frankj

to orennoah: Ditto for my son's 10th grade history class. I read your post and asked him, his answer, "Not a word, but I knew it was Pearl Harbor day." The world history class is on the Roman Empire at present, so maybe they didn't want to jump ahead, even for a few minutes. This is a school that showed the movie Schindler's List to classes one year. A segment of the school was taking standardized tests and the movie was to occupy the kids who were not being tested. In the permission slip they sent home for parents to sign, the TEACHERS who wrote the movie description call

The attraction: Food for the family. There ARE people who hunt out of need. Just because you don't know any, doesn't mean they don't exist. People connect with the outdoors in different ways. This is one. A family tradition. I know of 3 generations w/in a family that hunt together, and I'm not referring to the Beverly Hillbillies. A tradition among friends. A work/business relationship type activity -- like playing golf with a client. The personal challenge. I knew a man at work who would load his horse trailer, drive to a neighboring state and pack in. He

Start by defining what it is you need and how much. For example: 40 or so poles, of hardwood, with dimensions of between 3 to 6 inches in diameter and lengths of 8 to 20 feet. Then get in touch with the people who will know what landowners in your area might have such material and might be willing to let you come get it. Contacts: Does Ohio have a state forestry division? If it does, there might be a department that offers advice to private forestland owners. What about a local office of the National Resource Conservation Service? They work with private landowners too. Do you have a F

I'll add one here, that by itself is not a reason to quit, more an irritation than anything else. I turned in a merit badge counselor application form for an adult leader today. He is registered, a committee member and previously submitted the adult application form when he got active in our troop. The district told me he would have to submit another application form (but no fee) in order for them to process the merit badge counselor form. I think I know why they are asking for this. The adult registration form probably has some information that is needed to facilitate the backgroun

Restrictions on size of group are common in wilderness areas here in the Pacific NW. A wilderness area is a specific designation given to areas within the National Forest system. National Parks probably have similar group size restrictions -- we tend to go to wilderness areas more. The trick is, knowing you have to ask the question or knowing to look for it on a web site. I have mixed feelings about the group size thing. I don't buy the arguement that it has to do with impact. I think it has more to do with a recreation-planner/manager's concept of what constitutes a "back-coun

A new Scout does not automatically earn the Basic Scout badge on joining. On the Eagle Boards of Review, in our district they are handled by the District. The SM introduces the candidate, maybe gives some general info, then is excused. The board consists of the District Eagle Coordinator, the troop advancement coordinator and a third party someone the Eagle Coordinator invites -- it has been a Scouter from another troop, familiar with Eagle BOR procedures. nld scout says: SM and ASM cannot searve on any BOR's, Eagle or otherwise. Huh? Our SM serves on nearly every non-Eagl

My son is an Eagle Scout and plays on the school soccer team in the spring and on a club team in the fall. So does a friend of his who is also in the troop. Other boys in the troop are on sports teams. You can do both. As for geekiness or not, it is a matter of perspective. Mrs. Fleetfooted Fox should count her lucky stars that she has a husband willing to volunteer for such a worthwhile organization. There are mothers of boys in our troop who are darn glad there is an organization called Boy Scouts of America and volunteer adults to lead a troop and take their sons on outings and

Anarchist -- I feel your pain ... The merit badge cards from camp cause me the most problems. At one camp, they drew an "X" across the part of the card where you are supposed to list the requirements completed. At this particular camp it meant "all completed." I wasn;t looking for them to list each completed requirement by number, and then initial and date each one -- but the way they did it strikes me as a little too "production oriented" and some Scouts who didn't actually complete all the requirements can slip through.

My suggestion is review the advancement procedures manual, and with then talk to the sm and advancement chair, and if necessary SHOW THEM the text in the manual which says "When the BOR has certified a boy's advancement (except for Eagle) he DESERVES TO RECEIVE RECOGNITION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THIS SHOULD BE DONE AT A CEREMONY AT THE NEXT TROOP MEETING. The certificate for his rank may be presented later at a formal court of honor." In my procedures manual, this is in the section "Advancement in the Unit" under the topic:Boy Scout Advancement -- Four steps of Advancement. The onl

I think it is important you do a shorter, "shake-down" cruise type of backpack trip, earlier in the summer. This could be a two or three night trip and the objective is to test equipment, try out food or recipes, and see just what type of weight Scouts and adults can carry in their backpacks and sort out what is necessary from the rest. Best of luck, I think a trip like this can be something the boys will remember all their lives.

We use two man tents because they work for both car camping and backpack outings. If boys want to bring their own tent, that is ok. As for virtual patrols, we do it on campouts to make the cooking groups "more even." I don't like it and agree with BW that it undermines the whole Patrol concept. When the "cooking groups" notion is mentioned while organizing for a campout, the boys will sometimes form little bands to go in together, at the exclusion of other Scouts. This thread has prompted me to bring this up to the SM and see if we can't start doing this correctly.

I am the advancement coordinator for our troop. I can't imagine a BOR taking that long. We had one for Eagle that ran about 90 minutes, but that was because the candidate was giving very thoughtful and somewhat lengthy answers. He was someone who would actually THINK before he spoke, so there were some long silent pauses. I think the AC should be a moderator-type at a BOR, it sounds like your AC perceives himself or herself as "Lord High Executioner!" Having sat through many job interviews (as one doing part of the interview) I suggest a structured approach. There are certain sugge

What resources are available and how quickly can you get your hands on them? Specifically topgo maps and/or compasses? Either of these might be a good place to start if you are in a pinch. With compasses, you could familiarize them with the parts and then practice taking bearings on various objects outside. And you could practice orienting to north or other directions. If maps are available but not compasses, you could explain features on contour maps, how to read contours to determine terrain, how to determine the direction a stream is flowing, what is a "handrail", how to determi

When the problem reaches certain economic proportions, the federal government steps in with its checkbook. A few examples are the bailout of Chrysler (they repaid the debt as I recall) the bailout of New York City when they faced bankruptcy, the S&L crisis and there may be other, lesser examples. On the heels of the criticism "you (the feds) didn't do enough to help" will come the demand, "you have to help pay for the rebuild." To those who are the most critical of the federal response and say they should have done things to prevent the disaster -- and this is not aimed at thread

Our district publishes a merit badge counselor list indicating which couselors do not want to counsel outside their own unit. (Frankly, I don't understand that one, but whatever...). We do some MB work at meetings. Without it the boys in our troop would stall out, in my opinion. We have no qualms about doing some of the MB stuff w/in the troop because we know we adhere to the standards. I have observed the merit badge mills -- on a Saturday, "Hey, get your merit badge right here, in the next 45 minutes ... Hey you, Scout, whattdya need ... " No thank you. I have also observed s

I'll throw in here, and maybe somebody can help me out. I'm Advancement Coor for our troop. There has been little to no talk of Venture Crew w/in our district. Can someone advise whether the Venture program, if that is the proper term, should come from within the Troop, or should it be more of a District-type effort? It seems to me, as Scouts progress through the ranks, there is a cadre of Scouts within a District (but in different Troops) that might make for a critical mass of boys to take part in some Venture type activities. Any ideas on how to tap into this potential?

I'll throw in here, and maybe somebody can help me out. I'm Advancement Coor for our troop. There has been little to no talk of Venture Crew w/in our district. Can someone advise whether the Venture program, if that is the proper term, should come from within the Troop, or should it be more of a District-type effort? It seems to me, as Scouts progress through the ranks, there is a cadre of Scouts within a District (but in different Troops) that might make for a critical mass of boys to take part in some Venture type activities. Any ideas on how to tap into this potential?

Prairie: well said. And IMHO the last thing we need is some event planner from Boca Raton Florida weighing in.

Being a traditionalist, brought up on USGS map symbols and legends, I am more familiar with those and more comfortable. When I looked in the Orienteering MB book at pages 36 -37 of the current edition, I found them to be different from the USGS symbols I was used to, but also more comprehensive. I think your choice might be guided by whether Scouts will be earning the Orienteering MB (I assume they will). In this case, I would use a format and map symbolism that lends itself to this end, which is the stuff in the MB book. It may require some customization of the symbols to the base map.

There is the question of what species of trees will survive and do well, and there is also the question of what species of trees are 'right' for the location. You might want to first consider the locations where you will be planting... THEN consider trees appropriate for the location. Consult with a horticulturist or an arborist or a forester specializing in urban forestry. You'll learn which species produce lots of undesireable litter to clean up in addition to just leaves. You should be conscious of which species have overly aggressive root systems which may try to tap into sewer lines (

How do you suppose that guy tapped into this thread???

FScouter: good call. Def'n of menial: "of or fit for servants, low, servile." Substitute the word "uninspiring" for menial in my earlier post. As to the guideline Madkins put up about being reasonably certain that the unit's activities will not damage someone's livelihood ... yeah, we're reasonable certain that no commercial provider of lawn and yard maintenance services was deprived by our activities. We're also certain, without the "reasonable" qualifier, that more than one troop member earned a not insignificant portion of his summer camp fee via this fundraiser.

Our troop has done what you describe in your first paragraph, not just once, but on several occassions. The work, yard maintenance, is menial, yes. But it requires leadership, and organization before and during the activity. The troop is advised of the troop's finances beforehand and votes for one of a couple options as to how the money will be split between the troop and the boy's accounts. The individual we "worked for" could have hired a yard maintenance outfit for the same or less money, but he chose to approach the Scouts because he believes in Scouting. I don't see anything wr

I'd like to reply to what GernBlansten wrote. "The justices who typically would be lefties, voted pro-business. The justices who are typically righties, voted for the people." The "leftie judges" voted PRO-GOVERNMENT, not necessarily pro-business. I say this because the carrot held out by the developer in front of the governmental entity is increased tax revenues. The main mission of a bureaucracy is survival and expansion. This is one more means by which government can fulfill its mission. I read part of my son's US History textbook this past school year. In the sectio

The three part problem statement is on the right track in my opinion. In fact, it reads like the introduction part to a grant proposal, written by an individual seeking funding. (That is a compliment!) Someone with credentials in sociology might be able to assist further with the problem statement, although in my opinion you have nailed it. A researcher-type would be of great assistance in devising a study plan. There is whole area of academic endeavor out there that blends sociology with outdoor recreation. People were getting Masters degrees and PhD's in this area at the Univ of