Leaderboard

Well, that's sort of where I am going with this, and I do not think the "gender correlation" is anywhere near 100% - or more to the point, is not likely to be anywhere near 100% with the girls who are going to join the Cub Scouts or the Whatever (11-17) Scouts. Boys (and girls) are already pretty different just within their own genders. Some are much more athletic than others (and everything in between.) Same thing with their enthusiasm for different parts of the program. (I have seen boys who actually liked the Eagle-required "homework-badges", and liked camping and hiking and backpacking

I had a hunch someone would try to compare pulling a Totin Chip until it could be re-earned with pulling rank. There is a major difference - Totin Chip is not a rank. The policies about once its earned it remains earned does not apply. Totin Chip confers a privilege - though I like your idea of just coaching them and moving on. I'd even suggest that Troops treat the Totin Chip like the Cyber Chip - let them expire every year - and have the Scouts re-earn them. Someone who earns it at 11 could surely use a refresher at 16. I also think that adults that are going to use knives, axes and s

I am amazed that when we set up the axe yard there is always a scout who will chop wood for hours. Every year. And with a full axe even the ADD kids REALLY focus on not chopping their toes off. I do sweat those seasons out though. We have had more injuries with carelessness with knives and hatchets. One boy did so long every campout he earned the nickname of "Axe" and it stuck with him to adulthood.

Corporal punishment of a card? I once saw an egregious example of corporal punishment of a rope. They gave it a real lashing.

I actually don’t disagree with almost everything you said. There is no reason why adults can not share their knowledge. A child can’t learn unless they learn from adults. How do you think I know all of the things I know today? You think someone my age taught me? I’m assuming you also have somewhat a small troop which is why the adult leaders need to split with the younger scouts. If so, we have the same issues & do the same. We only have 3 older scouts (1 is ready to get Eagle and leave so technically 2). Anyway, the only thing that I disagree with is the adults doing the KP. Come on

I’m not aware if some of you know this so I’ll put it out there. Office supply stores such as Staples will bind (with plastic spiral) your scoutbook for cheap, and it’ll hold really well. I had mine done a few years ago and stays great.

My scoutmaster always said if your scout book did not fall apart you were not reading it enough.

This whole thread has been hyperbole. Why stop now?

Have not seen the new YPT2 training, but if it using the policies that the EA Cub Scout dens are following, and as reported by others who met with a national level person and asked about this, then YES, meetings with girls present will also require a registered female over 21 in attendance. Why I do not like the double standard that 2 females can work with all male dens, but not two males.

In my opinion, a person that only camps once or even twice per year should be a committee member....& not necessarily that committee folks should camp routinely. More that they can and should on rare occasion, in their capacity of "observe and advise". As I mentioned before, a troop really shouldn't need that many ASM's, so what would be the point? My gut tells me that a good ratio would be maybe half of the trips.....

They started out together from different dens then joined up till Eagle.

Now that would be interesting. Announcer: "Hello and welcome to University Outdoor Draft day. Today we're going to see a lot of fine young men and women aiming for the top draft positions with the universities. And first up is Amazing U..." Amazing U: "We select for our first round draft pick, Eagle Scout Fred Generic from Springfield!" Announcer: "A great pick announced by Amazing U." "That's right Bob, Fred comes out of Springfield as an Eagle scout with a strong emphasis on dutch oven cooking. Certainly a great pick to support your unit around the campsite." "Right you are To

Thank you - you've demonstrated in your post what I've felt about this for a long time now. I was the victim of hazing in a Troop that went very wrong and ended up with me in the hospital being treated for a serious cut on my leg when the idiot adult used the sharp side of the knife to "pretend" to cut me instead of the dull side. I almost left Scouts right then and there - but my parents helped me find a new unit - a good unit. To those folks saying its all harmless fun, or people are taking away their fun, or the boys don't mind, or it builds character - think about how many Scouts ha

I don't think lack of complaints means it is correct. Some of the arguments for cutting the corner reminds me of another topic being discussed these days - privilege and bias. I read a recent comment from a person that stated that they never felt privilege for their skin color in the same way that many argue that they never felt that cutting a corner is hazing. In both cases, the wrong person is being asked. I've personally been involved in both receiving hazing and giving it to others. When I gave it to others (and I've done some mean things), you can be sure I didn't think at the t

We tend to whip our ropes

And actually, just teaching them to light a fire properly, not just build a bonfire and shove a load of paper in the middle. Fire/feather sticks.

Or we've done: One blindfolded, one mute, one with one hand tied behind their back, and the patrol leader that isn't allowed within 3 feet of the tent.

Been there, done that. It’s their ego. They want to stand around in the back of the room in an ASM shirt and tell everybody “I am one of the troop's Scoutmasters.” In reality, they do nothing. As SM, I held a beginning of the year planning meeting for ASMs. As part of that meeting, I brought a calendar of campouts for that school year, and told them my expectation is all ASMs camp sometimes...and any ASM who does not camp a minimum of once per school year would be moved to committee member on the next charter. A couple stepped up and began to camp, a few became committee members and a few

That's crazy. If they're not willing to camp then they shouldn't be registered as ASM's. If they want a registered position they need to be troop committee or unit scouter reserve. I get it that folks have other commitments too, and life happens, but they ought to look at the annual calendar and each commit to at least a few campouts.

Depends on where you are camping but earning the Paul Bunyan award is fun. Find a dead tree 6-8 inch diameter, tie a heavy rope 20 feet up to help guide where the tree will fall. Each scout gets 3 swings each turn (help guide where to chop and what angle etc). When the tree falls they use hatchets to de-limb, then they use the saw to cut the tree into 4 foot lengths then they drag it out and have a bonfire. Our PLC does a no-mess kit meal weekend every year. Scouts come up with different meal ideas on how to not use pot, plate or bowl. Usually only a spoon needs top be cleaned - example i

My new scouts always love learning how to use hand axes (hatchets) for splitting logs. Not the most vital skill but one of the most fun!

The thought that removing a corner of the Totin' chip for safety infractions amounts to hazing just blows my mind. When my Cubs earned their whittling chip, they received it with one corner already removed by me... We had a three strikes rule. Minor infractions would result in removing a corner and a little remedial training. If you lost all three corners, you lost the chip and had to redo it to earn another one. Major infractions would have been dealt with differently, but I never had one. Never had a parent complain.

August of this year, when school starts

So far I have had to make minimal changes. One is to modify gender language on the fly. So in some cases an adventure would have me read something about “boys” and I would insert “girls” or “scouts”. The other is to be prepared with more adventure content. That could be due to the smaller den size or that the girls are a bit more focused at this age. The other area I have watched for is interactions between boys and girls. That will be a new dynamic but again shouldn’t require a change to the program. For the life of me I have no idea what else would have to change. I would b

" What you have inside your shirt is vastly more important than any patch or medal on the outside." Scoutmaster to a newly minted eagle scout, circa 1970.

But football is still ok, right? What's the stats on how many people have been hurt in the last ten years in these clubs versus how many have been hurt playing football or basketball? Apparently risk is ok if you generate a lot of revenue.

And some scouters seem to perversely think that robbing a boy of his or his patrol's cutting tool -- even for a small infarction -- puts one on some moral high ground. I'm sorry, thievery, albeit temporary, does not make a scout/scouter some holier than another scout/scouter who tags a card. Don't want me to call your suggested practice thievery? Don't call the practice implied by the totin' guidelines hazing.