InquisitiveScouter

Please tell me the resume builder did not get credit for a term as SPL??

Anyone having issues purchasing a new membership?? "Error Whoops!It appears important information is missing from your Eagle Scout profile.Please contact your Eagle Scout council updating the following information." All data is correct...and it does not tell me which data is triggering the error message....

+1

That should never happen. Totally violates the spirit of what we are trying to do.

Lol...if only it was as common as we'd like it to be.

Lol...it's not an in-your‐face kind of thing. Tactfully done, and usually one on one. Serious, grave, chivalrous even. But never loud and public...that"d be weird bravado and very off‐putting, no?

No. Nothing wrong with letting everyone know you will defend, tooth and claw, those who cannot defend themselves.

If I could see into everyone's heart, I'd probably never have to say such a thing. But you have no idea what motives people have until you spend a good deal of time with them.

I tell every adult at the beginning of our camping trips, "If you intentionally hurt a child under our care, I will hurt you, and I don't care if I go to jail." And they know I mean it, and there are others who back me up

I got an email reply from them on a separate issue about two months ago...basically staff cuts and no one monitoring the communication channels, so your situation sounds about right. Same here on the Eagle Directory postcards. For the amount they have spent to send me forty postcards, they could probably have just printed and sent the book for free. Better yet, make it digital...but no, gotta have that revenue stream 😜

Sounds like football, cards, camaraderie, camping, and cooking were accomplished! So...what do they want to accomplish...and what do you want them to accomplish? Guarantee they will not be the same! Remember, "This will be the hardest part for you to accept." And put yourself in their shoes...probably every minute of their lives is scheduled with some activity. They need unstructured time to develop. There are a hundred studies that show this... Do not be a slave to the "activity." If they are camping and cooking, then those "activities" will lead to advancement. Be available for them. Set up your chair and another (for a Scout) near the fire and tell them anyone who wants to work on a requirement will have your undivided attention. If a Scout takes you up on it, work on ONE requirement, them kick them to the curb for a few minutes and give the opportunity to another Scout. I find this quite effective. If no one takes you up on it, the start with one and do a Scoutmaster Conference (and sign it off if not previously done). Talk for a few minutes about what they like about the Troop, what they would like to see in the Troop, and what they wish the Troop would stop doing (start, stop, continue...sound familiar?) Ask them what their goals are for Scouting. If they do not wish to pursue advancement, you have to be fine with that! Help them set one goal. SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-limited). Write it down, and make a commitment to follow up with them on it. A parting thought... do not try to make your Scouts follow in your footsteps, do the things you have done, and become you...they won't, and they aren't. Help them find their own way.

The corruption begins... 😜

Every time there was an aviation (or other major) accident in the Air Force, there were two investigations...a Safety Investigation Board (SIB) and an Accident Investigation Board (AIB). The SIB is first, and looks at every detail to determine causal factors and get the word out to operators and maintainers as fast as possible to prevent the mishap from occurring again. SIB reports are not releasable to the public. (Some of them are quite grisly...photos, autopsies, cockpit recordings, etc...) Then an AIB convenes, and covers the same ground. They only get a piece of the report from the SIB. The AIB looks at legal issues, claims, etc. The AIB report is released to the public. https://www.acc.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/199117/air-force-safety-and-accident-board-investigations/ As far as I know, BSA only does an AIB-type look at mishaps, but does not release information. Safety information is slow to come out to the "troops in the field", and is minimal, often just re-iterating existing policies... Have a look... https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/safety-moments/

If BSA ever releases that kind of info, the devil's abode will become a lake of ice

$50...there is only one registration type. That $50 is the annual registration type... Which reminds me...that fee should be pro-rated by the month...so, if there are only six months left in the registration year, then it would be $45/2 = $22.50 plus the $5 insurance fee (not pro-rated) = $27.50 for a six month registration.

And you can easily spend more than 50 hours during the week Scouting... plus full commitment on weekends. But really, just give the time you have, and all will be well. I know some who eat, breathe, and sleep Scouting. It is all they do, kind of an obsession...

Of course, that depends you how much time you spend doing it 😜 Just to register here is $45 national membership fee plus $5 insurance. So, $50. (This includes the BSA's background check...you don't have to pay for that.) Then add uniforms, gear, fuel, food costs, training, time, heartache, etc., and the price tag can be about $1000 per year easily... Now, your unit committee should be willing to help defray some of those costs. Here, I pay for my own uniforms and food. Required training is reimbursed by the unit. Time and heartache are compensated for through the joy of watching boys grow into good men.

Matt, welcome! As @SSScoutastutely points out, the best definition of "boy-led" is them making the decisions. This will be the hardest part for you to accept. Let them make the decisions about what to do. Now, they cannot make informed decisions, unless they are informed. That's where you come in...become the "expert" Scouter, and inform them of the program opportunities out there. Recommend you focus first on going camping. A camping trip per month, if you can. In the lead up to the camping trip, have them divided into patrols for program planning, gear assembly, menu planning, shopping, cooking, etc. If you don't do it by patrols, then you are not Scouting. You are gaggling. Your primary responsibility as their mentor is to oversee the health and safety of your Scouts. This is your ONLY veto power as an adult leader. Let them decide what they want to do, and only intervene if it is for health and safety. You will never get this 100% correct, and that's OK. There's a lot more devil in the details, but that is the gist. And one more thing!! Watch out for some guy named @qwazse on the forum here... He lives in your area, and may wind up corrupting you 😜

So, I've been thinking a little more about all this, and asking myself why the National Commissioner (NC) does not seem to fill the role? So, I read an article about the NC https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2021/07/13/scott-sorrels-bsas-national-commissioner-discusses-the-organizations-next-steps/?utm_source=scoutingwire&utm_campaign=swvolunteer7212021&utm_medium=email&utm_content= With particular note on the last section of the article: -------------------------------------------------------- The path ahead The leadership is in place for the BSA to step up post-pandemic and post-bankruptcy to fulfill the needs of American families. Teamwork will be needed for the next step. “Our volunteers have to reach out and embrace and partner with their professionals,” Sorrels says. “We’ve got to build a collaborative team like we never have before. We’re going to have fewer professionals, and that means that we as volunteers will step up even more to help move us forward.” In the end, parents, unit leaders, council executives, national staff — we all have the same goal: to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes. “It has to support the local councils because that’s where Scouting is delivered,” Sorrels says. “We’ve got to deliver the resources they need to be successful.” ------------------------------------------------------------ Ummm....No. Can you see the disconnect between this message, and what many have been trying to get across here in the forum? Can you parse out the buzzwords, talking points, and sound bites? Here's the message re-written: ==================================== The path ahead The leadership is in place for the BSA to step up post-pandemic and post-bankruptcy to fulfill the needs of American families. Teamwork will be needed for the next step. Scouting has what our youth and our country need. Scouting families and volunteers across the nation know this. They are our heart and soul of our local units. Families and volunteers are making the program work in units through all the challenges we face. They are the team who make the dream of Scouting happen: an adventurous game with the purpose to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes. “Our volunteers have to reach out and embrace and partner with their professionals,” Sorrels says. “We’ve got to build a collaborative team like we never have before. We’re going to have fewer professionals, and that means that we as volunteers will step up even more to help move us forward.” In the end, parents, unit leaders, council executives, national staff — we all have the same goal: to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes. “It has All our efforts have to support the local councils units because that’s where Scouting is delivered to our young people,” Sorrels says. “We’ve got to deliver the resources they units need to be successful.” ========================================== I'd love for you all to take a stab at crafting the message, please

As you eat this menu of annelids (you know...a Diet of Worms), when digested, would you mind giving us a synopsis, please??

I have personally coordinated completion of our last three charter agreements. Much of the time, we didn't even have a DE, so the Field Director was grateful for my walking the document around and working the Charter Agreement signatures. I'll wait until our recharter goes through at council before I work the next one. Yes, our council registrar has renewed unit charters without a new Charter Agreement in hand...don't know how they can do this, but they do it.

This is exactly what we did just last fall in changing CO's. Get it in writing, and no one can really argue otherwise...

Are you with a Methodist Church?? If yes, then they are not renewing charters just yet, but extending them until March 2022 (I think)

Like this?? Cool enough for you @Eagledad?? 😜 And, yes, that is the idea...a few weeks at different summer camps each week...much more exposure that way...

Bingo. And buy TSLA