Jameson76

I am going to so steal that analogy....

But hey...she's woodbadge trained 😁 Wonder what her critter is (was??) Full disclaimer..never attended WB nor do I plan to. There is likely some good to it, but see waaay too many adults who basically treat the WB experience, staffing, course personage as their contribution to the scouting program when if fact they have not camped with a troop or met an actual scout in years and basically are part of this adult cult of the pink hankie. WB does not make you a scouter. Leading youth in a challenging program and helping them along their journey as you work with them on the trails, in the

That is not good Our unit is pretty old school I guess. All the key leaders (SM and ASM's) are guys, same with the committee members that regularly attend campouts and summer camps. We have female committee heavily involved with multiple support functions, but none in youth facing roles. We get support from moms (and dads) for driving to and from outings, etc. Not sure what is happening at the district level, that does not impact us. We are the largest troop in district at 100+ (x2 from the next sized one) so we have momentum and resources to do our own thing. That is in fact a bles

If a unit has to "force" older Scouts to attend to get a SM conference, the issue of conferences is likely the least of their worries. While we would always welcome more of the older scouts, the key to get them to the outings is to have engaging and fun / challenging outings. If the outing is solely based on advancement, then likely it will drive many away. If the district or council camporees do not get enough attendees, maybe pass on those (yes one could get involved and maybe plan more engaging ones but that is a long play). Key is to do stuff they may not do with their friends and

It is a interesting study and article. This speaks volumes to peer pressure, also it speaks volumes to what is not known about gender identity and how transgender feelings are formed. One hopes much of this is not like tattoos, they seem really cool when you are 18 - 20....25 years later many wonder what in the world they were thinking.

Many of us not wholly excited about the changes to the program are heavily involved in the program and have been now for many many (oh so many) years. We are running / working in our units day in day out, week in week out, monthly outings, Saturday night campfires, taps being played in the evenings, flag ceremonies, Courts of Honors, meeting with Scouts on advancement, running merit badge sessions, engaging the troop in high adventure, developing leadership among the boys, working to have them in patrols...all the scouting stuff one does out in the mud and the woods. We see the changes

And in your case actual field reality comes up against National direction. That direction is Girls and Boys in the same pack but single gender dens. If you do not have enough girls to make a den, then mixed ages in a den. This case you have 1 girl and then only other girls in the pack are 1st graders. Not a good situation if you are seeking to follow the program

But he's got the US Flag behind him....and a blue blazer with the BSA emblem and everything. Seems to be able to spin a tale, I might by a used car from him....

It was sort of all in wasn't it. Maybe a tad bit of overkill. More interesting may have been details on the Philmont recovery plan, information on the Northern Tier fires, what some units did instead of Philmont and how they accomplished that effort, Venture fest at Summit...you know...actual scouting stuff The focus on "Family Scouting" from National sort of reminds me of when you start seeing tons of ads for an upcoming movie. The amount of ads and promotions seems inverse to the actual public demand / interest for the actual content of the movie

Yep. I was the advisor for a coed explorer post in the 80's. For meetings, doing the Scout show, day activities, etc at that time only 1 leader was needed. No requirement for female or male, just a leader. The female leader was needed for the outings, and yes, the struggle was real to make that happen.

My comment was on the messaging and the actual mismanagement and continued mishandling of the program changes messaging. Likely, at this point, they are identical, never said they were not. There are issues with the tenure and tone of the program changes The original Oct 17 rollout specifically noted separate troops, then 30 - 60 days later linked troops was an option National rolls out updated YPT and sets a different standard for girls and leaders than boys in that if there are girls then there must be a female YPT leader. No such gender specific requirement if there are

I am very serious. The messaging concerning Boy Scouts (AKA Scouts BSA) has been IDENTICAL programs, no changes to the program, the same program for all, etc etc. Step on up and get your Eagle. Now there are in fact two handbooks, a Girls Handbook and a Boys Handbook. One would assume actually 4 handbooks, 2 for Girls English and Spanish and 2 for Boys English and Spanish. What message does that send? Basically subliminally telegraphing that there are in fact differences. There probably are not any other than the photos, but is that in fact the case (one would hope that is t

There is not. The GTA does speak to the SM delegating the responsibility for the SM Conference to another leader if they are going to be absent for an extended period

But but...it's all the same...They promised Except.... Then they added the linked troops, then the early adopter units sort of looked the other way for girl only dens, then the councils looked the other way for the same, then units in Oregon played the system and started a girls Explorer Club and called them a troop and brought them to camp and there was much rejoicing, and then National rolled inconsistent adult leadership requirements and there was no explanation, and many units said they were just going to be coed, then many councils started inflating the number of perspective gir

This does seem an additional hoop that needs to be jumped through While the SM conference can be done at any time, as practice we have made that the last requirement before the BOR. This gives the ASM / SM an opportunity to review the book, make sure everything is signed off, etc. Our unit the ASM's perform the Scout / TFoot, and 2nd class SM conference. The SM does the 1st - Star - Life - Eagle. That being said if there is a scout requesting a SM conference and SM is not at an outing the SM will designate a unit leader to handle that so as not to hold up the process. For these w

We can definitely be the bad guy. The bad guy reference was more to the position National BSA is placing local units in with their gerrymandered and non-equally applied YPT requirements. We (and other units) have no issue with adhering to that and communicating such. The parents and Webelos effected by this will probably think ill of the local unit and not the Corporate BSA that made the rules in a vacuum, far away from their actual customers, in the hallowed grounds of Dallas or the extremely well apportioned and no doubt overpriced rooms of the Summit.

I would have said yes on that, but it is technically not a "Den" event. We invite Webelos from the two feeder packs at the CO, and from other packs that may be interested in our troop or are looking to complete the requirements for AOL. Sort of a grey area, as the Webelos have to bring a parent (or adult partner) with them, they tent with that person and they are responsible for transportation. The visitors do participate in activities with the troop, so likely by rules of G2SS we may in fact need to have a female, or not allow girls to come unless they bring their own registered female

A new term trotted out (must have been included in some talking points as I heard the term from or local SE when he and I discussed the October announcement) that in my opinion is aimed at marginalizing any type of unhappiness with the changes. In essence they are saying you are only a "conditional" scouter if your continued membership and support is there only if conditions do not change from when you joined or got involved in scouting. That is a very poor term and assignment, because essentially everything we do in life is "conditional". My company has hired me to do a job, I continue

So...question on this topic - We have the Webelos come for a campout each year. Also they visit a meeting during the year. While we are a large troop (40 +/- on campouts / 90 +/- registered) there are no female leaders that regularly camp nor attend the meetings. We do have female committee members who work on a large number of items, they are registered and YPT compliant. When we have the Webelos campout, and if a Female Webelos were to attend (or multiple) would we need to have a registered YPT female leader present to be in compliance? Note that for the Webelos attending this

And the answer to that is yes.... Most telling is that the "linked troop" model was not part of the October announcement. That was added later..... "Oh what a tangled web we weave / When first we practice to deceive."

Good article, I found the groups they highlighted were not all the same. From what I could read the BOLD and GOLD seemed to be ongoing programs, not unlike the Boy Scouts program. Likely a stable membership group. That group saw value in the single gender as the groups did activities. Let them be more open within that group The Outward Bound and the Lasting Adventures, the Yosemite-based guiding service for young adults may have a different perspective in that they are more single event groups. The Outward Bound acknowledged that both are good, the Lasting Adventures may be looki

I am working with a Scout that joined when he was 15 or so. Had been in Cubs, had friends in the troop they told him it was fun, so he joined (we felt good about that) Also he wanted to do some High Adventure. Last summer he went to HA, also 2 summer camps. We sat down at camp and he said he hoped to be a Life Scout. We did some math, looked at dates, and worked out a table of when he had to (last possible date) achieve ranks and he could earn Eagle. He has been diligent and is ahead of the curve, just wrapped up Life. Went to HA this summer and also a summer camp. Nice to have a

That is so true...Mr Stockton likely has compensation in the $200k (or better range) and he punts when there is a hard decision to make. The requirements are very straightforward and clear. The appeal should have been denied at the local council with the advice that if they wanted to, feel free to pursue with National.