Troops not meeting the week of Thanksgiving and over Christmas break? This is a thing now?

[DuctTape]

I would rather a troop not have a "meeting" if they are doing a different activity that week. Meetings are there to support the program; most of the program exists (or should) outside of those meetings.

IMO Scouting has dropped off b/c there is too much focus on the meetings, and classroom stuff and not enough in the out of outdoors. When scouting is too much like school with some weekend field-trips then it isn't scouting. Retention and engagement metrics in an adult-led, classroom style program is bad data.

[yknot]

8 hours ago, DuctTape said:

I would rather a troop not have a "meeting" if they are doing a different activity that week. Meetings are there to support the program; most of the program exists (or should) outside of those meetings.

IMO Scouting has dropped off b/c there is too much focus on the meetings, and classroom stuff and not enough in the out of outdoors. When scouting is too much like school with some weekend field-trips then it isn't scouting. Retention and engagement metrics in an adult-led, classroom style program is bad data.

I couldn't agree more. The increasing focus in scouting on earning more well marketed advancement bling in talkfest meetings vs. doing something active, preferably outdoors, is such a self evident turn off for youth. I cannot comprehend this perspective at all.  

[Eagle94-A1]

My troop folds at the end of the month. But we survived over 15 years without a Cub Scout pack because we focused on fun and adventure. Almost all of out scouts since the pack folded were either already members, or transferred from other troops. Those troops are now dead. The remaining ones got smart and started being more youth led and adventure driven, while focusing less on advancement. Basically they became more like us. Fun and adventure retains Scouts. And prior to national denigrating 18-20 yos, we retained  young ASMs.

1 hour ago, yknot said:

The increasing focus in scouting on earning more well marketed advancement bling in talkfest meetings vs. doing something active, preferably outdoors, is such a self evident turn off for youth. I cannot comprehend this perspective at all.  

 This is coming from folks with education backgrounds without any experience in Scouting. This is folks focusing on one thing that is easily trackable, advancement. Instead of asking Scouts what they want, they use their theories to create program.

The entire reason why Scouting took off was because BP created a program on the desires of the youth.