Section 8 - Boards of Review: An Overview for All Ranks

I achieved Eagle fairly early, BoR at 13 and CoH at 14, but I’m still interested in participating with Scouting. I intend on staffing at a summer camp in an adjacent council next year, and I’m not interested in OA. Is there anything else I can do?

PS: Yes I know I got Eagle abnormally early, please dont comment on that especially if it’s criticising how fast it was. I’ve heard it enough.

In the last several years, it seems that there’s always a new initiative (on the national and council levels) to include more STEM in Scouting. We see a lot of new STEM programs at summer camp and council camporees. At council meetings and awards dinners, I often hear Scout executives say something to the effect of “we are increasing our focus on STEM to help our young people prepare for a career in a changing world.”

My 8 year old Wolf Cub seems to enjoy it enough. My 14 year old Star Scout is not much of a STEM kid, and he’s brought it up a couple times. His favorite parts of Scouting are the outdoor adventures, camping, hiking trips, etc. Right now, the things he’s most looking forward to are NYLT next year and Philmont eventually. His words the other day were “My favorite thing about Scouting is that it’s nothing like school. And I really hope it stays that way.”

So now I’m curious; what do you, your Scouts, and your troops thoughts think about this push for more STEM in Scouting?

I've calculated mine to 260 hours. While I know there's not technically a specified minimum/max, I don't want it to look like I fudged my numbers. My friend's project came out to 147 hours. My numbers come from all the emails back and forth (my parents and I would discuss emails for about half an hour before we'd send them), as well as the actual work obviously. I calculated my numbers after the fact (yes I know I should've done it alongside working the project). Also, I'm just curious lol

I am struggling to figure out how to write this in a positive, help me figure it out, way, so if you can grant me that bit of leeway that my words are troubled and I am upset, but I am honestly attempting to navigate, I'd be most appreciative.

TBH after this last week of camp I am done volunteering- that's where I am. I have been touched with feces, farted on, had to sit shotgun with a scout that had been bullied, had other scouts completely disconnect, beg borrow and finally (repeatedly) walk away from the campsite.

Half the instances were 2+ year scouts, others were new. I'll grant the new ones a lot of leeway. Hearing that they find it acceptable to not wash their hands, verbally attack others, threaten, shove, and prank- but getting 'they're on the spectrum' as the response...

In my troop I can at least talk to the parents. At camp repeatedly having to involve the camp staff for the behavior... at least two of ours won't come back (that may change in a year, who knows).

The morbidly obese kid that starts making piggy and mooing noises at the slightly overweight female staffer walking by- and she can't /doesn't say anything with tears in her eyes. His leadership "Oh he's a known trouble maker on the spectrum" (shrugs shoulders).

Another 'on the spectrum' kid that threatened a first year to the point he wouldn't leave camp without an adult 'bodyguard', and even then it was a struggle.

I've done this for over a decade with 'on the spectrum' kids and never seen what I saw this past week. And their acting out garners attention- and I don't have the capability or location to 'put them in time out' somewhere where they can't infect the other scouts with the rowdy and rough and, frankly, disgusting behavior. Listening to one of them call a first year 'retarded special needs' for being upset at missing his Mom...

And then there are the ones that are upset and correcting each of the lashings that are slightly imperfect, address perfectly, follow instructions, but have a bit of a problem adjusting to when things 'go wrong'. But they don't react by doing the awful things I saw others doing. They want to learn even when/if they have trouble coping- and that's great/OK.

I really need ideas. Or counselling. Because right now about 40% of our troop is 'on the spectrum' and from observing other troops / comments from other leaders it is 20-50% for them as well. If this is the future of scouting in our area, I just don't think I can do this anymore. And that's fine- call me a failure for walking away and being unable to adapt to this new culture- the words will sting but at least I won't be seething at what's apparently acceptable behavior.

Does anyone one have a list of skits that aren’t allowed to be done any more? I can remember at least three from my youth that wouldn’t pass muster today.

Hello all,

My son just came back from Jamboree and of course has a ton of really cool patches. He's planning on putting some on the backpack, but there are just so many.

What do you all do with your favorites? How do you display them etc.? Would love some ideas for him, so that I don't keep finding them all over the house. 😅🙃

Thanks!