National Annual Reports

[qwazse]

7 hours ago, Eagledad said:

What might be a little surprising is that even some two-parent families look for programs with male role modes to help develop their sons. I'm not sure if the reason is because the culture is anti-male and they are looking for reinforcement of masculine behavior, or the father is out of the picture a lot from work. But our troop had several scouts in that situation. 

Personally, it wasn’t about any anti-male culture. I just remembered benefiting from multiple adult men in my life, and in scouting. I wanted my sons and daughter to have similar exposures in a weekend/week setting.

[MattR]

To be honest, I think the program is too easy to get wrong and consequently scouts are not joining or are leaving because they're not having fun when they're younger or not being challenged when they're older. It's just that simple. Add to that the economy and work environment (always on) and the parents aren't having fun either.

The program is confusing, contradictory and looks like it's been evolving over a hundred years in high level committee meetings.  @Jameson76's comment that the BSA needs to focus on what the program is really rings true to me. If it's teamwork/ patrol method and skills then why are there ranks? No other youth activity has ranks so why have them for scouts? If the answer is that it's been done forever or it's the only way they know how to motivate kids (my suspician) then maybe that should change. Why are there so many Cit in X merit badges? Citizenship really isn't a skill and so these just look like an extension of school. It certainly has nothing to do with the outdoors. Only needing 20 nights of camping to get the biggest patch certainly looks like the outdoors isn't really important. And what about physical fitness? Wishful thinking? If scouting is supposed to be in the outdoors then why is 90 percent of the time spent indoors at meetings. That's just confusing. This is why adults don't volunteer, the youth are not getting much out of the program and the numbers continue to drop.

Here's an idea. The aim is living the scout law. The method is learning skills in the outdoors. Go back to First Class is the last rank and all rank skills are about the outdoors. Merit badges are about other skills that can be learned in the outdoors, to be done in the outdoors, by patrols. Patrols decide what outdoor adventure they want to conquer. Since MBs are patrol based, MB fairs are where patrols go to learn new skills for new adventures. Summer camp is patrol based outdoor skill learning and adventures. Roundtable is a place where adults learn new outdoor skills to teach their youth.

This won't take years to understand. It will take a half hour to describe and maybe 3 months to get comfortable with.

But none of that will happen because too many people feel that what was working 60 years ago should still work now.  That's ridiculous. Times have changed.

[SiouxRanger]

Today's scouts don't have 10% of the skills I have from my scout youth days of 60 years ago.

And, granted, who NEEDS to know how to make fire, purify water, navigate in rugged backcountry, read a compass (what is that?), read a road map, build a shelter, signal for help, teach your cat to speak French (well, maybe not that), sharpen a knife, tie knots (and bends, splices, whipping (gee-a number of ways to do that (Clifford Ashley) and lashings)), pitch a tent…

BUT, all those out-dated and antiquated skills have made me extremely confident that I can take care of myself and reason my way to good decisions.

Can I build a fire in the pouring rain?

Yes.

Do I know WHY I can build a fire in the pouring rain?

YES.

And that is why Scouting is valuable.

[Tron]

 

4 hours ago, SiouxRanger said:

Today's scouts don't have 10% of the skills I have from my scout youth days of 60 years ago.

And, granted, who NEEDS to know how to make fire, purify water, navigate in rugged backcountry, read a compass (what is that?), read a road map, build a shelter, signal for help, teach your cat to speak French (well, maybe not that), sharpen a knife, tie knots (and bends, splices, whipping (gee-a number of ways to do that (Clifford Ashley) and lashings)), pitch a tent…

BUT, all those out-dated and antiquated skills have made me extremely confident that I can take care of myself and reason my way to good decisions.

Can I build a fire in the pouring rain?

Yes.

Do I know WHY I can build a fire in the pouring rain?

YES.

And that is why Scouting is valuable.

That depends on the adult leadership. Far too many SM are not qualified outdoorsmen, so they don't know what they should be mentoring the PLC towards. Far too many SM are lazy. I'll pick on my troops SM; we never set up a dining fly to such a degree that the unit commissioner asked me about it; my response was something along "SM doesn't know how to do it, and his ego is so big he can't be helped".

9 hours ago, MattR said:

Here's an idea. The aim is living the scout law. The method is learning skills in the outdoors. Go back to First Class is the last rank and all rank skills are about the outdoors. Merit badges are about other skills that can be learned in the outdoors, to be done in the outdoors, by patrols. Patrols decide what outdoor adventure they want to conquer. Since MBs are patrol based, MB fairs are where patrols go to learn new skills for new adventures. Summer camp is patrol based outdoor skill learning and adventures. Roundtable is a place where adults learn new outdoor skills to teach their youth.

This is sort of what is supposed to be happening if you take the time to read all of the literature from national. When you read all of the adult guides, the program features guides, the field guide, the scout handbook, the guide to advancement, etc ... a lot of reading, this is the big picture that the national wants; I know of only a handful of units that actually follow nationals recommendation that you have 12 outings/campouts a year, and that the meetings between outings are for developing the skills the PLC believes the troop will need on those outings. National has been sort of pushing what you're talking about Matt, they've been pushing this since about 2011. 

[DannyG]

11 hours ago, MattR said:

If scouting is supposed to be in the outdoors then why is 90 percent of the time spent indoors at meetings. That's just confusing.

Certainly. It shouldn't be 90% indoors. Unless that is what your unit wants from the program.

Our troop spends 90 minutes a week in a troop meeting. There is another 90 minute PLC meeting for leadership. That is up to 7.5 hours of meetings a month. The monthly weekend camping trip is 48+ hours. Maybe spend a couple hours working on a merit badge, citizenship or whatever...  Still, over 80% of the troop time is outdoors. This is the current program. That's the way I envision it to be.

[Eagle1993]

7 hours ago, DannyG said:

Certainly. It shouldn't be 90% indoors. Unless that is what your unit wants from the program.

Our troop spends 90 minutes a week in a troop meeting. There is another 90 minute PLC meeting for leadership. That is up to 7.5 hours of meetings a month. The monthly weekend camping trip is 48+ hours. Maybe spend a couple hours working on a merit badge, citizenship or whatever...  Still, over 80% of the troop time is outdoors. This is the current program. That's the way I envision it to be.

Another way to look at this.

4 indoor troop meetings a month

4 indoor PLC meetings a month

1 campout a month

1/9 activities are outdoors.....

[Eagle1993]

See attached for the history of rank requirements.  You can see the trend from simply... Cook for your patrol to getting meals approved against a budget following my plate. 

Just an example of how this becomes an issue... My nephew was denied his first class cooking completion because he went over his self estimated budget.  The SM told him that staying within budget is part of the requirement.... Could you imagine better ways to kill motivation of a 12 year old then talking about food budgeting?  I digress...

Even through the 1990s, the rank requirements were almost exclusively outdoor activities.... Then for some reason we decided to make much of this into lists and tracking.

I'd go back to the 1965-1970 requirements which are straight forward, and focus on earning rank through outdoor activities.

bsa_ranks.pdf

Edited May 16 by Eagle1993
Added example

[InquisitiveScouter]

1 hour ago, Eagle1993 said:

Another way to look at this.

4 indoor troop meetings a month

4 indoor PLC meetings a month

1 campout a month

1/9 activities are outdoors.....

We do (about) three meetings per month, with a short PLC after each.  These build up to the outing.  Then, the outing...

The regular meeting night after an outing is a full PLC (so one per month), where they go over all stuff necessary.  The other Scouts/parents get that night off to further recuperate from the outing.

We have one day trip/service project per month... mostly an outdoor activity.

So 4 meetings and two outings per month... 1/3 of our activities are aimed primarily at outdoors. We have the most successful Troop in the council.

Most meetings (mid-spring through middle of fall) are outdoors with a game or activity (pioneering/fire building/nature walk, etc) 

In summer, we throw a lot of impromptu stuff in as well... swim parties, bike rides, orienteering, fishing, hikes, boating, the odd service project, etc.  

Seven or eight Scouts show up and we go have fun.  Never the same group twice.  (Ice cream is mandatory ;P)

Edited May 17 by InquisitiveScouter

[MattR]

6 hours ago, Tron said:

National has been sort of pushing what you're talking about Matt, they've been pushing this since about 2011. 

But after 13 years of pushing this the membership numbers are still going down. What bad assumptions are they making? Maybe it's a bad assumption that just having scads of documents around will make it easy for parents to pick this up and do well. Have you ever wondered why so few parents are willing to volunteer for scouts? Is it really all their fault because they're lazy or is it too complicated on top of the fact that their work life is already insane. If summer camps can't get parents to show up unless they have wifi for checking into work then that's a hint there's a problem.

I coached my daughter's 6 year old soccer team. It was pretty obvious what to do. Tell everyone to bring a ball. Get some cones. Make up some games. They learned the rules, they ran around and kicked the ball a bunch and they had fun. No literature needed. No databases or patches or SM conferences. I know the guy that taught the U18 team that almost won nationals. This guy was incredible working with the youth. His approach for these older kids was pretty much the same as mine except he understood soccer a lot better than me. Maybe kids like these types of competitive activities because the rules are simple and the challenges are both easy to understand and difficult to master.

Instead, we have to argue about whether a scout needs to actually start a fire to pass the fire building requirement. And then we argue about one and done and retesting at SM conferences. And the scout still can't start a fire because the PLC decided that they didn't want to do skills competitions. Just a hint, but this is one reason why some parents don't want to volunteer.

I'm not claiming I have the answer or that I even know what the problem is, but there is a problem. Scouting can be a good program. I've seen some amazing things. I see them much less now and it's a shame. My granddaughter is 16 months old and my grandson is 10 weeks old. I hope they have a scout program worth joining when they're 11 years old.

[Tron]

13 hours ago, Eagle1993 said:

See attached for the history of rank requirements.  You can see the trend from simply... Cook for your patrol to getting meals approved against a budget following my plate. 

Just an example of how this becomes an issue... My nephew was denied his first class cooking completion because he went over his self estimated budget.  The SM told him that staying within budget is part of the requirement.... Could you imagine better ways to kill motivation of a 12 year old then talking about food budgeting?  I digress...

Even through the 1990s, the rank requirements were almost exclusively outdoor activities.... Then for some reason we decided to make much of this into lists and tracking.

I'd go back to the 1965-1970 requirements which are straight forward, and focus on earning rank through outdoor activities.

bsa_ranks.pdf 380.82 kB · 3 downloads

This is why there needs to be a doctrinal pathway to complain to district/council advancement about bad leaders adding to the requirements; that SM is going rogue.

10 hours ago, MattR said:

But after 13 years of pushing this the membership numbers are still going down. What bad assumptions are they making? Maybe it's a bad assumption that just having scads of documents around will make it easy for parents to pick this up and do well. Have you ever wondered why so few parents are willing to volunteer for scouts? Is it really all their fault because they're lazy or is it too complicated on top of the fact that their work life is already insane. If summer camps can't get parents to show up unless they have wifi for checking into work then that's a hint there's a problem.

I coached my daughter's 6 year old soccer team. It was pretty obvious what to do. Tell everyone to bring a ball. Get some cones. Make up some games. They learned the rules, they ran around and kicked the ball a bunch and they had fun. No literature needed. No databases or patches or SM conferences. I know the guy that taught the U18 team that almost won nationals. This guy was incredible working with the youth. His approach for these older kids was pretty much the same as mine except he understood soccer a lot better than me. Maybe kids like these types of competitive activities because the rules are simple and the challenges are both easy to understand and difficult to master.

Instead, we have to argue about whether a scout needs to actually start a fire to pass the fire building requirement. And then we argue about one and done and retesting at SM conferences. And the scout still can't start a fire because the PLC decided that they didn't want to do skills competitions. Just a hint, but this is one reason why some parents don't want to volunteer.

I'm not claiming I have the answer or that I even know what the problem is, but there is a problem. Scouting can be a good program. I've seen some amazing things. I see them much less now and it's a shame. My granddaughter is 16 months old and my grandson is 10 weeks old. I hope they have a scout program worth joining when they're 11 years old.

I see what you're saying, I think it's more of someone without guidance trying to get trained and figuring this out is facing a huge uphill struggle. On the other hand there's something like this: There's a parent in my unit that said he won't do the adult training unless he's paid to do it. We're trying to spoon feed the adult training and everything that goes with it to him and we can't get him to buy in. 

For sports it's definitely more that just showing up with a couple soccer balls. My daughter is in soccer right now(school team). We had a $200 registration fee, uniform/jersey deposit of $20 (will have to pay full if uniform is damaged in any way). $40 shorts, $10 a pair special socks, $100 outdoor cleats, $100 indoor cleats, $40 for recommended/pseudo required specific shin guards, they practice at the school field but play home matches at private field 30 miles from my house; the nearest away game has been 35 miles away, they play 3 matches a week(a mix of conference and non conference matches). We're currently in month 3 of the 4 month season. She's on the varsity team and we're expected to participate in club play (current estimate is cheapest league is $290 registration with regional travel each weekend) in the offseason and do soccer camps on top of that if she wants to maintain her varsity position and have a chance of starting in the future (she's a freshman). 

[Eagle1993]

4 hours ago, Tron said:

This is why there needs to be a doctrinal pathway to complain to district/council advancement about bad leaders adding to the requirements; that SM is going rogue.

So, instead of making a simple first class requirement like we had for the majority of BSA history like " On one overnight, serve as patrol cook & prepare breakfast, lunch, & dinner that require cooking."

Instead we have the following:

2a. Help plan a menu for one of the above campouts that includes at least one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner, and that requires cooking at leastt wo of the meals. Tell how the menu includes the foods from MyPlate or thec urrent USDA nutritional model and how it meets nutritional needs for thep lanned activity or campout. 

2b. Using the menu planned in First Class requirement 2a, make a list showing a budget and the food amounts needed to feed three or more youth. Secure the ingredients.

2c. Show which pans, utensils, and other gear will be needed to cook and serve these meals.

2d. Demonstrate the procedures to follow in the safe handling and storage off resh meats, dairy products, eggs, vegetables, and other perishable foodp roducts. Show how to properly dispose of camp garbage, cans, plastic containers, waste water, and other rubbish. 

2e. On one campout, serve as cook. Supervise your assistant(s) in using a stove o r building a cooking fire. Prepare the breakfast, lunch, and dinner planned and in First Class requirement 2a. Supervise the cleanup. 

So basically we added 2a,b,c and d to requirement 2e that worked. We added a bunch of paperwork for kids to fill out, chances for leaders to micromanage each step, etc.  

BSA did this with many requirements....

[DannyG]

Scouting charges fees to its volunteers to register. I don't know any sports coaches that have to pay a registration fee. The training can be extensive for a scout leader. Sports volunteers might get a rules document to sign, then they just show up. But I also have some stories of terrible youth coaches.

[skeptic]

11 minutes ago, DannyG said:

Scouting charges fees to its volunteers to register. I don't know any sports coaches that have to pay a registration fee. The training can be extensive for a scout leader. Sports volunteers might get a rules document to sign, then they just show up. But I also have some stories of terrible youth coaches.

No longer the case in California, and I believe a few other states.  Coaches fall under the updated State requirement to be accredited by the State in YP and reporting.  That includes fingerprinting.  Now whether anyone is policing that, I have no idea.  But it is a part of our council level requirements.  

 

[Eagle1993]

9 minutes ago, DannyG said:

Scouting charges fees to its volunteers to register. I don't know any sports coaches that have to pay a registration fee. The training can be extensive for a scout leader. Sports volunteers might get a rules document to sign, then they just show up. But I also have some stories of terrible youth coaches.

That is true for many sports, but I pay fees to be a NICA mountain bike coach.  There is an annual background check fee to a 3rd party and annual registration fee.  To be a level 2 coach I have to take a specific training course, in person.  In addition I have to pay for mountain bike first aid and CPR every two years.  NICA tracks the level of coaches and has very strict rules on rider to coach ratios, including coaching levels.  It ensures the program is run well and consistently.

I do wish BSA used the same background check company as other organizations so and then that fee would be once for multiple orgs.

[skeptic]

2 minutes ago, skeptic said:

No longer the case in California, and I believe a few other states.  Coaches fall under the updated State requirement to be accredited by the State in YP and reporting.  That includes fingerprinting.  Now whether anyone is policing that, I have no idea.  But it is a part of our council level requirements.  

 

Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council,Boy Scouts of America > News > Top News > California Assembly Bill 506 and Youth Protection Training

California Assembly Bill 506 and Youth Protection Training

 

Online training and Live Scan background checks required by law for all volunteers.

A new law has taken effect in California, effective January 1, 2022 and will further support our mission to protect youth in our program from neglect and abuse. Pursuant to California Business and Professions Code Section 18975 (formally referred to as AB 506 of 2021), volunteers, employees, and administrators are now required to take an additional training and complete a Live Scan background check.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. Complete Mandated Reporter Training from the state of California
2. Upload certificate of completion for training to SVMBC council portal on www.californiascouting.org
3. Get a Live Scan Fingerprint & Background check
   1. Download and print the Request for Live Scan Form (unique to our council)
   2. Find the Live Scan site near you, bring the completed form to the service provider. Each individual must pay a fingerprint rolling fee ($20-$40) and FBI background check fee ($15) to the Live Scan provider.
      • Live Scan Location: Verify Group Inc. located at 262 E Hamilton Ave Suite A, Campbell, CA 95008. Click on https://verifygroup.youcanbook.me/ and select “Live Scan Fingerprinting” to schedule.
      • Any Live Scan Location is allowed. 

We are offering Live Scan Background checks at many upcoming council events.

Visit www.californiascouting.org for full details and resources.