JMBadger

Congrats from an Owl! C-14-09

6 members per patrol is so everyone is a patrol leader for a day at least once. (That's straight from the syllabus) The only thing I can find regarding 8 patrols is that that is what the syllabus says is optimal "based on experience." The game played at the end of day 2 expects 2 groups of 4 patrols each (if there are only 7 patrols, staff is supposed to make their own patrol to create an 8th). There are 8 "teamwork puzzles" in the second weekend. And there are 8 critters in the song.

Had a chat with my DE a few months back when the subject of whether or not the IH had to be youth protection trained came up. I'll say right up front that I don't know what the book was that he had with him, but it said: If the IH is not multipled in another position, he does not have to be YPT. IH is the ONLY position associated with a unit that does not require YPT. If the IH is multipled in another position, such as IH/CR or IH/CR/CC, then he must be YPT. My DE went on to say that while IH/CR is more common, the IH can multiple in any other position in the Unit he wants.

In my limited experience, I've found any organized gathering of scouts and /or scouters either has an established dress code, or the expected attire is denoted in the announcement for the event. If the event is a service project or OA work party where we expect to get rather dirty, we are expected to show up in grungeable work clothes. When in doubt, I wear the full uniform with a scouting t-shirt underneath. If I show up and nobody else is in uniform, class-A shirt comes off and I'm suddenly class-B informal.

sbemis1, moosetracker: Congratulations on your Eagles! We have a 16-year-old about to make Eagle this spring, and I asked him if he's thought about joining the Venturing Crew. He grinned at me and said he wants to stay with the troop where he'll no longer have people (like his SM Father) expecting him to be constantly working toward advancement. Our venturing crew just formed this Fall and would really benefit from an experienced scout joining them.

Yes, it's easy to forget parents don't know the rules. I had no AWL. Since I never knew how many or which boys would show up, parents needed to remain there. If plenty of parents showed up and a couple needed to run an errand, fine, but the whole group couldn't up and go. Our meeting area was big enough the adults could remain at one end while we were at the other and not be a distraction. I don't have concerns about "easy graders" Shortridge brought that up, not me. But school employees are also trained in various YP courses (even my wife, a "cafeteria lady"), and are also trained

I was helping to staff BALOO in the same building they were holding a MB University. I think the counselor in one room would have been thrilled if the boys could have "filled in the blanks." He was doing all the talking, and when he did ask a question, he received a room full of blank stares. He paused for a few seconds, answered his own question, then went on. I agree with mkay in that if the boy has filled in the worksheet completely, he has shown more interest and exposed himself to the information far more than a boy who sits in a seminar expecting to be spoon-fed the data.

Venividi I don't think I've changed my attitude or opinion, just become clearer and more selective in expressing my views. Yes, the vast majority of the time things will happen the way you say; boy wants badge, boy talks to SM for help setting it up, SM provides counselor info, boy earns badge. And yes, 99.99% of SMs are doing their best to provide the best program they can. And my examples of the evil SM are extreme indeed. But I have personal knowledge of troops that help a boy hustle through to Life, then actively prevent him from getting Eagle until they decide he's mature enough. I

In my opinion, it goes back to the boy-led troop. The boys are the troop. The leaders are there to provide guidance, not force a course of action. The adult leaders make sure the boys aren't doing anything illegal, against the rules, and make sure they are aware of opportunities available to them. If the SM wants to assign a particular counselor and the boy requests counselor B instead, the SM may choose to find out why. Does the boy consider the second councilor an "easy badge," or get "doe-eyed" when referring to them? That would be bad and needs serious investigation. When talkin

OGE, I brought up contacting Council and the Scout Executive in my second and third comments in this thread. And NO, to my knowledge, my district doesn't have a pedophile on its MBC list.

"So the only basis for assigning MB Counselors is the Scout's preference (very likely uninformed) and concern over being a pedophile? So anyone who is not a pedophile is thus a fine choice for MB counselor so long as the Scout thinks so?" When someone rearranges my words to make it seem as if I said something that I didn't say, it's the same as lying. I said you should have a very good reason for not going with the boy's preference, if he has one. Pedophilia would be an extremely good reason, but not the only one. I agree finding that a counselor is pencil-whipping the cards is an

I'm not telling anyone to not follow BSA procedure. I'm saying if the boy would rather go to Counselor B instead of Counselor A, then the Scoutmaster should select Counselor B for the boy to see, unless the SM knows of a very good reason why scouts should avoid Counselor B. And if there is a very good reason, the issue should have already been brought up to the Scout Executive.

I think SR540Beaver got it right mentioning the MB Fair (or MB University as we call it around here). We get the application for the MBU a month or two beforehand and the boys are told to select a first, second, and third choice. They don't find out which MB they'll be working on until a week before the seminar (or worse, when they get there). Not enough time to study the pamphlet, and then the counselor wonders why the boy hasn't read it. The boy winds up getting the MB anyway. Do this a few times and now the boy thinks this is the way it is supposed to be: no need to read the pam

I obtained the worksheet for the cooking merit badge and handed a copy to every boy in the troop who planned to attend my MB seminar. I told them, "Now none of you has the excuse that you didn't know what the requirements were." I indicated on the worksheets which requirements I would be covering in the seminar itself, and which requirements needed to be done by the scout either before or after. The sheets provided nice little charts the boys could fill in for menus, groceries, prices, weights, etc. Made it easier for me to figure out what the boy was trying to prepare. Also made it

TwoCubDad: Unfortunately, Ms Rawpork was recently indicted on 2 counts of pedophilia.... (My apologies if there is anyone reading this actually named Ms Rawpork!) But seriously, if you've discovered a counselor is "pencil-whipping" the cards, you should bring it up to council immediately. Getting a reputation among boys as an "easy badge" could be a lure by a molester. But unless you have serious evidence against the boy's choice of counselor, you should not prevent him from going to whomever he chooses. I reviewed my district's MBC list and many counselors are listed for 15