fred8033

Beavah wrote: "SpencerCheatham's unit did meet with the lad well nigh a year in advance, explain that he hadn't yet met and wasn't meeting their active and Scout Spirit requirements, and spelled out clearly what the expectations were. They reinforced that several times. From where I sit, they met all of the unit expectations detailed in the current Guide to Advancement." Yeah - well I sort of see that as three years too late. Here's the points that I see. .... #1 The scout had a POR somewhere. I'm assuming it's with his previous troop. If the scout completed his POR, he's b

I've seen several scouts like this. I don't have any magical advice other than to work thru it. But I would love to hear some good advice.

Sure advance him. It's an honest conversation. I'm sure there are many kids in his situation. At least he was honest and not hiding things.

Weird as it is, I like reading IRS and state tax revenue documents. It's fascinating stuff to try to really understand. Really. Anyway, it's not entirely correct to say the bottom 50% pay 2.7% of the tax. It's more like the 14% of the population in the 36% - 50% of income bracket pay 2.7%. The lowest 36% pay no income tax. The lowest 25% get "credit" for taxes paid that amount to around $60 billion or about 5% of all income taxes collected. Just saying that if you factor in credit given, the bottom 50% of the population actually pays a "negative" 2.3% of the taxes collected.

Beavah wrote: "Now the lad who struggles with his chosen sport, who comes to every practice for four years, who makes every game even though he rides the bench much of the time, who cheers for and supports his comrades - in many if not most sports programs, that boy will get a Varsity letter in his senior year. He has demonstrated commitment and character throughout his career." Yeah well... Probably not the best analogy. We don't hand Eagle out to any scout who stays long enough. In fact, I know plenty who argue against awards for just being there ... including you I believe. You nee

OldGreyEagle - Eagle. Every scout has his own path. Some fast. Some slow. Some outstanding. Some just scraping by. Each scout has his own path. I remember a scoutmaster who kept singing the praises of this young scout and kept saying the scout was definitely eagle and SPL material. Yep the kid earned eagle and became SPL. But in the end, the kid lacked humility and empathy and was sort of pompous. I kept thinking that this kid was affected by the SM's special comments in the same way kids are affected when parents say the kid can't camp without them. ... As a devil's

I've heard of people using insulation sheeting (Owens Corning Foamular F-150 1 inch x 48 inch x 84 inch). One sheet should be plenty to cut into numerous boats. Get some dowels. Get some construction paper. Nice quick craft project. Only concern I have is the mess from cutting the foam. I'm not sure how messy it is though. We were planning to try it.

Beavah - I've got alot of respect for your well informed rationality and logical conclusions. But I think this is our constant difference of position. I believe the whole scouting environment is to be used to teach lessons and develop character. I'm all for high expectations and a solid program. But advancement is only one of the eight methods to be used to achieve our goals. ... The issue I have is that the advancement program is a commitment to the scout documented in his scout handbook. It lists specific steps to earn the next rank. It's a commitment that when the sc

acco40 wrote: "I agree, if a unit is struggling with "who's the boss" the unit is doomed." Fully agree. What you said is key. We achieve by working together. We fail by putting up walls. BUT ... It's still very useful to understand how things are designed or documented. http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Image:Boyscout-troop.gif I've seen it in several manuals. I think one was the Troop Committee Guidebook. I've also seen it in other documents but don't have them with me. Need to look it up. I've found several for packs. http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource

SpencerCheatham - I'm saddened by your comments. Luckily this scout made his way home before you and your fellow leaders "knew better". ... I don't know this scout, but given that you said "He is a polite, intelligent, reverent, hard working young man who lives the Scout spirit outside of Scouting." You also said he completed the explicit requirements to earn eagle. Merit badges. Position of responsibility. Project. Previous ranks. ... SpencerCheatham wrote: "Instead he chose to be more active in other extracurricular activities." What I'm hearing is that yo

Horizon wrote it dead on. The one thing I'd add is that by the time boys hit 14-15 most scouts are just repeating the same experiences and camping trips over and over again. By the age of 14 /15 ... Four or five weeks of summer camps. 30 to 55 weekend camping trips. 100 to 180 troop meetings. It's entirely natural, and to be encouraged, for a fifteen year old scout to want new experiences ... sports, school plays, choir, jobs, dating, etc. Plus we want our Eagle scouts to be outgoing, inquisitive and exploring other opportunities. (This message has been edited by fred8033)

Bylaws - Waste of time - Agreed. short guide for new parents - Useful.

Basement wrote: "The CC and CM are peers. The CM does not work for the CC or vice verse. The COR can remove you at any point or time for any reason. The Cubmaster is appointed by the COR. The COR can pick how ever he wants. Practically, you are correct. In a well run pack with leaders who are all friends, you are correct. But technically, the CC runs the pack committee and the CM reports to the committee. CC and CM are not peers. Same with troops. SM reports to the committee led by the CC. http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts/AboutCubScouts/ThePack.aspx So ye

Beavah wrote: "Fund raisin' apps should be dropped. If we can't get it together to approve a project and its fundraisin' at the same time, that's our problem, not the boy's." I was ready to fully agree as I don't see much use for it. The project plan already has a place for a description of how the project will be paid for and how much money is needed. In our district, we already have one guy that signs both the project plan and fundraising app. One meeting. I don't see any need for second form. BUT ... then I just double checked the form ... "Are there contracts to be signed?"

Does it honor the flag? Does it show respect? Is it a good example to set? If so, go for it. IMHO, the issue is "... but candidly a little blah". And this might be another thread. Our troop's COHs, except Eagle, are pretty casual. Slide shows. Announcements. Scouts awarding scouts. Handshakes. Funny stories. Scoutmaster moment. It's actually a very enjoyable experience. And given that we have four per year, we did not want to make them like sitting through a 90 minute junior high violin concert. I've been to a few COH's that are down right painful. All you think ab

Eagle732 wrote: "fred, when our boys send in the fundraising app they keep a copy of the signed form for their book and send in to council the original. We never (even when sending in troop fundraising apps) get anything back verifying that it was received or approved. But the eagle candidates to have a copy of the signed form." Is the council signature line signed? That's what I was wondering. It sounded like a strange process. There's nothing in any eagle process that we have about submitting the fundraising paperwork to the council. The DAC person signs the fundraiser form too. He

Two different questions - Hardest to fill? Treasurer. It's hard to fill because the person needs to be committed to spend hours with scouting on paperwork during off-scouting hours. Their main preparation for scouting meetings is to prepare reports and chase money. Not to mention the person needs to be fairly organized and slightly technical savy. What would you hand them if they walked in off the street and wanted to volunteer? Something fun. Something specific. Organize and run and event. Run a program segment for a pack meeting. As specific as possible and as fun as poss

Packsaddle ... Revisionist history? I'm not an expert in this, but it's easy to see the topic is way more complex and both sided than your representing. And your throwing part of the truth out is just a way to defend your position without honest reflection. ... In 1537, another pope issued Sublimus Dei strongly condeming slavery with concepts such as rational beings with souls and slavery was driven by satan. In 1542, Spain was also the 1st nation to ban colonial slavery. The Christian / Catholic position on slavery has evolved over time. And then when you read about hi

BadenP - Get a grip. Your wantonly uninformed hatred is driving you to irrationality better suited for Jerry Springer than rational society.(This message has been edited by fred8033)(This message has been edited by fred8033)

Beavah wrote: "Gumbies are hikin' down the trail with stuff lashed on, clipped on, or draped on like wilderness hobos." LOL. That was me about six years ago. I've been so focused on the current squeaks that I totally forgot about that first time. You quickly learn to not hang a water bottle. They are heavy. With each step, it wack'ed me. Not cool. That changed pretty fast. Any advice on the squeaks? I was thinking because I've got the expandable frame expanded to max. Comments?

Eagle732 wrote: "The troop's policy is we don't sign the fundraising app until the book is completed through to page 17 (fundraising app) and reviewed by us. Anyone else dealing with this? " Yes. We just require what the eagle book requires. That's thru page 10, not 17. If fundraising, he fills out that form and we sign it. Both the workbook thru page 10 and the fundraiser app is reviewed and signed off by the district advancement coord. Happens in one sitting usually within a few days of the eagle candidate requesting district approval. After that sitting, he uses the final pla

"And then, the fundraiser form states that he must wait for 2 weeks before even contacting the business where he intends to do his fundraiser or the stores from which he hopes to secure donations of materials" Agree with previous poster. This is a mis-reading. The form says the following. Eagle Workbook quote: ""... and then submit the fundraising application to your council service center at least two weeks in advance of your fundraising efforts. You will be contacted if it cannot be approved or ..." IMHO, it means you need to schedule two weeks to get council appoval. But if

Tampa Turtle - Great points with very good reasons. "... but truth be told they were not the best examples of Scouthood to start with. " .... I've seen that tool. I think it's the age though as they test new more challenging boundaries such as dating, work and friends that drink or do drugs. In a way , I like the insullation of similar age patrols because older scouts tend to have more "interesting" conversations. Also, it's nice to not have older-scout attitude rub off on younger scouts. But that's me. I guess it comes down to what the troop wants and is hoping to achieve

Years ago I bough the only two we have. I bought two external frame packs. Kelty Yukons. One's a Yukon 2900. I forget the other number. I bought them with the idea I could strap alot on and also use carabiners to hang things. Well. They are comfortable and carry alot. Easy to use. Very flexible. BUT ... I really want to buy replacements. Probably internal frames. The problem with hanging things with carabiners is the noise as things bounce around. It gets noisy. Even though if you don't hang anything, it squeaks. Hours of hiking with squeak squak squak and you'll wan

My gosh. This feels so wrong. Are we reaching some sort of agreement? I'd be okay with a SM not approving if the desired MBC historically does a bad job or has some other issue. Same with MB fairs though I've not seen one that does that bad a job. If anything, I've seen the opposite.