Working with Kids
Counseling, inspiring and teaching kids.
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LATEST POSTS
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By Double Eagle · Posted
Like mentioned above, national may better to avoid a detailed policy. Two that come to mind that are always topics like this are: -Type of knives: National does not limit the type of knife, but some units and camps limit size and fixed-blade knives. National lets the units and camps decide what is right. I scouted in Panama with BSA and about every scout used and carried machetes as that culture grows up with them, as the jungle is in the back yard. In England, locking blade knives are prohibited, and I thought that was a safety feature. - Range and Target Activities (RATA, some still call it shooting sports) age is left up to units, camps, and local laws too. National has a vague policy that any registered scout can participate in RATA in accordance with the GTSS and age-appropriate guidelines. I know of some camps that limit rifle and shotgun to age 14 and up, although there is no national regulation on it. -
That's my biggest thing, too. I'm honestly shocked that the camp we're attending wants me to collect phones and keep them all in a box in my tent. There's no way I'm doing that. My general troop policy has been not to make rules about phones unless/until I have to. And if the scouts use them appropriately and at the appropriate times, I won't have to make a rule. We're supposed to be a scout-led program and I'm letting the scouts lead on this matter, too. The older scouts model the example and the younger ones seem to follow it. I just wish we had the policy backing from national to do this everywhere, and not let camps override it. Adults, on the other hand... yep, they're often the ones who can't seem to model good behavior. -
By Double Eagle · Posted
I've dealt with this quite a bit. Gotta say I've been in scouting since the old green uniform without collars. So, I've seen a gambit in changes. I'm pro-phone in any scouting atmosphere. I see it our duty to teach them when and how it is a complement and not a crutch. I've been in countless board meetings where someone's phone went off. And these are executive boards. So, let's not crucify scouts for using a technology that they have grown up with. I call them cyber-natives and they could use a tablet before writing complete sentences. Some of us are cyber-immigrants where we had to learn the language, didn't grow up using them, and may still need the scouts to help us navigate an app. Here is my side on the legality of phones. I don't want to be financially responsible for any scouts' phones. I also don't want access or accused of viewing or "going thru" any scouts' phones. What they have on their phones is their family's business. I can't imagine explaining to a parent why I had possession of a phone and it was returned damaged or in a different state than when I took it. No thanks! Last one...I don't know many adults that would be good with a no-phone policy placed on them. Heck, they are most often the ones that cannot scout without it. Just like tot'in chip violations, it is usually the adults not following the same rules we place on scouts. -
I see it being handled similar to the uniform policy updates, where national grants discretion to the troops to decide their own policies, and removes the ability for anyone outside the troop to override that policy except in instances of safety concerns. This gives troops the ability to act not just in their own interests and preferences but also apply any specific state legal considerations to their own policies (see below). Even in states where it is technically legal for teachers to confiscate cell phones, in practice there are really no true protections for teachers who do so. Parents can (and do) bring lawsuits over phone confiscations regardless. My wife (a middle school teacher) is going through this right now. That's why I refuse to abide by any camp policy that says I'm supposed to take phones from scouts. Not even having to navigate the issues of medical necessity, I just don't want the responsibility or liability that comes from taking and holding a kid's $1,000 phone that contains all kinds of personal information. Now for national's point of view, I get why they might not want to set policy in this regard, if they have to navigate various laws that are different in each state. And maybe in this particular case, talking about confiscating phones, it might make the most sense for national to simply say we should not be doing it. Which of course I know is not going to sit well with a lot of units who want that kind of control. But legally (and note that I am not a lawyer), I just feel like it's a lawsuit waiting to happen, especially when we can already see it happening in schools. And national can protect themselves (and us) by saying that phone confiscation should just not be happening.
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I just discovered this and how different they can be. Try looking up the checklists for recommended items for a personal first aid kit for First Aid merit badge. The links in the requirements vs. the pamphlet info are wildly different.
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