Stosh

By setting up an independent program for the gals, it would seem that he wasn't all that excited about co-ed, not even on the scouter level.

I may be the last scout to stop a runaway horse. I was at a CW reenactment at Chickamagua in Georgia and one of the troopers was thrown when he got too close to the artillery. The horse bolted and took off across the field. Another trooper tried to catch the runaway but the riderless horse could outrun the mounted horse. I was standing in artillery reserves and I had read the part about runaway horses in the early Scout Handbook, and dang, it really worked!

Wearing vintage uniforms is okay, but mixing eras is frowned upon. That's why I wear my community strip on my green shirt and not on any tan. I wear the collar brass from the 1910 uniform on my Jac-shirt and not on any current uniforms. If one is going to wear a modern uniform, wear it correctly, if one is going to wear a vintage uniform, wear it correctly.

Every town has a Post Office....

My scouts have maintained the Scatter Garden at the local cemetery for a while. They also help at the CO's annual church fundraiser dinner (including paying for their own meal). They help with the CO's neighborhood summer festival. They ring bells for the Salvation Army. They help serve at the weekly free meals once or twice a year.

Yep, not anymore. It might be an interesting read to peruse some of the old Boy Scout Handbooks. It might give one a better understanding of what's been lost over the years.

It lies in the "fuzzy logic" of what's best for me on the one hand and what can I get away with" on the other. Morality and one's adherence to it (morality). Basically all moral codes/convanents/agreements are valid as long as everyone agrees to it. If not (disobedience) the whole thing begins to fall apart. Of course there is then the caveat that once the code is broken (obedience isn't followed) then the next step is broken trust (A Scout is Trustworthy). The dominoes thus begin to tip one after another until there is anarchy. The "fuzzy logic" comes into play, when one tries to determine where the real tipping point of the process turns from civilization to anarchy. The law says 55 mph, but the cops look the other way at 56? 57? 58? Just because the police don't pull one over, doesn't mean 56 mph isn't speeding. What's in it for me and what can't I get away with are the two "first steps" in disobedience. Does Citizenship in the Nation cover Civil Disobedience in it's teaching or do they ignore it.

But there is vagueness and latitude in the system. Thus the evaluation and re-evaluation going up the ladder to the Supreme Court. So Armed Robbery will get you 10-15 years. So what is it 10 or 15 or somewhere in between? Then there's "beyond a reasonable doubt". Getting to a yes or no is kinda hard with the term "reasonable" thrown in.

When I was at the Irving Museum, I was surprised that they knew NOTHING ABOUT the early literature of the BSA, the Every Boy's Library and Percy Reese Fitzhugh's series on scout life in the early years. (Pee Wee Harris was one of these original book series. I guess they just focus on what they think is important and re-write the rest. (like the did with GBB legacy)

My historical 1960's uniform has all the correct bling. I have moved from one town to another in a troop change, so I just changed out the community strip. One can always try to get the old ones off of Ebay. That's where I got mine as did my former SPL who worked on a historical uniform as well. I get a lot of comments from the SM patch from 1960's, not many people have ever seen one. Over many washings, the 1993 council patch I have is well worn, really well worn. Am I going to replace it anytime soon? Nope, no one looks at it anyway.

What works for the program isn't always what works for the consumer. If a single mom is interested in a male role model for her son, having a female leader doesn't meet her needs. Instead of tweaking the program, define it and then let the consumer decide if it's what they want. If the consumer doesn't what what is offered, it's not the fault of the consumer.

One cannot legislate morality, though many have tried. There are many things that are legal that are morally bad and vice-versa. It just depends on the morality of the one's making the laws. Laws only codify away the freedom of choices. The big one in today's society is: Can I buy a gun to defend myself and my family. One has a moral obligation and responsibility to do that, but the laws in some places restrict or deny that. It all boils down to how one person uses laws to either enforce power or to help. At that point it becomes not a legal issue, but a moral issue. Drinking and driving or texting and driving or driving 5 mph over the limit, may be a personal choice, but it endangers hundreds of others in the vicinity that takes away their personal choice not to be injured or killed. Paying a fine or sitting incarcerated for a period of time does not do justice to the situation, but we have come to accept it as the societal new moral normal. I have always thought it strange that one can't smoke cigarettes in a public building because it endangers others, but driving 5 mph over does the same thing, but "everyone does it". As far as character is concerned, that all depends on what one does when no one is watching. Just watch the brake lights on the car ahead when there's a police monitoring traffic ahead. This attitude does not make one liberal, it makes them moral.

I loved the old community strips, they were great conversation starters and a great way to make friendships. Most council patches are so "busy" that they are hard to read to know even the name of the council. From 5' away all one knows is that it's different than the one one is wearing. It could even be the same council, but it's hard to tell. I wear the one that was issued when I bought the uniforms, my oldest shirt has a patch from 1993.

Doesn't sound like anyone other than National Executive Board members voted on this. Musta meant Councils, CO's, and membership wasn't considered part of the process. Kinda the way it was this time and with the homosexual issue. Pretty hard to change the spots on a zebra.

And of course there's yet one more option. The CO's provide $20 and a place for scouts to meet. Period. They don't have a genuine interest in the program but provide free meeting space as a community service opportunity. My Venturing Crew CO did neither.

I didn't receive any feedback from my CO's over the years. Their hands-off stance keeps communication at an absolute minimum. It usually boils down to "Are you going to pay the $20 part of the rechartering this year?"

One other caveat I forgot to mention. If a boy has his ISA account from the Pack transfer into the Troop, all the money goes into the Troop fund. If the Commiittee decides it would be appropriate for that money to be used for the NSP the boy is in, they might, but are not required to, take some of that money and "seed" the new patrol's account. If the boy wishes to join a regular patrol with an older brother, the money does not go into the regular patrol's account. If some parent doesn't like the system, they can find another troop. Eventually all the money goes to support in some way or fashion. The adults control the big issues for the troop and the boys control the little issues pertaining to their patrol. Everyone seems to be happy with the setup and I have received no push-back on any financial issues since I've adopted this system. During the initial orientation of new scouts and their parents, this process is explained and to-date, no one has not joined, or expressed any concern.

Our council has yet to announce any membership changes. 1) they don't know about them or 2) they are intentionally not saying anything. If they are supposed to be the connection between National and the membership in this area, there seems to be a disconnect somewhere. My scouting is not just local, it is totally isolated. One would think the FOS $$'s spent would be used at least in letting everyone know what's going on....officially. The only way I'd know about any of this is this forum and national news, and we all know how reliable either of those two entities are.

My "bias" never enters the situation. Previously I would get a request to come hold elections in the troop. I promptly pass that request off to all of the PL's. It is up to them to set a date for the election. The last time a troop I was in as SM had an election, we had 4 patrols so I passed the information to the PL's and they had the SPL invite an OA rep in to do the election. The OA rep showed up in blue jeans and school sweatshirt. The SPL rescheduled the election at a time when the OA rep could show up in a Scout uniform. The OA rep never came back. At the present, I have one patrol of of new troop where none of them are FC nor do they have enough nights of camping, but I pass the OA request for elections on to my PL. It is up to him as to whether or not he makes the call. All my boys know I am an OA member and wear the brotherhood sash at summer camp call-outs. Yes, it's not proper, I haven't been paying dues for a year, but it is my way of keeping OA in front of the boys so when the time comes for them to be eligible, they will at least know what the program is all about, could get elected, and maybe make a difference in our local lodge to get it back on track. I make opportunities for my boys, I never take them away. I would love to have one of my boys become Lodge Chief and bring it back to life.

The adults are responsible for fundraising. The boys, if they wish, participate. If they participate, they get a percentage of the profits. The troop gets 75% for example and the patrols 25%. If one of 2 patrol as a whole participates, they get 12.5% in their account, otherwise it is prorated. If only 4 of 8 boys in the second patrol participate, they get 6.25%. The other 6.25% goes to the other patrol. It's rather remarkable how both patrols both want to participate at 100% of the boys helping out. The Committee Treasurer lets the patrol Scribe know how much is in the patrol account anytime they ask. They can spend it anyway they wish. No adult is involved in the process. If they purchase tents, those tents are marked with their patrol identification and no one else but those patrol member can use them unless they get the PL's permission. If the boys need a Dutch oven, 4 tents and a patrol stove, they have to figure out priorities, costs, shop and purchase on their own. They make the purchase, and turn in a receipt to the Committee Treasurer and as long as there's money to cover the receipt, no questions are asked. They know they will need to make up the difference personally from each patrol member if the amount is over their account balance. If a new patrol comes on the scene, they start with a zero balance in their account. Now the patrol percentage is cut 3 ways, but there are more boys who are able to work to build the balance. The Committee might up the patrol percentage up to 30% to make the math a bit easier. A scout is thrifty. It is always nice to have 4 uniform tents, but if the boys are satisfied with dragging out personal tents of different sizes and colors, so be it. If they know of someone who has a Dutch oven they can borrow, they don't have to buy one, etc. I used to belong to a troop that had ISA's and there was constant bickering among the adult and parents as to how their son's money could be spent. Well, it's not their son's money to begin with. I even had parents threaten to sue for their son's money when he aged out of Scouting. Really? Since going to patrol accounts the only discussion on finances in the troop is, "How much did we take in on the last fundraiser?" There is never any discussion on whose money it is. It's either the patrol's money or the troop's money. My life as SM got a lot easier under this system.

Personal bank accounts for scouts with regular savings was at one time one of the TF->FC requirements. Now that moms and dads are handing out free money that their kids feel they are entitled to, there isn't much need for that requirement. I train "Thrifty" through my Patrol Accounts. The boys as a group decide what they need to run their patrol and then figure out how to get it. If the boys are happy with personal tents, good. If the boys want to get patrol tents and want to spend their money on that, good. I'm not part of the process, I don't get caught holding the bag. I have always been amazed that when the money is under their control, they watch far closer their spending than when they just go get a 10-spot from Dad.

Well, from reading the OP a couple of times it doesn't sound like just a public speaking issue. The question is talking on a leadership role which appears to be a daunting task at first. Getting up in front of strangers is bad enough, but being in a leadership role has that many more options to stumble over. Hanging out with a den of young boys is not the same as stepping up to CM. I was extremely shy in high school and yet went on to professional ministry. That 8 year struggle was difficult. A couple of professors along the way helped make getting through a lot easier. The first one told me that yes, everyone in the audience is a "stranger" and they are all thinking they were glad it was you up there and not them. They will cut you a ton of slack on that alone. As time goes on, those strangers, i.e. other scouters, become friends, it will be just like sitting around the campfire jaw-jacking instead of "public speaking". The other professor suggested that there will be a tendency to feel everyone in the audience is "judging" you. Well, if possible always have a trusted friend in the audience, spouse, buddy, ADL if you're the DL, and tell them you want an honest critique of your efforts afterwards. Now you KNOW there's someone who will be judging, but you trust their opinion over anyone else who might say something afterwards. No one ever does, but that's beside the point. As far as taking on a leadership position aside from the public speaking issues, as long as one has a sincere desire to help people at all times, one can't go wrong. Sure, there's going to be an occasional management issue that comes along, i.e. what do I do because there are a couple of scouts that can't get along with each other. But if one genuinely cares enough about the situation that they worry about these two boys and want to help them be more successful, one will eventually become an excellent leader. They don't call people their "beloved SM" unless there's some compassion and concern for them along the way. The only thing to remember is that one's anxiety is self-generated unless the threat is real. Anything that is self-generated is also self-controllable. 1) Audiences are made up of strangers who think you know what you're doing or you wouldn't be up there and they are glad it is not them up there. 2) You have ally in the group that will give an honest critique to compare to any insensitive comments made by others. 3) If you care about people, Leadership is a piece of cake. It reminds me of my seminary roommate who was unfortunate our senior year to be scheduled to preach on the day all the bishops of the church gathered to discuss and determine which graduate was going to be assigned to which district. Just before the service I asked him how he felt. He said, "If I can get through this, I can get through anything." I thought he did very well. His self-critique afterwards was far harsher that the reality of the situation. Which means YOU are your own worst critic which is a good thing, because that is the ONLY part of the problem that is self-controllable.

Scout Shop emails were the first to make it to the spam filter. That was about 2 years ago. National emails were next, about a year ago. Council is on the verge right now, wouldn't take much.

The McDonald's on the north side of town doesn't look anything like the south side McDonald's. The one in the town nearby is different too. But, if it's a meal of fries, Coke and a burger, I can go to any of them and get the same meal. If National were all that concerned about it's "program" then they had better do something about providing a consistent option. Sure there are these big scary rules and regulations coming down from National that everyone basically ignores and so so to the point that one can go to one scout unit and get one program and go to another and get something completely different. To-date, I have never heard anyone say to me, "You need to be eating at the north side McDonald's because they have better food than the south side one." BSA will never be able to maintain consistency like that, promote it to communities and satisfy everyone. Ya can't please everyone all the time..... Scouting today is whatever anyone wants.