Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/19/18 in all areas

  1. I was asked to teach a few classes again at our district trainging acadamy but this time the wanted me to add a class that was totally differen to anything they had in the past and would inspire more scouters to take the training. I decided that I would teach my usual Scout Led Troop and Hammocking classes but add a class that details our way of doing our annual planning. After teaching this class I was asked to spread the word on this as it may help other troops that in a camping rut. Some history: The first step was admitting that we camped at the same places, had low turn out and adult
    4 points
  2. Try https://www.atheistalliance.org/about-atheism/can-atheists-moral/ https://www.atheists.org/activism/resources/ethics-without-gods/ https://www.thoughtco.com/atheists-have-no-basis-for-morality-248301 I'll just add this: Can there be moral absolutes if there is no Giver of moral law in the first place? Since people don't agree on what gods exist or even (if they agree on the same god) exactly what that god wants, "god-based" morals are also, essentially, subjective, because the god you end up following is a subjective decision. And it's even worse, because so
    3 points
  3. So... there's several elements to that question. In terms of constitution yes, most scout groups in the UK exist as a charity in their own right with their own executive committee, who are trustees of the charity, own all their own assets and have their own money. When a new group is created it is typically done so by either the scout district or scout county where they identify the need/demand for the new group. Typically volunteers from district and county level take on the leadership and exec committe roles on a temporary basis until they can recruit parents or other volunteers to take
    2 points
  4. Chief - one way we solved this was by having the PL write the duty roster a week before the campout, SM or SPL signs off on it then PL runs the duty roster back through his patrol and asks for objections, Everyone inthe patrol must agree the roster is fair before they go on the trip. Once you are on the trip there is no more debate or argument - Snowflake had thier chance to dispute before they left.
    2 points
  5. I know I am on the outside looking in on this one: This Jew Scouter has sat through so many "Interfaith" ceremonies that are 99% Christian and include divisive proverbs and songs grows tired of explaining to my son about that is their religion and he should learn to just be respectful and not interfere. When we practice our religion we do not get the same respect that we give others, that is just the way it is. Living in the bible belt is an interesting experience for Jews. People here have hard times being respectful to other forms of Christianity, let alone Jews, Muslims, Mormons(Yes
    2 points
  6. Gotcha. What I think hangs up many, and to be honest myself included, is why we presume the program needs to stop being a character development program and turn into an after school outdoor program if we provide a path for youth who don't believe in God? From replies in this topic, it seems that for many units, faith and religion is already limited to grace before meals and a handful of requirements along the way. So, say we allow some Scouts into the program who don't believe in god. Does that really have to mean we stop being a character development program? Maybe put a li
    2 points
  7. Option B, and it shouldn't be a "last resort"; it should be first step of next infraction. I understand not wanting to punish their kids, but in your efforts to keep these 2 Scouts from the problem families, the troop has lost more Scouts & Scouters. Allowing them to remain is going to kill your Troop...or any semblance of a youth-led patrol method Troop. Lay out the new rules for the parents, explain the rationale, and the consequences. Tell the problem parents that they have used up all their strikes; next offense and they will be shown the door.
    2 points
  8. I don't think anyone ever starved to death by missing three meals. I am not sure it's anywhere in GTSS This is the kind of thing that kills patrols. It's not fair and they all know it. Eventually some scout has his fill of carrying this loafer/snowflake and quits, which just increases the load on everyone else. So they start quitting. Or he just snaps and gives the nonworking lad a literal kick in the butt, or hits him over the head with a dirty sauce pan. Which pretty much ends his scouting journey in that troop. I think if I were his PL I might announce that next
    1 point
  9. Sadly, then you need an adult on the camp out who's job it is to distract the adults and get them away from the scouts. It's not a bad job. Invite the guy to go get coffee. Invite him to sit with you at your camp fire. Break out a deck of cards. See if he wants to walk with you to go visit another side of camp. Heck, new friendships are often built this way.
    1 point
  10. Great advice so far. Patrols bonding as a team. Rewards. Duty roster buy-in. I think there are many 11 year olds that have never had real chores. Wash dishes is alien and repulsive. For me, that was dissecting a frog in school. That was hard to overcome and do. I think there are kids that cleaning and doing chores is like my dissecting a frog. It's repulsive. For those scouts, we have to help them overcome it until they realize that it's just not that big of an issue. I hope the SM, SPL and PL can learn techniques to de-escalate, district and guide the scout to do his work. Eve
    1 point
  11. He who will not work neither shall he eat. II Thes 3:10 it worked in my troop back in the day. A less harsh version might be no s'mores or cider on Saturday night.
    1 point
  12. We solved it with patrol inspections. If the patrol had dirty dishes, they were hit hard. The prize, I don't remember what it was, has to be worth effort. However, this may be indicative of a bigger challenge for you; your patrols are not bonding into a team. I'm sure this is a problem in other areas as well, it just hasn't risen to the level of adults yet. There a lots of reasons for patrols not bonding, but basically the activities your troop is doing isn't demanding a team effort. I'm guessing your troop activities aren't really requiring the patrols to function as patrols. Building a
    1 point
  13. Lots of COs already do. If you're sponsored by a Catholic Church or school for instance, you almost certainly are being asked to agree to a background check conducted on behalf of the diocese. I'm not sure there's any extra value to having a second background check, there's no real reason to think it would turn up anything new or different from what the BSA does. It's important to understand what a "background check" is; first, it's not really any sort of investigation the way say a security clearance might be, rather, there are a number of companies who take the information provided, l
    1 point
  14. This is the weak link the system now. The BSA really should: 1) Not consider a leader registered until after the check is done 2) Provide details on the results of the background check to the CC & COR.
    1 point
  15. Out of some fairness to the BSA here. This seems to be a generic problem facing any youth serving organization. How do you make sure that your adult volunteers do not abuse youth? The BSA's error was that they had a list of known offenders yet were loose enough in vetting the new volunteers that they didn't catch the problems.
    1 point
  16. Now it is, yes. It used to have the same "no gays, no atheists" requirements as the Scouting program, until it was pointed out (via lawsuits) that police departments, fire departments, etc. couldn't legally do that.
    1 point
  17. The vast majority of CO's are still churches and they do care, so much that they are forming their own youth groups. The program and duration of Confirmation in our local Catholic Diocese resembles the journey of Scouting more each year with outdoor activities, community service, character-building, coed, oh and Duty to God. Hardly time for one youth program let alone both. So, the BSA now has to find CO's without competing youth programs. Remember the forum discussions regarding whether the CO or the scout were the BSA's customer? Schools? Too late around here, most middle and hi
    1 point
  18. What is moral/ethical? By whose example do you judge? Atheists are certainly prone to this. Sure, but trying to say something like "I get my morals from my god, therefor atheists, who don't have a god, don't have morals, either" isn't valid reasoning, and is shown to be false by the existence of moral atheists. with the possible exception of the Ba 'Hai ? and Buddhism? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_violence I think a good first pass to find violence by religious view X is to look for where they are in power -- I don't think Bahá'í have been numerous
    1 point
  19. Old guard adults are such a pain in the patootie. Tell them that since they have no kids raising funds, they should listen to the people who have kids actually in the troop. If they aren't raising the money, they need to take some freaking input. Email them, call them, complain to them. Complain up the chain. I can't stand old guard leaders who don't serve the membership. Back in the day, in 1980, we did it like this, and my son, who's now 45, did that for his eagle project, yadda, yadda, yadda. Ugh!!!
    1 point
  20. i went to school to have lunch with my son one day. The boys not in his class came by the table and smiled and talked then went to thiei table. The boys in his class sat we us and talked the entire lunch. As long as they are going out of their way to be happy to see me and not avoid me in situations like that I know I am doing the right thing. That is my recognition. Not something I can sew on my uniform or other item that gets stuck in a drawer or cabinet.
    1 point
  21. GREAT SCOTT ONE OF THE FAMILIES IS A PAIN! I am no longer with them, but hearing what they are putting my friends through is ticking off. One of the trouble makers wrote a letter asking for permission to camp since son has a peanut allergy. He stated he does not trust his son to use his EpiPen properly. Apparently he also does not trust the other Scouts, nor the Scouters, to be able to treat his son. Considering we have folks who have basic FA certs, WFA certs, as well as RN and MD behind their names, I do not think using an epipen will be a problem. Plus we have several other Scouts wit
    1 point
  22. If you were to speak to one of my assistant leaders who is an atheist he’d say something along the lines of the following. Bear in mind I’m summarising his words from a long conversation one night. that it’s his belief that we are one small speck in a mind bogglingly vast universe. That the laws of physics and the fact that they created this universe fills him with wonder. That we are here only once. That the earth is the only place we have found, so far, where humans can live. Indeed where anything can live. That we are the only species who’s has developed intelligence to the point where
    1 point
  23. Just like religions have a different definition of "the right thing to do." I could be wrong, but I'm not aware of any Scouts convening directly with their creator to know which version of the truth is right. What's more scary to me is that you feel Scouts, or people in general, don't have the ability to determine right and wrong without relying on a book.
    1 point
  24. Our troop uses that often. Maybe a little too much ... Scout (approaching me on a trail at camp): Mr. Q, I just thought of something. Me: Yes, Scout? Scout: Mr. C (our oldest ASM) might be the great master of all scouts. Me (knowing the scout is Catholic): Well, Scout, his initials are "J.C." Scout (stopped in his tracks): Woah! Son #1 has since told me that that one circulated for years well beyond that scout's tenure.
    1 point
  25. "By their fruits shall ye know them". Very often, folks do things, act as if they were consciously following the Sermon on the Mount, or the Ten Commandments, or the Bagavad Gita or the Q'ran, but will tell you, no, that's not why I act the way I do. I act this way because it is the "right" thing to do, it is good for humanity, etc. I do not judge the source of the action, only if it accomplishes something I can agree with. Some folks will say that war can be righteous, that a Christian CAN fight to protect the nation and not be in disagreement with Christ Jesus' teaching. Us
    1 point
  26. As others have stated, option B. It's past the point of gentle touches. The parents are destroying the troop and though the scouts are not the problem, sometimes you have to do the painful act to prevent a worse event down the road. They have been endangering the troop on camp outs by threatening to pull out unless they get their way. They will continue to threaten the troop with dire actions to get their way. I would definitely have the district/council be aware of the what and the why, with the focus on the endangering scouts with threats to abandon scouts on camp outs and any other things t
    1 point
  27. I walked into my scoutshop and picked up my den leader knot right after turning in the form. Then after months of the district person complaining about the exact signatures on the form, the district finally issued me a certificate and knot. The lesson I learned was that the paperwork was too much work to bother trying to do correctly.
    1 point
  28. According to the Boy Scout Handbook, "A Scout is helpful. . . . Scouts want the best for everyone and act to make that happen." How can we justify excluding anyone from the Scouting program if it would be good for them? If we want the best for everyone, doesn't that naturally include membership in Scouting? Isn't the point of being helpful to focus on the needs of others rather than just our own comfort? According to the Boy Scout Handbook, "A Scout is friendly. A Scout is a friend to all. . . . He offers his friendship to people of all races, religions, and nations, and he respects th
    1 point
  29. 1 point
  30. I'm still unclear...WHOSE name is actually on the boat's registration/title? THAT's who owns the boat legally. If it's an individual, and he refuses to get rid of it, then HE needs to get HIS boat fixed. The troop's use of the boat (which sounds to be minimal) can be considered his donation to the boys...worthy of a thank you. And if the boat was "donated" by a donor who was under the impression that it was going to "scouting", and it was registered to an individual, then that's another issue. We have been "strongly admonished" by our SE that he is the ONLY one who can accept significant
    1 point
  31. Lots of issues here. If the church is dissolved, who does your Troop really belong to? DE and Council need to be advised and consulted. In my home Troop's case, whoever shows up (except for SM and ASMs, ) to the Committee meeting ARE the committee. Registered? How do you gauge that? If you would support the Troop, you show up. Let the owner take care of his own boat. Thank him for his "support of Scouting" with a plaque and testimonial dinner. $4,000. will buy at least 5 ABS canoes and needed gear. Paddles, PFDs, waterproofs, rope, cartop racks, and MAYBE even a ra
    1 point
  32. $20,000 !!!! Are you sure that's not the cost for a NEW version? Old boats lose value quickly. If it is worth $20,000, that is a ridiculous asset for a troop to carry. It sounds like this is a nebulous position on whether it's a personal vehicle (titled to a individual, used mostly for personal use) or a troop owned asset (not titled to charter org, used once a year). New motor boat engines for a 20+ foot boat is worth more than $4000. Often, the engine is worth the same as the boat. Perhaps this is an in-board motor that is really a car engine mounted in a boat. See if yo
    1 point
  33. Saying this another way: if the boat is owned by an individual Scouter (not the troop), but that Scouter lets the Scouts use it a couple times a year, then the burden of repairing an old, broken down engine should not fall entirely on the troop. It might be reasonable for the troop to pitch in and pay something based on how often the troop uses the boat vs. how often the Scouter uses it for private use.
    1 point
  34. Committees are supposed to support the wants and needs determined by the PLC. Did the PLC ask for the boat to be fixed? As SM I always approach the committee with the idea that it is the scouts money and the committee does not vote on anything. They come to consensus with the decision provided back to the scouts.
    1 point
  35. Sounds like all involved need refresher training as to how a troop should operate. Since your troop is chartered to a now-defunct entity, perhaps you don't have a troop at all. Your DE needs to sort that out. To answer your original question, NO...non-registered parents do not get a vote. The registered members of the Troop Committee handle the "business end" of the unit, while the SM and ASMs execute the program side. All registered leaders serve at the pleasure of the Chartered Organization (which you don't have). Technically, all funds and equipment belong to the Chartered Organizatio
    1 point
  36. Get as large a group of current parents as you can to contact the CC and express just how bad an idea you collectively think this is. I would also get in touch with the COR and do the dame thing. Frankly, if the COR is as uninterested as you say than he may be MORE willing to intervene in something like this just because he doesn't want to start being bothered with issues. As to your question, we invite any parent who is interested to come to our committee meetings and if we vote on something then they vote.
    1 point
  37. The scout master for our pack called me and started yelling and screaming over the phone eventually threatening me, (im a bear den leader) then his wife got on the phone (she's the treasurer) and proceeded to tell me to f off. Is this not considered bullying? Should these two not be removed? If so, how do i do it?
    0 points
  38. In my 30 years of unit scouting, I never received anything. I did receive the District Award of Merit, after I was the District Training Chair.
    0 points
  39. Thank you everyone for the replies. Good advice in all of the posts for me to consider. Answers to some questions that people asked: The boat appears to be worth around $20,000 based on my limited online research on what similar used boats are being sold for. The boat’s engine simply broke down. The mechanic who looked at it recommended replacing the entire engine (the $4,000 cost) as he said that the engine was far past its life expectancy. It was just a coincidence that it happened to stop working on the scout trip. I don’t think there is any interest in selling the
    0 points
  40. Hi @rubixcube, As a former Troop Committee Chair - I'll add my .02 here. It sounds like you've got a troop that has been run by a certain group of Scouters for a very long time. I'm guessing that yours, and many other families, have relied on them for many years to make many hundreds of decisions. I'm guessing that as a whole the families have been happy to have their time and leadership in support of the Scouts. Now you've got a situation where you look at a significant decision and say "hmm. I don't like that one." You could go down the path of calling Council and trying t
    -1 points
×
×
  • Create New...