madkins007

Emb021- I've seen a lot of 'spoof' shirts of one type or another at various places- and I think it is great... as long as they wearer knows what in the heck they are doing. I've seen them worn at things like Philmont Training Center, Pow-Wow, roundtables, and even training sessions. One guy wears a shirt as wrong as can be- whole row of CSPs sewn on in a big roll-up bundle on one sleeve, every Quality Unit award for a decade... and he wears it into training, 'coincidentally' just as the uniform segment starts. Lots of people I've met at Roundtable wear one or two- our RTs

My own 2 cents- as a nature trail enthusiast... 1. Pointing out that this is a sugar maple and this is a pin oak is OK, but I enjoy 'the rest of the story'- many of these things have rather cool reasons behind the names, or played a role in history, or have some fascinating story to tell- even if it just mnemonic devices to help re-identify the thing later. 2. Besides the names of plants, a bit of history is always fun. Locally, there is a nature center with an old DOCUMENTED hermits home in it- the stories for that site are great! Another trail has an area that was the backdrop for

Wear it on one's spoof shirt? I've put them on my 'trophy jacket' and I admit to having used Velcro on my Trained strip so I can swap it for an 'Over-Trained' strip when I did training classes once or twice. It was pretty much a private joke since no one seemed to notice!

Our pack and troop charged dues up front. As the year went on, some of the fundraisers paid into individual unit accounts that could be used for dues, summer camp, or some other unit-related expenses. In Cubs, this included the den dues/expenses. In the troop, it did not. In both cases, we ran it past the parents to see their preferences. Most of them preferred to pay the full ride up front and not depend so much on trying to keep track of weekly dues, lots of fundraisers, etc. This way, it was a family's option to help fundraise for many of the events. It also ensured us cash f

(There is a whole range of 'spoof' patches, Interpreter Strips, knots, merit badges, etc. that can be had if so interested. Besides English, there is also Klingon, Computerese, Southern Drawl, and more.)

You can talk to your DE about this also. They might be able and willing to waive the date requirement, assuming all other requirements were met. You can try a spoof patch as a semi-gag, semi-honor if the CM is that kind of person.

My understanding is: If/when you get sued- 1.) Your own insurance company is the first pocket. 2.) The BSA insurance kicks in secondly to cover you IF you followed the rules. It is, I have been told, a supplimental policy. Our Scouter Services person tells the story of two groups of Scouts heading to Philmont in seperate years. Both are involved in a terrible collision. One group is covered by the BSA since they completed a proper Tour Permit and it was documented that they followed the rules. The other, unfortunately, was not since they did not file a permit.

For those who wish to revert to an earlier version of the Pledge, here are some options: What Bellemy wanted to write: I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with equality, liberty and justice for all. [Note: he knew the word 'equality' would not be welcome since neither women nor blacks- nor others- were considered equal at the time.] Original published version, Sept 8, 1892: I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. 1st Revision, Oc

Henk- Just for my own curiosity, what difference does it make grammatically if there is a comma between "One Nation" and "Under God"? The comma is usually placed to indicate a slight pause, and we tend to read the Pledge in a series of short bursts- probably at least in part because it is easier to read ANYTHING in a group in shrt bursts. It is usually spoken: I pledge allegience to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Its a nice rythym and flows.

FScouter pointed out "The not-so-new award requirements were published in the 2003 printing of the Leadership Training Committee Guide." Yeah, but the requirement list I used was from my new *2005* Scoutmaster's Handbook. I know this happens all the time in the BSA (LOTS of documents to keep up to date!) but it is still a bit irksome.

9. Do ONE of the following: a. Attend a world jamboree. b. Take part in an international event in your area. c. Visit with a foreign exchange student and discuss his or her country and customs. d. Study a foreign language for a year. e. Write an embassy or consulate for material about its country and discuss the material with your counselor. f. Examine a particular international issue and give a brief oral presentation and a written report to your counselor. I don't see any reason why the National Jamboree could not count for 9b as he asked. (It was a litt

I would LOVE that! (PS, I DID get the CD, and Ging Gang IS NOT on it, darn it all!) Anyway, my e-mail is mad90kins9007@c9ox.c9om (omit the '9's'- they are there to confound spammers!) Thanks very much! And just FYI- if you do a search in a peer-to-peer sharing network for Boy Scout MP3's, you'll get a lot of stuff you probably don't particularly want to listen to!

Gotta disagree Ed... if a kid does not say the pledge, they are being different, and that is not a major goal of kids in school. There is a lot of subtle and unsubtle pressure to conform. I'm a devout Christian, but I really wish the government would make up its mind. Religous expresion OK or not? If not, remove it from the money and Pledge. They added it to both at one time or another- it was not mandated by God or even a popular vote of the people. It can be removed. For crying out loud, the entire Pledge was the result of a Baptist minister, and it was only slowly adopted into soc

You mean like newsletters, etc.? Our pack used a single-page handout, given out at the end of each meeting. You could have it mailed if you pre-paid the mailing costs. This worked OK, especially if we could announce something over several handouts so it could not be missed if someone misplaced a flyer. It takes some thought to design a flyer/newsletter that people will actually READ. Our troop did postcards. This was a mixed hit. The print tended to be REALLY small, and they did not always arrive well or on time, but most people watched for them and responded well. We also

SWScouter- I would not say that our council had (and maybe still has?) an 'implimentation problem' with the CS awards. The way they did it kept people happy and I doubt there were very many abuses... especially since the average leader did not know that there was not a lot of checking going on behind the scenes. Besides- the office really had (has?) no way of verifying much of the info on the card. Requirements such as helping with Pinewoods or Sports and Academics, coordinating den activities, taking part in overnighters, etc.- none of this is recorded in any way at the office. In f

FScouter- It does not surprise me that they changes some requirements again- after all, I JUST bought a new SM handbook and it had the stuff I listed in it! Figures that as soon as I upgrade, I'm still behind the curve- it works with my computers, too! AwHeck- yeah, I sympathize. Some positions get a lot of recognition and hoopla, some don't. I have long suspected that the BS Leader's 'advancement program' was geared largely to get adults involved in the district and council levels.

I like the idea of mixing things up as well, and this forum and the Web are a galaxy of resources! Hobo camp- tarps, bedrolls, tin can cookery, hobo stoves... Variations include shipwreck camp (using random stuff 'found on the beach', placed by leaders who do not compare notes); shoebox camping- everything has to fit in a shoebox (except maybe a sleeping bag), etc. Cooking Challenges- solar cooking, utensiless cooking, Iron Chef (bring out some stuff, then challenge all patrols to use a secret ingredient in most dishes served), 'no cooler' challenges, 'portable feast' (each patrol or

A few thoughts... 1.) In our unit, a boy cannot be elected to a position without being at the meeting, unless he had previously made his interest known. (We actually had boys 'announce' their interests a couple weeks before any election- campaing flyers and all!) 2.) At 13.5 and/or as a Star Scout, he should have seen situations like this before. Learning how to deal with them is a part of growing up. Our job as leaders and parents sometimes is helping boys deal with things better. 3.) What does your son want to happen at this point? Would he want a new election (there are some

I got concerned when you said the COR was on the TC's side- the COR and the CC can install and remove pretty much without anyone else's OK according to the way things are supposed to work. Of course, a SMART CC and COR will consider input carefully before acting. I've worked with people like you described. One woman especially is an incredible resource for Scouting skills, but a lot of people really can't stand her. I stopped asking her to help with Cub Leader training because of input from trainees about her style. But... her success rate was phenomenal as well, and the Scouts

I did not realize that the OA election process (or other secret ballot processes) forbade discussion of the vote afterwards. I know you cannot talk about many aspects before or during in order to minimize undue influence on the voting process, but I was unaware that it was to remain inappropriate to discuss afterwards. Just curious!

SWScouter- Oh, come on- let's fight (like gentlemen, of course!) I chose the BS Leader's Training Award for my example because to earn the SM Key you have to earn this first. I chose the CM knot randomly, but the Cub knots all have similar requirements. You can earn a CS knot without leaving your unit other than attending 4 RTs or a single longer supplimental training event. For the BS award, of the 12 options, 8 of them involve work outside your unit, either in other units or on district, council or national levels. (OK, I'm pushing this a bit by treating the MB Counselor as a

Word of mouth is THE best advertising. Every advertiser knows this and works hard to increase it. Talk with your guys in semi-private and find out if they know anyone they can invite. See if you can find some way to motivate them to invite their buddies. We USED to do 'buddy camping' when I was a Scout years ago (invite a buddy on a campout usually with the troop covering his share of the costs. I assume that today you'd need to invite a parent along as well) but see what you can do to support your guys in this effort. Your DE OUGHT to have lists of interested folk from your zip-code

1. Make no threats and immediately stop making group recruiting announcements. 2. Start working the resources. Any leader material ANYWHERE in the pack? Any last year's Web DLs or other 'old' DLs that might come back? Any recommendations for people to ask? (your old Tiger leader should know which parents seemed vaguely interested and able). Any interested grandparents or uncles or old enough siblings? Anyone in the CO interested? Aim for 5-6 good candidates. 3. Figure out not only who to ask, but who should do the asking. Who is your best adult recruiter OR who is the best to speak t

I was talking with some co-workers about this issue and why their sons were not in Scouts. I got some interesting feedback. "My son was in Cubs for a while, but dropped out because it got boring for him. He never showed much interest past that." [Experienced Scouters can guess what year this happened- between late Bear and early Webelos. Cubs does a great job of recruiting, but their drop-outs rarely re-enter the program.] "My son just never showed much interest. He prefers (fill in the blank with sports, video games/computer, or hanging with friends)." (Q: Did you know Scouts d

Briantshore- This is just my own take on the various crafts in Cubbing, so take this for what it is worth. It is easy for us to remove the skills and creativity aspects of crafts by making them too much a 'follow THESE steps' process. When we use crafts in Cubs, we really ought to have a purpose in it- teaching a new skill, creating something with an immediate purpose (gift item or prop for a skit, etc.), putting other lessons into practice, etc. Whenever possible with a craft item, we should try to select options that give the Cubs a lot of control, input, choices, decisi