Eamonn

BDPT00, I really hope that no one is attacking anyone! I'm sorry if it sounds as if they are. My point is that there are opportunities to ensure "Quality Control" before you are faced with the choice of signing or not signing the form. Some things are not always cut and dried but with open communication and a good relationship with the Scout things do have a way of working out. For example,if I'm the Skipper of a Sea Scout Ship and a Scout comes to me saying that he has completed the Galley requirements for Ordinary. Which read: While on a cruise or at a camp, prepare or take charge of a breakfast, lunch and dinner, including boiled, fried, and uncooked dishes. Demonstrate your ability to properly use the galley equipment or personal cooking gear aboard your craft. Demonstrate appropriate sanitation techniques for food preparation and meal cleanup. Submit a menu, list of provisions, and estimated costs before meeting the above requirement. Explain the use of charcoal, pressurized alcohol, propane, and compressed natural gas stoves including safety precautions for each. The Lad explains that on several "Land Cruises" (Camps) He has met the cooking requirements. I agree that he has indeed done this at camp. But I suggest that cooking in a small Galley aboard a boat under sail is a very different kettle of fish, which poses a lot of different problems and I think he should on the next cruise take charge of the Galley. The Scout then on the next cruise is head cook and bottle washer. He does a good job and feels proud of himself. I feel happy that he is now able to master the skills needed to cook in the Galley and we are all happy. But if this same Scout went to one of the Ship's Mates and explained that he'd met the requirements while at camp and the Mate signed off? He would still have met the requirements. The fault would be mine for not explaining to the Ship's Mates what my expectations for this requirements were. It would in no way be the fault of the Scout. Sure I could meet with the Scout and suggest that to improve his skills he might need to cook while on board, but once the requirement is signed off it really shouldn't be unsigned! If and when the Lad came up for his rank advancement asking him to redo the Galley requirement wouldn't be the thing to do. Eamonn.

Where I work we have a lot of different unions. One group of workers do belong to the Service Employees International Union,as does HWMBO. We are not allowed to ever go on strike. All of contracts are reached by a arbitration process. Members of different unions do hold regular Work/ Management meetings with the facility managers. For the most part these meetings go a long way to ensure that everyone in the facility is safe. The members of the union I belong too are trained in what they do. Sure we are very protective about not allowing non-union members to do work that should be done by our union members. Not only are these people at times not trained to do the job. But all to often once someone starts doing something that should be done by our members, management will claim that because of "Past Practices" we have given up the right to have this job done by our members. While of course I don't have all the details about the case in question here. Having volunteers do this 200 hours work sounds great. But at one time the City Council must have felt that there was a need to maintain these pathways. They agreed that union workers would do this. What happens when the paths fall into a state of disrepair again and no volunteers can be found? No! Hiring illegal immigrants to do the job is not the right answer! Ea.

Here where I live illegal immigration is not a hot topic. While most of the people who live here claim to come from good Italian and or Polish stock. The only immigrant they have met in the last quarter century is me! I have my green card, complete with a picture of my ear and a thumb print to prove that I am indeed legal. Moving to this side of the pond wasn't my idea. I can blame HWMBO for that one. At the time her Grandparents were still alive and her Dad had just been diagnosed with lung cancer. So we left England. When we first got married I had wanted us to move to South Africa. Some friends of mine had made that move and were doing very well there. She of course said no! My thinking at that time was that it was better that we both be foreigners than just one of us! We were married in the UK (I at times take great pleasure in reminding her that I'm the one who married a foreigner!) She of course had visited England a few times before the wedding. She arrived in England about a week before the big day. At London Heathrow Airport, she informed the guy who was checking passports that she was getting married and was planning to live in the UK. He smiled, wished us well and said that after we were married we needed to go to the Social Security Office near to where we lived with her passport and a copy of the marriage certificate. A week or so after the wedding we went to this office, met with a really nice fellow. He looked at her passport and the marriage certificate, placed a stamp in her passport which gave her permission to live and work in the UK. End of story. When we decided to move to the USA. I went to the American Embassy in London. Came away with a ton of paper work. First I needed to have a background check making sure that I wasn't an ex-Nazi or a communist. At that time the cost was 75.00. I paid the man. After the check and it was found that I didn't belong to the Nazi Party I had to raise my right hand and swear that I wasn't a member of the Nazi or any other undesirable party again the man was happy to take another 75.00 Then I had to see a Doctor that was approved by the American Government to ensure that I wasn't carrying some nasty disease, it seems my family Quack wasn't good enough! This Quack was happy to take 240.00 of my hard earned money. Next I needed to have a chest X-Ray, again from the list that was provided, it had to be read by another approved Doc. Again I put my hand in my pocket and left being 350.00 the poorer. I had to raise my right hand a couple more times swearing something or another?? Each raise of the hand cost me another 75.00 (Remember this was 25 years back, what the cost is now? I have no idea. I then had to prove that for the next ten years after I arrived in the USA that I wouldn't become a "Public Charge". Being as HWMBO and myself didn't have any idea about what type of jobs we might get when we got here. I provided evidence that the trust fund my Father had set up for me was good and enough to live on. These papers all had to be notarized, being as we don't have Notaries in the UK and a local Judge wasn't good enough. I went back to the American Embassy and left, leaving more of my hard earned money behind. We were told that the wait for a visa/green card would take about two years. Then without any notice a letter arrived saying that the visa was approved and was only good for 90 days. If I wasn't here in the USA within the 90 days I'd have to do everything again. You can imagine trying to sell up everything, pack up everything and do it all within 90 days! Somehow it just didn't seem fair. All she had to do was see the nice man with passport and marriage certificate in hand. While I had to jump through all sorts of hoops. It didn't cost her a penny to get a visa to live and work in the UK, while I paid through the nose at every step of the way. I was fortunate that I was able to afford it. I can't imagine how some poor dirt farmer in Guatemala ever would? I do get a little peeved when I read about illegal immigrants. Mainly because I remember what I went through to do it the right way and what it cost me. But at the same time I can't help thinking if the process wasn't such a pain? Maybe more people would be willing to do it the right way. A visit to a nice man armed with the right papers would be so much better. Eamonn. (I still hold dual English and Irish citizenship. I'm unwilling to give this up. Even though I have been here for 25 years and my son is an American and the USA has been more than kind to me. Yes I still pay all the taxes that you pay! No I'm not sending every last penny overseas to support any group that in any way wants to do harm to anyone!)

I do belong to a union. I have served on the Executive Board of our local. I can and do see the argument that the SEIU members have. This situation could have been avoided if the Allentown City Council had talked with the SEIU before giving permission for work to take place. As a Scouter I'm overjoyed that we have Scouts who are willing and do take on projects like this. But if I were a laid off SEIU member and seen a volunteer doing 200 hours of work that I used to do? I would be not a happy camper. Seems to me that in this case management just didn't communicate with their workers. Eamonn.

In the past we have talked about Eagle Scout Rank and who it belongs to? There are a good many really outstanding Scouter's who feel that they are charged with maintaining the integrity of the Eagle Scout rank, which as far as demanding that the requirements are met, I would hope we all are. But some of these Scouter's with the best of intentions, feel that they need not only to be the gatekeeper; they also feel some sort of need to safeguard Eagle Scout rank from not being what they think it needs to be by adding their own take on the requirements. For some other Scouter's this is seen as adding to the requirements and acts like a red rag to a bull. I tend, even thought it might not be 100% Kosher to be OK with ignoring some stuff. A Troop that insists that Scouts wear full uniform to a ESBOR? I don't see this as a big deal. A Troop that has a history of always having Scouts do some sort of a hike, before undertaking the project? Again I'm OK with turning a blind eye too. These "Added requirements" that Scouts know about and the Troop has been doing since BP was a Lad? I can live with and I see as not doing any real harm. As for all this talk about Appeals? To the best of my knowledge, in the Council I serve and have served for over 25 years there has only ever been one appeal, which I was asked to sort out. (In that case the Board was out of line.) I do get a little peeved when I hear the guys who want to set a number of hours that a project needs to be or the guys who seem to think that Scouts need a PhD in construction in order to get the project done. There is also I'm sad to say some Scouter's who seem willing to cut corners and are happy to throw the requirements out the window in order to ensure that Scouts who hang around long enough in the units they serve do receive the Eagle Scout badge. My take on all of this is that the Eagle Scout rank belongs to the Scout. He and He alone knows what it is really worth. It would in my view be a real shame if the future every time he writes his resume and lists that he is an Eagle Scout, it reminds him of how he cheated and didn't do what he was supposed to do. While for some Scouts the Eagle does mean a lot, there are others who see it as being no different that the other trophies that they manage to collect over their childhood years. We as adults who serve the youth in this organization are at times overwhelmed with all this talk about requirements, adding to requirements, appeals and the like. Again my take on all of this. Is that we are here to serve the Scouts. I don't ever want to have a Scout who is ashamed to list his Eagle Scout on anything because in his heart he knows that he didn't earn it. But I also don't ever want to feel that I ever placed any unnecessary hurdles in his way that would prevent him from earning his Eagle. My hope is that with the grace of God I'll somehow manage to do the right thing just because it's the right thing to do. I might not always agree with the requirements, I might not always think that the person who signed off on some of the requirements or counseled some of the MB's did such a wonderful job. (I might want to do something about that.) uz2bnowl, I'm still not really understanding where you are coming from. If your problem is with the Leadership quality of this Lad? Then I would hope that his lack of leadership ability would have come to light when he was leading the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project. I have sat on a lot of ESBOR's. At times I have been blown away by hearing the plans that Lads of 16 and 17 years old have for their future. Everything seems to be very clearly mapped out, they seem to know what they want and where they are going. This isn't the case with younger Scouts. Sure they are young, only time will fix that! They very well may have raced through the requirements, the might at that age still be far more under the influences of their parents, (Time will do something about that as well!). Some of these younger Lads do quit soon after they receive their Eagle. Our job as adult leaders is to do what we can to keep them in the program. I've seen very young Eagles go on to become really wonderful members of our camp staff and be active in the OA. Some leave the Troop and join one of the other BSA sections. I don't have the numbers, but I'll bet most of the Lads who earn the Sea Scout Quartermaster are Eagle Scouts. I have posted the good old "We need to give our kids Roots and Wings" thing a lot! We never know what will happen when we give our kids wings, we can only hope that the roots we have given them will in time help provide great fruit. Eamonn.

Hi, Hope no one was hurt. Nice to hear that Troop 700 was ready and willing. I miss our late night chats on line. Hope you are well and not working too hard. Eamonn.

uz2bnowl, Please forgive me. I know that what I'm going to post is going to make me sound like a pompous, arrogant, book-thumping twit. But here goes. If you have known this Lad for any real amount of time? The problem with you and this piece of paper didn't just happen or come up over night. You know the Lad, you have been around him, worked with him and had a relationship with him for some little time. At any time you could have had a Scoutmaster conference with him. You could have worked with him to get over whatever the problems that you both might have. Why did you wait till the train was leaving the station, before you bought the ticket? There may of course be reasons for your failure to do what was needed to be done before now? But trying to point the finger at everyone and anyone for what you have failed to address in the past? Seems to me that you are shirking your responsibilities. Sorry if this sounds harsh. Eamonn.

I'm wondering if the ASM is thinking like my Pal FScouter? His problem might not lay with the do-ability, but with the way it's being gone about? If the thread had started with: My sons and some of their troop mates are eager to plan a week long trip to Disney World. My husband is willing to be the adult lead on the trip. He and my sons made this exact trip last summer. What the feelings of the forum members would be? Ea.

I'm willing to bet my last dollar that the Scouts who return home from next yeas Jamboree will be very proud. I'm sure that most of the Scouts who attend one of the High Adventure bases are very proud of both themselves and of the organization that they belong to. Each and every Sea Scout that I know who has attended SEAL and done well seems to have a certain spring in his or her step. Scouting Pride? Like just about everything that has to do with Scouts and Scouting, at the end of the day it comes down to three things. Program, Program, Program. Ea.

Back when I was serving as a District Chairman, I had a very hard time dealing with our then SE. (Someone said that if you can't say something nice? The best thing to do is say nothing.So I'll say nothing!) We (The SE and myself.) couldn't see eye to eye on what the District Financial goals should be. He came up with numbers that were just silly! Being as the Chairman before me resigned because of a disagreement about these goals, which ended with the then Chair resorting to using words that might be found in an Anglo-Saxon dictionary. I made up my mind that I wasn't going to fight with him. Even though I knew that what he expected was totally unrealistic. A few years went by and when this fellow attended Wood Badge. I thought the best person to be his Ticket Counselor was me!! While of course the TG on the course had approved his Ticket. (Which was nothing to write home about!). I have to admit to enjoying telling him that I expected more from him. (Most of what he was going to do had to do with the National Good Turn for America. He really wasn't working the Ticket.) We went out for lunch and I asked him about the financial goals that he'd set for "My" District! He said that the goals he'd set were "Stretch Goals". I said it was a shame he hadn't used a few of these "Stretch Goals" when he was writing his ticket. When it comes to Scouts and POR's? Are we happy to set stretch goals? Or does one size fit all? Ea

This thread has me going in 1001 different directions! "Leading change to become more diverse is critical for Scouting to remain relevant." The little Devil on my one shoulder is saying "Hey Eamonn! National knows that for several years membership has been going down hill and we need to recruit from places that we haven't really even tried to reach before". Meanwhile the little Angel on the other shoulder is saying "Hey Eamonn, National wants to ensure that each and every boy has the opportunity to enjoy all that Scouting can offer". My great hope is that the Angel is the one that is right. Ea.

Brent, Old Chap! I don't think anyone is infallible. I thought I was wrong once, but I made a mistake. As I see it there are two different things going on here. One has to do with me! I'm very much a man of my word. At times even a bit of an old book thumper. If I sign off saying that a Scout has met the requirements for whatever has to be done as having been done, you can bet your last penny that the Lad has done it. That leaves us with the "Gray Areas" - Scout Spirit and Leadership. There really are no hard and fast rules for this. We might agree that a Lad who does or fails to do some things, clearly just isn't there yet. Some of the Scouter's I know only look at how the Scout is when he is at Scouting events, others take into account everything they know or think they know about the Lad inside and outside of Scouting. I like to think that I have a relationship with the Scouts I serve and base things on what I know or at times what I feel. Someone at one time or another thought I was the man for the job and they offered it to me. For them to come back at a later date and say "Hey! Hold on, your judgment isn't good enough!" Is as far as I'm concerned a kick in the teeth. If they really feel that way the best thing for everyone is for me to go. Twocub Dad was right when he posted that he would accept my resignation. If they feel that I can't be trusted and I feel that they don't trust me. It is far better for all concerned that we have a parting of the ways. The other issue is one that as yet I have not had to face. A leader who clearly not doing what he should be doing. My problem as I see it would be appointing blame. Is this the fault of the Scout? As we all know the District does not have the power?? To fire a leader. I happen to think that the people who do this sort of thing know and are aware of what they are doing. So any claim of ignorance would be lost on me. With this in mind I'm not sure if a friendly chat would do much good. Maybe worth trying but I wouldn't hold my breath. There was a thread a week or so back about rechartering and I said that the Commissioner Staff should be meeting with the CC. This would seem like a great time to go over issues like this. Ea.

I kinda thought that Merit Badge.Com had it wrong! Sadly th search on the BSA site and your's truly just don't seem to get on! The thread about a Board feeling that a Lad who was a Den Chief had failed to show leadership, was my reason for saying leadership. (We now know that it seems there was a mix up with the length of time he held the position.) The ability to be able to accept and take on responsibility is a big part of learning to lead. In the District I serve we have one Troop which really has gone out of its way to ensure that every Scout who is still around after his fifteenth birthday will make Eagle. The Troop is very much adult led. The SPL doesn't do much, other than lead the Scouts in the Oath and Law at the start of each Troop meeting. If they have more Scouts who need a POR than spots are available they just add a few more ASPL's! Thankfully I have never had to sit on an Eagle Scout BOR for any of these Scouts. To be honest, I'm not sure what I'd do. Part of me would know that if the truth be known this POR was in name only, but being as the SM had signed off? I'd be between a rock and a hard place. Is it the Lads fault that he is unfortunate to have a SM who is willing to bend or find ways to get around things? Eamonn.

All this chat about POR's has got my little gray cells working. In the "Real World" I'm trained and spend a lot of time being trained to do stuff that with luck I hope never ever to use. At work I'm on the HNT (Hostage Negotiations Team). With drills and training's this takes up a fair amount of time. In our department we have a lot of other people who are trained in other areas, learning skills that they hope never to use. Nearly all the people on these teams hold other positions and volunteer to be on these teams. They of course are informed what the team does and what is expected of them, before they sign on. For me, I'm happy knowing that if need be? I'm ready to do my bit, but even more happy to be doing nothing. While maybe some people might disagree? I think that some of the POR's entail more heavy lifting than others. I think that the SPL carries a lot more responsibility than say the OA-Rep. This isn't the fault of the Scout or the SM. It is what it is. Hopefully the SM understands what is expected to fulfill the responsibilities of each position. He meets with the Scout and goes over what is expected. If the Lads is not doing what is expected,the SM should meet with the Lad and provide a very friendly kick in the pants. Maybe along with this very friendly kick in the pants, the SM might issue a stern warning stating that this is a position of responsibility not just a position and failure to do what was agreed needed to be done might result in the Lad being removed from the position. I have never been part of a Troop that had Bugler. I can see that Troops that do have use this as a POR, only call on his services for events when the entire Troop is in camp. A Troop that holds elections every six months might put him to work a lot at summer camp, while maybe the Lad who is Bugler over the winter months might not get to play his bugle that much. This isn't the fault of the Scout. We could sit around all day and argue about how much responsibility it takes to play the bugle. (It seems that Bugler can now be used as a POR for Eagle Scout rank) If I were the SM of a Scout who was informed that being the Bugler didn't show any real leadership and was turned down by a BOR for this reason. I think I'd be more than a little upset. The issue is not what I think, or what the board thinks, it should be all about did the Lad meet the requirements that are laid down by the BSA and did he do what he agreed to do when he took on the job? If he was never asked to toot his bugle? Is that his fault? Eamonn. (I should add that I don't have at hand a copy of the Boy Scouts Requirements 2009. I read about Bugler being acceptable for Eagle Scout rank on Merit Badge. com)

I suppose a lot depends on how you view rechartering. If it's just about counting heads and parting with money? It really doesn't matter who gets the packet. If it's about taking the time to stop and look at how the unit is doing? Where it is going? And seeking ways that might help make improvements? Then, a meeting with the CC, even if it's not as convenient is the way to go. Ea.

If I were the SM of this Troop the committee could expect my resignation today!! How dare they!! I signed off saying that this Scout had done what was required. Now it would seem that the committee is saying that I don't know what I'm doing. While of course I don't know all the details. But from what you posted it seems this committee feels that this Scout is not old enough? Someone needs to talk with this lot and explain what a BOR is! The board of review should be a way of encouraging the individual Scout. The Board of Review is the most personal method in Scouting to assess the needs and desires of a Scout, to encourage and support him, to learn of his fears and hopes, to help him to see himself in the greater context of Scouting, and to encourage his personal growth, both in skills and in living up to the ideals of Scouting. Maybe it's the Committee that should resign? Ea.

"Roundtable is just a convenient place to start"??? If you have the CC at the R/T meetings? I can see how it is works. But I really see no reason why a CC would be at R/T? If these packets are given to the Unit Leader? Clearly the U/C is not doing the job the way it should be done. Ea.

Not trying to hijack the thread. But why would Rechartering packs be handed out at a R/T meeting? I don't have a pack at hand, but back when I was District Commissioner, we ensured that these packets were given to the Unit Committee Chair. And then picked up from the Unit Committee Chair. In the District I serve we don't see that many Chairpersons at a R/T meeting. Ea.

"So when did you folks notice the decline of uniforming?" Let me think.... Maybe it was a little time after schools stopped having uniforms? Maybe it was when the idea of having a Sunday best set of clothes that you wore to church each Sunday, no longer seemed like a good idea? Then again it might have been a little time after the family dinner was eaten in the den watching TV and Dad stopped ordering anchovies on the pizza, due to his high blood pressure?. Or was it when The Beatles started wearing silly uniforms? Or when polishing shoes became a forgotten art? - It's kinda hard to polish tennis shoes -Even the ones that cost $240.00. The decline? I'm sure it started before "Tighty-Whitey's" went out of style but before the underwear that you wear under, became a fashion statement. Of course what we need is someone to blame! I know lets blame the Baby Boomer's! The old Boomer's were all a bunch of Hippies during their youth. They fought against the Vietnam war and for civil and womens rights.Uniforms left a bad taste in their mouth. Then there are the younger Boomer's (My lot!) - Yuppies! Along with my fellow Yuppies I managed to help bring materialism to a new height! We waited till the "Time was right!" To have our kids. When they came we thought we'd missed the bus! It at that time seemed that if only we'd been Hippies, we might have had more fun! With this in mind, we set about wanting our kids to be free. Free from the mistakes that we'd made. Free to do their own thing. But Yuppie habits are hard to break. We still wanted my kid to be all that he could be, free but shackled to our Yuppie values. Our kids were never wrong! Being wrong wasn't an option. We worked hard ensuring that they were never wrong! We did their home work! We took the goalie out of the net, so that everyone scored, not that it mattered because keeping score meant someone would lose! And losing wasn't an option! We tied our kids to our apron-strings. Never allowing him to stray more that 300 feet without cell phone in hand. But don't you dare tell my kid how to dress or what to wear! Doing so will only take away his freedom of self-expression and might harm him for life. Maybe one day, when the Volvo isn't in the shop and we find a way out of the $235.00 a month cell-phone plan and the Mrs. gets out of therapy, I'll get around to thinking of buying a uniform. But as to noticing the decline? I think it just happened, not sure when. Ea.

When I started this thread, I'd just read about the changes to WB. Allowing Venturers to attend the course. While maybe because he is now over 21 OJ (My son) is not the greatest example? Still. He has thanks, to having been a Boy Scout done a lot of things. Jamborees, OA Leadership courses, Staffed Summer Camp. He is an Eagle Scout. But he can't read a map, can't tie even the most basic of knots. Really doesn't like to hike. (Will drive around a parking lot six times to get the spot near the door!) Has no interest in wildlife. Somehow he has managed to get by hiding behind people who can do and will do what needs done. Given the choice of having a newbie who was never a Scout and an Eagle Scout who knows next to nothing? I'd go with the newbie every time. I agree that people who want to learn can most times learn. But these guys who have got to where they are, not knowing and hiding seem to be embarrassed to admit that they just can't do what is needed. In time we will all see Wood Badge beads as a sign that someone has been taught Leadership. It is going to take a very long time for me to look at a 19 year old wearing his beads and think of him as a leader. Of course with my advancing years, I know I'm fast becoming an old stick in the mud. Ea.

Have to state again!! That I'm not a great fan of Venturing, as it is. I'm very comfortable with a coed program. I'm really OK with a youth led program. My problem is that I (Maybe not so much the youth, but little old me!!) Need a program that has structure and goals built in. Back when I was a Scout Leader in the UK. The Troop met three times a week. (I wasn't married then!) Friday Night was Troop Night when everyone was expected to be there and do Scout type stuff Thursday was Swimming in the local pool. Some of the Scouts worked on badges and the like, while some just came to hang out and splash around for a while. Wednesday was games night. We pulled out the table tennis tables, the indoor soccer ball and we were very much like a youth club, some Scouts brought their 45 records and played them while I moaned and groaned about the noise! Venturing to me seems like it would having a Wednesday meeting every meeting. This was one reason I opted for Sea Scouting. I like the structure, I like the idea that the kids who join work toward something that is build into the program. Sadly the Crews in the area where I live who have tried this "Youth Club" approach only seem to last as long as the first group of kids who join are around. Of course I know that as soon as I hit the submit message someone is going to say that the Crew they are involved with proves this 100% wrong. Still if we look at the percentage of the TAY in this age group that we are reaching, I think we have to admit that we are not doing that great a job. I'm not suggesting that Venturing be done away with. I'm saying that for the youth who want to stay doing Boy Scout type activities we need what I might call a big boy program. (Even if it were to b coed!) Ea.

"Just by asking the question "Is it time yet?" it causes me to wonder if that is the problem. Why are we even having to ask that question. It should be the furthest from our minds when we are helping these kids with their journey of life." OK maybe the title isn't that great! Still my point is that if the kids aren't attending the events and meetings how can we ever hope to help these kids? I do think trying to have a program that holds the interests of boy's aged 11 through 17+ is almost impossible. As for us asking ourselves "Is it time yet?" Maybe I'm just odd! I seem to ask that question all the time. From the time when the alarm goes off in the morning and I look at the clock to leave for work. To trying to be where I'm meant to be when I'm meant there. Till the clock says it's time to go home. When I think about maybe retiring. When I think that it's time to get out of the way and make room for new blood. With the passing of time, I know that there are things that I once was able to do and either can't do or just don't want to do anymore. My question here maybe should have been "Is it time yet for a change?" If and when we stop asking and looking for things that will improve what we are doing or not doing (Changes!) We really will be guilty of burying our heads in the sand. Ea.

Stosh You know this Lad. You know if what you intend to do is or isn't the right thing. It would be far to easy for any of us to sit at our keyboards and try and second guess what needs to be done or should be done. Can you do what you are thinking of doing? It seems that you can. Still at the end of the day you have to determine if it's the right thing and the fair thing to do. No one said this was always going to be easy. Ea.

Having just read about some of the changes about who can attend Wood Badge. I'm left wondering if maybe we might have gone a little overboard with all this Leadership Training? I'm really OK with having people trained in Leadership. I think that the Eagle Scout Service Leadership Project is a wonderful way of having young people experience true leadership. Leadership and Supervision are not the same thing. For me leadership is about getting what needs to be done done. While I think I'm still able to go into a class room and teach a class on English History, I know if asked to teach a class on music, the best I could do would be to supervise the class and try to avoid anyone from ending up in trouble. I can and do see how a unskilled adult can tag along with a Patrol who knows what they are doing on a hike. The adult can supervise the group and if need be prevent them from doing something stupid. (Axes in trees and that sort of thing.) But if the adult doesn't know how to read a map or use a compass. He or she isn't really leading all he or she is doing is supervising. It's wonderful that we have people who can recognize all the good stuff about how teams come together. But we seem to have forgot that Performing is the final stage. Performing to mean talks about getting the job done. If no one knows how to do it? All the leadership skills in the world just isn't going to help. Eamonn.

If I were your son (I bet you perish the thought!) I'd call the District Advancement Chair. Explain what is what and add that I'd received an email from Mr. Mentor which I think is not right. If the DAC says that this is the way that things are done and must be, I'd get my tail around to the people who are doing the letters and camp out on their doorstep. The letter doesn't have to be that long just a line or two saying that young Dave is a good kid. Ea.