BartHumphries

So, anyone have any recommendations to make Citizenship in the World not be boring?

You know, it's really easy to show that you, as a member of a "children's camp" have not been named in a central registry case as the perpetrator of child abuse of child neglect, because you are a Scouter and your Council is supposed to run that particular background check on all adult Scouters. So that's NealOnWheels' second objection out of the way. That being said, Troop185 said that not only was he from Michigan, he owned a "children's camp" and that it doesn't apply to Scout troops. He suggested the simple expedient of picking up the phone and asking them. I favor that idea.

If you don't want to use it, more power to you -- whatever floats your boat. Other people don't have the same opinion, though, which is cool, whatever floats their boats too.

You need to move to a "new" camp site every night and the boys need to plan the five-day trip, with you all hiking at least six miles every day, so that the whole thing meets the requirements for the backpacking merit badge. Also, see the First Year program I put together at: http://www.scouter.com/Forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=314335&p=2 (the third-to-last post, the last post in that thread by me).

I'm sure someone else has already said it, but: I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly [disrespectful] and impatient of restraint. People have been complaining that the youth of "today" just aren't as good as we were, or as our parents were, or as people were in more distant times, for almost three thousand years now. I think most of us just don't remember that (by and lar

The Camping merit badge is a whole magnitude more difficult than the Wilderness Survival merit badge in my opinion. The Camping merit badge requires you to camp 20 days/nights, memorize the seven Leave No Trace Principles and the Outdoor Code, basically plan an entire campout (how to get there, what to do when you're there, meals, what everyone else will do, all the equipment needed), do at least two "big" activities sometime while camping and basically know everything else there is to know about camping, not to mention the conservation project. The Wilderness Survival merit badge re

If you feel it's no longer appropriate to have her handle merit badges, then tell the kids that. Without more information, though, I think it's all no big deal if she's a mertid badge counselor. As long as she's teaching everything that she's supposed to teach and otherwise being a good merit badge counselor, then it doesn't matter what troop she's affiliated with. Sure, you don't want them around your regular program, but the fishing merit badge? Sure, why not, as long as all proper things are followed (two-deep leadership, etc.).

Summer camp season, for me, ended today. I've been the Outdoor Skills (Scoutcraft) Director and Wilderness Survival has been one of the merit badges in my area. I agree with dkurtenbach's statement on merit badges. The Wilderness Survival merit badge is not really a wilderness survival merit badge, it's a "how to sit there and wait to be rescued, while taking steps to make sure you can survive for a night or two while you wait". I mean, the types of plants that you can eat in the wilderness isn't that strange of a topic to me. I'd love to teach more about that, but the merit badge pam

Yeah, the black oval patch isn't part of the BSA uniform.

Anyone have any picture links of what these look like?

The round LNT Trainer patch is the "position of responsibility" badge for those boys currently serving as "the" LNT Trainer for their patrol/troop/whatever. Like all position of responsibility patches such as patrol leader, bugler, chaplain aide, etc., it is not meant to be worn when you're not currently serving in that position. At this time, there is no official BSA LNT patch of any kind for anyone other than the boys who are serving as LNT Trainers as their position of responsibility for Star/Life/Eagle advancement. I think that's kind of a shame, but that's a story for another day.

At home, or on a silk shirt where I can't use a shirt pressing machine (because the shirt can't get wet), I open up the whole collar flat and then iron it face down. On a shirt pressing machine, you stand the collar up and then the machine takes care of it. You open the whole collar up and then press the whole thing flat. When you then fold the collar over, it will then naturally fold where the collar is sewn to the shirt. This also makes it really easy to press the tips nice and flat because you have a wide surface to press. If a person tries to press the collar into a fold where

I used to work in a drycleaners. I've spent just over five years pressing clothes over the last 16 years (working multiple jobs several times), and for six months earlier this year after a few years doing other things. The following is my opinion. Some people disagree with me and because the customer is always right I wouldn't say this to a customer, but this is my opinion. A lot of people like starch and request it, but there's a difference between how a dry cleaner presses and how an ordinary person presses. Usually, when a person wants something starched, they just want it pressed

You might try not dressing them solely in loincloths. Sure, that's accurate for some tribes, but not all. Try "breechcloth and leggings" which is basically pants under a loincloth. I don't know about what tribal members wear out where you live (since, again, tribal customs were not in any way uniform across the US), but for the tribes down here in Southern CA, most wear more clothes than a simple loincloth while engaging in ceremonial dances. Tell them what's going to happen so that they aren't surprised/scared. Tell them that it's a solemn ceremony that you've all put together and th

"There is a good chance they're already in the CPS system. I need to give the elementary guidance counselor a quick call." Don't bother, they shouldn't be talking to you anyway. You already have expressed "reasonable doubt" multiple times -- it's time to pass it on to your COR and Council Ex. That being said, we don't know exactly what the felony is for. You're closest, you'd know more about the person than any of us could know. I almost had a felony once. I went to a gaming convention (I was running games for Wizards of the Coast and they were paying for my hotel stay, etc.). A

You can publicly claim whatever you want -- having an identical patch/pin made is easy-peasy. 1st point, though, a Scout is trustworthy. I think they mostly make "restricted" those things that might be easy for a parent to buy since they don't really understand what it is they're buying for their child like OA stuff, Eagle stuff before they actually finish the Eagle paperwork that's sat around for the past two years after finishing every other Eagle requirement...

I think this is the real story: National wants to push the Centennial hats before we get too far away from the Centennial. Thus, unless you really go looking, you're most likely going to see the Centennial hats as about the "only" hats you can buy.

You know, it could be, if you're all eating your own food, that he didn't really bring any food himself and is embarrassed that others might see that he's basically eating nothing. Maybe, in order to take the "time off" to come out with you all, he works twice as hard the few days before and is really sleep deprived -- enough that he can be up and awake and going when he needs to but just tired in his bones and wants to sleep. Perhaps he's more shy than you think and just doesn't make new friends very easily.

If you did the crime and paid the time, as long as there's no "youth protection" issues, I don't think the Council will turn him down. They might, but if I was someone in your Council, I'd kick it back to you and ask you what you thought since you're closer and would better know what the person is like and whether there are likely to be any continuing issues. If you ask the Council to reject it, if I was on the Council, I'd reject it. That being said, if you were a regular person (not a Scout leader) and were "this close" to calling Child Protection Services or whatever they're called w

"The laziness got so bad that they wouldn't even boil the water for the raman, they'd just knaw on the dry brick of noodles and chug water." Well, I sort of like the taste of dry ramen noodles. They aren't too starchy like macaroni/spaghetti noodles, they sort of have a (very) mild somewhat sweet taste. I don't eat them and chug water, I just eat them plain. That being said, I would never consider this a meal, it's just a snack. Those boys sound like they need some help learning how to cook simple meals that taste incredible. One thing that I've found really helps as far as motivatin

Which is exactly why I stopped checking eBay -- price gougers who just wanted too much for the jackets. It's not as though they're anything more than simple pieces of felt. It's not as though they're made from different layers sewn together or like they have an inner lining or something or like there's anything (in the absence of a Scout affiliation) that's really valuable about them. I'm glad the scoutshop has them for less than $30 including shipping right now, as I wouldn't pay more than that price for one.(This message has been edited by BartHumphries)

I've always wanted a red wool Scout jacket that fit me but there was no way I was spending $100. Sure, I could wear my dad's old one, but it's a 42. I just measured myself with a sewing tape and holding it at 38, it just fits around my chest at nipple height, with enough room to get two fingers in. I think I know what I'll be buying a couple weeks from now, presuming that they're still in the store then... I've tried eBay before, but I think the people selling the jackets are bidding against me. I used to go check 'em out regularly on eBay, but I got tired of losing the bid every time

Yes, that is indeed how that particular segment begins in that specific paragraph of rules. It does indeed start off talking about wearing hats while indoors.

I said: http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Media/InsigniaGuide/03.aspx "In any informal indoor activity where no official ceremony is involved, the headgear is removed as when in street clothes." So how does the quote matter? "Blah, blah, the headgear is removed as when in street clothes." Grammatically, it's the same as saying something like, "When giving a tatoo, the skin should first be disinfected as when donating blood." The only thing we might disagree on is whether or not you shouldn't wear the uniform hat when in "street clothes" only while doing an informal indoor activi

If folks googled "orienteering" they'd find out that it is a popular sport that involves handing the participant a map on which a series of "control points" have been marked. It's basically a very very small orienteering course where if you actually gave a map with control points on it, there'd just be a big black dot on the map as the control points all bled together. Things like this are designed for youth who have never handled a compass before and haven't the foggiest idea how declination might throw off the readings they're taking from the "North-South lines" on the map. You quick