All Scouting is Local

[Hedgehog]

I haven't been around the forums for about a year.  I was too busy with the Troop, the Crew, raising a son and working a paying job in between all of that.  I also figured there would be a lot of drama with all of the changes in the BSA program.

I came back yesterday only to realize that, according to most of the threads and posts on the forum, THE SKY IS FALLING, SCOUTING IS DOOMED and everyone is RUNNING, not walking, FOR THE EXITS.  Just WOW.  

Former House Speaker Tip O'Neal would say that all politics are local, I would say all Scouting is local.  Scouting is thriving where I am.  

The Troop had six Eagles this year - many of which started Cub Scouts together in the pack (and unfortunately, all of whom are graduating).  We had eight Webelos crossover into the Troop.  Net of incoming and outgoing, we are around 45.  The three other Troops in the area reported a increase in the number of crossovers.  The Crew is doing great and expanding its membership and having a lot of youth-planned and youth-led adventures.  In the Troop, we continue to be extremely boy-led and the patrol method has taken hold.  Ask any Scout who is the most important leader in the troop... four years ago it would be the SM, two years ago the SPL and now it is the PL.  We picked up 4 ASMs this year, all of whom really get and are excited about boy-led (part of the reason is that my NYLT trained son functioned as a ad hoc Den Chief for the last couple of months of their time as Webelos and the adults were more than glad to have him teach them the skills they were learning).  

The new crossover Scouts accompanied the Troop on a Wilderness Survival campout in the Pine Barrens in May.  It dropped down to 20 degrees that night.  The next campout featured a bear wandering into our campsite as they cooked pizzas in Dutch Ovens and a 10 mile hike that was advertised as being "just over five miles" (my bad... I went from memory rather than checking the map.  They keep coming back and seem more excited as a result of their adventures.  As one Scout said, "this is what it means to be a Boy Scout."  As I did their Scoutmaster Conferences for the Scout rank, one Scout told me he loves Scouts and that it the only reason he looks forward to Tuesday nights (and confessed that he had piano lessons in the afternoon).  We have a Scout with Downs Syndrome and a Scout confined to a wheel chair.  Every Tuesday they are among true friends and it is amazing to see the Scout Oath and Scout Law at work among the boys.  I already have two boys who have challenged me to chess matches during Summer Camp.

My son finished up his POR as ASPL and is looking forward to being on staff at summer camp (he was a counselor in training last summer).  When he gets back, he is looking to do his Eagle project as a 10th grader.  I've told him once he gets his Eagle, he will be a JASM.  He is also finishing his stint as the Crew's President and is bummed he is missing some trips over the summer while he is at camp.  Every time I see the Crew together, I'm just astonished at the bonds of friendship.  It really has become a place where a bunch of goofballs can relax and be themselves and feel truly accepted.

Fixating on what National comes out with and then looking at the worst possible implications doesn't help the Scouts.  One of my favorite sayings (stolen from Richard Bach) is "says can't when means won't."  That is what my reaction is to a lot of the posts of gloom and doom.  Whatever the decision, rule or guidance, we decide how to implement it so that we deliver the program we know the Scouts deserve. 

Allowing girls to form Troops by National is neutral.  How it works is dependent on how may of the folks here on the forums who know the right way to run a program step up.  It is only a nightmare if implemented poorly.  We need to convince people that the only way to do this is to do it right.  It is up to us to build the groundwork necessary to have youth-led, patrol-based Scouting that focuses on being a game with a purpose played by youth in the outdoors.  We are the coaches and it is up to us to help the Youth learn to play the game correctly.  Our CO is implementing it right -- separate girl Troop, separate meeting night and letting the youth lead by deciding how much interaction they want to have between the two Troops and the Crew.  We have had an amazing response of youth and adults to the idea.  Build it and they will come.  Whether we agree or disagree with the decision to allow girls, we should do everything in our power to make it succeed - not for the sake of National, but for the good of the Scouts we have promised to serve.

The new G2SS guidelines are only an issue if you make it one.  Our CO's youth protection policy for many years required two-deep adult leadership in patrol meetings.  We work to have adults that are trained in what boy-led actually means (you observe and then talk to the leader after the meeting as a coach) and what the patrol method is (they are the cornerstone of the Troop).  We have Patrol Leaders who are trained (by the older youth leaders in the Troop) in the leadership concepts of boy-led, patrol method and servant leadership.  That prevents a leadership vacuum that adults instinctively find the need to fill.  We let parents know that Scouting is a safe place to fail - and we let Scouts know it is better to try and fail then not to try at all.  The adults and youth practice the Scout Oath and Scout Law -- it is all there and it works.  On outings, we have enough adults to accompany the Scouts.  We train the adults to be observers.  The adults are last in line on the trail.  The youth are in front, with a newer Scout leading and an older Scout guiding him.  That is the way it is supposed to be.

The last question I ask at Scoutmaster conferences is "are you having fun?"  My answer is a resounding yes.  I'm excited to see the boys take responsibility and lead the Troop.  I'm excited to see the Crew grow into proactive leadership and form amazing bonds.  I loved going to SeaBase with the Troop,  I've loved sleeping in Adirondack shelters in 15 degrees as it snowed; I loved doing the Wilderness Survival campout; I've loved having guys over my house to starts fires using magnifying glasses, fire pistons, potassium permanganate and glycerin, batteries and steel wool and a bow drill; I loved going whitewater rafting with the Crew and I'm looking forward to a week at summer camp and a long weekend kayaking trip in Upstate New York.  Best of all, I love the responses I get from Scouts when I ask them if they are having fun.

I've learned so much about the right way to do things on this forum from @Stosh @qwazse @TAHAWK and others.  Every time I become frustrated with adults -- be them in our Troop, District, Council or National - I remember why I"m doing what I'm doing.  It is for the Scouts... my Scouts.

[qwazse]

@Hedgehog, I was dying to ask, but you just answered!

Happy Father's Day. Glad to see you're enjoying a wild ride.

[SSScout]

Welcome home, Hedge.

I would ask your permission to reprint your "confession" in our Scout District  Newsletter , pretty please?

[Hedgehog]

16 hours ago, SSScout said:

Welcome home, Hedge.

I would ask your permission to reprint your "confession" in our Scout District  Newsletter , pretty please?

Certainly... if you allow me to edit and expand it.  Send me a messaged I'll send you an edited version.

[Jameson76]

Agree that it is local and at more importantly at the unit level.  All else is window dressing.

The divide (rift??) between National/Region/Council/District and the local units seems to be a might wider at times.  There is a lot of top down directives, etc.  Is the Council there to support the units or does the Council seem to think they are where it's at.  With our unit we seem to be fine with little interaction from the council.  Close to 100 Scouts, High adventure every year, 13 outings per year, 10+ Eagles achieved each year.  Our discussion has been how can we support Scouting locally outside the unit without the morass of the district and the council.  We have not been able to solve the conundrum.  As a note our unit does not attend the district camporees or council encampments.  Past years we did, but those were the least attended events.  The Scouts asked do we have to attend these?  The choice was theirs and we have moved on. 

The Council Commissioner spoke with me on this, they asked why we did not attend such events.  I explained that the program offered at these was not engaging to our troop.  They wanted to know if we had tried to get involved and get it changed.  We had but the folks that ran the district ones were less than eager to look at changes.  So we went backpacking.

Agree that the first question that should/needs to be asked at a BOR is are you having fun.  The rest is bonus material

[gblotter]

All Scouting is local, and none of these decisions need change the experience for any of our Scouts ... unless they attend a summer camp, or a merit badge university, or a Camporee, or a Cub Scout Day Camp, or an OA Induction, or NYLT, or any other event sponsored at the District, Council, or National level. So the proposed solution is to draw inward, focus on the troop (la la la la la - I can't hear you Surbaugh), and insulate ourselves with as little involvement as possible with the larger Scouting world around us. What a sad commentary on the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts.

[Hedgehog]

@gblotter that isn’t quite what I was trying to convey. My point was more along the lines of despite all the gloom and doom and despair on the forum, you can run programs within National’s guidelines that provide a quality Scouting experience for youth - both male and female.

Despite your suggestion, some of my son’s best experiences this past year have been at OA, NYLT, and Council Events and Summer Camp. All of which are run by youth.

My solution is for people to focus on what is in their control by building a youth-led, patrol-based fun seeking program.

I don’t think Scout units should be co-ed, but instead of complaining and walking away declaring the end of Scouting as we know it, I’m focused on building a strong, independent girl-led Troop with strong leadership. Guess what?  All of the girls’ parents LOVE the idea of it being separate and independent.  Trust me, 11 to 14 year old girls don’t want to be around 11 to 14 year old boys.  For those that want co-ed, we have the Crew when they turn 14.  

[Saltface]

12 minutes ago, Hedgehog said:

a strong, independent girl-led Troop

I believe the correct phrase is a strong, independent girl-led Troop who don't need no man.  

[gblotter]

47 minutes ago, Hedgehog said:

Trust me, 11 to 14 year old girls don’t want to be around 11 to 14 year old boys.

I'm curious to know how your 11-14 year old girls will feel about attending a co-ed summer camp with boy troops (because co-ed BSA summer camps will be the reality). Speaking only for our 11-14 year old boys, the idea of co-ed summer camp is anathema to them. They would rather skip summer camp altogether and do our own wilderness camp instead.

[FireStone]

On 6/17/2018 at 1:42 PM, Hedgehog said:

...I came back yesterday only to realize that, according to most of the threads and posts on the forum, THE SKY IS FALLING, SCOUTING IS DOOMED and everyone is RUNNING, not walking, FOR THE EXITS.  Just WOW.  

Former House Speaker Tip O'Neal would say that all politics are local, I would say all Scouting is local.  Scouting is thriving where I am...

Amen. Scouting is far from doomed, because of the local effect. Scouting is thriving here in my town as well. 

[Hedgehog]

2 hours ago, gblotter said:

I'm curious to know how your 11-14 year old girls will feel about attending a co-ed summer camp with boy troops (because co-ed BSA summer camps will be the reality). Speaking only for our 11-14 year old boys, the idea of co-ed summer camp is anathema to them. They would rather skip summer camp altogether and do our own wilderness camp instead.

I'm not sure.  If the girls in my Crew are any indication, I'm guessing the older ones will be out to kick @$$ at the camp games.

I do know that the majority of girls in my Crew opposed the BSA opening the Boy Scouts program to girls.  I also know that the Crew hasn't liked attending Boy Scout events (both the guys and the girls) but has loved attending Venturing Events.  

I"ll have to ask the guys in the Troop what they think when they are at camp this summer.  I'll also be interested in my son's opinion about how the camp he works at will be different.  My sense is that most of them won't notice a difference because our campsite is where all the fun happens.  There hasn't been any real effect when we've been at Camporees with Girl Scouts or Co-Ed Venturing Crews.