Chisos

1 hour ago, MikeS72 said:

 I did see that the link is specifically for the addressee and will not let you us it a second time, as it would not let my OA member scout respond.  I will have him monitor his email to see if it is being sent to any youth members.

My son and I both received it, but mine went to my spam folder (and his didn't).

59 minutes ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

Unfortunately, in these parts, the district or council proposal reviewers are asking for more "planning" details in the proposal phase than are needed, IMHO.

This is before they will green light the project (with a signature.)

 

It appears experiences are varied here...our local district rep who approves projects has really only been looking at "big picture"....is the scope reasonable, has the beneficiary signed off, how is "success" defined, stuff like that.

The "how many nuts and bolts' details (often literally!) don't need to be in the proposal.  If that's what's being asked for at the proposal stage it sounds exactly like what @PACAN was trying to avoid, (rightly so) and should be addressed through document or procedure revision.

We've had a few scouts in my troop complete projects in the past few months, and also ran into this question ("Is the Plan a required element of the Eagle Application...").  From how it's described it is kind of ambiguous.

I can see how using the Plan document can be taken as the documentation that the "planning" part of the Eagle project was done, but since projects are so diverse it may not be the best fit for all of them.   Maybe a revision along the lines of "A project plan must be completed after the proposal is approved and before work begins.  You may use the Project Plan document in the Eagle Project Workbook, or write your own plan using a similar level of detail."   At any rate, jumping straight from "big picture" proposal to working on the project is not a great idea...the scout should have something that shows they thought about the details before work began.

1 hour ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

From my youngest son,

HORRIBLE PAPERWORK.

 

You get a concurring opinion from my son who is working on his Eagle application.  

23 minutes ago, qwazse said:

I haven’t found the summary data for the pediatric EUA on FDA’s site, so I can’t comment aside to say that broad vaccination for kids under 16 are unlikely to be available until fall. It’s a really tough sell. If too many kids get sick from the vaccination (even if the number is quite small) it could trigger a backlash against the entire strategy. So the pandemic guys must tread carefully.

So, the CDC director said Pfizer/BioNTech for 12 and up might be approved as early as mid-May (though it's really the FDA's call):

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-pfizer-biontech-seek-u-172218004.html

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/cdc-director-rochelle-walensky-expects-schools-fully-open/story?id=76935219

Being able to vaccinate to age 12 before summer camp season would be a big deal, I think.

As the others have said, unless you troop is trying to do a "vintage look" or something, there's no issue with green loops on the ODR shirt.  I've got a mix of ODR and Centennial shirts and use green loops on them all.

What I find more impressive is that your shirt still fits...my youth shirt and Philmont belt shrank considerably when in storage in the "inactive years" between "Scout" and "Scouter"!

31 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

     1a  If in SE Louisiana, and a few other  places, DO NOT SCHEDULE YOUR DISTRICT BANQUET DURING CARNIVAL!!!!!!!! Yes I had a DE from outside of the area          adamant that the district banquet would be in March.  It was the weekend before Mardi Gras, and most folks were involved in the parades, so hardly anyone attended, or so I was told since I too was with my family at the parades.

 

This rule should be followed anywhere from Lake Charles to Pensacola!  And not just for District Banquets!

10 minutes ago, FireStone said:

Not my church, my CO, and they're asking all of our unit volunteers to sign it, which includes folks of other faiths.

So I guess in this CO, if you're not Catholic, either you can't volunteer or you can and just have th sign the form without really meaning it.

It's probably worth a discussion with the COR to see what they're really expecting.  Are they expecting all leaders to be practicing Catholics?  Or are they expecting that leaders won't go against church teaching in how they interact with youth?  It sounds like a similar expectation to teachers at Catholic schools...you (generally) don't have to be Catholic, but you agree to live/teach in a way the that reflects the beliefs of the church--or at least, not actively oppose them.

I'd concur with what most others have said.  For the Part C, I have the parents keep the original and give us a photocopy.  I've never had a camp say they required the original.

We keep one binder with all forms.  The whole thing goes on each event.  We used to pull out only the needed forms for an event, but that just created more confusion, especially if someone decided to attend last-minute (or not).  I keep them alphabetized by name so any given form is easy to find if needed.

I just saw a radar loop of your area.....bummer.

That's 2020 for you.

11 minutes ago, TAHAWK said:

Scotch made outside Scotland?

 

I think Mike Myers already addressed this, on Saturday Night Live.

And I thought this was going to be a discussion of the merits of Wall vs. Baker tents...

Seriously though...the college where I teach uses Canvas.  I'm knee deep in it right now getting ready for fall.  I could see how it might work for online MB's...the separate the requirements out as modules, allow for upload of documents/videos/etc. to verify completion, etc.

But, I agree with @The Latin Scot that it may be overkill.  I'm not sure what all is involved in the "back end" on setting it up, but from what I've heard from our IT and instructional design folks it does take quite a bit of legwork. 

56 minutes ago, Jackdaws said:

For the love of all things holy. Get rid of badge magic.

Preach!

My idea (FWIW):  One color shirt for all programs.  Shoulder loop colors designate program.  Pre-placed hook-and-loop (velcro) where rank and POR patches go; shirts come with a "blank".  All rank (Lion to Eagle) are the same oval shape.  Ranks and POR patches come with velcro backing in place.  This would facilitate "uniform closets", hand-me-downs, etc. as they could easily be corrected for the next scout who gets the shirt.  And facilitate getting the right patches on the shirt.  I guess more of them would get lost, though.

Make pants a unit choice, like with hats/caps.  If the unit wants jeans, wear jeans.  Or a different color cargo pants, or whatever the unit wants.

14 minutes ago, qwazse said:

As someone who spends a lot of time brokering in sensitivity and specificity, and having chatted with a neighbor who was likely a false negative .... the whole "scarlet lettering" with antibody tests is unnerving. Given the current known accuracy of such tests, this all but guarantees that each camp will have at least one positive scout.

 

I'd hope/expect the "test before you get here" is referring to a PCR / viral load test, not an antibody test.  (In theory) anyone who's had it and cleared it would have antibodies for a while, maybe permanently.

5 hours ago, dkurtenbach said:

With that, my nominee for sacred cow to be sacrificed is:  The notion that it is okay, or even desirable, for every unit to be different and have its own personality and operate in a way that "works best" for its members.

It is not the purpose of Scouting to create diverse units with different personalities; units are simply delivery systems.  What matters is whether each individual Scout is being given the growth opportunities the Scouting program is designed to provide.  No unit has the right to give a Scout an experience that is less than what is described in the official handbooks, leadership materials, training syllabi, and policy guides for each age level. The only way for BSA to retain existing members and attract new members is for each unit to strive to be closer and closer to the model.

I agree units should be delivering the program as written--scouts miss out (and quit) when that doesn't happen. But I do think there is room for units to have "personality"....or perhaps more of an emphasis on certain parts of the program (while not dropping/neglecting others).  So a Catholic unit might have more of a faith-based feel to it, one sponsored by the VFW might have a more patriotic feel, etc.

1 minute ago, RememberSchiff said:

I'm assuming this is the viral test and not an antibody test. Good luck getting either test if you have no symptoms and then a second verification if you test positive.

 

I think the test-within-a-week is a State of Georgia thing.  We were planning to attend Woodruff, and if it hadn't been called off, that would have been a requirement.

1 hour ago, MikeS72 said:

The only election procedure that is currently in place that I would consider changing would be to bring back the unit quota.  I am convinced that if we went back to making it a bit tougher to be elected it would mean more to those scouts when they do receive the honor, and they may be more inclined to be active members.

Agreed.  I don't think it would need to be super exclusive, but it should be meaningful.  But it would take recognition that getting elected in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th years of eligibility was normal, and that it's quite possible some scout who hoped to be elected wouldn't' be.

20 minutes ago, Mrjeff said:

.  Each candidate should be First Class, and the camping requirement should be enforced. I also think that there should be a requirement where the candidate should seek this membership and be recommended by their SM. 

In theory, it's already that way...SM's are supposed to approve all scouts on the ballot.  What I've seen in practice is that it's pro-forma...unless there's a real good reason, as long as the rank and camping nights are met, the scout is eligible.  I think your idea is good, though...but we'd also need councils/lodges/advisers that would back up a SM who told just-turned-First Class-last-week Billy that he's really not ready for OA yet, when Billy's mom/dad throw a fit about it because they want Billy to get the OA box checked.

It really ought to go back to a process where you can't vote for every eligible candidate...or limit the number nominated from a troop per year by troop size, (say, 1 can be elected for every 10 troop members), something like that.

10 hours ago, AltadenaCraig said:

Don't fetch your mourning armband just yet, @desertrat77, at least not for OA.

Every other youth program I've been associated with - Little League & AYSO - each had an All Star component.  Some All Star program will naturally accompany Scouting, in whatever form survives, to meet the needs of those who just can't get enough as well as serve as a beacon for others.  We need an All Star program, and for better or worse OA is ours.

I do believe there are Sacred Cows within the OA.  Any traditions that smack of "Cultural Appropriation" (dancing, regalia, etc.) even now are being hustled out the back door so fast they won't even get the dignified burial.  That doesn't mean all of OA has to be sacrificed, however.  The honor a scout finds in performing cheerful service to others is worth preserving.

If not direct Native American heritage, what else could serve as an alternative OA touchstone?  Returning to the All Star concept, combining its mission of Camping promotion with "minimalist" theme of leave-no-trace and what do you have?  Highly mobile backpackers devoted to Ultralight principles.  There's enough skills and equipment adjustments in Ultrilight to more than make up for the loss of beadwork, leggings, & chokers.  And its traditions still harken indirectly to Native American roots.

Retain cheerful service, break out the Ultralight handbook, and cancel the wake for the OA.

I could see something like that.  Aside from the cultural appropriation issue, I just don't see Native American theme resonating with youth today like it did 30, 40, 50 years ago.

The bigger issue is making it back to a real "All-Stars" Honor Society again...starting with changing the election process away from the current "vote for everyone if you want to" that has made getting in the OA just another checkoff box after 1st Class and 15 camping nights.

19 minutes ago, MikeS72 said:

We are told here that units may meet, based on CO approval.  In my troop's case, we may end up mid August before we are allowed back into the church for in person meetings.  Looking at the possibility of some troop outdoor meetings until then.

We've started doing some outdoor meeting/activities.  We probably won't want to start indoor meetings for a while but in the meantime we've been putting together some programming we can do outdoors and in smaller groups.

11 hours ago, Jameson76 said:

Rumor is Woodruff Scout Reservation for Atlanta Area Council will not operate this summer. 

Just received an email confirming this rumor.

27 minutes ago, Sentinel947 said:

This communication makes it seem like they've backed off eliminating programming for Adults 18-20. "Participants in Kindergarten through age 20." 

I'd expect (maybe?) the 18-20 year old participants would "wind down" over a couple of years, rather than just get cut off.  Like, currently registered Venturers/Sea Scouts/etc. (or, maybe those age 16+) could continue as program participants until age 21 but new registrants would 'age out" at age 18.

21 minutes ago, Cburkhardt said:

 Our CO loves the idea that we meet on Saturday mornings and do not sell popcorn (we use dues and fundraising receptions to raise our budget), but I don't know what my new BSA supervisors would think.  

This...especially the "do not sell popcorn" part.  (I'd expect that GSUSA leaders who say "we won't sell cookies" aren't leaders for much longer...)

25 minutes ago, desertrat77 said:

 

- Eagle:  agreed, let's can the administrative baloney.  When I reflect on the last several Eagle boards I've sat on, the candidates usually had little outdoor adventure experience to relate, and it was obvious that mom/dad dragged them through the project and filled out the notebook for them.  Some of them were absolutely clueless about their project without the SM and mom/dad in the room.  Let's refocus the Trail to Eagle as a rugged, outdoor leadership wherein the scout is leading and teaching other scouts.

- Webelos/AOL:  what a waste of time!  What was once a fun but useful 1-year prep for joining a troop has turned into a long, boring slog.  The parents care but they seem oblivious that their kids are bored silly by the whole thing.

Again, great list!

Agreed.  I've seen so many projects where it's about providing service instead of demonstrating leadership.  Not that there's a problem with service, but that's not the point.  Maybe tone down the emphasis on the project and ramp up something on outdoor leadership.  Maybe add a minimum number of camping nights.

As for Webelos/AOL...spin 4th/5th grade off to be less affiliated with the Pack.  They need to get away from the K to 3rd grade set.