qwazse

My mamma gave me the only solution that (from a kid's perspective) seemed to work with bullies over the long haul: "Get big." For some boys (who later became cherished high school friends), that required a level of physicality that would be frowned upon in a scouting setting. Within scouting, any committee worth its salt would insist the bully be suspended for a time unless the SM can make a case for his attitude changing. Lacking that kind of committee, your son may respectfully request his BOR be relocated to his new troop. Yes, I am saying do not wait for his Eagle to be earned to drop the first troop. Uncouth speech has no place in scouting. Sometimes being an agent of change means being willing to postpone one's own advancement for the sake of reforming the bully and improving the quality of the unit. You can still work the other remedy everyone is thinking of. It's just this is the one thing your son can do on his own that would show true leadership in the situation.

The chartered organization should be keeping the copies of adult applications. Sometimes they need a little coaching to do that. Hopefully your story will convince a few to do so.

Stupid colleges steal my youth before I've had a chance to have this problem at any frequency . My general approach is to tell young adult ASMs and older scouts to set up appropriate boundaries and declare them to me and the SM in advance. If a dual-youth would essentially be a patrol-of-one, then he can bunk with the male venturers/ASMs. If a dual-youth has responsibilities with the troop (SPL or PL), the ASM's can't bunk with him. (The SM has been known to let this slide for 17.8 year-olds SPLs when elections are drawing near. It puts a bee in the youngns' bonnets and makes them think seriously about running.) Me, I find shelter away from the lot of them. This past Sunday I staked my tent out in the snow on a hilltop where my SM first showed me a taught-line hitch many and a half years ago.

I take exception to BD and JBlake. Or maybe I am the exception! Basically, Mike, the youth in the two units should meet separately (at different times, if it turns out some boys in the troop also want to be part of the crew.) Mutual participation is by invitation only under youth initiative. If the SPL does not invite the crew by personally contacting the crew president, the crew is not invited. If the crew President or VP-Program does not invite the SPL, the troop is not invited. My youth caught on pretty quick when they would want each others' company and when they'd rather do their own things.

Welcome! Thanks for your service to the boys. How are the horses holding up?

Don't forget those Learning For Life-ers who the BSA provides programs for -- without digging into their lifestyles in a politically incorrect fashion. Generality is one of the weaknesses of mission statements. They are designed to cover every niche program that may be conjured up in some backwater of the organization. But they do serve as a canned reply to the question "what are we doing keeping *that* program?"

Maybe less than that. We now cover parts of MD and WV. But my venturers make connections on an Area/Regional level anyway, so merges like this don't phase them all that much.

All the ones that I've found are woefully outdated.

Always helps to keep in mind that any of you might be in the adjacent campsite with a good meal stewing when I'm hungry (and sharp knives and axes when I'm sleeping :0 ),

Double paste? Better than double post!

I really never fuss about this. Keep in mind that the BSA for the past few decades had three oaths in operation depending on the division you were in, each echoing the three aims. Mission statements restate the aspiration of the corporation. So they are often a little oblique to the aims.

I've asked this before and never received a solid response. If this interpretation is accurate, then shouldn't you also conclude that telephone conversations are prohibited without someone else listening in on the line? So I should turn myself in for a YPT violation for the brief discussion I had the other night with our SPL to decide whether or not to cancel the meeting because of a late afternoon snowstorm? Scouts shouldn't call merit badge counselors to arrange meetings without someone else present on the phone call? This is quite a stretch. The interpretation is not accurate. Period. Copying a parents whenever possible is a good idea. Calling the house phone is a good idea. Using devices to only communicate professionally, or arrange a face-to-face is a good idea (and, an important one for the 18-20 ASMs). But in common-sense situations where that doesn't happen, it is in no way a YPT violation.

I'm all for balance in all things. But, it's not just about fundraising. The best ideas come from the oddest corners. So keeping folks with a variety of scouting and non-scouting experience around the table in touch with the leading youth in your district and council seems to be the best strategy.

The other thing wrong with that picture is who's doing the work "I am not fundraising ..." She didn't say, "My little billy is not ..." Betcha she didn't even ask Billy if he would be fine fundraising for Johnny scout as well as himself. I've been on outings and overheard youth saying "If only ____ were here, this would be so much more fun!" So, it is possible that by supporting someone else's involvement, you actually "purchase" a better experience for your child. But it's a vision that best starts with the youth, and my impression is that Packs have a harder time with this than troops simply because adults aren't forced (through Boards of Review and such) to listen to the youth.

Our crew has been pay-as-you-go since its inception. This effectively caused me to miss Jambo since our HA had cost overruns and there was no cushion in the crew treasury. My family bore the biggest share. I'm fine with that. If the youth want to do something different, we will.

Yes, you should push every youth (in or out of the BSA) to be a first class scout (the concept, not the patch). Regarding the patch, a boy doesn't need a laundry list of things he can't do because of some regalia deficit. So, I wouldn't pursue your proposed conversation. But since you are becoming a troop scouter (who cares what the patch on your sleeve is?) here's what you need to do ... Find out what each youth's aspiration is, and say "to do this you will need ..." For some boys, it will be a rank advancement; for others, a commitment to the "hike a month club" or some such conditioning; yet others, a commitment to training or service; and others, a commitment to sock away (or start earning) $100 a month. It sounds like for the scout in question that his aspiration would be Philmont. But, whatever it is, determine for sure that rank advancement is the only thing that stands in his way, and help him make a plan to lazily acquire the patch (or -- if that's not important for his "next big thing" -- the money/skills/strength) he needs.

I accept friend requests from any and all youth in my children's circles (scouts, youth group, etc ...) I strongly encourage any scouter to do so, if they can spare the time for such things. Youth are hungry for a leader who will reply to their impertinent comments with responses like "First, don't cuss. Second, ." Who knows, maybe you need a youth to reply to your impertinent comments with noble and personally challenging responses too!

Well BD, now that I think about it, I vaguely remember my MC/Co-Advisor-to-be coming to me with a pre-filled app. All I needed to do was check the info and sign. rcrsanow, maybe that's what you should do. Ask the CC to fill out the forms for the the lot of you. That way, the monkey's off your back, and we don't have to ask National to do something for which they will only jack up registration fees and cause more of my youth to decide not to participate.

Venturers are youth on crew activities until 21. The only YPT they'd need to take is if they also want to register as ASM of a troop. Never understood why this is hard, but I have had to waste a lot of breath explaining it to perplexed youth.

Last time it wasn't a problem. Before that, I just reminded my DE that Venturers have boundary issues and asked her to respectfully "override" any stupid flags that don't accommodate the full range of options allowed by policy.

First, on behalf of your boys, thanks for your years of service as a scouter. Second, on behalf of the young men (and, possibly, women) who missed out on scouting until now, thanks for making yourself available as their advisor. Thirdly, like the "dogs love trucks" commercial. Boyscouts love paperwork! The simplest solution would be for Packs and Troops become co-ed. Then just make certain activities available to only scouts over 14. That would solve our paperwork problem. But, I'm sure the preponderance of scouters find Scouts UK's strategy to be unpalatable.

Why? Are grade school boys watching fashion shows these days?

The general rule is we don't let adult errors get in the way of a boy's success. They should have waited four days. They didn't. They boy's scout spirit did not change in those four days (assuming mom's word is good ). The SM or CC should talk to the council registrar about modifying the date of the Life BOR. There may be no more paperwork necessary than writing the correct date on the Eagle application then explaining the discrepancy when you turn the form in, but it is a whole lot easier if the error is rectified now. (Basically someone at your council HQ should cross-check every date on the Eagle App with council records, and every discrepancy slows them down.)

The woman wants to help! Let her! Anything you can do to help her feel like part of the unit is great. Everyone in your group will just come to terms with it.

Make it easy on yourself. Drop them from the roster if they don't pay the dues. Let them know they can fill out a new application and turn in a check when they want to join again.