InquisitiveScouter

This is one facet of the problem. Thanks. And I am not the only one...there are quite a few around here who are in that boat. It seems our council board is really out of touch with the volunteer base as well. We are a perfect example of where leadership is cutting off its nose in spite of its face.

And only good for two years? Whereas a NCS certification is good for five?? For me to volunteer to be your Short-Term Camp Administrator? I'll pass. Instead, I think I'll apply for the National Office job of Short-Sighted Camping Program Demolisher

If it is virtual, and required by National, could it be done through https://training.scouting.org/?? Or is it tailored to your specific locale??

Sometimes you wonder if they are trying to put themselves out of business...

@MattR and others... Spot on! A council (or any organization) must be of value, be able to demonstrate that value, and advocate for their value-added to Scouting. Our council is dysfunctional, for many reasons similar to those some of you see in other councils. That was my challenge to our council. "If you want our money and support, please tell us what value you give to our program." - Our district events are not fun or interesting for our Scouts, therefore not well attended. If our PLC does not wish to do District events, I CANNOT veto them. I only veto their dec

FOS = Fund Our Salaries??

Ours, National fee $66 plus council fee $60 (service $48 plus insurance $12) = $126 total for youth. National $42 plus $5 council (insurance) = $47 for adults. Does not include the $25 first time fee for youth... Our troop dues, $49...so Scouts in our unit paid $175 to recharter for the year....not including Scout Life. I will remain council-anonymous

You cover airfare and rental car, and I'm in!! I have relatives in SA and Fort Worth areas...which is closer?? So, if you can recruit someone to do it for your unit/council, here's what I did... Week long course at Philmont Training Center to be a certified WFA Instructor. Includes certification to teach CPR/AED and Standard First Aid. Cost for me back then was about $400 for the course. We made it a family road trip, and the wife and kids did a week long program there too. If you haven't been to PTC, highly recommended. They did a great job. Then you have to purcha

When I do these, I assess a small fee to cover the cost of my qualification and materials (instructor certification, curriculum slides, projector, computer, CPR manikins & bags, practice AED, bandages, etc.) that I paid out of pocket to start up the operation. Still less than half the cost you'd see by council or on the market. CPR/AED costs about $110 and WFA costs about $200 in these parts. I do CPR/AED for $35, WFA for $60 (includes both). When I offered to do these for council at bare-minimum cost, and the professional training advisor said "No." The reason given was that

I do see microfiber shirts with canvas pants a lot around here....

@sunshinescout, @CynicalScouter knows, as I do, that any monies raised for an Eagle Scout Service Project (ESSP) belong to the beneficiary of the project. If any Scout, unit, or organization other than the beneficiary, keeps money raised by an Eagle Scout candidate for purposes of funding an ESSP, then that is tantamount to theft. Now, if there is money left over from a fundraising effort, and the Eagle Scout candidate gives it to the beneficiary, and the beneficiary chooses to give it to some other organization or individual, that is their prerogative. Yet another reason Natio

knots, interpreter strip, service stars, trail and other medals, jamboree patches, honor patrol stars, troop veteran number strips, OA flap, Powderhorn emblem, JTE patch, Trained emblem, Emergency Preparedness pins (retiring)... Now we are talking, BLING!! But wait!!! Doesn't the G2AI say "Excess Insignia With the exception of the Cub Scout badges of rank, members wear only the insignia that show their present status in the movement. Members should make every effort to keep their uniforms neat and uncluttered." (emphasis added) And didn't BP say, "A Scout should not u

Yes, and official pants come in three different materials, each with advantages and disadvantages, as @KYScouterbegins to point out. Canvas, polyester microfiber, and polyester/wool blend are your choices. Each material has its devotees. I am a devotee of polyester microfiber. Light, quick dry, converts to shorts, cargo pockets, does not fade as quickly as the canvas stuff. Disadvantages of poly microfiber? Wind whistles right through it in winter (you need good under-layers), it snags on brush and threads get pulled out (canvas is more heavy-duty), and even small sparks from the

Hi @sunshinescout, An Eagle Board of Review cannot really "deny" your rank. The can only "recommend" approval or disapproval to National. Only the National office may decide that. There is a specific process your EBOR must follow if, when they meet, they come to a conclusion that you did not meet the requirement, and make that recommendation. The first step is that they must present to you IN WRITING what they believe to be the issue. If you do not agree, you may appeal. National prefers these matters be solved at the local level, so council should first review. There is specific g

@qwazse, There you go trying to impose some common sense again. Stop it, at once, you devil!

Anyone dare email the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer and point them to this discussion thread for input? https://www.scouting.org/program-updates/proposed-eagle-scout-required-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-merit-badge-delayed/ I do not email National any more. They have skewered me more than once for my questions, and it has been a factor in reprisals by my local SE, I believe.

How do you learn to make good decisions? By making some bad ones and learning from your mistakes! Or, as a good commander of mine once said..."Every truly good soldier has dents in his helmet." Best to let them make some bad decisions now, while the consequences are small

@CynicalScouter, Agreed, that bridge is burnt...they cannot go back Revised requirements, and possibly a name change for the badge (Human Rights Merit Badge) is the compromise we could see. But, knowing some of the history of BSA's poorly implemented changes, I am doubtful of the product they will deliver. Yet, I will remain the optimist, since they have delayed the release. I think it is a good sign of internal wrestling and compromise.

The good news with that is that teen pregnancy is down. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/02/why-is-the-teen-birth-rate-falling/ I think the internet and video gaming has a role to play in that, as well.

These seem to support your numbers... https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/11/gender-education-gap/546677/ https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/08/why-men-are-the-new-college-minority/536103/ Side note...In 1984, I went to a four year school (enrollment about 15K students) that was traditionally a teacher's college...female to male ratio was 3:1. I really enjoyed my college years

After a fifteen minute search and read, cannot find raw numbers of female/male college grads anywhere...only percentages within their own cohorts...not helpful. Sorry...spent enough time down the rabbit hole...anyone else find data??

National Center for Education Statistics data thru 2018... https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_302.10.asp?current=yes Females completing HS: 1.598M, of which, 45.2% go on to a 4-year institution, so overall, 772.3K Males: 1.614M, of which, 42.0% go on to a 4-year....so overall, 667.9K So female % of total enrollees is 53.6% Male % of enrollees is 46.4% Close approximation of enrollees, female to male is 55:45 Now I'm off to find graduation rates...

Barry, Was one of your sessions on "How to Bite Your Lip?" Or, "Recite this phrase from memory, "Did you ask your Patrol Leader?""??? It is amazing how many adults are unwilling to let them struggle sometimes. I even had a Scout show up to a trip once, and he said, "I forgot to buy the stuff we need for dinner tonight!" Me: "Well, you'll have to figure out a solution with your Patrol Leader, or skip the meal." His mother had a huge problem with that. She wanted to rush off to the store and buy the items he needed. I pulled her aside for a discussion. 1. Do

Yes, it does...most of the time you just need to have those conversations in view of someone else, as the are not supposed to be overheard. Once in a while, a Scout comes along who, for some reason or another, changes the words you say into something they think they heard, with a different meaning entirely. We have one in our unit now, who must have Scoutmaster conferences with another adult listening. It was quite eye opening to the parents that their son was hearing something vastly different than what was said, after the second adult corroborated the first adult's message.