David CO

23 minutes ago, DuctTape said:

Districts not wanting to get in the middle began to make policies for "none".

It wasn't just that.  Teachers were complaining that these presentations and handouts were taking up too much valuable learning time.  Students are at school to learn.

11 minutes ago, mrjohns2 said:

You keep making these blanket statements. 
 

None of what you say is true in our district of 26 grade schools or the surrounding districts. 

This criticism is undeserved.  The post began by saying it is generally localized now.  No blanket statement was made or inferred.  Just a prediction.

38 minutes ago, yknot said:

I would say it is generally localized now but coming to a school near you soon. 

5 hours ago, SiouxRanger said:

Does anyone here have experience observing a DE actually creating a bona fide "new unit?"

No.  Just my troop.

3 hours ago, yknot said:

No CO I have ever dealt with had the resources to do that until relatively recently as part of their own youth protection initiatives. 

Except for the Catholic units, of course.  We had the vast Vatican international spy network to do some vetting for us.  

I think the UMC is making a good point.  Even though BSA didn't directly select unit leaders, it did force Chartered Organizations to appoint many unit leaders it would not have normally chosen themselves.

My CO started out appointing the minimum number of unit leaders needed to charter.  Unregistered parents supplied whatever additional help was needed.  It worked out fine, as far as my CO was concerned.

BSA than started badgering units into registering everyone and anyone who was even peripherally involved in the unit.  They basically wanted units to register every parent, regardless of whether the CO knew them or not. 

Many units have doubled and tripled the number of registered leaders in their units.  In some units, the registered adults outnumber the scouts.  This wasn't the choice of the Chartered Organizations.  This was BSA's doing.  It's on them. 

I'm sure the UMC can document this fact.  It is a good argument, and they should pursue it.  

16 hours ago, Gilwell_1919 said:

IMHO, Scouting shouldn't be thought of as a business...

Totally disagree.  BSA is a business.  

People are always more cautious when dealing with businesses.  Buyer beware.  BSA's motives are not entirely pure and their product is not infallible.  Some degree of caution is advisable.

1 hour ago, TAHAWK said:

Was the CofE truly the only religious denomination in the UK 

Oh.  That is entirely different.  Never mind.

2 hours ago, SiouxRanger said:

And, perhaps, so adopted because the SOLE religious denomination in Great Britain was the Church of England

Catholics ate fish on Fridays, so I would argue that we were the SOLE religious denomination.

23 minutes ago, SiouxRanger said:

Does anyone have any further insight beyond my limited knowledge?

Many of the first scout units were formed within YMCA's.  Edgar Robinson, who had been in charge of YMCA youth camping since 1900, became the managing director of BSA until it hired its first executive.  I believe it was during this Edgar Robinson period that Duty to God became enshrined.

YMCA was a very religious institution at that time.  I doubt YMCA would have given scouting the assistance it needed to get going if it did not include Duty to God.

3 minutes ago, vol_scouter said:

The survey results about girls were published. 

The results of Venezuelan elections are published too.

20 minutes ago, vol_scouter said:

 It has a chilling effect on volunteers. 

No.  I would say it heats us up.  

20 minutes ago, yknot said:

For starters, walking the walk.

 

"Walking the walk" is a common expression.  I understand what it means.  I don't think your meaning is unclear.

15 minutes ago, CynicalScouter said:

Do you have ANYTHING of substance to add other than a downvote?

I already said most of what I want to say.  I don't wish to repeat myself a hundred times.  I don't like being interrogated.  This is not a courtroom.  I don't owe you or anyone else an answer.  It is my right to ignore your questions if I wish. 

15 minutes ago, Gilwell_1919 said:

Who benefits from those donations? 

You are making a lot of good points today.  

15 minutes ago, Gilwell_1919 said:

someone that donates $100K to a local council does not help my scouts in anyway.

This is exactly what I told our local United Way chairperson when she asked me if their donations actually benefitted any of the scouts in our town.  The SE was livid.

22 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

When I was a DE, 60 hours was a light week. Longest weeks were approx. 114, with me being on call another 30 hours. And in reality DEs are on call 24/7. Best wedding gift I got was a card from my volunteers saying they would not call me between the hours of 10PM and 6AM unless it was an absolute emergency.

If that is the case, then DE's should have liked me better.  I never once phoned them.  I never once asked them to come to a unit activity.  I never once asked them to do anything for us.  I should have been their idea of an ideal scout leader.  

38 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

education was not worth it.  

It was worth it.

(But scouting wasn't.  In hindsight, I regret having started a scout troop)

25 minutes ago, vol_scouter said:

So you too with a bachelor’s degree can work 60+ hours a week including nights and weekends, work to make volunteers successful while receiving no credit, and face the disgruntled parents and volunteers for about $40,000 a year.

That is incredibly offensive.  I made $40,000 a year as a Catholic school teacher.  I have degrees.  I worked 60 and 70 hours per week, including nights and weekends.  I had to deal with disgruntled parents and volunteers.  And you know what, I was glad to have the job.

What I couldn't stand is listening to the smugness, elitism, condescension, and superior attitudes from those who earned more than me and thought they were better than me because of it.  In my opinion, that is the hardest part of teaching and scouting.

59 minutes ago, Gilwell_1919 said:

 spent a century covering up child abuse so as not to scare away members or deep-pocketed donors.  

Exactly.

8 minutes ago, vol_scouter said:

The CSE reported income includes his budget for entertainment and other funds that is not personal income.  Their actual salaries are less then half of that figure.

I'm sure that everyone who is suffering through this bankruptcy will be happy to hear that the big shots are being properly entertained.  

25 minutes ago, SSScout said:

The leadership of decades ago should be here to see the results of their corporate choices. 

Many of them are still here.  The guys on the national and council boards often serve for 20 or 30 years.  They do see the results.  But instead of being apologetic for their decades of bad decisions, they blame everyone but themselves.  They will never accept responsibility.

1 hour ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Sadly the professional's focus is on the  "3 M's: Membership, Manpower, and Money."

Which is really the same thing, since their only reason for having membership and manpower is to make money.  

15 minutes ago, Gilwell_1919 said:

how do we think 12-year old Johnny is going to feel when he realizes what has happened?  

He is probably going to feel pretty much the same way that little Tommy felt when BSA acquired Lone Scouts of America.  BSA never gave a single thought to how hundreds of thousands of children felt as it was ruthlessly stomping out its competition in its quest to gain a monopoly on scouting.  

2 minutes ago, Gilwell_1919 said:

"General Sherman total warfare"

1 upvote for using a Civil War reference.  

1 hour ago, TAHAWK said:

YPT was also expressly created to protect BSA, LCs, COs, and adults from clams of abuse.

I don't think so.  YPT is national protecting national.

1 hour ago, Sentinel947 said:

I think as a policy it's a good idea

I disagree with you.  I think it is a terrible idea.

There are some aspects of scouting that make the program more susceptible to abuse than other youth activities.  This isn't one of them.  It doesn't matter where people first meet, whether it be scouting, little league, 4-H club, band practice, or McDonald's playland.  Making friends always entails a risk.  Your friends might betray you.

No youth group should be able to tell its members who they can or cannot be friends with outside of their activity.  This is just plain wrong.