SpEdScouter

Did you all see this article about a Tennessee's troops meeting place? LINK

They meet in a  refurbished barn which works great because they have the space to run many merit badge courses right on the property. Everything from beekeeping to gardening to canoeing - all right there. Plus it has a great vibe as a clubhouse.

Frankly I dont know any troop that doesnt meet in a church. Does anyone know of any others like this?

Well it was something I have been thinking about, since the scout troops already have tents (and I've seen some pretty great ones) why cant we step it up a bit and stay in a pop up? Plus the scouts already can travel on buses and stay in hotels. Especially when the weather is really bad and having an enclosed area to cook and bringing your bathroom along when the campgrounds toilets are far away and nasty. I'm not talking those big class C motorhomes. Just maybe a popup or a basic trailer.

And really when it comes down to it, most of scout "camping" is really car camping anyways.

Just an idea for fundraiser. With many credit cards we get so many miles. Could those miles be donated to a scout troops credit card account? The troop then could use those miles for whatever?

Just like the title says, we are going to be staying for 3 days in a state park. Can we stay in a camper like a pop up instead of using tents?

In our area the girl scouts have added the Pinewood Derby. Which means they buy the car kits from the Boy Scout store.

Since most of the area GS camps have shut down they are renting out the Boy Scout camps.

Also at our upcoming Scouting 500 event, about 1 in 5 participants there will be girls. Either sisters or friends of Boy/cub Scouts or girls in Venture scouts. Of course then the question will come up "why dont the GS have such events?".

So if anything the GS needs to up their game.

On theft,

I dont understand. At camp my son always had a locked storage container. Actually our SM requires them and the SM also keeps a set of the keys.

Bigger items, why were they not kept in a secured area like a tent? Plus we always had someone watching over our area.

Fact is these are kids and kids do stupid things.

This came up with Trump asking why his son Baron isnt a scout and I wonder, do wealthy parents have their kids in scouting?

Now I have known of a couple of millionaires who's sons have been in but truly billionaires?

Sidenote - the actual Rotarians are not involved in the camp. They just own the facility and we rent it out instead of the regular scout camps because its more handicap accessible.

While I see your points I still feel this could be an Eagle project. I dont think you all really understand what the counselors go thru. Its hard, exhausting work. Harder than some Eagle projects I've seen.

Now I see your point that they should have to do something extra. I'm thinking help plan an activity and do some writeups.

Here in the Heart of America district they run a camp for special needs scouts called Rotary Camp https://www.hoac-bsa.org/rotary-camp. Counselors (regular scouts and adults) and needed to help the campers. it can be a challenging yet very rewarding experience.These campers can have mental, physical, and emotional disabilities such as autism, mental retardation, down syndrome, and physical handicaps. Many are non-verbal and some can exhibit obsessive-compulsive behaviors such as screaming, running away, and non-compliance. Age ranges are from about 11 to 60 so often the scout is dealing with someone older than them.

As a counselor they help them dress, bathe (yes helping them shower), toilet issues (including wiping), help with medications, help with activities, and just generally being their friend and must always be within arms distance from them the whole week. They sleep in the bunk above them. It is very humbling and definitely forces one out of their comfort zone. However while difficult, often the counselors get more out of the experience than the scouts and they often return. Plus the food is great.

This year though they had trouble recruiting counselors. Part of the problem is their is little incentive other than they get the Handicapped Awareness merit badge plus service hours.

So here is an idea - why not allow service as a counselor be used as a Eagle Scout project? It requires paperwork (more could be added), over 144 hours of work (6 days x 24 hours plus pre-planning time), working together with others, planning, and hard work.

So what do you all think?

Some Eagle projects are activities such as running  an event so I dont think its far off.

All those accidents could have happened anywhere and actually when you think about it, with the case of falling out of a tree at least with BS there were people nearby with first aid experience and able to summon help quickly.

Years ago I used to see scouts running fireworks stands. Do you all know, do any scout troops still sell fireworks?

Do anyone know of Scout camps that have hookups and encourage RVers to stay and work at the camps?

I know several retired people that have great skills in maintenance or who would be great at leading merit badge classes. They prefer staying in their RV's.

Does anyone know of Scout camps that have such programs?

What I dont get is if the writer of the artcile has such a problem with the Boy Scouts, why doenst he work to start an organization he would like?

There is a group called Spiral Scouts which has the values he likes. Why not push them instead of fighting the Boy Scouts?

This is why Camp Bartle in Ossawatomi Missouri has Tribe of Micosay. Its a camp honor program where the only way one can gain rank is to go back to the same camp year after year. They push Micosay like crazy. One could even say Micosay is what keeps Bartle going. Some other camps have also put in similar programs.

OTOH if it wasnt for Miscosay, Bartle would be forced to improve some things. The old guard who run things though dont usually care for that.

"The new Girl Scouts My Promise, My Faith pin invites girls in grades K-12 to experience a faith journey through exploration of the Girl Scout Law and teachings from their faith.  Girls can earn this national pin each year."

 

"Girls of all grade levels can now earn the My Promise, My Faith pin developed by Girl Scouts of the USA in 2011. This pin, which girls can earn once a year, complements existing religious recognitions and allows all girls to further strengthen the connection between their faith and Girl Scouts. A girl earns the My Promise, My Faith pin by carefully examining the Girl Scout Law and directly tying it to tenets of her faith. Requirements for this pin are included in The Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting for all levels, but a summary of the award requirements are below:"

 

 

 

"Although it is a secular organization, GSUSA has several religious awards troop members can earn, and in 2011 it developed an additional award, a pin titled "My Promise, My Faith," which girls can earn "by carefully examining the Girl Scout Law and directly tying it to tenets of her faith."

On April 28, the "My Promise, My Faith" pin was to be highlighted at a national celebration of all the faiths represented in the Girl Scout community at the National Episcopal Cathedral in Washington.

"As a spiritual resource for our nation, the cathedral is a great and beautiful edifice in the city of Washington, and an indispensable ministry for people of all faiths and perspectives," said a Girl Scouts announcement about the interfaith event.

Organizers planned to recognize girls who had earned the pin by the date of the event during the service.

In addition to the "My Promise, My Faith" pin, Catholic Girl Scouts can earn these faith-based awards: "Family of God," "I Live My Faith," "Mary the First Disciple," "The Spirit Alive," "St. Elizabeth Ann Seton" and "St. Anne."  http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2012/-my-promise-my-faith-pin-among-religious-awards-girl-scouts-can-earn.cfm

Ah, so it IS just a fairly recent thing. Sounds like the GS was feeling heat for going too far the other way and decided to give something back.

But it still looks like a kind of Unitarian approach that few Christians find appealing. And how many girls actually earn this award? Most girls get tired of GS and the endless push to sell cookies and quit by the time they are 10.

 

Girls of all grade levels can now earn the My Promise, My Faith pin, which complements existing religious recognitions and allows girls to further strengthen the connection between their faith and Girl Scouts. Once each year, a girl can earn the My Promise, My Faith pin by carefully examining the Girl Scout Law and tying it directly to tenets of her faith. Requirements for this pin are included in The Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting for all levels.

My Promise, My Faith Fact Sheet (PDF)

 

You say "can now earn". How long has this been out there? No girls I know in GS have ever earned this pin.

As I understand it many of the complaints about GS was the lack of Christian women in the group. For example this writer points out that of all the women it chooses to set as examples, none are conservative christian. They only recently, and begrudgingly, added Sarah Palin.

One thing about Boy Scouts is each troop reflects the views of the CO. For example, a Jewish synagogue's scout troop would do meals kosher. A Mennonites group would have strict rules on clothing and language. From what I understand, the girl scouts years ago dropped any references to God in their oaths. Most gs camps do not have chapels or sites reserved for religious services.

So I see no problem with a church dropping GS since the 2 groups see things differently.

Must be 14 to use a shotgun

No motorcycles allowed on scout property

No running allowed in camp

No open toed shoes allowed at events

Those might be a camp policy. I know they are at Bartle.

Their are alot of safety concerns anymore with fires. I remember watching old scout movies where scouts raced to see who could start a fire with basic methods like friction or flint/steel but as I understand that isnt allowed anymore.

Thank you for the advice. My problem about finding a new troop is that all are chartered by a church. My previous troop was chartered by parents. I don't attend church reguarly. I do not want to end up in a troop that expects me to share a common religion or attend the church that chartered their unit.

My sons troop meets at a church but I'd bet maybe only 3-4 scouts in a troop of 25 actually attend there. Now with some troops thats different like with Mormons.

I wouldnt let the fact that a troop is chartered by a church hold you back.

Do you all know of any presidential libraries with programs for Boy Scouts? I know the Eisenhower library has one. Clintons has one but only for Girl Scouts.

Back to the topic.

In both magazines the goal is kids look thru them and say "I want to do that". Hopefully our Boy Scouts look thru BL and see ideas for trips, outings, and activities. The girl scouts really should have a similar one.

So you are saying the GSUSA puts too much of an emphasis on their own centralized fundraising?  As opposed to what?  The BSA?  They have Girl Scout cookies, we have FOS and (in some councils) popcorn sales.  Admittedly the Girl Scout cookie sales are nationally driven and FOS and popcorn sales are council-driven, but to those of us in the local trenches, it is (as we say in my profession) a distinction without a difference.  I would argue that FOS is more intrusive than Girl Scout cookie sales, since BSA National is asking us to dig into our own pockets to (in part) pay the salaries of their executives (hence the half-joking "Fund Our Salaries") while product sales involve our (and our children's labor) to raise money from others.  

 

On the subject of fundraising, I would say that the BSA has a built a glass house, from which we should not throw any stones at another organization.

I'm just saying that many troops do a variety of fundraising and many of those companies advertise in Boy's Life. Selling trash bags, wrapping paper, cookies, candy, popcorn, wreaths, etc...

Thing is with GS cookies those are pushed like crazy. Look at how they have their own merit badges and awards for being top sellers. On the GS website they sell EZ bake ovens to make them.

To me, the point of camp is to learn and do things that you can't do easily at home.  If you're lucky, that includes merit badges.

 

My sons learned to sail, white water canoe, climb, life guarding, etc. at summer camp. As SPLs during summer camp, they also learned how to herd cats.

That last line is funny. I know one troop that goes to Bartle and anyways none of the older scouts wanted to go down last summer where they would be expected to work with the younger scouts on trail to first class. The troop had to pay their way to get them to go.

And no wonder. 10 days where the days are spent watching over younger scouts and evenings with just sitting around isn't much fun.

I have been thinking on this and I wonder if the attempt to keep up all the Boy Scout summer camps might be just a waste.

Why do we need summer camps anyways? I guess the answer is to give the boys an opportunity to meet other scouts and to earn merit badges. However really the scouts can earn merit badges thru other means like the weekend merit badge classes. Really my son has earned 4 badges in just 2 weekends. Just as many as he earns in 6 days at camp. I know some troops dont go back every year but rotate it with other outings like weeklong backpacking trips.

So could we live without them?