qwazse

BTW, congratulations to the boys in your troop. When more than half make Eagle, the dynamic changes. It is a good indication that they are inspiring one another "to go for the silver." It's almost a breath of fresh air when a boy ages out at a lower rank.

Sincerity, and a little bit of introspection. That sometimes may be tough for younger scouts. On the flip side, when it comes time to write essays for scholarships, etc ... they'll have a leg up! Sounds like the SM and CC need to talk to your district advancement chair.

IMHO Technology is neither a method nor aim anymore than is canoeing or basketry or theater. But, we scouters are obliged to help tech-savy boys make ethical choices over their lifetime (which BTW is likely 5 times as long as the orbits of the current flotilla of GPS beacons). So (for example) sometimes using the aims means learning navigation without electronics (or even magnetics), Sometimes it means learning to use readily available electronic gadgets. (BTW, anybody try navigating to the nearest radio beacon recently?) Sometimes it involves the story of how a tribe of radio enthusiasts appropriated the weapons guidance system and redundant communications protocol of the world's most powerful military for the purposes of the largest game of hide-and-seek known to man. In doing so, we help explain a boy's responsibility as citizens to balance use of tax dollars for social needs against the need for warcraft and innovation. I'm not that bothered about boy's technophobia (or the opposite). I am concerned about his acquisition of ethics.

I am not a fan of lots of bling. So take my opinion with that grain of salt ... To me, knots serve the purpose of "mini medals" just fine. That spares the scouter worrying about pins and such when he/she takes that field uniform on a march, and might not have the nicest accommodations to keep things in order. I keep my medals in a box. If I'm at a CoH or awards ceremony, I would only select the medal relevant to the award being given. For truly formal occasions, the dress uniform has a decent lapel that should hold a couple of medals, and neck-ribbons look quite nice. (Again, discretion is the better part of valor in this case. E.g., I would probably hang the Eagle and Leadership award at a Silver Beaver recognition ... God and Country, if I had one, at a religious award recognition, etc ...) So the only place that "mini medals" would make sense to me is for the dress uni ... where someone is frequently before diverse audiences, has little time to think in advance about what medals are commensurate with each event, and it would come in handy to have more than 3 or 4 important awards on display.

For a while, our troop had three. They used their trumpets. At summer camp, for taps, they would take it on rotation and two would go to either end of the site. One would lead. The other replied. It all depends on the time and talents of the boys ... and what your troop does. Lot's of backpacking in areas better served by silence in the evening is not conducive to bugling.

Not quite over 50 ... on the bubble. And "my HA" (motivated somewhat from learning about minimum impact camping from Jambo) before going off to college was a week-long 50-miler across our county with my SM and two other scouts. Not downplaying' date=' clarifying. HA Bases/Jambo exist to inspire a [u']minority [/u]of scouts to acquire new skills and challenge their units to do the same.

SP - My only suggestion is to not go off half cocked. You may be bothered by these shenanigans, but your committee and CO may not. I've known boards to turn away donations if the motive of the donor seems like political grandstanding. Make your case clearly about why you think any money you make should go in a different direction, and be sure it's all about programming that can be purchased and not about your opinion of the leadership.

Make sure your complaint goes to the course instructor. Venturing will collapse if the only vision presented to crews is of BSA HA bases. One of the "big four" is a fine goal for about every 1 in 10 crews, at most. The rest of us might have a group of kids with that cohesive interest and will to pay for it once every five years. More likely, you have one or two scouts who can't get their buddies interested, and will need you to connect them with another crew who is looking to fill their contingent. Break out a map and brochures of your state, maybe a neighboring state or two. Put it on the table with your crew. Highlight some of the features on the map (parks, water, monuments, trails, concert venues, etc ...). Then leave a calender with a set of weeks that you and your co-advisor think you can get time off for in the next coming year. Leave the room and tell them your coming back in a half hour and want a list of three target locations, times, activities and activity chairs who will be accountable for doing research by the next meeting. Figure out how much prep will be needed, schedule with enough time to plan conditioning, fundraising, skills/gear acquisition, etc ... Let us know what they come up with. P.S. - You could tell them that an advisor in Pittsburgh thinks their plan should include at least a few days in the Porkies.

Some of these posters have had to deal with race/class slurs directed to the boys in their troops. Within my troop, there is a cultural divide between inner city and suburban boys. Parents who've paid big bucks to "flee the blight" have bent my ear so bad I wanted to wash it out on the spot. And young women in my crew are the best that can be found anywhere, yet I've had to deal with adults saying they'd ruin scouting for little junior. I've had to deal with adults who tried to defend boys who were sexually harassing female staff (who were professional as you describe). Fortunately, the boys in all of these cases were smart enough to negotiate these choppy waters (apologizing profusely where necessary). The adults, well some got the burrs out of their butts, and others found someplace else to build their little fiefdoms.

2c, although I've found the letters helpful, (SMs and ASMs are welcome to read them in our district.) I would buck your council's system the minute it was imposed. I enjoy writing them for boys, and prefer to give them directly to them, giving the lad control over the process.

Although possible, I would not allow it ... Ever again.

If that girl joins a crew, she can bring two co-advisors into the mix!

Again' date=' not disagreeing with you in the merits of advancement as a method. In my way of thinking it falls under "[i']blessing of their family and respect of their nation",[/i] but advancement and recognition is not the exclusive way that that need gets met. We need to be cognizant of that as we encourage boys to advance. On the trail to first class, it's like "We want you to make rank because you'll have the basic skills needed to hike and camp independently as a citizen in this great nation." On the trail to Eagle, it's more like "Would you like to make the next rank? What's your plan? How can we help you?" With my older scouts, I train them to have an answer to "What's the plan?" Spoiler: some boys will fail to implement the plan. They won't make Eagle. That doesn't make the process less valuable ... it does make the badge more valuable. And that's where you need to withhold your judgement of Ambitious Athlete. You want to encourage your boys to evaluate if he's ready for a particular position, and ask them to elect him to the best position for his abilities. Then sometime around January, you need the boys with PORs to evaluate each other. Nothing complicated. Go over each position, give the boys a chance to say what's going well, what's not so well, what should change. Have them give an action plan. Give them time to implement. Evaluate ... Repeat ... Then after summer camp, ask Ambitious Athlete to reflect on his experience in position X. Ask him if he thinks anything from scouting might help him be a better football player. Ask him to try and not disappear for the season (suggest he start Personal Fitness MB and see if it helps his game), but regardless, when the season is up, invite him to try another position of responsibility ... just for kicks. What you are doing here, is planting the seeds to enable the boy to talk about the balance of sports and scouting (and the rest of life) to those new crossovers a few years from now.

Wow! It's like the evil twin of one of my patrols. With some exceptions ...

St717, do your requirements allow a scout to commit to something else for a season? That's what OB seems to be complaining about.

I was brought up learning "no other gods" ... false or otherwise. I've had some relatives who've aligned themselves with lesser gods. They can forgive my use of "lesser" because, well, obviously one should think more highly of their object of worship than anyone else's. To call them "false" would be insulting. Athletics is important. Scouting is important. Each has a role in their community ... in the same community. So, your boys need to figure it out. Each person is an individual. Your football player may not be scouting for 5 months, but may dive back in full-tilt for 7, invite his QB to come camping, line up a service project that involves the troop and the team, and maybe even the cheerleading squad. That guy shows up, and giving him a POR is the best thing ever for the troop. Giving it to some other year-round-slug who's marking time in meetings may be the worst decision a patrol could make.

I missed NER-A4's meeting, so I can't contribute a broader perspective than my own observations. In general, local management makes for a better program. However, the rural councils surrounding us have had incredible boom and bust job cycles. Thus in almost as many years, two councils merged with Greater Pittsburgh to form Laurel Highlands Council. So, the challenge is to allow local management to occur while maintaining accountability across a wider area. Then we have to figure out the right "carrot" for the local boots-on-the ground. Do we consolidate properties? Do we keep a diversified collection? (I think most of our properties revert to the original donor's estate, so there's no windfall to be had from consolidation.) What council activities can we have in the areas that were recently absorbed? How do we pitch that to to scouts and parents who have to commit to driving to those events for them to be successful? How do we make teleconferencing fun? Plus, there's the big picture for our nation's youth. It's not merely Hispanics. Many of our fellow citizens are living what I call a "Post-Modern Nomadic" lifestyle. Committing their youth to 7-14 years of scouting is just not in the cards for them.

Well, a little "mom squeamishness" amuses the boys. But, you're right, chronic stress on parents does rub off on children. So, you need to balance that. One disadvantage of cubs in our nearly nomadic society is that your parents really haven't gotten to know one another. Get to know your people. Understand their comfort level. Do you have den chiefs who will cheerfully haul gear for some of those moms and their boys? Is there an empathetic adult who can handle "parent panic"? Does one adult come with an "adults-only" picnic set up, (e.g., tarp away from the kids for smokers, espresso pot, classy treats like gourmet chocolates or candy-coated almonds, tablecloth, with centerpiece for wildflowers, etc ...). Have your dens experienced enough rigorous activity (e.g. resident camp) to come to expect a little bit of hiking, bugs, weather, etc ...? Have you shared a camp meal at a pack meeting? All of these factors determine where and how long you want to camp.

Not exactly what Ambrose intended when he told Monica "When in Rome ...", but the sentiment applies. I'm no Papist, but in this case would be happy to incorporate the VC flag in the troop procession. BSA is non-sectarian, not non-denominational. There's a difference. Your CO wants to be acknowledged in a very specific fashion. Acknowledgement is not endorsement. It's just a way of saying, "Thanks for providing us this house." Rest assured, other houses who have not asked for their pennant to be incorporated in anything a troop does have been less than hospitable. Oh, and congratulations to this young man on his fine achievement!

That's basically what I did with my family (2 Sons and Daughter). Every other vacation was under canvas. Some of the ones that were "under a roof" were in cabins. Others (for my dear wife's sake) were to visit Gram and Gramp and see the nearest theme park. We often shared the outdoor vacations with another family of similarly aged kids. It worked out well and prepared them for life in a troop and an outdoor-oriented crew. Sometimes you can hit it off with another dad in the pack. For Son #1 when he was in Webelos, his best buddy, his buddy's dad, and I took them on their first backpacking weekend.

I would suggest he bring the sash with him, but only put it on when he wants to talk about O/A, and take it off when he's finished. That way, he sets the tone for handling business of the Order and kind of gives everyone an understanding that this is something special, not just another piece of "bling" for the uni.

If A is part of B then B must in all parts be like A ... which logical fallacy is that? Of course, Sea Scouts have a rank system in addition to venturing awards and recognition. Those ranks have very specific meaning. (Just as you wouldn't trust young gangs of boys to be lead by less than first class scouts on their independent outings, you would prefer to not turn your boat over to a less-than-Able seamen.) They also have a collection of recognitions (http://www.seascout.org/youth/recognition) than include the venturing recognition. I could imagine a specialty crew (be it in SCUBA or LARP) might have it's own set of "ranks" that would identify a person as qualified to independently operate and lead missions in their specialty. But, there is no reason to think that a bronze-awarded venturer, even one who happens to be in an outdoor-oriented crew, would have any outdoor skills.