TAHAWK

In 1972, the Improved Scouting Program was introduced. Wikipedia article History of the Boy Scouts of America http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Boy_Scouts_of_America#The_1970s:_the_Improved_Scouting_Program "The BSA commissioned a series of studies and developed an updated program to modernize Scouting in a manner similar to the changes of the British Boy Scout Association in 1967. September 1972 saw the launch of the Improved Scouting Program. The Cub Scout Promise was changed from "to be square" to "to help other people", as the term square went from meaning honest to rigidly conventional. The use of boy was de-emphasized: the eighth edition of the handbook was titled simply Scout Handbook and the new strategic logo used Scouting/USA. Much of the Scoutcraft information and requirements were removed, replaced by information on drug abuse, family finances, child care and community problems. Conservation included both urban and wilderness areas. The concept of the personal growth agreement conferences was introduced as a requirement for each rank. Under the new program, a Scout could reach First Class without going hiking or camping or cooking over a fire. The program was modified for a system of immediate recognition. Individual rank requirements were supplemented with skill awards recognized by metal belt loops. Ranks and merit badges were to be presented immediately, and recognized later at the court of honor. The merit badge programpreviously only available to First Class and abovewas opened to all ranks, and merit badges were required for Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class. The number of required merit badges for Eagle Scout was increased to 24, and Camping merit badge was dropped from the required list. The entry age was changed to 11 or 10- if a boy had finished fifth grade. The Senior Boy Scout program was replaced by the Leadership Corps. Initially the Leadership Corps was limited to leaders 1415; older boys were expected to become junior assistant Scoutmasters or move to Exploring. The Leadership Corps could wear the forest green shirt with a Scout BSA strip until it was discontinued in 1979. The Leadership Corps patch was worn in place of the patrol patch, The first version of the patch was trapezoidal, replaced by a round patch in 1987. The red beret was initially introduced for the Leadership Corps, and extended for troop wear in 1973. Troop Leader Development (TLD), adapted from the White Stag Leadership Development Program, was introduced in 1974 to train youth leaders. The Cornerstone program was introduced to train adult leaders. Leaders who completed the course were recognized by a special version of the leader's emblem that was embroidered with Mylar thread, giving a shiny look. 1972 saw the introduction of new colored cloth badges for all ranks and positions, the new Webelos badge was introduced and the old badge became the Arrow of Light. In 1973, most Cub Scout leadership positions were opened to women, and in 1976 the Cubmaster, assistant Cubmaster, and all commissioner positions were opened. From the early 1920s, the BSA had been divided into 12 numbered regions, each designated by a Roman numeral, which consisted of territories of several states. The 12 regions followed the organization of the federal reserve system at that time. In 1972, the 12 regions were consolidated into a new alignment of six geographic regions (Northeast, East Central, Southeast, North Central, South Central, and Western). In 1976, concerns over the lack of emphasis on Scoutcraft and declining membership lead to the introduction of "All Out for Scouting", a back-to-basics program developed by William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt. The program was launched with "Brownsea Double-Two", a week long course for the senior patrol leader who would then introduce the troop-level "Operation Flying Start" to their units. Junior Leader Training (JLT) replaced TLD and Brownsea Double-Two in 1979. From a peak of 6.5 million Scouts in 1972, membership declined to a low of 4.3 million in 1980. [emphasis added] Hillcourt returned from retirement to write the ninth edition of the Boy Scout Handbook in 1979, returning much of the Scoutcraft skills. The number of Eagle required merit badges was reduced back to 21, and Camping was restored to the required list."

ONE OF OUR COUNCIL CAMP EXPERIENCES was at a PA council camp (now gone) near Moraine State Park (of flooded Jambo memory). Bicycles were promoted. Property was hilly with well-graveled, winding camp roads. The week included two ambulance runs and one Life Flight run to Pittsburgh for a ruptured kidney. These resulted from one biker losing it on a curve and two pedestrians run down when it turned out brakes did not stop well on thick, loose gravel. There were other serious safety issues at the waterfront and axe yard (like unwedged axe heads flying and chronic Buddy Board failures due to only two staff on duty).

Lucky you, to be in driving range of Philmont. 😃

I note the assumption of guilt. Almost everyone in prison is "innocent," according to them Typically the accused is guilty, but not always. There have been accusations of sexual abuse of children against people who turned out to clearly innocent. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2925577 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_allegation_of_child_sexual_abuse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial

And they did!

"How often do you all get outside?” primary-care physician Ryan Buchholz asks. It’s a Thursday afternoon in October, a warm one for Washington, D.C., where Buchholz practices. His patient, a young boy named Ariel, doesn’t answer. Maybe his mind is on the flu vaccine he just heard administered to a child in the room next door. Maybe he doesn’t understand the question—he’s only two years old, after all. Ariel clutches a blue teddy bear as his father, Fernando, answers. 'No a menudo.' Not often. In exam room three of the Upper Cardozo Health Center, Buchholz is performing a routine wellness exam. To Buchholz, wellness means a child is eating right, brushing their teeth, getting vaccinated—and spending time outdoors." Article goes on at: https://www.outsideonline.com/2393660/science-newest-miracle-drug-free They caught all the wild children, and put them in zoos, They made them do sums and wear sensible shoes. They put them to bed at the wrong time of day, And made them sit still when they wanted to play. They scrubbed them with soap and they made them eat peas. They made them behave and say pardon and please. They took all their wisdom and wildness away. That’s why there are none in the forests today.” Jeanne Willis, "wild child"

They returned to the "How did you get this number?" culture. They do not, as an institution, see mere volunteers as authoritative thinkers on anything much, regardless of relative experience, study, or learning. "Work with" has been eclipsed by "work for." And a "good volunteer," while always somewhat off-putting coming from an employee with much less service, now has a single meaning.

Timeless values.

Orange County Council cites no source for its claim to date from 1920. "Headline History, Orange County 1910 to 1929" sets 1921 as the date for formation of the Council. occording to newspaper clippings in my old troop's "log book," the Council office closed for financial reasons on occasion until reopening for good in 1926, necessitating ordering literature and award patches from new York City. The Council then ceased to exist in 1943 and two new councils were formed in 1944: Northern Orange County Council and Orange Empire Council. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defunct_councils_(Boy_Scouts_of_America) The present Council was formed in 1972, with the merger of the two councils formed in 1944, so its forty-fifth anniversary approaches. The "Santa Ana Council" was formed in 1912, primarily by YMCA folk, and was defunct in less than a year. HEADLINE HISTORY Orange County 1910 to 1929 , the Orange County Council formed in 1921 and split into two councils in

Same slide shown on PicClick UK, but no information accompanies picture. Same slide for sale on eBay from Canada, but no information accompanies picture.

I tried meritbadge.org and got: Error 522 Ray ID: 532279b82945e0e6 • 2019-11-07 21:42:09 UTC Connection timed out

Why a problem ? We have a Patrol Method, not a Troop method. Scout on.

i was asked about "competition" if there is only a patrol. Compete with, camp with, hike with, other patrols whoever their charter organization. Scouting started out as a movement. B-P hoped for brotherhood even across national borders. Bill Hillcourt was "Scoutmaster to the World." Another CO is no great barrier

The home base for Scouting volunteers.

For almost sixty years, BSA chartered patrols. They should do so again, I think. Become a "troop' when you have enough youth for two or more patrols.

My troop as a Scout was founded in 1908 in Santa Ana, California. BSA showed up after the troop had been in operation eighteen years and had, at least on paper, 61 members. They "figured" they were the forty-third Peace Scout troop in California when formed in 1908 from two preexisting patrols. I Scouted twenty-five years with a Cleveland-area troop formed in 1908. There were ninety-nine troops in the area when BSA appeared in 1912 (five claiming to be the first), not counting independent patrols, that could register as such for the next fifty years. We owe BSA for many thing, but especially giving Bill Hillcourt the opportunity to become the most influential person in Scouting, but BSA, who hailed him as such, has forgotten most of his lessons about the centrality of the Patrol Method and the Outdoor Program. Program builds and sustains membership, which, in turn, relieves financial problems, but program is seldom the focus of BSA, especially patrol program. I have met some very fine Scouters who were employees, friends for decades even when they escaped this area for Scouting jobs elsewhere. I assume that all "professionals" I deal with mean well and should be treated with respect, even when they are not respectful to some volunteers and are focused on whether I have "done my duty to Scouting in my estate planning." Areas like NE Ohio are a tough stage on which to perform. I have seen membership, with a few trivial exceptions in the late 80s, fall in this area for twenty-eight years. History, eventually, will reach a consensus on the whys and wherefores. I do wish we would try, if only experimentally, what worked before it was abandoned as obsolete when membership was at historic highs, only to see steady declines since - Scouting. There is hope. We have a few unusual units that have clung to the old ways. One took 67 Scouts to their own summer camp in PA a couple of years ago. The next year they bicycled around Lake Erie [clockwise] except for being ferried through Detroit for safety reasons (Asleep at 8:00PM the day I met up with them back in Ohio to observe for District and take pictures). Fifty-nine Scouts finished the trip, and the leaders (Scouts) decided afterwards that they had underestimated the effort required. They had six patrols at their last COH that I attended this Spring, plus troop staff. They tent camp every month as a troop but with separate patrol sites, plus patrol campouts and hikes. I regret that at my age a 90-mile round trip in the dark every week is not practicable, especially in Winter, or I would sign up. In this work, they receive no recognition from Council, Area, Region, or National. They do not lead in percentage "advancing," but I have counseled some on Wilderness Survival, and they are remarkably ready. Philmont next year! Isle Royal the next - if First Class and Swimming MB. I am jealous. Perfect? No. But they know where they are trying to go. Yogi would be impressed: ""You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there."

Yup, 27f for the high could be tough.

"Since its inception, the BSA has relied heavily on an outdoor program to achieve its objectives. This program meets more of the purposes of Scouting than any other single feature." BSA website. 10/31/2019 Good words. Sadly ignored.

BSA at least tolerates the practice of many councils of handing out awards with no attention to whether the Scout has actually passed the "requirements." The only reform in decades, has been the (expressly discouraged) option the unit leader now has to refuse to award the badge if it "could not" have been earned (Personal Management from scratch in five, fifty-minute sessions at Camp Frontier.; Pioneering in four, fifty-minute sessions despite the inability to tie even one of the required knots or lashings at Camp Mountaineer; Merit Badges with no involvement by actual, registered Merit Badge Counselors at numerous council camps ) . But, with an average of less than a year experience and weak training, the "unit leader" has little incentive to storm that hill, especially given the attitudes of many parents of the "Good job!" generation. In addition to the terrible "values" lesson for Camper and Staffer, such a system does not promote actual learning of skills. What our masters miss is that is does not promote membership ($$$$$$$$$$$) either.

IN SEARCH OF CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION

The Dump, if unofficial, is great resource for Canadian Boy Scouting. There are, however, contradictions with reality. E.G.., the Dump has B-P write : "To be a Scout you should join a Scout Patrol or a Scout Troop in your neighborhood, with the written permission of your parents." B-P write http://www.thedump.scoutscan.com/yarn03.pdf That language always seemed odd for something written starting in 1907 and completed in early 1908 at the very dawn of Scouting (When there were no ranks. The Boy Scouts Association was only formed in 1910. Official tests for ranks came in 1914. ). "Instead B-P wrote: "You join a patrol, or raise a patrol yourself by getting five other boys to join.” E.g.: since Canadian Boy Scouting adopted the election of leaders (Patrol Leaders and Senior Patrol leader), the Dump attributes elected leaders to B- P's "Patrol System,' which it never was and never has been. Per the literature and an exchange of emails a few years ago, in the Patrol System in the UK, the adult unit leader appoints to leaders.

"Scouting is Outing" Norman Rockwell, 1968

It was not required, because it WAS, largely THE program. "Scouting is Outing" was the motto. Boy Scouting was camping and hiking. Requiring camping is a valid effort to try and get adults to do what they should be doing voluntarily. That effort peaked, then crashed in 2017. Scouts are growing less as people because we reach so few of them The "bait' as B-P out it was the outdoor program in the patrol context - so different from school and all the other adult-run activities. They can get to computers anywhere. "Sales" are WAY down over the previous "models," but the advocates of what worked are old fogies nostalgic for the good old days. Darn right. It worked, and we will never know if it would still work because our lords and masters don't even know what it was that worked, and "risk management" trumps sales.