frankj

firstpusk: would you explain what is "lousy" about the editorial opinions in the Wall Street Journal?

An advantage of bridging during Feb-March time period is that it puts the boys in with the Troop in time for them to complete some advancement before summer. In our area, summer camp plans reservations are being made at this time and if they don't bridge until June, there is a possibility they will get left out of the summer camp activities. I would try and explain this to the parent. Good luck.

It sounds like you did the right thing with the 5 mile hike requirement.

KS, I think if a parent had tried to make an issue of it, it would not have led anywhere. This business about the MB conselor being the last word, in this particular incident, is something I just don't buy. And yes, I know the rules that we don't add or subtract anything to advancement. The boys from our troop knew this thing was very sketchy and none of them had a problem with going over the material for real with a CN MB conselor associated with our troop.

Right or wrong, I put a little more importance on the Citizenship series than on some of the other badges. So that is how we handled it. I wonder about the boys from other troops who attended the session and think they properly completed the CN badge requirements.

I want to reply to something eisely mentioned, the lieniency (real or perceived) of LDS with regard to merit badges: In our area one of the LDS groups sponsored an advancement day that included Citizenship in the Nation MB. The intended conselor could not make it, so they had to substitute one. My son spent about two hours there and came out with ALL the requirements signed off, with the exception of the letter to a member of Congress. There is no way they covered the material the way it should be covered for this merit badge. Afterwards, I checked with our district advancement chair, and the MB conselor who led that session was not previously registered for the CitNation Badge, but sent in a registration dated that same day.

Now, this is not an attack on the LDS. But it is a criticism of slipshod MB conseling. If you think you may be involved in a merit badge factory, then you probably are.

Our troop discounted the approval given that day and put the guys through the regular paces for that merit badge, and they are no worse for the wear.

I am glad Eisely has time to post this kind of stuff from around the country. It still amazes me how many municipal bodies are so ready to tee off on the Scouts. For the sake of the Scouts, I hope they got the rocking-for-docking agreement IN WRITING way back when.

Have you tried to structure the meeting with a definite opening like a flag ceremony and one again at closing. When I was den leader for Tigers thru Webelos 2, we also had 7 boys. What worked for me was structure -- meaning a time for more or less quiet work on projects, some time for running and yelling and time for a snack at the end. Good Luck.

I agree with Bob White. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe part of the merit badge experience is going through the procedures outlined: get the blue card, fill it out, get the name of a conselor, etc. That it takes a little time and planning on the part of the Scout is a good thing.

Our troop is less than 30 boys, so the way we go about it may not work for large troops. I inherited advancement records from the previous advancement coordinator. These were computer based printouts of one page (front and back) per boy. On these pages are all the advancement items from basic Boy Scout through Eagle. All you do is fill in a date when something is completed. I keep these in a notebook and update them each time someone completes something.

They get out of sync with the boys' books because sometimes the advancement item gets entered in the notebook before it gets entered in the boy's book and sometimes it is the other way around, but periodically we make sure the records agree.

I make a separate spreadsheet for each rank TF through 1stCl, showing requirements down the side and boy's names across the top. When someone completes something, I put an X in the right cell. This spreadsheet shows at a glance where advancement is needed and helps us plan programs. Maybe the Troopmaster software does the same thing. I've never used it.

For attendance, activities, service projects, campouts, positions of responsibility etc., I use separate spreadsheets. I do this so if there is a question like when did Johnny serve as PL, or did he take part in Good Will Good Turn, I can go to the info quickly.

To Ozemu: My family visited the ANZAC memorial in Canberra while on vacation a few years ago. It was very impressive. Thank you to all veterans.

Maddoro: why not forget about the money -- I know there is a principle involved, but it doesn't sound like you are dealing with honorable people. As far as the missing letters, why don't you just ask the original letter writers to write new ones? They would probably do it if you explain the situation. This doesn't seem that tough a problem to solve.

This story will fade from the headlines in a few days although Mr. Lambert will try to keep it alive by via the ACLU. There was a column today in the Oregonian (Portland) and in closing the columnist called on BSA to "give a little" in its religious requirements. Please. Why is it that the an organization with set standards is always the one called upon to "give a little" and those trying to skirt around the standards are always given slack, especially if they make an appeal to the press.

Our Mr. Lambert has also been on National Public Radio.

I am not glad he was terminated but I do believe he deserved it. Also, I think his Committee and whomever served on his Boards of Review have so explaining to do.

when I bought the Scout shirt, it came with a tag attached that showed where the patches went. So this is another way to keep track of where they go but most people probably throw the tags out. A troop could distribute a diagram to parents each year, photocopying is not that expensive. After sewing my sons patches on myself for a while, I decided to take them to a local seamstress shop. For about 1 - 2 bucks she sews 'em on. I gave her a diagram of where the patches go because she said she gets Scout shirts regularly. The point is, you might want to steer the wayward patch sewers toward a "professional" after you make sure the pro has the correct specs.

We don't teach MB topic at troop meetings, but during advancement time boys working on badges can meet with MBC's and get requirements passed and signed. Usually it is one or two boys and others are available to work with the lower ranks on advancement. I sure hope this model is acceptable because that is how we have been doing it, although not ALL MB work takes place at troop mtgs.

Also, a question about working on them in groups. I have been told this is not how MB are supposed to be taught, and we don't do this in our troop, but it certainly takes place in camp, so how is that different? Also, coming up in a few weeks is a MB day put on by different counselors in the district. There will be group teaching here and this was promoted at a recent roundtable. Am I missing something?

I think they are all important. I happened to be listening to the radio today and the talk show host was discussing the case of the atheist boy who was a Scout. A young Scout called in to render his thoughts on the topic and the host asked him if he could recite the Scout Law. For as many times as I have heard this recited and said it myself, it gave me pause to hear this young boy recite it on the air in a very straightforward and unhesitant manner.

We do it like Dan (the first reply) described. The treasurer collects 7 dollars from each boy going on the outing and doles it out to the respective grubmasters at the end of the meeting just before the campout. We would like to have a no hamburger/no hotdog rule but we are treading softly on this. This fall, we are going to introduce more aluminum fol cooking and cooking with hobo stoves in order to get away from reliance on propane fueled stoves.

eisely's advice is right on the money. I would add that you might want to find out who the reporter or sub editor is that handles news and announcements of local, community events. Send you press releases to that person, and if that doesn't get coverage, go to the editor. If they are both against Scouts, then that might be the end of it and there is nothing you can do. The newspaper people I know always seem very busy, so they welcome a story that is spoon-fed to them. Good luck.

Bob White: re: your May 2nd post. Page 10, column 2 of MY policies and procedures manual talks about religious principles, so I will keep looking for the reference you cited. In the meantime we are going to be careful about parents acting as counselors on the Eagle required merit badges. Your advice on the Advancement Reports, i.e. getting them turned in promptly is exactly what we do. Usually, the badge is awarded at the very next meeting. I have been aware of the whole reward/incentive scenario from Tiger Cubs through the present! And we do split up the MB cards between counselor, Scout and Unit. It is the Unit's portion of the completed cards that I was referring to in the earlier post. I view these as the bottom line if a question comes up at some point. It has been enlightening reading all the posts on this topic. To anyone out there who is involved with a troop, helping the Advancement Chair, or being the Advancement Chair can be fun and it really makes a contribution to the unit. No, you don't have to know each and every requirement inside out, although if you do, that would be a bonus. It is an opportunity to get to know the boys as individuals, and to help them complete their requirements for the various ranks. Recordkeeping is a big part of it but there are tools available to help with that.

Thank you Ed and Bob for the replies. The question of parents as MB counselors was not mentioned in the policy and procedure guide that I have been following as a new Advan Chairman. Our troop has been in place for only 3-4 years and we have two boys working on Eagle. I don't want them to be tripped up down the road. While I have the attention of Bob and Ed: what do I do with the growing stack of completed MB cards? My instincts say secure storage somewhere. Any ideas?

If a parent is registered as a MB counselor, is it ok for them to counsel and sign off their own son?

What great news. You and your son have much to be proud of, congratulations and best wishes!

Sorry I am late to the topic but would like to weigh in. Who's responsible? The Scoutmaster and Troop Leadership, including the Advancement Chair --- in my opinion. And I am the Advancement Chair for our troop. Yes, it is a 'boy run" organization but most of the boys do not have what I call the "plan ahead" gene fully developed, so it is up to the adult leadership to make sure that every time there is an opportunity to fulfill and advancement requirement, the boys who need to complete that requirement are checked out on it. At our March campout when we had a large number of boys working toward Tenderfoot, we got to the campground, had them line up in a row with their packs and we had the PLs and SPL go down the line asking them different questions about what they brought and checking out their packs. It took a little time, and we got them checked out on one more requirement. The key is, to look ahead and see what they are going to be doing and then make sure that 1) they know they have an opportunity to fulfill a requirement and 2) make sure there is sufficient leadership present to approve (sign off) on the requirement. You might want to find out who your advancement chair is and offer to help out. I like the job because it is an opportunity to guide the activities of the entire troop and at the same time you can work with individuals who may need to 'catchup' to their peers.

Our troop recently went from small to large. We try to get the school calendar in Sept and plan based on that, allowing for the religious holidays, legal holidays and even Mother's day and Father's day. Once we have a date set for an outing or campout, we do not change it. With only 5 in the troop, it would be tempting to try and manage the date of the activity in order to accomodate everyone, but don't do it. Five is pretty small but it can work. There are even some advantages over larger troops. Best of luck.

Some general suggestions: Ask the den leaders beforehand to make a special effort to control the wiggling and noise that is bound to happen among the younger cub scouts. We explain to the younger cubs that this is a special night for the Webelos that they have earned, and they deserve respect. We have an elevated stage (4 steps up) where we put the crossover bridge and after the initial part of the ceremony when the Webelos are ready to cross over, we call each one up onto the stage, one at a time, with parents. The Webelo is asked to give the Cub Scout salute to his pack brothers one last time. Then a parent or parents, remove his Webelo neckerchief and a Scout acting the part of Akela gestures for him to cross the bridge. Once across, he is greeted by the Scoutmaster, fitted with a neckerchief and he gives the Scout salute. There are lots of great ceremonies out there on the web.

evmori wins the door prize. in our troop, it was short for 'lets stand, my fanny's tired', used to invoke a break during training or other activity that involved sitting and listening.