PbW

I do metrics development, analytics, and reporting for IT Service Management teams. Been involved with ITSM / ITIL operations for seventeen years.

I'm really torn on this issue. One part of me is glad national made this decision as I don't feel discrimination has a place in scouting. On the other side my oldest is going into Webelos-I and my youngest son won't start Tiger until 2017. My oldest is (currently) dead set on earning Eagle like Daddy, being a leader, and being a Buffalo like his dad and his grandpa. I've been taking my youngest to my pack activities for a while and he wants so bad to follow his big brothers foot steps. My daughter is in girls scouts and my wife is her troop leader. We're a scouting family. If this issue causes the major fracturing of support for the BSA that some feel is possible I fear my sons won't have access to the same quality program. I can teach them the skills independent of the program, but the unit environment scouting offers and the leadership opportunities available are aspects I can't teach at home. Regardless of your side in the politics of this... here's to scouting surviving in the US.

For my pack (50 boys) we charge $10 for monthly dues and then recharter and boys life. Total is $156 so we round down to $150. We allow them the offset that cost through popcorn sales using the equation (150 - Sales * .33) so they can choose to sell popcorn or write a check (due net 30 after popcorn closes). We cover pretty much everything except basic uniform costs and try to avoid asking parents for a dime after that.

You mean ask them to tackle the real problems Illinois has like being a step away from junk bond status, soaring un(der)employment, underfunded pension plans, and horrible business climate? Pish-posh... much better to debate non-nonsensical garbage like state pies.

This year I had nine Webelos-II in my pack. Five of them decided to crossover two weeks ago while the other four chose not to. The weekend of our Blue & Gold the Webelos-II group went on a camping trip with the Troop we're connected to (same charter org). They came back and attended our B&G a few hours later where the OA Dance/Ceremony Team performed the Crossover. I learned a week afterwards that three of the four holdouts have decided they enjoyed the campout so much they want to crossover too. So we'll be doing another crossover in May and sending eight new scouts to the troop.

So people who are without religion add nothing to our society? I find that rather myopic and, to be frank, a ridiculous statement. Tell that to 93% of the National Academy of Sciences. Surely they add something to our society? Or how about the 99.8% of our prison population which claim to be religious. Surely they are adding benefit to society. I am not advocating this be overlooked. Policy is policy and if he blatantly states he's atheist then he doesn't meet the requirements. But scouting around the world, both boy and girl, is losing the religious requirements thereof. The global population is growing more secular. Just because something has been done for 105 years doesn't mean it is the best way to do it.

http://national.deseretnews.com/article/449/boy-scouts-remove-god-from-oath-in-uk-welcome-atheists-to-the-ranks.html If it's good enough for the scouts in the country that founded the movement we're based on, why isn't it good enough for us? It's time the BSA moved into this century and realized morality and being a good person does not stem from a base in religion.Look at some of the northern European counties, especially the Scandinavian ones, and you'll find counties with great standards of living and are largely secular. Policy is policy and you have to judge this youth based on the requirements outlined. I don't advocate breaking the rules though I vehemently disagree with them. If he is deserving of the rank in all ways except this one trivial check box I do not envy being in your position and making this decision. Best of luck to you.

I'm doing some searching for examples of surveys written to gather feedback from parents (and youth) on their perception of the scouting program at the local unit level. I'm not a professional survey writer so I don't want to bias the question phrasing writing them as the cubmaster. Does anyone have examples of surveys they've used in the past, or examples of ones online I can look at? I tried searching the web but the noise to signal ratio was horrible, and the first half dozen pages of search results here did not show what I was looking for either. Thanks!

I forgot how close we live to each other... that's the same one I'm looking at going to. Fortunately I live about 35 minutes from there and my wife's sister lives 5 minutes from it, so I'd either go home or crash at their place. You're right though, camping would have been a nice option. I went through the course guide and found a lot of classes I'd like to take. Unfortunately I'm planning on moving April 1st and the wife has requested I not take off for a weekend right as we're trying to do that. Looks like I'll have to wait until next year. But with two boys aged 9 and 4, and another baby due in May (don't know the gender) I'll be in scouting for enough years that waiting one won't make a big difference.

Registration for my area's Lord Baden-Powell University 2015 session opens soon. Anyone have experience with this? How useful did you find the programming? Did you go for any of the "degrees"? Is it worth going at the Cubmaster level (I do have intentions of staying on through the troop and district level as my boys age)?

Thank you all for the input. I really appreciate it. I'll take all of this information into consideration as I get next year's program information out to the den leads.

I'm in the same boat as LeCastor. Was inducted in 1991 and was active in the lodge until 1994. Came back as an adult leader in 2012 and only had to pay my $15 annual lodge dues... no reinstatement fee. But like you said, SMMatthew, each lodge is different and you're may have a standing fee in the policy books for this.

I've been the Cubmaster for two different packs. My first pack had dens meeting every week barring holidays and the week of the pack meeting. When I came to this new pack I was told they meet once, maybe twice a month as dens and once as a pack. I know BSA recommends meeting every week, but the JTE requirement is only to meet twice a month plus the pack meeting. How often does your den meet outside of the monthly pack meeting? What is the total time spent in den meetings monthly? Do you meet every week for one hour. Every other week for two hours? Some other combination of days and times? Next year will be my second year in this new pack and I personally feel meeting weekly is important for both engagement and routine establishment. I want to set expectations for den leads, but I want to see how others do it before I start putting out my 2015-16 Program Year planning document.

I've seen nothing on my council calendar indicating there will be any training at all. So for me, as a cubmaster, I plan on getting my head around the changes ASAP and holding my own training for my den leads over the summer. It would be nice if national put out a training program for councils to deliver along with the new material so every council did not have to reinvent the wheel.