qwazse

I'd be inclined to agree. But then, I have a very low view of the bean-counting attitude that BSA's paltry requirements have inculcated. But it's not merely that. Many of the scouts who I've talked to are uncomfortable counting church-related service for their hours. And my lot has never been told by anyone except the Good Book that heavenly rewards are withheld if works are cashed in for earthly reward. One real plus for scouting for my boys (and me and Mrs. Q) was the collection of "older brothers" they got to know a year or two before starting high school. Same happened for me as well.

Tangent #1: So, what you are saying, @@blw2 is that if BSA were fully co-ed, they might have a better trained scouter? Tangent #2: What are you doing (organization participation wise) to be a better father-of-girls? For me, scouting helped a lot. That's partly because the fellowship involved time with a lot of dads and moms with daughters. as well as GS leaders and Venturing moms. Most all of the formal training was as relevant for my daughter (and, later, daughter-in-law) as it was for the sons. Edited to add: And a lot of the boys who might have thought of dating daughter knew how well I sharpened my knives and axes.

Are you asking if a national standard electronic medical record listing positive history first (name of condition in bold, history standard font, treatment regimen in italics), followed by treatment measures to be avoided in a box, then cleared conditions as a footnote, would be easier for a clinician to parse? The answer is yes. Could this be produced by a parent and doctor (with notes from both merged and sorted by level of importance) using a common program? The answer is yes. Could updates be made annually (say, moving a cleared condition to the concerned section or vice versa) and the thing still be readable? Yes. Could it be made secure? Within reason, yes. (But the truth is, the more standard something is the more readily it can be "trolled" by someone with ill-intent.)

Thanks for your service to the boys, and welcome! And please, ask questions! If you don't we will waste thousands of posts on minutiae that applies a very select few!

But, that's where we're trying to put the cart before the horse. The COs in a particular district should see themselves as partners trying to serve youth in their respective communities. Only they can draw the lines that define their communities. We are not in a position to tell David's school if their catch-man area for scouting needs to be more or less broad. But neighboring COs should be getting together (maybe with a DE/DC providing survey info) to decide if collectively they are covering the needs of all of the youth who could benefit from scouting. Then they have a moderated discussion about if one or the other CO should broaden their reach, or -- lacking an existing CO who can do that -- discuss about other community groups who should be offered the privilege of sponsoring a unit.

Fact is, in a boy's scouting career, only one long-term stint counts for Camping MB (be it Summer Camp, Jambo, or an HA). So, the only real reason for one of your scouts to pitch a tent in this case is if he thinks he'll never do a week under canvas or stars in the future. Of course the real reason to pitch when the troop has a cabin: the aroma of all your mates!

We did do that one year when we had a lot of parent's attending camp. I think there was still a rotation for guests at the patrols. (E.g., eight adults ate with the old goats, four were invited as patrol guests.) Regardless, the boy's cooking was no worse than the dad's, IMHO. The one thing that I noticed in the dining hall scouts: more songs, skits, and goofy dances.

Sounds like a trap. First parent to speak up gets that committee position nobody else wants! Tell them you are gonna spend the $ on cool neckerchiefs that will trade better years from now when your son goes to a World Jamboree.

Our troop always goes to HR (this week, same campsite every year). They love the patrol cooking (on propane stoves) in Camp Liberty. Other troops love the dining hall in Camp Freedom. (It's a big hall, seats maybe 500.) Both camps have freshwater aquatics areas. Big lake, very hungry bass and bluegill. Decent canvas wall tents on wood platforms. Very wooded. (I've met scouts from Michigan hiking in similar parts of PA for the weekend, so I know they like it here.) Ground a little rocky. Latrines and running water in each site. Shower houses not too far of a walk. Enthusiastic staff. (The current Res Director used to be my SPL, but that's not biasing my report. ) For the 12 who just want to do MB's, it's not a bad program, but I bet no different than SOAR. Our scouts enjoyed the cope and climbing and shotgun range a lot.

The following reply may come off as surly and ill-tempered because the troop is at camp this week and I am not. So, when a PL invites you to be a guest at their table, you're gonna snub him? In some parts, those are fighting words. Show from afar? Like 100 yards? What on earth do you think they are gonna learn from that distance? Do you also teach knots that way? (Yes I know that has nothing to do with you're situation that you envision, but there is no reason this thread should be immune from our passion for hyperbole. ) Honestly, our boys never mind setting out another plate or two. I often show up at table with espresso (which the oldest scouts don't mind) and candy-coated almonds or some other ethnic treat (which the younger scouts don't mind, even if their curiosity has not yet overcome their fear of the unknown). We share some chit-chat. If the boys are talking full tilt on their own, I assume fly-on-the-wall position ... only speaking when spoken to. Then at meals end, I line up to clean my plate, porcelain demitasse cups, and gay-floral-pattern silverware, ask permission to stow it in their box if I'm scheduled to join them for the next meal. Then I return to my chair at the adult's camp and offer the old goats cold dregs if any are left in my pot.

Maybe BSA, by way of clearer language, should move "God and my Country" towards the end of the Oath, somewhere after the line that says "and to the supremacy of advancement and its guide to the same."

"Why?" Is never a simple question. Especially for strangers who don't know you, your husband, or your fellow scouters. I know one boy whose grandparent custodians wouldn't let him join our troop because the father would insist on participating with the son, and they were certain that would not be in the boy's interest. The boy is growing strong and good in spite of missing out on scouting. But I still try to think if there was a way we could have made that work. Sometimes we are trying to sort between bad and less bad. Your fellow scouters had to pick one of you. Had they chosen you, we might be replying to the boy's dad right now, who might be asking why he should be "punished." In light of the charges, did they choose poorly? Maybe. I'm sure the pack's sponsor would like to know about that. Your council scout executive might be able to help find a way for your boy to enjoy scouting while keeping your ex away from you, but if I were you, I would contact the SE without expecting much in terms of favorable resolution.

If you awaken me from my slumber just because some scouts are returning to camp, I'll be the one throwing the fit!

The definition of "unchurched" can be a little fuzzy. Suppose you have a secular Jewish family who gave up on synagogue but the the kid is going to the mosque every Friday for prayers. (This is America, after all.) if you don't like that configuration pick any hypothetical where the family could claim an affiliation on cultural grounds, but the kid is doing something different ... But nothing is official. I'm sure you've had one or two of these. I call them the gyrochurched, because they are switching around a lot.

Once again, I +ed instead of -ed. Happy anniversary and enjoy the ride to the burger drive-through!

Oh, no! If you just reply in this one, somebody will quote you in the other!Well, if Duty to God and Country trumps advancement, my position should be unmoved if a scout has to wait until he's fulfilled those duties to start racking up service hours. I've had a bevy of venturers who were First Class scouts without the patch, so why should I be bothered the case is true for some boys with a distinctive CO? But as you can see scouters around the country are consuming large amounts of popcorn (and, one infers, oil and butter) reading this. Think of the bump in ethanol price, right before we are about to drive off to camp. P.S. Happy Father's Day!

Okay David, @@Stosh and I are about to derail another thread about this. So even more clarification please ... Does this impact grades 6 through 8 or just 8th grade? Are service hours for lower ranks in play here are just Eagle projects (because that's what pressured a 17 year old scout to put his soul in jeopardy once upon a time in the chronicles of your unit)?

Well it wouldn't be he first time I've read a policy charitably. That's my mode of operating. Rather that than ask for a rule! The original post was with respect to Eagle projects. So I took it to mean that many 8th graders would have made upper ranks by then. On the other hand, bean-counting service hours for the first few ranks is fairly new. So maybe BSA moved these scouts into the nuisance. Popes as peacemakers, what have they been reading?

Wow, Luther, just pound those 95 theses!Before anyone rants at the absurd context, the policy as described in by the other thread is to suspend service projects for a few months. Poor little 8th grader if he's taken two years to advance to Scout and can't take the heat because he has to wait until the end of the term.

I can't recall a single family in our CO joining that church through scouting. (I can think of one who left due to conflicts within scouting that forced the IH's hand.)That said, for sponsoring scouting units, the CO is highly regarded in our community. i have not found that to be the case. They don't want to be shouted at from a street corner (most days). They do want a friend who they trust living out their faith and occasionally inviting them to join in. WWJD? Most days: Hiking, camping, sailing.

Scouts in the Laurel Highlands Council area may want to invite http://www.themilktruck.org/milkmap/to their next CoH ... Or maybe family night?

Imagine a 17 year old with all Eagle requirements but Camping MB with a creep total 19 camping nights and his birthday is on Sunday the CO's sabbath restriction suddenly becomes a barrier to advancement ... Duty to God: through his appointees in whom your parents entrusted you, He commands you to not count any service for several months during your 13th or 14th year of life toward advancement. Duty to Country: this nation needing competent workers, it is your duty to adhere to an academic regimen approved of by your parents. This regimen may require periods where certain extracurricular activities are suspended .., the suspension of which may delay your advancement. Put that against "Hey kid, Michael DeLoVecchio says it's cool. grab your shovel." How the boys feel? Inconvenienced, I suppose. Some may feel demoralized. But, boys come to me constantly feeling that way. I don't go marching into their lives all mother-bear at whatever institution is putting them to task. Plan A has a roadblock? Okay find a plan B! Apply the 8th point of the Scout Law and move forward.

Presbyterians (the COs with whom I have most experience) interpret "religious affiliation" quite broadly. So this has not been an issue that I've observed. However, I have heard this brought up and roundtable re: EBoRs. So there must be some troops that reckon this way. No idea if the practice came from the CO or committee. My church (through its youth ministry) actively seeks out unaffiliated youth. (Those of Christian upbringing make the worst converts!) This may be one of the reasons they are hesitant to sponsor a pack or troop. The membership policy strikes them as a veneer of religiousess. The BSA is rife with precisely the duplicity similar to that which has made them recently change denominations. Therefore, I'm inclined to prefer youth who do not profess membership in a religion. (Although I try not to find fault with those who do.)

There's password encryption. Which if a fella isn't using in this day and age, he's got bigger problems. As far as physical security. Leaving it in a locked car is a possibility -- although that doesn't eliminate smash 'n grab. That's what I did. It added 1/2 mile walk to my day, but was pretty much worth it. A cable lock around a tree is a possibility ... If you weren't surrounded by boys with saws and axes!

It seemed clear from the outset that his CO's policy applied across the board. It's quite simple to me. Does duty to God trump your troop's implementation of any of the methods of scouting? I would answer in the affirmative. Can a CO lay out what the duty is? There are plenty of instances where it has. (Not camping on Sabbath or Sunday, keeping kosher, etc ...) Can it apply that broadly? It can and it has. (E.g., a Jewish buddy sat with his grandson on the steps of a church while the troop attended the mass his troop was required to do if they were traveling on a Sunday.) Does academic work trump scouting activities? As a duty to country, it can and it has. (Educators have come on this forum and asked as much regarding troubled youth.) Rank advancement is not the be-all and end-all that we sometimes make it out to be. And, frankly, any scout who hasn't knocked off the requisite service hours before the middle of 8th grade can wait a few months. Now, if the CO as zealously treated a 17 year old life scout who transferred in never confirmed, we might have something to write about!