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Oh, by the way, welcome to the forums! Let us know how this pans out for you.

Congratulations. Now good luck with the "real" ticket. I got my beads at a crew court of honor where another venturer earned her bronze award. Equal time was devoted to each of us. It was a small crowd, but was with the folks who I was proudest to share it with.

I think kids who can tell you they don't believe in anything in particular are some of the most sincere and engaging about challenges to grow in their faith. In practical terms, ask what the CO expects of you. For example, mine -- being PCUSA -- expects us to say grace before meals, and a little devotional if we're out on a Sunday. But, they would not want us to make a boy say a prayer that he couldn't adhere to. I try to talk to the "no particular faith" boys and find out what they are comfortable with. I haven't met any who have a problem rising at the table while a buddy says grace, and some actually look forward to the opportunity to lead it for themselves. And most Christian boys would rather their mate say a poem or something respectful in his own words than recite a prayer or say something he doesn't believe in. So, I would let parents know that understanding one's religion is part of the program, and ask if there's something important about the boy's faith that I should recognize and encourage.

Boys can be unpredictable. Our troop is mostly older boys, and I wasn't looking forward to our last cabin weekend. But, they were in bunks and lights out before I knew it! Do talk to the SM. Some boys pose more challenges than others. And tents often work better than cabins. If your son is unhappy and it doesn't look like things will be different, changing troops is a possibility. But problems like these come in cycles, the SM may have been as blind-sided by this one too.

I'd like to know, which Native American tribe used black powder to spice up their ceremonies?

Don't discount the girls enjoying the game. Son #1's friends who gather for a game of touch during breaks from college are a mixed crowd.

Welcome to the dark side! The real challenge about football -- especially for rugby and soccer fans -- is all the "starts and stops." Most of the game is spent between plays deciding what to do to that will best move your offense downfield (or stop the opponent's offense) on the next play. Most communities support pee-wee leagues that get gung-ho boys in pads as early as 5 years old! But kids (boys and girls) learn to play "two-hand-touch" or "flag" football in grade school. Instead of tackling, play stops when an opponent tags the guy with the ball by touching him with both hands or an pulls the flag (either loosely tucked or velcro on webbing) from his belt. Pick-up games usually play everyone who comes as long as the sides are even. (We'll even let one side have the extra player, if they get stuck with the Brit ) Many families and friends have a tradition around Thanksgiving of gathering that weekend to play a "Turkey Bowl". Fields are often quite cold and wet and players return a sodden mess. (I remember one year my buddy and I going out and having a riotous time playing with the town drunks!) Boys who play touch or flag regularly can usually walk on their high school and start varsity or junior varsity within season or two. Son #1 did this for his last year in school, and being an avid soccer player, he was coveted for his kick - which did decide a couple of close games. There are proper ways to tackle (in fact right now it's a huge controversy in the US pro football because the players are so fast and large, the concussions and other injuries are quite high) so youth are discouraged from playing tackle ball unless properly supervised. We get the occasional girl on a high school team -- usually the best kicker in the school. There are women's leagues. My wife's best friend played in one for a couple of years and thoroughly enjoyed it. Scouts do play it. I've seen them use their neckers for flags, tucked loosley in their belts. But typically they just play touch and will form a ball with a sweatshirt rope and duct tape! Basically, it's what we do when we are to lazy to find a stick for baseball!

To restate JP's advice: if at first you don't succeed, bail. I'm sorry, 4 years in a troop entitles you to NOTHING. One half year being an honorable camper. Making sure everyone's pack is in order, making sure all other tents are up before pitching your own, polishing those grills, being obsessive about litter pick-up, whipping the ends of every frayed rope, coiling every loose rope, being THE GUY scouts can go to when they can't figure out a skill, cleaning windows and mirrors during the fuel stop, being first gathering kindling to start the fire. And doing all of it with a cheerful and friendly disposition ... THAT entitles you to other boy's votes. That, and sharing an imported chocolate bar that you pull out at the end of a long day hiking.

Nice little book.

I know nightmares. This is not one. Ditto S99. Invite them to come camping with your boys. If they come you'll inspire them. If they don't they're in a prison of their own making, and you don't hold the key. The people who really care about the boys won't be mad at you. Everyone else ... Is irrelevant.

I see things a little differently. The advantage of having the PLC think about it is to get that sense of intimidation out in the open. Unlike sports, where an active coach can see which boys are being intimidated, an SM might only grasp the tip of the iceberg. Addressing a kid like Bad Eagle on your own might correct behavior X, but only because the lad thinks he can still keep behavior Y and attitude Z up his sleeve. In fact, this may be precisely why Bad Eagle became so full of guile. He figured that there was a way he could comport himself that nobody would call him on -- if they knew what's good for him. (Have I mentioned that I really hate the Jr. High years?) Now that the boys know they can call him, or anyone else, on X, Y, and Z, the odds are in favor of reform. The best scorpion is not the one left un-swept in the corner, it's is the one crawling across the kitchen floor. It'll meet the end of the broomstick before doing any harm. All we're doing is helping our boys sweep a little better ...

I'm a little confused as to what the CD has to do with this. If the scholarship money comes back to the troop, it stays with the troop. In our troop we'd probably add that to the SM's discretionary fund, which is usually used for scouts who can't afford a troop activity. Chances are if the boy needed $$s to go to camp, he'll need fees waived for troop events as well. We want the SM to be able to do that as discretely as possible, and with the discretionary fund it's just a matter of discussion between him the CC and the Treasurer.

Are you certain they weren't Cubmasters or aren't Advisors? BSA is rife with "Multiple Hat" syndrome. If that's not the case, it only takes one DE not reviewing the wording of the requirements to have a bunch of awards in circulation.

Contrition is a learned behavior. A snarky reply wouldn't help him, but if it would make you feel better, you could tell him, "Well, you are a marked man. Can't say we didn't warn you."

Well, you may only have 4 dens. Call those three DL's and ask them what's happening with them.

Does anybody or their youth make their own mess kits? My high school buddies would occupy their time in metal shop spinning bowls. An entire custom kit would not have been far fetched.

Regardless, the strategy is the same: Unaware? Inform the boy that his actions are damaging the morale of the people he cares about, and his behavior must change to reflect care and compassion. Otherwise, he won't be welcome here. Uncaring? Inform the boy that the pathway to becoming a responsible, participating citizen starts with attending to the well-being of his peers, and his behavior must change to reflect care and compassion. Otherwise, he won't be welcome here. Who actually does the informing depends on the cohesiveness and maturity of the boys in your troop, supportive parents and other leaders, and what other inputs the boy is choosing to heed. Joe Bob, it sounds like you're stepping out on faith that the PLC is up to it. Not a bad choice, given that it seems like the other boys have brought this up to you. I look forward to hearing how it works.

Many of my female venturers (including my daughter) were younger-sibling-tag-alongs during those cub years! That may be a little disconcerting if you think a decade forward and consider your daughter troddling off to adventure with these fellas once they begin to resemble the occasional 14-20 year-old boys in your neighborhood. But, on the whole the consequences are more positive than parents' worst worries. Any cub-master would be encouraged about a parent/couple being willing to step up as den leaders! But, you want to be in a position of cultivating leaders among the other parents. Keep in mind that an ideal tiger den would rotate who is responsible for setting up "go-see-it's". For example, your husband might arrange a visit to the fire house, a dad who is into sports might try to score discount tickets to a pro- game -- maybe with a visit to the locker room or announcer's booth, a mom who works at a newspaper might help the boys visit with the editor, ... You get the idea. So, the best DL candidate would like recruiting and communicating. The best ADL would like making sure that supplies are in order and costs are contained. But, a lot of these issues will become clearer as you and your husband visit a pack or meet with the cubmaster. Needless to say, that Pack who has a couple of events in the summer may be a good fit for you all.

Perd's mentions "unkind, uncourteous, unfriendly" pretty sure that counts as an indirect reference to the law, I think! It's actually a subtle thing that Joe Bob is asking. He thinks the boy should be less haughty and judgmental. Teen-age type A personalities don't always see the connection between pejorative speech and discourtesy. They think they are clever ant witty along the lines of their favorite sit-com, belligerent internet blogger, or obnoxious relative. They could be looking themselves in the mirror and rattle those 12 points and not have a clue on how they are falling short. Sometimes the more you say a thing, the less you believe it. It's up to SM's to "polish the mirror" every now and then.

You won't offend anybody by turning it sown this year. One thing you might ask is if you could be called out on a different week of summer camp. You could let the lodge or chapter advisor know your concerns.

Supposing none of the boys had a position of responsibility. It is really tempting for adults to make a rule about something like this. Whatever you do, don't! It's up to the adult leading the outing to guide the boys in sorting out who will do what. And how that's done may vary. Sometimes it's a matter of going up to the natural leader and providing short list of things to do in the next hour. Sometimes you have no clue who that is, and it's a matter of not talking to any boy in particular and saying, "I've got three tents in the trunk that could use setting up ..." or "We got assigned evening flag, I want us to practice so we look sharp ...", then seeing how the boys proceed from there. Then, give the boys a moment to evaluate the task. With boys this young you might want to point out positive things you noticed in how each one performed. Emphasis the fella(s) who was really helpful, or tried to make sure everyone was taken care of. Then ask them "Who do you think should be your PL for this weekend?"

One of the redeeming features of this new site was the ability to add reply-specific comments. Seems that was removed. Why?

Yep. Replace LNT with OEA for the OAA and take the BS out of the BSA. Hurray!

Another idea: ask the park manager where your scouts play ball if there's something they can do by way of conservation there.