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Don't worry, you wouldn't have needed to tell him that for much longer anyway. After 8 months they stop asking! I'm sure he'll do a fine job!

You are the expert on your boys (and their parents). There is nothing on paper that says you shouldn't do this.

Sounds like why gamblers don't tell their significant others about their addiction! Full disclosure is the best path to healing. Nobody needs to name names. Parents just need to know that they had been benefiting from donations that aren't there any more. Now, it's their turn to take action. Honestly, I know everyone thinks that it's a sin if boys don't get their bling. But the world won't fall apart if little Johnny finds out that he needs to generate some capital for him and his buddies to be recognized with patches and pins.

Wait, what? Nobody trained for it taught me pioneering! I got the MB pamphlet read it, and started building tripods. Then went to camp and kept at it. I think you just made baggss point. That said, for the things I need to maintain certification (BSA Guard, Wilderness First Aid) plus things I'm told I need (YPT, Risk Zone, etc ...) I need to commit about 30 hours a year. So ... if ILSC does not get done, I'm not gonna worry about it.

My venturer's parents aren't nagging me to help their precious ones earn Silver or Ranger before they head off to college, so if they set scouting as a low priority, I don't mind as long as the kids aren't robbing liquor stores to buy drugs. But ... The boy scout's parents want plenty of advancement opportunities. Even the ones who are polite about it want to be sure that Eagle is available for lil' junior if he ever decides to work for it. Well, if they want our CO to keep the lights on and door unlocked, they'd better make their family schedule fit the life of the troop. On th

Oh, and a letter to National telling them that registration fees are bankrupting your pack and you may have to disband as a result would be appropriate.

This happens ... your committee has to team up and ... 1. Come clean with the parents. Say at this time the pack has zero $ to finish the year, so although boys will be recognized for their accomplishments, you could not purchase any awards for them. Report that for a couple of months a generous donor has paid for awards, but it is unfair to ask the same person for another donation. In fact you feel that the pack should eventually return some of it because the donor is already in an unfair situation. 2. Call your council HQ and ask where that fundraising application is. 3. Make a budget,

In no particular order, 1. Abbot and Costello, (search "Who's on first") 2. Mel Brooks, (search "2000 year old man"), 3. Bill Cosby (search "Hey Hey Hey"), 4. Jackie Gleason, 5. Richd Little, 6. Redd Foxx (search "Sanford and Sons"), 7. Lucille Ball (search "Hello Lucy"), 8. Beatrice Parker (search "Maude"). Any contemporary US comics worth listening to take their cues from these gentlemen and ladies. But, yes, I found that the toughest part of Brits and Yanks living together was learning when the other was joking vs. being downright mean.

Sometimes those of us in stable marriages feel like we are picking up the pieces for those who aren't. That's pretty arrogant of us because really I see single parents doing double-shifts to make things work out, and anything the Mrs. and I might do counts for a drop in a bucket. My parents argued incessantly during their waking hours, but never took to separate beds. For all the grief, at the end of their days they had each other and that was something. I don't think it would have been worth "the peace" had they split up. (Shoot, if they broke up before they turned 40, I wouldn't have b

Time to read the riot act. "The cubmaster must step down; therefore, this Pack will disband at the end of the year if his replacement is not found by the end of next month." Come July, if nobody steps up, start talking to other packs about taking on your transfers.

Sorry, I thought since I didn't have first-hand knowledge of such a position, you'd get better feedback from others. I've never seen any one position for this activity, but folks have done for our council ... Invited a group of talented scouts from Israel to make our council a stop on their tour of the US. Recruited contingent(s) for World Jamboree. Set up International Camp Staff Exchange. Make sure imformation about international opportunities are part of basic trainings. I'm sorry your SE doesn't have a particular vision, it means you will have to assemble a coalition

Here's another one to consider: we have an all night climbing event 9pm to 6am at the cope course. No tents are pitched. If they sleep, it's usually by the fire or on a basketball court for an hour or so. Under the stars but not sleeping. Does it count?

Just for the sake of muddy waters, everyone ... What if the boys did set up a tent, but ran an extension cord from an outlet in a nearby pavilion so they could finish playing that video game that was interrupted because they had to get out of the car and set up camp?

Unless those are tarp roofs that the boys set up, they don't count.

At roundtable, I suggested developing youth instructors for SM basic (IOLSC). Talk about an idea being shouted down faster than I could speak it! Evidently since the syllabus requires complete "Train-the-Trainer" for all instructors. Seasoned instructors please comment ...

I always thought names should be more affirmative rather than antithetical. "Young Naturalists Society" would have much nicer ring. Anyway, "belief" or "orientation" are not explicitly criteria for exclusion in these by-laws. So, I think that we're talking apples and oranges.

I took Wilderness First Aid this weekend, and could say something similar (3 youth 12 adults). Only one instructor and assistant; however, both adults. Good fellowship, and it was a pleasure to see an older venturer working on her ranger award between college terms. I would like to coordinate a course in our community involving more youth participants and instructor's assistants.

One "red flag" of excessive adult involvement is creating drama instead of attending to health and safety! It's highly unlikely that every boy in the den is bothered about this. Has any boy outright told you they mind the patch being occluded by the colors? If they haven't read p. 32 yet (thanks for the reference, dedkad), how would they know to ask? But just in case the design was made by a boy, who worked very hard to produce and order the patch himself (maybe paid from his individual scout account ) ... After they've read the reference in their Webelos book, ask them what

It is very very hard to put faith in your youth. It's sometimes hard to put faith in themselves. I had one VP-Program want to try a self-defense course, so I gave her the a number of a consultant who had worked with us before and told her to let him know when we were meeting. She was shocked when he showed up the following meeting night with some pads and mats ready to teach some basic escapes! She thought we would just be "planning" the course. That said, there are numerous times when youth wont make those calls and will let you down. (Sometimes, the first call doesn't work, and they ge

I find things shift back and forth between where I'd want them to be and where they are ... With the crew, I'm pretty hard and fast. They propose a date and event, then see if a couple of adults are free. Or, they ask us when we can take off work then check their schedules. This makes it rough on committee who might rather schedule an event to their liking. More because they feel non-participant's guilt. I don't see it that way at all because if each of them can see their way free to an event that the others can't once a year ... that's four or five more possible events that would otherw

Don't know what you mean. I direct my crew. I set the boundaries for how other adults interact with the youth, and I give the youth (pretty wide) boundaries within which they must operate if they are going to take advantage of my services. My committee is there to support them. I tell them how I would like them to do that. Likewise, it's my SM's troop, and I'm there to assist him. I remind folks who may wish things were different that he's "the guy." Doing "the time." And getting "the work" done. In the next sentence SM Bob refers to "our bylaws and methods". Which implies he'

TB, not really a red flag. I personally would rather have the backing of a CO, but if this works for SM bob let him have at it! I think the real challenge will be finding those couple of adults who can grasp the implications of whatever by-laws there are and build a productive committee around them. Generally older scouts will dive in wherever you put them. I think you're on the right track with starting a new patrol. Then ask the boys what they would like to do most in the next few months (Service, High Adventure, Skills Acquisition). Keep an eye for the "odd boy out" who might