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That was bad, even for a Scouter!

This is what causes problems: folks ignoring the procedures and doing their own thing. OA Election Team Should NEVER have added a Scout's name to the elected sheet simply because the SM recommends them. That is not how it is done. From personal experience, I know youth on an election team can get intimidated at times by adults. So my question is, where was the adult adviser to intervene on behalf of the election team?

For clarification, our SM did not speak to the OA election team. He inquired with the Adult Advisor on both occasions. Last year, the Scout was added. This year it was a different and “older” Advsior, with a different outcome. Going forward, we now know what is right and as Scouters we will not interfere. Learning lesson for all. Thanks again for the advice and comments.

There are few things I dislike more than telling a SM in his own troop meeting to back off and leave the OA election team alone because they are right and he is wrong. It can get rather interesting indeed! Especially when the SMers son is envolved. But I need to protect "my boys" when they are being wrongly harassed by an adult. That job comes with the white sash and the title of advisor. When the scouts know their adult leaders will back them, it becomes a lot easier for them to hold fast to what is right.

qwazse, They have an active UC. This troop and pack recently changed sponsors. Actually going back to the one they had years ago. Great church with lots of support. The CC for both the pack and troop is a good friend of mine, and when they had to remove the loud mouth, they asked me to mentor. She's got her training and all, but needs support with using this knowledge in a practical way. She'll be fine if she doesn't overload herself. She's got a new assistant from the Webelos group. I'll be talking to them over the weekend at the camping trip. I'll fade away soon. I just hate that

Some of our threads go wrong. Some of them go really wrong. And then, in the worst case, some of them devolve into puns.

I couldn't sleep for a few days. A Scout is Trustworthy, right? That should go for adult scouts also.

...yeah... (slowly moving hand toward cudgel)

I tend to agree, although I'd go a bit further even. We're also constantly complaining about 14-year old Eagles and the like. I'd move Star, Life and Eagle, plus merit badges into the older program exclusively. The middle-school program could focus on 1st class skills. Summer camp for the 11-13-year old youth could actually be patrol-orienteed (today our patrol is going to the waterfront and shooting sports, tomorrow...) rather than running off individually to merit badge classes. The youth that want Eagle would stay in the older program and could pursue the path, those that just wanted

In 1952, age limits were set so that adults over 18 years of age could no longer earn Eagle Scout

It was a joke, don't lose your head over it.

Yeah, I was never a Scout either.

My opinion is that the whole CyberChip curriculum needs to be rewritten and designed to be a Unit-wide activity. There should be better videos (some of which I already show to my Troop anyway), and then a group discussion with topics led by a moderator (SPL). Something that is important enough that it is required for Rank Advancement needs to be crafted to be useful and more easily implemented.

1) Pioneering- first merit badge where I sat down and worked to master the material. Gained a sense of accomplishment from that! 2) First Aid- Counselor was a former scout who was really into first aid. He made us think!!!

@Scoutmaster Teddy the Election Team should have had an Adult Advisor with them for the election. All of them should have been from another troop. what I am really curious about is how somebody edited the nights on the troops web site. Who had access to that? If you don’t mind sharing...

Fluckey selected the men for the mission to land on mainland Japan based on whether the men had been boy scouts

Wow. You mean they went in and added some nights so they'd qualify to be on the ballot? I'd be livid at that!

Sadly as I was never a scout I never earned a merit badge. I had some fun Emergency training on the job that had instant hurricanes, rioters, chemical spills, crashing airplanes, and terrorists all happening at once! Good times. I tried to bring some of that to the Merit Badge when I did E-Prep. Saw a 1st Aid MB that talked amputations and impalements (with actors) that kept their attention. Best MB I ever sat in on (and I have sat in on plenty) was a couple at Woodruff SR, GA summer camp in 2010 and 2011. One was the Forestry MB in 2010 taught by a young man (former Eagle) who was

Yeah, that's fun. Our SM/ASM's started not talking to parents about which MB's scouts take at summer camp. Parents can discuss it with their scouts (or not), but we take MB requests from the scouts not the parents. I made that mistake once--phrases like "he needs to take at least 4 eagle required badges!" and "we need to get our money's worth out of summer camp!".

Feels to me like a perfect lesson for boys in Scouting. The SM (or whomever) sees price gauging going on. Isn't this when the Scoutmaster has a talk about this with the scouts? Isn't Scouting the place where boys can fail in a safe environment? I'm reminded of the simple phrase - "Scouting is a game with a purpose". Scouting is a microcosm of life. It's not about camping, campfires, or pioneering. Those are the game - not the purpose. Let magic card games be part of the game - just make sure you leverage them to achieve the purpose.

Also I want to apologize to @Scoutmaster Teddy for being over defensive regarding college students. I remember the disrespect I got from some Scouters, some with less experience in the movement than I had at the time, all due to my age. Add to that what has been going on with my troop, i.e. "The Scouts aren't ready to lead," and it I get overly sensitive. .

The OA Guide to Unit Elections is available online; it details the process. From your numbers, I assume either 21 or 22 ballots were turned in, so 11 votes needed to elect...if the scout didn't meet that threshold, then he was not elected. The Guide to Unit Elections doesn't mention any other way to be elected (i.e. appointed/nominated by SM, etc.). I don't ever remember a way to for a scout to get in the OA other than election.

I would agree! The current UK structure works because it broadly reflects typical peer groups here, particularly the scouts/explorers distinction. What we call secondary school is aged 11-18 and at most schools there is an element of separation between those in years 7, 8 and 9 (11-14) and those in years 10-13 (14-18) and despite being in the same school with the same teachers they are often referred to as the lower and upper school. Typically school sports teams tend to have year group based teams for years 7-9 with those in year 10 upwards competing for places in the over all school tea

They are there to assist with the crowds of girls that will be flocking to join the BSA

Oh.... Indian lore was done by a local indian tribe on their reservation at their tribe's museum. Archaeology done by two MBCs - one a park ranger showing his dig site and the other a local college professor (who was very entertaining for the scouts) IMHO ... It's not the badge. It's the setting, the connection with the scout, the overall experience. Some lend to better experiences and some are really hard to create as good experiences.

Indian lore. I decided not to take it at summer camp, I already knew more than the councilor in training who was "teaching" it. I found a old guy ( he had to be 40 at least) who taught native American anthropology at a local college. We didn't just look at pictures of tepees, we set up a 17 footer in his back yard! He kept asking me questions that were not in the merit badge book and seemed delighted that I knew the answers to most of them. Where I didn't or only had partial knowledge he patiently explained. I was actually sorry when he signed my card and sent me home. I

I have 8 boys in my den. Only 2 are presently legal American citizens; the others are immigrant citizens of Mexico, China, and Taiwan. But I tell them that since they will grow up in this country, and live under this nation's laws, they should consider themselves Americans, and that they have a responsibility to this country that is giving them and their families so many of the opportunities they enjoy. If they live here in America, I tell them, then they should feel a part of the great tapestry of this country, and that comes with inherent duties which they should feel the need to fulfil. Not

I have very fond memories of very very interactive merit badges. I don't really have a favorite badge as much as deep gratitude to MBCs who made badges interesting. Photography - Scouts running around taking pictures and putting together a presentation. Chess - Big chess camp wide chess tournament. Metal work - Scouts bent, spot welded and powder coat painted their own tool boxes. Archery - Scouts made and shot their own arrows. Horsemanship - Scouts spent a week at camp taking care of the horses. Crime Prevention - Scouts toured the local FBI headquarter

You don't.

I also love neckerchiefs and wish that more troops would bring them back, especially now that they come in a larger size. It always seemed to me that the neckerchief is the most characteristic and recognizable element of the scout uniform.

Our guys play Hearts and some other card games. We even keep a supply of regular playing cards in the trailer for such. At the lock-in they play some of these, but then that's what the lock-in is for...that and head shot dodge ball

One of the grandkids explained it to me tonight. She always has dinner with us before going to Religious Education on Wednesday evenings. She doesn't play with "Magic" cards, but she knows about them. She has a completely different take on the issue. She thinks that those of us who are opposed to having girls in boy scouting should embrace the idea of boys playing nerdy fantasy card games at scout campouts. Nothing could be more effective at keeping the girls out.

So...to be clear, I am not supposed to be running the Texas hold-em big blind games at camp? Admittedly the pots get way smaller after the first night and "the house" seems to have been the big winner. Will have to adjust the campsite events

Actually it was! I am looking at the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions of the Handbook which I have in front of me right now (it's good to have a solid library), and in the uniform illustrations, all of them have uniform diagrams featuring the neckerchief being worn over the collar. In fact, let's not overlook the fact that on the very cover of the 3rd edition, there is an illustration of a Scout in profile - with the neckerchief over the collar! And just about every early painting by Norman Rockwell shows Scouts wearing the neckers old school style - with the neckerchief over the collar. And with al

I LOVE neckerchiefs! They add such a classic feel to the uniform, not to mention their little splash of color does a lot to brighten up the earth tones of the rest of its items. I admit I am starting to amass quite a little collection of neckers, all for different occassion - I have my Cub Scout Leader blue, and my Webelos plaid, not to mention the white NESA necker I just got a from a boy's parents to wear at his coming Eagle Court of Honor. I can easily see myself ending up with a whole plethora of colors to choose from; I love colors, and the neckerchief is the one part of the uniform where

I have no problem with vintage headwear. Our troop has adopted the garrison hat. It took no arm-twisting from me - the boys proudly wear it because it sets them apart. Everyone at camp recognizes immediately who we are.

My lodge, Konepaka Ketiwa #38, instituted election team training after last year's problems. I heard there was an election that the SM required a two-thirds vote and another had an election with a lot less than half of the active scouts present. This is a mandatory training. Even though I am in the Order I had an adult member from outside of troop present for my troop's election. I even delayed my Troop's election for two weeks after I found that someone "edited" the camping nights on our Troop Web Host site for an adult and their scout.

I am surprised that the BSA has let this young man down Leadership at the troop, council or national is to blame. The BSA has left its values long ago by allowing any youth based on what they identify as (the transgender issue) and even have a merit badge labeled 'Disability Awareness'. I was a Scoutmaster for over ten years and have even served as a professional scouter 'District Executive' and I find that the BSA has lost its way along the path and the Eagle has turned out to be a sparrow. To see the sadness in this young man's face hurts and I truly believe this is leadership failure. Way t