Narraticong

Sorry, Nachamawat, but I think in both your cases, the Ipod was not the problem. It would seem to be a leadership problem. Had the Scout been reading a book, or sitting by himself working on knots, his actions would have been inappropriate. If the Scout had not had his Ipod, do we really think his behavior would have been better? Obviously he was not interested in what was going on.

A SCOUT IS TRUSTWORTHY. Whether legal or not, insured or not, official or not, does not matter. We all know we are talking about finding a way to get around this potential change in policy. I find teaching our boys ways to skirt laws to be against everything we are doing. If it is a law or policy, you have several choices. You can obey it, change it, or no longer belong to the group. But if we adults are going to debate how to bend the rule until just before it snaps, we may as well close up shop. If we go to the many "issues" discussions here, I believe this same problem

Rules are rules, guidelines are not rules, but more like suggestions! If an individual lodge decides it's OK to wear a sash on the belt, who really cares? Maybe a little individuality is a good thing. Otherwise, why don't we just do away with lodge names, totems, and numbers? There are things which are important and worth fighting over. And then there is just plain nitpicking.

I think Stosh meant "Myabe I hvae dliesyxa..." There, now proceed.

My goodness, more acronyms than the Federal Government! How did Scouts ever make it this far with such a limited alphabet? I think we need some more letters in the alphabet so we can have some more courses. And when we're done, let's all learn about Soccer Scouts! Take your boys into the woods. Use knives, axes, and saws. Build fires. Sit around fires at night and talk or do whatever comes naturally to boys. Be a boy yourself. Here's a crazy idea... any adult training courses should be primarily staffed by Scouts and Scouters under the age of 21. I'm afraid we're losing tou

You won't find many Scouters who appreciate the old school methods of pre-1972 Scouting than me. But I am also realistic enough to accept that times change and not every change is bad. While electronics are not welcome at our Council Camp, district events, or even troop outings, my mind is swinging the other way. One of my personal goals in Scouting is to instill a lifelong love of the outdoors in the boys. In large part that means developing a comfort, or relaxation from camping. For boys of today, that often includes music. I enjoy reading a book sometimes during my down time. But

Liberals, homosexuals, democrats, and atheists! Now I understand...

I agree with back to the basics. But those of us who grew up on the basics are quickly aging. Who will recruit new, young volunteers and teach them "the basics"? Current BSA materials surely do not. The idea of the professional staff being purposed to support the volunteers is right on target. Let them do the fundraising. Things are tough, but even here in Detroit there are still some wealthy folks who will support the right cause. But squezzing a few more FOS dollars from our troop will be a tough task for the district presenter tomorrow night. I guess those of us who are commi

Didn't mean to sound disagreeable about our disagreement! I don't like ivy either. So, we aren't disagreeing so much as we are expressing a preference. While I tend to follow the insignia guide, it's not really a big deal for me. There are many things in modern Scouting which I feel are really against our goals. But that would be a horse of a different color...(This message has been edited by narraticong)

Here's one Scoutmaster who hopes I never stop thinking that stuff is funny. My relationship with my son has improved 100% since I realized that there are times when his 50 year old Dad can still be 12 years old. Of course, my 14 year old daughter just thinks it's "gross". But my wife (who I love with all my heart) understands...

Liberals, Democrats, homosexuals, and atheists.

NRP- I don't know why we disagree on wearing our sash on the belt. Please note that I did not say that I currently wear it there, because I do not. But if the youth were to change the rules to allow it, or my Scout Executive approve it, I sure would. John and I both come from the same era. I proudly wore my sash on my belt back in 1972. Our Supreme Chief of the Fire has approved wearing our sashes at just about all Scout functions. But it is a bit awkward. I think it would be easy to identify Arrowmen with our sash on our belts.

John is spot on. I am aware of the Missouri Synod feeling on Masons. I did not grow up in the Lutheran Church. My father and both brothers are / were Masons. I am the only member of my family who is not a Mason. But that was a choice I made for myself before I was a Lutheran. Just good luck, I suppose! Coming from the outside, I really don't think MS Lutherans are "weird". Conservative, yes, with a strict belief in what Scripture says. I'm OK with that. I don't always like it, and I have to reconcile myself and my beliefs. But that's all part of my spiritual growth. My troo

I suppose that just as every patrol, troop, district and council are different in many ways, so are our OA Lodge. Having been a Brother for 37 years, but a member of my current lodge for only 7 years, I can vouch that my ladge is outstanding. These boys are cream of the crop young leaders. Cheerful Service is their goal and our camps could not exist without their efforts. Our troop had our first election last fall. Four boys were eligible and as Scoutmaster, I approved all for the ballot. Had I a vote, I would have voted for three, leaving the last off because of Scout Spirit issues.

Thanks for contributing. Axe to grind? make sure you have a Totin' Chip. Maybe a Paul Bunyan. That's a long line of folks to take on! God Bless 'em one and all for caring about boys!

Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street? This thread presented to you by the letter "E"

Overall, I found it to be interesting reading, and thought provoking. I also come from a Lutheran background and would consider myself rather conservative in matters of faith. But I have been a Brother in our Order for 37 years. I'll welcome my son as a Brother in another month! But I can see how those even more conservative than me might see a problem with OA. That is their decision to make. We can argue about matters of faith until the cows come home, but in the end it all comes down to our personal relationship (or lack of) with God. We can beleive as Christians that God gave us f

We had some Webelos visit our troop the other night. The Den Leader asked me about Order of the Arrow. Seems among Cub Leaders there was the idea of some connection with Arrow of Light. I spent 10 minutes telling her about our great service organization. She was very impressed that Scouts has an Honor Society and that the result being given this honor is that we willingly work our butts off! There is mystery to our order, but we need to balance that with enough visibility to encourage Scouts, leaders, and parent sto ask questions. If it were up to me, I'd make it OK to wear your

As an 18 year old camp staffer, I was drafted to be Counselor for Woodcarving Merit Badge. Something I was not really a good choice for. I still bear the scar in my thigh as the result of an errant X-Acto knife! I still have a severe case of X-Actophobia... But now I own a bunch of very sharp knives- none of them X-Actos!

I served as my sons Den Leader throughout his time in Cubs and now serve as his Scoutmaster (poor kid!). As Tigers, they have no idea what they like and will do pretty much whatever you say, as long is there is more doing than talking. So, I did like my Mom did when she was my Den Mother in 1969; I focused on crafts. But by the time Bears came around, I was clearly losing the boys interest, especially my own son. Every week on the way home he complained how boring our meetings were. We went on outings and "go see its", and those were "great", but the den meetings were "boring". So I t

We had 12 boys at summer camp last year. It was the first year for all but one. They spent half a day working on T-2-1 and half a day on merit badges and other opportunities. Our first year Scouts earned these badges between them: basketry, sculpture, leatherwork, swimming, fishing, fingerprinting, space exploration, reptile and amphibians. They may have been a few others. There were also other proficiency awards earned: Snorkeling, Kayaking, and we had a 12 year old Scout earn Mile Swim. The troop also earned two honor awards for participation and a special commendation for a servic

I'm with Packsaddle on this one. On hikes I am usually one of the last ones in line because I am constantly looking around for signs of nature. Boys find it really cool and interesting when I start munching on rose hips, raspberries, strawberries. Or stop to try to identify scat or tracks. Part of my love for the outdoors came from my own Scoutmaster who taught me that hiking is an experience, not a race.

We had a great troop meeting last night that I wanted to share with everyone. Our troop is young with most boys under First Class. We have one Life Scout, a Senior in high school. Life Scouts Grandpa is a good friend of mine, and is a long time District volunteer. Life Scout transferred into our troop last year and I don't think Grandpa has ever worked directly with him in a troop. I found out Grandpa is skilled at knots. He volunteered to come help the troop with knots. We took him up on the offer, but with a twist. We asked him to have his Life Scout grandson help with the demonst

According to the New Testament, the only way to reach Heaven is through Jesus. That is very clear to those of us who are Christians. So, yes, we do believe that all other religions and gods are false, in the sense that they do not accept those words from Jesus. The Bible does not say maybe, or that there may be other options. Our belief is that the result of belief in anything other than the above will lead to eternity in Hell. A Christian would then believe that parents who teach their children anything else are leading those children toward eternal damnation. In that sense they are

Don't give up. If you feel you are providing a fun, positive experience for the boys, you will eventually find success. Our troop is closing in on our second birthday. We have one year of summer camp under our belt. We gained six new boys last year and only three this year. Available boys from Webelos 2 were just really scarce this year. But, we have picked up boys through transfers. Some of the boys you lost to bigger troops may eventually find they are not happy. Let it be known that the door is always open. Our troop has benefited by transfer boys. One is closing in on Eagle.