qwazse

Enjoy the sit-down with their advisor. I think ultimately you will need to give a special "training for scout-parents" seminar. You're kinda sorta becoming the unit commissioner.

I think this hits hardest on an NSP of 8 crossovers who were advancing uniformly in isolation of the troop. If they've all made it to 2nd class at about the same time, they have to set aside 8 camping nights to get everyone up to speed. Even so, I don't see this as the greatest problem. While one boy and a buddy cooks, the others could be mastering other first class skills. (Camp gadgets, swimming, navigation, etc ...). Of course the obvious troop-method solution is to try to integrate these 2nd class scouts into existing patrols. But, if they've been really mastering skills and having a great time, why would you want to? IOLS: maybe the best syllabus would simply be allowing direct-contact leaders to earn advancement. That way, they hit the same snags as the boys do without having to waste a weekend trying to foresee all possible advancement woes years into the future. Rosters: Did I miss something? Does the sample duty roster require rotating everyone? OR is it just implied? At summer camp, our boys usually rotate into cook for all three meals of the day. On weekends, we honestly don't pay attention to who does what. If the PL is always fine with how his boys chip in with chores, we might not ever suggest a roster to him.

Foil-lined cardboard boxes seem to work the best. I've also propped up large rocks for a similar effect. My brother made one from #10 cans pounded flat and wrapped around coat-hanger wire scaffolding. Impressive, but I never used it.

Rosters are meant to be ignored. Just ask to be cook for a full day (or three consecutive meals, if you all insert before suppertime). I'm not against using multiple camp-outs, but that really drags things out. And each of the T2F requirements are best worked on over the span of a weekend. Lot's of newbies? Plan more camp-outs -- especially, "back nine" camping with the patrol. Round here, some boys are counted on to be the weekend cook for dad's hunting camp. Getting them trained in their patrol is a boon to our families.

Well, by the logic of @@BDPT00 and @@Krampus, since there is zilch in the insignia guide about pinning neckers, or fashioning neckers out of pins, or pinning bolo ties ... it is a uniform violation to use pins in that fashion. To which I say ... if someone does manage to configure such an animal (I could imagine a "spiral" of pins wrapping a necker or maybe a chain-mail necker interspersed with pins), please post a pic. I would love to see it functioning. By the way, I don't buy for a minute that just because an element is "optional" that it is less a part of the official uniform. Just because it is allowed to vary within a troop, once the boys clearly articulate its use for their troop -- as they should, it is a official.

That we care more for who is under the shirt than what is on it? Here's the thing: a search of "mentor" or "pin" in the IG comes up with zilch. Thus some folks take that as lattitude, others see it as limiting. So, what about the BSA dress uniform? Can scouters wear a mentor pin or two on that lapel?

Although not in uniform, I don't see anything wrong with a scout leader testifying that the parents in his/her troop are feeling encroached upon by industry in what used to be a community setting.

FYI: Inuit has no more words for snow (or any kind of precipitation, for that matter) than does any western language. They use adjectives just like the rest of us. Although, when it comes to rain, I'm sure the Brits' adjective choice is far more colorful!

Sounds like someone filled your BSA experience with a lot of BS. Assistance can come in many forms, if they didn't specify the source (council, your CO, anonymous), and the pack didn't keep records, there'd be no way of figuring this out. Communication? Attend your district roundtable.

Backyard adventure doesn't sell Jamboree slots.

The other challenge that youth this age have is that few are in a position to commit an entire week. You may want to consider 4-day programs. Possibly starting on different days of the week.

It varies. Camps with full-time Rangers seem to be more flexible. Camps with camp masters or volunteers ... Not so much. State parks have specific rules about reserved campsites, but that just has to do with breaking camp, if the boys wanted, they could use other facilities (fishing, hiking, etc ...) after the campsite is clear. Farmers, well they all are different with how they want their land to be occupied on a Sunday.

You're welcome. And, yes, I get that look. Fortunately, the older boys have plenty of stories about following an adult's navigation ...

You are gonna need to work the VOA a lot harder. Ask if any would help develop a program of tier II adventure. They (or venturers they know who would like to start something big) might spend a day with you walking through camp and thinking up program ideas. (Food provided ... you might even have to work in dutch oven cooking and an overnight.) To help you understand the market dynamics of this sort of thing, the following started out as a venturers summer program but only blossomed into a viable multiple week program when older scouts were welcomed: http://lhc-bsa.org/Camping/Boy%20Scout%20Programs/Eagle%20Base-%20High%20Adventure What might work with the new awards program is not to have a specific program at all. But, offer tier II and tier III opportunities that venturers would have to plan starting the fall before camp. It might include training opportunities in the spring. Some would have to get first aid certification, others life guard certification, others food safety, others campmaster training, large animal care, NRA/NAA safety, etc ... In other words the Worlds Best Venturing Summer Camp would be one the youth assemble and staff on their own. You just provide a list of consultants in the area and some suggestions for backdating and minimum skill-set requirements. Each crew provides the program that they want to have and commit to providing/acquiring the requisite staffing for it.

My kids balanced sports, athletics, and academics, so I'm throwing neither under the bus. Now, we had a scout who loved serving at our spaghetti dinners. Asked if we could hold more of them. Quit after two years because of Athletics. Still a nice kid. Tried college full time, did poorly. Is no part time at community college and bagging groceries and greeting customers in a big box store... Actually is really good at the latter. I had a similar scout pass on the athletics and stick with the troop. Got in the habit of selling anything including water to fish and was decent at auto service. He finally landed a full time job at a dealership and can support a wife and kids. I suspect the first scout will eventually find his level and surpass us all. But, there's something about the inward focus of high school athletics that can arrest development. We could probably say the same for any single obsession. Scouting may help pull a kid out of whatever hole he might try to hide in by forcing interaction with a variety of caring adults.

@@T2Eagle, I consider the blue cards to be BSA's advancement system. Everything else (e.g., that 4th data entry person, if you will) is just redundancy.

Well ... At least the guy's consistent. So, son should call his Cit. Nat. MBC and ask if he/she wouldn't mind sending a copy of his record. Lacking that record, son can ask him if he/she can sign if she remembers him completing the requirements,, or if h/she will arrange another visit to recap how he did the requirements. Point is ... Your son has a plan B and C. From copies of that, the SM an enter his advancement.

Your member status says "validating" under the square that would hold a profile picture. Never seen that before, but it may have something to do with it.

Sorry I missed the part about your son having his part of the card. Good news! The system is working! Your son has all the proof he needs to advance whenever he gets that project done and fills out that Eagle application! Like @@Krampus said, he holds onto those until he knows the troop has filed the advancement report. But, if that never happens, he's holding the trump cards. And, the reason he's holding them is because your SM was smart enough to follow procedure in April. So, go easy on the guy, and have the boy remind him from time to time that his sash feels a little light. Trust me (or trust my brother who, in the 50s, had an SM go AWOL with all of the troop's paperwork), it could be worse.

Doesn't seem like the code was written with "monster flags" in mind. I'd ask POTUS for and executive order as a stop-gap, until some amendment could be passed, but that goes against my rule #1!

Last time I checked, TX is part of my country. So, if there's a pledge to be said while I'm on its soil, I'll gladly say it, if I can recall it.

Good news is he doesn't need to have his merit badge work in order to start a project. SMs can be temporarily confused for quite a few weeks. I know this is like forever for a boy. But, patience and persistence is the order of the day. To the SMs out there, why would you ever take a blue card without immediately signing it at giving the applicant his portion? I know summer camp may be one situation with hundreds of cards at once and any number of end-of-week interruptions. But during the year, isn't the whole point to make sure the boy has a record in case yours gets misplaced?

When scouts retire the massive flags at our HQ (Flag Plaza) they are told to fold it thrice, then fold either end over into the middle, then fold it into a rectangle. I always council my scouts that if they are having trouble with the triangle fold, for whatever reason, unfold the diagonal folds and refold rectangular. Or, ask a fellow color guard to take your place. Either way, no disrespect would be intended, and we will help figure out what the problem was later.

It seems that one can infer what one can known by the breadth of what could be written about a character. For example, in the book of Judges, nobody was beyond an ignoble caricature. Japheth was rash with no regard for life under his charge, Samson was impetuous and skirt-chasing, etc ... In other words, if someone had a motive that mattered, it got written. Ruth's designs on the owner of what was to her a foreign field were ostensibly to avoid offending so that she'd have enough food to fend off hunger. Like my feminist friends tell me, a girl means "no" until she tells you "yes." This criticism applies regardless of if you'd rather treat the stories as legendary narrative. You are bound to derive conclusions by what the writer tells you. If you'd rather conclude something differently, I'd recommend finding a different narrative.

Okay, CP, let's suspend Hebrew scholasticism for a moment (which IMHO is only tough for Americans because most don't make the effort to learn other languages to the point of fluency), which clearly lists a dozen words that all get translated to "kill." The English text -- any translation -- is chock full of killing ... some of it explicitly sanctioned. Merlyn has gone to great pains to point this out. However, only for some of it do any prophets condemn explicitly. Most passages give soldiers a pass -- even enemy warriors who took Israel captive -- some of whom actually receive miracles.It's not that hard to grasp that the Big Ten were an attempt at civil law: presented to readers as forward-looking to a time when the land would be settled, and having to contend with sworn enemies could be put aside.