oldsm

Both of my sons are going as staff members -- part of TOAP (The Outdoor Adventure Place), demonstrating cooking. I'm told that they're all staying in dorms. Cushy camping!

Time for an update. It's a long story, but I'll give you the Reader's Digest version. We did let the boys go on their own. They whittled down 50 miles on the AT to 30 miles. They planned a detailed itinerary, purchased dehydrated food, had water purification equipment, an emergency plan, thorough maps, etc. They had chosen some of the most difficult terrain on the AT (the Mahoosic Range in ME/NH - they wanted to do Mahossic Notch, which is about 1 mile of bouldering). They started out in great spirits in the rain(!), immediately having to ford a swollen stream, then head uphill to wh

Not sure about the elitism part, but I've had a couple of WBers counsel me NOT to go to WB. The reason? "It's just a rehash of the same stuff you've gotten in all the corporate leadership training seminars you've been to. Save your $200." Not sure if this was the "old" or the "new" course. But the comments and $$$ and time out of a busy schedule (1.6 jobs, scouts local and district, and family) make me wonder why I should. If BSA thinks that WB is so vitally important, why not make it free of charge?

I think most of us have run into problems with Council records, and you're correct that dates don't matter until a boy comes up for Eagle. I've gotten into the habit of requesting ScoutNet printouts for each of my boys once they reach Star. I compare the printouts against our troop records (Troopmaster and boys books) and our copies of advancement reports. I've found some real doozies - one can only imagine where Council got some of their dates. Once I provide supporting documentation (copies of the advancement reports previously submitted), my council has been good about correcting their

Nothing would make me happier than to leave the parents out of it. Unfortunately, there will probably be some blow-back. They tend to be a bit over-protective IMO. Mama's always waiting at the end of the meeting to get her boy out of there as quickly as possible.

I am starting to realize that I have a problem with my SPL and I'm not sure how to deal with it. Here goes. SPL, a Life scout, was elected in October for a 1-year term. His dad, an ASM with who we have had some problems (now basically inactive), was certain that his son would make the best SPL the troop had ever had. Dad has a very strong personality, son is quite meek and is certainly not a "take charge" fellow. I have tried to counsel with the SPL via phone and at meetings. SPL tends to provide the answers he thinks adults want to hear. Also does not follow through well on things h

Good point about B-flat vs C. As far as I know, BSA does not print bugle calls in B-flat. This should not be (B?) a show-stopper. Most listeners will have no idea what key a call is played in unless they have perfect pitch (most people don't). One alternative is to transpose the calls. Maybe the MB Counselor could do this as a service to the scout. Or maybe a scout would like to try his hand at transposing (no, don't add it as a requirement!). The easiest way is just to let him play the calls at whatever "natural" pitch his instrument has. We're only talking a 1/2 step differenc

As I stated in an earlier post, "whether or not a flugelhorn is too mellow is largely a subjective matter." In my opinion a flugelhorn is at the edge of "acceptable". I would draw the line here, though, and NOT accept lower brass instruments. You say poTAYto, I say poTAHto...

The "trumpet" button on an organ? Thanks for the chuckle. No one has asked to do that yet, and I pity the first one who does (HA!). Actually, that wouldn't qualify for Requirement 1 "...demonstrate how the bugle makes sound..." or Requirement 6 "Serve as bugler in your troop for three months". Good luck backpacking your organ! Yeah, we can debate this forever: the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law. If we don't have room for the spirit part, then we don't need counselors with expertise - just exam proctors. Toot on.

Actually, a flugelhorn sounds more like a cornet than it does a trumpet. Even though the bugle has a brighter, "nice sharp" sound, a cornet is specifically acceptable for this MB. Whether or not a flugelhorn is too mellow is largely a subjective matter. The practical side of tone quality is that a brighter one will carry farther at a given volume than will a mellower tone. Since the flugelhorn is so closely related to the "approved" instruments, I feel that this is really a minor matter of interpretation. My job as a MB counselor is not to be a purist about bugling, but rather to help the

The requirements for Bugling MB states that "A bugle, trumpet, or cornet may be used to meet these requirements." I think it is more likely that a scout will have a trumpet or (less likely) a cornet rather than a bugle. Bugles just aren't used in school bands, so they're not so readily available. I think the intent is to be able to use "modern" instruments that are similar in tone and pitch range to a bugle. Certainly either the trumpet or cornet can play the bugle calls without having to use any of the valves, which in my opinion, makes them valid stand-ins for the bugle. How many p

So... If we don't ask about a boy believing in God (or however we want to cage "religious beliefs"), what happens when he goes to fill out an Eagle Scout Rank Application and doesn't have a Religious reference to list?

Lisa'bob, I'm sorry you have so many adults going. To my way of thinking, that's WAY too many adults for only 34 scouts. I'd be curious to know how you will keep the adults from getting in the way of the scouts a) having a good time and b) letting their summer camp be as boy-run as possible. I know we can't keep parents away, but summer camp is supposed to be for the boys - not the adults - and I would make that patently clear to all parents. I'll probably be excoriated for my position, but in a council camp setting, I don't believe you need any more than 3 adults for this number of boys

In my troop the scout holds on to all funds. Developing the means of managing funds and accounting for them is part of the process of demonstrating the leadership required by an Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project. How he manages the funds is just one aspect of the project report. In my opinion, if a troop serves as the repository, it is depriving the scout of a significant portion of the opportunity to demonstrate leadership in his project, which is after all the primary purpose of the project. If a troop starts to handle the money, I can see where it could start to exert unwarranted

My troop usually has only 2 adults at our council summer camp. Usually the SM (me) and an assistant SM. One year we had another assistant, but that was the exception. We usually have 15-22 boys. The camp runs such a good program that we find adults have very little to do! The boys enjoy independence (subject to the buddy rule), get to police themselves, assign their duties, keep on schedule, etc. I find that this affords great opportunities to do SM conferences, mediate the occasional disagreement that goes beyond what the boys can handle, get to know the boys' strengths, weaknesses, and perso

In my opinion, I believe that a scout needs to complete some combination of sub-requirements a, b, c, and d: a + b a + c a + d b + c b + d c + d Pick one combination. Each of the sub-requirements (a, b, c, d) must be fulfilled on its own merits. Visiting two state capitols does not satisfy the requirement. For one things, 2B says "visit YOUR state capitol" (emphasis mine). No one (I think) has dual state citizenship, so visiting two state capitols (trying to do requirment 2b twice) does not satisfy the requirement of doing TWO. Similarly, if you live in Maryland

Wow! What a fantastic idea. I've often been of the opinion that the 12th point of the Scout Law gets short shrift. And unfortunately I think that a great many of today's scouts' families are too often only peripherally involved in religion. While the article is necessarily superficial, I'm sure that many participants got a whole lot more out of it than what the writer conveyed. It certainly goes beyond the typical "Scouts Own" and saying grace before meals. I would really like to know how the heritage tour was put together. Details like logistics of identifying historic religiou

My council does a war dance (figuratively speaking) if we don't have a tour permit turned in 2 weeks ahead of time. So we require permission slips at least 2 weeks ahead so that we have accurate numbers for the tour permit. In reality, there are always last-minute changes. We have to recognize that we're competing with school activities, organized sports, family birthdays, illnesses, emergencies real and imagined, and shifting priorities. There will always be a couple of last-minute "cans" and an occasional "can't". We generally try to accommodate everyone to the best of our ability. Most

I think that every boy is going to learn from multiple approaches. The coin cup has its place. I'd bet that there are other "incentives" in place to encourage proper decisions. Maybe the boy wants to save his quarter; what's wrong with that? If he "saves" enough quarters, he just might get out of the habit of cursing. A lot of ethical choices are not conscious ones. Over time, we have all assimilated "correct" behavior into our psyches so that we automatically make correct choices without even thinking about it. I also suspect that most of us as adults really have no clear knowledge of ex

I sense that we're almost choosing up sides on how to deal with issues of discipline in a troop, whether "boy run", "adult run", or "adult guided". Please, let's not forget the GUIDE part. I'm nodding at some of the suggestions, and shaking my head at others. I believe that there is no single correct way to deal with matters of cursing, losing things, misusing tools, respecting others, and just about every value that we are trying to instill in our scouts. While some people might consider singing a silly song to be demeaning, my troop has found that a little embarrassment works. Hazing? I

My council gives free badges of rank for 1 year based on a total unit FOS formula. It's the total dollars contributed in each unit equivalent to about 70% (I think) of families giving the "suggested" donation that they would ordinarily make to acquire a special FOS council strip. Some families contribute the recommended amount, some less, quite a few significantly more. In my unit, this simple incentive made a sizeable increase in FOS contributions. It think it's good for the Council and it's good for the unit. There's no limit to the number of rank advancements. This does not apply to me

Thanks, LongHaul. What you write makes sense, but does not address one of the central issues: the counselors involved are already registered. One through a local unit, one through the local council (this one is also dual-registered with a local unit). The non-registered counselors aren't a big issue - I guess I was just trying to present that perspective, too. As far as what is the "most effective" way to re-register counselors, I like the way ljnrsu's council handles it. It's easier for counselors, fewer 5-page application forms that BSA has to pay for, less waste (a scout is thrif

ljnrsu, that sounds reasonable. Do I understand correctly that your MB counselors do not have to fill out another Adult Application every year - just respond to the letter? What forms of response are accepted? Phone call? Email? IM? Written (snail-mail) response? I'm really curious how this entire process can be simplified for everyone while maintaining safety for the scouts. Does anyone know if National has a policy on this?

I think most of the objection comes from people who are already registered scouters. I can understand the thinking that, since they're already registered with the council, they shouldn't have to register separately with the district in order to be a MB counselor. After all, it's the same program, and the "higher" (council) entity already has all their information and permits them to re-register every year without a new app. So why can't the district accept council's records as far as being a "safe" person to counsel?

IMO, having the SPL and/or the PLC address the issue with the other boys could go a long way toward resolving an issue, with a couple of "ifs". IF the PLC/SPL is willing to seriously consider the matter and discuss it with adults, this could be more powerful than having the SM address it with the troop. However, the adult leadership must have frank discussion with the PLC/SPL to convey what the norms of acceptable language for the unit. It also goes nicely with the "boy run - adult guided" philosophy. ALSO IF the PLC/SPL is willing to do more than give "lip service" to dealing with t