nolesrule

Well, I guess the "duh" answer would be to complete the required training.

But that can range from taking an online training at MyScouting to a week or more at a BSA National Camping School. Without knowing what type of activities you are talking about, it's hard to give a more specific answer.

Oh, yippee. We get a new commissioner patch design too.

Got confused by the subject. A knot device is the little program area pin that attaches to a knot in instances where the same award/knot can be earned in multiple program areas. Some such knots are the youth religious knot and the Scouter's Key knot. There are devices for Cub Scouting, Webelos Scouting, Boy Scouts, Venturing, Varsity, Sea Scouts, Commissioners and District Committee.

I guess if they wanted to cut back on knots, they could combine the different Cub program Den Leader awards into a single knot, and create a Tiger Cub device, so that the single knot could then be used with Tiger, Cub and Webelos devices.

But I don't really have a problem with the separate awards for Cub Leaders, as the 3 den programs are different in how they are rolled out. They do a lot of work for the boys and should be recognized.

Someone posted in another scouting forum that Climb on Safely is being adjusted to provide a specific ratio of Qualified Instructors for an outdoor climb (not towers). The change will be similar to what is required at camps. 1 instructor + 1 instructor per 6 scouts. According to the post, it is effective immediately, though I have not seen any changes to published materials yet.(This message has been edited by nolesrule)

No, I don't think it's needed, but I do recommend it.

I do think one should have at least a year of experience under their belt so they understand their role in the grand scheme of things. I think it makes the ticket writing part a bit easier.

"Frankly, I think Wood Badge is over hyped. Way too many Wood Badge promotions are done, and that doesn't even include beading ceremonies which are usually Wood Badge advertizements."

I wonder if that has to do with the ability to meet the minimum participation requirements or to fill a course. One thing I've noticed is the last minute nature of signing up for just about anything.

"So I'd start with a call to your council climbing director. "

Excellent advice Beavah.

As a BSA Climbing Instructor, I could write a few paragraphs on this, but I think that sums it up nicely and would defer to a climbing director. A CD will be more knowledgeable on the subject than anyone here will (unless we have a CD on the forums).

Climb On Safely and a course on belaying does not qualify one as an instructor. Neither does 20 years of climbing experience, although one would hope that with that much experience they would have taken the time to get instructor training, whether with the BSA or one of the many other recognized training sources.

Certainly, you should find out what instructor training they do have (if any) and run it by your council climbing director.

Oak Tree wrote:

"the following things must happen prior to the 18th birthday

- the Eagle application form must be filled out all the way down to and including the Scout's signature (i.e., all merit badges, all leadership, all participation, everything that the Scout has to fill out on the form.)

- the Eagle project workbook must be complete including all signatures

- the statement of your ambition, life purpose, list of other leadership positions must be done

- the Scoutmaster conference must be completed "

No, the application does not need to be filled out prior to your 18th birthday. Filling out the application is not one of the 6 requirements.

Yes, the Project Workbook must be completed. It is explicitly part of requirement 5.

Yes, the Scoutmaster conference must be completed.

No, the statement of ambition, etc. does not have to be completed prior to your 18th birthday. It is not one of the actual 6 requirements except on the application, which is nothing more than a piece of bureaucratic paperwork. It is not in the Boy Scout handbook, and it is not in the requirements book (whereas the Eagle Project workbook is specified as part of the requirement 5). The statement is not part of the SMC, and the only instruction is to attach it to the application when you turn it in. In addition, the recorded date for requirement 6 is solely that of the SMC, and not when the statement was written.

That said, it's not a bad idea to ask a scout to have the statement ready for the scoutmaster conference.

I used to be a Bobwhite...

I had my Wood badge beading tonight at our District Roundtable. Our course director (Who posts here as Tokala) and my Troop Guide did the ceremony. Some of my patrolmates were able to attend. It was also nice to have my wife and 2 little girls and my dad (who is a former ASM) there.

In addition to the WB regalia, I and one other commissioner were pleasantly surprised to receive the Distinguished Commissioner Award tonight. A nice little honor after nearly six years of commissioner service.

I promise I won't let it go to my head.

There's no specified order for the signatures. And your interpretation is correct, in that it's only the requirements up to and including the Scoutmaster COnference that must be completed prior to 18th birthday. Application and signatures do not. It's just bureaucratic nightmare... I mean overhead.

That said, I've read about councils that "require" the application to be completed and turned in before the 18th birthday. They are wrong, but the Eagle candidate will usually have to put up a fight with their district or council to get the ball rolling.

Too young for Eagle, too young for OA? I hear this all the time. What is this?

This is supposed to be Boy Scouts, not Man Scouts. A scout can "get it" at any age.

I was a newly awarded Star Scout, ASPL and 11 years, 10 months at the time of my ordeal. I'm pretty sure I got it.

Superman also died once back in 1993. That wasn't permanent.

Any registered scouter can take Wood Badge. The only requirement is that they are fully trained for their position.

If you are in more than one registered position, you'll be asked to pick which position to be the focus of your ticket. Or at least we were when I took it.

Don't confuse customers with stakeholders.

Although they are stakeholders, end users are not necessarily the customers in the business sense (even with non-profits). Often times they are, in reality, the product.

Nothing wrong with that. It's just not possible in all areas or at all times of year.

Feels like a deja vu topic from January

http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=299910

Congratulations from a recently signed off Bobwhite.

Just wanted to point out that in Jewish religious law from back in the day, for someone to be convicted of a crime required two (male) witnesses to be present that testify to the Bet Din (court). In the case of homosexuality, that meant that the witnesses had to see, well, you can paint that picture yourself.

Which is the reason that while homosexuality is forbidden by Jewish law, open homosexuals are accepted by most Jewish denominations to participate in the community without conflicting with the Torah.

So it's not "don't ask, don't tell", but rather "out of sight, out of mind".

I've only been to 2 weekends since I started back up 5.5 years ago as a scouter, and both were when we hosted section events. But I pay my dues every year to support the lodge. Of course, I have a pre-existing connection as it is the lodge of my youth.

It's just hard for me to get away for entire weekends leaving my wife with 2 small kids frequently, which is one of the primary reasons I'm a UC and not a unit scouter. But I've been looking for ways to contribute to the lodge from the comfort of my own home office.

I'm on the board of my synagogue, so I didn't drop out. :-)

Yeah, your theory is more or less correct, except it wasn't a middle-age rabbi. Most of rabbinical Judaism's laws were codfied (put into written form) in the Mishnah around 200CE, so not long after the destruction of the 2nd Temple, but pretty much all of it was already in practice when the kingdom of Judah was in existence. There seems to be an incorrect theory that rabinical Judaism arose only after the start of Christianity, but that's not the case, as what we now know as rabbis (or teachers) were originally commissioned as judges all the way back in the book of Exodus as a way to keep Moses from tearing his beard out in settling legal matters (which in Judaism were also religious matters). In the case where some things were vague, it was hashed out in ways not too different from the U.S. appeals court system. The Talmud includes dissenting rabbinical opinions right next to the accepted ones.

" I believe the Book says thou shalt not cook a young lamb (or something like that) in its mother's milk"

kid...as in baby goat.

Glad I missed out on those festivities.

Everything takes time in a bureaucracy.

I've never done it for scouts, but I use quickbooks for my businesses. I'd probably create scout accounts as sub-accounts of the checking account.

I wouldn't necessarily consider that the BSA is behind on anything. Gender separation in programs like this is not inherently a negative thing, especially at certain age ranges. The older youth programs of Venturing and Exploring are moreor less beyond the age range where this is a factor.

There's theory, and then there's real-world examples like when SMT224 wrote:

"Boys are much happier and better off being around boys, and girls are much happier and better off being around girls. When we all camped together, the girls spent their time ignoring the other girls and flirting with the boys, and the boys acted like idiots and spent their time showing off for the girls. "