RememberSchiff

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Scouts have died on campouts, canoe trips, hikes, tree falls, swimming.... We learn from mistakes, educate and train ourselves to be prepared for the risks that life presents. What is the current marketing slogan Prepared for Life? Or it that BS? It is tragic that a scout died falling off a ladder, in whitewater rapids, from self-afflicted gunshot wounds, screwing around with hand sanitizer, lightning strike. But many, many more scouts were taught by adults how to safely face those risks, how to setup a work area, properly use materials and tools, and first aid. Sure it is safer to opt-out of every new challenge; let someone else lead the path for the wagon train west, explore Antarctica, or go to the Moon. Those someones used to be called scouts. My $0.02

Doesn't apply, any more than Child Labor daily/weekly time limits apply to school extracurricular activities. No one is doing these tasks as a requirement of employment. My sons also remove/install screens and recaulk windows while up on ladders. Teach boys to work safely and to safely use tools.

"New for 2016, the Cradle of Liberty Council will be offering the opportunity for units to apply for membership grants to support unit recruitment and retention efforts." Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, Varsity Scout teams, Venturing crews, and Sea Scout ships are eligible to apply through their unit leader (Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, coach, advisor, or skipper) and unit committee chair. Grants are to assist with expenses related to membership that might not otherwise qualify for financial assistance. Projects must have measurable outcomes. Units that have their grant applications approved by the council membership committee will be awarded a maximum of $500 per year. More conditions here. https://www.colbsa.org/rocket-into-scouting/membership/membership-grants.html Are other councils offering this financial help?

With my permission, my 16 yr old did the same project (but different beneficiary) by himself for school graduation service hours. It's the BSA, not the state, school, or church that is the nancy here.

Yeah 60/70's. The main emphasis was it was YOUR project start to finish. You were not helping with some existing service. There was no template, workbook, advisor nor was there any need. As desertrat77 stated, paperwork was minimal but your paper had to be neat and legible. There was no requirement that you lead others, the labor could be performed by the scout himself. Your service to the community and your work ethic were key. With permission, I used power tools on site just as I did at home and school. Job site preparation, safety, and cleanup were questions asked at my board. Adult labor was minimal as in driving. P.S. I forgot, I also used ladders. I doubt my project would be approved today. Too many no-no's.

This. Fundraising? No, you EARNED money from your own labor, not selling crap, or begging in front of stores or online. Shoveling snow, mowing lawns, raking leaves, paper routes, painting,..So now you had some dollars in YOUR savings account at the town bank and it even earned interest back then. Hmmm what HELPFUL Eagle project could I do with x dollars out of my savings account? THRIFTY. Then the planning began, keep it within your budget or try something else. No Eagle Advisor as by now you should have the know-how having planned hikes and campouts. Schedule, purchase materials, recruit help if needed, get er done. It was more similar to your Dad's weekend DIY home project albeit for the community than the government-like Eagle projects today. Simple, thrifty, and your own Eagle project. My $0.01

So we did have "Honorary Scouts" but it was stopped after 18 were selected? I wonder if Lindbergh, the 18th honoree, became a controversial choice?

I found this website about adult eagle scouts. I thought that practice ended in the 50's but apparently not if this information is correct http://www.adulteaglescout.com/ http://www.adulteaglescout.com/Adult_Eagles/Full_List.htm

Now older and perhaps wiser, I am more thrifty with my time left. No excuses, no drama. Waste my time and I invest it elsewhere. My family, dog, and BP (blood pressure not Baden-Powell) agree.

Thanks for the feedback. For "Honorary scout", my thought was to honor those who act like scouts though they had not been scouts. So rather than correct the public/internet perception that "John Glenn was a Scout", let's make him a Scout, an honorary one. Win-Win. North Star, Silver Buffalo, OA..are different critters. Yeah "Honorary Eagle Scout" may not work. I was thinking this would be for former scouts who did not earn Eagle but whose life was "an Eagle trail". I was thinking Walter Cronkite, Harrison Ford (he often mentions scouting and has rescued scouts!), Bill Gates Jr. for his non-Microsoft philanthropy. There would likely be controversy over some choices.

Agreed, neither of us would. There is no precedent set I am aware anyway. I have seen projects approved here that would not have been approved ten years ago and vice versa. Projects that would were approved in other councils that would be turned down here and likley again vice versa. Experienced scouters have mostly understood this is the way of life and it may be or seem unfair. One umpire might call a way outside pitch a strike while another knew the strike zone. I had my first Eagle project turned down, so I regrouped and did something different (Plan B) even though other scouts had received approval for the same idea earlier from a differently constituted Advancement Committee. But today, this life lesson seems to be getting lost, well at least around here. I am sure Googling, social media, parenting styles are part culprits but I have not found relevant guidance in the program literature for the those claiming unfairness in this regard. I was looking for a statement such as the following but have not found it yet. I was hoping others might direct. Your project may be rejected even though the same or similar project may have been accepted earlier by your troop, beneficiary, or council or other troops, beneficiaries, and councils. Accept their feedback and try again.

Not every. "Honorary" doesn't bother me, production milled Eagles do.

If Eagle Scout Service Project X is approved by Council/District Advancement Committee A does that set a precedent for that council A? for all councils? I am seeing more "lawyering" when Eagle projects are proposed and less resistance by our Advancement Committee.

Read about an Eagle Scout project and that this scout would soon join an Eagle Fraternity that includes (Microsoft) Bill Gates. Another story mentioned that Indiana Jones a.k.a. Harrison Ford was an Eagle Scout. And John Glenn was many things, but like James Kirk he was never a Boy Scout. These are common misconceptions by the media and public but why not "fix" the problem in a "courteous" Win-Win way? Does the BSA bestow Honorary Scout? Honorary Eagle Scout? I know there is the Silver Buffalo award, but that is recognition of service to Scouting. Honor the mislabeled famous and honor those less famous citizens who act like scouts. Recognize the "Good Deeds" of others towards others. Let National honor the mislabeled and worthy famous and councils honor the local citizens. The Utah vice principal who took a CPR class (Be Prepared) and two days later saved a 9th grader whose heart stopped. The Gainesville,FL policemen who responded to a complaint of "loud" teens playing basketball by joining. If he wasn't a scout, he is now. Also award "Honorary Scout" to the unknown passerby who stopped to ... after all an unknown passerby helped an American businessman who was lost in the English fog . My $0.02,

Hopefully, this program will help raise 2017 Jamboree scout attendance.

http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2016/03/21/wvu-boy-scouts-team-up-to-develop-stem-program-at-summit-bechtel-reserve March 21,2016 ... An interdisciplinary team of researchers from West Virginia University will join with the Boy Scouts of America to establish an environmental science, technology, engineering, and math education and research program at Bechtel Summit Reserve near Oak Hill. The team from WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design and the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences will introduce scouts and their adult leaders to the environmental STEM field, particularly the aquatic sciences, while using the site as an ecology observatory and laboratory, said Paul Ziemkiewicz, director of the West Virginia Water Research Institute. ... Through the program, scouts will earn merit badges while learning about ecology, biology, water science, wildlife and wetlands. Scouts will receive hands-on training through taking measurements, entering data and plotting simple graphs to see the results. ... Federal funding of this project is provided through the U.S. Geological Survey’s section 104b program. The USGS awards 104b grants to State Water Research Institutes that have been established in each of the 50 states, three U.S. territories and the District of Columbia under the provisions of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984. The West Virginia Water Research Institute, a program of WVU’s National Research Center for Coal and Energy, serves as a statewide vehicle for performing research related to water issues. WVWRI is the premiere water research center in West Virginia and, within selected fields, an international leader.

Please don't single out 25-28 years old, as I have equal trouble with ALL ages though a long time ago it was only with those OVER 30.

It is funny the symbolism that develops over time. I read today a historian found the "meaning" of the Scout left-hand shake. Lord Baden Powell was left handed.

It is comical document. I wonder if Bears can **** in the woods? The "Outpost camping" that I know is a optional program feature at scout camp. A troop backpacks from its campsite to a more rustic site inside the camp (within "outpost") for overnight "camping". Before leaving, they draw food from the mess hall and cook dinner and breakfast before returning the next morning for the regular summer camp activities. Never encountered age restrictions. Could be a "patrol" outing at some camps if enough adults are avilable.

I like to think Irving did/does collect that data as not long ago they were stating 'statistically scouts who become First Class in the first year tend to stay in Scouting longer'. (I don't agree) Gumbymaster stated "I had always understood that a true goal of Scouting was to get the Scouts to 1st Class." I thought BSA literature states that this is the Scoutmaster's goal or has that changed?

Scouting magazine says there were 21,175 Eagles in 1960 and 29,103 in 1970. BSA membership ranged from 5.2 million to 6.3 million in that decade. So today, very roughly more than twice the Eagles with a third of overall membership (fuzzy numbers). Below is a graph from Scouting magazine. IMHO, we should have around 1-2% reach Eagle which was the range during the post WW1-WW2-Space Race era. I think we had a better program and Eagles then. Remember when Eagles could enter the armed forces as E-3 instead of E-2? Replace tedious with challenge, bring back adventure, outdoors and physical. All Eagles must meet the same high requirements no alternate requirements. Yep that means my sons don't earn Eagle but as Stosh says they can still be great scouts. Fire all Eagle advisors (oh, we are boy-run except when it comes to earning his Eagle). Allow an Eagle Trek in place of Eagle project where a candidate plans and leads a patrol solo, no adult (I can think of at least 4 HA to do this) My $0.01 rant

Thanks for the fix Krampus. Sorry about that. -RS

https://www.morningstar.com/news/pr-news-wire/PRNews_20160316CG48850/boy-scouts-of-america-announces-fourth-largest-eagle-scout-class-in-history.html <--- has breakout state totals, Utah #1, Vermont #50 The BSA recently released a list of the young men who earned their Eagle rank in each of the 50 states. In total, 54,366 young men became Eagle Scouts in 2015, which amounts to 6.57 percent of eligible Scouts (defined as registered Boy Scouts or male Venturers under age 18). Though not a new record, it is the 4th largest yearly total.

Talk to your son's Scoutmaster whenever you have concerns. Next speak to the activity coordinator for any event that you question and the adults who were "working" that event. The next troop committee meeting may be best venue for those discussions. Anyway that is where I would start. Photos do not necessarily tell the whole story, but sometimes they do. A Cub Scout hike through a California nudist beach awhile back comes to mind.