DuctTape

And many others believe (and live) differently according to their faith.

But that is only your belief based on your interpretation of your religious text for your god. Many many others have different religious beliefs based on their own. You believe you are right, else you would believe differently; but it is still a belief as is mine which differs greatly from yours. The BSA and the USA allow us both to keep our own beliefs.

Barry, we agree more than we disagree. In general I think where we do diverge, it is in minor details for the most part. Even with topics where it may appear we have fundamental differences, I think if we dove deep into the actual details, we would have much agreement. Please take my above statement, and all previous ones in the best possible scouting spirit.

The main thrust of BP's "practical religion" was not that by being religious one is a Scout, but instead when one is a Scout through their actions they are practicing their religion. I think the DRP and many who tout the need for a specific religion or god miss this nuance. I do not expect all to agree with me though and that is ok as I am a progressive and I do not expect everyone to believe as I do.

Looking at the arithmetic mean in a vacuum often ignores the bigger picture. Looking at quartiles instead would be a start. Even better would be to investigate further into the realities. Such as the number of Eagles who were "inactive" for a time period before finishing on their 18th b-day and for how long. Just taking the mean answers the question of the average, but if one desires to make a valid conclusion beyond the mere age, much more information is necessary.

The "yarns" in BPs Scouting for Boys were short stories of people living those principles. I think he had it right. The SM minute is a short story, a yarn, which tells the tale of one point of the law, oath, etc... One can even end the story with, "a scout is courteous" if one wishes to make it explicit.

It sounds like you have some adults wearing patches, not ASMs. Truth be told, if the SM has been doing this for 20 years, and doesn't see what you describe as a problem, I doubt anything will change. Now if he has only been "involved" and not as SM, and he is new to the role, then sitting down with him and his one ASM and discussing the vision of the troop might be in order. From there determine what intermediate steps need to occur to reach the vision. Who does what, when and how, etc... Until a core group takes the reins, you will be trying to herd cats. (mixed metaphor on purpose, just to d

Sometimes it is difficult as you state. The coming together for campfire seems to be a great idea. So would inter-patrol competitions. To generate a real separation, one could encourage single patrol outings on occassion. This allows for different types of outings based on readiness of the patrol and on interest. Maybe one or 2 per year.

I do not think volunteer vs paid makes any difference. The CO put certain people in charge of certain activities, whether they are compensated with $ or smiles should make no difference. When I am teaching a class, other teachers defer to me. There is no "pulling rank". I was put in charge of that class and thus have the authority. I would not interfere with another teacher's class as I walk by the room. I think what bothers me the most about this entire discussion is the "pulling rank" and "i am the boss of you" mentality. I do not model this with the scouts or others. Frankly it is a dangero

An idea to go along with the "reading" could be for a group to "act it out" as the narrator reads. Could work for some of the items, like buddy system, or STOP, or...

I would hesitate to believe it was resolved. It sounds like there will be an action taken (communication), but this does not guarantee a similar encounter will not be repeated. If adults were aware this was going to be an issue, past behaviors must have led them to that conclusion. Past behaviors are generally a good predictor of future. I would not be surprised if the situation repeated or even escalated. I would suggest having this conversation with the SM as a follow up so he can formulate a plan "for the next time."

By providing the supervision and oversight it will undoubtebly increase their exposure. A student club whose only tie to the university is that they allow them to hang up flyers and sign out rooms creates less exposure.

And yet the ones supervised by professionals have significantly more injuries than the student led activities. Yes that is the nature of those activities, and professional supervision mitigates some of the injuries. But the policy is based on potential, not actual. Second, I know of many student led outdoor activities in which the student leaders (adults) have significantly more training in their activity than some professional coaches. Being paid as a professional does not necessarily equate to being a highly qualified leader/instructor. Lastly, some outdoor clubs are affiliated or contract

This is new to me. We never used the mb sash for anything except mbs.

Specific actions may or may not be hazing depending on context, intent and other factors. Is having a scout do push-ups hazing? If it is in context of encouraging physical fitness, probably not. Making a first year scout do push-ups to get his breakfast, yes. I may not be able to define it; but I know it when I see it.

growing up, our CO was "group of citizens". basically the troop committee.

see if your district (or council) training chair is willing to do the Troop Committee training in person with all of you. Much better experience than the computer modules, at least in my experience.

I think we all did.

the electoral college system would be the PLC electing the SPL.

@qwazse is spot on. When one looks at the monthly outings a patrol could be doing all along with increased challenges along the way, the training is ebedded. A patrol cannot just be plop campers for 3 years with one&done advancement and expect to be able to plan an execute an advanced high adventure trip. I view all adventure on a growth continuum. When the adventure takes one step further out from their comfort zone, it is "high adventure" for them. Too often the high adventure trips must be guided because as qwazse points out, the training part was skipped. I am disheartened by thi

Guided trips for sure. However most public lands are available to use for free. The only costs are food/gas. Much cheaper than summer camp for same duration of time. If you are interested, I regularly adventure in many of the locations much less than 10 hours from you. I am happy to help you plan a high adventure type trip for your patrol.

Most areas where high adventure would take place have group size limits. The Adirondacks for example puts a hard limit at 9. The Whites is 10. And the USFS recommends 10 or less even where not required. The first LNT principle suggests smaller groups as group size exponentially increases impact.

I haven't done one of the online modules in a while and perhaps I am confusing the BSA modules with the ones I must do for my employer... I seem to recall that a wrong answer will just tell you the correct one and why, so I am not sure that skipping the entire "instructional" portion is sufficient if it is impossible to fail the competency quiz. Like I said, I could be conflating two different systems, and likely am.

As a suggestion, not sure if it possible in your area though... We regularly use woods attached to a farmer's field for patrol campouts. Great way for a scout to make calls to get permission, and set up service projects, etc... Also some town/county/state parks allow scouts to camp in conjunction with a service project, like "park cleanup" in areas not typically used for camping. Some outside of the box thinking which might spur other ideas which could work in your area.

While I agree with Utah, I don't think it is a good idea for the BSA to start weighing in on legislation, pending legislation, or any other political speech. Not to mention it is against BSA's own rules to do so I believe.