BAJ

My daughter and I are signed up as well. Fingers crossed.

@TAHAWK Thanks very much — very informative.

Is there truly Superfund-level cleanup liability at the site? I knew it was a former mine, but if there is toxic contamination at that level I’m surprised it was adapted as a site for youth camping.

When I was a scout in the 1980s, I was a member of a troop that was not diverse, not because of anything that the Scouts had done, but because I grew up in an area where African American families were redlined out of their ability to live for an extended period of time. I didn't know that as a young scout, though as I got somewhat older and learned some of the complicated history of race and politics in the area I came to understand that the way things were when I was a kid depended on things that had been done many years before. It wasn't a value judgement about my troop or its actions, it

I have a somewhat less critical reading of many of the posts there than you had (I read less that posters feel it is unjust that some will miss out on the opportunity to earn Eagle and more that there is a lot of frustration and disappointment on the part of leaders — including leaders of female troops — with new scouts where COVID has disrupted their scouting journey very soon after they started to build up engagement and momentum). That said, if you missed it, I’d recommend the question about Dog Care merit badge asking whether the badge could be earned with a cat.

Having only come back to scouting a year and a half ago, I have definitely seen the popularity of MB fairs (and seen them done both very well and less well also)... but I don’t think the days of scouts being the ones making contact with MB counselors are entirely gone. I had my daughter start reach out to a Scholarship MB counselor (not associated with our or our linked troop) as an almost new scout, and when I replied to one of the intervening emails about a location to meet, the counselor politely reminded me (in a separate email chain) that it was the scout’s responsibility to do the logis

Hopefully, not that different. But, I’ve seen business enterprise management system change overs — where in theory the fact that their business “wasn’t that different from other similar businesses” meant the switch should have been smooth result in long term disruptions...

When I read the point about new IT systems on the other end of bankruptcy I had a similar reaction, but my dominant feeling was honestly worry. I’ve seen well resourced and technically sophisticated organizations take a huge hit when putting in the “new high tech cloud based solution” that is going to make everything so much better ends up being much tougher than it seemed on paper. In an organization that is already seriously wounded and likely without any spare resources, my fear is that an “upgrade effort” under those circumstances could mean that everything grinds to a halt.

In the minutes to our district Roundtable this week, they shared that at this point a third of BSA camps nationwide have announced being closed for the summer.

I could get to the Circular through another path - probably something wrong with the link on the main page. NCAP-Circular-No-14-002-2.pdf

In the small ones they were individually tested for the major "demonstrate" requirements (e.g., each individually giving presentations required, etc.), and -- at least in principle -- their participation in discussion was related to meeting the "discuss" type requirements. In the larger ones, the individual testing was all about written work/filling in worksheets -- so very "schoolified" in that case.

We’ve had scouts try a few of the online MB options from around the country. Experience has been varied, generally correlated — inversely — with maximum enrollment size. I get that some of the councils are doing massive classes to try to serve more scouts (and I really feel for the logistical and record keeping challenges some have gotten themselves into), but the very big ones have been very similar to “web based training” that most of us have experienced at work. They haven’t inspired any excitement about the subject of the badges in the scouts, even of they “got them thru the requirement

Not an intellectual property lawyer, but if GSUSA also didn’t defend the “scout” trademark in those contexts, that could actually be a pretty potent argument in fighting that particular stressor that BSA is currently dealing with.

Accepting the critique that I’ve been flagged here as a bad example for the way that I worded my original post, I’m honestly struggling here with how the last few posts have framed service and service hour requirements as distinct from other requirements for advancement in scouting. A central reason particular skills, behaviors or actions are included in requirements for advancement is that they are elements that Scouting seeks to convey to the youth that are participants. Outdoor skills are required for lower rank advancement because that is central to transmitting the core of the out

My daughter is doing Personal Fitness remotely now. She’d actually met in person with the counselor once before all this started and is now doing tele-meetings every three or four weeks to talk progress on her program and talk through one or more requirements (first one under quarantine was last week, with me hanging by for YPT compliance). His flexibility and hers schedulewise meant that discussion was likely longer and in more depth than it would’ve been with the face to face model. Working really well so far (and doing the fitness program is helping manage the time in stay-at-home mode t

I certainly agree that the important element is for the scouts to be at home, sheltering in place — since that is what is important for containing this as best we can — and that is fundamentally what I am worrying about, even in asking this question. In our (admittedly small) troop and in the larger troop linked to us, we have been looking for ways some scouting activities can be continued under these conditions. For kids that are likely to be cooped up for weeks most likely, our view was that at least attempting to continue Scouting could be part of giving them a structure and making “doing

We have a few scouts who were looking for service opportunities to get service hours for rank before COVID hit. Obviously many of the usual opportunities for troop service are off the table given restrictions on group gatherings and close contact. Does anyone have creative suggestions for ways Scouts could serve under shelter in place or near quarantine conditions? Figuring out a way to reach out via Skype or video to older people who must isolate was one that could be valuable (equivalent to traditional nursing home visits), but it wasn’t obvious how to make that work. Does the collective

The Guide to Advancement says no in most cases — “Once work has begun, the Scout may continue using the requirements he or she started with until completion of the badge. Alternatively, the Scout may choose to switch to the revised requirements. Sometimes, however— especially for more significant changes—the Scouts BSA Handbook, the Scouts BSA Requirements book, www. scouting.org/meritbadges, or official communications from the National Council may set forth a different procedure that must be used and may establish a date by when use of the old requirements must cease.”

Since I expect to get this question from Scouts after an OA election tomorrow, does anyone know whether there is any precedent for change in the ‘OA election is good for one year’ if the Ordeal gets cancelled because of communicable disease concerns?