ASM59

Good Day, This has been a peeve of mine for quite some time. I am not Catholic, Muslim or any of the other called out groups in this tread. I am a non-denominational Protestant Christian and go to a non-denominational Protestant Church. I have obligations and so does my son at our Church. These are not the so called Holy Obligations but things like teaching Sunday School or helping in the Nursery and so forth. I do not take my faith lightly and believe that my place is in Church on Sunday morning when our Church conducts their normal weekly service. To this end, my son and I traditi

Hello, I don't know if what I'm about to add to this will help but here I go... If you look across Christianity, there are many issues that separate denominations. In fact, different denominations exist because people within those denominations believe that their understanding/interpretation of scripture is the most accurate. So, from that standpoint, you can understand how a parent might think that their child could be "screwed-up" by teachings from someone of another "faith"/denomination. If you really care about your beliefs, then you have chosen a church based on that churches do

Hello Jean, Glad to hear that you found the Scouter.com web-site. Welcome to the forums... ASM59

Hey Alex, Good job, and welcome to the forums. I look forward to your input on topics, so don't be afraid to comment... ASM59

Bill, Note: I am not a doctor, nor have I ever played one on TV, but my wife is a nurse and First Aid MB Counselor. I tend to agree that it should be clarified if there is a real anxiety disorder problem here. If there is and it is being treated by counseling or Psychiatric care/medication then perhaps parents could speak to the counselor and/or Psychiatrist for suggestions or medication. [My daughter is on medication for some social anxiety problems. She modifies here dosage depending on what she is doing during the day. If she is sitting at home, shell take one pill. If she ha

Excellent point Randy. After all is said and done, I guess if the hazing issue can be stopped (or found to be non-existent), then either Troop could be a possibility depending on where each of the boys wants to go. However, what ever hot_foot (or other parents of the cross-over Webelos) can do to help the Troop program would be of benefit for either Troop. Sometimes someone coming in with some new ideas can help to change the course of an organization. Perhaps, setting the example of getting trained, would help to inspire/motivate existing Troop#2 adults to get some training themselv

Eagle, Yes, as hot_foot has pointed out, the spelunking adventures are simply overnight campouts with what sounds like professionally led tours/exploration. So, with this clarification, I agree that this activity is OK and sounds like the young ones would enjoy it. With regard to the backpacking I pointed out that the difficulty of the trip needs to be considered. I agree whole-heartedly with your position on backpacking and didn't mean to sound so one-sided. It is important that younger Scouts are exposed to backpacking on an age-appropriate level. I had much more information,

Hot_foot, I'm leaning toward going with Troop#2, but only after clarifying a few things with adult leaders. I would ask them if they know that paint ball is not an approved of activity withing the Boy Scout program. It could be lack of training as pointed out. You did say that there is a broad range of ages and that they seem to be more boy led, so that's why I'd favor this Troop. By the way, the only thing that you mention that is an inappropriate activity is the paintball outings. As for Troop #1, I'd have a hard time accepting hazing especially hazing described as bullying. E

Wow, I'm suprised that you had so much trouble with transfering to another Council. We had a boy join our Troop that had moved from Wichita, KS. I contacted his old Council and they faxed a copy of his Advancement Report to me and mailed a disk with his ScoutNet data to our local Council. Our Council accepted that information as valid and accurate. 16 months later this boy sat at his Eagle BOR and had absolutely no problem getting his Eagle. ASM59

One more thought, I think that there must always be a Blue Card or some other paperwork to verify that a MB was earned. I know that when we turn in advancement paperwork with MB's on it, that a copy of either the Council's portion of the Blue Card or a copy of the paperwork showing that the MB was earned is always attached and I believe that it must be attached inorder for the Council to enter it as completed. Every MB that we have had completed at either a MB University or at a Summer Camp always either has a Blue Card or a print out with a MB Counselor's signature or Council Summer Camp st

Joe, Never had it happen specifically, but I believe this is one of those areas that varies dependant on the Council/District rules. I just finished talking to our District Advancement Chair person, with regard to a Scout that is very close to Eagle. He has lost a few "Blue Cards" and one Rank Card for Star. She said that as long as it is recorded on the official advancement record of the Council that he obtained these MB's and Rank, then there would be no problem and no discussion regarding it. We have just reorganized from 3 districts to 2 districts and have a different Advanc

Raisin..., I know homeschoolers and I know their dedication to their children and to "raisinemright". I'm assuming that most or all of the boys in your son's patrol are home schooled with dedicated parents. If the parents have their boys in Scouts, they they must really "buy-into" the program, and it doesn't suprise me that they are active/involved parents. The involvement of the parents is key to their boy's attendance and success. Keep up the good work. ASM59

I don't know how this applies, but the last 4 years of summer camps that I attended (two different Council camps) required that all leaders held a current YPT card. Current was defined as within the last 12 months. The on-line YPT is great. I can whip through the training in just a few minutes and do so once per year. ASM59

Welcome, I look forward to your input. ASM59

Lisa, The most important thing that I think most Webelos parents are not prepared for is exactly what the Boy Scout Program is and how it operates; you know aims and methods kind of thing. If I could do my Webelos 2 den transition again, I'd take the parents out to our Council campground without their kids, form a patrol and go through a typical campout weekend with them - almost like Scoutmaster Outdoor Training. Now to do this I would have had to borrow the Troop trailer and maybe the Scoutmaster for the weekend, but I think we could have accomplished a lot toward teaching them just w

True service is not given with a price tag or expecting something back. Several years ago, my son was Den Chief for a Den of Webelos 1 Scouts and their Den Leader (mom of one of the Scouts). We worked very closely with them for two years and even hauled our Troop trailer to two of their Den campouts so they'd have cooking gear and such. My son and one or two other Boy Scouts stayed out there with them and taught their naturalist & forester activity pins. The Troop also invited them to 4 outdoor events and several meetings. In the end, the whole den went to a neighboring town's Tr

Hello, I like what Barry had to say. There is a reciprocal benefit to the Troop for the services of the Den Chief; leadership development of the Den Chief. But even if that were not the case, are we doing a disservice by pushing the concept of "service" within Scouting and then turning around and saying that we should be getting something out of this? Would it not be better to teach that being a Den Chief is an opportunity to serve the Scouts of the Pack, rather than to give the impression that if we go over there and do a good enough job, we might get something out of it (Webelo

Good Day, I've seen my fair share of advancements that were pushed through; either due to lack of training by those who sat on the BOR or the SM or in some cases I'm convinced it was outrite deceit. In either case, you really cannot go back and undo the advancement or awarded MB. I understand that the paperwork has not been done, but I'd either get the old SM to sign the advancement form and get it turned in to Council or do it myself if I couldn't get him to do it. If there was no Scoutmaster conference for these two boys'and you're the new SM, you can always call them over one at

Thanks for the feedback, everyone... I am curious, I see that allangr... and Mrw1 are working withing Scouting even after their sons have "aged out". Are there others out there that are still working after their sons are gone? In what capacity? Why are you still working, even though your son is gone? I'm with acco40; I really enjoy working with the 10-13 year olds, especially the first year Scouts - they are so excited and energetic. Thanks, ASM59

Venividi, I'm just to the south of Three Fires Council in Rainbow Council. I have purchased several Boy Scout shirts at a local thrift store in Joliet that have Three Fires Council patches on them... Thanks for the feedback! Any more feedback from anyone? Thanks, ASM59

acco40, Excellent point. I have seen positive peer pressure work with several of the Scouts that I have served in the past; by sticking together and encouraging each other when receiving negative peer pressure at school. I remember one of my Scouts, Timmy, telling a fellow Scout, "Their just jealous that we get to do all this fun stuff in Scouts" and then turning to the negative offender and inviting him to come to a Scout meeting. This group of boys (4 boys in the same patrol) are very good friends and really looked out for each other all the time. I think it was the support that the

Good Day, So my son turned 17 this year; only 8 months and 2 weeks till his 18th birthday. He has been Life rank for years. Football, chorus, plays, musicals, homework, job and girlfriend(s) have all been competing for his time and have many times won-out over time for Scout meetings and outings. I absolutely refuse to force him to get his Eagle. I do however gently encourage him, as much as seems fit. Anyway, this post is not about him, but about me. Regardless of whether he gets his Eagle or not, he will age out next May. What do I do next? I could stay and conti

In my experience, most of the negative peer pressure toward scouting occurs in middle school years; usually 7th - 8th grade and even into 9th grade. The past two years, however I have seen several 6th graders affected by negative peer pressure as well (not something I've seen before the past two years). By the time boys get to High School (especially 10th - 12th grade), much of the negative peer pressure seems to stop; or at least it doesn't seem to bother them so much. But there are other things that are in conflict with their time for Scouting as they get to their later H.S. years;

"Have any of you dealt with a situation like this?" Yes, last night at our Troop meeting Billy came to the meeting to tell the adult leaders that he was quitting. He was a AOL cross-over last February and has just started the Sixth Grade. His mother told him that if he was not going to the meeting and he wanted to quit, that he owed an explanation to the leaders and that she was not going to be the one to tell us. One of our other leaders, who went through Cubs with Billy since Tiger, went out to talk to him. Billy's reason; Scouts is boring and just not fun any more. Billy has

Former Troop: Constant complaining and infighting among the Committee Members; especially between the Committee Chair and Treasurer - each have controlling personalities and who seemed to think that there is some power to be had as adult members of the committee (self-serving rather than serving the Scouts). In the end, this in-fighting had driven off most of the other Committee Members and ASM's. All this power struggle resulted in closed meetings, sometimes not even all the Committee members were invited. Present Troop: Committee will do just about anything to support the program