hops_scout

Camp Joy- Okaw Valley Council, IL Decent camp with dining-hall eating. The lake is not the greatest, but the Waterfront Director two years ago was great! COPE and the climing tower was a bunch of fun. Camp Sunnen- Trail West Council, IL --camp in southern Missouri Nice camp on a 1000 acre lake. The waterfront offers multiple merit badges including canoeing, swimming, lifesaving, motorboating as well as BSA Lifeguard. Decent climbing tower, but no COPE course. Has a golf course very close to property as well as a YMCA camp right across the lake. Patrol cooking done in campsites breakfast and dinner while lunch is under a pavillion.

I'm gonna be hanging out for quite awhile tonite. Tonite is our prom and post-prom, but I have elected to not go to prom, but I am going to the post-prom which starts at 1AM. So I'll be in here until about 12:30 or so. Please stop by.

Sounds like you want out and may force your wants onto your son. What ever happen to allowing him to have some input? There are many reasons to join the troop. Somebody mentioned friends. I would consider several people from this site a friend of mine. I have met a few other people because they knew somebody from this site. All due to the interest in Scouts. I don't know of many chess tournaments or soccer tournaments where there are 40,000+ in the area at once for 10 days there to have fun. Or 75,000 in the arena at once from all over the world! You can backpack, but what about climbing, COPE, confidence courses? Do you have the equipment, training, and land to do these activities? Leadership--Chess club and that soccer team will not give your son the leadership opportunities Scouting does. The leadership skills learned in Scouting do not only apply to Scouting either. Those skills transfer into other activities and later on in life I think they will apply as well. I am who I am because of Scouting. I dont have many pictures of athletes on my walls in my room. Instead, I have pictures from Jambo, I have patriotic pictures, and I have pictures from West Point. All of those were influenced by Scouting. I highly doubt I would be in the position of the desire to serve this great nation without the skills and other things I have learned through Scouting. I think you are making a horrible decision. I can understand a boy deciding he wants to give up Scouting. As much as that hurts me to say, some boys just don't like it. The parents making the boy quit just makes me mad because they don't want to make it work. IT CAN WORK EVEN WITH A BUSY SCHEDULE!!!

If you talk to Eamonn, he can fill you in on what I'm told is a nice place in Western PA. The staff at this location are great instructors for rappelling and such. They offer climbing, caving, and rappelling activities as well as a few other things at their location. If you can't get ahold of Eamonn, send me a PM. I can hook you up with the man in charge:)

There's three of us hanging out now. Still plenty of time to chat

EagleScout71 and I are in right now. AK-Eagle has come by, he may be back. The fire is lit, but we can't sit too close b/c it's hot here!

I'm hanging out already b/c I've got nothing else to do. Come on in! I'll be around most of the night. Just "whisper" me if I don't repsond within a minute or so...

Hey guys, it's been awhile since we've posted about a chat session. We're in nearly every night and I'm already in for tonite. Spring Break started today for me and I have the day off tomorrow so I may be in pretty late again. Come on by! http://groups.msn.com/boyscouts/chatroom.msnw

The fireworks didn't impress me that much. Seeing the President was cool! The actual show was lame. But the President was cool!

1) 2005 National Scout Jamboree Served on the Youth Staff at the Rappelling Tower as a part of the Action Center D! I was able to meet at least one SCOUTER member as well as at least one MERITBADGE.NET member (Eamonn and WagionVigil). I was about 15 feet away from BOBWHITE I believe, but was not able to speak to him. I got to see President Bush from about 75 yards. The biggest thing I got out of this was the feeling of satifaction and such a rewarding feeling when a Scout (or Scouter) was able to overcome his (or her) fear to descend the fall trusting the equipment, themself, and I to aid them in getting down the wall. It is an AMAZING feeling!!!!! 2) COPE course I took two summers ago. COPE was just an amazing experience. I can't describe it any more than that really. COPE is one reason I applied for the above position. And Climbing merit badge the year before was the reason I took COPE. See how things build? 3) My first canoe trip. I'm not a fan of canoe trips and this trip is one of those reasons. So, how could I pick it as a great experience? I learned A LOT from it. It was an October trip and it was cold. Being the inexperienced, younger Scout, I was unprepared. My sleeping bag for the weekend- one of those fleece liners! I was wearing a Carhart-type jacket which got soaked, jeans, and boots that the next morning I was only able to get on with help from half of the guys on the trip. Also, I was using one of those bags used to store bed covers as my dry bag. Not a good idea. I still don't own a dry bag or quality outdoor clothes really, but I now own 3 sleeping bags and a couple pairs of boots. Also, I avoid the water;) Couple other good ones I've had included the Lincoln Pilgrimage as Cub Scouts we went up there several times. I've completed a couple of Junior Leadership trainings. Being thanked by Veterans for recognizing them on Veterans' Day and on Memorial Day seemed weird.

Later than I expected to reply, but here's where I'm at right now. Feel free to give any advice you got. Thesis statement Leaders come in many forms, but all leaders must possess certain qualities. Understanding the Situation -listening -request/demand -Feedback -prepared Responsibility -delegation (good idea whoever thought of it;)) -able to explain decisions -goals -control Basically what I did was to combine some of your ideas with what I had on paper and then group them even more as best as I could. Thanks for the help so far; feel free to pitch in anything else.

From the sounds of it, you guys therefore do not have the economic means to start a new troop. Maybe you should think about joining another troop who possibly has an established uniform closet. I can't imagine the program if you can't afford the basic uniform items. How, then, are you going to be able to afford camping equipment, or even each individual trip? Sounds like some rethinking needs to take place before another new troop is started and set up for possible failure.

Alright, so I'm not an adult but I'm going to chime in here as well: I have served as numerous positions in the troop over the last several years. Den Chief- was a lot of fun; quite a bit of responsibility for me at the time Patrol Leader- I don't remember much about being a patrol leader and I think part of the reason for that is that at that point, we weren't truly Boy-led so I didn't do much. Quartermaster- this was a lot of work and I tried so hard to stay organized. It didn't work out too well and we are still trying to keep organized. We need a system of doing gear inventory. ASPL- My term as ASPL kind of blends with my term as SPL. Our SPL at the time was not real active at that point. I believe he had already made Eagle and had moved on to other things. SPL- My term as SPL was awesome. I feel I learned quite a bit; not only about myself, but also the responsibilities needed for that type of position. JASM- This has been my favorite position of responsibility. I like to hang low and keep quiet and let the Scouts learn from their mistakes. I'm trying to be more of a leader than a boss. I am more of a behind-the-scenes type of person and don't like a lot of attention. I feel that me serving as a JASM is working great and I think the boys are really starting to listen when I say something. I'm pretty much acting as an advisor to the SPL and ASPL at this point as well as working to teach the newer boys camping skills; some of which are starting to get a little more advanced than what the older boys in the troop use.

Hey guys, I'm gonna hang out in the chat room and we are always welcoming new people to stop by and hang out for awhile; 5 minutes or a couple hours-- it doesn't matter. http://groups.msn.com/boyscouts/chatroom.msnw You have to have an MSN username, but that is easy enough to set up. It is currently 8:30 PM on Saturday night March 11.

Herms, those are both good points and I find that both of those ideas are sometimes difficult to put into words and describe all that well. I'll try explaining my train of thought.. -requesting rather than demanding. I feel that in many cases you are going to get more respect from a person if you were to request, ask, or politely tell them to do it rather than to order said individual around constantly. I have experienced this in Scouts as well as a few other situations. Of course, there are also a few instances in which demanding is required. I feel though that there are few and are normally far and wide in between. An example of that would be such as an accident or if there is a chance for an accident. "Slow down going down the hill" is such a case where I would "demand" instead of ask. -not acting superior Again, I feel you are going to get more respect if you, as a leader, feel more as a part of the team rather than an individual above the rest of the team. I know that being a leader is not always about being someone's friend. In the military, most enlisted would say that they hate their superior officers and that's not going to change anytime soon. The barking of orders and all sorts of yelling and such definitely don't make somebody feel all happy inside;) I would also consider the military to be totally different when it protocol and many leadership styles are going to be radically different. I'll find out in a couple years when I actually experience it. Right now, I'm just an outsider looking in so I really don't know:) I've got it narrowed down and divided up quite a bit and I'll post that afterwhile once I get some of the actual essay written. Thanks guys.

I do understand where you're coming from.. this thread is intended more as research than anything else. My information tells me I'm supposed to use personal interviews and examples, etc. I'm conducting an interview;) as best as doable online. Also, I wanted to make sure I had all the qualities of a leader so I could choose the ones that are Most Important rather than the ones I think of. Whatever:)

Thanks guys... not exactly what I was looking for;) but still advice is a good thing. Yeah Lisabob, I just looked at a research paper I had written about the Boy Scouts last semester and it only covered 3 items, but spanned nearly 1500 words! 200 words is going to be hard to get everything in there, yet not go over the 300. So, let me rephrase this: What do you guys think are the most important qualities? I have my list and I'll share tomorrow when I get it narrowed down enough. Let me know what you think please.

Hey guys, need a little assistance here. As many of you know, I am approaching scholarship and college admissions times. I'm working on my first scholarship essay. This is thru a program called the National Council for Youth Leaders. I was given 4 topics and I have to choose one and write a 2-3 hundred word essay on it. My chosen topic is this: "What qualities of leadership do you think are most important?" Here is some brainstorming I've done and some of my ideas so far. Any help would be great:) -setting goals -listening -requesting rather than demanding -leading by example -staying under control -not acting superior -positive, constructive criticism -not being a hypocrit -being chosen; not assumed -understanding the situation -accepting responsibility -being prepared (not just a connection to Scouting, but Scouting is where I was taught this quality) -able to explain decisions I have to come up with the most important and that is where I would request some help. I think they are all important, but listing all of them would be waaaaay to long and may be a little boring. Little backround for those who don't know: I am currently a Star Scout who has served as nearly every position in the Scout Troop. I have been through Junior Leader Training as well as through the Troop JLT. I currently serving as a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster after serving a term as SPL. I have been on staff at a National Jamboree. Also, I play catcher on the baseball field as well as held other leadership positions at school in clubs and such. I have the desire to serve this great nation and hope/intend to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point and become an officer in the U.S. Army.

Thank you for your service John. I am going to, however, respectfully disagree with you. The Woodland BDU, I feel is a not an item I would consider that, by wearing, would discredit or disrespect a Veteran. You have the experience as the Veteran and I do not therefore I am going to respect your opinion although I will disagree. I would, however, agree with your idea if one were to were a camouflage uniform item with rank, unit, or other type of identification on it. That, I feel, would be disrespectful. The Woodland BDU I feel is more of a commercial item than, say the MARPAT or ACU, and also is a more universal pattern used by many and not just the US Military. By stating that the Woodland BDU is only for the US Military and others wearing it would be disrespectful would be like saying that my Olive Drab BDU's would also be disrespectful for me to wear because somewhere out there, there is a police or sheriff's department that wears that uniform.

Within a year we won't have these problems of "imitating the military" because the Air Force is the only Branch that will still be wearing the Woodland BDU's which seem to be the most popular ones by other people including myself. Long, I think the netting probably serves to keep them from noticing movement. Like your eyes blinking or that kind of thing. Bow hunting (never done it personally, but do know a little bit about) I believe you have to get quite a bit closer than you do with a rifle or shotgun therefore they could notice little movements like that.

My most expensive pair of boots I've gotten were $35. So far, I have mainly bought work boots and they have worked just fine. I am at a point now where I could spend a little more on boots, but these work just fine. (Remember a Scout is thrifty). So far, the most expensive item I have bought was my backpack and it wasn't exactly too exspensive either at $100. Like was suggested, a membership to REI is a great idea. I like mine. Most of my higher-priced camping gear and climbing gear comes from and will continue to come from REI.

Here's a couple ways I fix this problem: A) If I type in scouter.com/forums/search.asp?action=today and it brings me to the search page... I click on the link "Today's Active Topics" and it normally works. B) Sometimes it will give me an "HTTP Internal Error" and say it can't be displayed. If that happens, I hit "refresh" up top in my browser and it normally works.

"It ain't rain; it's liquid sunshine!"

i believe that law was passed because it was considered racist because the entire purpose was to prevent African Americans from voting. This, in turn, continued to make them seem like second-class citizens with fewer rights than the Caucasions. I feel you should have to pass some sort of test. Even if it is a short one and very simple it will still prevent some from voting. Hey, maybe they should have to explain shortly why they vote for who. Anything but "He's Republican or He's Democrat" would qualify.

Alright, I'm gonna try giving the teenager's point of view: 1) If your kid knows anything about computers, the only way you will be able to babysit them is to have a program that tracks what they do. Doing that secretly doesn't seem to give them much trust. Example: it is extremely simple to clear the History of IE. Two clicks and it's done. 2) I see nothing wrong with parents looking at websites I visit. 3) I think if they are a teenager, having a computer in their room should not be a big deal. If you would have asked me two years ago, I wouldn't have said I'd have a computer in my room until college. Things have changed and I do now. My parents respect my privacy. They really don't have much reason to trust me and don't exactly have the capability to secretly spy on me. They don't know enough about computers to get onto my computer. I have it set up (with Windows XP) as having multiple user names. They have access to one--and it has no powers whatsoever. Why? Because they know very little about computers and I don't want them ruining my computer. I have to have a Guest account set up for them because our printer is now in my bedroom because our main computer's CD drive doesn't work properly. 4) Multiple computers can be good things. Right now there are 3 computers all running Windows XP Home in my house. They are all networked together. This was done by me. You know how you can set up Computer Admin accounts? I'm the Computer Admin at my house. My sister does what she wants on her computer, but the other two I am in charge of. 5) Most parents do not understand computers like kids do. Therefore, parents are not able to spy as easily unless they know what they are doing. My reply kind of goes back and forth, but I want to stress that parental supervision should be shown, but only to a certain point. I think that point has to be determined by the parents and the kids together. What works for my family might not work for yours, etc. Finally, would you want your kids reading your email? Then why do you need to be in theirs?