RememberSchiff

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.

Nope. The BSA can't have it both ways, it leads to the continued, collective pile-on by scouters over National's illogical, unfair interim decisions. They can't say: females are acceptable as Scout leaders but not as Scouts. gay scouts are acceptable but not gay leaders (how long did that last?) 14yr old Venture scouts can shoot pistols but not 14yr old Boy Scouts girls can join Boy Scouts if they think they are boys but not if they are okay with being girls?? and, did I read correctly, that now we have some accepted religious groups with atheists are okay but other atheists are not? Another $0.01

National heaved BSA Tradition over a cliff in the 80's when it allowed female Boy Scout leaders.

Imagine you are a parent and scout leader who brings his daughter(s) along on the hikes and even summer camp where BTW about 20% of the staff is female. His daughters (under 14) like the program and want to join with their brothers. The boys don't care, the CO is all for it, and it sure makes logistics easier for parents. The ones against it are outside of the unit, who are free to keep their unit all boys, even all <pick a denomination> boys. They are even free to start their own CO. Imagine the look on kids' faces as they are Scouts.

My was more about the age range. IMO Scouting program ages should align more with school age groups.

So a proposal to change the Venturing age range from 14*-21 to 11-21, but only for girls, boys would still wait until 13* or 14? Allow local option, both exclusion and inclusion, to determine unit membership.

Another cookie-cutter, redundant MB. Just put the adventure back in Scouting and the exploration will happen through-out the program. http://www.usscouts.org/mb/mb159.asp

I have noticed Girl Scouts using power tools for their Gold Award. I saw one lass adeptly handle a Stihl chain saw. I wonder how many Gold Awards would be rejected as Eagle Projects over power tool restrictions? Apparently the mindset at the GSUSA is that girls should be empowered (their term) to use such tools by adults who properly instruct and supervise, as we would say "keeping the promise". Now wouldn't that be something if allowing girls in resulted in shaming the BSA to man-up to the same level. Geez, maybe our scouts could even shoot semi-auto. Or maybe, just maybe, allowing girls in will bring back a proper scout neckerchief to the BSA. Another $0.02

Snowshoes or other winter gear? We have rented canoes and PFD's, off-season, for use at the council camp lake. Pinewood Derby track?

If you had scouts setting forms, mixing and spreading concrete, wiring circuits, running pipe and soldering/connecting joints then we are agreement.

I doubt NESA did.

IMO, there should be serious scout "sweat equity" in the Eagle project. If a large portion of the project requires a higher skill set or older workers, another project should be considered. Another $0.02

Back to OP, I hope Scout Sydney Ireland is allowed to join so as to have a fair chance to justly earn her Eagle. Fair versus just. There is a difference, What is fair is not necessarily what is just. What is just may not seem fair. When I was young scout, just meant the same requirements for all scouts. When you earned your Eagle you stood with other scouts who shared the same accomplishments and not just the medal. No one was special. I struggled for months with the pull-ups and push-ups required for Personal Fitness but that was the standard and all Eagles met or exceeded those requirements. There were no 300lb Eagle Scouts; there were no Eagle Scouts with disabilities. All Eagles had a Rockwell uniformity. Years later, fair meant meeting similar requirements per special needs. Everyone is special, There were now alternate requirements. Every scout would now have a fair opportunity based on their abilities to earn Eagle. Just? I bet Scout Ireland could match or exceed my accomplishments towards Eagle. Maybe Scouting will open to all kids who must meet the same requirements for advancement. That sounds just to me. My $0.02