FireStone

That's a really good point that I hadn't considered. I don't think it will be as useful in my Den just yet (Tigers), but as the boys get older and closer to thinking about life in a Troop, it could be a good opportunity to talk about this program that I think very few Cub Scouts even know about before they enter a Troop. It is always a good thing to be able to present opportunities to do more fun things in Scouting. The more we can offer in terms of the "here's what you can do when you cross over" type of stuff, hopefully the more likely we are to see Scouts continue on after crossing over.

A nearby Pack is celebrating 75 years under the same charter and CO this fall. In discussing it with one of their committee members I asked them if they were doing anything special to mark the occasion. His response was, "I have no idea. Any suggestions?" To which I also had no ideas and only could offer this suggestion: "I think there's a uniform patch for that." What do units typically do for these big milestone anniversaries? After giving it a little more thought I was thinking maybe a special patch (not just the 75 bar, something custom-designed) for the uniform pocket (or backpack o

I was a Brotherhood OA member as youth, and I understand that I can re-establish lodge membership as an adult. My old lodge merged into the current local lodge so I guess it would just be a matter of verifying previous lodge membership. My question is this: I'm a Tiger DL. Are there often other Cub level adults active in OA? I get the feeling it's more of a Troop-level thing for adults. There is no one else in my Pack who is OA, and although I'm sure that personally I'd enjoy becoming active and participating in lodge activities, I'm just wondering if this is the right time to do it.

I assumed we were talking about neckerchiefs, this being a thread about neckerchiefs. Thank you for clarifying.

Actually there have been hints that the BSA is going back to a more "traditional" necker style and wear. I'm not sure anyone has ever attacked neckerchiefs (we all have preferences, but I don't remember hearing any calls for national change in policy regarding neckerchiefs), and as mentioned, it seems that tradition is actually coming back around on this topic.

It's not all Americans, I know the BPSA-US wears large square neckers. I think the BSA screwed up the image of the necker. Just a theory, but I suspect that in the constant evolution of the BSA uniform to look more and more militaristic (the short-sleeve open-collar beige shirt with dark pants look), the necker didn't fit in with that image. So it was shrunk, to the point where it started to look ridiculous and Scouts started to reject it. I'm actually hopeful that we're seeing a resurgence of the larger necker in the BSA. Larger sizes are starting to show up, and some recent videos

I'm wrapping up my year as a Tiger DL and I can that our year was pretty much the inverse of what you describe. I can think of maybe 2 den meetings that were heavy on arts and crafts. The rest of the year we were playing games, learning scout skills, we did 3 service projects, went camping 3 times, went on multiple fishing, hiking, and other day-trips, etc. Maybe your program is 90% arts and crafts, but if that's the case, that's a unit issue, not a Scouts issue.

I really dislike the spiral-bound books. They feel flimsy and weak compared to perfect-bound. And from the adult-who-carries-a-bag-full-of-stuff-to-every-meeting perspective, the perfect-bound books were just more compact, easier to cram into a bag with other materials. I was happy to have the option, but now it seems the option is gone. There is definitely a heavy amount of photos featuring girls, which will surely make some heads explode (I'm still floored that someone said they'd quit over any inclusion of girls in the handbooks). But I think they're all really well-done photos a

Coming from the BSA, this doesn't mean much. Wasn't it just a year or two before they lifted the ban on gay scouts that they also reaffirmed their commitment to that policy?

So a kid gets kicked out of a troop and the CC is annoyed to answer questions from the parent of the boy? That's absurd. What did they expect you to do? Just say, "Oh, thanks for kicking out my son. Have fun on the next outing!". 🙄

Like T2Eagle, I've looked at this as being open to interpretation, or at lease open to unit culture and individual preferences. Locally here, I know of one troop that has a strict policy limited electronics use on campouts, for example, and another local troop that has almost no rule about it and you'll often see the boys sitting around, noses in their screens. During downtime, mostly, thankfully. But there is stark contrast to how both troops operate in this regard. Officially, I don't think there is an official policy for the whole organization.

I saw the headline. I didn't see the data I asked about. So I'll ask again: Where is the evidence that "most" people feel a certain way about the direction of the SW films? Where is the evidence that "most" people are against what the BSA is doing? Opinion pieces that make the same generalizations are not data. Comments on social media are not data. Is ther any actual data what-so-ever that your generalizations are at all factually accurate?

You use a lot of generalizations. Is there any actual data that supports any of these ideas? That "most people" were put off by the tone of The Last Jedi? That any of this is the majority opinion? I have yet to see any data that supports the idea that the BSA decision is fueled by an "elitist minority." What (little) data we have from the BSA says the opposite. I'd feel better about my status as an "elitist minority" if I saw any real facts that prove it.

Apparently I did, but that wasn't what I had in mind. Or at least I should have phrased my response differently to clarify. Rogue units jumping the gun or going against the program policies don't make the CSE a liar, which was the implication I was replying to.

I think people are just burned out on Star Wars. My brother-in-law is a die-hard SW fan, has multiple Star Ward tattoos and always goes to opening night releases for the new films. He hasn't seen Solo yet. Disney is over-doing it, that's why Solo numbers are lower than typical for a Star Wars film. They were announcing the Boba Fett film as Solo came out. Is every character going to get their own film now? Maybe there's still hope for Jar Jar to make a comeback. I just don't think it's a fair comparison to the BSA. The film franchise and our organization have very different challenge

The Chartered Organization is the authority over anything else at the unit level. As it relates to who can be a member of the pack and who can't, the CO outranks the CM and committee. In my pack the CM actually comes in fairly low in terms of authority on policy and procedure. The committee has, on occasion, voted to override a CM decision. Not sure if that is standard BSA procedure or not, though.

Where are there mixed troops now? So we should call our CSE a liar because at the local unit level some people are going against the design of the program as it pertains to gender?

I've just read through this entire thread and I think my problem with this whole issue is your focus on your boyfriend being singled out. If your CM, Committee, or CO don't know about other possible felons attending activities, we don't know how they would react if they did know. But based on how this has been handled so far, I suspect those other folks would endure similar scrutiny. Regardless, I would suggest just accepting things as they are and not pushing the matter. Even when his son is a Lion, there is no guarantee of accepting him as a participant. Your CO has the right to exclud

Changing the name of a magazine doesn't change the way we teach kids, in single-gender groups or otherwise. Nor does changing the name of a program. He didn't lie. The original plan, what he spoke of, was single-gender Dens and/or single-gender Packs, and single-gender Troops. That's what we're going ahead with, still teaching kids in gender-specific groups. There was no "lying". So your implication that the Scout Law is "nonchalantly disregarded" by me or anyone else is, as you like to say, "trash."

I still can't believe there is even outrage at all over a magazine title. Then again, this forum never ceases to amaze me with what brings out the pitchforks. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that someone is threatening to quit because there will be photos of girls in the handbooks.

I kind of got the same vibe, that if it's just a few months into this family's experience with this troop and already this kind of problem is arrising, more than a bit concerning about the future prospects of this unit and if it's even possible to have a positive experience at all going forward with that unit. No matter the outcome of any appeal, moving to a different unit might be the best option.

Kind of related to my original post and where I think we are going from here, in particular modeling the BSA after Scouts UK, as it relates to uniforms I think we should expect more of the UK model there as well. In the "Adding Girls to the Pack" thread (page 9) on this forum there is a video with Anthony Berger, and towards the end he talks about how the WOSM regards just the neckerchief as being "in uniform". And he's wearing his neckerchief in the UK style, with the friendship knot. I fully expect to see more of this and a reduced emphasis on Class A uniforming in the BSA. I think we'

It's astonishing how wildly out of control this kind of thing can get, over what appears to be a completely mis-heard word/phrase. Do we really need to sit our scouts down and tell them not to use the word "kill" in any way or any context, because it can be misconstrued? It's pure insanity. Next we'll probably hear about a kid kicked out of a Troop for threatening to go on a murder spree after being overheard talking to other scouts about Fortnite.

Even if that's the case and he did threaten the other boy, the severity of the response isn't justified. This is a "warning" scenario, maybe a sit-down discussion at most.

Good point. Being that I've recently been looking for a babysitter, it's been interesting to see how potential candidates advertise themselves. They're often in college, especially this time of year looking for summer work, and they make it a point to mention that they're not just in college but if they're a junior ot senior, they make darn sure that you know it. As if a college freshman or sophmore is under-qualified. 🙄 This certainly feels like a tie-in topic around the societal issue of kids not being allowed to play outside or being escorted home from the local park by police if they