Stosh

Unstructured time is both and good thing and a bad thing. Boys who see this time as an opportunity can have a great time, but other boys see it as "nothing to do" time and are bored and will eventually find something "to get into". I do like the idea of taking MB's over again if one has enjoyed it the first time. It is also a problem with the boys all going different directions and the over-controlling SM not knowing where everyone is every minute of the day and can't drop in to the MB session to make sure the boys are staying on task. Any given Saturday when I was growing up, my parents had no idea where I was or what I was doing while hanging out with my friends. I didn't think the SM needed to either. My opinion hasn't changed over the years.

Having had the opportunity to start a troop from scratch, I can assure you, a scout at the rank of Scout or Tenderfoot can do very well if he's a natural leader. Like @@Eagledad has mentioned, maturity and experience is a far better method of measurement, and with a brand new troop, even experience can take a back seat.

My standard answer is: "I dunno, I'm not in charge." Any parent that questions that response gets a complete explanation of Boy-Led, Patrol-Method Scouting. After that, the boys learn who to go to and don't waste their time asking questions or seeking leadership from the adults. Basically the only scout that gets an answer when he comes to the adult area is the SPL or a PL when the SPL is not in camp. Then he gets an answer from the SM, or a designated ASM if the SM is not in camp. The SM/ASM team keeps the scouts out of the adult area and the SPL/PL team (PLC) keep the adults out of the scout's area.

-10, snow, no heaters, no tents. The boys built snow caves. I just "meadow crash".or use a poncho to keep the snow off my face..

I would not sign for any scout that is not registered with my troop, nor would I as SM direct anyone from my troop to do so. As a MB counselor that is different, my sign off is expected when the work is finished.

After 40+ years of working with youth, I have never had to send a kid home early. One year the camp director sent one of the boys from the troop home. Parents have come and gotten their homesick scout home early after they got hold of a telephone/cell phone.

Commemorative neckers used to be as popular as today's t-shirts. I have a whole box of them from years past. I even have my original BSA Red/Yellow necker from when I was a kid.

Not to mention the all-inclusive Judean People's Front and Back.

No, he wants an eclair,

No requirements for SPL. However, the expectations for SPL are different than in most troops. PL's run the patrol method. APL's assist the PL in working with the patrol. SPL assists/facilitates the PL with inter-patrol concerns. SPL is selected by the PL's

You obviously haven't been paying attention. That will never fly in today's society in America. All men are bad, unnecessary and a nuisance. Just take all the attention BSA, an organization dedicated to producing men of quality and it's under attack on a number of fronts. There is no such thing as men of good character anymore.

"Many" indicate that not all are on board with the issue. That leaves a potential schism out there that everyone is trying to avoid. Had "some" not rocked the boat "many" wouldn't be at all concerned with life as usual. But "some" have pushed back. So, does one wish to know who's in the "many" group and who's in the "some" group? Make the change. Yes, you have a schism but one also knows who the "some" are and who the "many" are. The UMC has had it's history of schisms over the years, Hey, so what's the big deal about having yet another? If my church history is correct, I believe the Anglican Church is a break away from the Roman Catholic Church (King Henry's multiple marriages problem) Then the Episcopalian Church broke with the Anglican sometime around the Revolutionary times? Then the Methodists broke from the Episcopalians because they weren't doing enough social ministry? Then the Salvation Army broke from the Methodists because they didn't go far enough with their social ministry break from the Episcopalians? And VOILA, None of these breaks were theological, all were politically motivated. I'm thinking UMC is trying to avoid yet another major membership loss, kinda like what BSA is going to have to recover from. The question is, how does one politically spin the situation to satisfy the social and media pressure to satisfy the 3-4% of the population that claims to be "non-straight". What it could mean in the long run is for every 100 people one loses their potential of gain is 3 or 4. That means the wording has to be very carefully politically orchestrated or something bad might happen. This is why most of these religious schisms are not based on theology, but more on political dynamics gone awry. 150 years ago it was slavery, 100 years ago it was woman's right to vote, 50 years ago it was racial, now it's sexual. The processes never change and the schisms continue to polarize the political scene until it eventually collapses.

Everyone seems to be knee-jerking in their attempt to be politically correct and not doing much forethought into their processes of change. It's a bit like some massive social domino effect because of BSA's abrupt change in ideology. There is no way anyone spent any time identifying collateral damage and so all the various religious bodies are trying to either justify a change or politely buy more time to see what drops out unexpectedly from the shaken tree. What we're seeing is just the tip of the iceberg, there's a whole series of things that have been set into place and no way of knowing where it is going to lead to. It's a bit like Pandora's Box. Our curiosity is but temporarily sated, reality has yet to set in.

OMG! I gotta buy stock in Keebler, they're my new BFF's!

Dog gone it! Ya shouldn't have told me that! I used to have to wait a whole year to stock up. Now all I have to do is go to the store?

Maybe they're going to have to adjust to running with the big dogs now.

I didn't see it so much as an IT problem in that the overload of inquiries on the day after the announcement would overwhelm their email servers. It normally takes a hacker attack to pull that off, not just normal usage.

I like the way it is set up now. Elementary and Middle School youth wouldn't do well with co-ed, but Venturing requires a HS/College level maturity to make it work effectively.

I have worked extensively with church youth groups for 40 years and Scouting 30+ years. The church groups tend to really shy away from the outdoors types of activities and focus more on ministry activities, what Scouting would call service projects. Their focus is two entirely different directions. As far as leadership is concerned, that varies from one youth group to the next and will vary over time depending on the youth involved as well. The females tend to be stronger in the area of leadership across the board, but there have been a few males that step up and figure it out. There is generally no prescribed leadership training going on in these groups, most of it is spontaneous natural leadership development. I have had 15 years experience in Venturing and find that they don't differ much from a lot of church youth groups. It's just that they do more outdoor activities rather than service activities (ministry activities).

You want me to double down or what?

Bigotted heretic!!! In the American culture there can be no such thing.... Shame on you. Now go to the corner and stand. No, not that corner, the one marked BOYS.

Keep saying that until the bears show up at 3:00 am, then yell it as loud as you can while waving your arms.....

Did any of the moderators think to check with BDPT00 and see what was up before going public? Might have saved a lot of time and energy.

Trail Life USA was having major problems today with their email servers because of so many requests for information. Everyone will be glad to know that they have now resolved the issue and are back online.

Can you imagine the PR mess it would make if the people couldn't get their thin mints anymore? The Boy Scouts would have to start selling cookies which the remnant vestige of GSUSA would have the BSA in court before the chocolate cooled.