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  1. Welcome to SCOUTER Forum

    1. New to the Forum?

      Tell us a bit about yourself so we can welcome you to the Virtual Roundtable

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    2. Forum Support & Announcements

      Forum support and announcements from SCOUTER.com

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    3. New to Scouting?

      Questions and answers for parents and leaders new to Scouting.

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  2. Open Discussion - Program

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  3. News & Politics

    1. Issues & Politics

      In answer to many requests, we established a separate forum for these topics. Those not interested can skip this forum instead of spending time reading unwanted messages to identify content.

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  4. Unit Fundraising

    1. Unit Fundraising

      Ideas for fundraising projects and programs for your unit.

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  5. Order of the Arrow

    1. Order of the Arrow

      Discussions for OA Members and those interested in Scouting's Honor Society. Also includes a private sub-forum for OA Members only.

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  6. The Patrol Method

    1. The Patrol Method

      Lessons and questions of Scout leadership and operating troop program

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  7. Cub Scouts

    1. Cub Scouts

      For Cub Scout specific topics only.

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  8. Wood Badge and Adult Leader Training

    1. Wood Badge and adult leader training

      Post Wood Badge specific topics here.

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  9. Advancement Resources

    1. Advancement Resources

      Scouting ranks, merit bades, and the advancement programs

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  10. Patch Trading Central

    1. Patch Trading Central

      Have a patch or memorabilia you're looking to swap? Use this virtual patch trading blanket. (This area is intended to facilitate memorabilia swapping, not necessarily commerce.)

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  11. Working with Kids

    1. Working with Kids

      Counseling, inspiring and teaching kids.

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  12. Uniforms

    1. Uniforms

      For All messages dealing with Scout Uniforms

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  13. Camping & High Adventure

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  14. Girl Scouting

    1. Girl Scouting

      Content specifically related to Girl Scouting

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  15. Summer Camp

    1. Summer Camp

      All about planning and going to Summer Camp

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  16. Scouting Around the World

    1. Scouting Around the World

      Scouting is a worldwide Movement with nearly 30 million members in 151 countries around the world.

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  17. Council Relations

    1. Council Relations

      Discuss issues relating to Scout Councils, districts and working with professionals

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  18. Venturing Program

    1. Venturing Program

      Meet people from other Venture Crews and discuss program.

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  19. Scouting History

    1. Scouting History

      Share and celebrate the history of the world's largest youth Movement

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  20. Scouting the Web

    1. Scouting the Web

      Share tips and info for Scouting webmasters and discuss Scouting resources on the web

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  21. Scoutmaster Minutes

    1. Scoutmaster Minutes

      Inspirational stories and meaningful remarks to share

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  • Latest Posts

    • 😞 Scout involvement / satisfaction is inversely proportional to the program being like school. Scouts didn't sign up for night school! As a nerd, I loved it. So, if we want to only appeal to the 1 in 15 or 1 in 30, keep it up!
    • IIRC, at one time Star, Life and Eagle were awards and 1st Class was the highest rank. 
    • Prospective Eagle Scouts had been asked to demonstrate a “record of satisfactory service” since 1927. And in 1952, they were instructed to “do your best to help in your home, school, church or synagogue, and community” — an ambiguous instruction, to be sure. But on Oct. 1, 1965, the Eagle rank was forever changed when a requirement was added to plan, develop and carry out a service project helpful to the church, synagogue, school or community. (In 1972, the requirement to “give leadership to others” was added.) The other piece of this was the addition of the requirement to serve in a Troop Warrant Officer position.  Since adults were not members of the troop they could not do this requirement effectively ending adults earning the Eagle Rank.  Of course there are cases for Scouts with Disabilities and lost records which are covered in the Guide to Advancement.  
    • Very early there were no age limits.  Adults could earn all the same awards as youth.  Few did, but some pursued them and adult age Eagles were not overly uncommon in the first decade or two.  The official bar on adults becoming Eagle Scouts, went into effect around 1965, though it was discouraged starting as early as the late twenties.  In verified cases, adults still can be honored if they find documentation indicating they would have been honored as a youth.  Most commonly, it seems related to WWII enlistees whose paperwork fell into a crack or was forgotten.  Of course, today, challenged adults can still earn Eagle under special documentation from an early time as a member.  It may be important to remember that again in the early days, Life, Star, and Eagle were glorified merit badges that had several early changes in their requirements, eventually leading to their officially becoming a rank.    
    • As I’ve mentioned before, membership was increasing until the age limit was codified nationally. I think we can draw a chronology from that decision to the “schoolification” of what became required for advancement and what was removed from required lists. I would agree if the number of First Class scouts we offered this nation stayed in the millions per year. But that line is slipping. It’s only a matter of time before we produce reduced numbers of Eagles per year — not because kids can’t make deadlines, but because the award won’t seem to be much of an achievement. I also agree there is something to be said for earning a badge as a youth, and maybe awards for adults should have a different border. But, the more a badge is about skill, the less a maturity deadline matters. Two things come to the fore: how you serve your unit, and how you master skills. There will be problems with having our adults work advancement. Some may conclude that certain MBs are a complete waste of time, and team up with their scouts to appeal for change. But some might be reactionary with no sense of purpose. E.g., upping the camping nights to 50 might simply not be practical anymore in our complex society.
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