most helpless of the ten Scouts in the crew and had been appointed to his position by the Crew Advisor on the basis of Rank and age.  He cried almost every day - sometimes more than once.  But Mom, the Committee Chair, made sure he got Eagle - even bribing kids with expensive video games to vote him in as Patrol Leader for his POR.  I am sure should would have not discussed "trustworthy" at all, being an "adult."  One of my Life Accomplishments was getting him up the switchbacks to Urraca Mesa. Talk about one step at a time.

Our former SPL was at Columbia on 9/11 and organized 1900+ students to make and deliver food, beverages, and wet towels to responders  at Ground Zero.  He called a meeting of all interested in helping.   He had them form themselves into "teams" of eight and had them elect their Team Leader.  Five "teams" were a "League."  The League elected a "Commissioner." Team Leaders consulted with their team, and then with  their League Commissioner.  The League Commissioners represented their Teams at the meeting of League Commissioners, who were a committee to  agree on the overall plan.  Where could he have learned such stuff?  (He had been  elected "Permanent SPL" of his NYLT Course four years previously.  Not an average kid. (He has two Phds now. )  But I'll bet there are man young people out there who, given the training, counsel, and opportunity, could have done something along those lines.

"patrol advancment" = ?   Not a term I have see before.  

WASHINGTON – The National Park Service (NPS) today announced 330,882,751 recreation visits in 2017 – almost identical to the record-setting 330,971,689 recreation visits in 2016. While numbers were steady, visitors actually spent more time in parks during their 2017 visits compared to 2016.

Increased attendance at parks, 1.5 billion visits in the last five years, also means aging park facilities are incurring further wear and tear. President Trump has proposed legislation to establish a Public Lands Infrastructure Fund that would help address the $11.6 billion maintenance backlog in the National Park System. The fund would take new revenue from federal energy leasing and development and provide up to $18 billion to help pay for repairs and improvements in national parks, national wildlife refuges and Bureau of Indian Education funded schools.

“Our National Parks are being loved to death," said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. "As visitor rates continue at a high level, we must prioritize much-needed deferred maintenance including aging facilities, roads and other critical infrastructure. President Trump's proposal to establish a Public Lands Infrastructure Fund is a step in the right direction. This is not a Republican or Democrat issue, this is an American issue, and the President and I remain ready to work with anyone in Congress who is willing to get the job done.”

National Park System 2017 visitation highlights include:

• More than 1.44 billion recreation hours in 2017, an increase of 19 million hours over 2016
• Most – 385 of 417 parks in the National Park System – count park visitors
• 61 of the 385 reporting parks set new visitation records (about 16 percent of reporting parks)
• 42 parks broke a record they set in 2016
• 3 parks had more than 10 million recreation visits – Blue Ridge Parkway, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• 10 parks had more than 5 million recreation visits
• 81 parks had more than 1 million recreation visits – one more million-visitor park than 2016
• Half of national park visitation occurred in 27 parks
• The total solar eclipse last August brought visitors in record numbers to several parks

Parks that passed notable recreational visit milestones for the first time:

• Grand Canyon National Park 6 million
• Zion National Park 4.5 million
• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area 4 million
• Boston National Historical Park 3 million
• Glacier National Park 3 million
• Bryce Canyon National Park 2.5 million
• Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park 2.5 million
• Big Bend National Park 400,000
• Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve 400,000
• Mississippi National Recreation and River Area 400,000
• Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site 200,000
• Congaree National Park 150,000
• Great Basin National Park 150,000
• Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site 150,000
• Monocacy National Battlefield 100,000
• Waco Mammoth National Monument 100,000
• Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument 75,000
• Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park 75,000
• James A. Garfield National Historic Site 50,000
• National Park of American Samoa 50,000
• Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site 50,000
• Agate Fossil Beds National Monument 30,000
• Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument 30,000
• Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve 30,000

The Topic Drift Police may arrive directly.

Yes, more could be done than what BSA effectively advocates by misstatements and omissions, but not easily.

All the good words about Scouting methods are still  there - scattered about - if one knows what they mean taken together.  However,  decades have passed since they were combined in any coherent message - no chapter, no article, no check-list.  And the descriptions of methods are routinely contradicted by BSA statements by the unknowing "professionals":  "Patrols are one component of what we call youth-run, or youth-led, troop."   No, in Scouting, the youth-run troop is a component of the Patrol Method, and not the most important component at that.

BSA, as a bureaucracy, has done almost nothing  in decades to encourage use of The Patrol Method and nothing to discourage ignoring that method. Conclusion: ignorance or lack of interest. 

My first "roundtable" when I again became a Scoutmaster was a council affair.  My DE, whom I had just met, saw me talking to a west-side SM, a Mr. Watkins, now deceased,  and took me aside to warn:  "Be careful of listening to him.  He lets his boys elect their leaders."  Those few words told me much about the changes in BSA Scouting since 1967,  about my new (soon to be gone) DE (Who did not know I already  had six  times as many years in Scouting as he did.), and about Mr. Watkins, my neighbor at Summer Camp a few months later (His kids really knew their stuff!).

The newer adults - say who came on board in  the last twenty years - have no  reason to know what The Patrol Method is.  Reread the BSA Quote above, please.  Recall that for almost fifteen years, starting in 2000, Scoutmaster Specific Training, as set out in the syllabus section "Working with Youth, The patrol method", did not devote a single sentence to The Patrol Method.  In fact that section only used the word "patrol" once.  (It is somewhat better since, but the National Scouter responsible for the 2014 partial corrections did not get what he wanted in terms of change and was promoted out of that job.  He made people nervous.  He required his reportees to communicate with  mere volunteers!!!)

Basic youth leader training on the district level ("J.L.O.W.") was eliminated when  "Leadership Skills" and outdoor skills instruction left Wood Badge, nearly twenty years ago.  Thereafter, the new Scoutmaster, whose own SM [average tenure < 1 year] was likely mostly clueless, has only his experience and no coherent literature to help guide him, unless he has access to BSA literature from before 1971.  He is slightly urged to teach "Leadership Skills for Troops" when what is needed is "Leadership Skills for Patrol Leaders.  The old district training began  "Welcome to Scouting's Toughest Job," speaking of the Patrol Leader (now "patrol leader" vs  "Senior Patrol Leader.")  11/12th of the time in this long-gone training was about the PL's job.   

The BSA model Troop Meeting Plan (none for patrol meetings)  since at least 1983 models devoting 75 minutes to troop activities and 15 minutes to the patrol .  "Troop," "troop," "troop. "

BSA has urged on its website that  the "bulk" of a patrol meeting should be devoted to planning - a dismal failure to understand youth and a downgrading of the importance of the patrol.

Skills instruction is to primarily take place in a patrol context, not a troop context as incorrectly shown on the BSA model Troop Meeting Plan..  Skills instruction in a troop context takes place "sometimes" ("[The patrol is] the place where boys learn skills together. . . . ”       B.S.A. Scoutingmagazine.org., (currently posted); Patrols will sometimes join with other patrols to learn skills and complete advancement requirements.”   B.S.A., Scouting.org (2019)[emphasis added])

The typical Scoutmaster in this century, and I taught them on the district, council, and area levels for over thirty years, thinks in terms of the "troop method," as do so many of the young folks at BSA : Troops are "divided into patrols," rather than patrols combined into troops for administrative and support purposes.  Patrols "may" have their own activities, but only if they do not conflict with the far less important troop activities.  

As of 35 years ago, the vast majority of Scoutmasters in my current council appointed all Patrol Leaders and SPLs.  Why?  "The boys will almost  always pick the wrong Scout, based on popularity." 

The Journey to Mediocrity program does not require in any measurable way more than merely "having" "patrols."  They need not function in any way as patrols under The Patrol Method - for example they need plan nothing, they need have zero separate activities of any kind, Scouts need not lead anything, no leaders need be elected.  And this is a "primary tool" to track unit improvement. 0___0

A BSA goal - now a separate goal - is leadership development.  It is generally understood that this goal requires allowing Scouts to actually lead, however stressful.  The adults' role is not to lead but to train, coach, and be a resource or pathways to resources.  Every time an adult takes the "ball" from the Scout and toes the "rubber" to "pitch," they are defeating a important goal of the program.  Scouting, the magazine, said a few years ago, that youth leadership should await the youth becoming competent leaders, showing, once again, how clueless "professionals" can be.  The first requirement of leadership development is allowing the putative leaders to lead.  Yet unit after unit, with BSA encouragement, says its goal is youth leading - if they can just find the right circumstances.  And the years pass.

BSA says it prohibits the advancement mills, enforces nothing, and gives recognition to successful millery.  But, BSA, says many things it honors in the breach.

My former council - divided and rolled into two others three years ago - made a Scoutmaster "Scoutmaster of the Year" despite the troop having only two weekend campouts a year - one a electronics game "lock in" and one a stay in cabins with meals at MacDonald's and Burger King.  The Journey to Mediocrity program counts indoor meetings as "weekend campouts." (Shockingly, This honored Scoutmaster's Patrol Leaders, who wore no patrol medallions,  could not tell me the names of the respective patrols of which they were theoretically the "leaders."  That troop's patrols did absolutely nothing as patrols - even games were "ones" vs "twos.")

So The Patrol Method is largely dead, the outdoor program made some sort of sick joke by "outdoor" being defined as indoor, and advancement scandals are regularly tolerated.

Even in a decentralized program, leadership at the national and local levels is important.  The "tougher" the times, the more inept leadership hurts.

Avoiding the "gay issue," the co-ed "issue," the LDS "issue," and the Black Lives Matter Issue:

Was deemphasis of the outdoor program beneficial for BSA?  For Scouting?

Was deemphasis on the Patrol Method and creation of the "troop method" ("Patrols are one component of what we call youth-run, or youth-led, troop." https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/18-110.pdf  02/20/19 (updated March 2006)  beneficial for BSA?  For Scouting?

Was toleration of advancement mills beneficial for BSA?  For Scouting?

Change is inevitable.  Change is not necessarily improvement, even when the change is returning to what previously worked.

On one site, the advocates of ACAB and "send the monkeys back" exchanged "pleasantries" at length.  It was like watching drunks in a fist fight in the street.   I suppose catharsis has some value - for some.

"this"?  

FROM THE BSA BOOK-OF-THE -MONTH CLUB SELECTION FOR SCIENCE FICTION:

"5. If a commercial product is to be sold, will it be sold on its own merits and without reference to the needs of Scouting?

All commercial products must sell on their own merits, not the benefit received by the Boy Scouts of America. The principle of value received is critical in choosing what to sell."

BSA February 2, 2017

Like most, I am limited by my experience.  I saw a good deal of name-calling and raw hate, not to mention "spin."

Having this forum go the way of the "comments" section of on-line "news" site would be sad.

The Council COULD cause the SM and/or the troop to lose registration.  That is considerable power.  In theory.  But it would negatively impact revenue.

Ohio has the death penalty, but has not actually enforced it in fifty-seven years.  Theory vs. reality.

Politely, give the Chartering organization a reasonable time under the circumstances to  cause the SM to follow the rules.  If that fails, find another troop that follows the rules if one exists. 

Neither BSA nor the council is at all likely to do anything, regardless of the Scout Law.  See Eric Hoffer - the three stages of a great cause.

I will await the decision of the moderators.

I found many "rain" pictures for a slide show eight years ago, but they all seem to have been removed.  Could be the Photobucket fiasco. 

So here's one for the memories.

I will await the decision of the moderators.

"A California district attorney is requiring her prosecutors to consider looters’ “needs” when weighing criminal charges against them. The new mandate, set forth by Contra Costa County District Attorney Diane Becton, makes it tougher to prosecute looting cases in the county....I

Investigators must now consider “was this theft offense substantially motivated by the state of emergency, or simply a theft offense which occurred contemporaneously to the declared state of emergency?,” according to the policy reported by local outlet East County Today.
 

In making that determination, they must also consider five other factors, including “was the theft committed for financial gain or personal need?”

The new policy comes amid the swell of protests, looting and riots in the wake of police-involved shootings of black people across the country.

Becton, a 22-year judge in Contra Costa County who was elected DA in 2017, is the county’s first female and African American to serve as the county’s chief law enforcement officer.

Her new policy drew strong rebukes from Antioch, [California] Mayor Sean Wright and the president of the Antioch police union."

This is the straight Chicago BLM Party Line espoused by its spokeswoman last week - recognition of a fundamental right to steal.  BSA?  BSA?  BSA?  Position?

"The U.S. Marshals Service recovered [39] ...  missing children in Ohio in a two-week stretch as part of an ongoing operation....

'Over the weekend U.S. Marshals rescued dozens of missing children across Ohio, many of whom were being trafficked.' Gov. Mike DeWine said during a Tuesday news conference.

'Operation Safety Net' is still in its first two weeks and is ongoing, according to the Marshals Service. It's being carried out in conjunction with local law enforcement agencies around northern Ohio."

BLM: "Defund the police."

I will never feel what it is like to be a Black person in America -  or Asian, Indian , Irish, Appalachian, Jew,  Hindu,  Romani, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness,  Catholic, or Gay.  I have tried to learn as well as I can from friends, co-workers, roommates, and fellow Scouts and Scouters, some of whom fall into each of these categories.  I did my thesis on right-wing groups, most of which hate anyone different and positively yearn for race war.  

Like the ACLU, to which I once belonged,  and like most "media" outlets, BLM is a fundamentally political organization.  It takes positions on political issues.  Its leaders endorse political candidates.  It claims racism is "systemic" and demands changes in our system of government, including Black "sovereignty,"  on pain of violence and looting. 

"Black Lives Matter" has a clear "secondary meaning" - a meaning said by BLM to be inconsistent with "All Lives Matter."  BSA can ignore its Bylaws and implicitly endorse whatever political movement that they chose. BSA is a private entity.    BSA can take any "position" for  itself that it desires.   As an NAACP member before most of the BSA bureaucrats were alive, what BSA cannot do is speak for me.

An entertainer, Bob Gibson, recently spoke regarding racial relations in the U.S. He said said "[P]eople haven't done enough to combat racism since his playing days."  Others agree that more should be done.  I do.

Then he said,  "[N]othing has changed. Period."    No one in the MSM called him on that last, utter absurdity, and, indeed, other sports entertainers have agreed to one extent or another.  Former President Obama must be hurt to be forgotten in less than four years.      Most here can add other names to that list.  Apparently their Black lives did not , and do not,  "matter" to today's "woke."   Apparently, all the courage, work, suffering and death that went on for generations does not "matter" to these "activists."  It was "nothing" compared to what they threaten to "accomplish."  Such narcissism.

Suggesting that law enforcement officers, as a category, should somehow be killed at birth and  cooked "like bacon" is the same hate that drives other forms of prejudice - and is  ironically National Socialist in tone.   National Socialists also wanted their target category dead before or at birth or, otherwise,  ASAP, and literally burned them like "bacon."  Anyone thinking that the solution for hate is greater hate and creating greater fear is nuts.  Hate breeds hate.  Violence breeds violence.   Ask history how  hate as a policy worked out for the National Socialist German Workers' Party.

I'll soon be dead, having outlived Boy Scouting and the Democratic Party that I joined in 1960.  I had hoped to see Boy Scouting and a healthy nation survive me.  Silly old codger.

Green Bay Wisconsin.  09/01/2020.

Out on a $10,00 bond for pointing a loaded rifle at a policeman and two counts of battery of a policeman (biting and kicking) at a "demonstration" a month or so ago, ANTIFA "Commander Red" ( Matthew  Banta, a  23-year-old from Neenah, about 40 miles south of Green Bay)  was released this time on a $2,500 bond on multiple counts, including  two felony violations of the terms of his previous bail, which the Court failed to revoke.  He was  carrying a loaded flame thrower to a "demonstration," as well as possessing smoke bombs and commercial fireworks.  Say "crowd"  "flamethrower," and "demonstration."    Others in the group were carrying shields and baseball bats to their "demonstration."

The group ran when cops arrived – but police caught up to them.

A responding officer said as they caught up to Banta, he "dropped into the fetal position and began crying," WBAY reported.

Banta had "military grade 5 minute" smoke grenades,a flamethrower, and firework rockets in his bag, the complaint said.

He also allegedly was found with Antifa stickers.

“Matthew stated that he was going to the protest, but denied that he was trying to incite a riot," the complaint said, as reported by WULK.

The complaint added: "Matthew also denied knowing that the protest was declared an unlawful assembly.”