janssenil

Hmmmm, I don't know...after reading these posts it appears to me that we already have A LOT of odd ducks in scouting. :-)

Hmmmm, I don't know...after reading these posts it appears to me that we already have A LOT of odd ducks in scouting. :-)

Sorry, I don't mean to keep the argument going, but you can't compare the danger of a shotgun, bow and arrow or rifle to a cell phone. Shotguns, rifles and bows & arrows can cause physical harm so, although, I'll go for the idea of a confiscating cellphones if they are causing disruptions, in my opinion you can't compare those weapons to cell phones unless you are comparing the need for teaching boys to handle both of them properly and with respect.

Good points! Actually I'm glad to hear the comment about having to do these things while on a campout. That sort of explains how those things relate to camping. On the other hand, it makes the badge even harder to earn! It also makes me feel better about the SM not allowing the rappeling (athough I'm not sure that's his reasoning). To answer the question about the SM and MB counselor, in this case the SM has kind of stepped in because our MB counselor isn't as available as he used to be and everyone was getting frustrated not knowing who to report to. It is not an ideal situation, f

Hi - hey I see several camping badge counselors out there so can I take this opportunity to ask about a couple of other camping badge requirement? My son has completed all the requirments for this badge except part of 9b. For that requirment he must do 2 of the following: Hike up a mountain, gaining at least 2,000 vertical feet. Backpack for at least four miles. Take a bike trip of at least 15 miles or at least four hours. Plan and carry out a float trip of at least four hours. Rappel down a rappel route of 30 feet or more. He has taken the bike trip and he has rappe

Thank you all for the good input! I knew I could count on this forum for advice. Keep those commments coming. JerseyJohn, you asked what our fundraiser is...we just got Council approval tonight so I guess it's official. We're planning a Bike tour and are inviting bike clubs throughout the State to join us. We have multiple routes so Scouts can work on their Cycling Merit badge and campout, too. We'll be selling food and T-shirts. We're going to have everyone try to "spot" several points of interest and answer trivia questions along the route. This is a somewhat historic county so th

Has anybody thought to thank those parents? Maybe it would generate a conversation and put to rest some of the concerns or speculation. Any way you look at it, your Pack is reaping benefits. IMHO, it's hard to believe that parents would go into that kind of debt, not to mention the work of reselling or gifting, just to get their child's name mentioned. You just might be overlooking a great resource.

Hi, I posted this/similar topic under the Patrol Method forum, but realized it probably belongs here. We're planning a big fundraiser from which we hope to earn a pretty good profit. We, also, plan to start up Scout accounts and want to come up with a fair and wise way to divvy up some of the profits to each scout. Do any of you have ideas or experience - what works and what doesn't? Any lessons learned? Do you have restrictions on how they can spend money in their accounts? Any forumula that your troop uses to determine how much each scout should receive? We sure would apprec

Hi, Our troop is planning a fundraiser from which we hope to earn quite a bit of profit. We also plan to start Scout Accounts and would like to hear from other troops on how they determine how to divvy up some of those profits amongst the scouts. Any rules? Any lessons learned? Can they spend the profits on anything or restricted to summer camp payments and camping fees? Did each scout receive a percentage based on the number of hours worked? Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks!

Any suggestions for keeping track of individual accounts for each boy? Is there a downloadable spreadsheet already setup for this kind of thing. I don't want to reinvent the wheel if I don't have to (especially since I'm a beginner at Excel). I'd like to keep good records as we initiate this kind of thing, but don't know where to begin.

600 miles is a long way to travel for a visit. Three Scouts have gotten lost in the past 2 years, all of which had parents and/or leaders very nearby, but no cellphone of their own. One still has not been found. One was rescued by a 4 wheeler with a cellphone.

evmori, Will you please give me a break or at least read my posts all the way through before needling me? What you are reading between the lines is incorrect and it's beginning to feel petty. It was tucked in his fanny pack which was filled with emergency preparedness items which would also have gotten lost as could 2 dozen other items brought to camp like cameras and clothing. But m biggest point is, is that it didn't get lost and, as I said in my first post, we, as parents, were aware of the risk and considered it our hard luck if it were lost, stolen or drowned in the lake

It seems like some of the people on this forum don't really read the posts before responding. No, I didn't say I wouldn't send my son to camp without a cell phone nor did I say I wouldn't send him if he couldn't bring his cell phone. I did say I would be very upset if there were hardfast rules that he couldn't bring his cell phone. As it turned out, his unit was suppose to leave all electronic devices on the bus, but they were targeting gameboys, etc., versus cell phones. My son's cell phone is a very weird one with a display that is a half inch wide and doesn't have any games on it

scoutldr The world has changed in many ways, not the least of which is the number of volunteers who are available and trained. And, as far as calling home, maybe your Mom didn't care if you called so it wasn't an issue for you.

My 12 y/o son is at camp several States away in the mountains as we 'speak.' Just before he left I started getting a little nervous even though his Dad has accompanied him so I packed a little fanny pack for him and his bestfriend. I included waterproof matches, a whistle with a compass, an emergency blanket, firesticks along with several other things AND his CELL PHONE. I am much relieved because of it. Things happen no matter how careful the adult leaders try to be! We try to teach our kids to be independent and responsible, but along with doing that, there are risks. Of course, I also ho

Hey, thanks! I like both of those ideas. If my computer will stop rebooting itself long enough, I'd like to try the photo presentation.

I'm looking for some good, unique ideas for a Flag Ceremony for our Blue & Gold. I have 5 Webelos who will be doing it for the last time as Cub Scouts so I'm hoping to find something that they'll find interesting. Thanks for any ideas!

Also, State Farm Insurance Agents can get materials to put on bike rodeos, but I'm told they need to plan far in advance for it and tend to like to involve big communities.

Hi, I, too, have searched high & low for some plans I printed out a couple of months ago and I can't find them anywhere now! I gave them to a Den Leader who agreed to build a bridge so can't look for a website address on them, but, THE GOOD NEWS is that I found an even better bridge at this website: http://www.users.qwest.net/~rbhollis/scout_bridge.html#Detailed%20Pictures I wish I'd give these plans to our bridge builder! I love the idea of the Scout Oath!

Hi, I just wanted to add a couple of comments since I just arranged two visits to two different Troops for my Webelos. A. Ask the Troop to mention the upcoming visit to the Patrol leaders or all the Boy Scouts so they know younger boys are coming. The second Troop we visited didn't know why the Webelos were there and ignored them for quite awhile. B. Ask the Boy Scouts not to refer to them as little boys or anything similar. One of the Troops we visited was a great, very active Troop, but our Webelos were turned off because they treated them like little kids. My Webelos were muc

Thought I'd let you know how things turned out... Unfortunately, Cubmaster Dad did quit. We really tried to convince him he would still spend a lot of time with his son, but I think he felt like we stabbed him in the back. I've apologized to him several times because it is really sad. He did do many things to help our Pack out. On the other hand, I do remind myself that the problem is really his and his Ex and I have no power over that. We couldn't start a new Den because the attendance at both Dens has dropped to 5 or 6 boys. (We probably should have put the cousin and Joe in one by th

Hi NJ, You may think I'm overreacting and, I assume, you really meant no malice, but when you (or anyone) refer to things like ADHD (Attention Deficicit Hyperactivity Disorder) as 'one of the alphabet soup conditions' it breaks my heart because it sounds so callous. You may not take the condition seriously or, like many people, think it's an excuse for bad behavior, but I understand it all too well. Most of the time, I'm very proud of the strides he makes which do not always seem like much to others. Thanks for considering my comment, A Mother of a child with ADHD and Webelo II

Thanks!! I, too, particularly enjoyed Twocubdad's advice and REALLY wish I could practice it!! So now that we have our priorities straight and begin to soley focus on having having enough leaders to deliver a quality program to the boys in our community, we're still left in a very precarious position - We're going to loose our Cub Master. That in itself could fold the entire Pack, but in addition to that my husband and I are parents of a Webelo II so come December, husband passes the torch then come February I move on, also. The new Committee Chair, due to many other committments (he

We've got a very touchy situation brewing in our Pack and really are having a hard time finding the right resolution. We're a small Pack that has had a hard time filling all positions. Right now my husband who is the Committe Chair is filling in as Cub Master because our Cub Master had to quit as of June (he moved). Since that time the Den Leader for our Tiger Cubs stepped up to become Cub Master officially beginning in December. He's divorced and his wife has full custody of his son. After a little coaxing on our part, he decided to step up to the position because he found it to be a

Good question; I wondered how that should work - sounds like you're going to be a good, conscientious Webelo leader (even if you didn't capitalize :-)). It would be nice to have parents as interested.