More BSA changes before World Jambo 2019

[MattR]

To BSA national:

 

Work on making scouts cool. Look at scouts from the viewpoint of a kid. Don't talk about having fun and then come up with the cyber chip. Look very hard at what caused the cyber chip to happen and then stop doing that. I don't care how important it is to teach kids about online safety, it has nothing to do with getting kids outdoors, having fun, with their friends.

 

Make Kate Middleton the honorary president of the BSA. I'm serious, your image sucks and hers is off the charts. Or how about Jerry Stritzke, the CEO of REI? Anyone that likes the outdoors would do. How about a professional sports player that likes kids and the outdoors. Just stay away from politicians. If the boys don't think the honorary president is cool then find someone else. There are plenty of people the boys will like that also share our values.

 

For uniforms, keep it uniform, get rid of the banana republic dictator look, and keep the price under $20 for a shirt or pants. If the boys don't want to wear it while outdoors then there's a problem.

 

Get rid of the school work, that is what school is for. MBs should be about doing things, not talking about doing things. Boys do not like to sit around discussing job opportunities in the food industry. They have no idea what career they want so quit thinking if you make them talk about it that they will change. If it's not about having fun in the outdoors then it's a tax on your core mission. Cut taxes. Discussing gun safety is fine, boys want to shoot guns. This is not rocket science.

 

Young boys want fun. Older boys want fun but also want purpose. Develop ways for adults to help boys find that purpose. It can be leadership. It can be adventure. It can be service. It is not three citizenship MBs.

 

Scouts is not about jobs or teaching young men skills for college. It's about what they think about scouts 15 years after they've left. If they think that scouts was an incredible opportunity where they did really great stuff, that they made great friends, that they admired some adults, that they found their niche, then you won. If they think scouts was a never ending advancement meeting where adults did nothing but tell them what to do, then you lost.

 

Focus on your core mission. Play to win.

[Cambridgeskip]

Just passing again.... seeing as I seem to have caused the thread I guess I should say I hope I didn't offend anyone with the original comment..... Certainly wasn't the intention.

 

As you were.

[RememberSchiff]

@@Cambridgeskip

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMRUHGnN29s

 

No worry. I thought it was a good topic.

Edited August 26, 2017 by RememberSchiff

[RememberSchiff]

Allow unit's local sponsors to advertise on scout clothing, etc. ?

 

[CalicoPenn]

Here's a change that should be considered - open up OA to female venturers - their female leaders can become members, they should be able to as well

[Col. Flagg]

The irony of Brits suggesting we Americans be more harmonious with other "world trends" is fun given Brexit and not adopting the Euro.

 

No thanks. Let's keep what keeps us uniquely American, thank you.

[HelpfulTracks]

Here's a change that should be considered - open up OA to female venturers - their female leaders can become members, they should be able to as well

 

No female, or male, Venturer or Venturing Advisor, can be elected or nominated to The Order of the Arrow.

 

If a female Venturing Advisor, is also a member of a Troop (registered adult leader) then they may be nominated by their Troop. The same is true or males and youth, they must be registered with a Troop or Varsity unit and elections and nominations may only come from those units. 

[RememberSchiff]

My understanding is the British Explorer Scouts have about 30 merit badges while the BSA has 140?  Instead of using a sash, Explorer Scouts sew badges on their sleeve.

[qwazse]

No female, or male, Venturer or Venturing Advisor, can be elected or nominated to The Order of the Arrow.

 

If a female Venturing Advisor, is also a member of a Troop (registered adult leader) then they may be nominated by their Troop. The same is true or males and youth, they must be registered with a Troop or Varsity unit and elections and nominations may only come from those units.

 

Yeah, about O/A, I'd rather they drop the rhetoric, open it to male venturers, but plainly say "no girls allowed."

#tiredofdoublespeak

[HelpfulTracks]

Yeah, about O/A, I'd rather they drop the rhetoric, open it to male venturers, but plainly say "no girls allowed."

#tiredofdoublespeak

 

I don't see how it is double speak. it's perfectly clear. A male Venturer is not eligible either. Neither are Cub Scouts, Explorers or STEM.

 

And women are most certainly allowed, IF they are Boy Scout Leaders.

[qwazse]

I don't see how it is double speak. it's perfectly clear. A male Venturer is not eligible either. Neither are Cub Scouts, Explorers or STEM.

 

And women are most certainly allowed, IF they are Boy Scout Leaders.

You do realize that all of the stipulations about which program one had to be registered in came about after some female explores were chosen as candidates?

 

Or, do you really think a first class scout who transferred to a crew is de-facto not worthy of scouting's honor society?

[RememberSchiff]

It does get confusing. Our local camp has female Venture staff members dressed in Native American garb in their weekly OA ceremony. They dance too, mostly as the caboose in the OA dance train.

 

My Sunday morning mixed metaphor.

Edited August 27, 2017 by RememberSchiff

[SSScout]

On my scroll thru, did I just see the mention of a "virtual uniform"?   Press a button and poof, no uniform?   Wouldn't that border on , umm , modesty requirements? 

[RememberSchiff]

Naturally, but scouts would be going green, consider the gallons of water saved from not having to wash virtual uniforms. 

[Ankylus]

There's another controversial change needed at World Jamboree to bring the BSA in step with the rest of WOSM  and the world  - metric. 

 

I noticed British badge requirements for swimming and hill walking, etc have distances stated in meters and kilometers.

 

If we the BSA are going to change, we might as well go the distance.

 

There are two kinds of countries in the world...those that use the metric system and those who put a man on the moon.