Proud Eagle

Most Scoutmaster I have talked with know of it and many have even looked at it. Few have made use of it. If council cares anything about it that would be news to me. It looks like a great little no-brainer of a tool, but we spend more time worrying about what BSA policy says you can't do with the internet than trying to make good use of the internet.

This is a terrible tragedy. If you ever staff a summer camp at the level of one of the directors, you will get a suprising amount of updates from your Scout Exec on things that have gone wrong elsewhere, news reports forwarded by friends, Scout leaders telling you about things, and even concerned parents, members of the general public, and even media calling about things that have happened somewhere. Lots of safety stuff focuses on adult leadership, but I wonder, and I am just thinking hypothetically, if perhaps the real focus for safety ought to be on the youth? Maybe one of

In all seriousness, I think the idea of heads of chartering institutions (that is what IR indicates?) better understanding what Scouting is, how their organization views Scouting, and setting out their own goals more clearly would be a good idea. Way too many times all sorts of assumptions are made and things are not clearly communicated. I suspect 8/10 organizations think of the BSA units they charter morre as outside groups they let in, rather than owned and operated parts of their own program. Of the others, 1/10 think everyone in their unit is part of their organization and agrees with

It sounds to me like the beef of the guy with the complaints on the comments thread was really that his charter organization didn't back him and some of the others up in their position. For some reason he blamed the BSA for the fact that his CO was open to someone he considered a spiritual danger to his kid. No one should in good conscience put their child in what they believe to be deadly danger for light reasons, so in a way I get the guys point. There are a lot of people who have the idea that because BSA uses the wording "duty to God" that is meant in the particular, monotheistic or

Don't do anything based on some numbers game. Just don't. In the long term that is doing the wrong thing for a not very good reason. If you are worried about taking a hit on membership and looking bad, don't sweat it. Fix the glitch, take the hit in numbers, then work on making the unit and its program better, which will in turn put you in a better position for long-term recruiting and retention. Sometimes a little short-term pain makes for long-term gain. Plus, you have to pay the fees on these no-good-so-and-sos from now till doomsday if you get yourself stuck in one of those numbe

As a member of a Catholic Committee on Scouting I should mention these just in case someone looks at this thread. Catholic Scouts should pursue the particular Catholic religious emblems and info on this can be found at the National Catholic Committee on Scouting http://www.nccs-bsa.org or the Catholic Committee on Scouting of the diocese (office of youth ministry usually) or sometimes the local parish. The Catholic programs are not coordinated through PRAY. The National Catholic Committee for Girl Scouts and Camp Fire: http://www.nccgscf.org/index.htm has programs for those programs. I

Industrial competitiveness is a complex issue. To a very large degree the falling behind of American industry was a combination of circumstance and self-inflicted injury. History is a very important part of this picture. You really have to look at when America industrialized vs when other countries did, the cycles of rebuilding, etc with a particular focus on both world wars, the depression, and the post-war period. To make it way over simplified, the US came on-line as an industrial power after Europe did, thus we had newer, more innovative ways of doing things (this is more than just

The website InsideCatholic.com recently carried a rather positive article about Boy Scouts and teh 100th Anniversary. "Raising Men: 100 Years of the Boy Scouts of America" by Chuck Piola http://www.insidecatholic.com/feature/raising-men-100-years-of-the-boy-scouts-of-america.html In the comments on the article there is mostly positive feedback, but at least one person had some very deep seated objections to the BSA because they do not think it takes "duty to God" seriously due to an incident involving a unit they were once a leader for. In any case feel free to check it out, c

The Shawnee Trails Council and all Scout councils in Kentucky will be holding a joint Camporee in the Fall of 2010. There is a naming contest in process (entries due this month) since BSA won't allow anything other than Jambo to use any variation on 2010 Jamboree or Centennial Jamboree. The date has been set for, I think, October 2010. The event will have activities for Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturers, Sea Scouts, and perhaps Explorers. It is expected that at least 25,000 will attend, since both the Lincoln Heritage Council (Louisville) and the Bluegrass Council (Lexington) have pl

No, this is not a big deal, it is not completely black and white, and common sense (and any local interpretation made by those in proper authority) should rule the day. That said, I do not wear my sash at Courts of Honor. If I was invited to one in my capacity as the Associate Chapter Advisor (or any of the other positions I held in the past) I would certainly wear the sash. Let us consider what a Court of Honor is for. Its purpose is a formal recognition for awards, advancements, etc that have been earned by unit members. Ordinarily this means wearing the most complete version of

There is an appropriate and inappropriate degree of help with these sorts of things. I did all of the project planning related paperwork for my Eagle, but when it came to the post project part, I did ask my mother to help a bit with preparing the final presentation materials. That being said, she certainly didn't write any of the content or go get signatures for me or anything like that. (On the other hand the Court of Honor she had a bit more to do with...) In any case, I doubt anything will stop these people. Around here we might stop something like this since the Eagle BOR is done

I think the answer to the question is "never" in the way the question was posed, but "sometimes, under the right circumstances" if it had been posed another way. That being said, a scout leader should never strike another leader, parent, or especially Scout in anything other than physical self defense. Now, there were plenty of times I have felt the need to deliver a friendly jab to the shoulder (not a serious blow), or smack to the back of the head over something that was said or done. This was always in the context of friends, and while it may not have been the best idea it always

Thank you for the quick reply. I will think on the matter and be back again tonight, but here is brief reply. We don't have a UC. (Well, maybe on paper, but...) The DC has not been doing the job this year, the ADC has been trying to do as much as he can, but a lot of things have slipped through the cracks. The DE does what she can, but she is only one person. You are right that the DE should have been contacted before now. I agree completely that finding leadership is the critical first step, the problem is who and how? I agree with your second point. I agree with

I currently serve as the Assistant Scoutmaster of a small troop (7 active Scouts, with a few more registered). The unit is going through some tough times and I would appreciate any advice. I will try to provide enough information to give you a picture of the situation. The troop lost another Scoutmaster back in the spring and has been operating on the efforts of a few parents and leaders and its existing momentum to continue on. The troop has continued to meet, conduct monthly activities, and sent a group of Scouts to summer camp in conjunction with another troop. Currently the troop

I need some help and advice for creating a training session for the council's upcoming University of Scouting. I have been asked to create and conduct a session entitled "Troop Program Planning" described as "How to help Patrol Leaders plan fun and effective troop meetings and activities" and to last 50 minutes. It is being offered to adult boy scout leaders. I am searching for the best references, training aids, materials, ideas, and concepts to use in this session. I need to put together a syllabus/lesson plan, any materials to be distributed, visual aids, etc. Your assistan

Hello fellow Scouts and Scouters, I have been away from the forum for a very long time, but I decided to return at long last. In my previous period of activity I was a good bit less mature, and I probably said some incorrect, ignorant, stupid, or even offensive things at times. Hopefully we can all forgive and forget. In any case, I am here mostly seeking some help and advice on a few issues, but also to offer my own limited experiences. I will provide you all with a brief history of my Scouting involvement. I was a member of Pack 50 at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church st

Sorry everyone. I just needed a place to vent a bit. On days I felt like this at while working at camp, I would let it all out in a nice clean scream like they taught us at NCS. However, at the moment this is as close as I can get. so... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! OK, that helped a little. Thanks guys. Sorry for indulging myself on everyone else's time. Oh, and while I am not exactly a regular in the first place, don't expect to see me around much for a while. The "real life" part of my scouting activities have become a bit more complicated and less ple

I have been told by a member of the local council professional staff that some changes in the way DEs are evaluated is in the works. Apparently growth in units will be considered of lower importance than growth in members. Also, the new system apparently includes a way to measure, and reward, retention. So, perhaps BSA has finally decided to do what the volunteers have long been hoping for?

ASM59, Keep in mind there may be a method to the madness of the Council Advancement Chair. There are times when getting different answers from different people is caused by the job they hold and the responsibilities it covers. The council advancement chair was not looking at this from the perspective of unit level action, I think. I would say he was looking at it from the standpoint of council level actions, such as Eagle BOR. If some uncertainty about an Eagle candidate being active came up at the BOR, it would probably be settled by checking their membership status. After all,

if I have ever been at any of your troop's meetings or activities. Patrol method is, sadly, a far more esoteric and theoretical subject than any I have studied in college, at least within my experience.

Good post, Eamonn. ASM59, Ideally, you should let the boys decide. If they want to stay together, let them. If they want to join other patrols, then that is probably the way to go.

A few points need to be made, I think. These are not in order of importance, or in order of appearance in the thread, just in random order. The flag of the United States was officially established by the Continental Congress on 14 June 1777. The United States Constitution was signed on 17 September 1787. The Bill of Rights, which is often what people remember about the Constitution, was not ratified until 1791. The flag has outlasted the Continental Congress that created it. The flag could easily outlast the present constitution. The principles and ideals of the nation are older

If I were you I would want to speak to the council climbing director. That is an individual who has been National Camp School certified as a BSA Climbing Director, and appointed by the council to oversee all climbing activities within the council. That person will be able to give you correct and current safety information, any rules or regulations your council may impose on climbing, and also perhaps make a determination about this particular event. I should note that as of this year (2006), all councils are REQUIRED to have a Climbing Director. If they do not that council may not

We need more information to be able to come up with a proper response. I can think of all sorts of extenuating circumstances. I can also think of a bunch of lame excuses. However, I will share a little thing I have learned over the last year or so: Promise little and then keep those promises. Don't promise big things. Don't promise things that may not happen. Only promise those things you are totally certain you can and will make happen. I think Southwest airlines operates on a similar philosophy. Set the expectations very low, then exceed them by a wide margin. I h

The OA issue is a bit uncertain. See this link for more info: http://www.oa-bsa.org/qanda/qa-08.htm I would take that to mean that for it to be counted for OA, it must meat BSA resident camp standards. My understanding is that even a trek at Philmont does not qualify since it is not resident camping, but is a high-adventure trek. As for the answer given by a particular DE in a particular council, that is all nice and such but it doesn't hold any particular weight in any other place or time. I personally hope the efforts of these volunteers succeeds. However, they need