RememberSchiff

In addition to "Eagle mill" troops, there is a growing trend of savvy parents working the system to produce an Eagle son before he enters high school, so 7th and 8th grade "Eaglets" are becoming more common.

Time for a major revision.

Wouldn't it be nice if Scouting Heritage MB had a requirement to explain the why of wearing a neckerchief and wear one for an activity or period of time? Does the merit badge pamphlet mention the neckerchief?

The New England Patriots' motivation phrase "Do your job" has been in the media and given the current world affairs, maybe a hook that leads to further explanation of our mission and program. Together we have a job to do. and yes, its a bear. My $0.01

Yes, I think it is a good story to discuss with scouts.

I still wear a real neckerchief, square of course. It is immensely functional as I often demonstrate on outings. Unfortunately, my troop currently has opted-out of neckerchiefs but I am trying a new approach - the necker as gear not as uniform. My fiendish plot starts with a wilderness survival campout which requires scouts to wear a neckerchief and use it during the weekend activities - water filtration, first aid, signalling. My $0.02

Blw2, you may find Buffalo and Budget's AT story interesting. http://www.salisburypost.com/2017/02/26/buffalo-budgets-big-adventure-tough-year-hikers-salisbury-men-conquer-appalachian-trail/ It’s difficult to decide what was the most impressive part of Buffalo and Budget’s conquering of the Appalachian Trail in 2016. The men are older than most people who take on the 2,189.5-mile AT, which extends through 14 states from Georgia to Maine, or in the Salisbury hikers’ case, from Maine to Georgia. Schiemann (aka Buffalo) is 59 and a retired pensioner with General Electric; Kolkebeck (Budget), 63, was the longtime manager of Salisbury’s Baja Products plant, which had closed prior to their trek. Going into their adventure, both men were veteran hikers, owing to their many years of service as Scout leaders. With his Troop 442 Scouts, Kolkebeck has hiked five times in Philmont, the high adventure ranch in the Rockies of New Mexico. Schiemann has gone with the Scouts to Philmont three times. They also are well familiar with trails through the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and Virginia and have taken countless trips to the nearby Uwharries. But nothing quite prepares you for the rigors and relentlessness of a through hike on the Appalachian Trail. ... more in above link

http://wwmt.com/news/local/local-boy-scouts-rescue-dog-that-fell-through-ice Recommend watching the WWMT video. Kalamazoo Troop 205 on a Polar Bear weekend at Roto-Kiwan Scout Reservation when scouts on a hike saw a dog fall through ice in Scout Pond. Scouts fetched a canoe and their Scoutmaster but there were no paddles and apparently no PFD's. What to do? What would trained Scouts do? "Scooby is Dooing just fine".

My point is the BSA will not openly discuss program changes, council mergers/camp closures, releasing the pervert list, membership policy changes, financial transparency, and ... as they want to avoid confrontation. They just manage reactive decisions when faced with legal action. My $0.02

Well as we know, the BSA has had a policy of "avoiding confrontation" at all levels, so choice #1 seems in our future.

From wiki Scouts Canada In 1972, Scouts Canada began accepting female participants as part of its Rover Section who are ages 18-26. This was expanded in 1984 to include the Venturer Section who are ages 14-17. In 1992, co-ed Scouting was an option for all program sections (Beaver: ages: 5-7, Cub Scouts ages: 8-10 , Scouts ages: 11-14) and became policy for all sections in 1998.

Amateur Radio Balloon K2BSA-11 http://www.arrl.org/news/view/amateur-radio-balloon-to-be-part-of-k2bsa-activities-at-2017-national-scout-jamboree 02/23/2017 A high-altitude Amateur Radio balloon, K2BSA-11, will be launched from the 2017 National Boy Scouts of America Jamboree in West Virginia. The balloon is expected to reach an altitude of 48,000 feet and will transmit on 144.390 MHz APRS. An onboard GPS/computer will shift APRS frequencies based on the balloon’s location around the globe. Carrying out the July 20 launch from the Summit Bechtel Reserve will be Bill Brown WB8ELK; Keith Kaiser, WA0TJT, and other members of the K2BSA Radio Scouting team. They are hoping that the balloon will circumnavigate Earth. http://www.k2bsa.net/ K2BSA Amateur Radio Operations Plan Version 5, February 2017 45pages http://www.k2bsa.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/K2BSA-Jamboree-Ops-V5.pdf

It takes adults to make the simple, complex.

Relax, have a seat, a cup of coffee, and let your scouts figure out what sound the Coyotes make.

Good point. The group discount at National parks and other government stops for BSA troops used to be substantial even free. I hear the candidate for Secretary of Interior is an Eagle Scout, hmmmm.

seemless transition has made Webelos into Cub Scouts II and Boy Scouts into Cub Scouts III ...another anti-adventure concept. Remember when Cub Scouts started in third grade as Wolves, then Bears (4th), then Lions (5th) with Webelos just a few months in 5th grade. We learned the Scout Oath, Law, Salute, and square knot and it was over the bridge to the next adventure. No transition. Today Weebs even need to transition into a Boy Scout uniform beforehand. Okay I get that National would be too embarrassed to return to what worked in the past. So let's try the sports approach - tryouts for Boy Scouts. If a kid (boy or girl) can demonstrate all Scout rank skills over a weekend campout without crying or calling parents, the kid is a Boy Scout. Another $0.02

You may be comparing outhouses/pits to flush toilets/septic systems; 16yr old counselors to adult; bug juice to real orange juice.

My expectation is that my First Class scouts should be able to do that now, certainly those in the PLC can. Granted they increasingly have to go "outside" of Scouting to hike and camp themselves.

The adventure, back in the day, started with getting away from home, Mom, and Dad! Yes our adventures were mostly thrifty, local adventures (hikes, campouts), but we scouts planned them and very often ventured without adults. 300ft? how about 3miles! And we didn't have cellphones; we sent a runner if anyone got hurt. Good lesson, don't get hurt. No earbuds, pay attention (situational awareness), lookout for your buddies. So today, what is closer to adventure from a kid's perspective : 1. closing your bedroom door, putting on headphones, and connecting to fellow (patrol) Xbox gamers on Xbox Live 2. going Family Camping with your unit 3. going on a Philmont crew with THREE adults. It was just ONE in 60's and back then we wanted it to be ZERO, in fact, my patrol ascended Baldy without an adult. As I have expressed before, I strongly support a scout planned and executed zero-adult high adventure outing in place of an Eagle project. Our program has no "rite of passage" into manhood, scouts just age out. This is all the more odd since we once drew so much from Native Americans. Okay BSA kept the word "vision" but dropped the "quest" from "vision quest". Instead we have "Family Scouting" which I consider "UnScouting" and bragging about adult membership numbers and awards in a youth program. My $0.02

I too prefer scouts get/create a job and pay their expenses. Worked for me, back in the day.

Explain the financial goal/need. Allow scouts and their families flexibility - scout pays (has jobs), family pays (opt-out), and/or scout participates in troop fundraisers. Fundraising fatigue is real. Many of our unit parents want one upfront unit fee/year and pay as you go for activities and awards. Can't understand them, our unit has only six different fundraisers a year, oops forgot FOS, seven.

Rather depressing. Maybe Beautiful Day - U2?

Extremely well done!

You're kidding right? Our scouts made a recruiting poster with troop photos illustrating the Aims and Methods of Scouting. We found it very effective.