KoreaScouter

You can argue all day whether or not pushups constitute corporal punishment. The G2SS doesn't specifically define pushups as corporal punishment, so I'd say ask your unit's SM. If you ask me, they are, but that's not the reason I don't use pushups, running laps, jumping jacks, or other similar nonsense for disciplinary infractions. First, doing so relieves leaders of the requirement to use their brains. Pushups are a "one size fits all" response to behavior that leaves a leader feeling they handled it, whatever "it" was. It's quick and easy for a leader to quickly dish out pushups fo

I think we're mixing apples and oranges here, to an extent. What the lad did at Jambo is a Scout Law issue rather than an SPL performance issue; I'd deal with it in that context. A troop committee does not determine if an SPL is doing his job properly; that's the SM's call. An SPL can of course be "fired" if he's not performing. In this case, if the SPL's ability to lead his Troop is irreparably damaged by this incident, a new Troop election may be called for, but you won't know that until after he's home and back in the mix. Kahuna and others are spot-on; acknowledge the

The clock starts running on the BOR date, not the COH date. In fact, I know of many units that present the new rank patch at the first Troop meeting after the BOR, with the card and mom's pin at the COH. KS

As a SM, you should be familiar with every aspect of your unit program, and OA's a part of that. You'll have to go through your ordeal just like any candidate, but by doing so, you'll better understand and appreciate what the boys are experiencing, too. Plus, if you're an Arrowman yourself, you'll have an Arrowman's perspective regarding which of your Scouts are eligible for election. Don't worry about the Lodge levying some expectation that you take on another full-time volunteer job within OA once you complete your Ordeal. As a unit-level Scouter, especially an SM, the primary expect

Make it more like the 9th edition; star charts, animal footprints, trees, more illustrations of Scoutcraft/Scout skill topics. I know that most of that information morphed into the latest Fieldbook and that's why it came out of the Handbook, but I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of Scouts I know who have both. As a non-scientific experiment, I've laid a 9th, 10th, and 11th edition Handbook in front of Scouts, and asked them which one they liked best. 9th and 10th are in a virtual tie for first place, with 11th a distant second... Beyond that, a better binding would

I think there's a difference between taking yourself too seriously and taking what you do too seriously. The former: not good. The latter: I don't think it's possible. If making a commitment to do something, learning how to do it, and trying your best to do it right is taking what you do too seriously, then I'm guilty as charged. One thing I try not to do is invest too much of my ego in a job, paid or volunteer. Those things can go away overnight, and if you've defined yourself in terms of what you do, then when you don't do it anymore, what have you become? KS

Sounds like the lad is taking his cue from his father. You said that both he or his father thought the project required too much effort. To me, that says it all. You can have all the 5-minute talks you want to with the boy, but if he's getting a conflicting message from dad, you're fighting an uphill battle. And, it shouldn't be a battle at all. For sure, this part of the trail is steepest. It's supposed to be. If it was easy, everyone would earn their Eagle. This takes a lot of desire and self-motivation. I say again, self-motivation. We had a discussion similar to this some t

In our Troop, the Guide is not a member of a patrol at all; he's in the same category as the SPL & ASPL. On campouts, those three eat with the "old goats". That relief from prep, cook, and cleanup allows them to tend to their leadership duties. In the case of the Guide, that includes coaching the NSP in their prep, cook, and cleanup. He may eat with them if he opts to, but in my experience, that's a rare occurrence. Also, like the SPL & ASPL, he'll return to his original patrol when his term ends... KS

Yup, that's exactly what I meant. It isn't over at the COH; or at least, it isn't supposed to be. Isn't our mission to prepare young men to make ethical decisions over their lifetimes? The period of time between their Eagle COH and their 18th birthday is part of their lifetime. And, what better immediate opportunity to imprint on both the Eagle Scout and the other Scouts in the Troop what is meant by volunteering, by the notion "giving something back"? Sure, that lad may come back later as an adult and volunteer in his son's unit, and many certainly do, to their credit. What's lost, thou

Timely topic; I had this discussion just last night after a program planning session with a long-time ASM who will be taking over for me in the near future. We have a new ASM (father of a first-year Scout) who, like many in his situation, "hovers" a little...okay, maybe more than a little. Means well, just doesn't have the training yet (that'll happen this month) or the experience to find the right groove in the record -- in my experience, that sorts itself out very early. I related my long standing goal regarding my Scouting relationship with little KS; that is, if a total stranger walked

How does one define a paper Eagle -- as one whose leaders allowed him to take shortcuts to get there, or as one who earned it, then quit? I'm not defending either, but it seems to me that we're beating the wrong horse if we blame the Scout for corner-cutting -- it can't happen unless adults sign off. Frankly, I've got a bigger problem with the latter case, in which the boy begins mailing it in the day after his COH, or worse yet, you never see him again. At every COH I've seen, the Eagle Charge is read, and the Scout knows what's expected of him. To walk away from that, not repaying Scouti

In my experience, the volunteers who would benefit most from the training (read: need it most) are the least likely to go to training of their own volition. Unfortunately, more common in the Cub program and the cause of most of our youth losses, too. When I was a Cubmaster, my first priority was to get DLs and ADLs trained and operating legally. I laid it on the table at recruiting night, and we had Pack-level trainers if they couldn't make it to District or Council-level training. Gotta do it in September. Training in January is useless -- all the bad habits are now institutionalized, an

I didn't look at Troop 17s web site (I'm at Narita airport in Tokyo on a 6-hour layover), but based on what's been posted, I'll say this. I wear a campaign hat at all ceremonies and Troop meetings, and take it with me to summer camp, too, although I don't wear it all day there. The campaign hat, like the Baker tent and the round metal canteen, evokes nostaligia in us oldsters and conjures up a simpler time (just look at Fred MacMurray's picture to the right side of this pane right now). It's not comfortable, though, and not very practical either, if you take care of it the way you're suppos

If you equate the 8 methods to the 8 cylinders of an auto engine, each cylinder (method) must be connected to the others by a crankshaft (comprehensive program), and have the right fuel/air mixture (leadership emphasis) to ensure the engine (Troop) is operating properly. If any cylinder is running too lean or rich (one method is over or under emphasized in context with the others), performance will degrade. This mixture is adjusted constantly by a computer (leaders) to maintain an optimal setting. Of course, a Troop's not a machine, but I've used the engine example to explain why it's impor

Ours don't have Monday off; we're in first session of summer camp this year, with Independence Day being our second day in camp. I checked with the camp staff a couple of days ago, and they didn't have anything special planned. I offered to have our Troop put on a small ceremony at evening retreat (dramatic reciting of part of the Declaration of Independence, and a recitation of what happened to the 56 signers), with a movie that evening in the lodge. I'd like to show "The Patriot", but the program director is a little reluctant due to the battle scenes. I've got a copy of "The Crossing" o

Our PLC came up with something that works for us (if they use it consistently, that is). We don't have any rules other than the Oath and Law; in my experience, any conceivable situation is covered in them. The added bonus is that the lads already have the rules memorized! What our PLC did is decide themselves what the consequences would be for behavioral breaches. We just put it into a letter form that we give all our families. If you PM me, I'll get you a copy if you're interested. KS

My last unit had all troop-owned tents. Setup/teardown was simplified, equipment accountability was better, training was easier, and we knew that nobody would get wet because of cheap equipment. Plus, they were just large enough for two boys and their gear, so we didn't have the frat party temptation that comes with larger tents. On the flip side, if they got wet, we had our supply building draped with wet tents after we got back, versus mom's basement. Now, we have some troop-owned tents, but mostly Scout-owned. The troop-owned tents are mostly for transfers, new Scouts, etc. I don'

One of the common laments of Roundtable commissioners I know is that LDS leaders generally won't show up at RT. Whether RT attendance by itself reduces mishaps is a link I can't make, and it may a leap of logic to extend indifference toward RT to indifference toward other training, safety rules, practices, etc. I'm not sure it can be quantified. Moreover, I don't need a training course to grasp the basics -- which, if you look at most mishaps, the basics if applied would have prevented the mishap. Read and follow the GTSS, and you'll stay out of the paper. I know that most LDS leaders

I've never believed in passing a difficult decison up to a BOR to make for me. If a Scout doesn't measure up, he won't meet a BOR for advancement. The buck stops with me. I've heard of Scouts receiving their Eagle who didn't earn it, and saw one myself in a previous unit (I wouldn't sign off on a marginal project and substandard Scout Spirit; family waited me out, and after I moved, strong-armed a non-confrontational SM and committee right before the boy aged out). I think they're the rare exception rather than the rule. Personally, if the percentage of Eagles is inching upward,

Hey, what do you know? There is a fact sheet at the National web site, that lists other categories of boys who may register as Lone Scouts. Here's what it said: Children of American citizens who live abroad Exchange students away from the United States for a year or more Boys with disabilities that might prevent them from attending regular meetings of packs or troops Boys in rural communities who live far from a Scouting unit Sons of migrant farmworkers Boys who attend night schools or boarding schools Boys who have jobs that conflict with troop meetings Boys whose

In my experience, Lone Scouting is intended for boys who can't regularly attend Troop meetings or activities because of distance from a meeting place (i.e., Jordan, Montana), some physical disability, or some other factor beyond his control. I don't think personality conflicts qualify. And, if the unit doesn't measure up to the parents' expectations, I think that rather than give otherwise interested families a hall pass, BSA wants them to volunteer and help make that unit better. A little Pollyanna-ish, I suppose, but I'm sure you see their point. KS

If you can, get a look at S.L.A. Marshall's book "The Soldier's Load and the Mobility of a Nation". He did extensive research during WWII regarding how much stuff (weight) our paratroops in Europe and infantry (Pacific island-hopping) carried on their backs. He found that regardless of the size of the man, 47 pound loads seemed to be a consistent threshhold beyond which endurance, stamina, mental acuity, and effectiveness all dropped markedly. Granted, these guys were going into combat, but the 47 pound threshhold applied to training environments and non-tactical road marches, too. KS

Beav; I have seen them, and they're all splendid -- truly "top row of the keyboard" stuff...the very reason I keep coming back here! KS

When my duties used to include responding to traffic accidents, we were trained to first, "prevent the accident from getting worse". That is, lifesaving first aid, marking the site so another motorist didn't crash into the wreckage, turning off ignitions, keeping bystanders back, minimizing fire/explosion risks, etc. Ambulances and fire trucks are on their way; these are some things the cops do when they first get there and the other responders are on their way. I think there are some parallels between traffic accidents and a YP situation like this. I believe it's a unit responsibili

Oren; National almost had a deal worked out with a Sherpa placement agency in Kathmandu, but after the candidates did some web research and found out what they were getting into, they opted, to a man, to stay in Nepal and drag tourists up to the top of Everest -- less strenuous and a less "dynamic" environment than a National Jambo. I understand they're looking into a pack mule option now, but are proceeding very carefully, with PETA headquarters just down the road in Norfolk... KS