fred8033

Really? I never heard that. Is there a reference I could read? I'd like to learn more.

I laughed until I realized ... Dallas Cowboys ... yeah, you're right.

Question ... What is the claim for ?

Your icon of "Leadership Corps" made me read up on BSA's leadership corps concept from 1972-89. Now that I've read, I can see local troops that still implement that concept. It fills in a hole on why I always wondered their troops did things different than how I had been taught. But I've been taught based on later BSA writings and earlier intentions. I was never introduced to the "Leadership Corps" concept. Interesting. Leadership Corps essentially is like a patrol of troop guides that helps the troop function. It addresses the older boy problem, provides benefits but also introduces some other issues. Interesting.

There's confusion between "troops" and "packs". You quoted a question about "troops". Packs = Cub Scouts (k-5 grades). Troops = Scouts (11-18 ages). Crews get mostly lumped with troops for rules, mostly. Packs (aka cub scouts) can shoot BB guns, archery, air pellet (webelos) and wrist rockets (sling shoots). Cub shooting ranges only need a BSA certified range master. Troops shoot riffles and shot-guns. Crews can shoot pistols. Rifle and shot gun ranges require a NRA skilled instructor and a NRA RSO. I don't know all the ins-and-outs of those certifications. Page 67 of the Shooting Sports Manual you linked has the answer.

Yep. That's been my understanding too. It's when opening a riffle range or a shot gun range that you need an RSO and a NRA riffle instructor.

Teddy Roosevelt? Nope. He's out too. https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/03/21/teddy-roosevelt-legacy-100-years I get tired watching history being erased. We should just stop naming things after people. People are flawed. ... except Jimmy Stewart. That guy was cool. The conversation movement did not just happen on it's own. People advanced it. Hornaday was a focal point. ... IMHO ... It's okay to celebrate an achievement without being interpreted as saying the man was perfect. Change the award. Fine. It's just a sad thing to watch.

It gets tiring to watch history being erased. Maybe we should just stop naming things after people. People are flawed. ... except Jimmy Stewart. Now that guy was cool.

?? Requirements have been changed to require a NRA rifle instructor to open a BB-Gun range or archery range ?? Cubs are not allowed to shoot riffles. Or are we mixing Cub and Boy Scout requirements?

Night hikes are often the best.

I totally get that. When my sons were in CUBS, it was before "adventures". We were often trying to piece together activities to close out individual requirements. Perhaps the new Cub "Adventures" is the response to that requirement focus. I'm not sure if it's better or just different.

Though I'm late to the game, I just read the BSA 2019 Nov/Dec advancement news. Great article for ALL unit leaders in it. I'm putting this under "Program" as it's a comment about focusing on "program", not advancement. Read "Advancement Is Based on Experiential Learning" on page 6 in BSA 2019 Nov/Dec Advancement News. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/advancement_news/2019_Nov-Dec.pdf A few comments Advancement is natural outcome. Program over advancement. Scouts attend because of program. Growth is tracked thru advancement. Keep inside the PLC the planning / mapping of advancement to troop program. The troop scouts should be motivated by the excitement of the program. Don't expect them excited because it fulfills a requirement. Example: Troop program should not have a calendar entry for a five mile hike for second class scouts. Instead, it should have a hike to local attraction (waterfall, dam, overlook, etc) where the trail ends at a local ice cream parlor. Just so happens the round trip length, starting point, etc are five miles. Give the tenderfoot scouts the maps and compasses. Let the older scouts hang back and chat and enjoy the event. The PL should be coached that they can ask to see the scout's handbook and sign off on requirements the scout has demonstrated even if the scout didn't know he was fulfilling a requirement. Even though PL is ideal, I'm okay with SM/ASM doing same if that's the personality of the troop. My favorite memory is a local SM years ago who every year took his scouts on a long canoe trip. During the trip, new scouts would be coached on canoe strokes and parts of the canoe. Each would canoe with the SM at some point. ... The SM and scout would be in the canoe for hours together. Relaxed conversation. And periodic discussions about canoeing ... At the end of the trip, the SM would award the canoing MB to any scout that had not already received it. Scouts kept going on the trip year after year. ... IMHO, that's the type of SM I'd like to be. My key thought ... Avoid saying XXXXX fulfills an advancement requirement. That's not motivating.

Yeah, to be honest, you've probably hit at one of the areas that we are less good. Our troop follows BSA G2SS strictly for hikes, camping, service, etc. But if it's a social event such as movie theater, food shopping, going to the mall, going to the high school football game, then no we don't make sure adults are present. We're just glad the scouts want to hang around together and grow their friendships. We count both camping, service, etc, AND social events as patrol activities. It's just the type of risk and type of activity. Plus, I can easily find adults to go on hikes with the scouts, but few that want to hang around the mall with them or go to the movies.

G2SS has the core rules. Swimming, shooting and other activities are easy to find. We do the best we can. We're in a time of change. Watch for updates, but keep running your program doing the best you can to follow the rules as you learn them. At some point, you focus on your program and any rule changes are minor issues.

Cool. Keep that. It's a family heirloom.

I must admit I prefer long standing scoutmasters. Troops change personality with the SM and youth need continuity. BUT why shouldn't it be okay. We want scouts to step up and adults to minimize their own involvement. It seems like rotating adults promotes youth owning their own program. My only fear is it takes a long time to really figure out the job. I'm betting at least two years. It would not be fun to have a SM continually learning his role.

... Jealous ... It's one trek that I always wanted to do.

It's one of the reasons that I think opening BSA is a good thing.

I did not answer the original question. No. Our troop generally followed BSA's standard troop meeting. We did have a service patrol and a program patrol. Patrols cooked and camped together. Patrols often socialized together. Patrols were long standing. Beyond that though, patrols were a way to make the troop manageable. I would have liked seeing patrols being tighter and more significant. I would have liked seeing Patrol Leaders having a more significant role.

"you call the helpline?" ... That's 911 and the cops. Sort of an contradiction. ACB ? Australian Cricket Board ? Yep. I'd call for help.

"Weekly meeting" don't have to be a recurring, 6:30pm sit in a chair thing. IMHO, that's part of what is killing scouting. ... Camping? That's a meeting. Activity setup by the program patrol? That's a meeting. Service project? That's a meeting. ... Regular cadence of scheduled meetings is important, but scouting isn't about meetings. My son's troop monthly cadence was: 1st & 3rd Monday troop meetings ... 4th Monday PLC (with separate committee meeting) ... one camp (11 of 12 months a year) ... one activity ... one service project. That was five meetings a month. Six if you count PLCs. ... Outside that, scouts often met and socialized. Any given month, 4 or 5 happened. Some months we had six. A few months had three activities. But our cadence was 2 meetings, a campout, an activity, a service project. ... In addition, our annual cadence was one high activity, one moderate activity and then something special. I was exhausted with that cadence for 15 years. Then add cub scouts. ... Having two more Monday scheduled meetings each Monday would have been just too much. The best troops are ACTIVE, but "meetings" don't make you an active troop. Troops should have things going on all the time. IMHO ... if you are going to have a meeting, be productive and do something meaningful. Scouts can see through filler and make-work meeting topics.

deeper pockets.

When do they add almost every school district to the legal claim? BSA recruited in schools. 10,000+ charters were schools.

I meant in no way a slight. I was responding to the words you wrote. "... AT&T broke itself up ...". It was a historic, groundbreaking antitrust. Larger than standard oil. It's why I added "... based on settlement of a massive anti-trust lawsuit. " ... I can't imagine how this case was managed. At least BSA's legal case has databases, modern word processors, etc. AT&T had mimeograph machines and file cabinets. I wish we were on the same camp outs. It would be fascinating to hear the stories and history. Absolutely fascinating. I grew up listening and watching these discussions. Many engineers and lawyers in my family. Decades watching the news, 60 minutes, Ted Koppel, etc. ... "he pointed out that there was no drive to break-up the System, from Justice or the public. The drive was to allow competition on supplying "stuff' to the telephone business - largely meaning the System - breaking the culture that almost everything purchased by the operating companies and Long Lines came from Western Electric, "the supply arm of the Bell System." . That is the understanding I had. I'm not sure the public really understood except that AT&T was massive. I'm too young to remember "AT&T values of service uber alles". I only remember the other side of no one can fight Ma Bell.

This is how our council trained us. When I received my BSA shooting sports training (now 10+ years ago ... I have to remember things right), we effectively became council volunteers. This allowed us to open ranges just for our pack. I know another trainer created a range for temporary use per the BSA shooting sports manual for his pack. But, he was functioning as a council / district representative at that point and having an event just for just his pack. I remember being invited multiple times to help district / council similar events.