qwazse

#21stCenturyProblems#

Forget spreadsheets. Award sterling (wooden nickels in foil) for whatever you all decide is worthy. At the end of the competition have an auction where boys can bid on gear/food/pwd cars/donated items. Only award by patrols. A patrol of 15, even if they do win a little more "sterling", won't have as much buying power per boy as a patrol of 5.

To be precise, it's been a national program for 66 years (the first NOAC starting 13 years after the first national jamboree). Still, nothing to sneeze at. Don't misconstrue me, I am incredibly pleased with OA, especially our lodge, and what it's done for our boys. I actively promote the NOAC to my youth. And, as much as I loved going to Jambo as a youth, I'm in no rush to go again. In fact I believe the OA definitely deserves to be recognized with its own piece of real estate on the national uniform. How 'bout that pentagon, wider than tall, flapping downward at the top of that right pocket? Let's not use that flap for anything but a patch designated by the OA lodge (even if it looks like Totin' Chip or Firem'n Chit would fit) .

I think the mission of the CO comes into play here. If it is to attract masses of kids (for whatever reason) then it will encourage the SMs' to become more like a management team with the ASMs handling a lot of the SMCs. If it is to provide opportunities a select group of dedicated kids (again, for whatever reason) it will encourage the SM's to become more like counselors with a certain "caseload." Obviously, not all of us can flex into both roles. So, that would mean some units would have to swap out leaders as the size of a troop changes. In fact, when our unit was numbering in the 40's we did change SMs fairly frequently. Now that we are smaller, our current SM is very happy to stick around (his boy graduated this year). And, it is kind of nice not to have to drag that trailer everywhere!

So the issue is: ignoring the number of participants, are they equivalent enough? Name recognition. NOAC simply does not have it. Broad base: NOAC is not open to scouts who were never elected as honored campers. Nor are invites sent to BSA members who have no access to being elected - not even for them to volunteer as event staff. Global: there is no international equivalent ... no World-NOAC. Curb appeal: no tent cities? 'Nuf said. There is no doubt going to NOAC is its own reward. It rightly can claim a place on a boy's right pocket or sash-back. But, I can imagine that for someone writing the insignia guide, it takes a street-recognized, broad-based, global event with lots of curb-appeal to justify coloring up the region between Epaulet and right pocket. NOAC, NAYLE, the HA Bases, Sea-Scout Conventions, Venturing Summits, and the first-aid meet at the neighborhood gym are simply not that event.

Once, I had to ask one of my first-authors to strike about three paragraphs from our manuscript because it did little to frame our results and merely revealed his biases. He gladly obliged. I'm sure other statisticians do not have such accommodating authors. Bias in articles (and their rejoinder to them) is nothing new. Regarding the original article (Social Science Research Volume 41, Issue 4, July 2012, Pages 752–770), I gave it a quick glance, and the paper's statistics does open itself up to vulnerabilities. I could bore us with the math, but suffice it to say that the study is set up to generate large numbers of differences with no consideration as to if these differences are independent or large enough to be meaningful in a practical sense. On that account alone, it will draw fire from researchers who are more rigorous in publishing from similar (possibly even the same) data sets and come up with less striking results.

If less than 10,000 is comparable to more than 30,000! Then you can say they're equivalent. NOAC does not even attract 1% of BSA membership. Although, that's partly because less then have of BSA members join O/A. Of course, that all may change in the next few years if national keeps jacking up the price of Jambo and holding the line on weight restrictions! But for now, NOAC strikes me just one of many awesome "special interest" scouting opportunities that can rightfully vie against local first-aid meets for the coveted spot on the right pocket. There are two common questions asked of me from non-scouts: "Did you make Eagle?" and "Did you go to a Jamboree?" I just pulled Webster's off the shelf, and there it is right after "jambeau". Maybe when the name of your favorite conference has it's entry right after "No" and before "no-account" (or perhaps when nobody looks at paper word-lists anymore ), we can talk about equal footing for insignia.

Maybe for winter camping you need to teach people not to lick the cot's aluminum poles. That's is, if they've been left out of the heated trailor for any length of time.

That will only get you so far. Our boys had the same attitude, but it's made it difficult to recruit. Rather than a group of buddies who challenge each other, a visitor is faced with a swarm! Now we are nearly one patrol large! There will be a two year gap between our crossovers and the youngest of our boys. That is - if we get cross-overs!

Welcome, have fun!

Agree with SN and DT, just tell your DE you've got several parents who disagree on what they want for their boys, a capable SM and CC, boys who will follow them, and a willingness to start a new troop. If there's another CO available, and they generally agree with how you want to implement the program, go there. If not, become that CO. That way you take the high ground and minimize ill will.

Okay, I have a moment to play crumudgeon with opposing view ... Why should your Philmont, NAYLE, Seabase, patch be any more special than some week long council patch? What about some patrol's handmade patch for a 10 day adventure of their own design? Why isn't being able to put a dozen patches on the back of your MB sash enough?

Spring Break theme?

Pioneering: bridge building/pumpkin chucking. One year, our district held one at the Pittsburgh Trolley Museum.

Unless the COR is not representing the chartered organization, you'd best move on. Just because the pros support the COR, does not mean they won't support the former SM and CC if they find another organization willing to house them and the patrol of boys who want to carry this forward. In fact, the DE may have been talking up scouting to a potential CO which would like to field a troop, but does not have seasoned leadership. Hope you can encourage the SM and CC to keep on scouting!

The latest annoyance for me: every navigation link I click on opens a new tab. Don't like having to close lots of tabs, would rather click my browser's "back" button if I care to see the main page again.

No UC is better than a useless one. Often you get the same result as you would talking to those couple SM's you know. Lot's of scouters would gladly do the work of UC without the patch. You'll almost always get split opinions from us ASMs, we all know we're just one step away from being stuck in the same quagmire as the SM's. The CC is doing the right thing for his position. You really only need him to help you think through serious discipline issues. If the worst problem is Chuck and Joe not being on top of their calendar's, you're golden! Like BD said, there's no rush to fill that SPL/ASPL position. The PL's can take turns presiding over meetings until your next election time. At that point, if your troop hasn't grown to four patrols, the boys may decide that they don't need an SPL, or one very strong leader will come to the fore, and the boys will elect him.

Camoprees, Woodbadge, camping every month. (That last one is why I pack in extra coffee. You never know who you'll cross paths with in bear country, but it's likely to be your kind of scouter.)

Not too harsh at all. I asked SM to do the same for Son #2 when he was shirking in his SPL responsibilities due to the soccer season. If I can fault you for anything, it's wasting the time typing. Eventually you'll learn to say save those bytes about hours of your time etc. Bottom line: Boy did not do job. Time to find another boy who will step up. That's all you need to say. Secondly: Missing CoH is a big deal, even if you aren't leading it. It shows where priorities are. It would be nice if a boy tells you those priorities in advance, but many times they don't even know what they are. Yes, Mom is more involved than should be, but Boy is not communicating clearly to Mom about priorities. It's a vicious cycle that is very hard to break. Better luck with the next boy.

Stosh, I agree. And every MBC should have a "look at this and tell me what you see" attitude. But, the requirements in these two MBs spell out very different approaches. At first glance, it seems that it's going to take a lot of creativity to make Sustainability as observation oriented as Environmental Science. I guess those hours in the woods watching and waiting for wildlife was one of the more memorable steps on my trail to Eagle. I'd like to think every scout on that trail would experience something of the sort.

Unless she hates plaques as much as I do! Flowers and chocolates with a card (or neckerchief) signed by the boys would be wonderful. Whatever you decide, if the boys present it to her with a hug and kiss from each boy, she will cherish the memory forever.

I feel sorry for the scout. Now, he'll have to learn from someone else that "squeaking by" really limits your options in life. Sooner or later, real ability and true resourcefulness matters. Sometimes, not earning something is the best favor a parent can do. Regarding your troop search, it is really hard to judge just by their age. A bunch of 11 year olds who are planning the year on their own is as good as a cluster of older boys who sit on their hands waiting for adults to tell them what's going on. If the SMs/ASMs have some outdoor experience and are just trying to get something new started, it might be the right place for a bunch of young boys to grow up together. A visit may tell you a little more. There is absolutely no harm in finding out the meeting nights of every troop and sitting in on meetings or joining up with activities, then you and dad talking to your son about what he liked (or didn't like). It might be the foundation for more important conversations later!

The problem is that EnViSci requirements are largely *experiments* and *observation*. Sustainability requirements are largely "design" and "engineering". So regardless of how diligent he may be, a boy who doesn't like one may choose the other. It's been mentioned in other threads that scouting is traditionally a sport of observation. There has been a shift from that to one of informatics and activism.