mmhardy

Tombitt, Here, here! I think you have the proper attitude on the issue. Continue to work within your troop to inspire change. Your son will be proud of the leadership role that youre taking. The Birkenstock cell phone prohibitionists have their own agenda. Don't give it a thought. Out

Eagle1982 et al, If anyone wants a real life story of how using several cell phones during a high adventure trip averted a crisis then respond to me privately. I'll be glad to offer an outline of the incident.

BrentAllen, That absolute power of the veto was in the 1st edition of the SM handbook. I do not have the current version. In my training and experience its been refined a bit, with caveats on that veto. The Scoutmaster and Troop committee retain veto power over decisions made by the PLC, but need to use in only on the occasion when plans of the PLC would violate BSA policy or could lead to a situation that might jeopardize the safety of Troop members. In other words a SM should not veto a PLC decision on a whim, preference or convenience. However I found that the USSSP we

We can go round and round about this all the live long day. Tombitt, Sense there is no BSA policy, I would bring the topic up at your next troop committee meeting. If there is a parent consensus that allows the possession off cell phones then see if the topic can be brought up at the next PLC. Put it in the hands of boys. Let them put limits and bounds to it. A SM ban indicates to me that issue has never been examined or the unit is not Boy led. Perhaps a deeper look at how your unit is run is in order. If the boys decide to ban the use so be it.

As a matter of personal preference I don't like having the intrusion on the outdoor experience. Part of what we seek to teach boys is to enjoy the solitude of nature; the experience of getting away from everyday conveniences and the comfort of being alone with your thoughts. So camp rifle and shotgun ranges, waterfronts, ball fields and mess halls are not a problem? ;-) The Electronic Chit card is a great idea.

Purpose - The purpose of the Boy Scouts of America, incorporated on February 8, 1910, and chartered by Congress in 1916, is to provide an educational program for boys and young adults to build character, to train in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and to develop personal fitness. Mission - The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. Vision - The Boy Scouts of America will prepare every eligible youth in America to become a resp

What if, what if, what if, I got along fine in 1972, and lived, blaa, blaa, etc. Ladies and gentlemen its 2009. The BSA needs to incorporate the proper use of some of this technology if they are going to be viable and meaningful to todays parents and youth. Crack open a Scout manual from 1950s and see if things have changed a bit. There are about a dozen merit badges dealing with agriculture that are gone. Does any unit still cook over an open fire at Scout camp? If the attitudes on this thread are prevalent then the world is passing the BSA by. Its core values and role in our soc

Tombitt, This topic has been a hot one of mine. I have personal experience of being thankful for several of my boys having a cell phone during a high adventure trip. The ability to coordinate, get news, and communicate with others in the group not in the proximity are the reason for having them in a crisis situation. The BSA recognizes and includes the cell phone as part of an emergency kit. So does the Coast Guard. Monitor VHF 16 and youll pick up that the Coastys expect all watercraft to have a cell phone on board. Why the reluctance to cell phones by so many on this forum is beyo

I re-read some of the posts on this thread and cant help but wonder if within this troop, this group of so-called adult Scouters has tainted what is supposed to be a character building experience. While I feel this young man will ultimately prevail he will forever convey this experience to whoever asks him about Scouting, for the rest of his life! I see too many adults, many who were never Scouts, see themselves as keepers of the flame Throwing up all kinds of walls and obstacles at some young man who somewhere along the line pushed their button. I think this young man is within h

My kid at 10 was not the same kid is now at 18. But he sounded pretty similar to yours. We thought he was a hot shot at soccer. Was on one of those, what did you call it, "highly selective", travel teams. Burned out. He joined scouts a couple of months shy of his 14th birthday and took off. Went to Jambo, All 3 HA bases and earned Eagle. His outside interests turned out to be swimming and cross country, both of which he earned Varsity letters and won enough medals to fill out a tin-cup generals uniform. Also participated in the schools Key Club, government, and was in the Honors program. I thi

In Michigan, reveille is when the first bird, (typically the Robins around here), start blasting away at twilight. If your quiet and unzip your tent slowly you may catch a few does trotting around your campsite. By sun up the songs are done and the hunt is on for breakfast. I'm surprised no one has mentioned the bird factor.

In my view the rants against possessing cell phones is a pointless exercise. They are here and will not go away. In a psychology article I read its noted; The history of the consequences of [banning something] is well-known. First, they fail. Secondly, while the activities are banned they become a magnet toward the banned item. Thirdly, the banned activities become a source of corruption. Using this as an opportunity to teach the proper use of cell phones, GPS units, VHF radios may prove to be a lifesaver. If you dont want to use a cell phone at a campout then turn it off. But dont

I view a cell phone as essential emergency equipment. In fact after going though an evacuation with our Scout Troop at Sea Base during last years tropical storm Fay I would say that adult Scout leaders be deemed negligent if they don't have one.

Opps. Misread your question. I would think that Weight, Taste, Calorie content, preparation are all ratable items to consider in your competition.

Freeze dried food from Mountain House is pretty good and widely available. Our troops common requirement is that each hiker is responsible for his own food/stove/water. This preps the boys for future High Adventure trips and rewards the creative. Trading and combining foods in the field is common between the hikers. Just like at Philmont. Heavy items like fruit can be eaten first. Calorie content is important figure about 120 call/oz.

Here is the original story http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9095238

Our own home troop had strong representation within our Council. I think we had 8 boys go. There was another unit in a nearby town also with about 8 boys going. As a result strong friendships were established at the Scout/Leader/Parent level between the units. This has helped when rounding out High Adventure crews. It clearly showed that Scouting is a powerful organization and unique social force.

Eamon...I'll bet you dealt with them...just not attached a label to it. My wife, an educator with 25 years, notes she deals with this on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. What is a Helicopter Parent. (Collected from various sources) They fly into school in attack mode ready to confront the teacher or coach for "unfair" treatment of their kids. They obsess over teacher assignments. Some demand that their child be moved to another class before the school year has even begun. At Hewlett-Packard, parents have gone as far as contacting the company after their child gets a jo

BrentAllen, First, these guys would be text messaging or using IM in Facebook to set this up. If it's a small troop your scenario is plausible. Are you suggesting a "guilt by association" rational. In other words they are all Scouts from the same troop ergo its a Scouting Event. Nope. This is why we have by-laws. A sanctioned Troop event is planned by PLC and supported by the Troop Committee and follows all the G2SS stuff. If the boys get together and split up a bunch of paint ball coupons at the troop meeting that's their business. This is exactly what happen

Here is an example of the activities that our boys, who just happen to be in the same troop, have done together without adult supervision. Paint Ball Hunt Lazar Tag Heavy Metal Concerts in the Warehouse District These are all 16-18 yo, from Star up who get organized, plan and execute outings that they want to experience. Our troop families are close and the parents encourage this outside the formality of the troop setting. Why? Because we trust our boys and have taught them well. Not everything we do has to be done under cover of the BSA.

Yawn....this guy is a crackpot author. In order to sell books and tapes he has to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt into a population of potential customers. He is allover YouTube, blogs and other viral forms of cheap marketing. I'm pretty sure this guy can find a way to portray that the Thanksgiving dinner is a Masonic ritual. I find it amusing. In fact I'll make sure Johnny finds this thread. I'll bet he will comment. Here is the bait. "John Salza", John Salza, Salza, John" "John Salza the author." Now let the search engines spider it.

With the summer coming up fast. What advice you can give 1st year rookie staff members of Philmont, Seabase, and Northern Tier? What would you do again, in a NY minute and what would you avoid at all costs! Traditions or lore? Lets hear them! Best places off base for eats? Best beach? Best hangout? Looking for response from the 'vets' from the last dozen years or so.

Not to bust the mystic quality of the sash. But as a service organization, I find it most useful when I see it warn on the boys (and adults), directing traffic into the parking lots for our camporees.

So I'm a bad parent...here is what I wrote on our son's Eagle recommendation letter. "As a family, we take the 12th point of the Scout Law as a private personal matter. XXXX's father, has a formal Catholic religious education and his mother taught in a Catholic school and that has fostered conversations at the dinner table and private moments on how to lead ones life and trust in a higher power greater then yourself. We have pointed out endless times that Jesus did his best work outside the temple and among the neediest. We hope that our son endeavors to those same spiritual steps in his

eb021, Great site. Looks like alot of work and thought went into it. The information on wearing of the Eagle knot vs. the Eagle patch was particularly helpful in our current situation. The comments on the OA flap were also helpful along with the GSA Silver award. All good information. If only they chose the white web belt... ;-)