Jameson76

Revamping and assuming all the current folks / participants would stay worked really well for ISP the "Improved Scouting Program" in 1973

Most Boy Scouts would be shocked to learn that their phone can actually be used for voice communications.

And the challenge is that sooo many Scouters take WB and assume they are now the end all be all when what needs to be conveyed is likely how to actually run a program, make sure they have a fun program, and know how to run a unit While leadership and management team development is important, not sure it is what the focus of the "premiere" BSA training course should be. Really needs to be focused on what the heck to do outdoors, how to have a successful unit program, how to implement Boy Led units.

When you find an award and give the award, make darn sure you announce the right name for the award

Had a conversation with a parent one time, said he was an atheist, was concerned about our "influencing" his son in Christian beliefs. First point I made was that we were in fact sponsored by a UMC, met at the UMC, held COH and other events in the sanctuary of the UMC, so by default there was going to be a slight Christian influence. Not in your face and lake baptisms, but we did do a prayer as we left on outings, Sunday Scout's own ecumenical (very short) service, and a closing prayer before we departed an outing. Usually just mention God and a request / thank you for safe travels an

Nothing more and nothing less We use the Boy Scout Handbook. Pretty much has all the requirements list in a handy chart in the back. Once they are all signed off, SM conference and BOR The troop does recommend using the MB workbooks as that helps the Boy Scouts keep organized

Sad part is the whole thing is like 105 pages....not so much a Guide as a Tome

Possibly, but not really. I was a DE for a while. Key thing was membership numbers and money. Quality program never enters the conversation

My joke with many of the Wood badgers (cult of the pink hankie) is "hey, this is a Boy Scout (only works if one the youth is around), have you dealt with any of them recently???

Goals for my scouting "career" (career seriously??)? Have fun, help the Boy Scouts in the unit have fun, and not get killed in fiery backpacking stove explosion. Other than that, do not plan to give it much thought

Breaking point for most will be when substantial change that you are not in favor of or cannot support comes to roost in whatever part of Scouting where you personally find satisfaction and reward. For me that satisfaction and reward is working with the troop at the unit level. Changes in membership requirements a few years back, really did not effect the unit. Adding girls, we do not do any district or council camporees and also plan to be single gender (no linked either) so again does not really effect the unit. Name changes ( to loosely quote Starship - Someone always playing corpo

We played British Bulldogs the other day, it was glorious and the Boys Scouts thought it was geat

You definitely have to drive the adventure and fun, but you (WE) as leaders have got to set the direction and make the adventure happen. These are some of the things we have done last 12 months We do a Lock-in, which is basically 14 hours total, and in that is 3 to 4 hours of dodgeball and 2 hours of Nerf wars. Yeah yeah, no scouts as targets, we may have missed that paragraph in G2SS We do a Capture the Flag, where you tear a ribbon off the opposing players arm to capture them, during this we are literally one boulder crushing away from Lord of the Flies We do an aquatics

Absolutely agree. There were (and are) things in place to handle most if not all of the various membership issues as the local CO has the say as to who can and cannot be a member. National BSA sort of muddied the waters, kind of like they are doing now. With the addition of girls, and there will not be enough units or units will go COED or something in the middle. BSA National hopes to be all things to all people but also falls back when convenient on "local unit control". I have never seen a company, organization, or group that spends as much time and energy hoping to placate and ap

See..that's not accurate because if it was really the Methodists they would not actually have voted. The skorts issue would have been discussed, then talked about, then discussed again, then a sub-committee of Bishops would have looked at it, then it would have been brought up at the next annual conference, then there would have been a motion to table and vote at the next General Conference if so warranted by the sub committee

Now you're just being silly

Depends - Do the leaders stay in the background and let the Boy Scouts do their scout stuff unencumbered (except of health and safety concerns)? If they are helicopter parents who hover, then 1 leader can be too many. If they understand what their role is at camp and on outings, then it's relative. If they just try to be timekeepers, help the scouts stay on track, then the actual count does not matter. (though a 1 to 1 would be a pain) We take 50 and typically have equivalent of maybe 7 - 8 leaders in camp. Honestly as long as the boys are out of the campsite at activities, we are hap

Just curious (in general terms) what the project was and what the issue was. Not discounting anyone's input, but we had a Scout building a bridge, had the plans, then a structural engineer (also volunteer) at the beneficiary wanted to be involved and it went sideways from there. He basically wanted a footbridge that could hold a car, while it was in fact a short footbridge on a trail. It needed to be built to "his" standards. Point is there are typically minimum structural standards and then you may have someone who has their standard because, well they know best and we must acknowledge th

Part of the challenge is salaries It is basically these 5 items Financial drain for the Summit - the losses there are staggering BSA National overhead costs not adjusted in relation to membership - seriously doubt the overhead has been reduced 10% in last 4 years Many years of underfunded pension payments Exploded liability insurance premiums - thus the 38% membership increase Reduced membership and thus less revenue - This has accounted for close to $30MM less income in the last 4 yearts

For a long time (waaay back in the day) you would age out of Boy Scouts, maybe go to college, get a trade, have a family, then move back to an active role with the Boy Scouts as you son grew up. You had familiarity with the program as it had not changed, same outdoor and leadership. A good bit of that changes in the 70's with the big new scouting program. Imagine if you aged out of youth in 1970 and came back as a leader with a kid in 1980, you would not have recognized the program. Same will be for those that aged out 2010 and when they look at what BSA is in 2022 it will be vastly differ

Two deep designates / means - At least two adults are required on every BSA outing. There is no geographical encumbrance on that point. Take the injury portion away, on an outing of 12 Scouts and 2 leaders, 6 want to go hike to the fire tower and 6 want to hike over to the lake and go fishing. That is fine. All are on the outing and there are two leaders On the evacuated scout you can easily take injured and two Scouts so you have no one on one contact when you rejoin the main group. Now yes, then you may ask what happens if with the group coming back there is another injury wh

Do not confuse YPT and Two Deep leadership YPT designates (in this instance) no one on one contact. In the case of an injured, but let us assume ambulatory Scout; one leader, the injured youth, and a buddy can return to the trailhead. The other leader and the rest of the youth can continue. At least two adults are required on every BSA outing. During that outing, there should be no one-on-one contact between an adult and a youth. Parents and youth are advised to follow this and other Youth Protection policies for the overall safety of all involved. But there might be moments

Could be worse....

Urban Scouting...the great revamp of the 1970's, Boypower and Manpower and whatnot If you get lost on a hike, ask a cop The wonderful world of Skill Awards, Camping and Cooking MB were not required. You could easily earn Eagle Scout and never camp, never start a fire, never leave your neighborhood. In fact you could not even go outside