madkins007

My first step would be a frank discussion with the parents using carefully selected leaders (ones who show the sort of people skills this would need). Learn about the boy and his needs, especially his meds. What you do next would depend on what you learn- should the information be shared, and of so, with whom? The SM and CC almost certainly, but beyond that may take some careful thought. His patrol members, for example, might really benefit from knowing more OR they might be better off treating him more like one of the guys. Requesting/requiring the parents or other 'appointed guardi

My own solution would be... 1.) Position patches would be restricted items, only awarded upon completion of some level of training (I would argue for Basic, although some might argue for Fast Start) 2.) Scout leadership to be structured like many other professionals- must achieve a certain number of credit hours a year to keep accredited. Non-accredited leaders cannot be rechartered. Roundtable counts for hours, as do many other options, including American Red Cross CPR/First Aid, etc. 3.) Modify rechartering and commisioner staff so that it takes a certain number of visits and

Tents: Troop owned several, but getting them back in good shape was a MAJOR hassle, so we began to request that people provide their own. They were welcome to borrow ours but basically 'rented' them in the sense that we had them sign'em out and in. I have to say that overall, I preferred it when the Scouts provided their own- they took better care of them. Patrol boxes: These things can become a major hassle- they are huge, heavy (one of ours could not be easily carried by 4 Scouts!), often filthy inside (and hard to sanitize), etc. At a camporee, I watched a group using plastic tub

Hey, guys- take a deep breath. A Scout is trustworthy, and he is also loyal and helpful. The people doing this are taking money wrongfully and it needs to be fixed on a national level- as publically as possible- but they are not defrauding widows or destroying pension plans or pumping toxic waste into aquifers or molesting children or doing any of what other companies/organizations are doing around us every day and getting away with. For that matter, the United Way is probably the biggest party directly hurt in this, and they really probably should be asking for some better verificat

As for inflation of numbers, my own experience is limited to two councils. One did it, one did not, both statements subject to my own limited access and both based on about 4 years ago. As I said, I'd be willing to bet that it is more likely in a certain group of councils, based on size, location, and the management. I bet there is far less pressure in smaller councils, for example. We Scouters also need to keep this in perspective. Fight it in your own unit as far as you can, IF it is happening, and realize that it is really up to US to deliver a quality program. The paid folk

Some scheduling 'looses' are due to our rather slack approach to attendence- most sports require a high percentage of attendence or you don't play or suffer some other penalty. We don't do that (nor do I think we should). Some is due to novelty. While Scouting is exciting, the 'day to day' stuff can be quite predictable. You can often look at the unit's schedule and figure you can miss certain meetings without great harm to your unit standing, thus a movie or time with friends might easily win out. Some of it is the family support. If the parent's can't drop our Scouts off, many of t

Get the money up front. If they don't pay, they don't play. If they back out later, more food for the other guys! That was the ONLY way we got a couple of families to start to commit at all, otherwise it was the same thing- last minute changes of mind, etc. It got to the point we asked those families to help in other ways and usually assumed they would not carry out any designated task, so made back-up plans. Most of them did not last long in Scouts, sadly enough, but

Lee Child's books with the character 'Jack Reacher'. A loner ex-Military Police who gets involved in some interesting cases. (www.leechild.com) Stephen Hunter's books with 'Bobby Lee Swagger', ex-Marine sniper trying to live his own life, but... (www.stephenhunter.net) F. Paul Wilson's 'Repairman Jack' books (www.repairmanjack.com) Greg Rucka's 'Atticus Kodiak' books (www.gregrucka.com) Janet Evanovich's 'Stephanie Plum' books are often hilarious Brian M. Wiprud- the guy's stuff is hilarious- Pipsqueak and Stuffed are some of the oddest/funniest stuff I've seen in a wh

Your local largish church supply store will have a section or department on youth group ideas, supplies, and books. While some of them will be very religious in tone, the bulk of the ideas can be used with any group. If the venue allows, try to create different activity zones, with a mixture so you don't have to please everybody. Sports over here, RC car races here, a movie being shown over here, a snack bar and band in the other corner... On a vaguely related note, I have often wondered what would happen if the BSA decided to try to run summer activity programs for non-Scouts.

Amen, FScouter! Preach it brother! Using the raingear as an example- I feel it is within my role as a leader to teach the wisdom of preparation and what to bring, but (other than for new Scouts as a teaching technique or other special situations) NOT to do pack inspections. On the other hand, we DO carry spare and emergency gear- a sleeping bag, a change of clothes, a roll of big trash bags, a couple towels, some easily stored food and high-energy snacks, spare water, etc. My thinking is that if it starts to rain and a Scout is caught unprepared, it is leadership's job to ensure

I'd be willing to bet that the website does not exagerate an iota, and that the problem is nearly nation-wide, at least among a certain size of councils (larger may be able to generate REAL numbers, and smaller might not have the pressures). When I worked in a local council office, I sure as heck knew about the exagerations, and I knew that those who fought against it were either TOLD to do it or were sidelined or removed. Only one DE I knew of was successful in fighting the pressure- by working his tail off and producing real numbers and money. Within the office it was a common topic of

I'm sorry, FScouter- I meant my reply to be completely tongue-in-cheek, and entirely missed in setting the right tone!

Yeah... within a few days of each event, I saw both examples locally. During a patriotic/historic event a local cemetary, covered in the news, I watched what appeared to be a crack team of Scouts in nearly perfect uniforms carry out a well-rehearsed color ceremony. Speaking to a ASM after, I discovered that the event is an annual one for the troop and that practice is built in to their program. Participation is purely voluntary and based on performance and presentation during practices- flag handling, simople drill, and uniforming. It is such an honor that on the day of the event, th

Picture storage- You can now buy some devices that will store the pictures for you. iPods, for example can do that, as can laptops, etc. More pictures on the card- just choose the right quality setting for your real needs (most of the time you really don't need the top end quality!) and do a 'daily data dump' of the bad shots. Charger- Some digital cameras (especially the super light or thin ones) ONLY charge when in their charging stand- the charging port on the side just runs it for shooting or transferring photos, but not recharging the battery. Check yours before you go to know i

re: Campmaster authority... BSA Rules and Regulations, Article X, Section 4, Clause 11 "Special Local Badges and Insignia" says that a council may indeed authorize special badges in accordance with the other rules AND the authorization of the BSA. Insofar as the pocket flap patches I have seen are primarily designed for Cubs (Whittlin' and Fireman), and would thus not conflict with any other flap insignia, I would certainly assume that any Campmaster that says it is OK has the word from on high, at least for the purposes of the camp. I agree that the need for a Tot'n'Chip patch is f

Banning electronics? I give them (and the parents) the old 'don't bring it if it will bother you to have it lost or broken' speech, and remind them that ANYTHING that bothers the others or is being used at the wrong time or in the wrong way will be removed and returned on the way home. (The old 'we camp to get away from it all' bit is only partly true- YOU ande I may camp to get away from it all, but we don't all share the same values. 'Camping without electronics' is not a part of the program or methods of Scouting. Heck, I'd rather have a patrol that is 'plugged in' during down time tha

I heard an interesting proposal during a conversation on this topic the other day... Step 1- simplify and standardize the uniform- reduce variations, streamline insignia, eliminate things that get sewn on and removed often, etc. This would include using the tan unifrom for Cubs, eliminating the yellow female option, requiring neckerchiefs as only neck option, etc. Besides being a true 'uniform' by the 'we all look alike' definition of the term, it also should reduce the costs of the uniforms in general. Step 2- Make the resulting uniform the National Uniform, required for

Yeah, but Velcro gets so nasty so easily. Yuck! (Of course, I work with the stuff every day and have picked up a real personal dislike for the stuff in a lot of applications! Far perfer snaps, buckles, ties, etc.)

KISMIF (Keep It Simple, Make It Fun) Bucket washing machine with plunger is one way to make it more fun for the Scouts- especially the younger guys who haven't yet 'seen it all'. If you have a bucket with a really tight fitting lid (I like the screw-on retro lids you can get some places), play a game of 'kick the can' (well, roll the can- it hurts to kick it!) or field bowling. A couple small fist-sized rocks tucked in an old sock helps the agitation. Teach'em the Zip-Lock Washing Machine (gallon-sized heavy duty zip bag, shirt (or a change of undies and socks, whatever), some

re: Cubs and Webs- Insignia Guide, p4, 'Temproary Insignia'- "The Progress Towards Ranks or Webelos compass points emblem may be worn by a CS or WS suspended from the right pocket button IN ADDITION TO A SEWN-ON TEMPOARY PATCH" (Emphasis mine) What you CANNOT do, in any level, is have a sewn-on patch AND a buttoned on temp patch at the same time. re: Tot'n Chip (or Whittlin' Chip or Fireman) patch- this is often a 'flap-shaped' patch that I have heard of SOME camps 'authorizing' for wear on the Cub or Webelos pocket flap- many Scouts seem to wear two- one on each flap. I have heard the ju

Yeah, what he said. Also- Isn't the school putting up any of the money? And if they are not, what are their plans for maintaining the poles and flags? Traditionally, when trying to raise biggish bucks, you ask a few questions: 1. Who benefits? School and neighborhood in this case, so try class competitions for funding- the class that raises the most gets a pizza or ice cream (or whatever else you can get donated). 'Penny drive/penny wars' (I don't understand penny war rules, but they seem to be effective), etc. 2. Who loves the subject? Benevolent and patriotic groups- so

Also in the early 70's, the Camping and Cooking MBs were dropped as required, many ranks were simplified compared to the older, more challenging versions, and the uniform was changed from the solid khaki cotton to the tan over olive polyester. Those of us who lived through it remember the difficulties of working under two sets of rules- a hodge-podge of cut-off dates to earn rank by or you had to re-earn it the new way. New uniforms being phased in with strong encouragement to abandon the old uniforms even before they wore out or were outgrown. Skill awards, the dread red berets (wit

1. Age vs. year- As a rule of thumb, go by year of school. The age bit is only really helpful for home-schooled youth and, oddly enough, the Mormon church, who do things slightly differently. I wish I could cite my source for this, but I can't find it any more (I donated a TON of books to the unit when I shifted jobs again!) The key here is 'FINISHED' such and such a grade. Finish a grade and have to repeat it and you still FINISHED it. School years are pretty universal- most schools start and end within a few weeks of each other. 2. Relative importance- The only two times the age or

Heh- when I teach youth about nature, I teach them two new cuss words- 'stumpsuckers' (the small branches at the base of a tree- if anything happens to the tree, they grow in its place) and 'crepuscular' [kray- PUSS-cue-lar)(like nocturnal and diurnal, but means active in dawn and dusk). Calling someone a 'crepuscular stumpsucker' sounds pretty darn nasty, don't it? But the kids MEMORIZE those terms! So, I'd go with Camp Crepuscular cuz I like the sound of it... but it does look a little odd! I also like the sound of 'Bat Camp', but I can see it spooking out a lot of folks!

Sash- should only be worn at OA events and never looped over the belt. Membership- usually, a quick note to the local lodge and re=applying for membership will do it!