mk9750

Acco, Some of your lecture is misdirected. It wasn't FOG who wrote that he required a particluar MB be completed before another, it was me writing about our SM who does this. Frankly, he knows it is not proper to do this, as do I. And that is why I make sure anyone who wants to pursue any of these badges knows he is more than able to contact another Counselor. None of our guys choose to. The boys who have gone through (what they jokingly refer to at Eagle COHs as) the "Triumverate of Terror" all tell the younger guys that this was the best way to do these badges. Doing it like this has ma

How many boys registered? 31 How many boys active? 30 with one completely inactive and to be dropped from the roster in January, one more teetering. How many Patrols? 3 Does your troop go to summer camp in or out of Council? Out, alternating between two different. Does your troop go to Dist/Council Camporees? Only Klondike. Does your troop support FOS? Mildly Does your troop sell Popcorn? If not, what are your fundraisers? Yes, plus yard cleanup, car wash, and pancake breakfast. Does your troop use NSP, FCFY method? NSP Sometimes, depends on size of incoming

Hops, Here's some off the wall commentary I bet you won't get elsewhere. My oldest son also bought the Ranier that Eagledad mentioned. It's a great pack, and I was pleased with what I paid for it. HOWEVER: Everytime my son went on a backpacking trip, the SM complained about his pack. Seems the most efficient way he found to put eight backpacks in his Chevy Suburban was to stand them up. The frame on the Jansport was about 3/8" too tall to allow this one to be stood up straight. It's a minor point, but check out how the pack will best fit in the vehicle it will most often ride in

We don't have too many problems with this. Every once in a while, a kid will slip and use a word he knows he shouldn't. When it happens, an adult giving him a look is enough to remind him not to do it again. Hell and damn have become acceptable in our Troop. I'm not particularly on board with that, but it falls into the "where to you want to pick your fights" realm. Most everything else is off limits for boys and adults. If we started having a problem, and couldn't control it with looks, or the "Scout - Like" sentence, I'd suggest to the SPL instituting a "cuss cup". When ever someone hea

KS, Your post hit while I was composing mine. Some of the points might seem contradictory, but I think with a small amount of explaining, they might seem more complimentary. I think the extra that we get out of our guys is not better memorization, but better understanding of the hows and whys. Discussing the Bill of rights is the basis of one of the requirements for Cit / Nation. Many of our guys go into their sessions with the SM having memorized the basics of each of the first ten Amendments. By the time they're done with the session, they understand why freedom of religion was so

In our Troop, we have four very active MB Counselors. One does the three Citezenship badges, one does the Scout skill type badges (camping, hiking, etc.), one does the aquatics MBs, and I do what I call the soft skill MBs (Communications, Personal Mgt., Family Life). This covers most of the required badges. We specifically do not do First Aid or Personal Fitness, to force a boy to seek a Counselor outside the Troop. If you do the Citizenship badges with our SM, you WILL do Community first, Nation second, and World third. The way he works on these makes one a prerequisite for the other. I

Acco, Can I phrase a small part of your post slightly differently? Could it be that Sturgen, despite being techically permited to wear an Eagle badge, really isn't being an Eagle Scout? I hadn't thought about this like that, but if that's what you meant, the idea has some merit. Now that I'm thinking along those lines, I had an association with a Scouter in a Cub Pack that displayed very similiar traits. Never seemed to want to conform. Worked hard to raise the ire of District and Council folks. Rarely seemed to be completely honest about many things. Seemed to think that

Just wanted to point out that was my shortest post ever. Mark

Eh?

Bob, I want to believe you made an unfortunate, unintentional mistatement when you said that the reason was unimportant. I cannot recall one instance in my experience when knowing the cause of a problem wasn't the easiest and best way to solve the problem and keep it from recurring. It's possible to correct a problem without knowing its origin, but the best, and usually the easiest, road to repair includes an evaluation of the root cause of the problem. To all: Again, parts of this discussion have deteriorated, and a major reason for this is the inability or unwillingness o

Bob, I asked a question about how we can classify our Troop concerning FCFY, and although I appreciate the gentle correction you made as to terminology, I really didn't see (or maybe I didn't understand) and answer. Then Eagledad makes a point that was pretty much what I was trying to say. I believe our program is designed in such a way that a Scout has the opportunity to earn First Class in about 15 months if he particpates. we don't call it First Class Emphasis, we just call it our annual program. But although the opportunity is there, only some Scouts take take the initiative and

I think there is recognition for your time spent as a Scout. It's the Service Stars. Sure, they don't identify what rank you were, but they do help identify your time in the program. Mark

OGE, My mind was wandering down the same path yours did. Can you imagine how outrageous someone has to be to get FOG worried he's going to sound like Bob? I think FOG used the best analogy on this topic (hitting the soccer ball with a 2" x 4"). FOG, you do realize that one is likely to boonerang on you, right? Sturgen, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume your Troop does what it does because you believe it is in the best interest of the boys in your Troop. If so, if you really have the best interest at heart, please reread the posts from those who diffe

NJ, Agree or disagree, makes no matter - I love ya man! (And no, that doesn't indicate a softening on my position on the gay issue! LOL) Agree new adults' packs should also be inspected. We do that. I disagree that boys can't do this. If they've developed to the point where there as expert as the adults, they have the ability to protect neebies from harm. I can tell you for sure that I would rather have any of 15 boys in my Troop check my pack than all but two of the adults. Mark

MARK (imagine this in as large a font as you have, and think of the words of John Hancock)

Bob, I have heard comments about FCFY helping retain Scouts before. I've also heard stats about the percentage of Scouts who go to summer camp their first year and what their retention rate is. I believe our Troop can lend credence to the ascertation that significantly more Scouts that go to summer camp their first year stay with the program. But I don't know how to classify our Troop as to FCFY. The boys in my Troop make an annual plan that includes the opportunity for each boy to learn all of the skills required to make First Class in about 15 - 16 months. My first question is whet

Checking packs in this instance is vital. It should not be overlooked. Of course, it should be the boys checking them. The way we have done this is to have everyone bring their pack the Tuesday before the weekend event. the SPL unpacks his pack completely, and verifies that he has everything on a checklist, and that he can justify carrying anything else not on the list. The ASPL does the same thing. Then the Troop splits into Patrols, and the Patrol leader does the same thing. Once everyone has seen a few of the leaders' packs inspected, they have an idea what needs added or subtracted, a

Sturgen, I agree with you that there is much value for the vast majority of Scouts by working through the advancement program more methodically than it would take to become an Eagle at 13 or 14. I believe this with all my heart. And I think Saltheart has the proper method for helping that to happen: Adult mentorship to get each Scout to be certain for himself that they have met the requirements. In this manner, those very, very few boys who meet the requirements properly at an early age are rewarded for their legitimate effort. And, on the flip side, this would prevent another problem I h

Rooster, I think I know what you're trying to say, but I think you and I see such things in a slightly different light. For instance, you regret being so preoccupied with girls. Although it may not have caused a specific positive trait that manifested itself later in your life, I still thnk it was valuable to helping form the person you are now, and from my seat, I think you're a fine person. Would you be better for not having spent time chasing skirts? I'm not so sure you could really make that case. The wall of your life is made up of all of the stones used to build it. Most are av

KS, As the movie critics might say, as I ready your response, "I laughed. I cried. it was a terrific story." Good stuff on the transfer. Kind of goes to prove a saying I have heard once or twice: Don't ever do anything too well. You never know when it will cause you more work. But I'll bet you didn't drive home swearing under your breath about it, did you? As to your status as a hero, OK, I'll buy that to some degree. The guys who are in places that make them unsure whether they will ever get home sure qualify for a higher level of hero. But they can't do what they do without gu

I guess at times I am guilty of being too proud of myself, but I feel I have done an acceptable job being an example to my children, and a loving husband to my wife. These are the two responsiblities I feel I have been charged with on this earth, and I feel good about how I have done so far. The only two things I can think of that I would change would be to have worked harder in school, and to avoid gaining the weight I have gained in my adult life. I think both of these have caused me difficulty setting an example for my sons. I've tried to use the negative to try to make positive statem

Right On DSteele!! Couldn't agree more with you about KS! I think everyone of you folks in the military should be thanked every chance we get. I think everyone one of you folks in Scouting should be thanked every chance we get. Thank you, Thank you! KS - I'm curious as to how you ended up as SM after your move (I am assuming you are the SM in your new Troop). how'd that work out? BTW, I agree 100% with you. A few years ago, I moaned constantly about having to pay to volunteer. Now I realize that I don't pay enough for what I get out of this program. I am convinced I have been ex

KS, You're one of my favorite (or favourite for Eamonn - LOL) posters on this board, and you'd have to be a lot tougher on me to offend me. I agree 100% with you, and our Troop works very much the same as yours when it comes to SM conferences and BORs. I tried to go back and count how many of these occassions I remember, and I think it was three or four (I admit to throwing a number out that I hadn't really thought about before I typed it). If the most recent is representative of all of them, the boy was a friend of my son's, who was over our house all of the time. He spoke very freely on

EaglenKY, This issue has been discussed at least a couple of times, so you might want to review some old threads for some insight. I am the Advancement Chair, not a SM, but I've had to formulate a game plan for dealing with this issue too. What I've come up with, after reading so many of the great posters here, is that I now have a philosophy that gets the boy to satisfy himself that he has met the requirements. When it comes to Scout Spirit, during BORs, I (or one of my co-conspirators) asks a boy if he has demonstrated Scout Spitit in his everyday life. When he says yes, we ask for

Eammon, One of the only laments I have consistently had over my 12 years in this great program is that it has to be run like a business. There's no way in $^&& that it should have to be, and, at a unit level, I don't think it usually is. But at the district level and above, unfortunately, it does have to be run like a business. And sometimes that means making numbers look good. If it isn't illegal, immoral or dangerous, it sometimes is "just the way it is". ON THE OTHER HAND - if there is something either illegal or immoral, than it is important that anyone who sees the probl