Treflienne
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Posts posted by Treflienne
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7 hours ago, InquisitiveScouter said:
This one does not:
Q. Can a leader bring their Scouts BSA son or daughter to an opposite gender troop activity?
A. No. Scouts BSA program integrity requires single gender units and single gender buddy pairs.
This seems to address the issue of tag-a-longs. For example the boy (who is a scout in a different troop) who tags along to his sister's troop's camping trip because (a) his parent is going on the trip, (b) the boy is not old enough to be left at home overnight by himself, and (c) there is no other parent at home or relative living nearby that he can be left with.
Inviting experienced scouts from a different troop (same or different gender) to a meeting or outing, because of their skills or experience, in order to help or assist in some way, seems quite a different kettle of fish.
If only the FAQ were a little clearer it would be helpful.
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16 minutes ago, 5thGenTexan said:
Updated Youth Protection FAQs on 03/11
Quote♦ Program Requirements
Q. Can buddy pairs be co-ed in Scouts BSA?
A. No. Scouts BSA program integrity requires single gender units and single gender buddy pairs.
I'm glad BSA spelled this out. The coed buddy pair question came up at summer camp pre-covid. I do not like coed buddy pairs.
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2 hours ago, SSScout said:
the Scout's GSUSA uniform came in for critique. Sonofagun, the Uniform Police have a precinct in the GSUSA....
I am happy for her accomplishment in earning both awards.
What the paper labelled "Girl Scout uniform" is not a very standard GSUSA look. Especially with the WOSM patch and the lack of a Girl Scout pin and WAGGGS pin. Any chance it is the uniform of a different scout association?
When I was a kid, my (GSUSA TOFS) troop had scouts wearing GSUSA insignia and badges on uniforms of other countries . . . Japan, U.K. etc. Fortunately we did not have any uniform police.
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3 hours ago, CynicalScouter said:
In short, BSA was telling GSUSA it was NOT going to go coed...while running focus groups and preparing to do just that.
I mean, wow.
3 hours ago, CynicalScouter said:For worried Girl Scouts executives, the reply was heartening. The Boy Scouts were discussing how to make their programs more accessible to families, but the organization still valued single-gender programs and wanted to “avoid any confusion that there may be consideration of coed scouting,”
And the Scouts BSA program isn't supposed to be coed, even now. It's supposed to have girl troops and separate boy troops, not coed troops.
On the otherhand, the Girl Scouts might have found the prospect of BSA running all-girl troops even more threatening.
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52 minutes ago, InquisitiveScouter said:
The worst is this...in Scoutbook, unit admins can approve any merit badge.
And unit admins can approve any rank advancement stuff, too.
This is a design flaw of scoutbook.com
This makes it imposible to tell whether the person who marked it "Leader Approved" was the person who actually approved the work., or merely the person who is transcribing the information from the scout's properly signed (paper) blue card or (paper) scout handbook.
Sometimes you can tell if you know the troop: Mrs. AAA and Mr. BBB are the paperwork lteam and never actually approve scouts work, but have been given permission so they can transcribe stuff into scoutbook. But what about ASM Jones, who sometimes is approving the scouts work, and sometimes simply copying signoffs into scoutbook.com?
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Did any of you do woodbadge while your primary position was "Unit Scouter Reserve" or "Merit Badge Counselor"? Or are you familiar with people who have done so? What sort of ticket items?
I attended the woodbadge course last year. But prior to completing all my ticket items I resigned from my troop position. (I'd rather not go into details, but unresolved disputes between troop adults - disputes exacerbated by covid - were a major factor.)
I am glad I attended woodbadge, whether or not I complete my ticket. I am wondering whether to attempt completing my ticket, despite the change in position. Woodbadge counselor is willing to consider changes to ticket. Some of my orginal ticket ideas were really only relevant to my old position or not doable currently due to covid.
My kid is still actively involved in the troop.
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1 hour ago, Jameson76 said:
We have picked up some additional High School aged Scouts. Basically we are the only group active.
Similar here. Scouts is still happening in-person (as least for outdoor meetings and day outings, a state curfew has prevented overnight camping). Many other local extra-curriculars have gone online. We've gotten as many new scouts this school year as last, particuarly friends of current scouts.
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I just redid YPT, and noticed a detail I had missed before: On YPT final quiz questions there are explanations about the correct answers. The explanation to Q8 said (emphasis mine) "When sleeping in the same tent, youth must not be more than two years apart in age unless they are relatives."
I'd been thinking that I'd rather see a new fifth grade scout share a tent with her eight grade sister, rather than needing to be in a tent by herself, and now I see that that is allowed.
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Do I understand correctly that your CO is considering not rechartering your troop?
https://www.scouter.com/topic/31928-chapter-11-announced/page/45/?tab=comments#comment-517955
If that happens, will your troop look for a different CO, or will they disband? If your troop looks for (and finds) a new CO, is your old CO happy for you to take your camping gear with you to the new CO? (I've heard of troops around here switching CO's.)
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15 minutes ago, yknot said:
the Type A personalities constantly over shout the Type B personalities until the Type B's eventually leave is maybe a lesson learned for the Type A's -- be overbearing enough and you'll eventually get your way -- but then we've lost some more reserved scouts who might have actually been the more scout like scouts and better leaders.
I'm seeing a similar dynamic in our troop at present. Any good advice?
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@BAJ, maybe you already saw the post, but @5thGenTexan posted what his council is doing for managing covid risk while camping:
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A rule of thumb for girls: (I used this for Girl Scout badge sashes/vests). The mom can estimate the daughter's eventual size based on the mom's size. Girls will typically reach full height about the same age the mom did, by about age 13 or 14, but will continue to fill out a little width-size. So, as a mother, if you wear the same size you did as a college student, try on the sash, and pick the size that fits you for your daughter. If you are a little larger than when you were a college student, then consider sizing down for your daughter. If you are really petite and your husband is really tall, then consider sizing up for your daughter.
Or maybe there is a female scout in the troop who is the size you were when you were a senior in high school -- find out what size sash that scout is wearing.
If unsure, err or the side of too long rather than too short. You can always shorten it later.
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Some things we have done since our state and council permitted the troops to start camping again:
1) Prior resuming in-person activities the troop had a mandatory scout-and-parent-must-participate zoom presentation about the covid precautions being implemented. Not once per trip, but once per scout. I think it was helpful. At least the scouts are doing a much better job of social-distancing at scout events that the church-youth-group kids are doing at church events.
2) No carpooling to or from camping trips. Parents must drive their own kids to the camp location.
3) Every scout has her own tent - no scout shares a tent with anyone (unless she has a sister in the troop with whom to share).
4) Every scout brings her own food and backpacking stove. (Again siblings can share.)
And of course the scouts go through oodles of handsanitzer. . .
While I am glad that the scouts are doing in-person activities together, and are able to interact with each other in-person, albeit at a 6-foot distance, it is simply not quite the same as normal:
I keenly feel the lack of patrol team effort in (say) food prep -- it is more every-man-for-himself (or rather every-girl-for-herself).
My daughter, at least, misses being able to share a tent with a couple of buddies. These are girls that I am talking about.
Also this year is looking to be a very expensive year for a new scout to join scouting. Not only are there the increased dues and the BSA-new-scout-joining-fee on top of the needed hiking boots, raingear, sleeping bag, and backpack. But now the new scouts also need to buy their own tent and stove right off the bat. (No, none of our scouts was ever registered as cub scouts.)
But it is still a LOT better than no camping. And the scouts have been able to do biking, backpacking, orienteering, etc. About 80% of our scouts have done at least one in-person meeting or activity with the troop since we resumed in-person activities. More than half have gone on at least one camping trip.-
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On 9/18/2020 at 7:14 PM, 5thGenTexan said:
Just a hypothetical question....
Is the training itself worth the time if a person didn't complete the ticket part?
18 hours ago, ParkMan said:- building a network among other like minded Scouters and staff
- having fun & building additional enthusiasm for Scouting
My take:
Yes it is worthwhile, even if you don't fully complete your ticket.
The "like minded Scouters" and "enthusiam for Scouting" part was very worthwhile to me.
I found it very encouraging to be among other people who were enthusiastic about the program. And who were aiming at the goals of scouting "Citizenship, Character, . . ." with confidence in the methods of scoutings ("Patrol Method, Ideals, etc, etc") as a means to get there.
This was especially true for me, since it seemed that in my own unit (and in the boys' troop linked with my unit) the adults have been all pulling in different directions. Some are interested in being an outing club in which kids get to do exciting things which someone else lines up for them to do. Some are interested in low drag high speed advancement . . .
I am no longer in the role I was in when I attended woodbadge. And I only completed some but not all of my ticket items - which were chosen to be appropriate to that role. So I don't know if I'll be able to complete a ticket. But I am still very glad I attended woodbadge.
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4 minutes ago, ParkMan said:
The BSA just made a play to establish co-ed Scouting. Imagine if the GSUSA could do the same by purchasing the core program IP of the BSA. All it would take to trigger mergers at the council level would be for the GSUSA to buy ownership of the BSA core program. The GSUSA wouldn't have to compete with the BSA in starting a co-ed program, they could simply become a co-ed program in a matter of months.
GSUSA has shown no interest in co-ed. At least they have been stressing the benefits of a girl-only environment.
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8 hours ago, qwazse said:
I don’t think GSUSA has an interest in being saddled with more land.
They sold they closest in-council camp to where I live. And I don't think that was the only camp sold nationally.
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15 hours ago, ParkMan said:
When I saw the post about the new GSUSA uniforms I was struck by how much they looked like BSA colors.
GSUSA has used a lot of different greens. Really bright greens since around 1980. Prior to that forest green (1960's, 1970's) and a lighter grey green (back to at least the 1940's). (This is by memory, I'm not checking dates.) Earlier on they had a very brownish/tannish/olivish color. (See https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-1930s-Complete-Girl-Scout-Uniform-Dress-Hankie-Belt-Knife-Badges-Book/184410370576?hash=item2aefb6f210:g:YlwAAOSwAhtfPaAU) But I've never seen any girl scout uniforms that match the current BSA olive green. And now GSUSA is making pants in a color that look very Boy Scout. It was startling. Especially if paired with a tan badge vest - which is not far from the color of a BSA shirt. Very startling. (Was it deliberate? Or were they oblivious?)
On the other hand, describng this as a "uniform" goes too far. The GSUSA website calls the set of new items for sale "the new Cadette, Senior, Ambassador uniforms and official apparel collection" and the olive stuff does not appear in the "uniform" section of the shop https://www.girlscoutshop.com/GIRLS/UNIFORMS
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11 hours ago, Snowball said:
I know friends are best, but any ideas on reaching girls who are not connected to scouts in any way.
All of our girls were either friends of girls already in the group, or else were "connected to scouts" in some way. That "some way" might be that a relative in a different state was in scouting. Or perhaps a mother had been a Girl Guide in a different country, or been in GSUSA. Or perhaps the father had been a Boy Scout in a different country. Or the grandfather had been a scout. That is, many of these families already had a positive impression of the scout movement. Don't assume that families need a current connection to BSA, or even that the father needs to have been in BSA, for the family to think that scouting is generally a positive activity for children.
What such families to need is to realize that your troop (or proto-troop) exists. Once we got a web presence we ending up collecting several girls from an adjacent school district (not in our council's borders) because they were able to find us on the web.
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5 hours ago, David CO said:
That's my point. You looked for the kids. It appears to me like most of the girl units are being formed because, for one reason or another, adults want to have girl units. They then go looking for the kids.
I should have been clearer. The initial drivers of the process were two girls (from different families) who wanted to be scouts. These two girls then recruited their parents. Then these two families (the "we") looked for more interested girls/families.
We had a group of almost ten girls/families before we had a C.O. picked out.
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1 hour ago, David CO said:
When I started my troop 40 years ago, we already had the kids
To get our troop for girls started, first we looked for the kids. If there weren't enough interested girls, then there would really not have been much point in pressing on.
Actually, first, my family talked to the several Boy Scout troops in our town, inquiring about whether a girls troop was forming up - and there was not at that point. Another family talked to a Boy Scout troop in a neighboring town. The Boy Scout troops put the two famiilies in contact, and both families started recruiting girls. The want-to-be-scouts talked to their friends. The parents talked to their friends who had girls in the 4th-8th grade age range. . . . The boy scout troops helped (at our request) by letting all their families know that a few folk wanted to get a girls' troop started - in case any scouts' sisters wanted to joing scouting.
Only once it looked like there was going to be critical mass of girls, did things really start moving forward . . .
But @5thGenTexan, we are in a school district about three times the size of your town, so that helped.
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Note to moderators: this is in the wrong category. Scouts BSA for girls is not "Girl Scouting"
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3 hours ago, MattR said:
But that.doesn't answer the question of how to get them in the door.
2 hours ago, Snowball said:why should a girl or boy for that matter join Scouts BSA.
1 hour ago, fred8033 said:#1 recruitment tool is the existing scouts.
1 hour ago, fred8033 said:Best way to market is through your existing scouts.
1 hour ago, Snowball said:I agree 100% that Scouts are the best recruiters
A few statistics from our female troop:
56% of the scouts came because a friend or a sister was already in the troop (or proto-troop) and the scout invited them (or the scout's parents invited the prospective scout's parents)
11% came because a brother or cousin in a boy's troop was enthusiastic about scouting.
18% found us through the web (beascout or the troop's own website)
The remaining scouts were part of the initial organizing group that started talking up the idea of a girls troop in town.
It wasn't specific recruting materials that brought in each new scout. It was the enthusiasm of a current scout.
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Thanks @SteveMM I appreciate hearing your experience with a leadership project related to a POR.
And @Eagledad, thank you for overview of the development of leadership skills through using the patrol heirarchy.
And thanks @DuctTapefor your examples of good use of leadership projects.
I really appreciate being able to ask questions here and learn from y'all's experience.
It's better to ask a crazy question here, first, and get reactions from experienced people, than to bring up the question first in the troop.
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As you all know, Assistant Patrol Leader is not one of the listed positions of responsibility for the Star or Life rank requirement. Yet an assistant patrol leader done well is a valuable position of service in the troop -- especially for a troop striving to well-utilize the patrol method and develop strong patrols. Do any of you have experience with a scout who desired to serve as an Assistant Patrol leader doing a "scoutmaster-approved leadership project" relevant to his role as APL? (The motivation, as I see it, would be so that prospective APL's feel that they can serve in that position.) Was that a positive or a negative experience for the scout and troop?
Woodbadge as Scouter Reserve or as MBC?
in Wood Badge and adult leader training
Posted
I gave the idea some serious thought. But I really have too little BSA experience. And I am simply not that interested in the district level. I have also now seen that @Eagledad has advised in a different thread: https://www.scouter.com/topic/32568-ticket-help/?tab=comments#comment-524199
It is currently looking like I will not complete a ticket.
I am interested in a great all-girls troop for the girls. Unfortunately there are those in the local troop(s) who are pulling hard to (in effect) run our CO's two troops as a single coed troop.
I see advancement as but one of the eight methods of scouting -- some others locally seem to see it as the absolute most important one.
I'm very keen on the patrol as the community-in-miniature in which scouts get to practise practical good citizenship -- as they work together to accomplish their goals. Others locally do not seem to share my view of the importance of the patrol.
I liked a lot of what I heard at Woodbadge about scouting, and found it very encouraging. However, the vision displayed there (and in the BSA literature) does not seem to be what the troop committee, SM, and ASMs want.