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InquisitiveScouter

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Posts posted by InquisitiveScouter

  1. Involvement of Abused Alumni Post-Bankruptcy?

    YES

    Other than persons appointed to serve on governance committees as a result of the bankruptcy settlement, do you think BSA alumni who were abused will return to serve youth in the BSA?

    SOME WILL, SOME WON'T

    If so, what do you think they should or will do as BSA volunteers?

    WHATEVER THEY WANT

    Is a sense of reconciliation or forgiveness likely or even possible?

    THAT DEPENDS ON THE PERSON.  IMHO, NO.

    Will BSA volunteer parents of today’s daughters and sons and those who step forward to lead the BSA in the future be perpetually held to account for the negligent oversight and evil acts of the past?

    YES, WE ARE ALREADY PAYING THE PRICE IN LOST CAMPS AND HIGHER FEES FOR MEMBERSHIP AND HIGH ADVENTURE BASES.  ONCE A CAMP IS LOST, IT IS LOST. (PERPETUAL)

  2. 13 minutes ago, fred8033 said:

    It's the continual dumping.  Statements like: that's failure.

    As many have pointed out, the perception, mine included, is that National (and the local council) does its "dumping" on volunteers...consistently.

    I have never been a part of any organization that practices "shoot the messenger" more consistently than BSA.

    There are also a string of failures, demonstrating a pattern of disregard for BSAs mission and purpose, and a disregard for the value that adult volunteers bring to their portfolio, which many, including me, have experienced.  They are failures, because they are being PAID!!!  And many of them, extremely handsomely, to provide services and support to volunteers and youth, which they are not.

    If it was just you and me as volunteers, I'd cut you a great deal of slack.

    I know what Shinola is.  And I know that much of what I see from BSA is not Shinola.

     

    image.jpeg.933cf325d52c184f810f065ec4902e95.jpeg

     

    • Upvote 1
  3. 29 minutes ago, fred8033 said:

    hate group

    Hate group? 

    What prompted that?

    A hate group = 

    An organization whose goals and activities are primarily or substantially based on a shared antipathy towards people of one or more other different races, religions, ethnicities/nationalities/national origins, genders, and/or sexual identities. The mere presence of bigoted members in a group or organization is typically not enough to qualify it as a hate group; the group itself must have some hate-based orientation/purpose. [Anti-Defamation League]

    We have no specific shared goals, and no activities, other than sharing experiences and opinions.  This is a venue for open discussion and expression of ideas to flesh out thoughts and stances on issues.

    What specifically would you identify as indicative of a "hate group"?

    And remember @fred8033, your my mere presence here is not enough to qualify this as a hate group.

    BTW, I hate everyone equally, but sporadically.  Hate is an emotion.  You cannot control emotions.  How I choose to respond to my universal hatred is something I can control.  And I choose to respond with kindness.

    Ahoalton!

     

  4. 21 minutes ago, fred8033 said:

    BSA does provide scoutbook

    BSA bought Scoutbook, and does not provide support for it.  When they ended the Customer Help Desk for my.scouting.org, they dumped all support requirements on the local registrars, without any warning or training.  Scoutbook support is now done by volunteers.  It seems like it takes an act of God to to elevate an issue through a registrar to the National support desk, but that is the only way National takes input now.  the volunteers of the Scoutbook User Advisory Council monitor the forums on my.scouting to help people.  National does not monitor the forums there, unless it is to ID disgruntled volunteers.  There is no direct support for the end-users.  That is a fail, my friend.

    Most of the really good features I use for Scoutbook are provided by the original developer through the Scoutbook Feature Assistant add-on...which BSA does not provide or control.

  5. 5 hours ago, Eagle1993 said:

    I certainly hope BSA is looking at other organizations on the future of signing up adult volunteers.  There are groups out there that are far smaller that give a much better onboarding experience while limiting the demand on existing volunteers.

    Heretic!

    • Haha 2
  6. https://generalliabilityinsure.com/small-business/youth-groups-insurance.html

     

    Abuse and molestation exposure is very high due to activities being focused on children. No coverage is available to the abuser. While there is some coverage available in the standard market for the youth group where the abuse takes place, it may be very restricted.

    More complete coverage should be purchased through specialized markets. The youth group must take all possible care to protect children from predatory adults and older children through criminal background checks, training, monitoring, and supervision, and report all allegations of abuse to the proper authorities.

  7. 5 hours ago, FireStone said:

    I'm not but I'd like to look into it.

    Yes, indeed.  Any issues you have in Scoutbook with log ins, accounts, multiple IDs, etc., go there, start a new topic (most people put them in Scoutbook Bugs, although they aren't bugs), and post.  Someone will answer you within a few hours, and you will get an email notifying you.

    Recommend you read through a few posts of issues to get a flavor for how to ID the problems.  Never post personal info.  That should go without saying, but some people will post enough stuff on there that you could use to seriously mess with them.

    CAUTION:  You are not anonymous on that forum!  People who know what they are doing can find out who you are and what council and unit you are associated with.  Do not post anything you don't want tied back to you easily. 😜

  8. These must be bad peanuts at my local grocer, $3.00...

    Planters Lightly Salted Cocktail Peanuts 16 oz E-Commerce Front

    Wait...how about I buy the peanuts I like...support my local economy, and then donate $22.00 to a local Pack?  Yeah, that's the ticket!!

    • Upvote 2
  9. 7 hours ago, fred8033 said:

    Yeah, but cookies are sought and wanted versus the lame popcorn.

    C'mon man!  Who doesn't like a stale bag of chocolate covered pretzels for $50?

    OMG... 12 oz of salted peanuts for $24.99.  What a bargain!! https://www.trails-end.com/productDetails/1c58a99b-a40a-11e9-846b-0e41cfdb28ba

    With $18.24 donated to local council?  Hmmm...lemme think... how much do the kids get??

    product image

  10. Here's another one...

    Fully support sending kits to the battle zone.  But, how much money is the council making off of this per kit?

    If you aren't getting any, SAY SO!  If you are taking in money off of this, SAY SO!

    But, Caution!:  If you are making money off of this, be prepared for a backlash.  Is it immoral to make money off of someone else's misfortune?

    d9faf67f-f57f-4e08-8a83-d235aefa948a.png

     

    https://betterfundraising.org/scout-kit-2/

     

     

  11. On 3/29/2022 at 11:57 PM, InquisitiveScouter said:

    And your stats are misleading.  Those 350 million aren't really the sample population; they aren't outdoors in a thunderstorm.

    https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/680-056_lightning.pdf

    Funny, I just checked the references, and BSA has dropped this pub from their Safety Moments site.  Was up just a few days ago... that's actually quite suspicious.

    I wonder if there has been a lightning death, or it was reported up the chain in our council?  Think we got some attention with the thread???

    For posterity and future lawsuits: 

    680-056_lightning.pdf

    • Upvote 1
  12. 8 minutes ago, Eagle1993 said:

    I'll argue they do far better than BSA in K5 - 5th grade.  6th - 12th grade GSUSA faulters unless you have some great Troop leaders.

    Also, talking with several of my den leaders who are also GSUSA leaders .. GSUSA is much cheaper AND simpler to run than BSA units.  Most of our GSUSA Troops have thousands in the bank by 5th grade.

    I wonder if BSA should consider the GSUSA model for K5 - 5th grade and keep the Troop model for 6th - 12th.  

    I thought this was interesting as it happened yesterday.  My daughter just took her annual GSUSA survey. They asked ... what would you say to a friend who isn't in GSUSA about GSUSA.  She answered that all of her friends are already in Girl Scouts (which is true).  Then they asked what would be one thing she would change with the program.  She wrote ... let boys in.  

     

    Agreed.  My daughter was in GSUSA through 8th grade, earned her Silver Award.  I encouraged her to go for her Gold Award, and she started with a Troop when we moved here, but the entire reason for existence of the Troop here (it was only older girls) was to pursue Gold Award.  No program whatsoever.  Existence on paper to provide a venue for Gold Award signatures... blech 

    I encouraged her to gut it out, and support her Troop anyways, but she refused and took other venues...  Venturing Summit, Congressional Gold Award, Eagle Scout  (DAD BRAG!!!)

    • Like 1
    • Upvote 1
  13. 1. The Order of the Arrow is Scouting's Honor Society.  Tell him that your Troop can use this opportunity to recognize your best Scouts.

    2.  Tell him that he has a great deal of influence in the process:  The Scoutmaster must approve all candidates for OA.  That is, even if a Scout meets the rank and camping requirements, the Scoutmaster (not the Committee or the COR) can say Yes or No to letting the Scout enter the selection process.  There is danger here for the Scoutmaster!!!  My advice is that he should not show favoritism, and always strive for consistency in selecting candidates.  Over the years, I have learned to trust the Scouts.  If there is a Scout who is not "worthy" of the honor, the members of the Troop know it and usually (not 100% of the time) select accordingly.  Tell him that he can select those Scouts who he believes would carry out the purposes of the Order of the Arrow, which focus primarily on the unit.  "An Arrowman's first duty is to his unit." https://oa-bsa.org/about/mission-purpose

    3.  Tell him, that Yes, it is possible he will lose Scouts to the OA.  But, have him ask himself why they would leave?  What does the OA offer that your Troop isn't?  And why isn't your Troop offering that?  There could be many reasons...I won't list them here.  

    4.  Tell him that this is not a "once and for all decision."  He can decide next year, or the year after, etc. to turn it back off.  Tell him he can speak to the entire Troop and tell them this.  That is, he can find a way to tell the Troop, that if they turn this into a "popularity contest", or something that does not meet the purposes of the Order of the Arrow, then he can shut if off again.  This would send a strong message for the members of the Troop to not abuse their privilege of being able to select OA members.

    5.  Tell him that the Troop can use this opportunity for adults as well.  (NOTE: adult selection is based on a different mindset... see page 19 of https://oa-bsa.org/uploads/publications/GOA-202103.pdf

    • Selection of the adult is based on the ability to perform the necessary functions to help the OA fulfill its purpose, and not for recognition of service, including current or prior achievement and positions.

    • The individual will be an asset to the OA because of demonstrated abilities that fulfill the purpose of the Order.

    • The camping requirements set forth for youth members are fulfilled.

    • The adult leader’s membership will provide a positive example for the growth and development of the youth members of the lodge.

    So, the committee gets to select the adults...and there is a nomination form.  The lodge/council decides whether to accept adults.

    Hope this helps...

    In the Wimachtendienk,

    Amangiechsin

     

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