FaithfulScouter

Being a member of the OA kept my Scout in Scouting. He is a self professed nerd, and the OA Scouts are his people, much more so than his Troop members. He took on a leadership role in his chapter and loved it. He took Lodge Leadership Development, which was fantastic because his Troop leaders didn't even know what ILST was! His new Scoutmaster recently noted that he was an active OA member and commented that he was "trying to load his resume". Too bad he doesn't really know what it's about..

My Scout just earned Eagle. Unfortunately he has witnessed a lot of ugly behavior from adult leaders as a result of my volunteerism. (And unfortunately when I wasn't a volunteer.) We were seriously concerned about his EBOR because of the many unscrupulous leaders, including at the District level. He doesn't even want an ECOH, despite his very impressive Scouting resume. However, he moved to a new Unit and is happier than he has ever been. Not sure about his ongoing level of participation but I'm glad he's still involved. Having earned Eagle has been a relief to him. He has a tremendous

For starters, if our Leaders actually followed YPT we would be in a much better position. Youth protection requires two deep leadership. I've seen Eagle car washes and project days with NO adult leadership. Our District is aware but they don't say anything. No one on one contact with Scouts. I've seen leaders give Scouts rides home in their car ALONE. Leaders are not supposed to drink alcohol on trips. They do, and in fact I know a Leader with a DWI who still drinks on camping trips. All written communication from a Scout should have another adult copied. A lot of

It's hard to reconcile my great admiration for the Boy Scouts of America and their youth development program with the way my Scout has been treated. He has a lot of ill feelings toward his leaders because of the way he was treated and just wants to be 'done'. I understand why he feels this way but there is so much more to experience within the program. It makes me sad.

When I was CC I had an active Committee Member step down because her son just didn't want her involved in Scouts anymore. He was a Life Scout and wanted to get to Eagle without his mom involved. I understood and respected her decision. My own Scout was treated poorly by Scoutmasters who didn't appreciate my leadership and took it out on him rather than speak to me. They would use monthly Committee meetings to get in snide comments about him and try to embarrass me but would never address anything with me one on one. EVER. I was asked to step into this role after a huge blow up in t

Eagledad - I'm a Committee member who does not interact with the Scouts on a regular basis. When the re-charter is done you check a box saying that each non renewing member has been contacted. I will gladly reach out to a parent but don't you think the Scoutmasters have a responsibility or duty to call the Scouts to find out what is going on?

Most 2020 crossovers never attended summer camp to 'seal the deal' on membership. And those who crossed over with their Webelos den (as mrjohns2 rightly pointed out) may not have been interested in rejoining because they didn't do much due to COVID. Our Unit Leaders fail to reach out to the kids when they stop attending meetings & events (even prior to COVID). I always asked the Scoutmasters around re-charter about members and they didn't know or care. I would reach out to the parents but the Scout's relationship is with the Scoutmasters and they should pick up a phone and fin

Glad you are following the rules, however many still aren't. We volunteer for an organization under extreme scrutiny for serious abuses. Yet we still have adult leaders who are very casual in adhering to youth protection. We have had a few Eagle Scout fundraisers & projects where not one registered leader was present. Our Scoutmaster likes to brag to our CO about all of these projects, but the CO is unaware of the lack of supervision and adherence to youth protection policy.. And some of these fundraisers & projects had a lot of non-Scouting volunteers (both youth and adult

I'm a realist and I respect your perspective. We're not being told ANYTHING like that in our Council. Our Council building, which is owned free and clear, is now being put up for sale in order for our Council to pay their portion of the settlement. Our President made a short presentation when announcing the sale and overall it was positive in nature, with no hint of the Council and/or National not being able to survive all of the litigation.

And yet another to portray a Scout as a 'future school shooter' because of his interest in shooting and marksmanship.

Unfortunately The Boy Scouts of America has Scoutmasters who now tell their Scouts that they're 'not allowed' to go to shooting ranges. One of our local Troops has an annual visit to a shooting range. Another Troop does an annual 2nd Amendment trip for their 14 and older Scouts. When my Scout suggested it to his PLC and one of the liberal ASMs, he was told that he didn't think they were allowed to go to gun ranges. Uninformed or imposing his views on the Scouts? What about the rifle and shotgun shooting merit badges that we offer? Another Scout was a member of his school's riflery t

I believe consolidating Units would be the way to go, however our DEs are evaluated on the number of Units in their District, so they will always consider quantity over quality. Many people are also sentimental about their Charter Org. and their history and would rather exist with fewer members and less support before they would merge or join another Unit. In my neighborhood alone three Packs have folded and a fourth is hanging on, mostly because they just celebrated their 60th anniversary. Getting volunteers has become so difficult that place holder names are being used in order to recharte

My Troop stayed at this camp when they did rock climbing at the Gunks. Hope this helps. https://koa.com/campgrounds/newburgh/

I have seen far too many Scouts slowed down because they 'have time'. I have seen Scouts who weren't favored by their Scoutmaster maliciously delayed in their journey to Eagle. If everyone followed the rules we wouldn't have these issues, but all Scouts aren't being given the same playing field and it unfortunately does lead to resentment.

Late to the game here but my observation in my Scouting District is that the female Eagle Candidates have an incredible, committed support network of Scouters available to help them earn their Eagle on this short timeline. Do I agree with the short timeline? Not at all. What I find truly upsetting is that the male candidates do not have this support. They don't have the Unit and District Scouters cheering them on and making them a priority. Many can't even get an email returned. One of my Scouts has been waiting to hear from his District Eagle Coach for two months, despite following up t

Wow. My Catholic Scout was at Yawgoog for two of those years. This is so sad and disturbing.

We lost 10 Scouts at the Troop level - 25% of membership. The Troop is heavy on the older boys, 8 of whom are either working on their Eagle project (or very close to it) or we would have lost more.

You absolutely should report it. Games of chance are not allowed. If we expect the Scouts to follow the rules, then Troop leadership should too. Good luck with the new Troop. It amazes me how they are all run differently, and I hope it's a good experience for your Scout.

What can you say about this Scout's character other than these accusations? Was this out of left field? I would postpone the EBOR for as long as possible. We had an Eagle candidate who was caught vaping at a Troop meeting. Another Scout had told his parents and they called the Scoutmaster. This Eagle candidate was a bully. There is no other way to describe him. He had been involved in incidents with racist, anti-Semitic behavior. He often brought large knives to meetings, totally unnecessary for the activity or task at hand, and would menace certain Scouts. Complaints were made to

Yes, it is about money. I cannot say that I am surprised about the number of claims. I have escalated some serious issues to District AND Council and they were overlooked. One in particular came back to bite them in the ass. Had they taken action when I brought it up they could have avoided a serious situation and avoided hurting a Scout, his family, and some truly wonderful volunteers. I had a Scout reveal in his EBOR that two Scouts in his Troop with developmental issues were being bullied. Was there any follow up? Of course not. I had a Scoutmaster with a drunk driving convicti

In my experience, Scoutmasters quit because: 1. Their child(ren) have aged out 2. They can no longer take the conflict from fellow volunteers. 3. The low level of volunteerism causes them to be overworked. 4. The Scouts' parents are batshit crazy. I was also told recently by a District person that other parents think it is 'creepy' when a volunteer stays in the Troop when they no longer have children in it.

In my experience, the many pleas for volunteers in the Troop went unanswered. The long term Unit Commissioner had been absent, and didn't see any possible areas of concern because the Scoutmaster was 'one of my guys'. In reality, the Unit was a mess. Purportedly 'boy run' but the limited number of adults did everything. The patrols and PLC were in name only. And training? What training? Why bother when we've been doing it like this 'for years'? Who has the luxury of succession planning when you can barely keep a Unit above water? So of course you give adults guilt and ultimatums

Moot point? Is it a moot point for the Scout who worked for years to complete this required merit badge? Is it a moot point for the Council, who advised the Scoutmaster/Merit Badge Counselor that in their opinion, the requirements completed were acceptable? Is it a moot point for the District Advancement Committee, who also advised the Scoutmaster/Merit Badge Counselor that the requirements completed were acceptable? Is it acceptable that a supposed 'trusted adult leader' has lied to a Scout and now refuses to answer the young man? A global pandemic requires flexibility in order to

Sadly the Charter Org has known about the deterioration in program for more than a year, however no one would step up to take the Scoutmaster position. The complaints were escalated to the CC, COR, and IH, so the correct procedure was followed. As of this week the Unit is being dissolved and the Scoutmaster still will not respond to the Scout about his partial. What a 'LEADER'...

As a merit badge counselor myself I find it very upsetting. This merit badge counselor is very experienced and dedicated. This made me wonder what I would do if someone reported me to District & Council when I was just following the guidelines?