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molscouter

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Posts posted by molscouter

  1. Why can't they do popcorn sales? All you need to do is drop or mail forms to them.

     

    Regarding dues, a couple of questions. Are these den dues or pack dues? If they are den dues, isn't it up to the Den Leader? What are the dues used for? Supplies, pack income? If a boy misses a meeting because he's sick, do you normally charge him? This alone might answer your question.

     

    The pack I serve is lucky. Our popcorn sales more more than adequately meet the financial needs of the pack and we don't have to charge dues.

     

     

     

     

  2. I'm not sure where you are going with all of this.

     

    Read the requirements for the Readyman badge (required for Arrow of Light). It covers a lot of the same first aid elements as the tenderfoot through first class ranks require.

     

    Read the Athlete badge. Sounds a lot like the tenderfoot requirements.

     

    Read the requirements for the Personal Fitness Merit Badge (Eagle required). Several of the general health related requirements are very similar to the Fitness activity badge.

     

    You need to start thinking of the activity pins for what they are, quasi merit badges. If you look at the overall structure of rank advancement for both Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, they are very similar. For the lower ranks (Bobcat/Wolf/Bear and Scout/Tenderfoot/second/First Class) it is basically do a, b, c, etc. The upper ranks (Webelos/Arrow of Light vs. Star/Life/Eagle) have required merit badges/activity pins and optional ones, in addition to other requirements.

     

  3. SWS,

     

    You said " If I stick it out with the pack through May I will also have earned the Cub scouter award, but that will be three months later. It will also delay any tenure for the boy scout leader training award."

     

    I don't believe this is true. Tenure time within one program (Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, etc) cannot overlap, but tenure time in different program areas can overlap. For example, if you are, say, Pack Committee Chair and Assistant Scoutmaster, you are picking up tenure for both the Cub Scouter Award and the Scouter Training Award. You can't use a year as a DL and a year as a WDL for the Den Leader and Webelos Den Leader Awards and still use that that same time towards the Cub Scouter Award.

  4. texas5, keep in mind that the Webelos program is a little different than the younger Cub program. First, it is supposed to last 18 months or so. Second, the activities become much more den centered. His Webelos leader is the only person allowed to approve advancement (except for Webelos badge requirement 1, parent readng the parent's section of the book). Most Webelos dens work on one activity pin a month. If he gets too far ahead, he may get bored later repeating things. Check with his den leader as to what he/she has planned and work on any pins that they won't be doing in a den. Some just don't lend themselves to a den setting, others do. When I was a WDL, there was a suggested schedule from national(?) that worked well and would get the boys their Webelos badge and Arrow of Light around February of each year. The new 2004 requirements may have altered that schedule.

  5. First, just pick your son up 15 minutes early. The coach doesn't need to know why. If a coach is that controlling, why play for him?

     

    Second, we have this conflict (and more) with my son. We established a priority list for what he will go to if a conflict arises:

     

    1. Single performance (band or choir concert); there is only one opportunity to do this.

    2. Game (repetitive, but more important than a practice). For Scouts, this means a campout. He can decide between a game and a campout. But he isn't on any traveling type teams either. For a Friday game, I will drive him to the campout late (or early Saturday, if it's a night game).

    3. Practice

    4. Scouts

     

    We have never had a conflict with athletic practices, but we do with choir practice. The only reason a Scout meeting comes last is because there are other opportunities to cover things that go on there and because you can get there late and still learn something. My son often shows up for a Scout meeting in his baseball uniform 30 minutes late after a game. I take him out of choir practice to get to Scouts. Now if the concert is a week away, he will be late for Scouts.

     

    Third, you could pray for rain every Tuesday ;)(This message has been edited by molscouter)

  6. No, in Webelos, the Den Leader approves all activity pin and rank advancement. He/she may designate someone else(like an assistant), but he/she does not have to.

     

    There are some pins it makes perfect sense to allow the parent to sign off (Fitness and Family Member come to mind, both involve working in the home environment). One of the parents for my den was an RN and taught the Readyman badge, so he signed for that one.

     

     

  7. There isn't a whole lot you can do about it. All that will likely happen is that the boy will show up next meeting with everything signed off in his book. Since Mom/Dad are Akela, if they say he did something, he did it, even if you know otherwise. When you get to Webelos, you have a lot more control.

     

    Also, artificially saying that nothing will be awarded after the May Pack Meeting is wrong. The rules are that he gets at least until he enters third grade. I note that you live in Massachusetts. My brother lives there and I know his son doesn't finish school until around the middle of June, so that is he earliest he could be considered to be a third grader. You are adding to the requirements by imposing an earlier deadline, and that you cannot do.

  8. firstpusk,

     

    So us layman are supposed to differentiate between the ACLU and the ACLU Foundation? If you type in either ACLU or ACLU Foundation into a search engine, you get one web site. Seems to me that it's one organization, even if it is set up as two different entities. Pretending otherwise is the type of legal nitpicking that makes people suspicious of attorneys in general.

     

    I took the quote off of the main page. I'll nitpick here. 3.5% from attorneys' fees is not none, which is what that page implies.

     

    The annual report is not obviously available off of that page (it might be there, I just don't see an easy link to it).

     

    As far as an audit, name me any organization that willingly submits to one. Am I suspicious? Yes, but no more so than I am of many large organizations.

     

    (This message has been edited by molscouter)

  9. From the ACLU website:

     

    "The ACLU is supported by annual dues and contributions from its members, plus grants from private foundations and individuals. We do not receive any government funding."

     

    So if the ACLU is funded as they say they are, they shouldn't need to receive any attorney's fees. For those that argue that it is only the overhead budget that is funded as outlined above, it would be interesting to see what, if any, portion of this "non-profit" group's budget comes from attorney's fees. I'd be willing to bet that they would be less than anxious to have their books audited.

  10. The WDL can designate someone to sign for a particular activity pin, if he/she chooses. For example, for Readyman, one of my parent's was an RN and taught that portion of the badge for me. I had that parent sign off on the requirements for all the boys. The 3 that clpagel cited are examples of ones that the WDL could allow the parents to sign off on, or at least portions of them. But the WDL does not have to do this.

  11. Ed, you forgot to mention that he doesn't have time to correct the list himself and has to have others point out the errors. I have neither the time nor the desire to see if these errors are actually corrected. Some of the errors are so obvious it makes the entire list laughable.

     

    Sooner or later the ACLU is going to screw up and the Boy Scouts or some other targetted group is going to own every piece of tangible property the ACLU has. I'm reminded of the black man or woman (I forget which) who ended up owning a Klan building as the result of a suit.

     

     

  12. "and after attempting to resolve a billing issue at one of my wife's screening exams - "sorry sir, we can't discuss that as you are not on her HIPAA authorization form""

     

    Who's name was on the bill? I always kid my wife on this, because often the bill is addressed to me. I've refrained from doing it, but I always feel like asking "You didn't have any problem billing me, but I can't ask a question about it? I guess I don't have to pay it then?"

     

    The fun part comes when she gets reminder calls on appointments. If I pick up the phone, they will identify themselves as "Sue" and of course can't tell me what they are calling about. When I ask "Sue who", they will give me their last name. I always have to respond that we don't know anyone by that name and that we am not interested in whatever it is they are selling. Interestingly, though, they will leave a complete message on the voice mail. It's also funny, no one seems to have an issue telling my wife about my confirmation calls.

     

  13. When I did this three years ago, I had two rules. First, each boy had to have a parent present (both for safety and so both Scout and parent would know the rules). Second, there would be zero tolerance for fooling around. These were given to the boys and their parents ahead of time.

     

    Also, remember to remind them that earning the Whittling Chip only gives them the right to carry the knife at Cub Scout events. It does not mean they can carry it at school or anywhere else (and I would leave them at home for pack meetings as well).

     

    Not that it matters to a Bear den, but once my oldest reached Boy Scouts, I learned that the Whittling Chip became worthless, at least for that particular troop. They had to earn their Totin Chip before they could carry a knife a a Boy Scout.

  14. "As for the BSA uniform not being mandatory, it is in our troop. No uniform, no meeting. Sorry if you don't like our rule, but its what we wanted and the parents agreed and understand. If you was on the football team and showed up without your uniform, you would sit on the bench all day."

     

    And how do you enforce that one? Physically remove the Scout from the meeting? Not give credit for him being there? Are you checking the socks (after all, they are part of the uniform)?

     

     

     

  15. Technically, the new Webelos/AOL requirements become mandatory in August 2005, which means this years Bears could use them. However, since no one has stocked the old book since last spring at the latest, the new ones are widely in use now for Webelos Is and are for all practical purposes mandatory now.

  16. She can't see how they could have completed it by now? It's been a couple years since my youngest was a Wolf and I know that some requirements have changed, but as I recall there were around 50 subitems spread out over the 12 achievements. If a boy did one and only one thing a day it would only take 7 weeks to complete the badge requirements. Maybe you should point that little statistic out to her. And let's be realistic. "Okay Billy, today we're going to do a forward roll. Good job. Well, that's it for today. Tomorrow we'll do a backward roll and the next day you can walk the board" isn't the way that achievement happens.

     

  17. Belinda, don't worry about it. Handtools work just fine. I would advise buying a cheap coping saw at your local hardware store (ask them, they'll know what it is) and lots of sandpaper. You could borrow the saw from a neighbor even. While you are there, buy a tube of graphite dry lube (again, ask them). Open the tube, pour some into a sealable plastic bag and put the axles in. Shake the bag a couple times a day for 2-3 days.

     

    Be creative in your design. My younger boy (now a Webelos I) this year decided to make his look like a river boat using the kit and a piece of balsa wood. It was nowhere near the fastest, but it was his, he had fun making it, and he was proud of it. He painted it with paint we had laying around the house. Spray paint is used because it puts a very thin layer on and keeps the weight down, but it's not necessary.

     

    Heck, you don't even have to cut the wood. Last year, we had one boy who for some reason never got a kit. The night of the race, he asked if he could make a car. So we pulled out a kit and stuck the axles and wheels on. It must have been a real old kit, because it actually weighed in over the allowable 5 oz. His dad had to drill holes in it to get it down to weight. "Swiss Cheese" actually won a race or two. A sleek design looks great, but in a 30 foot race, aerodynamics mean nothing. It really comes down to getting the axles on in such a way that the car rolls straight.

     

    Semper, I was typing this while you were submitting your post. Glad to see there are other block stories out there.

     

    (This message has been edited by molscouter)

  18. I would think the pack/troop ought to be paying for the awards. In fact, the pack and troop I serve don't even pay for badges of rank. The council has what is called a gold unit program, wherein units that meet their Friends of Scouting $ goal (and the goal is based on number of scouts in a unit) get the rank badges "free". Arrow points, activity pins, merit badges, etc, are paid out of unit funds, as are belt loops the first time a boy earns them. Replacements or duplicates are at cost to the parents. Full disclosure, popcorn sales are always robust; neither unit is on a shoestring budget.

     

  19. Is the Derby during a pack meeting or a separate event, say on a Saturday? If it's during a Pack Meeting, I'd be inclined to say no. If it's a separate event, I could at least entertain the idea of it counting, since it's something out of the norm.

     

    Better idea, go to a high school, junior high or even grade school basketball game. Boys or girls. Most play a couple times a week and admission is cheap (or even free for students).

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