Did You Know: TSA Edition #15

Did You Know........

Gilwell Park, the scouts' UK Headquarters is home to part of the old London Bridge designed in the 19th Century by John Rennie. The rest is in Arizona.

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Did You Know: TSA Edition #14

Did You Know........

Scouts were the original Olympic Games Makers. During the 1948 "Austerity" Olympics in London, Scouts were described as "The Oil within the Wheels of the Olympic Games Organization".........performing tasks like serving tea, running messages and carrying placards in the Opening Ceremony.

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Did You Know: TSA Edition #13

Did You Know........

The only five countries in the world that do not have scouting........China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Andorra.

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Did You Know: TSA Edition #12

Did You Know........

To mark the Centenary of Scouting in 2007, Scouts planted half a million trees across the UK.

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Did You Know: TSA Edition #11

Did You Know........

There's a Scouting poster in both the EastEnders and Coronation Street Cafes.

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Did You Know" TSA Edition #10

Did You Know........

In January 2012, Scout Bryony Balen became the youngest ever Briton to ski to the South Pole at 21.

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Did You Know: TSA Edition #9

Did You Know........

In the past one hundred years, over half a billion men and women have taken the Scout Promise.

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Did You Know: TSA Edition #8

Did You Know........

Roller Stones rocker Keith Richards credits Scouts with nurturing his music career. "I got to be Patrol Leader within six weeks.............I just shot to the top. Once I had a bunch of guys together, it doesn't matter if it was Scouts or a band, I could see my way clear to pull all their various talents together".

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Did You Know: TSA Edition #7

Did You Know........

Baden=Powell's Scouting for Boys has sold 150 million copies since 1908, making it the fourth best book of all time after The Bible, The Koran and Chairman Mao's Little Red Book.

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Did You Know: TSA Edition #6

Did You Know........

Scout Groups in Merseyside hold the current world record for the longest handshake chain.

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Did You Know: TSA Edition #5

Did You Know........

31 million people are active in Scouting across the world........that's equal to the population of Peru.

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Did You know: TSA Edition #4

Did You Know........

During World War II over 50 thousand Scouts trained to undertake National War Service jobs including acting as Police Messengers, Firemen, and Stretcher bearers.

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Did You Know: TSA Edition #3

Did You Know........

David Bowie's first public musical performance was at a Scout Camp on the Isle of Wright in 1958. David accompanied his friend George Underwood while George played washboard bass and sang.

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Did You Know: TSA Edition #2

Did You Know........

Herge's legendary character Tintin is based on a Scout.

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Did You Know: TSA Edition #1

Did You Know........

David Bowie's first performance happened at Scouts.

Source:

http://scouts.org.uk/news/2013/06/30-amazing-facts-about-scouts/

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

What am I Currently Doing in Scouting

It seems that the positions I serve in grow more numerous as each month goes by but it really isn't adding more positions per-say but instead it is taking on the position in a more serious manner. Currently I volunteer at the Unit, District, and Council level and have developed a very close working relationship with most of the professional staff in my council. Like previously, I still live in Anchorage, Alaska which is in the Great Alaska Council Service Area. This coming summer I was going to go to the National Scout Jamboree at the Summit in Mount Hope, West Virginia, just outside of Charleston but due to personal reasons I made the decision to resign and not go. But it isn't all bad news because for the first time this Summer I will be serving in a paid leadership position. My position is serving as the Cheechako Trail Director for Camp Gorsuch. The Cheechako Trail Director which is considered First Year Camper Program .

At the unit level I am serving as an Assistant Scoutmaster for two different Troops with one being Troop 1316 (T1316) in Anchorage and the other being Troop 0669 (T0669) in Soldotna. Since I don't live in Soldotna the amount of interaction I have with Troop 0669 is limited but I do try to get down to Soldotna at least twice per year. While I still am regularly involved in T1316 my duties at the District and Council levels have caused me to step down from being a primary Assistant Scoutmaster (ASM) within the unit. In some ways this bothers me but deep down I know that I am still serving the unit through indirect service. For the first time in many years I will not be going to Scout Camp as a Unit Leader and instead will get to see the other side (Staff Side) of things.

I think before I get too long of a post that is all I am going to leave you with, so you will just have to wait for part 2 which will be published soon that will talk about the positions I serve in at the Council and District levels, along with brief explanations of what my focus is going to be on this year in those positions.

My Question of the Post is as Follows:

What role or position are you in and why are you in this position (For people with multiple roles I encourage you to list all of them and give a separate reason why you serve in that position)?

A Short Introduction to Dealing with Scouts with Special Needs

One of my biggest focus areas in Scouting has to do with Scouts with Special Needs. This is probably because I am on the Autism Spectrum on the fairly high functioning side of the spectrum. I believe that with practice and effort on the part of boy the boy, the boys parents, the Scout Leaders, and the youth leaders as well can work together to make Scouting a very inclusive environment for those with special needs. It always saddens me when I hear other leaders or parents say something like the follow:

• He can't participate in Scouting because he has special needs.
• He can't participate in Scouting because he just won't listen.
• He can't participate in Scouting because he will need special accommodations.
• He can't participate in Scouting because he will never be able to complete advancement requirements.
• He can't participate in Scouting because he will just cause problems.
• He can't participate in Scouting because he can't do activities like the others can.
• He can't participate in Scouting because he will never overcome his fears or issues.
• He can't participate in Scouting because he isn't capable of learning the skill.
• He can't participate in Scouting because the instructions methods used just aren't working.
• He can't participate in Scouting because there is no help available to my unit.
• He can't participate in Scouting because he will just destroy the unit.
• He can't participate in Scouting because the other Scouts aren't able to relate to him
• He can't participate in Scouting because the other Scouts aren't able to work with him.
• He can't participate in Scouting because the other Scouts aren't able to communicate with him.
• He can't participate in Scouting because the other Scouts aren't able to won't enjoy Scouting.
• He can't participate in Scouting because there are not resources available to my unit.
• He can't participate in Scouting because I don't have the time to work with him.
• He can't participate in Scouting because he is different.
• He can't participate in Scouting because he is just too weird.
• He can't participate in Scouting because the disabled won't like Scouting activities.
• He can't participate in Scouting because the leaders just can't deal with it.
• He can't participate in Scouting because this isn't what as a leader I signed up for.
• He can't participate in Scouting because this isn't what my kid signed up for.
• He can't participate in Scouting because he doesn't deserve to be a Scout.
• He can't participate in Scouting because Scouting just isn't designed for these Scouts.

While a list of 25 reasons of why Scouts with special needs can't participate in Scouting seems very long, it isn't over the four years of being an adult leader and being a youth member for 11 years I have come up with many more reasons than this, in fact I could probably list at least one hundred reasons. And it seems that the list is just growing and growing in exponential numbers, which quite frankly irritates me and in my humble opinion is causing Scouting to move away from its original intended purpose.

While the Scouting Movement began in 1907 by Baden-Powell and at first glance seems only to suited to serving the non-disabled population I believe this is not the case. And quite frankly based upon my understanding of how Baden Powell envisioned Scouting and its Methods to be used would most definitely agree with me. I realize that this may be in direct contradiction to what Baden-Powell envisioned and I could be wrong but for my sake and the sake of Scouting I hope my belief is in line with what Baden-Powell would've wanted Scouting to be in the 21st Century.

Before you go though I would like to ask you to comment on the following question:

If Baden-Powell was alive today in the 21st Century do you think that he would've agreed or not agreed with me? Also it would be nice to hear the reasons why.

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West

Eagle Scout

ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669

UC/ADC Denali/Eklutna District

Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics

Council Program/Training/Camping

If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a Professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Local Scout Camp Pride

This coming Saturday will be the first day of Staff Week for Camp Gorsuch and while I am looking forward to having the opportunity to serve on staff as the Cheechako Trail Director which is my councils First Year Camper Program with its focus on Tenderfoot to First Class Rank Requirements, I also have some reservations. My primary issue which from what I know seems pretty common is that we have NO Camp Spirit or Camp Pride, I realize Scout Camp for most is only a week long excursion but it shouldn't be this way. Camp Gorsuch belongs to me and all the other Scouts, Scouters, and Parents that are part of the Great Alaska Council but too many have seem to forgotten this fact and therefore it doesn't always match what Scouters and Scouts want from Camp Gorsuch. I have noticed that many complain about the facilities or programs or equipment but no one seems to want to do anything about it. Which means that changes won't happen because we are a volunteer organization and we desperately depend upon the service of both youth and adults to accomplish the work.

So why don't people that use Camp Gorsuch take responsibility and pitch in to get the work done? I don't think I could narrow it down to only reason or even list all the reasons people could come up with but anyway here is my attempt at identifying what I believe are the most common answers:

1) We don't have time: We are all busy and we all have lives. But is it really too much to ask for others to come and help one day to provide service for my camp?

2) We shouldn't have to do the manual labor: Hold on, a second, did you forget we are a VOLUNTEER organization? In case you did I will state it again...........we are a VOLUNTEER organization and it is the VOLUNTEERS that get things done. I don't see another reasonable option but if you could come up with one I would most certainly love to hear it.

3) Can't we just hire a contractor: Okay, so you want to hire a contractor, are you willing to pay for the contractor to do the work needed? I am pretty sure the answer is going to be a resounding NO! So unless you can make money just appear out of nowhere, I don't think that is an option.

Well for now those are the big three I can come up with! But if you have any reasons you would like to share please share them in the comments section below.

Ohh just one last thing, I hope to have a letter put together by the end of day that explains to members of my council why it would be a very good idea to STEP UP and do what is RIGHT!

Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West

ASM Troop 1316/0669

UC Denali and Eklutna Districts

Council Camping Committee Member

May 2013 Quick Update

Okay, okay, okay, I am pretty bad about this regular posting thing but I'm hoping to write more often, as Scouting for me has been extremely complicated and extremely busy. However unlike normal where I promise to do better, I'm not going to promise anything about post frequency as that seems to detract from the whole point of this blog. First off though I need to deal with a few administrative items before jumping into my May 2013 Update, which include:

1) Membership Resolution: I will not be covering this issue even though it is one of the biggest challenges going on in the Boy Scouts of America today. All I will say is that I am going to be glad once this whole process is over because maybe, just maybe we can get out of the negative media spotlight that has seemed to be around constantly for too long. Therefore, I am asking all to not bring up anything to do with the membership policy as only doing so will just further complicate an already complicated enough situation.

2) Comment Posting: Recently you may have noticed I switched the background system I use for commenting from the standard Blogger Commenting Interface to a service provider known as Disqus. The purpose for this switch was to provide me with more feedback in order to improve the reach of my audience that regularly visits the blog. I hope you find it easier to use, as it connects to all the various major social networking sites with just a few clicks. However, as part of my continuous quality improvement process I need some feedback and would greatly appreciate comments or concerns you have with this commenting system.

3) Post Contributors: Unlike before, I am going to be allowing guest posters to highlight a post from their blog, from another persons blog with permission of course, or finally create original content for the blog. If you would like to contribute to the blog or suggest a new topic that you would like to be covered please email me at: westybsa@gmail.com

For now that is all the administrative items I would like to cover at this point, but also please be on the look-out for another post with administrative updates in the near future that will hopefully improve and build upon the quality of my blog.

Yous in Scouting Service

Mark West

ASM Troop 1316/0669

UC/ADC Denali and Eklutna Districts

Council Program/Aquatics/Training Committees

Council Camping/Outdoor Ethics Committees

If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a Professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Whats the Point: A Follow-up to An Open Letter to the Great Alaska Council

Recently a Scouter posted a comment on "An Open Letter to the Great Alaska Council" post making me realize that I was extremely vague and that I didn't directly identify the issue. Due to my failure to identify the issue, I probably caused more questions to be raised than questions I answered. Before I clarify the issue I think it is important to state which comment I am referring to, which is as follows:

"While I do not understand the issues that you may be going through up there in Alaska (you have not really told your readers what the big issue is other than lack of attention) I would submit to you that you and your readers remember that YOU are the council"s

"Yes the service and support that is owed you be the Professional Scouters should be addressed. But before you shoot at the council......remember that by and large you are just shooting at yourself."

"Just my thoughts."

"Wish I knew more about the specific issues to make a more helpful response. Where is your District Committee in this issue? Geographically, the district should be your first line of answers. Thanks for allowing comments."

"Jerry Schleining
Scoutmaster"

My position in Scouting that is directly connected to this issue is me being a member of the  Council Training Committee. Additionally the issue is not just prevalent on this particular committee, it is prevalent in every council committee. While this partially correct, it is much more complicated than that because depending on the purpose of the various council committees each committee faces unique challenges that must be worked on to continue developing and expanding the reach of Scouting in most of the State of Alaska.

Geographically speaking beyond the Transatlantic Council and the Direct Service Council my Council is the largest Council in area covered at least for when you are referring to a council that is directly located on land that is property of the United States. The council that I am involved with is that of the Great Alaska Council (GAC). The GAC covers three-fourths of Alaska with the remaining fourth belonging to the Midnight Sun Council. Simply put most of the districts for the GAC are larger than over 90% of councils in the lower-48 (Continental United States). To say that the service area of the council is a challenge would be the understatement of the century. Beyond just the service area covered transportation to the various units can require multiple days and even multiple flights. Of course the issue with the land covered by the GAC's service area is to be expected. I completely understand this fact and know that serving all the units in the council equally is impossible. Well, okay not impossible but way too costly to execute.

My issue has to do with the standard mantra of "I'm not living there or affected by those concerns so why should I care or do anything about those concerns." This mantra happens to be an issue that councils all over the United States are facing. Ultimately the question councils around the country are struggling with is "How do I provide adequate support and quality program with such limited resources available?" Based upon my previous experience in Scouting in the Western Colorado Council, the Denver Area Council, and the Pikes Peak Council I feel that completely ignoring and not working with Scout Units outside of the core of the council is unacceptable and needs to stop in order to slow-down and possibly eliminate the overall trend of losting youth and volunteers on an annual basis. The core of the GAC is that of the Anchorage/Palmer/Wasilla areas which in reality makes sense because that is where over 80% of the Total Youth Served are living.

Obviously in these times of financial insecurity sacrifices must be made for the better of the majority of the volunteers and youth within the council but implementing these types of cut-backs is at least in my opinion destroying opportunities for growth. While these areas outside of the core of the council may not have as high of a number for the Total Available Youth (TAY) to Total Youth Served (TYS) ratio there are still plenty of opportunities to increase and retain membership outside of the core. Speaking of the TAY to TYS ratio the core area of the council while below the national average is doing reasonably okay. Yes there is room for growth but growth happens slowly. So, what's your point here, most of us Scouters that have been in Scouting for a while understand these stats and ratios, and that around the country we are all desperately in need of numerous new volunteers my point is that while we want overall growth, lets stop putting practices and guidelines into place that are hindering the youth members all around the country.

These practices and guidelines while seem to work for the core area just don't work outside of this area for many different reasons. A hopefully obvious idea of "All Scouting is local, as such to succeed decisions made must reflect the capabilities of that local community" but for some reason we aren't thinking about this idea anymore. The reality though is that we are not just not thinking, we seem to be developing an attitude of ignorance. This attitude of ignorance, on our current path isn't just going to resolve itself but instead resolving it is going to require us council-level volunteers to actually look at the facts and start listening to the Scouters within the outlying communities.

Seriously speaking now, the reason I'm ranting and bringing up this ignorance and failure to involve volunteers in outlying communities, is that I have been there myself and know what it feels like to be told what and how to do things without listening or trying to acknowledge that there may be local difficulties that may not be seen without having lived there. Instead what we do is inform these adults and youth of changes in practices/guidelines or ask for money for popcorn or for Friends of Scouting. These three situations are pretty much exclusively the times we reach out to these units. Doing this is pushing people out of Scouting and not giving everyone the chance to really have a fulfilling and complete Scouting experience.

Finally, I would like to say that this is only part of my response to this comment. As such I will be posting the second part late this week or hopefully early next week. I'm not sure if I am just repeating myself but hopefully not and hopefully this helps to provide some answers and not just more questions. I am purposely not being specific because being specific would make this post way too long but later I will be using specific examples, as such as a reader you will just have to be a bit patient!



Yours in Scouting
Mark West
Eagle Scout;
Unit Commissioner/ASM
Council Training Committee
Council Camping Committee
NSJ2005 Youth; NSJ2010 Staff; NSJ2013 Staff;
WSJ2007 Youth; WSJ2011 IST; 2010 NYLT Staff;

If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.