Mrw1

I regularly explain to new parents how the program works and WHY. Most of them understand that it is about teaching the boys responsibility and not about who gets which badge when. The really pushy one or two eventually get the point or move on to another troop. As AC for our troop, I keep the updated MBC listing and the boys need to see me for a name before earning a badge. New parents come to me and are gently told that their son needs to ask me. Then I explain about the son calling the counselor for a meeting and how it all works. And I use how I saw my own kids (now 24 & 27) gro

"In our district we have troops which will only accept SPL as the POR for Eagle. Another has very strict attendance policy (and has well before last year's change). One has fixed age requirements Scouts have to reach before receiving various ranks and before attempting a Eagle project. One has a long list of American history and government and Scouting history questions they must pass for each rank. I suppose my greatest transgression is refusing blue cards for merit badge universities and a handful of required badges taught at summer camp." We have 35 boys registered in our troop right

That has been around for about 2 years now and you do need to use it carefully. It will sometimes put you on very busy state routes. And just because it shows something that is said to be bike path, does not mean that said path has actually passed the planning stages and been built yet. It has directed me to a couple paths that I know have not been worked on past the acquisition of the right of way (as in not even cleared enough to walk there!). Great starting point, but not a substitute in any way for double checking a route or noting an alternate before hopping on your bike.

I really like what your prof is saying!!!!! If more kids heard this more times as they went through school, we would be a far more productive country with far fewer people sitting and waiting for the "government" to give them a hand-out or solve their problems for them. I know juggling school and a job and homework and a social life is very hard work, but the payoff is fantastic if you learn the lesson he is trying to teach you. If the JC is not offering what you need, go ahead and bite the bullet to go on to where you need to be to get what you want out of life. Life is too sho

We once had a boy where the den leader was having a hard time getting the mom to sign off on the Bear religious requirement. The requirement was something like practice your religion as you are taught at home. Easy right? The CM talked to the mom about how this was holding back the boy from his badge and her resposnse was, "I signed him up for scouts so I did not have to do things with him." If ever there was a boy who needed scouts and time away from home, this would be a poster child for that. Unless the child is a hellion, see if there is a reason before judging that the boy

If you want to keep the furnace really low in the house, that might be ideal. For camping, worthless. Try to walk around outside with something like that and the bottoms would be filthy and probabaly wet from dew. Yuck!

The younger ASMs and SMs do not have as much vacation time to take. If they spend a week at summer camp, there might not be any family vacation time at all for the year.

It is good to hear the scout complained about the counselor and did not accept a badge for doing nothing. As the AC for our troop, we have about 30 boys of 50-ish go to summer camp each year and earn an average of 4 badges each. The adults at camp do spend some time wandering by the various MB classes and activities to ensure the kids are where they are supposed to be and are doing something productive. But considering the size of the troop and number of badges earned, generally over 100 with a high of 132, there is NO WAY I am going to double check with each kid to see if he thinks

We pay for the award kit, neckercheif and slide. The rest is whatever the family wants and that ranges from full dinners to no ceremony at all. Most seem to do cake and punch for the whole group and then something smaller for the family after.

It is a toss up between two trips. The first is a rim to rim hike in the Grand Canyon. The second is mountain biking the Bolivian Death Road (look it up on YouTube). The first is more likely just due to the cost of getting there.

You do not need her book for camp although it would be helpful. Call your neighboring districts for their cub camp plans and you will be all set to go. As far as the equipment, arrange for a district storage place and require all district supplies to be stored there rather than in personal sheds. You can change this policy again as soon as all the materials come back in. Thenfind her a job to do that does not involve interacting with kids and you will be golden. She will still have involvement in something she apparently cares about (but does poorly) and you will have less friction at activiti

How does your troop schedule boards of review? The week after a campout we do not have a regular meeting, but a PLC and advancement night. Younger boys can just show to get sign-offs or help while the PLC meets in another room. Committee members are regularly reminded to be present for BoR's this night. We can do as many as there are boys needing them. They have also happened on campouts if the rigt number of adults are present. Do these occur at troop meetings or at separate designated times? During PLC meetings on a regular troop night. If not at troop meetings, how often ar

Having been the AC for our troop (40-55 boys)for at least 10 years now, The original post would never fly for me. I am at most meetings, so badges and ranks are recorded in Troopmaster at meetings. I get to the Scout Shop about once a month to buy whatever has been earned since the last time I was there. The biys get the patches at the next troop meeting after that. Generally I try to get to the shop the week after our monthly BOR night. We do a COH about quarterly. There is not all that much actually handed out at the COH, but each boy that earned something the past period gets cal

50 registered. About 3 are inactive and have said they will not be coming back. 4-5 will be aging out in the next few months. We do not see them much as they are mostly active with the Crew and not the Troop at this point. We have a pretty good mix of ranks, with 3 EBORs in the scheduling stage and at least two morre expected later this year. We have been averaging 45-55 scouts for about the last 6 years. And this even after one ASM left to form a new troop and took a handful with him.

Why 21 originally? This probably dates to when the age of majority really was 21. The juvenile legal system being able to hold kids to age 21 is also a legacy of this. Most other definitions of adult reverted to age 18 when the voting age changed. The drinking age went to age 18 in many places for a while, but has been boosted back to age 21 also. Why should it probably stay at age 21? I can see several reasons. I do know kids that are more mature than this, but in general, this seems to apply pretty well. 1) It has been documneted that the protion of the human brain that governs rea