Hunt

I've seen both ends of this--in my son's pack, I wasn't aware that there was such a thing as a COR. But the troop's COR is a former Scoutmaster and easily meets Bob White's six criteria (and more). I think one problem with the pack's CO was that it was a PTA, which has a pretty short-term membership. The pack got a little more attention when one of the PTA leaders had a boy in the pack, but there wasn't much involvement.

It seems to me that a CO that already sponsors a troop might also want to sponsor a crew so it can offer the program to both boys and girls. It also seems to me that some boys might be interested in remaining active in the troop, but might prefer to do high adventure activities in a co-ed group.

I'm not aware that the government gives any money to private religious-based colleges, aside from the student loans that go directly to students. Even those can be controversial, of course--students at Bob Jones University can't get those loans because of the school's prohibition of interacial dating (last I heard, anyway). The truth is, there aren't that many current cases of government benefits being extended to religious organizations--at least until the current administration's faith-based initiative. I suspect the reason that BSA has continued to receive such benefits is that the publi

It may be an exercise in futility, but I continue to believe that this issue can actually be discussed. 1. Does BSA discriminate against atheists? Yes, because they can't join. 2. Is BSA intolerant of atheists? No. Simply thinking you're right about something and that somebody else is wrong doesn't make you intolerant. Intolerance implies action to restrict, harm, or harass the other group. BSA doesn't do that--it simply restricts its membership to like-minded people, and that isn't intolerance. (If the Perry Como Fan Club requires you to sign a pledge that you love Perry in order to

It seems to me that there is a "critical mass" troop size, and that if your troop drops below it, you will have difficulty doing activities, getting enough adults, etc. I'm not sure what that size is, but I think 8 or 9 is probably pretty close. My son's pack dropped below critical mass, and it "de facto" merged with another pack that also had low numbers. The district pushed us pretty hard not to dissolve the pack, but to pretend that there were really two separate packs. Maybe merging was a step back in terms of "spreading the program," but it was a step forward for the boys in the two p

I quit my troop after about 18 months when it stopped being fun. I had enjoyed summer camp and a number of outings, but for some reason the tone of the troop changed and the meetings became much more regimented, with uniform inspections, standing at attention, etc.--the fun just went out of it.

The BSA has religion-based restrictions on membership. In that respect, it clearly "discriminates" against atheists who might want to join. I would argue that it is not "intolerant" as long as it takes no steps to prevent atheists from enjoying their freedoms and doesn't harass them in any way. It also discriminates against gays, and may arguably be "intolerant" toward them since it considers them to be not "morally straight" and not appropriate role models for Scouts. But those are just labels--really, you either agree with BSA on those issues or you don't. BSA is also "intolerant" of c

Who would have ever thought that it would be a relief to get back on THIS topic? Here's a thought experiment: Imagine that the United Methodist Church decides, through its internal policies, to change its position on whether homosexual behavior is contrary to Christian morals, and decides that it's now OK. Furthermore, the Church decides that it will not discriminate based on sexual orientation. If this happened, would it be surprising if the church decided that it would no longer serve as the CO for BSA organizations? You could disagree with the church's underlying decision (as I would

My son read a large number of Star Wars books--there are various series aimed at different age groups. They aren't high-quality literature, but they are adventure-oriented. Although I have nostalgia for the Hardy Boys and the like, in reality they aren't high-quality literature either.

I really disapprove of the idea that the requirements book should trump the most recently published MB pamphlet. The pamphlet contains a lot more than just the requirements, and should be the basic tool for both the Scout and the advisor to understand what the badge is all about. In short, I don't think they should change MB requirements at all until the new pamphlet is published (unless there is some safety or other urgent reason, of course).

This just happened to me last week. A boy really wanted to finish his Tenderfoot requirements before the Court of Honor on Thursday. He did, and we convened a special Board of Review on Wednesday night. It wasn't convenient for me to make it to the Scout Store on Thursday, so we presented a badge we found in stock--and I turned in the paperwork on Friday. But delaying handing in the paperwork can be a problem too--we had a boy who had his Life Board of Review at summer camp, and no form was filled out. Get the paperwork straightened out months later was a challenge.

I just don't see this claimed feminization in our culture. Our popular culture still elevates the macho guy who solves problems with fists and guns. A guy like Donald Trump is still a hero. There's nothing feminized about people like Eminem--heroes to many youth. In fact, one thing I like about Boy Scouts is that it offers an alternative to that idea of what is "manly"--self-reliance, virtue, teamwork. I also have to scoff a bit at the idea that female leaders are feminizing scouting--the women who get involved are hardly teaching the boys to make lace doilies--in fact, they tend to be wo

It is perfectly legitimate to ask why BSA has a policy against Cubs camping as a den. Bob White essentially gave two answers for why this is:(1) camping is intended to be a pack event at this age and (2) a full understanding of the reasons for the policy can only be gleaned by undergoing full training. But it seems clear to me that there must be a perceived safety issue, since BSA makes a point of saying that insurance will not cover den campouts. That alone is reason enough not to do den camping, but it's not really a rationale. (Note: it would also be perfectly OK to say, "I don't know t

I rest my case. Wheeler's a troll. I won't be responding to any more of his nonsense, and I suggest others do the same so he'll get bored and go bother people on some other forum.

As I've noted elsewhere, I'm just starting as advancement chair in my son's troop, but I have a couple of observations: 1. I agree that it would be best if boys would call up advisers without much prompting, but it's hard for many of them to do this--and our current culture with its fear of strangers doesn't help. I suspect this is part of why many troops work to develop advisors within the troop, at least for required and popular merit badges. 2. Some merit badges are probably easier to advise if a group of scouts is gathered. For example, the First Aid merit badge requires access to

Here's a link to somebody who did a pretty thorough job of this: http://www.usscouts.org/advance/docs/MrDsReview.html

Your whole tirade began with a discussion of what a Greek word translated as "effeminate" in the KJV means. We all KNOW what effeminate means in English. Your quotation of an English dictionary was beside the point and a waste of time. Let me be as kind and as helpful as possible: can you make a cogent argument about how the current BSA program feminizes boys, and how it should be changed? The number of times the Handbook uses "man" is not probative of this. What manly virtues are not being taught? What feminine virtues are being taught in their place? Can you set out such an argume

I've just assumed the advancement duties for my son's troop, and would appreciate some tips for how to do it right. Here are some particular questions: (1) What's the best way of keeping records? We currently have a combination of paper records (not in great shape) and Troopmaster files. (2) Is it OK or a good idea to ask each boy to sit down with me to verify his records and to talk about his advancement plans--or does that encroach on the SM's role? (3) What's a good format for a non-Eagle Court of Honor? Historically they've been pretty casual in the troop. (4) Anything else? Thanks!

I don't think Scouting is a "youth movement." I don't think it's a movement at all, because it's an institution. The Dean campaign in its early days was a movement; the Democratic National Committee is an institution. But what's wrong with the fact that Scouting isn't a youth movement? Well, if it's no longer a movement, maybe it's no longer fresh, maybe it's out of touch with the passion that started it, etc. All probably true, but probably inevitable when a movement matures into an istitution--look at any religious denomination and you'll find the same thing. One advantage scouting

Do you think spending so much time in the library reading the dictionary is a masculine pursuit?

I want to thank Rooster for demonstrating that a Scout is Helpful by making a cogent statement of what I think Wheeler is trying to say: that there are differences between boys and girls that make it beneficial for boys to be mentored by men rather than women. This is certainly a point worth discussing--and Rooster also does a good job of pointing out that it has nothing to do with the dedication of women leaders. Do I agree with the conclusion? To an extent, I do. I think it does help boys to have positive male role models. I think that can be adequately provided, however, in a troop wit

Um, yeah, we should care what modern scholars think, because knowledge advances. This is just as true in understanding of ancient languages as it is in other areas of knowledge. I suppose you can insist on believing in Newtonian physics, or a flat earth, or whatever you want. Now modern scholars can be wrong, and they often disagree--but when even opposing schools of though agree that the old ideas are wrong, then the old ideas probably are wrong.

I agree that tone is important--children can distinguish jokey, outrageous threats from real ones. My son knows that if I say, "Do that again and I'll pound you mercilessly," I am joking--but if I say, "Do that again and there will be no PlayStation for a week," I'm serious. He knows I would never pound him mercilessly--just like the scouts presumably know their SM is not going to kill them. All that being said, you have to watch what you say to other people's children, and this goes over the line. (But ask yourself which of the following would actually be more hurtful to a scout: "If you

I think you have to look at more than whether a merit badge is "hard" or not. I think you should look at a couple of criteria, such as (1) can all the requirements be done in a short period of time (ie, a single Merit Badge day)? (2)Can it easily be done at camp? (3) does it require access to resources that may be difficult to find? (4)does it require mastery of a skill that not every boy will be able to do? So, for example, I wouldn't necessarily consider Camping to be "hard", but it takes a lot of time because of all the camping you have to do. "Hiking" is harder because of the length of

When somebody says that "college degrees aren't worth the paper they're printed on," you can be pretty sure he doesn't have one--and that he hasn't experienced a decent education. I have a relative who was always smarter and more knowledgeable than all his teachers--according to him--and his bad grades were due to their jealously of him. By the way, Ayn Rand's philosophy--based on total self-interest and contempt for altruism--is completely antithetical to the Scout Law. She was also an atheist. (Also an idiot and a lousy writer--but that part's just my opinion.)