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Col. Flagg

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Everything posted by Col. Flagg

  1. As you aptly point out, it's almost not worth predicting anything BSA will do. Redesigning BSA's various offerings (CS, BS, Venturing, Explorers) would be a monumental task, to be sure.
  2. And Boy Scouts is a program for BOYS. That's the point. I think we all get that. The discussion is about making Boy Scouts coed OR options available. I think we all get what each group is for. The discussion is around how to appease those who want in to Scouting while meeting the perceived goal of offering a Boy Scout-like program without having to open Boy Scouts up to girls...hence the discussion about Venturing.
  3. Of the 30 or so that have gone through our unit in the last 7 years, most have had interviews for college. I reckon nearly half of those I spoke with said Eagle came up during the conversation. @@qwazse, two questions: What percentage of young Eagles do you see sticking around past 16? How do you get young Eagles to stick around?
  4. Of course WE don't ever get a say in anything, so this whole discussion is moot. Just musing, but I cannot think that BSA keeps Venturing around if Boy Scouts goes coed. What would the point be? It doesn't meet the mission it was designed to for now. Less than 2% of crews actually work on Venturing rank advancement. Many crews are "adventure clubs" and that's it. Cannot see BSA keeping them around and diluting the coed Boy Scout experience. Can you?
  5. @@MattR, this recent article has some interesting quotes and comments about what Scouting is about. Might help in developing your vision and mission for your TC.
  6. The Raiders used to be "Just Win Baby". Oh, how I miss the days of those guys winning. Memories. [cue music]
  7. I had an Eaglet that made it before high school. He put it on his college app. The savvy interviewer three years later asked him about his Eagle. When he learned that the young man had earned it before high school he essentially dismissed it, and literally told the Eagle, "Well, it would have been more impressive had you done all these activities AND gotten your Eagle while in high school." That was a recruiter from a well known and popular southern university. Imagine if there are others who think this too.
  8. Let's face it, Venturing is not doing what it was designed to do: Retain and engage older youth. So I too would be in favor of changing it for the purposes making it a more robust coed program.
  9. Having been to NT and had the riot act read to me -- for letting my crew, properly set up and following extreme bear protocol, do essentially what is being described here -- I am offering a personal experience. Personally, I would love nothing more than to allow something like this experience. It *IS* totally awesome. But the reality of lawyers, risk and liability make doing this in this day and age very, very unlikely.
  10. But -- and I infer this from our handle -- are Scottish, so change is not in your nature. And, of course, if it's not Scottish, it's c**p! [We were all thinking it...I just said it] I say this as a proud member of the Lamont Clan!
  11. This is all part of the "everyone is special" mentality that we as a society are promoting. Rec league enrollment is down because select league enrollment is up. Why? Because every kids is a star and special. Oh, by the way, rec costs you $75/year and select costs you $1000/year. As you point out maybe 10% of the kids will ever get scholarships and maybe a fraction of a percent will make a living out of it. Hey @@MattR, maybe THAT is what you do! Create an info graphic that compares sports with scouting. Maybe something like this?
  12. In reading this thread and a few others, it would be interesting to see how many people like neckerchiefs but also favor coed scouting, etc. It seems some traditions folks don't want to part with (neckers) but some other things (boy only) can go. Not trying to be incendiary, just a passing observation. Moving along, nothing to see here.
  13. I feel for you. That's a rough situation. There's always council assuming they are in a position to help.
  14. Actually they were the same tent. We just called the sales dept, worked with them on bulk pricing for our troop. They knew we were a non-profit, we bought from them previously and were buying a decent quantity.
  15. @@MattR, there's a big difference between a mission, a vision, a value statement, a philosophy and a slogan, so there's a lot of territory to cover in the charge the committee has given you. In a previous life I helped organizations develop such planning and governance tools. Here is what we usually advised companies to do: A mission statement explains the reason for existence and what the organization does. It should support the vision statement and serve to communicate purpose and direction to the committee and the unit. It should state the units priorities and methods to accomplish its
  16. @@EmberMike, a few comments: Why does Boy Scouting need to be coed. I don't think you've ever articulated why Boy Scouts has to go coed in your opinion, when there's a perfectly good Venturing program that's already coed. Why have two coed programs? Why wan't girls just go in to Venturing and leave Boy Scouts alone? Same program except for Eagle and a few other things. I was using the toilet and shower issue to underscore the logistics and infrastructure issues many councils would face. I was staff at several camps. I know several camp directors. They have a hard time today accommodating
  17. I couldn't tell either way. "One waterfountain works just as well as the other one" can be taken either way, so I wasn't really sure how to take it. To me the connection to segregation was evident but the message -- whether pro or con to segregation -- was totally unclear without more context or inference.
  18. You just keep missing the point. I will be clear: No girls because: We need a boy-only program for the myriad of reasons folks like @@Stosh and others have articulated. Guys need at least one last bastion where they can be with other guys....just like girls have. We already have a coed program in Scouting, so there's no need to open Boy Scouts to girls. They can do MORE in Venturing than they can in Boy Scouts...except get Eagle. The costs involved with accommodating coed Scouting will be more than you think. Many council camps are not equipped to handle a large number of two separat
  19. Dare I ask, UC anywhere around to help out? To be even more bold, is the DE anywhere to be seen?
  20. I would add: Does that program (designed for family camping) need to be Boy Scouts?
  21. It won't change in Boy Scouts. If they are 200 yards away by canoe, alone on an island, then I suspect that's a bit too far to really get to them in an emergency.
  22. I wouldn't "hope", I'd plan. If not on the TC get on the TC and help bring the issue of succession planning to the table. I suspect you are already doing more than just hoping, but a successful transition depends on knowing who is taking over now, not later.
  23. Have you ever been camping with a coed crew before? Do you know the training involved to teach men who don't have daughters how to handle sensitive feminine issues? Have you ever seen a council's shower or toilet set up? Many that I have seen struggle to accommodate the female Scouters as it is. Imagine what it will be like when whole troops of girls are there. Do you think a female leader will want her all girl troop to be butting up against an all boy troop's camp site? Teaching adult males to stop peeing by their tent is STILL a challenge. I bet some female SM wants to see a troop of adults
  24. If you expect adding girls to Scouts to be the last change Scouting makes to appease people, I invite you to relive 2013 through 2016. YPT training will change. Council accommodations for coed units will change. Some feminist will get their nose out of joint that all the BSA documentation refers to "him" or "he" or "boy" and want it eliminated. Training will need to follow the Venturing model so ALL leaders are trained for coed program delivery. There's loads more I am sure, but taking 2 mins to think about them these are the things that will change. There will be more...there always i
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