yknot

It's hard to get past that sentence. We're not talking about rain or snow here. I've been in a lot of places where people didn't think I belonged and didn't want me there. I persevered and maybe that was character building but it also almost got me killed. I would not subject any youth under my care to such a thing today. Thankfully, we mostly don't have to because most youth organizations have moved beyond such backward ideas. There are plenty of things out there that can build character that don't have anything to do with a person's race, religion, orientation, or gender.

There's nothing stopping people from having these kinds of discussions here or anywhere. But if that's how someone feels about a certain class of kids and it contradicts the policies of the organization they work or volunteer for, they shouldn't be responsible for kids of that class. That's the conventional viewpoint, often reported on in the media, and I'm hardly saying anything as controversial or as pearl clutching as implied. BSA policy for the past six years is that girls are scouts. It's really not about the adults anymore, it's about the scouts.

My views are a little different. I think people pretty much have a right to say whatever they think, wherever they want, and it's better to know what those thoughts are. If those views include thinking a certain class of children doesn't belong in a youth organization they are involved with, then they shouldn't still hold an active role within it. If registered leaders hold these views -- that girls in this case, or gay, minority, or non Christian religious scouts in other cases, shouldn't be in scouting in opposition to BSA policy -- then they should not be adult leaders responsible for these

I'm not sure that's a great example to pick, because when Tigers were added to the program, verbal or physical threats weren't made against those children by other scouts or adult leaders. I don't know why people think it's OK though when it's about girls. Protecting children shouldn't require discussion. It's not censure ship to expect that registered and trained youth leaders in a youth organization protect and support the youth in their care.

Change is indeed painful but we are talking about adult leaders who are responsible for children so there really isn't much leeway to accommodate adult issues. Adults who resent the presence of some of the children they are supposed to be supporting and protecting probably shouldn't be in the organization six years in no matter what other value they bring.

That might have made sense the first year as people adjusted, but it has been six years and girls are nearly fully integrated into scouting. The fact that adult leaders, who are in charge of girls' safety and well being, are still allowed to hold such positions while espousing those views is a Youth Protection failure, not dissent. Keeping struggling units alive isn't an acceptable excuse. If old time leaders haven't worked it out by now to the point where they can accept it and focus on the kids then they shouldn't be responsible for them in scouting. We don't tolerate leaders with out of dat

A lot of public places like museums and larger stores have a family option that is a single private room. Parks as well as town and school playing fields often have single stall porta-johns most months of the year. I've gotten to where I can find them almost anywhere within driving distance in my region although it might be different elsewhere.

Agreed. Also on my list are some of the issues that Michael Johnson raised regarding implementing a youth reporting option and adult ID. A lot of units also need YPT guidance on gender issues. Transparency in incident reporting to parents and prospective parents. Dealing with YP issues presented by emerging technology, like covert recording devices and whatever new things are coming down the pike.

I believe the fee changes have been delayed to May 1, 2024

Ha ha! Pounder is listed for one of the sessions somewhere, I can't remember when or where I saw it in some obscure place. One would think they would be highlighting his presence but maybe we're back to pretending youth protection problems don't exist.

Looks like he is going to be there, then. He wasn't on the program anywhere, lol.

I hope OK to post: I grabbed it from a US Fish and Wildlife Service page. Clear skies tonight will be good for migration, so tomorrow could be interesting depending on where you are.

Horrible account.

Chris was a grown adult and took a real risk doing what he did. He shouldn't have had to do that. I think that's where some of the confusion and frustration is coming from. Whether it's someone like Chris, an adult man trying to bird in Central Park in one of the biggest, most diverse cities in the world, and still encountering problems, or an insecure teenaged female, trans or gay scout just trying to find a unit to camp with... what is really left to discuss at this point? Shouldn't they just be free to do and enjoy what anyone else does?

If BSA wants to tacitly make room in the tent for folks who don't really want to fully integrate girls, LGBTQ+, trans, etc., in their units, that's fine and their right as a private organization. But they have no problem pointing to all the DEI statements and actions they have taken since at least 2015 in response to sponsorship withdrawals, PR crises, and membership declines that say the opposite when marketing and promoting the program to the public. BSA should either address it or be honest and say DEI isn't consistently applied at the unit level.

I think it was poor forecasting more than anything else. They started it when scouting had already experienced significant declines and hit an almost 50% drop by the time they closed. The declines were influenced largely by changing demographics and not Covid or bankruptcy; at that point its financial problems were many and unrelated to those things. It was also pointed out it made no sense to try to build local membership with an expensive national center. I'm not aware what market research was done on its scout appeal, but it was never on the list for our units -- they wanted Philmont or Sea

You have to wonder how anyone responsible for the Summit mess is still serving. He should have resigned. I'm a little worried Roger Krone will see Summit as a legacy building project and focus his efforts on trying to turn it around vs. addressing some of the more mundane issues that hamper program, like declining volunteerism. National Meeting is coming up. Hopefully we'll hear something about what he has been doing other than making videos for the past six months which, while good, haven't resulted in any visible action so far.

There are incredible pressures on kids today, but I'm not so sure scouting is much of an antidote to that anymore either. There can be just as much pressure to be "the best" and to achieve Eagle, and if kids don't or aren't as interested in the advancement process -- "First Class, First Year" -- they can feel like failures the same as they can in any other arena. It's an adult driven disease that has permeated almost every aspect of childhood -- first, best, most, etc.

This is timely. Ever since a mountain lion from South Dakota was hit by a car in Connecticut around 2011, it has become apparent that young adult males are dispersing widely from established populations. They can turn up almost anywhere in places where they haven't been seen in 150 years and a surprising number of state wildlife agencies are reporting confirmed sightings the past few years. I can say in our area, scouts don't get any education about them but they probably should start.

Yes, it's really interesting to look at. There is a lot of ongoing research, there is a lot of viewable citizen science you can access on things like eBird, and it is also easy to notice things locally on your own. First of spring arrival and nesting dates are being recorded earlier and earlier for many species. Where I am, American woodcock arrivals and breeding displays used to be an early March to April event and are now more of a late February to mid March thing. We'd see them commonly at one camp out that traditionally occurs late March. Now, if I want to see them in any number there, I h

Those embellishments are your own, not mine. I made what I think is an accurate statement and I was actually trying to couch it so as to not offend. Talk to a cross section of school age kids and parents. Some of the things people argue the existence of on this forum are very hard to process, and this is just the latest that has left me blank.

I often think the reactions of some of the scouters on this site to certain things might be due to the fact that they perhaps no longer have younger kids involved in a public school district themselves. Or, if they do, their involvement may be limited to a more insular community like a scouts/church continuum. Some simply may not be exposed to things that seem very commonplace or mainstream to others.

Good article. I too went from having dozens in the yard to zero. I did see some last year and a few so far this year, so regionally there may be rebound. You can search eBird for your state to keep track. Disease events are somewhat normal, and ideally a species should be numerous enough to rebound. As the article notes, though, so many species are in serious decline from the cumulative effects of habitat loss, human interference, etc., that it's a bit concerning. Not sure where it will wind up. Last year, I had very few warblers despite normally having large flights of multiple species. I t

Winter birding highlights are over in my neck of the woods, but spring migration brings plenty to look at, even at night: Birdcast went live March 1 for the spring migration season. As noted in a fall post, it uses radar to track what is flying overhead at night and what kind of local fall out might occur in the morning. A good forecast, combined with full moon and clear skies, means scouts can birdwatch after sundown: Binoculars trained on the moon can see silhouettes of hundreds to thousands of songbirds migrating in night skies. https://birdcast.info/migration-tools/live-migrat

Those percentages are a function of the fact that more children are cared for by women with, in many cases the fathers absent or marginally present, and how laws don't extend any culpability to fathers. The study you posted here elucidates that on page 10. When a pregnant woman abuses drugs and is charged with child abuse, the state doesn't also charge the father who may have not only taken the drugs with her but may have even supplied them.