molscouter

Couple of questions come to mind. One, are you the Scoutmaster or an Assistant? If you are the Scoutmaster, you have say so over what to accept as evidence and who can approve it. Do they require the same thing for the first class plant identification requirement? Using the form might be convenient, but it seems to me requiring it is wrong. Requiring them to list the book they found it in is definitely wrong. A kid who identifies something on a hike is not going not likely to remember exactly what it was a day later when he gets home after the outing. Or if he does, wh

We collected fees at the beginning of the school year. The council office would prorate for the new kids, the rest would be due in at recharter time and the Pack kept the money in the treasury until then. Too much of a hassle for our feeble brains to figure out prorating. Popcorn sales were always very successful, so no pack dues were ever collected. Nor were there any extra costs. As I recall, registration plus Boy's Life was about $21 at that time.(This message has been edited by molscouter)

Yes and no. Suppose crossover is Monday night and the Troop meets on Tuesdays. If the WDL has done his/her job, and the parents fill out the application and do the Youth Protection part, he could walk into the Troop meeting the next night, hand in his application, go over the other requirements, and have his Scoutmaster Conference. Presto, he's earned his Scout badge. But his application hasn't been processed by the council yet, so technically, he's still registered as a Webelo.

jblake47, All the requirements say is that you have to visit a troop meeting of a troop you think you might like to join and have a conference with the Scoutmaster. It doesn't say you have to join that troop. You might decide on the basis of that meeting that you don't want to join at all. In fact, I notice that since I was a WDL, they've taken out the part about filling out the application. Not joining a troop doesn't necessarily mean you didn't do all the requirements, just that you decided not to join. Now, I'm not sure they should be crossing the bridge but that's another dis

John, I was just looking for clarification. We have a COH coming up the 1st week of February and have 2 kids who are in the situation I described. I want them to complete everything they have to, but I don't want to unnecessarily add something if they are not required to. Looks like they'll have to do them.

The other part of the policy is if you start a merit badge with one set of requirements and they change, you have you choice of doing the new ones or completing the old ones. I guess I'm wondering if that applies to badges of rank as well?

Has anyone inquired as to how boys already working on a rank are to be treated? Example, as of Dec 31, Sammy Second Class has completed everything for First Class except Spirit, SM Conference and BOR, does he have to go back and do the cyberbully requirement? Is there a grandfather clause or a time limit?

Babe Ruth was the best ever (his pitching career sets him apart from all of the immortals who even enter that discussion), but between Cobb and Rose, it's no contest. It's the Georgia Peach hands down (or spikes up, whichever)

No, it's not a Scout rule, but it's a good one to keep to avoid the appearance of being too easy or too hard on your own son. Now, I admit I have signed things in my son's book. I'm the advancement coordinator, so I have all the records of who's been on what activity, etc. So I have signed the 2nd Class 5 activity and the 1st Class 10 activity type stuff. He's either been on them, or he hasn't. But nothing that would require any form of judgement on how well he did something.

When I was a den leader several years ago: 1) The pack met once a month on Mondays 2) As Bears, we met twice a month on Mondays for 75 minutes. 3) As Webelos, in order to prepare them better for Boy Scouts (who meet every week), we met 3 times a month for 60 minutes. If there was a 5th Monday in the month, they got that off (unless we missed a week for a Monday school holiday).

Eric, So long as you enjoy the give and take, go for it. Just know you won't "win" (but you likley have already realized that). Packsaddle, Merlyn certainly does bring a different and often unpopular slant to the forums. That's fine. My main gripe with him is the standards thing. If you misinterpret one of his opinions (or what HE thought he was trying to say), you are branded a liar. If he does the same with one of your statements, it's nothing of the sort. Sorry, that doesn't wash with me. I choose to ignore him because these threads are usually interesting for 3-4 pa

Eric and other newbies, Merlyn gets his jollies from these discussions. He doesn't apply the same standards to himself that he requires of others (for which I will now be branded a "liar"). Even if you catch him in some sort of misstatement, he won't admit it. Someone a few pages back said he was a spoiler who would rather stop others from having fun rather than construct his own. I submit this is how he has his fun. Be a spoiler back and don't give it to him. Most of the veteran posters refuse to give him this thrill and just ignore him.

"Being from Chicago, I remember the 1960 election when all the graves of every cemetary opened and the undead voted for Kennedy, 2-3 times at least..." Heck, there's guys in Chicago that have voted in every Presidential election since 1820 (Illinois became a state a couple years before that). :-)

I don't see how he could have earned 122. There are only 121 (although that still is a very impressive achievement). Atomic Energy was renamed Nuclear Science, they are not unique MBs. I suppose he could have earned Skiing and Snow Sports (they are considered different), but the former was cancelled in 1999 (I am assuming Jan. 1, so he would have to have started it in 1998). That was the last one outright cancelled.(This message has been edited by molscouter)

Two answers: 1. When he outgrows the old blue one. 2. If cost is not an issue, when he wants to.

Cub Scout DL Award should not be a problem. Assuming you began in Sept 06, you will be eligible for that one in Sept 07, as it only requires 1 year of tenure. Start your tenure for the Cub Scouter award in September 07 and you'll be eligible for that one in Sept 09. If you want all three, you're going to have to mix and match tenures to get them all in and likely stay with the pack longer than your son will be in in it. For example, you could list 1 year of tenure for the Cub Scouter award from Sept 07 to Sept 08, use Sept 08 to Sept 09 as WDL and use Sep 09 to Sep 10 as the second year for

Actually, you'll find in a lot of packs 4-5 people do the majority of the heavy lifting. Start with asking somebody to do one specific thing for one meeting. For example, a den leader could ask a parent to get the snack for the next den meeting. Ask one family to get the table service for the Blue & Gold Banquet. It's harder to say no if you keep it a simple task, and it's one less thing you'll have to do. You'll also find out who's reliable, and can hopefully tap them for more complex tasks.

Mom, my wife and I did the same thing a year ago. One piece of advice, if at all possible, turn that part of the ceremony over to an Assistant or even one of the den leaders. For those moments, you need to be a parent, not the Cubmaster.

A denner is a leadership position in Cub Scouts. The Cub is elected by the den; his main duties are to assist the den leader (and den chief, if you have one). He might help set up games, for example, or lead a song. He might be asked to help set up the meeting room or clean up. His duties are pretty much determined by the den leader and den chief. The duties should grow as the Scout grows, so what may be asked of the denner as a Wolf is much less than that asked of a Webelos. His term of office is usually short. I would recommend changing every month, to give each den member a chance.

Ed, the rule is he gets the option of continuing under the old requirements or he can start over under the new ones. He can't mix and match. Now practically speaking, if a boy started a badge under previous requirements and there were duplicates, I would likely count them. For example, this year Camping has had some minor revisions to it, but most of the requirements have remained the same. Am I going to make the boy start his count of 20 nights again? Not likely, although technically he probably should.

One question, where are these two re. Position of Responsibility? If they have fulfilled that, then likely they would have had to been active for at least one six-month period since earning their Life rank. If they haven't the point is moot. The requirement says be active for six months since becoming a Life Scout; this does not have to be the last six months prior to applying for Eagle.

The troop I serve has 2 fundraisers. We sell popcorn and dining tour books. The boys get 70% of the troop's profit off their individual sales for their "camp" fund. If a scout doesn't sell much, he doesn't get much. We've had boys pay for a Philmont Trek and Jamboree with their camp fund. This year the Webelos who will be joining us come Feb-Mar asked if they could sell the dining tour books to get started on their camp fund so they could start to pay for summer camp. We agreed. Their popcorn sales will remain with the pack, since that is the only fundraiser the pack has. It's ne

If he's finished all of the requirements (including age and the 6-month time frame), go ahead. And remember, if he plans to cross over to Boy Scouts, he does not have to cross over right then and there. He can stay with the pack (if he so desires), continue to work on activity pins, kick back and be top dog for a while, and cross over with the rest of his buddies later on. If he wants to cross over and the troop is ready, he can do that too. If he does wait, make sure there's someone with a good video camera to record the crossover ceremony so Dad can see it.

RE. the temporary Bobcat den, no way. For one thing, the older the boy is, the faster he is going to learn the requirements. A 4th grade Webelos might learn them in a couple hours, a Tiger is likely to take several weeks. A bigger reason is that is puts them behind their peers. Often, den meetings do address rank requirements. This is especially true at the Webelos level, so they could be missing out on things, including some that may be required. Also, if a boy is new, any time away makes it that much harder to become part of the group (it's hard enough as it is). Finally, the fa

Just make sure you check the agenda for the evening. You don't want to be there on the night of troop elections, for example.