jhankins

What are your thoughts on hosting basic adult leader training at Round Table? My district committee is entertaining requesting that Round Table host Youth protection, cub scout, boy scout, varsity and venturing specific training as break-out sessions, with the IOLS campout held twice a year for those who need to finish.

Tying boys and leaders to a chart that's based on hinky numbers (as Eagle92 mentioned already) just creates more problems.

What about the boy who does his best, hikes as best he can, exercises as well and as often as he can, yet still doesn't meet your chart -- he's going to be denied Eagle because he doesn't meet your standards for height and weight measurements? I'm sorry, that's just ridiculous to me.

The health initiative and some of the comments here fail to consider environmental and medical issues that have begun to plague children and families. If an autistic child doesn't fall in the healthy weight category, he can't be an Eagle? If a boy that has rheumatoid arthritis requiring daily steroids has no bone mass and constantly gains weight due to excess steroids, he can't be an Eagle?

I'm all for a National leader who can get kids off the couch, but I refuse to disqualify children based upon health considerations and assuming that if a child is not of an "ideal weight" his parents feed him wrong or he's just "lazy."

Thank you for sharing this! It sounds like your boy "gets it."

Merry Christmas!

That's the pipe dream, to be sure.

I was driving 3k a month in my travels. It's an awful lot of windshield time where I'd try and conduct business while driving. It didn't always work, but it was almost a necessity.

Meaning no disrespect, I send a happy Merry Chrismakwanzukkah to you all, and a happy new year!

80 was the number National tossed out two years ago. I don't know if it's changed or not since then. The pipe dream is that you actually have unit-serving executives and the middle management to work on the details while the unit-serving pro's learn the ropes.

I'm surprised promoting day camp and other outdoor activities wasn't discussed. The more outdoor activities and opportunities cubs use, the more likely they are to enjoy the outdoor classroom of Boy Scouts.

Ideally, in the perfect world, districts have 80 or so units, with a full professional staff of a district director, senior district executive, and an entrance level district executive.

The district director becomes your middle management and should be providing oversight and a general vision for the district in conjunction with their chairman and commissioner.

In reality, many councils have been giving this title and promotion for now, while money isn't always readily available.

Where's the best place to find the earlier fieldbooks? My son adores the Fieldbook and has read the cover off mine the past year, and read the original Scouting for Boys in its new edition. I think he'd love to see how scoutcraft has evolved.

There may be an underlying issue she's not able/willing to discuss at this point. Talk with her, ask how you can help out her family. Sometimes what's not being said is more important than what you're seeing.

Thank you for all the wonderful ideas! This thread is great.

A staff who lollygags and wastes their participant's time is doing no good for the reputation of Wood Badge, let alone their own reputations.

I can assure you that your experience is not universal.

Is it cult-like? Sure, but so is Scouting itself in the view of many.

Does it perpetuate the good old boy network? It can depending on the culture of the people involved. If run according to the policies set forth and what the course director pledges to do, it shouldn't. In my council, we strongly stress the 30% new staffer recommendation, and that brings with itself a new feel and a new group of people who have benefited from the material.

I am curious how the curriculum of Wood Badge takes away from Scouting. I've not heard that argument before.

Them vs US culture? I guarantee there's nothing in the syllabus (save the Game of Life) that could even be represented as that mentality. If the staff follows the Staff Guide and treats the course as a "Real Troop 1" the course becomes what the participants want out of it, just as the leaders of a troop become what their boys need. If that didn't happen on your course, there's really no excuse for it.

Communication isn't useful? Learning to relate to the boys on every level isn't useful? The games didn't provide you real life experience to take back to your youth? You didn't feel the benefit of being in the shoes of a patrol leader and having to lead a group of fellow volunteers? You didn't have any fun with a purpose?

Congratulations! It sounds like you had a marvelous run. The boys you helped grow into maturity will remember you fondly.

It depends on your teacher, which song is taught first. I started with a practice chanter for fingers for a year before I even picked up a set of pipes. Scotland the Brave came after a few shepherding songs and light melodies before we even got to Amazing Grace. Scotland the Brave was one of the last before I picked up a set of pipes.

You'll have to add some serious doublings to make that work! Let us know how it goes!

From a former pro:

Before you consider any new DE, take a hard look at your district with the District Self-Evaluation tool. Find out exactly where you are at. Look at the Journey to Excellence criteria and find out what you want/need to do for the coming year to be where you as a Key 3 want to be.

Then look to the applicants with an eye towards those goals.

Sales and marketing are a big plus. Selling the morals and values of scouting is an intangible project You have to have the buy-in of the community (outside sales) and the units (inside sales).

Be sure the person you're looking at works THROUGH the volunteers and not over them. You're looking for a collaborative person. They need to understand their role in the district as a resource and secretary, not stand-in key 3 member.

Ask and see if this person can go on a COR visit with you. Set up an appointment with an active COR and see what they think.

One troop I get to work with actually camps over Christmas. It's a family outing and everyone has a good time.

From a medical perspective, marijuana can be far better for the treatment of chronic pain and illness than the normally prescribed pain medications, and with less side effects.

But it doesn't have to be smoked now days. Tablet forms are widely available. Smoking it usually only helps people who can't keep food down without it. I've seen hepatitis patients turn 180 degrees after a few weeks of healthy eating thanks to the side effects of THC, but they couldn't take a pill; they could only smoke it. Would you deny a sick man the right to live if he couldn't eat any other way?

Surgeons are even still using cocaine for certain medical procedures.

Everything has its uses, but certainly everything can be abused.

Don't be afraid to call National and ask to speak the the people in charge of religious relations. They're happy to help you get these committees started.

First, I recommend looking at the district level first, before going to the units to model a pack meeting.

Cub Scout Roundtable is just that, a model pack meeting. If it's not being done that way, you're losing a valuable resource.

Second, look hard at your cub scout training. It too is a model pack meeting.

I have shyed away from using the term "pack meeting" anymore, I recommend "Pack party" when people ask me, only so that they understand that it's supposed to be tons of fun not just an awards presentation.

Making sure that every unit understands the "extras" of cub scouting such as the sports and academic program, crime prevention award, world conservation, etc... goes a long way to enhance a pack meeting, too, because you can shape a meeting around those awards.

This saddens me. My heart goes out to the family and friends of this boy, and to the Scoutmaster.

Unfortunately, what happened to this young man is as symptom of a greater problem. Did the boys all really learn safe hiking standards? Did they get to practice those skills? Did the Scoutmaster and tour leader even take outdoor training or HAT hiking?

Training is losing momentum and buy-in.

The religious emblems aren't official BSA awards, they're worn on the uniform after being awarded by the church, so you have to have a church's sponsorship for the program. If your chartered organization is a church, you have it easy. If not, find a church the parents don't mind agreeing upon, and approach the pastor of that church. Sell him on the idea and how his congregation will benefit.

Once you do that, you're golden.

Just so you know, the camp Promotions char is just that, camp promotions.

Running camping events is the duty of the activities committee.