Stosh

I think Shakespear said it best: "Much ado about nothing." Why don't they have make-up sections at Walmart for boys? Why don't they have iPods for grandparents? 3-piece suits for toddlers? Marketing always was and always will be specific to different ethnic groups, genders, and ages. There is no way high heeled shoes manufactured, advertised and sold specifically for females offends me in any way. I probably won't look very good in a plunging neckline dress either, but they advertise them pretty much exclusively for women as well. If someone wants to market a book for boys, wh

"In a new troop that training comes from the Scoutmaster. He must train the youth leaders and then monitor and mentor those youth leaders as they train the younger Scouts." With all due respect, I beg to disagree with your assessment of my comments. Since when is education and training not part of essential support? That is exactly what I proposed. The patrol does the work and is supported by the PLC and adult corps of leaders. I would find it rather ridiculous to think the SPL would be able to teach the PL/APL without having been trained by someone. In this case the SM's responsibil

Here's the whole picture. Webelos are the transition years from Cubs to Boys. If during these two important years they are continued to be "cared for" and never given the opportunity to do it on their own, they will miss out on one of the most important aspects of the Webelos program. The gears shift and the adult leadership begins the process of the boys taking leadership opportunities and the fate of their own decisions and actions into their own hands. If a boy makes a lousy slide, so what, at least he made it. Anytime something gets handed to them without any personal investment i

Patrol Method is not something that just appears out of the sky blue. It is something that is created. If the troop is young, it takes quite a bit of "adult intervention" to make this happen. No one can follow a goal if they don't know what it is. This might also apply in a situation where the troop is going to relearn the PM because it hasn't been traditionally done in the troop. First of all, the #1 assumption on the part of all adults is that they are going to be working themselves out of a job. Then clarify the goal of PM to the boys and begin the training process. For the S

Our honor patrol makes their own Turk's Head woggles. It takes about 10 minutes and when they lose it, they can replace with another 2' piece of parachute cord in about 10 mintues. The nice thing about it is one doesn't have to rubber band the neckerchief, tie knots in it an do all sorts of strange things to keep from losing the slide. If they lose it, just make a new one. White cord is the color of their patrol woggle that goes with their patrol neckerchief.

This shouldn't be that difficult to figure out. 1) use the 2nd & 1st class requirements out of the Scout HB as the basis for your instruction. It is very basic, interesting and the boys are fascinated by the new info. Webelos I've used it with are always interested, especially when the maps come out of the area you are in. Topo's can be gotten off the internet for anywhere in the US. Download and print off. 2) Buy a nice compass the first time. Buying a junk compass for $5 and then having to buy another later on at $10 means the scout has invested $15 in a $10 compass. Get

The tradition is: do what you want. There is no such thing as "Right hand salute", there is no such thing as "Scouts Salute", there is no such thing as "Square off to the flag", there is no such thing as "Retreat the colors", there is no such thing as "Too/Tu/2/Two/To". If one were to do it right, no one would know what is going on. Back in the 1970's the BSA was trying desparately to distance themselves from the military and so they began to make up stuff along the way. Some of the traditions are still with us, but just because it's tradition doesn't make it correct. Scouts have

Because no one ahderes to the Flag Code anymore, it's pretty much do as you wish with the flag. The scouts don't follow military protocol and make up their own rules at they go along anyway. Because of this, 1) the boys never learn any consistancy, 2) they adopted whatever custom they are familiar with, and 3) never know what the Code really says. Unless there are some local traditions, everyone pretty much does what they wish with the courtesy to the Flag. If one were to actually read the original Code, they would be VERY surprised with what was originally intended and wha

Ok, I'm going to take a lot of heat on this one, but there are specific differences between the leadership of men and women. Women tend to be more organized, caring and nurturing. If that be the goal of your organization, get women involved. Men tend to be more spontaneous, agressive and adventuresome. If that be the goal, get the men involved. There's nothing that says it can't be blended goals as well. But the expectations and goals will definitely vary. As a scout grows it is imperative to realize that the drive behind his progress will vary on the the male/female sup

I dropped back into Cubbing to work on my Woodbadge ticket. I was working on the Webelos/Boy Scout transition process. I enjoyed the process so well I did a second year, then stayed on for a few more years and worked on Webelos adult training to pass on what I had learned. Those were great years, had a good time doing it. Then the council got me going on Venturing and I moved on to another interest. Still none of these "changes" were motivated by having a boy in any of the programs.

I guess I'll take a stab at it. My point of view is: No man is an island. In order for anyone to function in this world, they are in need of some sort of support group(s). Be it family, friends, school, organizations, or whatever. The basic core where one learns these dynamics of community is family. For the most part, this "support group" family doesn't exist anymore. Every couple standing at the altar/before the Justice of the Peace, has better odds flipping a coin of being together in 5 years than the odds of the current divorce rate. With that being said, where does com

Yep, but that's not the problem. 1) Your boy will be going on into Boy Scouts and developing independence as he grows to maturity. Does he really want you to be tagging along? Even if you do, you will need to step back and let him grow. 2) You reall enjoy the Cubs. Stick with them. When my son dropped out of scouts (at Star rank) he was surprised I didn't drop out as well. Surprise! I wasn't in it for him. 10 years later, I'm still here. I also started a Venturing Crew that my daughter was part of for a couple of years, but dropped out 3 years ago. Not a problem. Go whe

I would think the #1 reason you were picked to "judge" was because the pack wished to have some great interaction between the younger and older boys. Judging, praising, working with the boys, etc. all go well for developing relationships with these impressionable young boys and somewhere down the road, one or two of the boys will remember the great day they had with the Sea Scouts, they just may sign up. This sounds like a fantastic two-way street for everyone concerned. Have a great day with the Cubs!!! Stosh

If one works at it long enough, they ought to be able to justify just about any action, decision, or rule-breaking they might wish to do. Just because it's possible, doesn't mean it's correct.

If one gets involved in discussions with national, one will quickly find that they are very cooperative and willing to review the "rules" to accommodate individual situations. While our Venturing Crew does not conform to explicit BSA rules, it does comply to an even greater extent to the rules of the hobby in which the crew operates. To try and comply with both sets of rules would be impossible. With this however being said, it took 3-4 years of dialogue to come to this consensus. Stosh

A scout is trustworthy.... How would anyone ever expect these scouts to ever get to tenderfoot when things like this happen? Obviously the Scout Law means nothing to these people. We've had our share of people stiff us for varying amounts of money and equipment. Small claims court and lawyer letters have gone a long way to help out with these kinds of problems. Stosh

As far as the religious knot is concerned, it can be earned repeatedly. The little device that indicates the level at which the award was earned can be done for each level of scouting. That means when the boy earns the knot as a cub, he puts the cub device on the knot. He can then re-earn it at the next higher level with the appropriate program for that age group and put a boy scout device on, etc. As an adult, the scouter who earned the award as a boy does not put the adult knot on. He retains his youth knot with devices. Stosh

Depending on your situation one pack/one troop, well liked effective DC, etc.: If you have a Webelos den with a well liked Den Chief, he may wish to "say good-bye" to his den and thank them for a good cubbing experience, walk over to the other side, and "say hello" as their new PL or TG who then introduces each one to the SM and troop. Stosh

I know those to be myths because no two scout camps have the same rules when it comes to knives. As far as the toten chit, I don't buy into the 4 corner myth thingy. I've confiscated a knife and tore up the toten chit on the first offense if it was severe enough. Obviously the scout wasn't paying attention during the instruction. Stosh

After reading how dumb my logic was, I'll clarify. Full handled shovel is included in the wood tools at camp, NOT included in the tools that are banned. Saw and shovel comprise the Fire Guard. I need a proof reader. I would also agree that saws are far worse than axes. I've never been hurt with axe or hatchet, but been nicked numerous times with a saw. And how does one embed a hatchet in the leg? Axe maybe, but a hatchet? Stosh

It might do well to discuss the whole issue of wood tools as well as the pocket knife. Our local camp has done away with the axe and has restricted wood cutting to just buck saws. Full handled shovels are also included. What other tools would be useful? We have found that a small miltary trenching tool works well for moving coals around when Dutch oven cooking. A very sharp and axe (hatchet) can make kindling a lot faster, easier and safer than a pocket knife. I find that a sheath knife fits the bill far better than a pocket knife when it comes to safe-food handling

As I stated in my original post, "The length of blade most often is determined by state and local laws, not BSA policy. Generally speaking a pocket knife can have a blade of 2.5" or shorter in length to be legally carried concealed in the pocket." If memory serves me correctly this was federal guidelines for all air travel before 9/11. Now, with the introduction of such folding knives such as buck knives and Leatherman tools with knife blades that exceed the 2.5" length, they come with a belt sheath and are not considered POCKET KNIVES and thus should be carried, exposed to view in the sheat

The length of blade most often is determined by state and local laws, not BSA policy. Generally speaking a pocket knife can have a blade of 2.5" or shorter in length to be legally carried concealed in the pocket. Sheath knives are legal as long as they are carried in the open. If one is wearing their Jac coat and it conceals the knife, it is not legal. If one is driving in the car, it would be wise to remove the knife and display it on the dashboard in plain view while driving. The BSA Knife Police might be more demanding than the real police, but the real guys can carry more weight behin

Never said we had 12 year olds registered as Venturers. I stated: "There are not many organizations where a 12-14 year old can be viewed as an equal with an adult, and in some cases, stand superior." The generality "many organizations" was selected rather than "Venturing" for a reason. I can assure you that most venturing crews are NOT viewed as an equal with an adult. For those who are unaware of the reenacting world, it is a family oriented hobby. People of all ages are involved, including infants. We as a Venturing Crew do a military impression of the Civil War period. Ou

Like Sea Scouting, our crew has little or nothing to do with other BSA crews. They have a by-law and SOP papers drawn up, but they do not follow the BSA outlined program, nor do they work on advancement. What they do they do way beyond the expectations of the area of interest they are involved with, they are totally dedicated to the program and basically ignore the offerings of the BSA. The recognition they have garnered is the accolades of adults they work with and rub elbows with. There are not many organizations where a 12-14 year old can be viewed as an equal with an adult, and in som