Aquila calva

Welcome. You ask a very good question in your first post. Who asked you to take the Scoutmaster position? Take it only after you feel there is a consensus of the leadership. This includes getting a clear idea from the parents of the new scouts how they feel about it. Hang back for a while and let this jell in its own time. You will probably be scoutmaster, but get a consensus before you actually say "yes." The job of recruiting a new scoutmaster ideally belongs to the chartered organization and the troop committee, even if that doesn't happen often in the real wo

"...a chance to boss volunteers around - with little consequence." Oh brother! Pardon me for getting involved in this thread and possiby encourging such an unfortunate tirade.

Yah, sure, ya betcha! Minnesota, hats off to thee... but let's not get mixed up... This happened in Idaho over a long period of time, but it could have happened anywhere. Below is a link to the index of this story, sad as it is. Some of this story goes back to 1988, some of it goes back to 1997, and the award-winning story was written in 2005. It is a story all Scouters should read to help us recognize perpetrators and help us be compassionate toward and understanding of, victims. One point that hit hard is the perpetrator is an Eagle Scout with five palms! He is now 33 years

The letter being sent probably amounts to some kind of ultimatum. Time for everyone involved to take a deep breath and swallow hard. Since the first troop is playing hard ball with the cash, then its time for the second troop to say finewe look forward to joining you at summer camp, and we are looking forward to having lots of fun. This will get the scouts and leaders(maybe) to camp, and get some advancement done. The people who cant deal with this solution need to take a long hard look at the scout oath and law. Of course, this is just the second troop calling the first tr

Minnesota Methodists endorse gay marriages The approval of gay-rights petitions are recommendations to the national church. Pamela Miller, Star Tribune After passionate but resolutely civil debate, Minnesota Methodists voted Thursday to urge the national church to fully welcome gays and lesbians and to support gay marriage and the ordination of gay clergy. A majority of voting delegates at the annual state convention in St. Cloud approved nine petitions on gay-rights issues, said Victoria Rebeck, communications director for the Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Meth

'Boy' problem an overblown backlash against women's movement Caryl Rivers and Rosalind Chait Barnett I t was the early 1900s, and boys were supposedly in crisis. In monthly magazines, ladies' journals and books, urgent polemics appeared, warning that young men were spending too much time in school with female teachers and that the constant interaction with women was robbing them of their manhood. What boys needed, the experts said, was time outdoors, rubbing elbows with one another and learning from male role models. That's what led -- at least in part -- to the founding of the Bo

At the risk or stepping into fgoodwin's territory, here are two articles that may be of interest to this forum. The sentence that jumbed out in this article is "According to the Census Bureau, one-third of young men ages 22 to 34 are still living at home with their parents..." As scouting searches for more (and younger) male adult leaders, one-third of younger men are still living at home with their parents. Yikes! ************************************* The trouble with boys Citing an American "boy crisis,'' some researchers argue that too many male children are falling behind

Here is the complete interview with Mr. Cronk. Link is below. For new head of Boy Scouts, mentoring is key Updated 5/23/2006 10:04 PM ET The Boy Scouts of America will soon be under new management. Rick Cronk, retired president of Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream and a lifelong Scout, takes over as president of the 96-year-old organization on Friday. USA TODAY's Vicky Markovitz spoke with Cronk, 63, on what the future holds for Scouts in America. Q: How is membership? A: We've got about 4.6 million kids in Scouting. Basically the same number of kids as it has been for the past 10

The jamboree model is good, 36 scouts with four adult leaders. This makes a ratio of nine scouts to one adult leader. BUTa national jamboree leader (at least is this Council) is a highly trained and experienced scouter who has gone through a careful selection process. Also, a scout needs to be at least 12 years old to go to a national jamboree and most are 14 or older. These scouts and scouters attend several pre-jamboree training sessions for plenty of team-building experiences. So the typical jamboree troop may have a ratio of nine to one, but this is an exceptional model, made up of scout

More is required More is required than being swept along All the currents pulling me Easy and wide in a long, slow drift Without rudder, floating backwards, now to the side. What can one person do against a sucking tide? I coil like a bow; I gather like a fist; I forge like a rudder And I lean into the wide, slow drift. I tack and veer by Gods own will. I raise my voice against the silence. My voice alone until a chorus joins. Love Love is the pure energy of God: pray for it ardently. Be grateful when it comes into your life: give of it generously.

Will the Boy Scout (and Girl Scout) tent-camping experience soon become, one-person, one-tent? Possibly? Probably? Inevitably? The scene set is a campsite full of individual tents.

Hmmm. First line = "About two years ago..."???? Wasn't that Supreme Court decision in June of 2000? So, that would be "About SIX years ago...." Bad editing, perhaps!

The Spanish translation of The Star-Spangled Banner posted above was found by way of a Google search on the internet. This translation was published in 1919 and is attributed to Francis Haffkine Snow. There are at least three other Spanish translations available on various sites. One particularly detailed site begins with //usinfo.state.gov/esp etc.... Since this discussion had gone on for more than two pages over several days, it seemed helpful to at least post what it is was being discussed, or at least one version of the text. While this translation comes to us from the year 1919

Que? In espanol, por favor. Scouts can learn so much on this thread. A little Spanish and a pick-up line for the next time they are in a gin-joint.

La bandera de las estrellas [lyrics] Verse Amanece: no veis, a la luz de aurora, Lo que tanto aclamamos la noche al caer? Sus estrellas, sus barras flotaban ayer En el fiero combate en senal de victoria. Fulgor de cohetes, de bombas es truendo, Por la noche decian: "Se va defendiendo!" Oh, decid! Despliega aun su hermosura estrellada, Sobre tierra de libres, la bandera sagrada? Verse En la costa lejana que apenas blanquea, Donde yace nublada la hueste feroz, Sobre aquel precipicio que elevase atroz, Oh decidme! que es eso quen la brisa ondea? Se oculta y fla

Perhaps this thread should be called "Too powerful of a Scoutmaster's wife and daughter?" And the Scoutmaster's son (a patrol leader) regularly hits another scout? Yee gads! This is definitely a topic for the troop committee. This is called abuse! Find a new troop, or start one. And bring along your son's scout-aged friends. Good luck. Have fun scouting. (This message has been edited by Aquila calva)

Here is a reference from 1998... found using Google. Someone apparently took pictures of a statue in Japan relating to Boy Scouts. You might try the contact in Seattle. Interesting Scoutmaster's minute. Hoping it is true. http://listserv.tcu.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind9804&L=scouts-l&T=0&P=82181

The American Red Cross (another example in the news now) The common scenario: Volunteers (often in the form of a non-profit Board of Directors) put a lot of time and effort into a program and reach a high level of success. They feel the program needs professionals to keep the program going at a high level. Professionals get expensive because they are talented and can get higher-paying jobs in the private sector. Volunteers find other interests when they feel the pros are doing OK. Professionals can't do it alone because program is founded on volunteerism. Everyone gets tired, or finds o

A Persistence of Scouters A Leadership of Scouters And for the ship, how about A Scud of Scouters

Just curious...and propelled by enthusiasm. The "Thank you" would have been sufficient for that last post. Thanks again, Trevorum. And thanks for making the raw data available.

Trevorum, Thank you for doing this survey. If it isn't too much trouble can you tell us the political leanings of those 34 Eagle Scouts who responded? Also, how many of those Eagles have participated in Woodbadge? Also noted, there were 53 respondants who were Boy Scouts and 34 of these were Eagle Scouts, or 64%. Thanks again.

Beavah, You hit the nail on the head with your post. Other things to add that are "new" over the last 35 years and that make things different now, are the many well-developed and well-run community-wide athletic programs, especially the team sports. These can demand almost total time commitment from youth and their families. Competition for our children's time is enormous. (And, yes, this subject has been discussed in other threads.) These team sports can be demanding but they also can be a lot of fun. Bring on the new! We can't stop it. We can help by leading our children down the Scouting t

For one place to start here is a link to the Cub Scout Leaders Library. You can buy these books at your local scout shop. The first one listed The Cub Scout Leader Book may be most helpful. http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/library/index.html Give time for a worthy cause (with eagerness) and you will be worthy and richly rewarded. ~W. Clement Stone When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt Corrected the link. (This message has been edited by Aquila calva) (This message has been edited by a staff member.)

It is curious how the concept of dues just doesnt register with a lot of families these days. It seems we just want to know what the thing (or activity) is going to cost and then we decide if we will buy it or not. This is very much the American Way. Whats the price? If the buyer doesnt like the price here, theyll go someplace else and buy it, or do without. This is the way it is with athletic teams, musical organizations, commercial summer camps, buying a car or house, etc. Then the subject becomes Scouting and a few adult leaders start talking about dues and everyones eyes glaze over..Oh wel

Below is one example of a troop "activity fund policy." Important to remember that all the money belongs to the troop (and by extension it belongs to the chartering organization, the tax exempt entity). The Troop Committee acts as stewards of the funds and makes decisions on how it will be(can be)distributed for the benefit of scouting. Normally, for sales projects, we try and price the items so the members can earn a credit of 35 percent of the sales. This corresponds to the amount earned on scout popcorn sales. In checking the reference to the national scouting website listed below,