OaklandAndy

1 hour ago, Eagledad said:

a lot of times the course and the exercises bring to view that to some folks that they may not be the right person for those units expectations.

It's funny you mention that because I've been thinking that I'm better suited as a Cubmaster rather than the Committee Chair. While I would like to think I'm "decent" at being a CC, it is not the side that gets to have all the fun all the time. 

48 minutes ago, fred8033 said:

google woodbadge ticket ideas

From what i understand, it can be from the unit level on up?

I'll be going through the Wood Badge process next Spring and I was curious if I should be preparing anything ahead of time. From what I understand it's supposed to be a very knowledgeable. I don't know a whole lot about it except I was told I should go and that there's a lot of leadership training I can take back to my pack. 

21 minutes ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

Adding to the requirements?? No no

I'm thinking he meant "requires" as in expectation in participation. 

Reading all this makes me thankful I have a council with few issues, at least nothing worth mentioning at the moment and hopefully never. I do find it interesting that they asked for more money, but didn't ask if they could do a FoS presentation for your unit. Quick to take a buck and not make one. 

6 hours ago, johnsch322 said:

I am sure I can find more examples.

I'm sure you can't find a high percentage who actually look those numbers up. The statistics are out there for you to look up, not to tell willingly. Big difference. Unless you're trying to make a change and difference right here and now, what is that people want and what are you trying to prove? 

Did the BSA mess up. Yes! Are they going to pay for it. Yes! Are people going to be aware of it. Yes! That doesn't change the mission that the volunteers are trying to uphold here and now. Be a part of solution, no the problem- "nuff said". 

1 minute ago, johnsch322 said:

Hard statistics based on history should be presented to parents when they go to sign up their children

While I do agree with you to a certain extent, no business (non-profit or not) is going to tell you something some egregious. Nor would I tell a parent that. That's is not my direct history of Scouting, that's BSA. I would like to think that a parent would do their research about the pros and cons of any organization that involves kids. Nowadays, if you do a simply Google search, you'll find the dirt under the rug. 

I'm not avoiding the fact of what the BSA did. I'm presenting what our Cub Scout Pack can do for you and your family. That dark history of the BSA will always be there, but not what I personally choose to focus on. Irresponsible? That can be debated all day long. As for me, I choose to move on and let BSA clean up that mess. I'm here to serve our youth, not bail out the BSA. 

4 minutes ago, johnsch322 said:

As a survivor

I completely understand. I myself was a victim from MST and while there is an age difference between MST and CSA, the effects are still the same. Is there still abuse occurring in the military? Absolutely? Am I still proud and will I support my specific branch? 100%. I've come to terms that it's not for me to decide for others how they should feel about the organization based on my experience, UNLESS, there is a gross consistent pattern of neglect. At the time, yes I wanted to burn the world down. But now, I'm doing my best to make sure no one else can be affected. 

1 minute ago, MYCVAStory said:

What is that number or frequency?  What level of abuse?  Under what circumstances in the future can the BSA say "We have proven that we can keep children safe?"  What is satisfactory?  I don't ask these questions as someone who is supporting the destruction r continuance of the BSA.   It's an exercise to focus on the FUTURE.  What say you?  What's your "good enough?" 

I would like to think "good enough" is when parents have accepted that the organization has proven itself as a reliable and safe environment for children. It doesn't matter how many policies or background checks BSA has, but whether the public believes that they are doing everything they can to minimize the risk to children. When they feel the same comfort of having the kids in scouts as they do in the classroom, then I would say we are on the right track. 

21 minutes ago, fred8033 said:

I'm always tripping and needing to explain which group I really mean. 

I have that same problem and you just fixed it for me, so thank you!

1 minute ago, Eagledad said:

I disagree there is two sides of the fence for an organization that offers so much good for the community.

I might have worded that wrong. By saying there are 2 sides of the fence, I meant there are good and bad things that happen in any organization. I didn't mean in terms of absolute, but in terms that we can work though it the best we can.  And yes, public schools are bad IMO 😁

35 minutes ago, Eagledad said:

There are two sides of the fence?

There are 2 sides of the fence in anything. Is Scouting inherently evil? No. Did it make a major blunder and paying for it. Yes. If people didn't believe in its overall values, there would be no memberships, no volunteers, and those of us who are still here wouldn't be fighting like h*ll to stay afloat and grow our units and continue to teach, guide, and mentor. 

You can find faults in any organization. Like the ol' saying goes, "it's not how you start that's important, but how you finish". Call me naïve, but we will make it. 

This makes me so mad. A simple "thank you for thinking of us" would've been nice. We never give our council a cent. Whatever fundraisers we hold outside of popcorn/camp cards, our committee decides what we should do and how much we should give. He can take his disappointment and shove it. 

10 minutes ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

t's just a scheme to generate revenue. 

Sure is and if "we" resist by not buying the new accessories (handbook, neckerchief, etc.) each year, they'll find another way to collect revenue (annual fee increases). 

11 hours ago, ThenNow said:

Scroll down. Thoughts?
 

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2022/05/03/scouters-to-receive-2022-silver-buffalo-silver-antelope-awards-scoutings-top-national-and-territorial-volunteer-honors/?utm_source=scoutingwire&utm_campaign=swvolunteer05042022&utm_medium=email&utm_content=

Not a fan of censorship, but this is one of those times I wish it worked both ways. 

2 minutes ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

I think they shut it down because the discussions pointed out so many flaws in the way BSA publishes and promulgates information, that they just wanted to eliminate the embarrassment.

This right here is all the explanation you'll ever need. 

Like you, I came over shortly after the BSA Programs Forum excluded a lot of important topics and discussions. I've been finding a lot of good topics on this website so far and it seems that it is pretty active with lots of good responses from experienced scouters. There's even an eDutch Oven!!

Yes and registered. 

Absolutely! I actual volunteer with the Feeder Pack but I never did Scouting growing up so I have no idea what all I should be expecting or how things work at the Troop Level. 

I just came back from the Summit after doing the NRA Track in NCS and that place is huge! Lots of cool stuff that, even as an adult, I would want to do. This probably is strictly a PR event and well-timed considering the bankruptcy decision is supposed to be coming. 

They talked about doing a campout yesterday, but there wasn't much interest from the troop. Before that, I'm not sure when the last time they went camping is and don't want to speculate and make it seem like they are inactive out of ignorance. 

From what I know, the last event they did as a Troop was last October with mountain biking. I do understand that it's youth-led, I just didn't know at what point it goes from a scout meeting to just showing up with no plan in place and "winging it". They do have a new Scoutmaster and the old Scoutmaster is now the assistant after passing the reins after 20+ years, but still shows up every week. 

That's a good way of putting it. I did ask him last night how he thought the meetings were going and he says he has fun. I guess I expected more "scouting", but it is a completely different ball game between cub scouts and ScoutsBSA. It does sound like I need to sit back and let him do his own thing. We've only been doing this since the end of February and the way you explained how the overall objective(s) of these meetings were never told to us by the troop. We kind of just showed up and had to figure it out. It makes more sense now though so thank you. 

It sounds like I need to find out if they are recording these activities or just doing it for fun. Does that mean he is allowed to work on the TF requirements before getting his Scout rank? I know MB's work that way, but I wasn't sure all the other things. Is it typical for the whole troop to do this or is this supposed to be done by patrol? 

*Answered my own question about being able to work on it. I understand that it can be worked on simultaneously. 

Mainly because it is the troop we feed into, but there is only one other Troop in our county that survived the pandemic. Only other option is to go outside our county or even district. Slim pickings nowadays. 

So my son had crossed over back in February into a troop and is currently working on his Scout rank. However, at every meeting for the past month, all the troop does is play some type of sports games such as football, baseball, etc. and they'll do some time of physical conditioning for a short time. And that's it. That's the entire meeting. Is this typical? I've been trying to learn the MB process on my own,  but it seems that the meetings itself aren't really scout-related or MB-based. The physical fitness portion I get because there's a MB for that, but where's the counselor? It seems that there isn't much work towards progress and it's a waste of time. Am I overthinking/reacting and this is the standard of a troop meeting or should I be expecting something else?