skeptic

No; it is an offshoot of the Venturing program.

Here is a link to info on youth sports expenses. Compare. http://money.com/money/5652496/youth-sports-cost/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaig Y memberships vary, but are from as low as $15/mo to as much as $40 or so; plus additional for many special programs especially in summer. Boys and Girls Clubs all set their own fees and I found some as low as $5 a school year all the way to $100/year. I suspect that the averages are likely in the $20ish or so per month or academic year. Other activities outside of the main building program are extra. They also have a lot of heavy hitter donors in many parts of the country, getting many of the United Way dollars that once went to Scouting before the gender wars. Scouting, even at these levels is still a bargain when compared. And if National can come through with the aid for the lesser capable, it will really be one. If I were the various sports groups and clubs like Boys and Girls, I would be watching closely the pendulum swinging from BSA towards them. Once BSA is no longer the fattest cow, they will look elsewhere for their greed.

While the idea would at one time likely been helpful, today, as someone else pointed out, would likely just draw the bullies to the scout. And we do not need more reasons for boys to shy away from the program. It is different when they are in public together or with adults, but in the school, it might be really difficult for many. Reflecting on the truth in society in this country.

While much of the "precautionary" decisions are onerous and even at times annoying, they are in direct response to the society in which we live. Safety of the youth we serve is the primary goal, but reality is that it is also, to a large extent, CYA based on patterns being seen going forward. And some of those "A's" they are covering are ours, whether we feel it is fair or not. Until we, in this society, find the courage to stand up to the skewed legal system we have bred with our "victimhood" attitude and our "it is someone else's fault" responses to many things, we will continue to have to find ways to respond, or we will simply hunker down in our personal holes and ignore the larger world and society. Not what the basic tenets of Scouting would encourage, nor most of us wish to happen.

I might ask the last time you looked at it? While the reading level is aimed at middle school for Scouts, and about 4th grade for Cubs, it has well done pieces on a number of current Scouting challenges. The cartoon section is not really what I would like, but I was spoiled in the fifties in that regard. The most recent mag has examples of various backpacks, a piece on canoeing, the regular feature on Scouts that have distinguished themselves in some manner, such as winning a sports age level competition or a major science award, a piece on owls (always has a nature piece), and the write-in column asking for advice. Also a few items from National and Hitching Rack with Pedro, as well as the Scouts in Action. When I was in the schools regularly, I would donate copies for the libraries, and the librarians and teachers said the mag was one of the most popular items in there for the students, both genders. There is also a link for the mag online that has more things, including games and hints for skills and earning Eagle. A recent link is a listing of projects submitted from various Eagles across the country, separated by type of project and so on. Still, you are correct that many of the youth do not read it. How much of that has to do with "attitude" they see or perceive and how much it has to be with the fact they simply do not read much of anything I have no idea. Frankly, it is a resource that leaders might actually encourage. It might also be an in meeting opportunity for a short segment once a month or so, like when the students in class would spend a segment of one day reading out loud from one of the school magazines that they use in some schools, like the Weekly Reader.

But even then I had over thirty years in the program. In 2002 I had been SM of my troop for 25 years and was 56 years old. Not sure I was eligible to be called a youngster. Have to find my official replacement, though the unit says I have to stay as long as I can speak and hobble. They are my family really after so many years. Being in touch on occasion with past members from 40 plus years. My second Eagle in the troop now has a daughter that has graduated college. And a number of others from 20 years or so back have teens and beginning college kids. It now has become a challenge at times if I run into one in public and they recognize me, but I cannot quite place them. As part of my historical poking I need to put my own down in a more organized matter, especially the part that relates to our troop. It will be 100 in 2021, and I already have stories and so on from many to put in an archive. So, I suppose I should do my own as well. Got the time, just having bit of trouble focussing now. Later.

Just mostly curious. I have been on this Forum almost from its beginning, joining at the same time I tried to support Scouter (?), the magazine. the profile says since 2007, so I guess that is right. Anyway, I just simply wonder how many are still on here that go back to then? There were some pretty interesting "discussions" early on. Got to admit I miss a few of those voices, and I know some left for reasons of disagreement with Scouting period, some due to personal loss of interest, and a few due to illness or having passed. One voice that always made me smile and often had very thoughtful comments was "Beaver". Another was "Bob White". Other than myself, I believe John, who seems to have the FB contact point, is still here. A couple of the various "Eagle" screen names, and Desert Rat, until recently anyway.

Instead of sewing, it could simply be self-sufficiency. It would include very basic sewing, doing laundry, generic home upkeep such as floor cleanliness to include mopping and vacuuming, and other every day or week needs for living on your own.

While the premise is laudable the danger of it becoming a political punching bag would have been considerable. On the other hand, taking the campaign to another level, and incorporating other youth is a focused and well-planned campaign might fit. As it is presented in the vague story, it would be hard-pressed to meet the project parameters. Still, we do need to encourage our current generation to take control and work towards a better world environment.

Since Scout Spirit is how the scout lives within the parameters of the tenets of Scouting, a general discussion with them regarding how they see themselves doing that would cover it. On the other hand, if the particular scout has had some issues that you feel need to have their attention and have room for improvement you might lead the discussion towards that. Most importantly, try to let the scout lead the discussion as much as possible, being sure that you understand their thoughts and responding positively or on occasion with a suggestion as to how they might do something differently or succinctly. Try to keep it positive no matter what.

The National Lodge needs tor to reevaluate the history and find a way to reinstate the mystique and actual "honor" in being a member. It has been beaten to death, but there need to be more actual limits on eligibility that make it less a "gimme". They sill have a purpose and in ur council do help, though, as noted, getting higher participation is difficult. But that has as much to do with the lesser honor issues than simply the over-scheduled lives of the scouts in general.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/alvin-townley-boy-scouts-extraordinary-impact-on-america-calls-us-to-consider-risk-of-litigating-it-to-death?fbclid=IwAR3nN4WaZlmDvQ5BuxGCoSkenskcvsi8XhlmhREoVUZPAyKfXeY6sS5hLtk

And I fully agree that BSA "should" actually have a way to officially recind Eagle, and possibly other special awards like Silver Beaver and so on, should the holder prove they no longer deserve to hold the honor. Sort of goes back to the old fine print in earlier books about Trustworth: "A Scout's Honor is to be trusted. If he were to violate this honor by lying, cheating, or not doing exactly a given task, he MAY be directed to hand over his Scout Badge." In my earlier comment, I simply state my feeling that the Scouting connection should not be a major factor in the aberrant behavior of someone. Other than trying to somehow lessen the mostly positive image of Scouting, even in today's almost amoral society, it serves little purpose.

Not sure what the point is. There have always been Eagles that did not live up to the Oath and Law in later life, or sometimes even while in the program. That an Eagle would step out of the mold just proves that they are normal people, prey to the same temptations and foibles as anyone else. The difference is how few, in comparison to their peers, do go in the wrong direction. There have been numerous studies to verify that. We DO NOT win all the challenges, nor does Scouting save all its successful participants. Just look at some of the poor examples of Eagles that populate our government halls. Are some of them any better than the drug seller in the damage they are causing or have caused? Instead of pointing to the worst examples, why not instead continue to find ways to prove he is an aberration?

We have been very happy with the service and flexibility of Mickman Brothers. They have an excellent product, friendly people, and they plant trees in connection with their products. The online system is adaptable to your own design, to a point and last year they improved it so as to allow the seller to know who actually was responsible for the online sale, each of which earned the seller $8. We used another company for many years, and they too had a great product, but their case lots were far too large for our small unit's needs and they had a minimum as well.

And there we have it once again; the BSA is the deep pocket the lawyers seek. It will be interesting how the case(s) move forward with the other links already noted. There were apparently school teachers, doctors, and other youth group connections that are on the list. They were not just members of BSA, and some apparently were dealt with, but not on the level of expectation expected today. We of course are back to the changing societal perceptions and responses to moral turpitude. "The concept of "moral turpitude" might escape precise definition, but it has been described as an "act of baseness, vileness, or depravity in the private and social duties which a man owes to his fellowmen, or to society in general, contrary to the accepted and customary rule of right and duty between man and man." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_turpitude I find it interesting that there is noted some connections as well to immigration issues in this shared link. Not being a lawyer, I am not doing more than offering my opinion that it is difficult to make solid judgments about things that have evolved over decades within our society. At the same time, it is even more imperative that we do all we can to assure that YP is kept up to date and at the forefront of our interactions within the program. At the same time, we could hope that somehow the legal stage will bring to fore the reality that the issue is/was not just the BSA, and that today BSA is a leader in trying to avoid these kinds of problems. At the same time, we can never absolutely stop perpetrators that are out there, only put the YP barriers up with all our abilities.

This is the old one through NESA

I like the attempt to prioritize the award knots, and especially the point of choosing the highest nominated award, e.g. Silver Beaver, over Award of Merit. Few of us would need to go farther, though perhaps local recognition might take precedence, depending on the normal uniform use. What I call my formal uniform would take that into consideration, so if I have to eliminate one, the Award of Merit would be likely, followed by the Training award since I have the Key; the real reason for both is the training covers Scouter and Commissioner with the devices. I personally feel the youth religious knot has a high priority and takes precedence over the adult if necessary. Few of us really have to deal with more than 10-12 anyway. Right now I am trying to decide how to handle having been nominated for the updated Scoutmaster award and since the earlier one has a different knot, which should I wear; probably the more current one, retiring the original to the memory book. On the other hand, it can be fun to listen to someone try to determine the knots; most have never seen the original NESA SM award knot. Ultimately, I doubt I will go beyond four rows, and may only have that on the formal shirt. I do still on occasion wear the medals for COH or on Scout Sunday, the religious ones. Once, at the prodding of my scout leadership group, put all the actual medals on for a COH after I had gotten on them for not having their awards on uniforms. But, the clanking and fact they sort of get in the way much of the time makes that a rare exception. We also have some challenges with hanging medals for NRA and Trails on occasion. Ultimately, common sense and rational thought will win out.

Working on our council history, looking through old photos from the twenties and thirties, you can tell that many scouts were swimming nude, though the old photos are so small that you have to look closely. None of the ones in the archives appear to show anything scandalous. But, we have an enlarged, posed photo in our own troop record that was shot in the Southern Sierra in the forties with a goup of senior scouts, staff from the local camp that had finished the summer, on rocks by a lake sans clothing. Again, it is well posed and composed to not show anything too scandalous unless basic skin is so considered. I learned to swim at the Y in Alhambra, CA in the fifties, and they still had a clothing optional swim period for males and for females. When my brother and I went on family night with our dad, we always changed in the men's locker and took showers with all ages. Of course, in high school, showers were group with multiple shower heads, and you were required to use them after PE. It was not an optional program. That went for the girls too. We live in a different world, and I wonder sometimes if much of our current issues may actually stem from this return to prudery of sorts and scandalizing the reality to where it becomes somehow wrong, even as we allow the porn industry and advertisers to push boundaries. Still, I have no issue with the barriers of YP. It is way overdue, not simply in Scouting, but in the society at large. At the same time, how much of our convoluted responses to the human body actually push us towards problems?

While some kind of misunderstanding happened, I am suspicious of the story's direction. I suspect that legal threat was not necessary, but it plays into the larger "anti-Christian" persecution storyline. Surely the decision at the base was a poor misinterpretation or possibly a personal decision without proper vetting. JMO of course.

The lawyers are simply greedy, but there are a few out there that for some reason work at bringing bad image publicity to BSA. Why, other than they can, I do not know.

And you are absolutely right. But the ambulance chasers and hate the Scouts people will never give any credit. They do not care that BSA has a far better track record than probably any other youth-serving group, and likely better than schools as well.

Sour grapes never make good wine.

There are parameters that are consistent, from what I have read over the years. It is not intended to be an easily achieved award, and even getting a bronze is a very high honor. Your son is to be commended for the award he has been afforded, and he can still do additional efforts towards a higher level of achievement. Be proud, and be happy that he is still in a very small group of scouts over the years.

Why would anyone have an issue with this? It was restricted due to a number of issues, both related to habitat and more importantly physical concerns. Since that time, the physical requirements have been modified for participants and they have done major restorative and replacement trail work on the area of the tooth and its main route. It, being one of the symbols of the ranch, and a visible challenge, I see no problem as long as they have put needed qualifications into place and do not stress the land around it beyond normal recovery. Granted, I personally climbed the tooth from PTC twice, as well as a couple of other trails that were easily accommodating. I also trekked across it in 1979 returning to the ranch at the end of a ten-day hike. If all goes well, I will be there in June, but I will not try the hike, even if they were to allow it, as I am no longer physically qualified, and I realize that. Like anything, we need to take personal responsibility for what we attempt physically, and I am too old and have had serious issues. But, I am glad others may again have the opportunity, as it is part of the PTC/Ranch experience and the view is spectacular.