qwazse

A little more details on "when I was told" matter in this case. Was it a scout executive? Cost is one of the dirty little secrets about medals. If you haven't budgeted for them, expect difficulties.

Am I missing something? The award is a ribbon with a pendant. Pretty self-explanatory how it's worn. How are similar awards described in the Insignia Guide? "... ribbon with pendant ...". No pictures of anyone wearing them. I've always thought that the awards in the guide were an exemplary, not exhaustive, list. In any case, the congressional award has been around for as long as I've been an advisor. I learned about it at a University of Scouting course. I don't know how long an award has to be around to make it in the guide ... but I agree that it would be nice to see this one in it ... if only to encourage some young scouters to consider earning it.

Receiving the award was an example of the most obvious case where the uniform and medal compliment each other. Given that one case, others may apply: courts of honor, formal dinners, community ceremonies, etc ... When we get into the realm of medals, there is a little room for personal judgement.

Why would it be interesting? It would be the most boring thing I could think of. Scout gets a medal from congress, much of the way he or she got it was through serving as a scout. Wants to wear the BSA uniform to receive the award. Who in the BSA is going to speak against it? If they did, who among us would really care? I want kids to be proud of their medals, pick the two or three that are most relevant to the moment at hand, and wear them. I don't want them to waste a moment asking, "Does this medal go with this dress?" So @@jpstodwftexas, by that principle I would say you're gravely mistaken. @@acatao, regardless of if you were asking this for yourself or a fellow scout, I hope you found an answer in the affirmative.

Might not work for the Webs (never tried). But a couple years ago for my older scouts I gave them a "reverse orienteering course" where they identified all of the new features that weren't there when the map was made, then used triangulation with their compasses to place them on the map. With a very current map, you could go place controls the night before, and the boys will have to find them and put their location on their copy of the map. As soon as they find five they return to camp. Their map gets scored by the error (i.e. total distance of their marks from true). You could make it challenging by clocking their time searching and adding it to their error. Hide lots of controls and let them go out on multiple forays. Insane, but in a fun sort of way.

Yep, asking a leader really remedied that situation. National has had decades to add "shall" and "shall not" uniform list to a handbook. If they thought that discernment was so inscrutible that every boy should ask permission from his leader, it would have been put in writing there. Most scouting things kids do including all kinds of public works, there is no problem. Even when there is one: 1. It's okay to dislike what a scout from some other part of the country did while in uniform. 2. It's okay to be that scout and have to put up with hearing why folks didn't like it. 3. It's okay if a central authority doles out disclaimers all around. It's not okay if, because someone somewhere is reckoning with any of the above, someone says, "Whatch out kid. You don't wanna put that sash on by yourself!" Somethimes, some nuanced rule in some obscure document needs to remain just that. Let kids live out their scouting carreer with enthusiasm.

I'd also accept a handwritten letter. Or typed, courier 12 point, and signed and sealed with your hand-carved letterboxing stamp.

Well, although the pins and loops gone (in spite of all indications to the contrary on scouting.org), hopefully the content will turn up in one of the sylllabi ... maybe under STEM? Another effective (albiet time-consuming) demonstration, is to trace the topography of your campground onto poster board: one contour at a time, cut out the pieces, and stack them! Then you have your 3-D jigsaw puzzle! There are tricks to containing the cost of this excersize (e.g., one board for even contours -- like the concentric contors defined by 200' and 400' lines, the other for odd ones -- contours defining 300' and 500'), but you wind up working with flimzy pieces. For this age, it's best to just use 5-10 evenly spaced contours for a given area. It'll consume about three pieces of board for roughly the same area.

"go after"? Is there even have one case where that happened? The only one I recall reading about (thanks to someone on this forum) was when a boy showed up in uniform at a town council meeting and made some frank comments that got in the paper. Seems like the kid was working on a MB requirement (communications or citizenship) and something on the docket struck his interest. The SE later sent a letter saying that the scout's views were his own and did not represent those of the BSA. No wet noodles for the unit leader, who should have been quite proud of his scout. Now, there is nothing in BSA literature anywhere that speaks against properly addressing an assembly while wearing your uniform. Yet we hemmed and hawed over that one too.

One excersize that I enjoy doing is marking an unsuspecting volunteer's fist with contour lines. The Map and Compass belt loop and pin: still part of the program?

By implication, then, a boy asking his leader about uniforming is no more likely to get an informed opinion than a boy reading his handbook about uniforming. Think about it. By her posts, we know @christeneka is about as informed a leader as any. She led a den. The uniforming issue is almost the same there as here. However, the den probably always did scouting together. Here, the boy's on his own. She's smart enough not to have confidence in an SM's opinion. Naive enough to think we'd be any more definitive. This isn't just about the OP. The fact is, some kid in my unit might ask me the same question, and so far his book and my gut are the best tools I have ... Partisan politics? No. Selling used cars? No. Doling out glue and glitter? Have yet to hear a good "Here's why not ..."

Having a brother in this situation (albeit less of a paper trail), I've avoided replying. So far @@packsaddle's attitude is the one I think he would like to hear.

Exactly where does BSA tell a boy "Ask your leader?" And what leader handbook or training syllabus lists those "specific events" when a member should not wear the field uniform? Who among us spends a lot of time finely parsing BSA rules and regulations? (http://www.scouting.org/filestore/membership/pdf/BSA_Rules_and_Regulations.pdf) Some general principles there, but no "list." I'm not finding anything that tells me I have to warn a kid not to uniform while working a community-oriented aspect of a MB.

I guess this is one area where I would never bother to run it up the chain. The boy has a handbook, it says a little bit about when a uniform should be worn and how. I'd like the boy to learn from his references before being spun round by other folks' explainations. Just like if a kid's wondering about our location during land navigation, I would never tell a kid, "ask your patrol leader". I would reply "What does the map say? What does the compass say?" ... "Do you think you should bring up what you just read with anyone?" You asked the question faster than I could answer it.

I think this falls under "project for the organization involving all sorts of folks" who are representing their respective constiuencies by coming together to do good. He should wear it, if he doesn't mind a potential stain from glue or what-not. (Think of it as supplemental merit-badge regalia.) Leave ceremonial stuff, like sashes or medals, at home. He will find in life that what other people do will be of little consequence to what he does. (His children may be irritated by his various excentricities, but what else are kids for?) The issue boils down to: Is he proud to be a scout? Is he proud to be working on a MB? Is he proud of his troop? Is he proud of the other patches on his uniform?

I'd say it depends on the type of service. If it is fundraising for an organization, he should not. If it is a work project within the organization -- especially one that involves all sorts of folks, he probably should. If it is a back-office kind of job, it doesn't matter. Son #2 volunteered at the church nursery with his friends from Sunday school. It's a back office kind of job. They all knew he was a scout. He was doing it for God as much (maybe more) than for a patch, so he didn't wear a uniform.

Here's what we have trouble with: expecting from training (e.g., anything from my simple minded RT exercises to Powderhorn) what only comes from discipleship (what @@Stosh and @@SeattlePioneer described).

I've put scouting under hobbies/volunteer organizations. I've also included Eagle Scout under awards. Years after the fact, I don't think these things helped during screening. But they helped extend conversations during the interview.

Regarding specific "how to's" from my brainstormed list: you know better than to ask me for more rules! IMHO, it would be funny, and a great point of discussion if one table did buck the system and downloaded their "snapshots" from the internet. The small scale is to cut costs for materials and speed production (and dismanteling). You want things to finish (or for some folks, get partially started), so that you have time to introduce other topics. Why? Fun. Or perhaps a better word: sheer joy. And fellowship. Sometimes, it's fun to see a group of boys demonstrate a scenario for all the scouters so scouters think: "I wish my boys would do that." "My boys could do that!" "Did they do that right?" and boys think: "I'm so cool doing this!" "I wonder if other patrols could do this." "I wonder how many scouters could do this better than us." It's okay if some scouters don't know the skills and other scouters might need to lend a hand. That's the point. Leave a little room for a light-bulb to go off "Hey I could stand to learn/re-learn this." or "My scouts and I could invite this guy to see how it's really done." Plus, if there are a few flimzy towers, it's a good segue into that safety reminder about structure heights. The not-so-hidden goal is to give folks an experience from which the offer of training opportunities becomes desirable. The actual way you pitch "how to take what we've done to the next level" will vary. It may be a couple of bullet points on safety. It may be an after action review. It may be an inspirational meditation. It may be the invititation to a camporee, UoS, or specialized training weekend.

Let's take a step back from all of the "adventure preparedness" stuff and think about the last district roundtable when before the breakout sessions: A bunch of sticks and twine was dumped at each table of scouters and everyone was given 20 minutes to lash together a 1/4 scale pioneering project. Scouts got to demonstrate 1st aid, by selecting a scouter, decking him out in stage makeup, and presenting a scenario. Someone actually acted out being a scout with Asbergers who asked to get in a car with an older (yet under driving age) scout who was at the wheel. A compass and flashight was at each table and with headings for a 15 minute night navigation course (inside or outside of the building). Each table list of plants and animals and 20 minutes for a scavenger hunt (making sure one person at each table had a mobile phone). Scouters saw where they were a little rusty, but experienced DURING THE MEETING just what fun scouting could be. Some clever scouter threw in a scoutmaster minute after any of the above? So, now, think about how the average scouter at your average round-table feels about training if he/she never has any of this as a teezer! Here, I'm not talking about "drilling" like I mentioned earlier. But just about having good, clean, fun. Enough so that people get to recognize who in the room might be worth sending their boys to for a MB or maybe contacting when time does come to build an adventure. @@andysmom is not far off with the "why" of outdoor training. Sure we have the textbook responses. But the more visceral reason is that you feel so much better about yourself when these resourcefulness excersizes help you to reflect on your place in the wide world.

I'm afraid that we're all so busy training that none of us (unless your jobs mandate it) spend time actually drilling in rapid response. Less training, more drills. More 1st Aid meets. More water rescue drill during open swim (simple stuff, like who can identify -- among the guards still in the water -- the "tired swimmer"). More land nav competitions with the local orienteering club. For example, an RT drill: bring some NWS forecasts and evaluate go/nogo decisions for the next day, next two days. Or circulate maps with hike plans A, B, and C for boys of different levels. Then, good after action review with someone who can give you a score or ranking. I would suggest that every scouter get in the habit of helping youth plan independent hiking and camping. Judge their limitations, have them adjust their plans accordingly. But, someone is going to spout off about "Jimmy the Retarted SM" and G2SS blah, blah, blah ... I don't need to go back to training every two years. I need to go back when I'm not executing flawlessly during drills. No drills? No way to know when I need to be trained. (At this age, I sometimes feel like I need to go back every year!) And, certainly, going over recent tragedies can be part of the drill.

Of course you've gotta pay! That's why it's voluntary. The gvmnt can't take it from you before you earn it. And it's on you to give it to them. From the source you cite: "A minor who works and earns more than the standard personal exemption has to file a tax return, according to IRS Publication 929. The amount of the exemption isn't set in stone but increases over time to account for inflation." Which means that someone who nets less than $4K does not have to file. (This year. If any of you in the future read this, you can contact the IRS or local library - if they still exist - to determine the standard personal exemption in your wrinkle of space-time. ) The catch: that applies to wages, not self-employment if the net exceeds $400, and this kid (along with other crafstmen, consultants, tutors, etc ...) might fall into the category of sole proprietorship.

That's crap, it's a voluntary tax system. We all participate in it. Know thy brackets. Live well. Or, work through this ... http://www.irs.gov/uac/Do-I-Need-to-File-a-Tax-Return%3F I guess it really hinges on the kid being considered self-employed, and calculating his net earings correctly. It's a darn shame when a youth who couldn't afford camp makes a nominal windfall -- most of which he gives away -- and folks think he needs to hire a professional to keep the tax man from knocking at at his door. Seriously, they have bigger axes to grind. If he's netting more than 4K, he would do well to hire a financial planner who could help him shelter that to meet is goals for personal security and public charity.

It's about 4k.If his is a small troop, he could have definitely earned under that amount and afforded to underwrite their camp. It's not entirely clear if socking away funds for your own future mission is sheltered. I don't see the tax man raising an eyebrow over this.