InquisitiveScouter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Temple_Hornaday https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/nyregion/thecity/06zoo.html

OK, using your metric, the evil SE makes 7.61% of our $2.7M expenditures.

YGBKM!!! (You gotta be kidding me!)

Yup... DE's start around $35K here. (That's what current SE offered me. I declined ) And compounded with the COVID crisis, all our DE's have been let go. Not furloughed, mind you, ...dismissed. We now have one FD covering our council. Volunteers are not happy.

Where have you been all my Scouting life?? 😁

Ours gets over $210K, with the median income per family (not per capita) in our area at $88K. Parents balk at donating to FOS when they hear those numbers...

Agreed, but not on the backs of adult volunteers who are paying for their own training. Program events (camporees, summer camp, etc.), I get it... training events, especially required ones (like IOLS and BALOO) should actually be given for free. If BSA requires me to have some sort of training, then they should figure out how to offer mandatory courses for free. This would really show volunteers that you value their time and service. You have won me over with this...thank you!!

There is a toxic WB culture in this council. Heck no! When building budgets for training events, we always had to build in extra to the fees to provide revenue to the council (at the direction of professional staff advisers to whatever event it was.) Made me sick to my stomach... And now, how many events are we going to cancel because we don't have a Short-Term Camp Administrator? (Yes, this was pushed from national, but councils will be the enforcers.) Can't even tell you who our UC is this month (or is it this week??) ??? DE's, yes. But SE's?? N

Yes, you can expect that soon. Remember when they hopped on the bandwagon after George Floyd's death back in June? https://scoutingwire.org/bsas-commitment-to-act-against-racial-injustice/ Reviewing every element of our programs to ensure diversity and inclusion are engrained at every level for participants and volunteers by applying a standard that promotes racial equality and denounces racism, discrimination, inequality and injustice. Requiring diversity and inclusion training for all BSA employees starting July 1 and taking immediate action toward introducing a version for

When I first met our new council SE, in conversation I asked him what his biggest headache was. He said (closely paraphrasing), "Volunteers who think that when they put on the uniform, they are equal to me." I knew right then we were headed down the road to dysfunction...and I have not been wrong these last five years.

We did not re-register 13 out of our 51 Scouts. So, overall ~25%, but, broken down, we are about a normal year... Five of the 13 "aged-out"; six of the 13 were "chronic inactives"...those just not interested in Scouts anymore; one of the 13 was disciplinary (we will not re-register him due to behavior), and the last was due to COVID (family has significant health challenges). So, I look at it as six "eligibles" lost out of 44 "eligibles", or ~14% attrition. We are usually around 10% per year... We have not had any Webelos declare intent to join our Troop yet. Those notices d

Our previous COR is a law professor. When I asked him why he thought BSA policies are often ambiguous, he said they most likely WANT some ambiguity, because it protects them in court. That is, if a case ever arises under a particular policy point, the lawyers for National will be able to argue whatever interpretation suits their interests best. And don't bother reaching out to National for any policy clarifications. If you use some email account not tied to your BSA profile (to try to maintain some anonymity), you will be ignored. If you can be identified, you will be reported to your

No, my original is not a Stetson...there is an ink stamp inside at the crown of the head saying "Leisure Felt 100% WOOL" Ordered it from the BSA catalog through my local Scout store. The catalog entry (in the 90's) was "Expedition Hat", now called the "Brimmed Hat, Adult" in online catalog https://www.scoutshop.org/brimmed-hat-600016.html Guide to Awards and Insignia still refers to "campaign and expedition hats", page 69, bottom right, Universal Hat Pin https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33066/33066_Universal_and_Nonunit_Insignia_WEB.pdf And, yes, it is too

If you look for offense, you will always find it

What have I done?

About as much as an unladen swallow?

This is getting heavy. Oh, weight...

Insofar as I understand it, in Buddhism, if there is a "god", then you are it, or it is you, or both. https://www.learnreligions.com/gods-in-buddhism-449762 If you read through the eight beliefs of Buddhism, you will see they are in harmony with the Scout Oath and Scout Law. https://mysticalbee.com/beliefs-of-buddhism-religion/ And nothing in the DRP prevents you from claiming that you are the "god" you believe in. The Dalai Lama called his local pizza joint. When they asked him what he wanted, he said, "Make me one with everything." (Hope my tongue-in-cheek does

I love this hat. I have the same one since the early 1990's. Yes, it is hot in the summer. Also, it bleeds some color when it gets wet or sweaty. So, mine is a little faded and sun-bleached. As a first time Scoutmaster in the 90's, I bought this hat for each Scout when he reached First Class. Troop funds paid for his First Class pin. They loved them. This was also the time when Scoutmasters could let a Patrol camp without adults. My standard was, a Scout had to reach First Class before he could go on such a camping trip. They worked hard for that rank, and wore those hats pro

Uncanny! It's almost like you know me! Lol... I have been asked to serve on five separate council committees because of my experience and belief in what Scouting can accomplish. Yet, because I do not support FOS, our SE has denied my positions on those committees. I only suspect this because our SE has never told me he has denied my participation, nor why. I only hear the negative from the volunteers who have asked me to serve. Was also asked to serve on a neighboring council WB staff, and a regional and national committee, only to be later told "thanks, we're full". I suspect my

In search of Scouting? There it is!!! Thanks @RememberSchiff

I do not believe it has "run its course." Rather, flip the script...Is there a need that Scouting fills? Or better yet, in the big picture, What is the problem we are trying to solve with Scouting? BP saw a problem in the structures (or lack thereof) that society used to bring youth into full adulthood, with the physical, spiritual, emotional, social, fiscal, (and more?) accoutrements (aka character) necessary for a well functioning society. He thought Scouting could address those problems. https://infed.org/mobi/robert-baden-powell-as-an-educational-innovator/ Do those selfs

HICO, you are fighting physiology there...the point is, that part of the brain isn't done growing in yet...they do not have the physical structures needed for that kind of "adult" thinking. But, what we can do, is train them in the processes and form the habits of planning, forecasting, and leading. Eagle94, please do look for that! I'd like to read that one (as a lifelong learner ) Qwazse, right on! Even BP said " First-class Scout A BOY does not really get the value of the Scout training until he is a First-class Scout. The Second-class is only a st

Concur, Barry. OA has definitely lost its luster.

I understand the desire, but the science isn't there (pardon the phrase.) I would advocate that we need to extend their youth. We know that the brain is not fully formed, with the seat of executive function not being developed until about 25. Historically, young men had to rise to the challenge earlier because of life expectancy. That, and the needed skill set for a 15 year old to succeed was not as great or complex as it is today, imho. As a commander in the military, guess which age cohort I dealt with incurred most judicial punishments, substances problems, domestic violence or