Sentinel947

Thanks for this post MattR. I had a similar experience recently. I went over to a friend's house to have a few drinks and watch the MLB All Star Game. My friends son, college age, (never was a Scout) had some of his friends over to play Magic the Gathering. One of those friends was a former Scout from my Troop, so it was nice to check in. He's doing well, family is well, he's working as an electricians apprentice.

Give what you can and feel comfortable with. The majority of folks donate nothing, at least when I did FOS presentations, (maybe I just sucked at them.) Probably. I know my council's budget got really out of whack when the United Way stopped donating.

Each council's "Cost per Scout" is going to be different. My council says $206 a year or $17 a month supports 1 Scout. Each district/unit does have an FOS goal based on number of Scouts, families and the demographics of the area. Generally there are no consequences to a unit for not hitting an FOS goal. Some council's are moving away from FOS entirely to a council fee model, but mine has not.

Maybe cover half the adult fee rather than the full thing? It is an acknowledgement that their help is appreciated, but the economic reality is also changing.

No. Are you implying that all parents that aren't in fee registered positions are merit badge counselors?

Not entirely true. It ensures every adult that is camping overnight in a Scouting program is background checked. I'm curious if that came out of documented incidents, if that's one of the changes the bankruptcy process made happen, or it's a creative way to get more in fees, as you said. The BSA is rarely transparent about such things, so if there is actual data supporting the rule change, we'll never see it.

Then National doubled down with Lions right?

Totally agree with this. When somebody says "Leader" the streotype that comes to mind is the President, a Sports coach, or a military leader in the front of a group of soldiers storming the enemy. Scouting does tend to bias towards streotypical extroverts, because Scouting is a team and social activity. There is a stereotyping for youth and adult leaders to exhibit what we consider extroverted traits, but that's a cop out. These sterotypes get drawn on too much. We make excuses for people not just in Scouting, "They're an (Extrovert/Introvert) it's just the way they are." I don't believe that's true at all. Extroverts and introverts can both be excellent leaders and it is our challenge as adult volunteers to help our Scouts develop their own leadership style. When we try to create carbon copy clones of "leaders" in Scouting, we fail them. We have to equip our Scouts with values and tools to be leaders, and let them develop their own style. My understanding of Extroverts vs Introverts is that Extroverts are energized by interactions with others, while it's overall a drain to introverts. That doesn't necessarily mean Introverts hate people, and it doesn't necessarily mean Introverts can't be outgoing and social when necessary. While extroverts are outgoing and social, that doesn't mean they can't be reserved and contemplative. They may need to be taught, and given opportunities to practice. My Wood Badge Course Director was an incredible leader and an introvert. He communicates well, and I was inspired by his leadership, but he needed little moments at events and after events to decompress, wind down and have self care time. He could get up and speak publically just as well as any extrovert, but much of his leadership of our training team and participants was done quietly, and subtly 1 on 1. He set a tone and direction for our course to be successful. That is just as, if not moreso, effective leadership than the typical streotypical rah rah Extrovert. Meanwhile I'm a raging extrovert and come back from a Scout event fired up and feeling great. Basically my limit on human interaction is that eventually I need to sleep. That being said, oftentimes Scouting is about pushing Scouts to grow and get out of their comfort zone, to try new things. This is true of encouraging (not requring, or bullying) Scouts who are afraid of heights to try the rock climinb wall. Same applies to extroverts/introvers in Scouting. We should be encouraging the shy and quiet Scout to put themselves out there in a safe environment and sing songs, participate in skits, and play games. That's growth for them, and they might find they actually enjoy it. At the least, it helps them participate with the team, and develop a comfort in social settings that willl be beneficial to them. An opportunity for the social butterfly extrovert is to actually not take the lead in some of those things. Give other people a chance. Make room for other peoples ideas and experiences to be shared. I struggle to listen to others and give people equal time to speak. I enjoy talking. As a youth and adult, Scouting has offered me opportunities to practice good social skills, and look for opportunities to encourage others, and to bite my tongue and let other people have the spotlight. That was/is growth for me as a stereotypical extrovert.

That's a good reason. My top reason is that it builds team spirit. I can't explain why it does, and it's ridiculous, but it does. Now I argue it's a chicken or the egg type thing... (Do Scouts sing because they are energized and have enthusiasm, or does them singing goofy songs make them more energized and enthusiastic?)

I'm willing to be corrected, but I don't think the USCCB can do that. I'm pretty sure every Bishop and Archbishop is sovereign within their diocese on issues like this. It isn't a matter of doctrine or church teaching. It would be like if the USSCB tried to make a binding decision that every diocese needed to have a policy about parish youth basketball leagues.

It's almost certainly liability related, just like the UMC.

My Scouting compensation package got doubled this year too. ✋

Agreed. This is still covered in Wood Badge, although it's framed as the difference between a Mentor and a Coach. Informal vs Formal power. I've noticed some Teachers and Military folks struggle as Scout volunteers because they are used to having formal social power and the ability to demand respect and wield that power if not obeyed. Our Scouts are our most important "volunteers". Scouting exists to serve them.

I think you're on the right track and your understanding of the patrol method is strong. BP wanted to work with a teenagers natural desire to create tight knit little groups of friends. I'll add one thought that reinforces yours: Let your scouts figure it out. Especially the small number of scouts in a patrol situation. What do they want to do, what are pros and cons of their decision? I spent alot of my time as an ASM and as an NYLT Course Director asking "What do you want to do?" to my Scouts.

Compensation for executives should have components that are performance and incentive based. The challenge is creating those systems without incentivizing bad or fraudulent behavior. I'll say in a lot of areas $75k would not cut it. That's not even considered a living wage in big metros on the Coasts. (Which is why I don't live in those places.) Even in places without crazy costs of living, one can make close to, or significantly more than, $75k for much less responsibility and headache. Think about what a SE does. They are the leader of all of the councils employees, they typically have responsibility for working with the councils donors (unless your council's leadership has already ran them off.) They have responsibility for council property and assets. I peg SE's pay to what is similar to a Principal of a school on the small end, to maybe a Superintendent of a school district on the high end. My council claims to have around 20k Scouts registered. The School district I was in growing up has around 16k students and the Superintendent makes $169k. Another local school district has 35k students and the Superintendent makes $260k. Our SE made about $200k in 2000. Maybe a little overpaid relative to the Superintendent example, but not outrageously so. In 2016, our SE wasn't in the top 36 of Nonprofit CEO's in my metro area. (The list was only 36 organizations long) This is a topic that gets hashed out ad nauseum about non-profits: See 2013 article Last thought. I used to work for a non-profit (not the BSA). I left for a private business and got a 23% increase in pay. Yea, I believed in the organization and the mission, and I was proud to work there, but satisfaction in the mission of my employer didn't pay my bills. TL;DR: 75k is too low to attract competent executives, skilled/talented people have bills to pay too and don't work for cheap. At least in my local area our SE seems to be paid relatively sanely to their non profit peers.