RememberSchiff

From Scout Guide Jamboree 2010 http://www.bsajamboree.org/filestore/jamboree/pdf/410-153.pdf Page 18 "Participant Statement of Understanding and Code of Conduct Statement of Understanding: All participants (Scouts and leaders) are selected (note it does not say entitled) to represent their local councils based on their qualifications in character, camping skills, physical and personal fitness, and leadership qualities. Therefore, all adult and youth participants and their parents or guardians are asked to read the Code of Conduct and Statement of Understanding as a condition of participation. It is with the further understanding that serious misconduct or infraction of rules and regulations may result in expulsion, at the participants expense, from the jamboree. Ultimately, we want each participant to be responsible for his or her own behavior, and only when necessary will the procedure be invoked to send the participant home from the jamboree. The units adult leaders (Scoutmaster and assistants) are responsible for the supervision of its membership in respect to maintaining discipline, security, and the jamboree Code of Conduct." jump to next page "7. Cheating, stealing, dishonesty, swearing, fighting, and cursing may result in expulsion from the jamboree or serious disciplinary action and loss of privileges. The jamboree headquarters must be contacted for the expulsion procedure to be invoked. There are no exceptions. 10. I will demonstrate respect for unit and jamboree property, and be personally responsible for any loss, breakage, or vandalism of property as a result of my actions." So the rules seem rather clear, the enforcement less so.

SOLD OUT! Waiting list closed. "The United States Mint finally placed the proof 2010 Boy Scouts of America Centennial Silver Dollar on official Sold Out status weeks (if not months) after many had anticipated the event would occur. This closes the final chapter on what has been an interesting roller-coaster for the commemorative coins that celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America. The proof coins launched on March 23, 2010, along with their uncirculated counterparts, to overwhelming demand. In fact, ordering in the first few hours was so intense that the U.S. Mints online store and telephone systems experienced significant issues reminiscent of the troubles that occurred during last years Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set release. 200,000 Boy Scout Silver Dollars were sold during the first four days of their release, accounting for well over half of the maximum 350,000 mintage allowed by law." Full story http://www.coinnews.net/2010/08/05/2010-boy-scouts-silver-dollars-sold-out/

YES, it should be a privilege! You may be surprised at how many experienced scouts decide not to attend Philmont, Jambo, even NYLT out of concern that their expensive, week+ trip would be "ruined" by those not ready or interested in the adventure. Councils seem more interested in filling slots than in screening applicants. My $0.02,

Agree this is not appropriate at scout camp. I don't think that we as adult leaders should ever ask for cash donations (or candy for that matter) from youngsters. In church, sure youngsters drop donation that Mom or Dad agreed to. I mean what next FOS after their camp photo? Cash donations from adults to whatever cause can be collected elsewhere. My $0.02

"...That's because your member number changes when you change councils." Incredible. When a scouter registers anywhere he/she has to submit a SS# for a background check. From an IT perspective, that should become a hidden database secondary key from which one and only one member id primary key is generated for that scouter whether he signed up as Bob Jones, Robert Jones, R. Jones,... in whatever council. That member id is yours forever! When you register for a course, you should be asked for your scouter id. If you forget, it would just be a matter of contacting Council with your name and SS# and retrieving it (akin to driver licenses). When attempting to correct Council records, I get tired and insulted (ain't I trustworthy?) when Council asks me to produce proof that I took their courses taught by their instructors. Imagine a university that could not produce a transcript for their graduates. Maybe we should withhold payment until AFTER our transcript shows we completed that course! Sorry for the rant. My $0.01

I collected those "Top Ten" reasons from talking with some male Venture Scouts who were former Boy Scouts. They mentioned more than 10 reasons as I did not list uniform options and some others that I forgot. As to acco40 points, there was a common complaint that their troops were not scout run and an honest assessment that there wasn't anything they could do about it other than leave. Luckily, they did not leave scouting. I am glad Stosh has a "scout run" troop, but to follow-up on some his comments. 4. Easier on adults who want to help, i.e., it is far easier to become a Venture consultant than a Boy Scout merit badge counselor. "Not if you know what your doing.... It is obvious that anyone making that statement doesn't know much about the training and qualifications necessary for a successful program. If one thinks that all they need is an adult lacky that will let the crew run wild, then yes, that statement will hold up everywhere except in court." Their comment was not about Venture advisors but about Venture consultants. They are correct. The BSA makes it much easier to become/recruit Venture consultants than Boy Scout merit badge counselors. I think as Boy Scouts, some of them had to venture outside their district in search of merit badge counselors, so that was where they were coming from. 3. We can shoot pistols. "Yep, that'll get the kids knocking down the doors to sign up. Of course, that's a biased sarcastic remark, but may hold up if one has an inner-city troop where a walking stick and buck knife might not be sufficient gear to hike with." Hard to believe, some scouts prefer pistols over walking sticks. Maybe they were denied water pistols in Cub Scouts. Anyway, follow a Crew to three gun competition or cowboy shoot and you can understand their interest. 2. No more little kids. "Spoken like a person who knows little or nothing about true leadership. Only a ego-centric personality will ignore the fact that the age difference between 11 and 18 (troop) is somehow not the same as 14 and 21 (crew)." I don't think so. Most of these Venture scouts had been den chiefs and NSP PL's so from their perspective they had done that challenge (leading 10-12 yr olds); it was now time to move on to bigger leadership challenges in older age groups capable of more intense outdoor activities. They are growing to lead men. My $0.02 (This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

"Luckily big ticket enough though that I would think you would have someone vouch for you if need be." John is TRUSTWORTHY. He doesn't need any vouchers.

"But if the desire is to have an all male Venturing Crew for boys under the age of 18 what is the point? Why not have a Venture Patrol and run the troop the way the BSA intended it to be run?" Depends on the troop, here are the Top Ten from our field office in Wahoo, Nebraska. 10. FINALLY we can become a scout-run unit. No adults planning the same program year. Thankfully those adults reliving their boy scout days tend to stay back in boy scout troops (Oww, the truth hurts). 9. No Advancement Method. No adults on our back about badges. Have enough pressure with SATs, college entrance ... We learn, help, go on adventures, and have fun. 8. No attendance pressure. Fewer, BETTER meetings and outings. We can now do it all - School, Sports, Jobs, and Scouting without "participation penalties" (which of course are illegal) 7. No camp (and only camp) outing every month mentality. We decide our own interests and plan activities accordingly to fit our schedule. 6. More fun to be in a small group of similar age, interests who want to be there than a large troop of 11-18 year olds who mostly don't want to be there. Have not met a Venturer yet whose parents made him/her join. 5. At MOOTs, Quests, etc., we give adults something to do - usually training. It can be anything really - "Survival tootbrush - Fraser fir or Balsam fir?" add free coffee and a patch and you can keep them busy for hours. Meanwhile we are COPE, rock climbing, or shotgun shooting. 4. Easier on adults who want to help, i.e., it is far easier to become a Venture consultant than a Boy Scout merit badge counselor. 3. We can shoot pistols. 2. No more little kids. and number 1 1. Girls A collection of penny thoughts, not entirely from me, so ring it up $.10

Mike Rowe - YES! The BSA definitely needs a respected and recognizable "Follow Me Boys" adventure leader to our movement. In the spirit of July 4 and without regard to the political realities of the cubical encampment at Irving, LDS, etc. Some suggestions for the new BSA program consultant team (after the Irving Temple is cleansed): Bill Nye, "The Science Guy", I think he is now with NASA. He was a Boy Scout and often gives credit to his former scoutmaster and Astronomy MB counselor. (Develop interest in science) Sally Ride, former girl scout, astronaut, now has her own company specializing in teaching science. (Add women leaders at National, develop interest in science and adventure) Yvon Chouinard - born in MAINE! rock climber, fly fisherman, environmentalist and outdoor industry businessman (founded Patagonia). In 70+ now, as is Royal Robbins (former scout and alpine climber). Need expertise on equipment, hell National can't bring to market a decent scout shirt! Jamie Foxx - former boy scout, athlete, actor, musician, comedian. Scouting could use more creativity. Many more candidates are out there. We need National leaders in the forefront who can say without a script, this is how scouting helped me and others then and now, this is how scouting can help you and other today and tomorrow. Straight-shooting, no BS talk. My $0.02

AC? maybe 12. Buys the various badges, awards, ... from Scout store.

Yes. The "star" designates that the wearer, a Cubmaster is this case, received the Unit Leader Award of Merit http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/512-003_WB.pdf Why this is done when there are "square knot" awards is a mystery to me. My $0.02 (This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

Good points Sherm and BP. As I recall back in the day, OA membership was also open to male Explorer scouts. It was and should be Scouting's National Honor Society. As stated, Bronze Award should be sufficient prerequisite for Venture scout (male or female) to be elected. My $0.02(This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

http://bands.army.mil/music/bugle/calls/taps.mp3 (This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

Inventing merit badge oline requirements http://www.scouting.org/jamboree/sitecore/content/home/boyscouts/advancementandawards/meritbadges/mb-inventing.aspx Related article with link to above http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2010/06/inventing-mb.html

Yes. Oct, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/nyregion/06abuse.html "The United States Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport to delay the court-ordered release of thousands of legal documents from lawsuits filed against priests accused of sexually abusing children." After losing that, the Bridgeport Diocese is lobbying for a change in the statute of limitations on such claims. http://www.bridgeportdiocese.com/legalert-HB5473-faq.shtml I believe the Boston diocese was required to do so earlier (2003?) by Massachusetts State court. When in Rome, say hello to ex-Boston Cardinal Bernard Law. My $0.01,

Without assistance means no help supplied. The intent here is this is the scout's project to demonstrate his carpentry skills to his counselor just as vocational students do today with their teachers and as apprentices/journeymen have done with guild masters in days of yore. I think the ramp would be a great service project, whether the scouts work equally or not, demonstrate skills or not. Would I credit this for Carpentry req #6. Nope. My scouts had to draw simple plans and build well accordingly. Proper use of tools and materials. Dimensions true. Strong, square joints. Sanded, finished. Pride in workmanship. Historic concepts? My experience has been that double-dipping leads to triple-dipping, etc. The scouter.com webserver has be acting like a SEscouter.com ... not very accessible. My $0.02

This seems like putting the cart before the horse. Council/District trains volunteers but Council/District has not kept track of who they have trained! Before the BSA can effectively mandate that whoever is whatever trained by such and such a date, you first have to get your record keeping in order. Why doesn't the Centennial Quality Council Award http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/513-190-1_wb.pdf include a line item like the following: "11. All leader training records are up to date and these records have been reviewed and certified by all unit training coordinators"...or something to that effect. That said, if I was re-designing this broken process I would augment MyScouting to allow registration of instructor-led courses by Council. At the completion of the course, the instructor lets Council know who completed. Council brings up their courses on MyScouting and checks off the graduates. Whether the scouter is from a different district or transfers later would not matter as his online training information is linked to his name and BSA ID. Council would no longer keep any individual or unit training records that would be National's responsibility. My $0.02

Deja vu all over again? Jan 12, 2010 Scouting Magazine "announces" the Historic merit badges with requirements. Scouts catch the enthusiasm from old timers (like me) and immediately start working on Carpentry, Signaling, Pathfinding, and Tracking merit badges in order to complete by the BSA 100th birthday Feb 8, 2010. They will not receive the merit badge then. Three months later, Apr 1, National "officially" announces on scouting.org these Historic merit badges such that scouts can now start (legally?) working on them and receive badges. Apr 4, 2010 Scouting magazine "announces" Geocaching Merit badge with requirements. BSA partners with Groundspeak (geocaching.com) to develop this merit badge. Groundspeak creates a Geo-Scouts program with many local geocache events. Scouts already have the enthusiasm for GPS as well as many scouters. Many scouts earned this merit badge at May GPS events. Summer camps have borrowed GPS units and ramp up to offer Geocaching merit badge this summer. Two months later, National still has not "officially" announced Geocaching merit badge on scouting.org, no merit badge pamphlet, no badge ... My guess is there is 3 month lag from Scouting magazine announcement to National official announcement so July 4??? More alacrity, less dilly-dallying National. My $0.02

The topic here was to open Cub Scout camp to others, not merging with other groups. I welcome Del-Mar-Va Council's experiment as it may increase membership (albeit just from boys) and lead to improved summer camp programs as we get ideas from others. Or maybe it just keeps another scout camp from going under financially. I for one would take the swimming program from Y-camps or 4-H over what I have seen at our Cub Scout Camps. I would settle for 4-H's prohibition against candy and other junk food at the camp store. But forget program, lets put on a council hat and think just money (you know the ones who see it is easier to sell a camp, than grow a camp). 4-H camps in my state are in sad shape this summer - a well did not get drilled at one, another had maintenance/cost issues, anyway the situation was so bad that 4-H told members to use camps in Maine and Mass. What an opportunity missed to get that business and maybe new members. Meanwhile anybody wanna buy an airshow ticket $25 a head? Another example of short sightedness is a that a unit should be able to invite a non-scout along for a camp week on a space available basis. Good for the the boy and good for us. 'Harrumph, butta butta no way says Council because well because (you pick an non-justification - insurance, never been done, can't participate in the program without a uniform can't wear a uniform without being a member, what no advancement...)' For the MBA-wannabees call it an Outreach program and add the headcount, but make it happen. I think the 100th year of Scouting would be a great time to put out the welcome mat to non-scouts to attend scout camp. My $0.02 (This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

4-H has been doing this for years. Campers are boys, girls, members, and non-members and are grouped only by age for the week's activities. On Sunday or Monday, group members vote for their week activities. Works well for campers and camp (more camp weeks and full bookings most weeks). Less structure, more fun. My $0.02

"That is why it is important for black male children to see successful black male adults to emulate. Same for white female children and the rest of the world population. That doesn't make anyone better or worse, that's just human nature." I guess if we continue to think of ourselves by race, sex, religion, origin and not as just people that unfortunately may be true. My hope is that the many examples that we have to the contrary, e.g., Baruch Obama will lead children to consider role models from the whole population. My $0.02

B-P borrowed, collaborated, and organized well, so I think it is hard to know at times whose "work" it was. Was it B-P? Or maybe Simon Fraser (Lord Lovat) who formed the Scottish Highland regiment Lovat Scouts (British Army) or Major Frederick Russell Burnham (an American) who trained the Lovat Scouts and B-P for that matter or ... ? My $0.01

Thanks for the corrections and embellishments.

My understanding was that Baden Powell just used an existing British Army "Scout" insignia from those soldiers designated to lead the way. Later he added the Scouting meanings previously stated to this design of a commonly used insignia. Here's an interesting link about the history of the Scout fleur de lis or arrowhead. http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/fleur.htm My $0.02

What council wants and what makes sense can be two different things. Do you really want scouts going door to door with a wad of per person per day tickets overvalued at $20 each? For an experiment in trustworthiness, why not just hand scouts a wad of $20 bills and ask for all the money back in two weeks? Gamestop here I come. The sales transaction for a family of four would be $80 with no refund or transfer if the weather is bad. Yeah that will be a fast seller door to door three months before the event in this economy. You might be able to sell some to parents at a troop meeting...maybe. A supervised, group selling event with decorated booth at a mall, etc. would be better than door to door. Still this is alot of bucks to dish out as families are scaling back summer plans. When was the last time you paid money to see the Thunderbirds or Blue Angels? BTW, their performance is free, courtesy of our tax dollars. Ask what percentage after expenses does the Council get back from this national airshow promoter. Probably not what you wanted to hear, so you get a 50% Schiff discount. My $0.01 (which is more cents than this council idea) (This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)