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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/18/18 in all areas

  1. @.40AET, please do not leave the board or even the discussion. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, as is @CalicoPenn In my opinion, one of the major problems with our society is the urgency with which we settle into a position, and how entrenched we become, during (or even prior to) a discussion. Too often we weaponize debate and there is no real chance to have a discussion that might help solve a problem. If you are for gun control legislation you are for tyranny and against individual rights if you are against gun control legislation you are for murdering children and agai
    3 points
  2. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone outside of scouting would think this but a cub leader.. that is just sad. I would think everyone would want their kids to learn gun safety and proper operation in combination with the Scout Oath and Law.
    2 points
  3. Not sure if mom or dad who doesn't have the camping experience. I have had a near equal measure of both. As to the 49% figure, one of the things in my area that impacts this rate are "select" or competitive sports. Right at 11 (or 6th grade), soccer and baseball select sports kick in. Practices are several times a week with a game at least once a week, usually on weekends. Since every parent thinks their kid is the next Messi or A-Rod, those on the fence about Scouting tend to lean toward sports...further pushed that direction by dad or mom (dad usually). The next decision point is high s
    2 points
  4. Unless you're next to a screaming toddler on a Lufthansa flight. THEN it is all about the destination and not the journey! https://metro.co.uk/video/video-demonic-child-screams-eight-hour-flight-1628342/?ito=vjs-link
    2 points
  5. I think we're way off topic at this point, but on the subject of advancement... It kind of seems like no matter what pace a kid takes, it will bother someone. Go too fast and you're missing out on the journey. Go too slow and earn eagle in the 11th hour before turning 18 and they didn't take it seriously, didn't plan ahead, procrastinated, etc., etc., etc. My feeling is if this is supposed to be about the journey, let it be a journey that fits each scout. No two journeys end up being the same. The kids have their list of requirements, but even within that there is a lot of choice an
    2 points
  6. Everybody knows that the official socks are the plushiest, most delightful socks in the world, and that it's the ONE part of the uniform that's worth every penny of the cost. And this from a Californian who prefers to wear sandals whenever humanly possible!
    1 point
  7. Our pack has simplified the PWD as much as humanly possible, and it has turned out GREAT for us. Here are some of the changes we made that have made things easier AND much more fun: 1. We don't have a 1st, 2nd or 3rd - instead, every boy received a participation medal, but then there are extra medals that encourage effort and success of all kinds. Our categories are Fastest Car, Slowest Car (what we call the "Marathon Winner"), Most Creative Car, Scout's Choice Award (the boys all vote on this one), and two other awards that change from year to year. This way, some cars are given prizes b
    1 point
  8. I think those skorts are too short of those religions.
    1 point
  9. Thanks for this. Having just taken over as Webelos/Arrow of Light Den Leader (we only have one AOL boy and no leader for him, and our regular den leader's son has been in and out of the hospital), things like this are good to know. I've done my YPT, but haven't looked at the den leader training yet. For this first couple weeks I've just been duplicating what my older son's den leader did with the boys, and have been focused on making sure the AOL boy can earn his rank before crossing over. My older son joined the Troop at the end of April last year. He and the other new boys were all
    1 point
  10. Our Scoutmaster, who builds fires with the stick and string and sleeps outdoors on every single trip, claims he was never outdoorsy. I didn't know him when he was Cubmaster, but he (a Brit) says he was influenced by Bear Grylls, and he started getting really into survival stuff when he became Scoutmaster. At the same time, he keeps baking us treacle tarts in the cardboard oven, lol.
    1 point
  11. Overnight, Tony Williams, public information officer for the Rawlinsville Volunteer Fire Company : gaining access little by little, but it is a slow process. teen is conscious and communicating with rescuers rescuers greatest concern at this time is the possibility of the teen getting hypothermia Update: Resued after 7 hours. http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/video/category/news/3812709-15-year-old-boy-rescued-from-lancaster-cave/
    1 point
  12. Yes Sir. I failed to use quotes when citing a news source. @CalicoPennsent me a nice note last night. The sun is shining brightly on the new fallen snow this morning and I have a new perspective. I generally stay out of politics and accidentally followed a feed into the forum.
    1 point
  13. I don't have a complete answer, but I like it when families come to a cub scout family weekend hosted by Council. It is a weekend of easy, supported camping. Venturing camp staff will meet you at your group site and offer to help you if you need help setting up. Meals are all in the dining hall, but the kids run around outside all weekend and it's great. Our Pack weekend campouts are also good. It's a cabin camping weekend with dining hall food and outdoor activities planned by the den leaders, and a lot of advancement stuff related to the outdoors. Parents can come along, or if th
    1 point
  14. I think we all have a pretty clear idea of what "school shooting" means in this country today. So if someone says there was a "school shooting" and you come to find that a guy shot himself in a school parking lot when no children were present, or it was a gun fired in a parking lot at a college basketball game after class hours, that seems dishonest to me. I get that they disclose their parameters to define "school shooting", but it doesn't matter if their definition is contrary to what the vast majority of Americans think of when someone says "school shooting."
    1 point
  15. Crap, I fell for it. After some searching, it seems as though there have been 6. Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun-control advocacy group responsible for spreading this bogus statistic, should be ashamed of its blatant dishonesty.
    1 point
  16. You might want to change your obligatory upvote then.
    1 point
  17. I did 6 years as a DL, and was burned out. While the first 2 groups were a joy to be with as I had parents interested in helping their kids, so they stayed around and had fun too. Youngest son's Tiger den was a challenge. No one was willing to step up and help out. The parents there stayed glued to their phones. Grandparents there either had health issues, or also stayed glued to their phone.
    1 point
  18. We do this every year when we have new parents come in to the troop. We walk them through everything and even invite them to attend our plc meeting and the annual planning. They love to see us at work and I think it really shows them what the older scouts can do.
    1 point
  19. Consider involving the Scouts. The Quartermaster can give a "tour" of the Troop trailer and chuck-boxes. Scouts can explain and demonstrate how the lanterns/stoves/etc work. Have different types and styles of tents, backpacks and sleeping bags on-hand. The parents will pick up on the passion and enthusiasm of the boys. Excitement is contagious!
    1 point
  20. Our Pack is currently : AOL - male, Webelos - male, Bear - female, Wolf - male Tiger - male Lions - our female CC leads the Lions Our CC is a female that is the daughter of a Montana forest ranger, very experienced in the outdoors Our COR is a non camper mom Our Assistant CM is a male military recruiter Tiger dad, he will be CM in the 2019 school year and could have been CM this year but was concerned about deployment. I'm filling in a year while he gets more familiar with Scouting. Den leader burnout is a thing. I honestly think it is a thankless and ta
    1 point
  21. @Urbanredneck Welcome! Try these links: http://usscouts.org/mb/proposals.asp https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2013/08/12/how-to-suggest-a-new-merit-badge/
    1 point
  22. Violent crime is still at historic and record lows, the lowest in recorded human history. One could argue that this is a direct or indirect result of boys being outcast in society. Masculinity not being focused, tempered and honed to be production and protective of society, but instead vilified and called toxic, you're evil because you're male. It's why the BSA should have doubled down on boys and figured out how to reach the boys left out in the cold, instead they opted to forget boys and target getting girls, who are already thriving in society. It's a damn shame. "There are th
    1 point
  23. Hey, way to blame moms for BSA's numbers. 100% of my scouts crossed over, only 4 of 6 are still in scouts one year later. One left for sports, the other for disinterest. In some families the crossover seems to be about the parents -- and especially -- families and boys who choose sports over Scouting, and parents who think Boy Scouting is uncool for their children's social status.
    1 point
  24. Overburdened?? You just have to get on the membership train, more stuff is BETTER Used to be 3 years of Cubs then one got to Scouts (waaay back in the day) Let's make it School year so they all advance at the same pace Let's go camping Let's all go camping as a family Let's add a year of Webelos so we can lower the entrance age Let's add Tigers so we can lower the entrance age again Let's add popcorn sales Let's add camp card sales Let's add Girl Dens / Boy Dens / Coed Packs Let's add kindergartners so we can lower the entrance age
    1 point
  25. Probably because the more time you spend in disney world the more fun you have. No one likes to come home early from vacation so that’s why people equate the length of time spent with quality.
    1 point
  26. Why does anyone assume that a longer journey is a higher-quality journey? In much of my Scouting experience I find that when a Scout slow-walks through the ranks, it is because he is only partially engaged in Scouting and only shows up sporadically. That half-commitment is of course reflected in the speed of his advancement, too. Where in that equation does anyone derive that he is having a higher-quality Scouting journey? I see quite the opposite, in fact.
    1 point
  27. When I offer Den Leader Training courses for new Cub leaders in my council, that's actually a large part of what I try to convey. As a Webelos Den Leader, I think it's important to be aware of the local Boy Scout program so that I can sufficiently prepare my boys, not only for the program, but for the leaders and Troops up to which they will be advancing. My den feeds in to the Troop sponsored by our shared CO, so I always make it a point to attend their committee meetings and to know the SM and his assistants personally. That way I can give them information about the boys moving up soon,
    1 point
  28. The current Boy Scout Handbook says First Class within about 12-18 months. Scouts in my son's troop are taking longer (than they were previously) to make First Class primarily because they have trouble tracking their fitness activities at home for TF/FC/SC.
    1 point
  29. We see scouts get first class anywhere from 1.25 years to 3 years. Depends on the boy, some of them look at the book at are very focused on advancing, others couldn't care. Some of the slower ones we have discussions with them to see if they understand how advancement works.
    1 point
  30. I have a hard time believing that 100% of the girls in that pack just happened to choose the exact same uniform configuration. I can't even get all of the kids in my Den to consistently wear a neckerchief slide as opposed to just tying the thing in a knot. And miraculously somehow this girls den/pack pulled that one off, too. A statistical impossibility if you ask me.
    1 point
  31. I wouldn't have an issue with unique items for girls in the long-term. My issue with it is that this seems entirely counter to what we heard throughout the years of the effort to get girls into Cub Scouts, including from people like me. I believed what I was told and heard, that girls just wanted the chance to be in the BSA, as-is. We were told that the program didn't need to change, that girls could do exactly what the boys were doing, they could sign up and put on the same uniform and go out and be scouts just like the boys. We went out and pushed that message, and I believe it still. And th
    1 point
  32. Play the video below for the parents. Someone will be touched by it and want more of the outdoors. Philmont- A love Letter
    1 point
  33. Our Scoutmaster always has hot coffee ready for the adults at the time of the wake-up call. That always makes me more willing to go camping. As mentioned by others, at our last Court of Honor, there was a slide show of some of the camping trips the boys had been on, and it really did have parents saying how fun it looked.
    1 point
  34. The last thing you want is a Boy Scout parent who has never camped at least once because they will have a lot of misconceptions, fear, and embarrassment of an area they know little. It often influences the boy. I think this is where some Cub Scout packs make a mistake by doing almost no Family camping at all. As a slightly older parent of my peers I found a whole generation of parents who had never really camped at all and were quite skittish about it. We did a lot of 'introductory' cub and parent games (set up a tent, sleeping bag packing competitions, candy fire instruction, packing lis
    1 point
  35. Yes! There is no better way of promoting scouting than lots of photos of kids doing fun stuff with sniles on their faces. It won't work for all parents but show them what their childre are doing an they'll more likely want to get involved.
    1 point
  36. What has worked best for me (both as a Scoutmaster and an LNT Advocate) is speaking to the benefits of getting a scout involved in the outdoors and contrasting it will some of the problems we are currently facing with youth being disconnected from nature. Letting them know that a huge part of Scouting is being in the outdoors and that we are counting on them to help reinforce it at home, whether or not they participate. There are a ton of great resources online to help with the argument. Here is a search link and an article I like about it: https://www.google.com/search?q=reasons+to+get+k
    1 point
  37. Yes, I think they would prefer the term "retreat" over "training". IMO, it should be "Fun with a Purpose" , i.e., they see the value at conclusion. Something was built - a tower, a meal, summit hike, friendships,... some anxieties reduced - bugs, bathrooms, ... My $0.02,
    1 point
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