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jmcquillan

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Everything posted by jmcquillan

  1. In no particular order... Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Martin Luther King...
  2. Sounds like you don't have an awful lot of other volunteers to "mentor", or otherwise work with the boy. That being the case, I'd have to agree with Mike. You're the SM for ALL the boys, not just the one. As idealistic and desireable as it is to "save" them all, it's not realistic sometimes, and we just have to accept that, or drive ourselves mad in the process. Should you suddenly run into a horde of interested and enthusiastic adult volunteers to assist in this, and all, issues, then a serious attempt might be made to change the boys thinking. You may very well be correct in your though
  3. Not to spoil the party, but it's always been my understanding that a Boy Scout Troop is not a legal entity, and therefore can not "own" property...which is why all camping equipment, et cetera, "used" by the troop, and made available to the troop, even if purchased with funds raised by the troop, technically is "owned" by the Chartering Organization. This also explains why troops can not "own" vehicles or obtain vehicle insurance. Land or structures would count in this fashion, too. Just a couple of thoughts...
  4. eisely, You asked, ...Scouters should not butt in to these matters, but what is the harm of giving advice if the parent asks your opinion? A very different can of worms than the original query in this thread. Of course, if a parent were to ask my "opinion", I would offer it, but not as "advice". Were they to ask my "advice", I'd still only offer my "opinion". I'd remind them of the purpose of Scouting, and say that my "opinion" would be that, perhaps it might be good for them to think about that purpose, and how the words might "fit" within the general scheme of life they s
  5. As much as we might want to see all of our Scouts at every meeting and activity without exception, I think that for any responsible Scout Leader to suggest that parents leave Scouting out of their own personal equation when dealing with their sons, personal responsibility, and punishment, is over stepping the bounds. That's out of our purview, and we should not suggest, nor should we expect that parents will make those exceptions.
  6. As much as we might want to see all of our Scouts at every meeting and activity without exception, I think that for any responsible Scout Leader to suggest that parents leave Scouting out of their own personal equation when dealing with their sons, personal responsibility, and punishment, is over stepping the bounds. That's out of our purview, and we should not suggest, nor should we expect that parents will make those exceptions.
  7. Hey, no disrespect or flames intended here. Simply pointing out that we struggled long and hard to find something that worked for us. We were faced with parents of ADD and ADHD kids, and one boy with Tourettes, all of whom desperately wanted something for their boys to participate in and be accepted. Scouting turned out to be that something. We found that we simply didn't have the resources is skills and understanding to deal with many of the issues that these boys bring with them. Moms & Dads who were asked to jump in and help in that effort worked for us, and worked wonderfully. Ye
  8. Mike, ...but I also won't allow that cancerous attitude to infect the rest of the troop. Remember that part, because it's the root. You're the Scoutmaster for ALL the boys and the entire troop. As such, you need to set the example for ALL, and not be lead astray in your attempts to keep one or two boys in the troop. Your efforts are, indeed admirable, and I commend your spirit in trying to keep all the guys, but... You may lose one, or two, to save the troop. That's not a bad percentage in the end. As to the one yong man with whom you have the problem, you might approach him wit
  9. jmcquillan, sorry, but Sager is right. Somethimes the parents of a child with ADHD make it worse. I can say that because I am one of those parents. I find that other adults have much more patience with my son than I do. Especially at Scout meetings. scoutmom, While I wouldn't think of questioning your experience, please don't be so quick to discount mine. We've actually had quite a bit of success following ther trail we have. That's not to say we've found any ADHD nirvana, but we've enjoyed a success rate working with the parents of "problem" kids that makes us quite happy. Had that
  10. Rooster7, I do not believe the church, in modern history, has made it policy of openly accepting gay men to the priesthood. If I left that impression, I was in error. Rather, my guess is that the church may have unwittingly allowed for some gay men, still in the closet and not in the open, to succeed into the priesthood. I'm not so sure there might have been a way to prevent that. The question now is, if, and this is only if, the current tragedy that faces the church is due, in part, to some members of the priesthood being gay, what does the church do about it? What course is to be follow
  11. Bob White, and others whom I have utterly offended, I offer my most sincere apologies for unwittingly overstepping the bounds of good discussion with my errant observations and misrepresentations. It was not my intention to denigrate the Catholic church, nor its parishioners, only to look at and compare the situations that both organizations find themselves in. Obviously , Ive done nothing of the kind, and only offended. And for that, I am truly sorry. I wont slink away from this one, as Ive put my foot right in it, embarrassingly, awkwardly, and completely. Again, my humble apologies.
  12. I like the idea of having Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts as male only. I like the idea of having Girl Scouts and Brownies as female only. I like the idea of both boys and girls having their own separate "clubs", where they can do "boy" stuff, and "girl" stuff, as kids usually look upon these things. Attempts to change what we have to all co-ed are, IMHO, misguided. I'd be right in there with those who would call for expansion of opportunities, though, by creation of co-ed programs within the framework that exists. The BSA has already gone down that road with Explorers and Venture. I don't know
  13. The "exclusion" thing that has become the flashpoint for many, including the UW, who now hold the BSA in lower regard seems to have gathered new focus recently with the revelations coming from the Catholic Church. On the whole, I'd be willing to bet that the percentages of bad eggs (priests and scouters) to the whole (church and BSA) are very low. Yet both entities will, and do, suffer the consequences in public opinion, short term, and long. On the whole, I'd be willing to bet that the rather public statements by the church that they must exclude gays from the ranks of the priesthoo
  14. What do you wish they woulda told you in training? Well, for one thing, I really wish they would have defined that "one hour a week" thing better........
  15. While all of these are great suggestions, one must remember that the adult leaders need to attend to the entire troop, and not be constantly dealing with one disruptive boy to the detriment of the others. As I've indicated in other threads, we've had some boys in our troop who have had medical conditions resulting in disruptive behavior. We have, for the most part, been blessed with ample adult participation for these boys to have individual attention. But that has not always been the case, nor has it been reason not to ask the parents to get involved. We've found that when the parents realize
  16. A hearty round of congratulations to young som of OGE!!! Job well done.......... Oh..., and as one who is quite fond of the pipes, it is most certainly music when performed by those who have the touch. But I will admit to second thoughts sometimes, when living with one who aspires to play, and must practice at home....while trying to maintain cordial relations with the neighborhood. :-)
  17. You're kidding, right? I mean, you think we'd actually want to sell one of ours? Hey, they're just getting broken in now! And today's tent's? Well, they just don't make 'em like they used to. :-)
  18. I once served as District Advancement Chairman, Scoutmaster, and on the Council Training Committee all at the same time. I was also on Woodbadge staff, and was supposedly required to have a uniform for each position......NOT. I did hve the SM (troop)uniform, and didn't want to change all the patches, so I bought one more outfit to use for Woodbadge training. But, for the district and council positions, I chose to simply wear jacket and tie, or suit and tie, depending on the occasion. Most folks usually wanted to know why I was "all dressed up". No one ever asked where my council or district un
  19. Pardon me, but I simply can not resist the temptation here. An article in this mornings (4/18/02) Boston Globe regarding the upcoming meeting of the American Cardinals and the Pope caught my eye. The article speaks to the suspicions and guesses about what the meeting may and may not accomplish. What specifically got my attention was the paragraphs with which the article ended... ''I don't expect much from this meeting,'' said the Rev. Donald B. Cozzens, a former seminary rector and author of ''The Changing Face of the Priesthood.'' ''My hunch is that they will be told to face `the mo
  20. I don't add this anecdote to frighten, only to inform. Sometimes things that are hidden can color our attitudes towards boys. Some years back, we had such a boy in the troop, and he behaved in a similar fashion to what you've posted. Recognizing that there was a problem early on, we approached his parents. They rather sheepishly told us that the boy had Tourettes Syndrome, and one of the marks of the condition was behavior that might not seem normal. After lengthy discussions to learn what we could about the condition in general and specific to this boy, we thanked the parents, but added
  21. After hearing what OGE mentioned over and over again when my kids were in Scouting, that the Eagle was a big deal on a college application, imagine my surprise years ago when the admissions folks for Massachusetts public colleges told me that it was merely a tie-breaker. Were two applicants to come forward, equal in every way, grades, sports, etc., etc., but one had an Eagle, and the other did not, more consideration would be given to the Eagle. I was told that the Eagle on the application does not give one any more chance, or put one higher on a list of possible acceptance than a tie-breaker.
  22. Bob Russell said; While sports generally do require teamwork, a noble goal, they do not often develop leadership. and, Don't listen to the coach, you are off the team, or at least sitting on the bench. The second is an unfortunate truism to the extent that many adults who get involved with coaching youth sports today forget that their primary purpose should not be "winning". Winning is, indeed, important, and kids won't feel good about themselves and their efforts as individuals or as a team if winning doesn't happen. But it shouldn't be the primary focus. As to the first s
  23. Quit Scouting? Sure, kids do it all the time. A lot of times they leave because they lack the parental support to make a good informed decision. They might not understand what they'll be missing. They might just end up "hanging around" with their friends without direction, wasting time. They might not have the family to help them understand their options, and what the consequences of their decisions might be. They might just be involved in too many things...school, church, family, baseball, football, hockey, soccer, every single other sport they can get into. They might be trying to fit
  24. CubsRgr8, If the troop program isn't what it should be to attract boys and keep them, well, that's something that the troop can fix. But, there are other things the troop can not fix. While it may not be "typical" to lose so many, it is, quite frankly, "typical" that some will leave. Scouting is not for every boy. Even among the really young, Cub Scout age, there are those who know right away that it's not something they're interested in. If their friends are, they're more likely to. When they reach the age to cross-over, they have more "other" interests in their lives, and their "ne
  25. The best thing? Well, that would probably be the method the course uses to organize most everything you already know in little bits and pieces, and presenting it to you in one clear and concise order for you to use. Most of what WB teaches is, for many, stuff they already know, but have never put it all together in a fashion that they can consciuosly use. There's a lot of common sense, a lot of what you might have picked up in the military or high school and college sports, a lot of what you might have picked up as "street smarts" along the way, and, of course, everything Scouting. Outside of
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