InquisitiveScouter

I wish that was my experience and perception...sadly, it is not. I could change my perception, but then it wouldn't be based on my experience.

Without volunteers, there would be NO Scouts

@vol_scouter, very glad your experience, in general, has been positive... But, help me please... on the one hand you say and on the other, you say... Those two assertions seem to be at odds. Our entire district program is planned and run by volunteers. We haven't had a DE in I don't know how long... Council program is non-existent, other than Summer Camp...there has not been a council program event here for units in over three years... (But there are at least five council fundraisers per year...golf outings, skeet shoots, silent auctions, popcorn, camp cards, etc, etc, etc...) And the last council program event??? It was organized and run by volunteers. Professionals here are most involved in scrutinizing the budgets of these events in order to set a price which guarantees income for the council... (I have been in many of those meetings )

And here is the essence of Kosnoff's stance...see in his tweet, "BSA has forfeited the moral right to exist." https://twitter.com/SexAbuseAttys/status/1359252870462205954 Has it?? Only individuals can be moral agents, not corporations. But, when the collective decisions of those individuals in a corporation tend toward objectives that seem, much of the time, to be in opposition to the beliefs/mission/ideals of the program they exist to support, then does the corporation take on the embodiment (which is what incorporation means ) of a moral agent? That's the question I struggle with, based on juxtaposing a heap of positive experiences in Scouting (which were 99% enabled or provided by volunteers), and a heap of negative experiences in dealing with professionals employed by the BSA at all levels. As Scouts, we promise to be "morally straight." And, ultimately, we ourselves must decide, under the tenets of our faith, what is "morally straight." I also often think it is time for the BSA corporation to go, but I continue to hold out hope that there is some way to scrub it clean of the service to Mammon... The one place I see "true" Scouting is in the local units. So that is where I focus, for now.

Another great resource... http://www.thedump.scoutscan.com/scouts.html

@SiouxRanger, you are scaring me only because it is like you are inside my head...perhaps I am schizoprenic, and you are just one of my multiple personalities exposing some of the demons I face in this council... Well...expose away But do tone down the rhetoric a bit, please...

Sure, continue the movement, but do not shuffle it into the hands of that organization. Get a new team together, and do it much better than they... Heck, I'll sign on...full time...at $100K per year. That's $900K less than Surbaugh got in 2018... https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/Form-990-2018.pdf

Never underestimate this as a legal strategy some might take in order to achieve their desired ends... Insurance companies, in order to pay the minimum they'll have to pay... BSA, to a much lesser extent, but, still, in order to pay the minimum they'll have to pay... Kosnoff-ites, in order to bleed BSA into a Chapter 7 situation... As @David CO points out, "Bankruptcies are about money. Period." No matter what else we want this one to be about...

Nope...does not put a damper on it. A mentor of mine pointed out long ago...yes, there is often a price for telling the truth, but there is also a price for not saying anything when the truth needs to be spoken.

You mean, STILL required for Eagle, right? http://usscouts.org/usscouts/eagle/EagleHistory.asp

You wanted some advice on being a Merit Badge Counselor (MBC)... 1. Read the current Guide to Advancement (G2A) https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf, particularly Section 7. Read it again. 2. Get a current Merit Badge book for each Merit Badge you wish to counsel. Read them. Read them again. Read them a third time. 3. A Scout must complete the requirements, AND NOTHING MORE!. A Scout must complete the requirements, AND NOTHING LESS! (see above) Too many times I see MBCs cutting corners, skipping requirements, or adding stuff that is not in the badge. (This happens particularly at Summer Camp.) 4. Requirements change from time to time. Stay up on the current requirements for your badges. Here is your best resource: https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/advancement-and-awards/merit-badges/ Know the rules for Scouts who start a MB, and then the requirements change while they are working on the badge. (Basically, the Scout decides whether to continue under the old, or take on the new...with no mixing and matching) 5. You don't have to be an expert on every requirement, but you need to know where to find help to in mentoring a Scout to complete a requirement. An example specific to you Medicine, "7a. Visit a physician's office*, preferably one who delivers "primary care." (This may be that of your counselor.) Discuss the components of a medical history and physical examination (an official BSA health form may be used to guide this discussion), and become familiar with the instruments used." I see from your profile you are a Paramedic, so, do you have a primary care physician contact that you can call upon to help a Scout meet this requirement??? Go back to step 2, and make sure you have an avenue you can guide a Scout down to help them meet a requirement. 6. Get familiar with blue cards and the blue card process...both manually, and then through Scoutbook or other electronic means. There are three people involved in the MB process...the Scout, a Unit Leader, and you. 7. Scouts sometimes stop working on MBs....if you have been "assigned" to a Scout, and there is a long break, touch base with the Scout, and then the unit leader. Don't be surprised if some Scouts start and never complete a badge...it's OK 8. Keep blue card records. Sometimes a troop's record keeping system isn't agile, responsive, or comprehensive, and a unit never records a Scout's MB. Subsequently, a Scout loses his Applicant's Record, or the Troop actually took this portion from them (a pet peeve of mine). It rarely happens, but it has happened for me five or six times over 30+ years. The only record of the Scout's accomplishment then lies with you....and when the call comes, it is usually because Jimmy is running up against a deadline to submit his Eagle Application. You can be the hero and save the day 9. It is not your job to teach the Scout requirements, or make arrangements for them to complete requirements. Scouts should be figuring that out themselves, and then coming to you to "Show Their Stuff". Obviously, they sometimes need to be shown the way, and you can help with that, but don't fall in to the trap of you having to gather all the materials to teach every requirement. You are not a MB teacher, you are a counselor...the Scout is supposed to do the work From the G2A, "Earning merit badges should be Scout initiated, Scout researched, and Scout learned. It should be hands-on and interactive, and should not be modeled after a typical school classroom setting. Instead, it is meant to be an active program so enticing to Scouts that they will want to take responsibility for their own full participation." 10. Find a way to have fun!

@SiouxRanger, concur. For all...whenever they ask for your opinion on surveys, they don't really mean it...and never put your name in the "yes, you can contact me" portions if you have given input on anything that could be interpreted as criticizing the organization. For the professionals, "feedback is not a gift". And I have several personal experiences (scar tissue) in this, having questioned finances, program, YPT, condition of properties, etc. And your decades of volunteer service don't give your opinions (or facts) any weight 😵

It's more like luring or baiting a trap.

@yknot we must live in the same neck of the woods...you anywhere near Lakehurst, NJ?

Just back from Summer Camp. Had a great discussion with a Scouter well-plugged into his council. He was asked by the SE to participate in a "soft release" of Citizenship in Society Merit Badge. SE gave no information other than that... Anyone out there have more intel??

Much rings true...unfortunately, it seems only hard times will bring back the focus. And we are primed for hard times coming...

Great story! Thanks!

Very easy for small numbers... check the websites, crews often have several slots open and want you to join them to help lower overall cost for everyone. Here's the Seabase Connections site: https://www.bsaseabase.org/scouts/scout-connections/

Just returned from Summer Camp. 33 of 38 Scouts attended. (86.8%!!!) Would have been 34, but one pulled out last minute due to a broken foot. ($465 per head with $50 early bird discount...some came in later at $515. Plus a $40 bus ride to/from camp...so minimum $505 per camper.) Last month, we offered a 35-mile hike over 5 days/4 nights on the Appalachian Trail. We used this to conduct a Leave No Trace Trainer Course. Only five Scouts took the opportunity. ($110 per head.) We also do a Troop high adventure each summer. In two weeks, we leave for a 50-mile canoe trek (no portaging ) with 10 Scouts and 2 adults. We limited this crew size to 12 due to Leave No Trace considerations, campsite availability, logistics, and price. We do this trek at about $130 per person, including gas and tolls for the drivers. Put in point is 110 miles north of us. Last summer, our camp cancelled, so we did our own Troop encampment. Scouts loved it... no hustle and bustle pacing of a council-run camp...swimming, fishing, cooking, boating, exploring, and three merit badges offered: Mammal Study, Environmental Science, and Wilderness Survival (all with Troop leaders registered as counselors.) ($230 per head, primarily for campsite rental.) Our trek was a 60-mile cycling trek on a historic canal path, with ample time for camping, cooking, swimming, playing, etc. ($80 per head.) After camp this year, Scouts are already talking about doing our own thing again next year...

Concur, but if you don't have the basics down...awareness, repellents, and good checks, then the other stuff is just more chaff

We now have over 10 Scouts and adults who have contracted Lyme over the last five years...it is endemic in our area. Cannot point to all cases being contracted while on Scouting events, but at least four were, since we began using a Sharpie to circle the bite area for monitoring, and are taking pictures (with permission) if not in a sensitive area. Those who have contracted it are now absolutely religious about repellents and tick checks. It's funny how most parents (and certainly not most Scouts) will take this seriously until after exposure... BTW, BSA insurance pays supplemental for health care needed to treat. If you are on some federal form of health care (e.g., US military dependents) the BSA pays primary and full. And, I get a Lyme titer every year in my blood work for annual checkup... not everyone shows the bullseye...ask your doctor.

For your easy reference... https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf

SB does not reflect everything in ScoutNET that they have on you...call your registrar and ask for your record. One problem also was, in the past, the lack of record transfers when moving from council to council. Lots of stuff was lost.

Because you are, my friend....you are

You just won't stop dropping fantastic knowledge on us, will you?? #DuctTape4NationalCommissioner