Eagledad

>> Must admit the chance to spit off a lighthouse would be mighty tempting to any boy

>>Plus who is brave enough to sit as the judge.

>>Our Troop used NYLT as a requirement to serve as PL or SPL. It worked better than an age or Rank filter because when I noticed a Scout with potential, I could move heaven and earth to get him to NYLT, thereby entering him in the small pool of candidates. Lazy and self-centered Scouts never got around to going.

>>Now this is just wrong! If this was the only thing holding the Scout back from having his BOR, there is a big problem in the unit!

I certanly understand the the excitment of scouts who staff NYLTs. When I was the Council JLT Chairman (In Beaver's Council by the way) we were developing what was then our council leadership development (JLTC) ladder that funtioned as one of the stepping stones in the whole BSA Junior Leadership Development Program. The steps went something like this: 1. Den Chief Training DCT First Year Scouts 2. Unit Leadership development experience 11 thru 14 years old 3. JLTC Senior Leadership Level Training (Minimum age 14) 4. JLTC Staff Unit JASM Development Training 5. NJ

>>Barry, don't tell me you think that the twin cities police are not likewise spending large amounts of money in preparation for the Republican convention. Any big gathering attracts its share of shouting idiots. Balancing 1st amendment rights against public oder has never been an easy task but let's not delude ourselves into thinking that either party's followers (or detractors) are, as a group, more well-mannered than the other.

>> If you believe you are right, sometimes you have to keep shouting from the rooftops even if everyone ignores you.

>> You say it's a sin. I just don't see the logic there.

>>Barry, a BOR gains the fact that a Scout has respect and cares about the wishes of the BOR when he wears his uniform (if requested) and shows disrespect and a cavalier attitude if he does not (or memory loss, or poverty, or .. - the BOR can usually figure out which).

Ignoring all the "shoulds", shall dos and what we want to dos, Why should a scout wear the uniform to a BOR? In your minds, what does the board members gain from it and what does the scout gain? Barry

>>Barry, I earned my beads the same way you probably did, and my "normal" son is a project and a couple MB's away from his Eagle. So, to assume I don't understand the way the program works in practice is snipe droppings...

>>There's no reason you can't find someone willing to make a similar commitment in Scouting.

>> When it comes to challenged kids, I no longer see scouting as inclusive as the organization thinks it is.

>>So let's not lie to kids and parents for the sake of some long past tradition. If the child has a need, hand the scout a cell phone and let him talk to his parents.

We used to plan a yearly agenda of one Pack meeting and one Pack outing each month. Example of our typical yearly pack outing agenda was: Sept- Pack Campfire October - Roller Skate rink November - Food Drive December - Caroling January - Science Museum Lockin February - Blue and Gold March - Pinewood Derby April - Pack Camp out May - Ice cream Feast June - Cubmoble races (No Pack meeting) July - Picnic (No Pack meeting) August Swimming (No Pack meeting) We planned an outing every mont h to help the ease the Den Leader Program. When I was at my best, the Pac

I have to agree about changing up your meetings a little. Some troops wear troop t-shirts in the summer. Different meeting places is a great idea. Keep the troop meeting to prep for the campouts. AND, plan fun campouts. Lets all throw out a few theme ideas. Triathlon campout where the troop has to pull up stakes in the morning and bike, hike and canoe to another campsite several miles away. Think about the training for meetings like preparing the bikes and taking a few small bike trips. Or, canoing at a local lake to practice strokes and loading gear. A troop night camporee. G

>>Let me just say that this is "wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong..." Any Scout, at any time, can ask the Scoutmaster (directly) for a Scoutmaster Conference - for rank, or any other purpose. A Scout Troop is not a corporate office, where the "lower ranks" have to go through a chain of command to speak with the "guy at the top" (which, BTW, in a Scout Troop isn't an adult - it's the SPL).

>>Well, I disagree

Great Post Gunny. A unit learns a lot about performance accountability when they have retarded or handicap scouts in the unit. How to apply equal accountability with unequal abilities quickly challenges adults with equal expectations of all scouts. Scouting is about growth and each boy grows differently. Scouts should be mentored as individuals. Barry

>> Well eagledad, back in November you seemed to be arguing against relative morality as just being whoever has the biggest stick, while absolute, unchangable "religious" morality was the way to go...

>>When something that should be an absolute morality becomes a situational morality, that is the point where society loses its moral compass.

>>Of course we executed those guys for war crimes when they did it. Its when our officials attempt to justify this immoral behavior is when I think we've lost our moral compass.

>>"Stosh, I see your point in that its hard to teach servant leadership to scouts who don't care. But that is not a good reason to throw your hands up and not teach it at all." And where did I indicate that?>Ever notice that if the PL doesn't call his patrol, the adult will cover and make the calls at the last minute? This is call enabling, not teaching.

>>I do agree that we have lost our moral compass. We torture our war prisoners and think nothing of it.

>>do think if left to the scouts to select their patrols most would be similar in age and interests. It seems adult leaders when deciding who should be in patrols that tend to mix the ages. When I chose my friends as a boy they tended to be about my age and did things I liked to do. Adults tend to try and make patrols "look even", and that is not what patrols are about.