kenk

From Wikipedia: "Corporal punishment is the deliberate infliction of pain intended to punish a person or change his/her behavior." Its not so much the activity as the cause of the activity. If a scout is being 'forced' to do pushups as punishment for something, then it is corporal punishment.

> Hey! I spent two summers at Lakeside Lab - '80 & '81 I think. Got a B.A. in biology from UNI, and an M.S. in Animal Ecology from ISU. Spent the rest of my life not using either degree.

My suggestion would be: 1. Vote for SPL. That leaves 24 Scouts. 2. SPL picks ASPL. That leaves 23 Scouts. 3. SM has SPL tell Scouts that there needs to be three patrols, each with no less than 7 Scouts. Tell them that the first patrol forms in that corner, the second in that corner, and the third in that corner. Tell them to "Go form the patrols, now". Nobody leaves until the three patrols are formed. Let the Scouts create them. Adults stand back. SPL can offer "advice" on resolving counts. The odds are that you'll find yourself with a new-Scout patrol by default. If so, live wi

It seems that if the campouts and other activities are things that the Scouts want to do, and places that the Scouts want to go - within reason, then participation should come naturally. THAT is why troops should be boy lead!! One of the important aspects of the planning is to allow the average Joe-Scout to provide their input via the patrol. The planning process should allow the PL to bring back ideas to the patrol, and then later come to the PLC with feedback and hopefully new ideas garnered from the patrol(s).

In my simplistic view: >> Having Scouts fill out a form for the SM Conference is adding to the requirements. It may be for the convenience of those involved, but it is not in the BSA process. >> The "testing" for requirements is to be done BEFORE they are signed off in the back of the handbook. >> The SM Conference is intended to be a focal point of communication between the Scout and the SM. Part of it is to review the Scout's experience during the period that the rank was being earned. Part of it should be a discussion about their time spent doing service and

Its my understanding that the weird half-fly is a weight-reduction technique ... waterproof part of the tent itself and reduce the size of the fly so the whole thing weights a bit less. Of course that results in less ventilation and possibly more condensation. Its all a balance. I myself prefer the more classic full fly with breathable fabric or netting underneath.

Unless you're going to do backpacking, I'd recommend 3-person OR 4-person Alps Mountaineering Taurus Outfitter using the 45% Scout discount via ScoutDirect.com. Very nice tents. Supposedly made at the same factory as the REI tents. The outfitter version has extra heavy duty zippers (mostly likely item to fail) and floors. They also have aluminum poles, which will outlast most fiberglass poles. Here is a link to ScoutDirect: http://www.scoutdirect.com Here is a link to Alps: http://www.alpsmountaineering.com For Scoutmasters I'll recommend the 5-person Taurus Outfitter (fo

In my humble opinion the best maker of these (and the original Pie Iron) is Rome Industries, based out of Peoria, Illinois. http://www.pieiron.com

Its been well documented that Scouts may use their fathers as as merit badge counselors, so long as the fathers are registered as MBCs. MBCs must follow youth protection measures, so they need to avoid one-on-one counseling, but, of course, this would not apply to the MBC's own son. Two-deep leadership is technically only required on "trips and outings", and not necessarily for meetings, including MBC sessions. Still, if I'm the only adult leader present, I prefer to have another adult present, and if not, I prefer to have at least two non-related youth present (not counting my son

With all honesty and the highest level of respect to your cherished memories ... I wouldn't want to stay in that cheap crudy tent. It is a poor quality, low (maybe no) tech single wall tent. Unless you have a breeze and leave all of the doors/windows open you will be suffering from extreme condensation. If your son is in Cub Scouts, my advice would be to buy a modern 3/4/5 person tent. Go to http://www.scoutdirect.com , which is a site by Alps Mountaineering that provides a 45% discount to Cub/Boy/Girl Scouts and their families, and register for their discount. You can see thei

Oops ... that should have been 12 hours ... not 24 hours.

The device you mention cost about $35, so here is an idea ... I'd been looking for something that would provide minimum overnight temperatures so that we can know how cold it really got on those cold nights. It is actually hard to find a robust device that provides that information. Even the fancy Kestrel weather devices don't record temperatures over time. They seem to focus more on wind speed. I finally found the Brunton ADC Wind (ADC = Atmospheric Data Center) for $39 at http://www.opticsplanet.net/brunton-instruments-adc-wind.html . Its listed on Amazon.com for a similar price.

Instead of drier lint - which can also have synthetic fibers - just buy jumbo-sized cotton balls (check the label to make sure they are 100% cotton), put a handful of balls in a plastic sandwich bag, then add a glob (legal term) of white petroleum jelly (Vaseline), and massage the jelly into the cotton balls. Pull out one or two balls and fluff them up a bit to start a fire. They make GREAT firestarters that, when pulled apart to expose the less schmeered center, should easily light from a sparking rod. They can also help chapped lips, if needed.

We've had very good luck with Jellystone parks. They tend to lean toward families and youngsters more than many. The directory is at http://www.campjellystone.com

If they expanded this to summer camp (the form says the weight restrictions are recommended for ALL events) my days at our Troop's summer camp will have ended. According to my mapping software the hospital is 38 minutes from camp. I've been overweight my entire life - since a young boy. My weight has been the classic roller coaster. I'd like to loose weight, but my history is that every time I do, well, it comes back even higher than before. I almost fear loosing weight in recent years. It could very well be that my years in Scouting will be stopped by this new requirement.

I wholehearedly agree. The reason I'd asked is that my son's SM is setting up a day trip to a local museum to help Scouts who joined last spring, but haven't bothered to collect the signs to date. I (adv coordinator) told him that "signs" found in a museum are not in the spirit of the program and should not be acceptable. I sense that the SM is too focused on the rank advancement. He's a new SM (his son is one of the newbies) and may still be in Cub Scout mode.(This message has been edited by kenk)

Regarding the 2nd Class requirement to show evidence of 10 kinds of animials, and the 1st Class requirement to show evidence of 10 kinds of plants ... ... Is it acceptable for a Scout to complete these requirements in a museum or similar setting?

Having experienced it myself having gone from Tiger Cub Den Leader to 3rd year Asst. SM, it is far too easy for excited adult leaders to want to teach young Scouts skills that the Scouting program really plans to teach them latter - when it is more "age appropriate". Teaching pre-Webelos fire safety - both indoors & outdoors - is a great thing. My view is that we should follow the Age Appropriate Guidelines and that teaching them fire-building should be left for Webelos and Boy Scouts.

I'm the father of a mildly autistic Scout - actually he has Asperger's Syndrome. He is currently a 13 year old Life Scout with two more merit badges needed for Eagle (plus the project). He joined the troop with a group of four Scouts. Last year all four were eligible for O/A. Only two got elected - the two special needs (SN) Scouts - my son included - did not get elected. My wife was mad. I was a bit sad about the inequity of it, but yielded to the process. I talked with my son about it and he said he didn't care. I think he really did. The other SN Scout seemed OK with it. This yea

My son's troop (I'm an ASM & Advancement Coordinator) does pretty much what others do. Scout SM "signs off" (not really a specific place to do it though). TF through FC --All but SS, SMC, & BOR - Any Scout who Star or above can sign off; SM or ASM - preferably not a parent - can also sign off. We prefer Scouts to do it. The Advancement Coordinator (me) usually signs off on service hours and camping nights since I track that stuff, unless a Scout, SM, or ASM knows the counts. --SM signs off on SS & SMC, except for his son - then its carried out & signed by an ASM

Oh yeaaaaah. Its called a "Lean Shelter" and made by Cooke Custom Sewing in the USA. http://www.cookecustomsewing.com/leans.htm Note that it is made of silicone-impregnated nylon for light weight, is floorless to minimize weight & maximize flexibility, and that it is available with and without mosquito netting. It does not come with poles as the intent is to minimize weight, so they designed them to be hung from nearby trees and such. CCS does sell poles for it though. The awning is made wider at the outside so that in bad weather it can be lowered so it leaves a ven

Big TM fan here. You CAN enter the same activity as "combined" activities in TM. For example, a campout can also be a service event. You'd just create the first event and then press the Combined button at the bottom of the Edit/Review dialog box. This generates a new activity for which you'd select the Service type and enter the number of hours expected. You could create two separate TM activities - one with a Camping type and another with a Hiking type. Start a new activity. Select the Camping type with Backpacking box checked, Enter the number of nights and other details,

As I understand, technically, any vehicles, trailers, gear, ... are the property of the chartering organization. I would guess schools are hesitant to allow vehicles such as buses, but many churches seem "bus-friendly".

Ha, before I even saw Jethro's post I'd planned on coming on here are recommend the L.L. Bean Cresta Hiker. I have the all leather model, and really really like the fit and feel. They are a mid-weight boot, so I can see why some might like the lighter-weight Day Hiker. The only thing I think I'd like better on the Cresta Hiker is if they had a toe cap to protect the toe ... like the L.L. Bean Day Hiker has(that's the ironic part). Ken K.

Heck, I just found out that I'm not smarter than a Tenderfoot. While working with a Scout who was reciting the Scout Oath he said "physically strong" ... and I said "don't you mean physically fit?" ... he said "no, its physically strong" ... I said "are you sure?" ... and he promptly opened up his Handbook and proved it. After 2.5 years as an ASM I'd never noticed that the wording had changed since I was a Scout in the 70's. Sheesh. It was "physically fit" in the 70's, wasn't it? Or is old age setting in all too fast??