yknot

I interpreted the second Q on this FAQ to mean that if your local council is saying no camping then you need to follow that and not camp outside of council. If my interpretation is correct then you possibly could be liable if someone contracted Covid. You also have to look at it as your Council is taking these measures not just to reduce risk to scouts within your own unit/Council but also because the scouts in your region could present a risk to scouts in another region if you take them out of Council. Considering how Covid rates have varied widely almost by zip code, it seems the more pruden

I offered that advice because I was involved in a dispute that wound up before an administrative law judge. While of course it was thrown out, I and everyone else named had to take time off from work to attend multiple hearings. It was stress I did not need while fulfilling a volunteer role and I don't think anyone else wants to be in that position either.

I mostly agree with you but I think for situations that could possibly lead to the threat of legal action, and this in my experience is one, it's better to have everything spelled out ahead of time.

The best way to do this is to have a consistent policy at the unit level. You need to meet as a committee and lay out how you handle disruptive scouts and write a policy. In our unit, we say we make an effort to accommodate all scouts, but if issues arise then a parent or parent appointed guardian may be required to attend meetings with the scout. If a parent cannot attend and the scout is disruptive, then the parent will be called to come pick up the scout.

The purpose of BSA's ambitious but ambiguous pronouncements on YPT are based on liability and to avoid the following type of headlines: "Boy Scout Leader Charged In..." because that is what the media will focus on no matter where any alleged incidents occurred. However, while I have always tried to follow BSA policy as closely as possible, sometimes you do have to apply commonsense. A family member is an acceptable guardian of a scout, whether that is mom, dad, or an adult sibling, grandparent, aunt/uncle or cousin. As a parent you simply have to be vigilant to that fact that these relat

Nathan, poke around this site and look for discussions about merit badges, merit badge fairs, merit badge universities, etc., and the concerns abou them. I think you will see why there is some reticence. You are young with a lot of enthusiasm. I think most of us on this site are older with a lot of cynicism. I think what we need to deal with is that the scouting way of old is really an anti app culture, but the scout of tomorrow is likely going to want apps. Somehow, if scouting survives, people like you will need to figure out how to make sure scouting stays both personal and relevant. Good

Millennials are less likely to marry, less likely to have children, and are having fewer children than previous generations. Fathers are less likely to live with their children, and those Millennials that do have families are delaying them until later in life. Millennials are also far less likely to participate in an organized religion or community groups. They carry more debt than any other generation in history. There is little brand loyalty when shopping for anything. They rely on social media reviews and price has become more important to them than quality. They will donate money and time

I call it hands vs. heads. It is relatively easy to get Millennials to show up and help out as a pair of hands for something. What's hard to get is a commitment to take a more involved leadership position -- heads. They want someone else to do it for them. In their defense, family life has never been harder to juggle. In the 30 years I've been involved with youth organizations, the number of families with both parents working has increased to be almost all. The number of single parent families has increased. The digital revolution means that jobs never end. It is very difficult for managerial

I think scouts is going to have to accept many paradigm shifts in order to survive. This type of thing might be one of them. Declining volunteer rolls isn't a problem unique to scouting. Scouting is the most volunteer intense organization of any I am involved with, and parents frankly have less and less time to give and money to spend. It's also generational. Millennials do not seem to have the same interest in volunteering as prior generations. Or maybe they do, but they want to do it differently. They certainly do not want to waste their time with ridiculous paperwork. Instead, they want ph

Just as a point of comparison, some volunteer youth programs have gone to a kind of quasi paid model in the form of a stipend. This is often supported by some kind of a family bond payment above and beyond fees. If you want the bond money back, you take on a volunteer job. If you feel you don't have time to volunteer, you forfeit your bond payment and that money is provided as a stipend to someone else who did step up to volunteer. It's not really pay -- the hours required are still way beyond the stipend -- but more of an enticement or motivator.

Agree with all you said except for one thing: We don't send the whole medical binder anywhere. The set of "to go" forms for each scout are in their own clear plastic, largely water proof closed file. These can either go in the traveling binder for a camp site location or just clipped together on a ring for a backpacking trip. The medical binder has been lost once in a tip over so we never leave the unit without a master set. It is also a lot of volunteer hassle to have to recreate it. Also, it might be silly, but it feels like a privacy thing. No reason why med forms for 40 kids should go on

This is interesting because I think it's one of the things needs to change. I've had to scan in and submit health records for other youth activities. Not sure why BSA is continuing with paper. How our troop handles it now though is to require parents to submit two copies of all forms at registration. One set always remains in the master binder kept at the CO. The second set is pulled out and put into a trip binder for each trip and then returned. In the event that copy is ever lost, though, a master set remains in the unit's possession. I also think one of the things that has to b

There have been efforts but the BSA organization itself is not structured to be very workable in at risk communities. Other youth organizations, like youth sports, have managed to do a fairly good job but not BSA. And none of those other youth organizations claim many if any of the higher goals so vocally promoted by scouting. It is an odd disconnect. I'm not saying BSA should have organized itself around serving inner city or rural poor youth, just that it shouldn't be so difficult and expensive no matter who you are to implement the program.

How many of those kids realistically have ever been part of the scouting universe from the National perspective? A tragic mistake, because if scouting was living up to its own values, those kids would have been the target audience. But the corporate marketing reality is that they are not and never have been the goal. The market at least in recent decades has been families that want their kids to get to Eagle and are able to spend on on all the uniform and advancement permutations along the way.

The issue is not the monthly expense it is the perceived value. BSA does a terrible job of promoting value. It's marketing for the past few decades has relied on Eagle Scout but that does not appeal to the broadest cross section. It should be focusing on outdoors.

I've seen that too. And Council fees can increase proportionally to match. However, those fee projections predate Covid and its effects on retention, recruitment and membership as well as its impact on drawing out the bankruptcy case which will likely also increase legal fees. Not to mention unit fundraising which in some places has been seriously curtailed and will have an impact on local dues. There are many unit expenses that also need to be accounted for. It's not a good situation.

It is doubtful that there is any scenario under which fees will decrease. It's very possible that they may increase again.

The last thing I can suggest if you still have trouble is a light cotton t shirt or Class B t shirt underneath. This helps if it isn't too hot for layers.

Yes it looks the same with the same label and same net vent over the shoulders. I don't know what your daughter's specific sensitivity issue is but the fabric is soft, light, and not scratchy.

I feel for you. I have the same issue as do both my sons. There is a shirt style I bought a few years ago that is 100 % polyester that both did OK with. It was very soft and pretty breathable for polyester. We mostly can't wear anything but soft cotton, certain kinds of polyester, and cotton lycra. I don't remember if they made youth sizes because all of mine are men's, the smallest being men's small. I would bet you would be able to find in hand me down bins in one of your other local troops if you explained your problem and asked or maybe on ebay. The other thing I tried to do with those scr

Bear behavior during the supposedly dormant months doesn't have much to do with locale but rather other factors such as ambient temperatures and the health of the bear. Black bears are not true hibernators but enter a state of torpor from which they can readily awaken. A January thaw, ill health, or stimulation can entice many bears to wake up randomly and seek food. We all have that image in our head of bears snug in a deep cave during winter months but in reality a black bear den can simply be a depression under a fallen log or thicket. Even slight human activity in the immediate vicinity c

Also worth considering is that black bear populations have increased dramatically over the past couple decades especially in the east so what has worked in the past may not continue to work as bears get more habituated to humans and smarter about accessing food. We live in bear territory and supposedly bear proof measures for trash or livestock often don't work. Bears are one of the reasons why I would like to see some of the emphasis on cooking and food lessen in the program for both cubs and scouts. The less you pack the less they can smell.

I've been thinking about this. Starting at the cub level, things like knife skills, fire skills, camping skills, citizenship skills, etc., are taught. A cyber chip has been added. I don't really see anywhere though that we specifically teach the basic tools of leadership which is kind of core to the program. The program creates leadership opportunities and situations but there's nothing about what is a team, what is leadership, what do you do when not everyone agrees, how do you run a meeting, what is compromise, etc. Older kids that seek out the training can get some of this through ISLT an

We run the financing through the Troop as a pass through account but the trip is wholly the responsibility of the crew from the get go. Someone from the crew has to front the money and if someone backs out they are either liable for the funds or need to get someone else to take their spot. The problem is that you need to reserve these spots well in advance and things happen. But that's why we are hands off. It's an elite experience open only to those who can afford it or are willing to put significant time into fundraising so we don't underwrite anything other than leader training.

That's my point. From the comments on this board, its clear we were all raised that way. I was free range. I roamed the neighborhood and local woods with a large pod of kids. We had drama, crises, fights, danger, you name it. We worked it out among ourselves. No parent involved. No parent even knew unless someone squawked. We learned how to interact with each other. We had bigger families and learned how to handle sibling relationships and responsibilities. Kids are not growing up with those opportunities and skills anymore and that's why I think it might be useful to look at whether scouts ne