TAHAWK

The troop and troop activities are part of the "life of the patrol" as defined by Mr, Hillcourt in his Patrol Leaders Handbook in Chapter III, "The Patrol and the Troop.". Thus, the SPL, as the leader of the troop, has a legitimate role to play in Mr. Hillcourt's Patrol Method. This is also, in theory, true of B.S.A. Scouting today. It is a major part of our job to train the SPL to understand his proper role as it relates to the patrols, PL's, and the troop and to help him be good at it. All issues of "fault" aside, if the SPL does not understand or does not play his proper role, we have not succeeded at a material part of our job as Scouters. You end by identifying the "troop method" that I see commonly in this declining age. It is not what Mr. Hillcourt describes because the troop activities have devoured the patrol activities that should be the bulk of the scouting going on in a troop, making of the PL's mere flunkies for the SPL or, more likely, the Scoutmaster. This B.S.A. at least tolerates to date. You would apparently, Mr. Hillcourt to the contrary notwithstanding, have no troop activities to avoid this evil. Everyone is free to reject Mr. Hillcourt's vision and to imagine whatever they think works best. I suppose they are also free to call it whatever they think best, It would certainly would be better to have the typical tiny troops run as a patrol, sans SPL, or, I think, to have no troop program, if we are unable to meet Mr. Hillcourt's vision. Unfortunate title, "Scoutmaster." As unfortunate as BP calling the principal adult "the officer" or referring to adults as "leaders" in the troop instead of "adults" or "Scouters." Words have power.

I was sure he understood.

1. Patrol Identity: the patrol comes first. A Scout primarily experiences Scouting in the patrol, not the troop. The patrol is the team; the troop is the league in which the patrol plays the game of Scouting Mr. Scoutmaster, how are your teams doing? Shared responsibility among patrol members builds team identity. 2. A “small group of . . . friends.†The patrol members select the patrol members. 3. An indefinite life span. NOT an ad-hoc or temporary grouping. "It takes time." 4. Scouts lead the patrols and the collection of patrols called a "troop."; youth leadership is not optional. Leadership includes planning the patrol programs and planning the troop program Leadership includes teaching Stand outside the meeting room door. Do your hear Scouts or adults giving leadership? Now you know. 5. Scouts elect key leaders and appoint the rest.

One adult leader at a campout? I think not. Perhaps you mean one 18-year-old adult and one 21-year-old adult Boy Scouts of Canada went co-ed and opened membership to, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals, atheists, and agnostics. Their membership crashed - down 63% If you argue it's not cause and effect, at least there was no increase in membership. http://www.scoutscan.com/issues/membershipstats.html We can't avoid the culture wars unless we abandon all talk of "values." If you stand for everything, you stand for nothing.

The first is and has always been prohibited, but BSA does not enforce its rules. The second is discouraged and individual testing of each Scout on each requirement is mandated. But again . . .

Yes, such an "interpretation" would solve the problem, while being contrary to the ordinary meaning of the words, the legal meaning of the words, and BSA's current, authoritative interpretation as noted above. Beavah is great guy and I miss him here. But his insights are also not the law, even if we all agree that it ought to be the way he wants it. We are supposed to model complaince with the Scout Oath and Law. I may not do that 100% but intentionallty ignoring the rules is not something I am prepared to do.

I think the rule is wrong and should be changed so it does not prohibit grandfather from tenting with his grandson - especially when he is acting as a surrogate dad - if the parent executes a document expressly allowing the grandfather to act in all respects as if he were the parent of the child. This is 2014. The "traditional" family is not the majority, but the children still need Scouting and grandpa is at least a likely to be a good role model as dad. I recognize that there are other solutions, but feel the rule is misguided. IIRC, parents are the class of adults who inflict the vast majority of injuries on their children. Relatives are only the second-most likely to do so,. Strangers come in a poor third. In what state is an "unofficial guardian" anything other than a person who is not a "guardian"?

Response from responsible paid Scouters at National Council (head of Safety and head of Youth Protection), supposing that grandfather is surrogate dad due to death of dad: We need to work on changing that rule.

So you don't have district events because the voluinteers have not staffed a functioning district. I can see that happening given that the nearest district to my west (after mandated reorganization by council) has a total of one trainer, no roundtable commissioners (attendance down 75%), and a non-functioning Program Chair with no committee behind him. Throw all the (highly performing) leadership under the bus and the results might not be optimal. Fund-raising goals were exceeded.

What am I missing here? A unit event is planned and run under the authority of one or more units.. A district event is planned and run under the authority of a district - specifically the District Program Committee. (District Camporee; District Klondike). The district decides who is in charge of what and what the event program is. A Council Event is planned and run by a council. It may delegate tasks to whoever it elects. Can you not find a district Program Chair who will put this on that district's calendar?

I realize that this is a necrothread, but the question of a grandfather being allowed to tent with his grandson came up yesterday at Baloo training. In Ohio, a grandfather is not a "parent" unless he has adopted the child. In Ohio, a "Guardian" is only a person appointed to that position by the Probate Court of the respective county. With all respects to Beavah, we need to follow the rules. We are on our honor to follow the rules (when we can figure out what they are). This is not life in general. I spent an hour trying to find an anwser to this specific issue or a link, I finally sent the questrion to the training guy. What makes this cut is that, in this family, dad is dead and grandfather has been filling in. Several have suggested the obvious solution of having Cubs tent together with surrogates in another tent.

While it soulds like a good rule of thumb, I am having trouble finding this rule in BSA literature. Can you help please?

I have the 1959 printing of the original course Instructor's Guide. I will scan it so I can send out copies.

Before the recent change, the buttons were dark brown. When BSA announced they would no longer sell the little plastic bags of replacement buttons, I stocked Up. I will consider trades for classic BSA knives. ^___^

If you are anywhere close to Canada, there are camporees up there every year that solicit U.S. participation. The Dorchester International Brotherhood Camporee is one of them and very well run. http://www.dibc.on.ca/DIBC/Home.jsp www.facebook.com/DIBCamporee Steve "Skip" Locke, a Candian Scouter, has been heavily involved in international Scouting. http://skiplockescouting.com/ There is always: http://www.scouting.org/Home/International.aspx and http://www.scouting.org/filestore/international/pdf/130-044_WB.pdf http://www.scouting.org/Home/International/InternationalRepresentative.aspx On p. 10 here http://gccbsa.info/Trailmarker/SeptOct11TMWEB.pdf you will find suggestions on international Scouting from an ISR. I think the way to do it is to do it. You are what you do. Titles may follow but are not essential.

Imagine that. Scouts at camp having fun with their friends. Such a problem. ^___^ When I was a "Ute," two merit badges at Summer Camp was regarded as "normal" - badges you could hardly get anywhere else. After all 2/week x 52 weeks = 104/year. That left plenty of time for hiking and trying to better the record on the camp obstacle course. Now some get eight MBs, turning Summer Camp into a Merit Badge School. Yeech !

BSA is unique in the Scouting world for the size of the paid workforce. It has several times the number of paid staff per numbers of youth in units than has Scouts Canada, for example. Over 90% of the budget goes for salaries. If the money is no longer there for paid personnel to "control" the volunteers and to collect money for salaries, another model - the World model - may be necessary. The question is, are the volunteers up to doing what has always been, on paper, their job - operating couincil and district Scouting. The council, as a legal entity does not depend for its existence on paid personnel.

If the SPL is incapable, having him do nothing is a plus. If he is capable, he should be able to stay busy running the troop and observing, coaching and mentoring. Training him to be capable and find things to do is the SM's No.1 job after safety. All of this assumes one agrees with Bill about the troop having a life apart from the separate life of each patrol.

"A “1-foot hike†is a common tool to educate the participant on how much nature is present in an area as small as 1 square (or cubic) foot. The point is not the hike; the point is to be observant of the “jungle†right under one’s feet." For more info on changes: http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2014/05/21/looping-you-in-on-the-cub-scout-2015-updates/comment-page-2/ Yes, "nuts." It shpould be Lion Rank and Webelos Award. ^___^

When BSA arrived in Cleveland in 1914, there were already 99 troops (Five thinking they were "Troop 1.") My troop in Calfornia had been operating eight years before BSA arrived in 1916, and shortly thereafter, the council closed for several years. Yet, that troop and Scouting in Orange County went on. It may not be true that there is a 1/1 relationship between BSA employee numbers and Scouting health.

If a patrol is a a small group of boys and friends, then their fiendships determine where they go, yes?

BSA 2014 Bill: BSA 2014

Type post. Hit "POST." Pop-up appears: "Text required." Have to copy; leave thread; return, post and hit "POST" to get message to post.

But does this branch of the current government want to work with us?

I think: Scouting has been reformulating and rephrasing since 1907. Change will happen. If there is low confidence in those making changes, the tendency is to assume the change is negative (e.g., dust-up over replacing Springfield with M-1) Teaching, as the linked article points out, was made far more complicated in 2nd version of Wood Badge and then simplified in the current version of Wood Badge.. Noting the substantive changes is more interesting to me, like the deemphasis on independent patrol activities.