Eagledad

It is interesting that from my experiences, boys will not seriously train to get more physically in shape for a trek. The shakedowns typically are enough to let them know if they can hack it. I used to worry about the scouts not being physically in shape, but they typically do very well. At least as well as the worst performing adult. The only time we had a problem with a scout who couldnt handle it was the one who missed most of the shakedowns do to a competitive soccer schedule. And it was mental fitness that was his problem, not physical. Looking back on it now, I think he might have

>>Making long lists of rules and harping on about the way it once was is not the answer. In fact at the end of the day I feel it will really scare the youth away.

>>The obvious conclusion is that they mainly car camped then too. The menu plans seem to support this with pounds of flour and raw bacon and lots of can goods.

I was just thinking that our PLC meetings were closed meetings. We have weekly meetings instead of monthly, but the SM and an ASM are the only two adults allowed in the meeting unless one got permission from the SPL prior to the meeting. I cant remember a scout who shouldnt be in the meeting ever wanting to be in a meeting, so I cant say we restricted it from them as well. But reading Schiffs post, I was reminded how we taught our SPLs to run the meetings the same as the troop CC. Our SPL was required to have a final agenda ready the night before for the SM and Patrol leaders. I taught ou

>>That said, we allow all parents, as observers only, to attend our committee meetings. If some special circumstance exists, such as in Barry's example, we don't necessarily deal with it on a committee level but possibly on a subset of the committee and Scoutmaster.

>>I know of Eagle Board members who consider themselves Horatius at the Bridge to keep "atheists" from becoming Eagle Scouts.

>>It is an important difference.

>>our kids today instead of learning to be self sufficent would rather escape into a fantasy world of their own making. As Eamonn stated,scouting will become irrelevant to our youth unless we can find a way as a society to reverse this trend rather than feeding into it.

Hi All I sit here in ah reading these threads listing hypothetical scenarios intended to justify different approaches adults want to take with their program. Hey, Im all for thinking out of the box to fulfill noble visions. But supporting philosophy with hypothetical worse case scenarios and suggesting they are typical of all most troops is not a respectful approach for selling a plan. Oh Im sure there are units with some of these problems or situations, but many of us with been there done that T-Shirts know they are not typical. Now if you want to justify changes to fix or improve

>>My second area of expertise is in the old west and the westward migration. I have been told that I am an expert in this area. But I don't see any merit badges where I can apply my knowledge.

>>I can't understand why you would even want to tell a parent, "No, you can't come to this committee meeting. It is private."

In general, the only way to fill a lot of positions is to personally recruit. My experience is you risk liability from someone who got hurt falling out of their chair while sleeping as you explain the positions on the list and the need for help. I found people have a hard time saying no when you are looking at them strait in the eyes while asking for their help. Make sure while you beg that you explain clearly that their job won't require much of their time, but it will help out their sons program a lot. If you are not good at personal recruiting, then find someone who is and work t

>>And why those $50 hiking boots from Target aren't going to do the job.

The worst crew experience I heard was from the crew coming off the trail as we were getting on. That crew had eight days of snow, rain and hail and the daily temps hung around 60 degrees. Other than it was raining when we passed that crew, we never saw another drop of rain our 10 days on the trail and the daily temps were in the 70s. Luck of the draw I guess. Also at 19, your son will be treated as an adult and that has some added benefits. Barry

>>I don't see a need for a functioning SPL until one has 4-5 patrols. Otherwise these boys end up figure-head officers with no responsibilities.

>>It seems to me this is a pretty clear case of 'adding' to the requirements or am I missing something?

>>I was also a Scout in the 60's and a Scout leader since the 1970s The percentage of trained leaders seems to be noticeably less to me.

Yes, yes of course, but I think Scoutingagain was asking the question from a legalist point of view. And I think that is an interesting question. Barry

>>I suspect he meant more that the EBOR process was to confirm the candidate had in fulfilled all the requirements, but I'll let him clarify further if he so desires.

>>packsaddle's comment has me wondering when do questions become too personal, that they cannot be asked at BOR or a scout can decline to answer?

Hi All >>This practice didn't really surprise me, it was attitude of general acceptance as being normal to scouting that bothered me more.

The quotes are in context. You were asked more then once to back off, you instead continued your post at Lisabob or her personal experience. You could have continued the discussion with hypothetical examples. That would have given you a path to the last word and showing respect to the request. When folks ask you to stop, they want you to stop. Your style is consistent in forums. Barry

From Lisabob to Bob White >>Perhaps now, secure in that knowledge, you will be relieved of the terrible burden you apparently feel to bludgeon people left and right with what you think you know.>Perhaps you could share anything in the post that you found inaccuarate. I would be happy to reconsider any point that you can refute with evidence from LisaBob's posts or my own.

I don't know that you will be able to sort this out all that quickly. I felt the same as you are describing when I retired as the Scoutmaster. That was after knowingly preparing myself for a year to step back and let another very fine person take my place. It just hurts. Barry

This is a lot of fun for everyone. Set out the ingredients and let everyone choose what they want in their omelet. A few suggestions are wait until the water just starts to boil then turn the heat down just a notch. Waiting for it to boil shortens the cooking time. Folks tend to get in a hurry standing there holding the bag of breakfast, so they throw the bags in too early making breakfast take a lot longer. And dont let the bags touch the side of the pot if you can, depending on the metal, the bags can melt. However it seems like the newer bags arent as much of a problem. Our scouts wou