EmberMike

What's your evidence that the majority of BSA members are opposed to girl members? Or is it just your opinion, and so you assume that's a universally accepted point of view... So because other options exist, BSA going co-ed leads to the demise of BSA? I don't follow your logic. Why do the other groups even matter if it's your view that allowing girls in at all is so detrimental to the program?

Just want to see if I've got this right... The SM is running a troop that has a lapsed charter, and he refuses to do anything about it (fix the problem or communicate with district at all). He also holds a grudge against you, and seemingly with any other troop around, and that causes concern about transferring the boy elsewhere. Is this all correct? If so, this seems like a council issue to me. Unless the troop can resolve the charter issue or recharter soon, and then fairly quickly set up a new EBOR (assuming the 1st is indeed invalid because of when it took place). This kid shouldn't be

There are multiple scouting organizations in the US today. So in this regard, what the charter set out to do isn't really even in effect anymore.

They want to tear down something that they want to join? I don't think that's their motivation.

Why wouldn't it be the same if the requirements are the same? The name doesn't have to change, either. It's still "Eagle Scout".

I don't think they'll care much. The GSUSA program is pretty different from the BSA program, hence the frequent resistance to the idea that the programs are actually similar and there should be no need for girls to want to join boy scouts or vice versa. The reality is the programs are quite different, and many families will still want the GSUSA program. I would guess that GSUSA knows this and is confident in what they offer. And that it won't hurt them if the BSA opens the doors to girls. I don't think GSUSA would see much impact initially. There will be a number of girls who jump sh

You know, you're ruining my vision of do-si-dos being a small, baked gift handed down to man directly from God, delivered to earth on a glorious chariot flanked by angels.

The Baden-Powell Service Association has a Chipmunk program, comparable to the Lion program in BSA. It's unofficial in BPSA, so parents often create their own methods and structure. They even created an unofficial Chipmunk handbook. They use a Chipmunk patch that is actually a BSA Patrol patch. So if you want a lion patch, maybe look for an existing BSA Lion Patrol patch that you can get for the kids.

She's a dirty liar. The do-si-do is the best cookie they sell. Bland and unoriginal? Blasphemy!

I'm part of "the left", and I wouldn't say that. I don't think you understand what "the left" wants in terms of gun control. We already have gun control, too, so I don't quite understand your statement about "if we had gun co".

Maybe there should be a square knot for some of these other eagle-equivalent ranks. We've got that new Scouting Service Award square knot that is used to recognize several awards into this one square knot. There could be a square knot for international rank recognition, listing approved ranks/programs that the award would cover.

This isn't the whole answer, but maybe part of it: I've heard it said that scouting should not be presented like school subjects. Entirely the opposite whenever possible, in fact. If a leader finds themselves running a unit like a classroom, they need to stop what they're doing and reassess their methods. I saw a video recently that showed how to make a faux campfire ring for indoor use at den meetings. It had small rocks glued around a wooden circle with holes for tea light candles. To me, that's the classroom version of scouting. Often parents try to adapt outdoor ideas to indoor us

That's not a bad idea, taking a break. Or waiting a year or two to join. Technically a kid really only needs one year (or less) in a pack to earn AOL. Maybe two years in cub scouts really is plenty for many kids.

I've been wondering that as well. Actually I have no doubt it's a promotional event to some extent. I just wonder if it's more promotional than I previously believed. Four uniforms says to me that they're nitpicking every detail of this thing. It has to be more about presentation than anything else. Kids don't really need more than 2. I never had more than one uniform shirt as a kid and kept it presentable through a week of summer camp every year. Didn't get a 2nd uniform until I was an adult.

Guess my council was going off-script back then. I joined in 1st grade and my brother signed up at the same time, when he was in Kindergarten. He was a Tiger, didn't wear a blue uniform shirt, just a simple orange Tiger Scout shirt and orange hat.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong... isn't Lions really just going back to how things were a couple decades ago? In my area, Tigers used to be Kindergarten age.

Reviving an oldie here, hope no one minds... Got a question that comes to mind after reading through this thread: Why do so many councils bundle the Jamboree with other tours and/or activities? With all of the hyped up adventure you see in the Jambo promo videos, one would think that a week at Summit should be more than enough fun. I think I know what the answer is. I'm just hoping maybe someone can give me hope that it's somehow worth it without the added tours.

When I was a kid, I don't think a parent ever came to camp, and during the week of summer camp the rule was one phone call per kid. Which was also sort of a logistic thing because this was pre-cellphone age and we had to hike it up to the camp office and use a pay phone. But it was also to prevent parents from talking to their kids every day. Most of the time, only first-year campers ever wanted to make the hike up to the pay phone. At a recent Webelo/Troop campout, the scouts all went off to do something in the woods. One of the Webelo dads started putting on his coat and we knew where h

It's bug juice if it were made from 100% locally-raised organic fresh-squeezed cage-free bugs.

Inspired by this topic, I spent some time over the weekend looking up various co-ed camp programs. I know, they're not entirely comparable to BSA summer camp, but I was just interested in finding out how common gender-specific camps are and what (if any) argument they gave for being restrictive in terms of gender. First thing that hit me is how much of a bargain BSA summer camp is compared to private camps. Holy moly, $1,600 or more per week?? Wow... Anyway, as it relates to gender, I have to admit I was a bit swayed in my thinking about the benefits of gender-segregated camping. You

By that standard (leaving school stuff to the schools, outdoor focus) we should dump a huge chunk of the program as it is today. Drop all of the Citizenship stuff, Personal Management, Family Life, art, science, etc. I'm not a fan of some of that stuff. I've said it myself over the years that I wish scouts were doing a little less repetition of school subjects, and that it drives me nuts when kids are sitting in a dining hall doing citizenship requirements while there's a whole forest to explore just 30 yards from where they're sitting. That said, I wouldn't take much of it out of th

I'm going to assume that Noah knows he can seek advice from whoever he wants during the course of the project. What I'm guessing may be the more troubling part of this is that without the permission of the pastor, he might not be able to recognize Mrs. P. as the official mentor and give her the pin at the ECOH. In a way it's almost more problematic to seek her advice but to then not be able to recognizer her for the effort. I'm sure that she, as a dedicated scouter and long-time mentor to other Eagle candidates, wouldn't mind not being recognized. She sounds like the kind of person who do

I've often been surprised how many units don't have much or any online presence. Or one that was created half a decade ago and never updated. To me it's the most necessary recruiting tool today, with so many parents turning first to the Internet to find information about activities and organizations for their kids. Especially parents new to scouting, who don't know where to look if their kid doesn't happen to come home from school with a flyer. A decent website and/or Facebook page can make it so much easier for a parent to find out about local scout groups and make a quick decision a

It's less of a guess knowing that local council investigated and confirmed rank, which in turn confirms a lot of what has been said throughout this discussion.

My guess is that the dysfunctional leadership of that troop felt the need to address a perceived problem with the scouts by creating their demerit system, when the real problem was likely a leadership deficiency all along.