EagleScout441

Well, I've been gone for a while, I'm back. Going back to the original post, the original purpose of Venturing was to offer more independence, freedom, and opportunity to older scouts. Senior Scouting, formed in 1935, included Exploring, Sea Scouts, and Air Scouts, (and the little known Rover Scouting program). Air Scouts died off in 1965. Exploring is now completely career oriented and part of Learning for Life (LFL). And Sea Scouts in now under the hood of Venturing. Venturing, officially formed in 1998, was created for the non-"Career oriented Explorer" units. What the new program has done is give Venturing more organization. The awards now line up with each other better, the awards branch into 4 categories which align with Venturing programs (Adventure, Leadership, Service, and Personal Growth), and many trainings have been rebooted. The idea that "freedom is the point of Venturing" is fairly correct. The older youth don't want adults huddling over every second of every activity, which many Troops (including now, my former unit) suffer from. I personally, wanted a wider variety of options. Many Troops can be "restrictive," sticking to the same outing types and places. In my Crew, we constantly change things up. I've heard many of the female members speak of moving to Venturing to move away from the "housewife training" many Girl Scout units have become. "So, should crews not attend: - District events? - Council/Area camporees? - Jamborees?" Here in the Middle Tennessee Council, Venturing has many exclusive Council events. Venturing Leadership Summit, Venturing Rendezvous, an Powder Horn, just to name a few. We have these events rather than attending Camporees. We will be attending our Council Jamboree next month along with many other Crews, as well as Ships and Troops. "They tend to be nothing more than Venture Patrols with girls." Again, it ALL depends on the unit. My Crew does have a Troop associated with it. But other than the number, we are completely independent. We go on our own outings, have our own gear, our own meeting night, etc. "From my point of view I see the key Venturing issue as something that hasn't been mentioned here, structure........" Excellent post Old_OX_Eagle83.

At Boxwell, we use mayflies on a steel hook.

It is an excerpt from the speech "Citizenship in a Republic", delivered by "Teddy" Roosevelt at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on April 23, 1910.

I think you're making qwazse's point for him. And I agree. We have youth that staff Wood Badge every fall, and hopefully I'll be one of them this year. And the Patrol Method fine, but it only works the way it's supposed to when the Scouts have a certain mindset. Patrols make up a Troop, which means the patrol members, especially the patrol leaders, need to realize, that in the end, everybody is on the same team. Unity needs to be an emphasis. People also need to realize that just because someone has the title of a leadership position, that doesn't necessarily make them a leader or give them leadership experience. And in the end, aren't we all on the same team?

The reason we youth enjoyed these classes is because they were actually relevant to what we are doing. Three of the classes I took were "Beyond BSA," "Planning Meaningful Service Projects," and "The Changing Venturing Program: What's Up?" "Beyond BSA" was a guide to awards outside of Scouting that have requirements relevant to Scouts. Such as the Presidential Service Award, which is awarded for completing a certain number of service hours. "Planning Meaningful Service Projects" was a class on, you guessed it, service projects. From planning to execution. This class was not incredibly helpful to me since I just did my Eagle Project last year. "The Changing Venturing Program: What's Up?" was a class on how the Venturing program is being changed, and when we can expect these changes to come into effect here in the Middle Tennessee Council. Scouter99 said "If either of you two think the answer to older youth retention is access to classroom training I dare say neither of you knows anything about retaining youth of any age. " That is both correct and incorrect. Access to classroom training is not the sole answer to retaining older youth, but when the training provided is as relevant and helpful as the above classes, it sure doesn't hurt, rather, it helps us to become more involved than we already are.

Hey! Another youth member! Yeah! Welcome to the forum!

I never thought about it like that, qwazse. Thanks

This year's UoS was back on March 15. Here is a link to the Course Catalog which includes the Degree information: http://www.mtcbsa.org/assets/forms/UOS.pdf All classes in the "College of Venturing" were open to youth, except for the "Leader Forum." The "Bachelor Degree" requirements state that a one must participate in six hours of courses at UoS and be current on their training for the position they are in. As you can see by the Course Catalog, anyone who attends the full day at UoS will have the six hour requirement complete, the training requirement varies depending on the Scout/Scouter. Not a single youth member, even if they attended the full day (as I did), received any sort of degree. The question of "Why?" was asked by multiple youth, the answer given was that youth were not eligible. Now, we did receive a patch. And we also each received a fancy certificate stating that we had completed "Venturing Academy" (which looks very nice on the wall next to my Eagle Scout and Kodiak certificates). But the question still stands: Why are youth not eligible for the degrees?

We had about 15 youth from around the Council attend, three from my crew (the three were siblings). None of us acted as "graders" in the Dutch Oven course, but a couple of the 18-20 year old "youth" Venturers were in staff positions. It isn't really the fact that I want a UoS "degree", but it is the idea that Venturing youth are not eligible, just because we're youth, when we do classes just like any of the adults.

Evidently not.

I don't know how it is in other Councils, but here in the Middle Tennessee Council, we have University of Scouting. UoS offers many adult trainings, and in the MTC they have classes for Venturing youth members. I attended UoS as a Venturer last month. Now obviously, the Doctorate Degree recipient must be at least 18 years of age, because they must complete Wood Badge. But should they continue to exclude Venturing youth from being able to receive the Bachelors and Masters Degrees? UoS also has "Degrees" that may be earned by participants: "Bachelors Degree Requirements Scouters must earn at least six credit hours from the courses offered in UoS. Any combination of courses from the four colleges is acceptable. Scouters must be trained in their registered position. Masters Degree Requirementsï‚· Scouters must have earned a UoS Bachelor degree. ï‚· Scouters must earn an additional six credit hours since earning their Bachelor degree. Doctorate Degree Requirements Scouters must have completed a UoS Master degree. Scouters must have earned their Wood Badge beads (please display to UoS Chancellor) or submit an application after earning your beads. Scouters must earn an additional six credit hours since earning their Master degree, including at least three credits from the teaching requirement, below. Scouters must teach University of Scouting courses totaling three credit hours since earning their Master degree or, with the approval of the current UoS Chancellor, serve on the UoS Staff. " Now obviously, the Doctorate Degree recipient must be at least 18 years of age, because they must complete Wood Badge. But should they continue to exclude Venturing youth from being able to receive the Bachelors and Masters Degrees?

Scoutlander.com is an excellent program for Troop/Crew/Unit websites. It also has a email broadcast system, as well as "photo albums". Here is a link to my Troop website: http://www.scoutlander.com/publicsite/unithome.aspx?UID=12706 The photo, etc. pages, are all members only.

In our Troop there is always at least two adults taking pictures and the Troop library has books of all sorts, from field guides to Boy Scout "legends" (i.e. Lobo the Wolf).

The policy is more like "all electronics are discouraged." The Troop can talk all they want, but in the end, it's the parents' decision.

Our Troop policy is no electronics, period. But this rule hardly gets enforced. On the monthly outings, there aren't usually electronics (phones, mp3 players, etc.), but if they are brought, they tend to stay in backpacks, pockets, or tents. At Summer Camp, this rule is neglected even more, most Scouts will bring their phones. But it hasn't been a problem while I've been in the Troop. I have been to Summer Camp three years in a row (2011-2013) and not once have I brought a phone. This year I will, but I'll be there for 5 weeks with a week of NYLT stuck in the middle, because I'll be serving on Staff. Bottom line, it depends. Some Scouts can't handle a week alone (it's only a week, they should be fine...). I think first year scouts should not be allowed to have cell phones in order to avoid/prevent or keep from worsening homesickness, from calling their parents during camp. But 2nd, 3rd, etc., year Scouts could bring a phone if they want. In the end, it's the parents' decision.

Why exactly does a Eagle BOR have to approve the project? Other than a 45 minute meeting with one Council representative to explain the project and get approval, mine was done completely at a Troop level.

We never did songs in my Troop, but it's a common occurrence in Venturing.

I believe a bird house would satisfy the "sanctuary" option. But here is what I did for the requirement: http://www.pbs.org/parents/curiousge...irdfeeder.html Simple, but effective.

Because it's "for the boys"?

Interesting.... http://godfatherpolitics.com/12479/trail-life-usa-new-alternative-boy-scouts-will-also-admit-gays/

I recommend Boxwell Reservation in Lebanon, TN. It's on Old Hickory Lake. I'm staffing this year.

For the record, I was being sarcastic. I would have gone to NYLT last year, but it was the same week as my Troop's Summer Camp. So I chose Kodiak instead. This year, I'm serving on staff at Summer Camp and going to NYLT.

Trying to scare me out of NYLT this summer? Luckily, I've never had an experience even close to that. I'm with Sentinel on this one: "Where was the Advisor????" My question is, where were any adults in general?

I don't know about the other ranks, I doubt they do it for Tenderfoot--First Class.

There is a Troop in my District that requires Scouts to do the requirements in order. In other words, they won't allow a Life Scout to start his Project until his MBs and PoR requirements are completed (or so I've been told, that is).