johndaigler

Cherished traditions are terribly difficult to grow away from. But Pack traditions only take a year or two to make or break - if the Committee and Leaders are dedicated to the change. I'd do what I could to offer some new suggestions -- this one is a bit over the top for me >> potentially minimizing the value of the announcements, and the poor person who gets serenaded. I'm guessing your boys don't need to sing this song when they're in school and announcements are made (or else, your Unit is doing a larger disservice than people realize!) How about a new tradition of a new a

JillKB's "Blue & Gold Ceremony Question" thread has me thinking... (dangerous, I know, but bear with me>>>> It seems: > Blue and Gold's have (almost unanimously) become rank awarding ceremonies > For W2's they've also become AOL and Crossover ceremonies ... Isn't the traditional "value" of the BnG as a celebration of Cubs and their activities, successes, efforts, etc. of the previous year? Aren't we doing a disservice to everyone involved (and the Program, itself) by forcing mandatory rank completion as a group by an arbitrary date? {Since man

Just to take this TOOOOOOO far down the Minerva path . . . Since "You shall have no other gods before me." (RSV 1952), then placing the Commandments alongside these other statues either: disrespects Commandment#1 and all of its followers; or denies these personas their godhood, effectively discriminating against followers of these gods. . . Assuming the "offical answer" is to deny Minerva - what's to stop the govt. from next denying . . .? ? ? ? jd

Very True, FScouter! Sometimes I wonder if a team with a direction, even if it's the wrong direction, is better than a leader heading in one direction and the team heading in the other... I know the argument ... "NO Leader is better than a Bad Leader". Philososphically, I get that, and agree. But in a practical sense, since no Scouter is all bad, then perhaps more good comes from the "misdirected" team, than a team that won't follow a "good" leader . . . / ? ? ? ? What do ya think? jd

Thank you VERY much! John

Amen. jd And, WELCOME to the campfire!!!!

Hi, mjengels, Good answer ScoutNut. I was about to take 6 extra paragraphs to say the same thing - Thank you for saving me from myself! The only thing I'd add is that Cubs can get credit for doing an elective activity more than once - as long as they show growth and increased challenge - and,of course, meet the standard of "Do Your Best". jd

Absolutely! G2SS lists winter camping as age-appropriate for Boy Scouts and older. I like the idea of using this pothole to build a better bridge, but your W2's aren't supposed to have winter camping experiences. The Troop leaders should know that and plan/train accordingly. But, I guess, if we're going to cross them over during the winter, and we live north of the Mason-Dixon Line, we probably need to help with the first few preparatory steps for our boys. jd

Lisabob, I sympathize. And thanks for the heads up - you've given me a year to prepare for this pothole. But isn't this is a Troop issue, more than a W2 issue? It's not that your W2's need to be better prepared to join the troop, their new Troop needs to be more alert to the situation, and more careful with its NSP. Still, maybe a good late-fall bridging activity WOULD be an equipment demonstration(I'd require parents). Camping/Hiking equipment make great Christmas presents! jd BTW, I whole-heartedly agree with your feelings about, "after the first time, the boys wil

It seems like you're looking for some fast cash. The problem is, that generally comes from one-time, labor intensive efforts. Go ahead and use the great ideas above, but don't forget to think long term. You don't want to be writing this thread again in Jan. '07! Look for ideas that can become self-fulfilling, or atleast Pack traditions. An ethnic dinner that reflects your neighborhood? An ecumenical dinner that brings together community leaders? An event that funds your Pack and FOS? Etc., etc. (and remember to check fundraising regs. - do it well, but do it right.) Consider

dan, I whole-heartedly endorse a thread where you and Kudu exchange ideas!!! If I were feeling snarky, I'd suggest that's what I've been talking about for days, but it's been such fun having you and Kudu turn your blunt instruments on me rather than each other, that I'm sure I'll miss this thread's continuance. I look forward to learning from both of you. jd

Kudu, The Scouter.Com Moderator Team should take a good long hard look at their inability to act decisively. "Decisively" is not a synonym for "Loudly", "publicly" or "rudely". And, yes, you should "let it (others' comments) go" - the website's dueling pistols are at the cleaners. "If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, . . ." jd

Great ideas -- the thread one sounds like an awesome finished product - but a lot of work. You might have the Webelos I Den host an evening event where the WebII's and their parents do the project together. The 4th graders can act as hosts, gophers, etc., and serve pizza and drinks. Meanwhile the 5th graders and their parents can share all the memories those arrows represent. Since each boy's arrow is potentially different, use thin (1/4") painters tape to pre mark the areas to be painted. I'd also give each WebII family a colored-in black-line drawing as a guide to what their a

Apparently I should go back to my old vertically-striped referee shirt! It seems this new one with the concentric circles is sending the wrong message! jd

The "Dusty Boot" sounds like a great Unit award, but I'd suggest having some sort of token for each of the boys in that unit. The key I think is to bring the awards down past the Unit Leaders - directly to the boys. Present the Rusty Boot at a District/Council Dinner, but then be sure to get a Scouter down to that Unit's next Troop Meeting and present a cache of mini-prizes to the Scouts. How about "Rubber Ducky" or "Golden Poncho" Award? Sort of a goof prize for the unit that spends the most days out in the rain. Bring a little humor to the crowd that's felt snakebit by bad weather a

Actually I think some reg. police would remind you that the BBgun/Archery targets are not supposed to be animate objects -- deer, people, etc. I'm not sure where Zurg or Droids would fit . . . But seeing as how I'm definitely NOT one of those dastardly reg. sherrifs, I'll get on with what I wanted to offer... Our Day Camp is fun and well attended. We're lucky with a great site that includes a fishing hole and plenty of green space for all the activities, including a swim day at a nearby waterin' hole. Last year the theme was Day Camp Knights and themed to knights in shining arm

kudu, you seem so well informed about the pre-1970 program, but your posts don't show the same content with regards to the present version. I understand your appreciation for the program with which I grew up, but if you're going to offer it up as better than things like NYLT and JLT, don't you need to be better informed? It seems like discussing program with you is talking apples and oranges. Where will we ever get - how will we ever accomplish anything if you bait the new program faithful and the new program defenders bait you. Sure, they need to tell you how good this version of th

WELCOME!!!! Take off one or two of those several hats you're wearin' and rest your weary bones. Coffee? jd

Dan, read Kudu's response. It's fairly obvious that he felt attacked personally. Some of your (and others') comments focused on him rather than on the ideas he presented. I don't want this thread to be about me, or you, or Kudu. I merely suggested that we could leave out the personal judgements (comments about another Scouter's ability to follow the Scout Law, or labeling them as BSA-bashers) and focus on the topic and ideas/suggestions that might help Scouters who find themselves in "lost" units. Please don't take my comments as representative of the entire Moderator team. Similar

For most of us, LNT is about teaching the boys to be careful and respectful of our environment. LNT is every bit as important as they walk down their school's hallways as it is when they play in the park or participate in an outdoor Scout adventure. It's less about how careful we are, and more about what we instill in the boys. If they catch us arguing (badly) like this, they may learn to be careful and respectful in the out of doors, but not with others. If we teach dutiful respect for squirrel ergonomics but demonstrate mistreatment of our peers, I think we're missing the point --

No, not at all. I was just trying to lessen the rhetoric a bit. Kudu offered ideas, go ahead and offer other (better) ideas! Let's just stay away from comments that are less about the posted ideas and more about the person doing the posting. Dan, you talked about your Unit not following the program %100. My point is that if we're starting with a truly "lost" unit, and you already agree that most units aren't perfect, then why would we be so hostile to Kudu's suggestions. If a "lost" Unit tried Kudu's ideas, wouldn't they be closer to today's program than they are right now? His sugg

Please, let's put our own personal interpretations of Kudu's goals, opinions and historical postings aside. If we focus on the topic and his present posts, it's kind of hard to say he's too far off the mark. We're talking about improving a unit that's chaotically unsuccessful and/or starting a brand new unit. We can't argue that not too many of us follow the real program %100, then be argumentative when Kudu states the same things -- and his suggestions point toward growth towards the modern day program. It's not far fetched that his ideas will likely lead said unit toward better success -

The morning after you heard about your son being attacked. jd

DanKroh, I believe your NAA instructor can file the appropriate paperwork to be designated as an official BSA instructor and, with the appropriate permissions, deliver a "council/district sponsored" Archery beltloop/pin instructional program at the local range. I believe it's the BB Gun beltloop/pin that need to take place at a BSA facility. I would think the on-site additional firepower of non-BSA ranges is the likely tripping stone with BB Gun (but not with Archery). Check with your Council and have a copy of the regs with you. jd

DenLeader10, I read the requirement to be the part in the gold box. The rest I see as examples, explanations and suggestions. In this case, the requirement is completed in the Cub's home with an adult. A trip to the fire station is fun, interesting and a worthwhile learning experience -- but, IMHO, it doesn't help you meet the requirement, except that during the visit the fire fighters could talk about how the boys could help keep their homes safe (How the kids could be "firefightes" at home). Then when the boys complete WA9c, they're armed with more info. jd