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You're giving me World Jamboree Flashbacks to apologizing to a British SM for one of our scouts upsetting one of hers by indiscriminately flicking open his knife. File under: How to not impress that fine young lady.

Very true. Of my memories as a patrol member, about half of them involve KP duty, endlessly chipping/scrubbing aluminum fry pans that were encased with impenetrable baked-on food substance.

When you get what you want in your struggle for selfAnd the world makes you king for a dayJust go to the mirror and look at yourselfAnd see what that man has to say.For it isn’t your father, or mother, or wifeWhose judgment upon you must passThe fellow whose verdict counts most in your lifeIs the one staring back from the glass.He’s the fellow to please – never mind all the restFor he’s with you, clear to the endAnd you’ve passed your most difficult, dangerous testIf the man in the glass is your friend.You may fool the whole world down the pathway of yearsAnd get pats on the back as you passBu

I tell every new Scoutmaster with plans for changing the current culture to support two programs. The young scout program where your change will come from, and the older scout program that basically continues the same program. The human nature of youth 14 and older DON"T LIKE CHANGE" and I have yet to meet a Scoutmaster who successfully converted their older scouts to the new program. Bend a little maybe. Push as much as your willing to tolerate, but don't let the frustration interrupt working the younger scouts. Don't die on this hill, it's not worth it. Help them with their Eagle as much as

Interestingly there are management concepts for this; once a person goes through puberty, they by nature don't like change. I'm sure there is some primal reason for the resistance, but the solution is to first sell the new idea or change, once there is desire for the change, then there has to be process of teaching the actions for the change along with a positive experience. Most Scoutmasters are pretty good salesmen, I think the hiccup comes with teaching and experience. If the SM is trying something new, the change has not been perfected enough for teaching and positive experience. Eve

Update: Son and I did go to Walmart yesterday, and managed to find a pair of pants! His waist size is now 28.5, which makes finding something that fits a bit challenging. However, we found a pair of green Wrangler cargo pants with a 29 waist. The color looks like BSA pants that have been washed a bunch of times. The cost was $20. I grabbed two of them, and spent around what I would have spent for one pair of official BSA pants. They have a little room to grow in width and length, so he's set for a little bit ... hopefully. Thanks everyone for your help!

FWIW, The one that nearly got thrown at me was a Griswold, Erie P.A. U. S. A. ... I'm thinking 1940s.

Almost all of my CI has come from estate sales. I have 4 different Eries, none are of collectible condition. Those are found at auction. Or once-in-a-lifetime in the wild. Erie's on bottom row.

I suggested spending quality time at estate sales. That almost got our handed-down skillet thrown at me. I'll have to check the mark. It spent most of its life in Erie county, so ...

I love my cast iron. I have close to 100 skillets, griddles, bowls, ovens. All are older, some from the 1800s. Although for camping, I use a stamped steel skillet when I need to fry. Usually I just plan a menu which does not require a fry pan at all. The boys still like to make eggs, pancakes, and french toast. They have issues with food sticking regardless of the pan. That come with practice. If a boy can learn to get his eggs to cook without sticking to an aluminum fry pan, he can handle any material.

The topic is "recruiting for Scouting". If the folks on this eDebate are , as I must assume, of the opinion that Scouting is one of the best opportunities a kid may have , one must consider three things: 1) What is "Scouting" ? What EXACTLY sets this activity apart from , say, 4H, MYF, Boys/Girls Club, school drama club, intermural football, SoccerUSA, etc. ? 2) How would any kid (and his parents?) learn of this "special" opportunity? 3) How can we , old fogies, help with #1 and #2 ? And yet NOT limit #1? Let's get personal. I joined a Cub Scout Pack ,

Fulfilling the vision of the pinnacle experience hiking and camping independently with your mates ... this has several implications, one of which is becoming epic. When I talk to veterans who weren't in scouting, for example, they will often tell me about "those Eagle scouts" who handled basic training so much better than they did. There is a bit of a swagger to a 1st class scout (the concept, not the patch) that cannot be denied. I've seen it in my adult children, so I know what these guys are talking about. But, there's also the other thing: consecutive hours in the elements. Football p

Forget talk of shipping out. Tell them that you're betting they'll want to shape up. If that means hanging their shirts and pants in a closet in the scout house so they can change the moment they arrive, so be it. You want them to be the winning patrol upon uniform inspection. Period. And the most important part of their uniform: their smile. Now, in your post you mentioned a lot of reasons why you wanted this: you're bothered, younger kids getting sloppy, "drag on the system," etc ... Those are the wrong reasons. (Don't repeat those out loud. And if your scouts are reading this, let them know

If all you are offering are fun activities (camping, making s'mores, high adventure trips), then you are competing with every other fun activity available to boys in your town. (It looks like you don't have a girls troop.) You have to have a different kind of appeal. I'm not talking about "character" -- no one ever joined Scouts to have their character developed. What do 10-, 11-, and 12-year old boys have in abundance? Imagination. What kinds of games do they play? Games where they can be heroes. Show them that as Scouts, they can become local heroes almost immediately through the con

Flyers and events are both passive marketing. They require folks to make the effort to come to you. If few show up, then more active marketing is required. Some suggestions already like utilizing existing networks, and scouts inviting 1-on-1 are good starts. The next level which has also been hinted at, including your community event, is based on the adage "bring the mountain to mohammed". Scouts should go to where kids are already and do scouting activities there inviting others to join in. Then invite them to the next meeting, hike, campout, etc... For example, if kids are congregating at a

Another strategy that might work for you is some kind of DEMO event. The key to making that work is to focus on something FUN and adventurous. Don't hand out your tired old flyers that have a gazillion words saying nothing....just SHOW a sample campsite. Or have a public campfire in a local park, cooking smores for the kids....something like that. There is a great discussion in Bryan on Scouting about Scouting Show and Tell, especially related to holidays. See the article: https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2019/12/03/scouting-show-and-tell-holiday-decor/

Let's have that diary quote in full shall we? You know, so that no-one misrepresents history or anything... "Lay up all day. Read Mein Kampf. A wonderful book, with good ideas on education, health, propaganda, organisation etc. – and ideals which Hitler does not practise himself."

I can quote my own southern Ky ancestors that the "War of Northern Aggression" was aimed at slavery. My late fraternal grandmother was National Commander of the Daughters of the Confederacy, so I've heard it all ("War is not civil!" is a favorite.). But there is no need to quote her as the Confederate Constitution expressly makes enslavement of the "negro" a civil right of the so-called "White Race" and the rebel leaders were explicit that the threat to the preservation and expansion of chattel slavery of the "negro" was THE casus belli: "No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law

The times are changing. If it were not for change, would we still be living in the dark ages thinking we are bloody enlighten as we've a priestclass that tell us what to think being that we can't read latin, let alone even read? My thinking, time to end the Civil War and move on. And, if it means putting the Southern icons and statues along with the lies and revisionist babble of the Daughters of the Confederacy on the trash heap of history, and the 900 section of the Library of Congress so be it.

Honestly did not read anything after the first line and glad I did not after the last line. At the end of the day, the US civil war was a war about slavery. And where does that apply to scouting? It does not.

CC here. A few things off the top of my head. I'll probably come up with more late 1. Make sure you and the SM have the same vision for the troop. If there's already a SM in place be sure to sort this out. 2. You've got to, for the most part, defer program decisions to your SM. You're there to make the program happen, not to deliver it. This is easy if you and the SM have the same vision (see #1). We have a "running joke" in the troop that I'm the boss until the troop meeting/campout starts, then "management hands it over to operations" and I take a back seat for the SM to ru

I was a CC for about 5 years - it was a lot of fun. It's one of the very few roles where you get to be plugged into everything in the life of that troop. Some things I learned along the way: A big part of the CC's job is preparing for the future. It helps to be looking ahead 6-12 months. What's next year's recruiting plan? What's the budget look like? Who will be stepping down and need to be replace? Get along with the Scoutmaster as much as possible As CC, you lead the adult team. You've got to provide some high level vision for the troop adults. Are we Scout le

From a ASM: #1. Educate and manage the adults. Ground the helicopters. #2. A unit committee is thrifty. Please minimize program time lost to fundraisers. From a former CC (albeit Cubs) #3. Meet with SM and ASM's to get more advice. Review program calendar check for school, SAT, etc. conflicts. What is their activity and equipment wish list. Who will handle equipment, a ASM or a Committee member? Ditto with troop trailer (insurance, registration, maintenance)! Who will handle med forms - a ASM or committee member (while an ASM may seem more logical, a medical profe

Well, the parents say the RSO did the wrong thing, and the camp director says the RSO did the wrong thing, so everybody seems to agree on that. Even the RSO may agree at this point. I am not sure what the parents are looking for at this point. It says they are looking for "policy changes and an an apology," but then it says "Upon learning of this incident, the camp directors took action to correct the staff member, had him apologize to the Scout and his father, and offered the Scout the full opportunity to participate in target shooting while still at camp." If that is true, the parent

Sad that parents or whoever had to escalate this to the broadcast news. Hasn't scouts been dragged through enough already? Doesn't the parent want his kid to stay in scouts? Now, their kid will be eternally known in their troop, in their district and in the local schools as the kid who dragged his own organization into the public opinion space. I trust the adults to treat the kid fairly, but the other scouts might not as much. I assume if a family does this, the family is planning to leave scouts. BSA and scouting and local volunteers bend over backwards to help kids with special n

I'm all for safety, and anytime a range safety officer (RSO) feels they aren't equipped to meet necessary safety standards, they should indeed cease operations or limit a Scout's participation. However, this sentence in particular is especially troubling. "And he said that, 'Well he's not going to shoot on my range. We've had problems in the past with kids like that,'" James said. The RSO's concern was not based on anything this particular Scout did, but on the Scouter's prior experience with "those type of kids". That's a problem.

Cub Rank Activities Descriptions: Lion: Have fun, make friends. Tiger: Have Fun, make things, take short hikes, make more friends. Wolf: Have fun, make useful things, go places with friends, take longer hikes, learn about nature and life. Bear: Have fun, make useful and decorative things, go further with friends,, think about life, find out what mom and dad do, maybe camp out in a tent?. Webelos : Have fun, make bigger useful attractive things, go further and higher with friends, learn camp skills, get ready to say "thanks, mom and dad, but I can do this m

Here are the official descriptions: https://www.scouting.org/programs/cub-scouts/what-cub-scouts-earn/the-advancement-trail/

This may actually work in your favor. Perhaps the CM will listen to the CC if concerns are brought to him in friendship. A few principles to consider applying in your approach: 1) There are no "bad kids." There are kids whose behavior is a reaction to some problem, whether that's environmental or biological or whatever. But kids' behavior is a reflection of how they are feeling. 2) This is a problem looking for a solution. Not a complaint. Approach this from the angle of "What can I/we do to help?" All the adults in the unit should be invested in helping every child succeed. Y

A scout is trustworthy. Explain to them what happened and give them an honest assessment of what you paid. If you used a credit card you should be able to show the charge. If the store is willing to do the search they might be able to reproduce the receipt. But if none of these work you're left with the trust you have with the folks in the unit. It's a test - for all of you. Plus you have the food. If the pricing is on it you can just add it up.

All MBCs must be registered with the District and "Trained". In the training, they are taught that they may NOT add or subtract from the requirements. Worksheets and written reports are "added requirements" if not expressly required in the MB Pamphlet. That being said, the BSA has a process for "alternate requirements" for boys who have a documented disability.

And yet I knew a lady who was disabled who pastors over many years would not "confirm" her in the church. No one had ever tried working with her. I got her to memorize the entire Lutheran catechism which was one of the requirements and a couple dozen psalms along with a number of other Bible passages of her choosing. I called it enough and confirmed her. Other than the bible verses, she knew little or nothing of what the words meant, but she had a vague enough understanding to try and explain it to me. It was enough. I confirmed her one Sunday in front of the congregation and no one chal

"Wilderness Survival Merit Badge Counselor, age 16, Camp Frontier: "Bear Bags are made of special material so a bear cannot smell the food and the other stuff in the bag." 11-year-old candidate: "How do you keep the bear a mile away upwind ?" Only two of 37 candidates had even touched the MB pamphlet. Several were 11 or younger and on their first campout ever. Everyone who attended all five 50-minute sessions - all 37 - received the Merit Badge with no testing of anyone on anything. A Scout is trustworthy.