HICO_Eagle

You think so, huh? I thought many of the presentations after Train the Trainer were even worse than the ones I had to endure from professional military education.

That was exactly what I meant. I keep getting asked to take Wood Badge with an implication that it's "the thing" holding me back from a Silver Beaver nomination. Two problems with that: 1. I don't see that Wood Badge is anything other than a waste of time. Nothing anyone has shown or told me has demonstrated it will be anything other than yet another repeat of the various leadership/management classes I've had since college. 2. I really don't care about awards as an adult. I'm in this to help the boys. The best "award" I've ever gotten was meeting up with one of my former Scouts, find

True, there are no take-backs but a Scout is honest. This Scout wasn't. That calls for a Scoutmaster Conference and a note to the committee for any future BOR.

What infuriated me the most about this is the way they have tried to sneak it by. Announced on a Friday with the vote scheduled in 2 weeks while most units are busy camping. This has got to be the most unScoutlike behavior I've ever seen from National and as far as I'm concerned, every member of the Committee and Board that chose to sneak this implementation through this way ought to be removed. If you believe in your cause so much, why try to sneak it past with no time for reaction or comment? My SE said he was told ONE HOUR before the public announcement was made.

Some of this is a return to how things were 20-30 years ago. I don't mind that, in fact, I encourage it. Frankly, I'd be happy to toss out all changes in the program over the past 20 years and reinvoke the few that were positive. I don't understand people upset by Scout being a rank -- it's one the boys could earn at their first meeting and get a sense of accomplishment immediately. I don't like the requirements being shifted from Tenderfoot to Scout precisely because they make it harder to do Scout-on-the-first-night/month. I advised our new parents last night to photocopy or print th

Part of the problem Stosh is that many of the folks who preached tolerance really meant that everyone needed to accept THEIR point of view (and really beyond accept, EMBRACE). They have no tolerance for dissenting points of view once they get into positions of power or control.

I like the fact they're using "NCC-1701, no bloody -A, -B, -C, or -D!" I'd trade you a set of our Pikes Peak Council Stargate Jamboree patches for a set of those. 2010: 2013: I have to check my inventory, think I only have the 2010s left for trading (I liked them best anyway).

Troops don't own packs. IMO, one of the reasons Scouting is declining is that we don't encourage boys to find a troop that meets their particular needs or modus operandi. Webelos crosses over the troop he has been told his den always goes to and then finds he doesn't like it -- maybe the Scoutmaster is old-school like me, maybe he's new school and the Webelos or his parents want old school, maybe the troop is too big or too small. Not knowing any better, he probably quits Scouting altogether rather than figuring out there's another troop a mile or two away that he'd enjoy. I tell boys (

https://www.ar-15.co/threads/149525-Big-Weekend-In-Colfax-County-Floods FYSA.

I wouldn't ban or limit parents. Heck, our problems are usually not having enough adults participate. What I would do is make them understand any adults on the trip will effectively be an Old Goats patrol and adults will not work with their own children. "You want to come along? Great! I've already got Bob set up to work with your boy so can you and Henry take Jimmy and Tommy and work with them on first aid? Thanks alot!"

@@imachristian13 -- First off, sorry for the gender confusion. For some reason, I thought you were the mother. In any event, the words I see that keep coming through are "we worked to develop" and "they agreed to". In other words, it wasn't their plan, it was yours. What would I have done differently? In your place, rather than develop plans that the SM/ASMs "agree to", I'd have asked how they thought it should be handled, what I could do to assist, and then follow up to get feedback as THEIR plans were tried out. Perhaps they felt railroaded into agreeing to your plan, perhaps they'

This isn't new and it isn't related to the belt loop changes. RichardB is correct about no unit-level shooting activities for Cubs. No need to call National for clarification on this one. The National Shooting Sports Manual (http://www.scouting.org/filestore/Outdoor%20Program/pdf/30931_WB.pdf) is quite explicit on page 42: As far as archery at a professional facility goes, the NSSM requires the following for "qualified range master" (page 10): As long as the professional facility has properly certified instructors (and I'd question their viability if they're running a fa

1. I agree with the others that you should finish whatever rank you're working on and look at other troops for a transfer. I always advocate Scouts look at multiple units before locking in to join one because every troop has its own personality. 2. While you're considering other troops, you might want to reflect on whether you're missing anything that makes your troop seem like it's so adult-led. Is the SPL competent and leading like he should? When are the ASMs telling the boys to tuck their shirts in and pull their hands out of their pockets? Is it during a ceremony when they're su

At risk of reviving a zombie thread, I finally made it all the way through all three threads. I've seen a lot of people jumping off to pass judgment immediately based on a single point of view and one person observing that only one side of the story has been told. I have no doubt imachristian13's son will be better off in another unit and I hope they've been able to find the right unit for him. On the other hand, all of her posts convey (to me) a strong sense of "they (the troop) will change to accommodate my son" even when she says they agreed (at her insistence) to guidelines or rules

First, what are you intending Wood Badge to be? Tell me that and I'll tell you what I think the course should encompass. To answer the question myself, I'd prefer Wood Badge to be an advanced skills course instead of the poster child for ineffectual feel good "leadership" management philosophies. Get rid of the "Game of Life" socially/politically-correct mumbo-jumbo and provide instuction on: - advanced woodsmanship/Scout skills, - Patrol Method and the G2SS, It would also be nice if it covered - secondary but important factors in running a troop (expenses, sources of income, C

.... and THIS is why I hated Trainer's EDGE when I took it. I can afford the course fee but I hate losing a whole Saturday to garbage like this when I don't need it. I would recommend the course highly to someone who has never trained or instructed kids before but it's just a little annoying after 20+ years of teaching Scouts.

My Scouts haven't had 30 years of Scouting, 20+ years of military service plus associated "professional military education", numerous management and leadership courses, and Scoutmaster Fundamentals (which I also considered redundant and useless). They would benefit from NYLT, I would not.

I see having someone WB-"educated" is now a JTE requirement. Gre-e-e-e-eat ...

I'd rather get equipment that's good at what it does. For a portable stick-powered stove, I like the EmberLite or similar stoves. If I want to recharge my electronics, I have a 19W solar panel and 2 Li-Ion battery packs capable of storing 6600 mAh each -- more than enough for a weekend campout.

dedkad, I would agree with your son's SM that Boy Scouts are a time to get a little separation but it doesn't mean complete separation. I suspect what he's trying to do is cut out the helicopter parents but every troop I know needs SOME help from parents, whether it's sitting on boards of review, organizing fundraisers, or helping Scouts plan activities. That may mean you're less involved or less busy than you thought you'd be -- if so, you can still help that Pack connect with the Charter Troop and make sure the liaison job is transferred in a way that lasts past next summer.

However the vote goes, I would definitely be on board with telling the CEOs of AT&T and Ernst & Young to get lost.

That piece of propaganda is actually pretty well known and it was a setup. The attackers knew who was "armed" and where he was sitting before the scenario began. The students were purposely chosen to be unfamiliar with handling their firearms and they weren't trained properly before the scenario began.

So I'm glad to see RichardB here and that there is an effort from National to keep tabs on discussions here because I was afraid they were cut off in their own little insular worlds. For what it's worth, I detest most of the changes I've seen coming out of National over the past 10 years. I find the G2SS to be more of a hindrance and symptom of legalistic or nanny society than a help toward building Men for the 21st century. I follow it because I have to but don't take my acquiescence as a sign of approval. Additional required "training" hasn't added one iota to my ability to train and

Gre-e-e-e-eaa-a-a-at. More paperwork. Love it. Is National really looking for more ways to drive out dedicated volunteers?

As I remember it, only 1% used to make it to Eagle. Advancement is much more professionalized these days -- more organized, more resources, more options. Membership is declining and a higher percentage of Scouts are making Eagle but another way to look at it is that the kids who aren't really interested just aren't joining instead of dropping out as Second or First Class Scouts. I've seen some paper Eagles yesterday as well as today and some EXCELLENT Eagles today as well as yesterday. Celebrate the fact that we still have Eagles, a program and fine young men.