BartHumphries

I spent a while looked at that Learning for Life program. It looked basically like all the other programs that try to motivate kids. The laughably cheesy "choices game" for high school students was the final straw -- I don't really see why any high school students would voluntarily be a part of the Learning for Life program unless it was mandated by the school or something like that. I mean, if it even did a tenth of the "cool stuff" that Scouting does, then it might be interesting, but it seemed pretty dry and boring. It was rather reminiscent of those TV specials starring 30-year olds we

Well, I think once a scout troop gets up and running it's pretty self sustaining and can fundraise to cover its costs. I used to raise several hundred dollars a year by working various fundraisers back when I was a Scout, because my family was poor and that was the only way I'd be going to summer camp, etc. The problem I see is starting a new troop, where nobody really has anything yet. Anyway... I thought Explorer posts didn't exist anymore, that it was just regular Boy Scout troops and Venture Crews?

"Marriage" is a right. But is marriage only "marriage" when it's between a man and a woman or can marriage also be between two (or more?) people of the same gender (or various genders in a polygamous relationship)? The way some states have defined marriage, it's sort of like saying that all men are legally entitled to have a Prince Albert piercing. By definition, a woman can't really have that kind of a piercing and advocating that women be legally allowed to have that kind of piercing is nonsensical. You can get whatever piercing you want and call it a Prince Albert piercing, but it won't

If a city was to sponsor a scout troop or venture crew as part of its youth activities, how much does that usually cost other than providing a place for people to meet, maybe some binders, pens, paper? What about the city being sued for being noninclusive, how likely is that and what is the probably outcome? Has anyone done something like this recently?

Yeah, along with PADI and NAUI, I should have listed SDI, PDIC, SSI, and IDEA. I myself went with PADI, because that's who the local dive shop is set up with -- they were just switching over from NAUI when I took my first class.(This message has been edited by BartHumphries)

Ok, it started out good, but then just turned into a rant that sort of stopped being funny. Let's go like this instead: Observe what works in Scouting Break this process down into component parts. Go for it don't be a shrinking violet, just do it. Your mileage may vary Next time make notes of what worked and what didn't, so the next time you can do it better (hindsight is always the clearest way to view something) This OBGYN procedure is often seen with a D&C (District & Council) management style, particularly with a Dr. of Med. or Drive of Mediocrity. Yeah, we

That's because orthodoxy means different things to different people. It's no surprise that different churches can believe different things and that each church considers itself orthodox, completely in line with tradition. If that wasn't the case, there would only be one church in the entire world. Take the Bible, for instance. There have been more different versions of the Bible than there are words in the Bible. Over the course of a few centuries, we can see where one scribe deleted a few verses that had appeared in an older version, then it was added back by someone else with a warn

Perhaps a forums person could take this list and edit it into the first post in the thread, so that it doesn't get lost in succeeding pages of replies -- I put it together based on all of the "proper" acronyms suggested so far: AM Adult Member AC Advancement Chair SA Alternate form of Assistant Scoutmaster (sometimes ASM) MC Alternate form of Committee Member (sometimes CM) ACA American Canoe Association ARC American Red Cross AD Aquatic/Area Director AC Area Commissioner ACM Assistant Cubmaster ADL Assistant Den Leader ASE Assistant Scout Executive ASM Assistant Scoutm

Thanks, JFL49. I'm just reposting your links so that it'll be easier for me to find later -- I tend to look for those things at the end of a discussion, not at the beginning. He said: Our Council implemented this a while ago, as described here: http://www.ctyankee.org/program/training/basic/smtraining We developed a Self Evaluation Form, basically a reprint from the syllabus: http://www.ctyankee.org/fs/page/001478/introoutdoorskillssignoffse20080420.pdf We also developed a Sign Off Sheet, again from the syllabus: http://www.ctyankee.org/fs/page/001478/introoutdoorskills

Perhaps it was brought to the committee's notice that you cannot have co-Scoutmasters and, not wanting to promote one of you above the other, they instead just brought in someone new. I really don't know why you're asking us why they'd do such a thing -- they're the ones you should be asking. As for whether they *can* do that, well, they just did it, so yeah.

The rate of peanut allergies in all first world countries is indeed climbing and nobody really knows why. It might be something like polio -- as we introduced more and more hygienic controls in public water supplies, reducing cholera rates, etc., people just weren't getting as many water-borne illnesses and instead of easily contracting a mild form of polio (which would protect against contracting a harsher strain) people were being hit with something their body was completely unprepared for and thus the cleaner America got the worse polio got until the polio vaccine was created. Unfortu

The Blancmange said, "That is, of course, different from a parent who has absolutely no training in the purpose or procedure for a BOR." Is there a better way for a parent to get that sort of hands-on training than to (unofficially) sit in on a board of review?(This message has been edited by BartHumphries)

Looking at the top 25 sponsoring organizations (from http://www.praypub.org/pdf_docs/BSA_Membership_Report_2007.pdf as of 2007), out of 2,428,898 youth 1,539,397 of them are sponsored by some group with the word church in their name: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, United Methodist Church, Roman Catholic Church, Baptist churches, Lutheran churches, Presbyterian churches, United Church of Christ, Episcopal Church, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). That's roughly 63.3% of Boy Scouts (again, only considering the top 25 sponsoring organizations). I don't think churches are

You're both talking of huge denominations. Perhaps, in different areas of the country, or even in the same parts, both statements are true? Sometimes different people have different discussions or have different issues pressing foremost on their mind. Sometimes people hew strictly to the guidelines set out by church leaders, sometimes they don't. Sometimes church leaders are representative of their congregations, sometimes they aren't. I do know that not everyone was racist back then. Some of my ancestors were, some weren't. I'm a Son of Confederate Veterans (www.scv.org/) and a Son

The 1997 printing (the latest available) of the LDS church's Scouting Handbook says (on p5), "Worthy adults (whether members of the Church or not) may be called to serve as scout leaders." Wards generally have worthy members who could make great scout leaders and so the ward generally recruits from its own members, but it's not unheard of to have non-LDS people as leaders. Like the Bishop said, though, he would have to take each one on an individual basis as they'd have to be living an LDS lifestyle (no smoking, no drinking, no promiscuity, etc.).

Those are the pages that your council doesn't want you to see?

Well, jhankins, apparently laser tag is?

Yeah, I eventually got a second email and was able to validate my vote.

Wolf rank patch -- has a fleur-de-lis on it, so ok? Mowgli patch -- doesn't have a fleur-de-lis or BSA or anything other than his face and name, so no?

Wait, laser tag is verbotten? Honestly?

I signed up then tried to vote. The final page said, "Please check your email now for a message from Billion Points. Youll be asked to click on a link to confirm that youve received the email. Upon doing so, your vote will be processed." But the email was just a "congratulations on joining" type, no link there to confirm anything.

Ok, so Cub Scout day camp patch on a Boy Scout uniform... sure, why not. Ronald Reagen Presidential Library patch, no. Wolf rank patch? Mowgli patch?

On the right chest pocket, can a scout/scouter basically wear anything that fits? Boy Scout camp patch, Cub Scout Camp patche, James M Stuart Good Citizenship Award, patch earned in another country as a result of an exchange?

I don't even know if it's a Boy Scout patch. But it's on my old scout patch hide. It's yellow with red trim and CAPTURE THE SPIRIT in blue letters around the edge. On a white background in the center, is what appears to be an Indian chief with full headdress. The outer feathers are red, green, blue. The inner feathers are yellow, white. There are two fringed things hanging down on either side of his face with the letters L and S on them (L on his right cheek, S on his left cheek). Where in the world did this come from?

I heard that the ban on military clothing was because, with our tan/olive stuff, we already sort of look like a paramilitary group and what with our camping and hiking (and two shooting merit badges) we don't want to be lumped in with the "crazy" paramilitary groups (like the people at Waco). I thought I heard somewhere that marching in formation is forbidden -- as we have no drill corps. I see practically every troop march in unison at scout camp, though, so I don't know how true that last part is. I know someone who knew someone who saw some adult Scouter at some scout camp who got ki