Leaderboard

The schools in my area do NOT have that "safe harbor" rule. However, I'm aware of one case where a student told a teacher that he accidentally had a pocket knife in his backpack. And the teacher wisely told the student to just leave it there until the end of the day. But if the teacher had decided to go by the book, the kid would have been in a lot of trouble. What I've told my kids, and what I've told other scouts to talk to their parents about is this: If they discover that they accidentally have a knife or some other contraband in their possession, then they should go to the teache

Wow ... I don't think I have EVER heard of shaking hands as being either "out-of-date" or problematic in any way. It can't be generational; I am barely 34 and most of my friends are much younger; shaking hands is as common as any other kind of greeting. At the university I went to (BYU), people shake hands ALL THE TIME, whether it's greeting a new person or an old friend. Now I live back home in California, and it's still just as commonplace here in South Orange County as it ever was. ALL of the boys in our Troop shake hands with leaders when they greet (and each other when they remember

I finally found the official BSA rules on hammocks: https://www.ncsbsa.org/resources/general_files/Home/Program Director/680-055_SafetyHammocks_WEB.pdf I'll just leave this here...

It was a Tenderfoot test to give the Scout Handclasp in the B.S.A., Boy Scout Handbook, 7th Ed. at p. 34 (1969). It was Joining Requirement to know the Scout Handclasp. B.S.A., Official Boy Scout Handbook, 9th (Bill Hillcourt) Ed., at pp. 11 and 47 (1980). As the "Scout Handshake," knowing how to give it s now a Scout rank requirement, B.S.A., Boy Scout Handbook, 13th Ed., at p. 10 (2015).

Broward County, Florida honor roll student cut a peach in half with what even the school called a "butter knife." “This is a set of a spoon, fork and knife for toddlers — one year old,” the girl’s mother, Andrea Souto, added. “It is made for children to learn how to eat properly. She’s used it since she was baby.” "11-year-old suspended for violation of school’s ‘weapons policy’ after sharing fruit with a friend." Her "case" was turned over to the State's Attorney for further criminal proceedings. PHILADELPHIA – A 10-year-old girl was placed in handcuffs and taken

Could or should it have been posted in the other thread? Perhaps, but there's been some bleed over between the two and the references are much closer here. But I posted that for many reasons. One because of the size and depth of the impression the initial post made. Then the play nice post was so incongruent with that. And it highlights something I fear is likely: the introduction of a double standard. Comments made by one gender are interpreted differently when uttered by the other. As it is now, boys are on equal footing because, well, they are all boys. The introduction of girls into t

I'm thinking I read it somewhere, I may be wrong, though, that there was some BSA publication, maybe one of the books somewhere, where one of the requirements might have had something to do with something called a Scout "handshake". A bit of a brief explanation and maybe a picture. Maybe @TAHAWK can drum up a reference for it from somewhere.

We make a Philmont Trek every 3-4 years otherwise we shake and bake our own here in Alaska. Summer 2018 is a 50+ mile canoe paddle down the Stikine River. -Phil

We got a slot! Crew 721-? Phillip Martin ASM Troop4 Ketchikan, Alaska

You do realize that s n o w is a four letter word that I disapprove of? And the only reason we have it is because the referees Falcons beat the Saints Thursday. WHO DAT!

I appreciate this comment. I apologize, @WisconsinMomma, if you felt my words were unkind. They were not meant to be, and if a general statement I made was erroneously taken personally, I am sorry. But they were meant to be honest, which I cannot apologize for. I do believe that making too big an issue over a small thing is unwise, and a distraction - it takes our attention from the things that matter by focusing our energies on actions and behaviors instead of on people and individuals. We can focus all we want on whether handshakes or upside-down boys are right or wrong - but by so doing, we

You might not want to do the French "kissy thing" in Sweden. Do the French kissy thing in France, the Belgian kissy thing in Belgium, .... BTW, a handshake between men in France is fine. Oh, and don't use your lips when doing the kissy thing. It's more cheeky than kissy. All in all, how to say hello is different everywhere and there are subtle rules. I took Japanese in college and we spent an entire class talking about how far to bow. It depends on the people in the room and their relationships, and even the Japanese don't always know. All in all, a great source of fun stories to tell your fri

While we in the upper Midwest are jealous over our southern friends because we're still looking at dead grass and dirt.

If I'm in a scout unit, I'll do what the CO wants.

If I am in Japan I will bow. If I am in France I’ll do the kissy thing. If I am in Sweden (and they’re girls) I’ll pretend I’m French and do the kissy thing. If I’m in the USA I’m shaking your hand whoever you are. That’s what we do.

Just a quick fact check - actually it's about 58% Each year the Census Bureau captures a snapshot of the living arrangements of U.S. children through its Current Population Survey. The 2014 results were released by the Bureau last week, and the portrait they present of the family lives of 73.7 million American kids is certainly a variegated one. Yet despite all the talk about the growing irrelevance of marriage, 43 million children, a 58-percent majority, were living with both their birth mother and biological father in a traditional married-couple family

Oh, to be a myopic American. Scouting is a global phenomena and our chances of meeting those of other cultures in such places as World Jamborees will often times put us in "uncomfortable" situations. A handshake? A hug? A double kiss? A bow? Let's just hope that tolerance of others keeps the peace. When in Rome, do as the Romans, which is okay as long as one knows what Romans do.

What about those that prefer to kiss or hug?

I find this a totally bizarre topic, yea a few kids might think the overly formal hand shaking in our Troop is a bit archaic but I doubt (kids on the spectrum aside) that there is any thoughts of weirdness about it. Sounds like a straw man argument. To the contrary my experience with american teens this last decade is they are, at least with each other, the most huggiest generation ever. They see each other after a long weekend, big hug. Bad test, big hug. Dropped touch down, big hug. Once you get in their inner circle you may too get the occasional big hug. I don't think it is always sin

Zero tolerance DOES mean "leaving good judgment at the door." It's zero tolerance. No use of judgment, no consideration of circumstances, no exceptions. If you are using judgment to say some infractions are excused because of the circumstances, it's not zero tolerance. That's why zero tolerance is a bad idea. It "sounds" good to many people, but as I said before, many of those people don't understand what it means.

This is LDS. Their program differs slightly due to their CO placing additional restrictions/ rules. Example of the all the 11 year olds in their separate patrol with a TG and 11 year old ASM (unique POR for LDS units) citef above, and how they get to First Class in a year led to the NSP program back in 1989. Sadly these issues appear to be ingrained in some, not all, LDS units. Talking to several experienced, long time LDS Scouts, part of the challenge is that being a Scouter is a "calling" and you are appointed to the position, whether you want it or not. I've seen major issues in tho

Shouldn’t the boys be reaching out to the counselors and not mom or dad?

In some cultures wearing a certain color is offensive, having women with men is offensive, eating with the wrong hand is offensive, eating during daylight is offensive, doing anything on a particular day is offensive, etc. Picking which customs we will and won’t honor is a slippery slope isn’t it? Shouldn’t we be using accepted American customs? Otherwise we will find ourselves with some local units barring and not talking to women. They won’t be chauvinists, they’ll be practicing their culture.

Ok then, less bickering please. So far, our more thoughtful replies have mentioned trust, mutual respect, traditions, stricter CO policies, communication, cultural issues, instructional needs, and a change in parental concerns/fears. In the special case of a handshake; it seems a simple act of respect but the person "on the other hand" may not agree. From Bryan's Tuesday Talkback Feb 11, 2014 ...there may be some parents (and even Scouts and Scouters) who because of their culture are not willing to shake using the left hand. There are some cultures, too, that don’t like t

Interestingly all the instances of dealing with helicopter parents I've had this year has been parents of boys. The dad who wanted to know why his son wasn't a PL yet. (He didn't get chosen by the PLC) The mum who wanted to know why her son didn't have his chief scouts gold and was left to do (why isn't your son having this conversation with me?) and various others. had no such issues with parents of my girls. In fact as a counter example I spent a few mins on Thursday chatting to one of my older girls about the last thing she needs to do for her CSG. She approached me. No need

1957: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/41247438/ 1962: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/43701007/ 1964: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/41258518/

https://www.scouting.org/Home/HealthandSafety/Safety_Moments.aspx Links to: https://www.scouting.org/filestore/HealthSafety/pdf/680-055_SafetyHammocks_WEB.pdf

You would have to pay for full access, but this newspaper page seems to talk about the 1963 running: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/43695976/ The Google link contains the following snippet: "21 Scout Teams Race for Winona RED WING, Minn. - A total of 21 Explorer Boy Scout teams, including three from Winona, departed from here at 1:30 Ihis afternoon in the ninth annual 65-mile canoe derby down the Mississippi River to ." Here's more of the text from the page: "21 Scout Teams Race for Winona RED WING, Minn. - A total of 21 Explorer Boy Scout teams, including three from Wino

Naw. The dog would have to be registered with BSA and take the requisite youth protection training! As far as humans, that's not a bad idea if that person is a long-time trusted companion. However, 5thGen's situation is pretty novel to him, so figuring out who to "let in" on this is a challenge. Establishing that one even has an anxiety disorder takes more than just one incident of panic. (It's enough to get an honorable discharge from boot camp, but not enough to determine a long-term treatment plan, a friend of mine learned.) So, I bet he doesn't want to blow this out of proportion. He

I was the Troop Guide for my final two years as a youth following my SPL term and have been continuing to push the younger kids towards first class.

I admit both my disgust and disappointment with this thread. I was working with two out of state contractors this week who are scout leaders. They both told me their number one issue in running the troop is helicopter parents. The couple of their examples were very reminiscent of this discussion. While we had to deal with a couple of over zealous moms, it wasn’t anywhere near the number one issue. Both these leaders believe bringing in girls will kill the program as we know it. Im so glad my son’s got to experience a boy run program. Barry

Often, scouts say "my dad made me" when they are bored or stressed. Kids don't know always how to express themselves and often don't communicate the real issues. Parents often tell their kids they have to do something. Sitting at home online playing games is easy and automatic. But it's also not acceptable to many parents. Sometimes that comes out as "My dad made me". I know one scout who is emotionally and socially stunted. He's getting better, but he'll always be a bit off. When stressed, he'll say his dad makes him be there. But we can also clearly see the benefit and gr