LeCastor

Wow, this is funny! I can just imagine a Scouter getting all pumped up to play covers of the Cure, Depeche Mode, and the Violent Femmes...to a bunch of Cub Scouts. LOL I guess I could see a rock concert type thing as entertainment for an adult party...but at a camporee? Forget it! I like T2Eagle's recommendation to "run around in the woods".

I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to collecting BSA handbooks, fieldbooks, and old merit badge pamphlets. So when the new Fieldbook came out I bought it right away not having looked through it. While the information is still good, the presentation is very digested into small chunks. I like how the older editions read like a book with illustrations throughout. The new edition doesn't hold my attention and, ironically, I think it's written to keep younger readers invested. Has anyone else skimmed through the new edition? My favorite edition is still Hillcourt's Field Book from the 1940s

Scouting is a pretty broad term these days. We've got STEM awards, environmental awards, athletic awards, and outdoors awards that are all geared toward helping make good, strong citizens. We go camping, do high adventure things and work on trails. We also do service to the community. In the past three years I've seen gaming-related merit badges crop up. There's even one for robotics. The BSA is constantly evolving to meet the demands of the youth and trying to keep up with the times. Now, I think Scouting is way different now that even when I was a teenager. But deep down it's s

In our community we have a rotating, church-based shelter for thouse currently between permanent homes. So families move in to a church after Sunday school, stay for a week, and then move out before Sunday school the following Sunday. We do that cycle 3-4 times per year. Also, we take part in Scouting for Food to help stock our chartering org's food pantry. In more non-traditional community service, I work with a water-quality non-profit that assigns me to a stream near our chartering org. Once per month the Scouts help me test the water, plant life, and invertebrates for health and alert

My out-going SPL attended the National Leadership Seminar and had to create three action items--similar to Wood Badge ticket items. Since he will be turning 18 soon, he wanted to make sure the troop had a new crop of trained leaders. So he asked if I had any suggestions. The ILST syllabus is pre-made and ready to be implemented. I was impressed with the way he just ran with it and presented the material. However, there are a lot of leadership theory buzzwords and acronyms that we see in WB and NYLT. My Scouts who have been to NYLT, in fact, laugh about how they got lost in the alph

Personally, I don't like the idea of soda on camping trips. However, as I have mentioned before, the adults in my troop camp as the Duct Tape Patrol and set the example for the Scout patrols. Our menus are based on the food plate and lack all sodas. The only time this becomes an issue is when one Scouter brings her own soda. The justification is that some of us drink our own coffee. Whatevs... As the Scoutmaster, I don't ban it but I don't suggest it either...

Personally, I keep my ODL shirts red/red and my Centennial shirts green/green. As long as they match they are technically allowed, right? Any BSA uniform is recognized as an official uniform.

Check this out! http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-Pair-BSA-Dark-Green-with-Red-Top-2-Pair-Knee-High-Green-Socks-/281317547902 And these aren't even the knee-high ones I was talking about...

Remember those knee socks with the red tops? I've been checking eBay for about a year and every now and then there are some up for auction. However, they tend to sell for upwards of $40-$60! Crazy, huh? There's still some demand out there for those socks, apparently. My Scouts laugh at me know when I wear the new knee socks but seeing the red-topped ones make me nostalgic for the '80s. That said, I can't see myself paying up to $60 for a pair!

I got it here: http://www.oa-bsa.org/pages/content/M11 LeCastor

When I did my Ordeal in the early 1990s the logo was the stylized Native American head with ceremonial dress. Before that I believe it was a profile view of a Native American with headdress. Then, when I got involved in Scouting again I noticed that the logo changed to an arrowhead. Does anyone know when these updates took place?

Last night at our court of honor, I closed with a Scoutmaster's Minute where I told the Scouts that Scouting is what you make of it. If you and the Scout make this super easy and a "joke" then you're doing each other a disservice. I just read the requirements and it doesn't look that awful to me. I'll make sure I don't recommend you for this badge though, Perdidochas. LOL!

Yes, we took it to mean the Troop had to show as many outdoor-related merit badges are there are Scouts. As qwase says, not all registered Scouts are going to be active and some others are going to have to take up the slack. Don't know about the new Scout question...I'd ask the Unit Commissioner.

Hi, qwase. While your suggestions do prove more challenging than the official BSA outdoor challenge award's requirements, I believe this was a significant achievement by our small Troop. Each Scout worked hard to earn outdoor-related merit badges, go on outings (we increased our number of outings over the previous year) and help teach Webelos about Scout skills on one of our camping trips. The PLC doesn't need to hear that what they accomplished wasn't even challenging or "just one more piece of paperwork that nobody cares about". You should have seen the senior patrol leader's face wh

Last week at round table we had a "fireside chat" with the program director, field director and district commissioner. I asked them if they had ever heard of the BSA outdoor challenge award for Troops/Crews and they said that they had. However, when I quizzed the volunteers present at round table I only got blank stares. My suggestion to the council/district folks was that they advertize this award a little more. Do you all know about this unit advancement item? http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/430-016_WB.pdf My unit completed these requirements and I presented the form t

I've come to the conclusion that some Scouts think it's the responsibility of the Scoutmaster to collect abandonned handbooks, permission slips and popcorn sell sheets. In order to keep our CO's fellowship hall uncluttered, I do take the abandonned items but I put them in the trunk of my car where they stay until someone asks about them. It's definitely a teaching moment...Oh, Second Class, I was at a merit badge clinic-thingy two weeks ago and the director gave me a dilapidated handbook...Perhaps it belongs to the Scout in question?

Thanks, Stosh. We are on the same page here.

Hey, jblake, I was all for letting the patrol hike out and do the project themselves. However, there were other adults in camp who insisted that these Scouts needed supervision. Bill Hillcourt said to train the Scouts, trust them and let them lead. I'll be having a discussion with the committee this month. My question was about the G2SS and if I misunderstood the necessary BSA safety guidelines.

I'd like your input here... Is there any reason why a patrol of four Scouts ranging in age from 13-17 should not be allowed to hike one mile with hedge trimmers and bow saws without adult supervision? Does the G2SS indicate that allowing a First Class Scout, a Life Scout, an Eagle Scout and a visiting 16-year old to hike a minimal distance with non-power tools is incorrect/unsafe? This was for a service project to clear brush... A frustrated LeCastor...

I've been reading old issues of Boys' Life on the wayback machine. Kinda cool! You can read Green Bar Bill's stories and enjoy articles with some meat in them. I find it hard to get too excited about the current Boys' Life issues that arrive in my mailbox... http://boyslife.org/wayback/#issue=TVGeB4AU0_4C

Thanks, Terry, for the clarification. It was great to speak with you this evening and I, too, look forward to the continuation!

Personally, I wear my field uniform for all camping trips and hikes. When service projects are especially sweaty and or dirty, I tend to wear the activity uniform. But it's been interesting to see the many takes on when to wear and when not to wear the field uniform. Please see the following two threads... Bryan on Scouting: http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2013/10/22/tuesday-talkback-does-your-troop-hike-in-field-uniform-aka-class-a/ Ask Andy, the Net Commissioner: http://netcommissioner.com/askandy/2013/10/issue-366-october-13-2013/ Honestly, I agree with Andy here...

The most important First Class requirement is missing: The First Class Journey. Therefore the BSA's outdoor requirements are designed to get Cub Scout survivors to Eagle without ever walking into the woods with packs on their backs. For a while, Hillcourt's Patrol Leader Training got Patrols out into the woods without adult helicopters, but in 1972 Wood Badge replaced it with Troop Method training called "Leadership Development." Therefore the BSA's leadership skills requirements are designed to get Cub Scout survivors to Eagle without ever walking into the woods with a Patrol

I am fortunate to have a self-starter Troop Guide in my Troop who loves Scoutcraft skills and has devised a great refresher course for this weekend. His goal is to do some serious skills instruction on lashings/ropework, cooking and map/compass. The younger Scouts are really pumped about learning stuff while their parents are pumped about the fact that their children are advancing. It's the best of both worlds for me as Scoutmaster. The Scouts are happy and the parents are happy. First Class is definitely, in my mind, the goal of every Scout. Just look at the requirements. Very few

Since I've been Scoutmaster (2 years), we've had one Scout earn the rank of Eagle and he, too, started as a Tiger on our affiliated Pack. He and he father, who started the Tiger group, made a photo album showing the Scout's progress from 1st grader to Eagle. They did a great job with that! Also, much like what Tample Turtle said, all of his Den Leaders and Cubmasters were in attendance and all said a few words about the Scout. It was very moving. In my opinion, having these mentors say a few words is worth more than any kind of fidelity award, as you mentioned, Eriel. Just knowing