This is How We Will Grow Scouting

[vumbi]

It's okay. They get to hear me making breakfast and drinking coffee at 6am with the other adults in our troop. They get the message pretty quickly.

I like the way Krampus thinks . I do the same thing and somehow manage to drop piles of pots in the process. But I try to cheer myself up when this happens by singing.

 

As for the pros, I'm not sure what triggers the vitriol toward pros and I sure hope the pros who decided to join the campfire don't feel like everyone feels the same on this topic. I have never met anyone from HQ in Irving. I wouldn't know them from Adam's dog. But I have met the folks from the council on down. Some of them are very helpful when it comes to procedure and documentation. Yes there are a few who are basically on the same intellectual level as a really intelligent bucket of coal. But most have been congenial and my only surprise (and I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise) was when it was the volunteers who actually knew scoutcraft skills well, not the pros. So now I know who the REAL 'go to' people are if I have questions about real scouting. As for the organizational/management stuff, I'm thankfully clueless about that stuff, and unapologetic too.

 

However, someone (was it Cyclops?) mentioned something about local importance or something like that and I agree with that. BSA is not a cult (at least I think it's not supposed to be) built around RBP - someone please correct me if I'm wrong about this so I can run away screaming.

BSA is basically a business that seems to have trouble identifying their product and therefore they are inept at selling it. If local units have found the right 'combination' to unlock the program, I think they're right to feel successful and perhaps a little independent. Good for them.

[Krampus]

I have never met anyone from HQ in Irving. I wouldn't know them from Adam's dog.

 

 

Ever met a politician? Same type of person. Overly eager to talk to you about what is on THEIR mind, not yours.

 

I live among them. They are very snobby.

[ProScouter06]

@@NJCubScouter I've always tended to consider the BSA at large of everyone involved from the parent of a scout to the leadership in Texas. I agree there is a difference between the national service center and the boots on the ground and there is a bit of a disconnect. But I tend to support and view the movement holistically.

 

For full disclosure I'm no longer employed by th BSA. I left after working my way to district director. I left for personal reasons but can relate to the stories that @eagle-91a1 shared. I felt and still do feel that local employees have to work a tough job under tough conditions with little support from the top managers in a culture that is not a friend to scouting. Goals were often unreachable and unrealistic. For now I'll stop there on that.

 

I'm planning on volunteering in time and am sure I'll enjoy it more than when I worked for the BSA. In fact one of the reasons I started reading more on these forums was bc I felt I had this wealth of knowledge and experience that I don't use anymore and I miss that. I always enjoyed working with scouts and parents trying to create a fun program for their kids. I'm hoping to share some of that experience here if it's of any value to forum members.

 

Brining us back to the first post, let's hope we do start growing soon!

[desertrat77]

Ever met a politician? Same type of person. Overly eager to talk to you about what is on THEIR mind, not yours.

 

I live among them. They are very snobby.

Krampus, thanks for the eye opener!   I guess after all of those years in the field as a DE/SE, chasing numbers, pushing FOS/popcorn, working with unwashed volunteers (some of them cantankerous vols haven't even been to WB, BSA's life-changing mountain-top leadership extravaganza!), they've finally grabbed the brass ring.   A nice cubical in Irving TX.   Lots of meetings, but only with fellow pros.  If they slum a bit and visit a council, they are treated like a rock star.   Sit on committees.  Draft edicts that are "for the BSA's own good" like six foot tall signal towers and the water gun ban.   Nod and grin as volunteers have the gall to criticize the endless red tape and poorly managed BSA software.  Watch the DEs and SEs out in the councils scramble.  Yep.   The good life.

Edited October 14, 2015 by desertrat77

[desertrat77]

@@NJCubScouter I've always tended to consider the BSA at large of everyone involved from the parent of a scout to the leadership in Texas. I agree there is a difference between the national service center and the boots on the ground and there is a bit of a disconnect. But I tend to support and view the movement holistically.

 

For full disclosure I'm no longer employed by th BSA. I left after working my way to district director. I left for personal reasons but can relate to the stories that @eagle-91a1 shared. I felt and still do feel that local employees have to work a tough job under tough conditions with little support from the top managers in a culture that is not a friend to scouting. Goals were often unreachable and unrealistic. For now I'll stop there on that.

 

I'm planning on volunteering in time and am sure I'll enjoy it more than when I worked for the BSA. In fact one of the reasons I started reading more on these forums was bc I felt I had this wealth of knowledge and experience that I don't use anymore and I miss that. I always enjoyed working with scouts and parents trying to create a fun program for their kids. I'm hoping to share some of that experience here if it's of any value to forum members.

 

Brining us back to the first post, let's hope we do start growing soon!

ProScouter,

 

Thanks for your years of service...I've never walked a mile in your boots, but I know from the folks that have, it is a tough trail.  

 

I wish you the best as you transition.   Looking forward to your future posts.

[cyclops]

Krampus, when you say that you live among them, what exactly does that mean? Are you in Irving, are you at the HQ? Or are you talking about those politicians?

[Eagle94-A1]

@@ProScouter06,

 

Welcome back from the Dark Side.

[Krampus]

Krampus, thanks for the eye opener!   I guess after all of those years in the field as a DE/SE, chasing numbers, pushing FOS/popcorn, working with unwashed volunteers (some of them cantankerous vols haven't even been to WB, BSA's life-changing mountain-top leadership extravaganza!), they've finally grabbed the brass ring.   A nice cubical in Irving TX.   Lots of meetings, but only with fellow pros.  If they slum a bit and visit a council, they are treated like a rock star.   Sit on committees.  Draft edicts that are "for the BSA's own good" like six foot tall signal towers and the water gun ban.   Nod and grin as volunteers have the gall to criticize the endless red tape and poorly managed BSA software.  Watch the DEs and SEs out in the councils scramble.  Yep.   The good life.

 

Of course I generalize, but for the most part I believe my observation is spot on.

 

Krampus, when you say that you live among them, what exactly does that mean? Are you in Irving, are you at the HQ? Or are you talking about those politicians?

 

I live in north Texas. We interact with national all the time. The disdain for volunteers is clear but disguised with a faux sense of interest. The MB courses they offer out of national are very draconian and would make a true Scouter weep.

[perdidochas]

I am shocked, shocked, at the animosity toward professional scouters.

 

With most of us it is based on experience.  When I have asked professional scouters (the DE) about doing things to help my current unit, the answer has fallen on deaf ears, and response has been lukewarm at best. When I asked them about creating a Venturing unit, they bent backwards to get me the information ASAP.  Why? My guess is they get points for starting a new unit, but nothing for helping an existing one. 

[perdidochas]

Point taken.  Please remove "camporee" from my original sentence and substitute "outdoors" or "at a campsite" or "visiting any wilderness area."  

 

Also, when I was moving around the country quite a bit, I got to see first hand how people have come to hate camporees.   Some districts and councils have turned them into truly awful events.   However, there are still places that put on camporees that are enjoyable/old school/good outdoor experiences.

 

That's a different thing. I love camping with just the troop. 

[Stosh]

@@perdidochas

 

One needs to take a lesson or two from nature.  Even the wolf pack needs to mingle with other packs so as not to become too inbred.  My boys must be a bit more socially oriented.  They like sharing campsites with other troops and going to camporees to meet other boys.

 

They are talking about in lieu of summer camp next summer, doing a canoe trek with primitive camping next summer with the troop from out-of-council, out-of-state, they shared a campsite with last summer camp.  I dunno, sounds like it could be kinda fun.

[perdidochas]

@@perdidochas

 

One needs to take a lesson or two from nature.  Even the wolf pack needs to mingle with other packs so as not to become too inbred.  My boys must be a bit more socially oriented.  They like sharing campsites with other troops and going to camporees to meet other boys.

 

They are talking about in lieu of summer camp next summer, doing a canoe trek with primitive camping next summer with the troop from out-of-council, out-of-state, they shared a campsite with last summer camp.  I dunno, sounds like it could be kinda fun.

 

 

Well, I use camporees as my break. I try to go on all the campouts with the troop, but since I don't enjoy camporees, I don't go on them. I leave it to the guys that want to drink coffee and walk from campsite to campsite. 

[Stosh]

Well, I use camporees as my break. I try to go on all the campouts with the troop, but since I don't enjoy camporees, I don't go on them. I leave it to the guys that want to drink coffee and walk from campsite to campsite. 

 

As long as the boys mingle, no problem, the adults get plenty of mingling at the RT's.  Skipping a camporee or two isn't the end of the world.  They get old with the same-old, same-old so I just bite the bullet and be the one of two-deep.  Even a bad day sitting at a campfire by myself is better day than shopping with the Mrs. at the mall.