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Its Me

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Everything posted by Its Me

  1. I have gone to the teabag coffee made my Folgers and Maxwell House. Just add hot water or boil the bag in cup and drink. When done discard the teabag.
  2. Based on my "Why do we cross when we cross thread" it could be presumed that left on our own we (unit leaders) disappoint the BSA in getting scouts to first class in a timely manner. Thus cross the scouts in-mass and send them off to our council camps as soon as you can. "You all can tidy up the loose ends in the FCFY requirements. Can't ya?" says Texas. Process them by age, they should be well institutionalized by fifth grade and get them in the pipe line. Get'em get'em out. Am I being to harsh on the national folks?
  3. Thanks Barry for tying it together. But it makes sense, a National Policy to keep youths in as long as possible will emphasize first class first year. This creates a dependency on summer camps providing the FCFY program which in turn fills the coffers of the local councils with summer camp fees. But in order to get a scout to go to summer camp his first year of scouting he must cross early and experience the Troop environment (camping) to feel comfortable. Now my issue is that here in the deep south of Florida, March - May is our prime camping time. You can write off July - October as
  4. Hmmm! I am not quite getting the discussion focus I hoped for. Do we not set our annual planning calendars in September? I suspect that in general the unit programs escalates. For example, a canoe MB work precedes a canoe day trip which precedes a canoe overnighter. In a March cross over your program has to reset.
  5. Are there troops out there (cue echo machine) that cross in September to better align with the school calendar? (This message has been edited by Its Me)
  6. The US school calendar has been unchanged for a hundred years or more yet the BSA crosses Cubs to Boy Scouts 3-months before they complete a grade. If the program were set to cross in September we would be less dependent on summer camp to obtain all our Tenderfoot to First Class requirements. The change in time gives the cubs the opportunity complete their grade. The new boys would be better acquainted and better trained to go on adventure hikes during the summer. And summer camp would not be as imposing as it is now. To me it makes more sense to train the boys through the winter and t
  7. If you were a scout in my troop and came to me with this story I would expect the following: One hopefully I am aware enough to recognize the situation. Second I would advise you that you help to troop out where you can. If it means to some extent doing another guys job than do it. This exact scenario happens all the time in business and the adult world. Finally, I would give you a recognition maybe at a Court of honor or similar venue calling attention to your services. If your scoutmaster is not in-tune with the situation, still do what you can to help the troop and point out w
  8. I agree that spongeBob Square Pants would make a good scout. He is cheerful, loves camping, the C A M P F I R E S O N G, song attests to that. At Powedhorn we had a Native American group come out and demonstrate and discuss Native American cultures and themes with us. Privately I spoke to the two gentlemen about how I dressed as an Indian at the Webelos Arrow of Light. And I asked how he felt about that. he did not have a problem with that. he suggested that I recreated a Native America Indian in an authentic manner. He went on to advised me to research a particular Indian culture a
  9. Your description of the CM's performance was one of neglect or that of an uninspired leader. So if he lacks the inspiration for the position there is likely other circumstances. For instance, his spouse might be saying you are spending too much time or his kid might be asking him not to be CM. What ever it is he can't delivery the program. Leaders will come to fill in the gaps. Especially if you come in and hold meetings and stick to a solid annual plan. Handle it well and the bad feelings will heal over the summer. Besides its better to have one angry family than 39.
  10. At the end of the year, sack him. You will be doing both the pack and him a favor.
  11. Come to think of it, The Jungle Book is a rather manly book, isnt it? You might say to: Look for the bare necessities The simple bare necessities Forget about your worries and your strife I mean the bare necessities That's why a bear can rest at ease With just the bare necessities of life
  12. I kind of like the simplicity of this forum. I don't want to see some character you down loaded from a site unknown on the left hand side. Of course this picture of a stalking tiger or cat with a machine gun or even a beagel with hat somehow represents your personality. Pleeease!(rolleyes) Nor do I want multiple replies with quotes that you need a road map to unwind. The only thing that would be nice would be the ability to hot link photos. But getting all the garbage with that "feature" isn't worth it. Go here http://images.fotosearch.com/bigcomps/corbis/DGT179/HTR0005.jp
  13. I send out emails as needed. Sometimes this is three in a week if we have big campout coming. Other times its one in two weeks. At PLC meeting we review what will occur between now and the next meeting and the PLC meeting and notes are published to all. Phone calls to the entire troop are very rare. Troop letters are even more rare. Its emails and verbals to the scouts and parents. As any working leader does, I like to fix program and procedure problems when there is a need. But one irate parent who missed a single notification does not mean your whole communication program must b
  14. Their annual review is ok. Most of their stuff, as you said is high end and out of reach for most scouts. I wouldn't base a training event on this magazine's gear review. Better to briefly show it and then use the online review sites. Epinions, is one that comes to mind. There are many and even most of the online stores I know Cabellas and REI have gear reviews or customer comments. I like this one as they do an in-depth review. http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Packs/Internal%20and%20External%20Framed%20Backpacks/
  15. It may not rise to a Cope course but shared experiences have a lot of value too. Visiting a boat repair yard, or a make up an indoor canoe race using skate boards. Do a rain gutter regatta. Not challenging enough have an unlimited class, have them work in teams. Think teams, tactile experiences and competitions.
  16. Please don't focus on my statement. It wasn't meant to be argumentative. It was a written way to express a shaking head in disbelief. What the original poster wants to know is how can his boy and his family return to scouting after an experience as bad as this one. The answer is I don't know.
  17. What a shame. I dread the day when our Troop faces a similar unit killing, adult drama story. Not to take anything away from the cub scout program but from an adult leadership position the Pack should have less drama than a troop. The CC and CM run a show once month and help set-up a calendar for the year. All the ranks are approved and completed at the den level. A tad over simplified I'll admit. If you are getting the ranks and badges on time, holding a blue and gold every year and have den leaders for every rank you are doing your mission. And it sound like you are doing all thes
  18. Yes we need more threads about Bob White. Even though almost all threads turn into "Bob White" threads, it just isn't enough. Maybe the moderators can start a new Form the "All About Bob" forum. Bob White, look at your record since you have returned. In the who is the SPL in charge of, thread it turned into a "this is about Bob white and what he said" thread. In the first class first year, thread the same thing occurred. The school or not a school thread again turned into an all about Bob White and what he said or didn't say. Yea you are the victim, the victim of your own ne
  19. ..you have been selected to participate in a conference at the Philmonmt Training Center..... Is this a true honor or more like a new credit card application? Is it worth going to?
  20. Wow! did you hit a nerve with this one Bev. Clearly it is a school to some of these men. A school for what? Character development? No. To these men it is a professional development course. This can be seen in BW's earlier posts where he wanted 90 minutes of training for a new scout patrol. Every aspect every second is designed not for the mere amusement. Not for the glorious celebration of childhood comoraderie but for programed school activities. Yawn! I'll use BW other example of the video games. These games are like the scouting program, they are complex and the skills build on each other.
  21. BW Wrote There are variety of better ways than either of the methods we are offered in the opening post. I'll bite, post one here that is mutually exclusive to the two methods Bev posted.
  22. That is terrific. The troop is getting a well trained scoutmaster.
  23. All moderators should have a tag line under their ID to identify them as moderators. Most forums have this and I am surprised that this one does not. I am not sure that posters who drive threads to near double digit pages on the tiniest of interpretations is considered bad for a site that sells advertising. I will say that these are bad discussions meant only to validate the agitator's need for approval. The agitator argues not to win a point but to validate that he and not you is the superior scout leader. He appears to be looking for the approval of a few key members on the boar
  24. I find it hard to believe that a well run 52 week program would come crumbling down because of less than perfect week at summer camp.
  25. Its way too early to be picking positions. I started a troop in October of 2007. Since you have a willing CO that issue is negated. Next step, how much money will they front you for patrol boxes, a troop flag and (sigh!) a trailer. You can limp along with out these for a while but the first few months will have fundraisers in them. I agree with focusing on summer camp and a program calendar. With out six months of planned outings the sweet 16 will not all come. Without a summer camp spot reserved they will not all come either. Sit down with the webelos leadership and pick out
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