qwazse

Same story here. Definitely lackluster sales.

How is it any less work? Although the MB is required in Jan 2014, and the badge is slated for some revisions, the new book won't be out until mid year. The MB may be earned under old requirements until the end of 2014. On the flip side, if they THINK they are saving work by wrapping up early, there is no reason to let a partial linger by disavowing them of that notion.

My comment, Kathy, assumes that you have made a fair assessment of these boys' skills, that you are confident of their teaching ability, and that they may be known around the district for their skills as T2FC instructors. That's when the DE might help you get around that log-jam. This is not a matter of if they get trained. It's a matter of how they get trained. Your unit and the district may be better served if the boys go to a Powderhorn course, or COPE instructor course, or something else. But, keep in mind, they are adults. They should no longer be signing off on T2FC requirem

He can lead a group prayer. He is not under the obligations of an agent of the state.

Not a problem in any case. Remind your leaders, however, that while they are assisting scouts, they should not be drinking alcohol.

Ask the DE to credit them as trained.

Sounds like fun - as long as none of your decoy items was a chain saw!

It sounds like you have unmotivated boys, plain and simple. It happens. Move on with the original schedule for your den. From time to time, remind them that they are one lanyard away from earning their craftsman. If either of them bring up wanting to do something else with their own resources, listen to their idea, and, if it's good, encourage them to do it at home and bring it to you at your next meeting. Chances are you will have other boys who fall behind in something else. Same procedure. This is good preparation for life as a scout. Your buddies will get skills on some thin

None in our troop are doing this. Either in protest of policy or fee changes, or to skate by without having to earn cooking. But, we've made it clear that our SM's have never kicked a gay kid to the curb and would never do so. Period. Cut his pay if it bothers you. I've also pointed out that most Christian youth groups I know (and any that I associate with) do not as policy prohibit LGBT youth. So, I don't know where they think they are leaving to. We're a small troop, so if a few boys hustled up and earned it by the end of the year, that would be fine by me. I would suggest that th

It's like I have an evil twin (who types faster than me)!

Who knows? Had they kept their uniforms on, you might have had yourself a venturing crew for the day!

One more suggestion: ask a relative or neighbor. Sometimes a hand-me-down adds to the mystique. For the longest time when I was in high school and college, I carried my Grandpa's knife. Really lousy blade, truth be told. But every time I pulled it out, I had fond memories of him whittling his cane and thereby driving Mom nuts!

Anything that folds neatly and the handle fits tidily in the boy's hand will do. Going to the sporting goods store (or section) is part of the adventure IMHO. In department stores, it's usually just an isle beyond the toy section. Kinda fun watching a boy change his preferred isle as he grows.

Actually, in many survival situations, you don't have much for an axe. So, for the first night or so your shelter is necessarily deadfall, flotsam, and jetsam.

Have the SPL call the camp ranger about acceptable use. He/she should be able suggest a preferred site. For example, an OA circle may need to be cleared, so, losing a few saplings here and there would be doing them a favor. Frankly, nearly everything in Florida grows back so rapidly, there may be cuttings for the taking. Just talk to the right people.

If you are proud of your uniform. Wear it. It's the best you can do. The second best you could do is have a chocolate bar for every boy who is in uniform at dinner and/or flags.

A grey area: parents can serve as Akela. But, I'm not saying take the DL out of the loop, certainly as we move into Webelos we want the parents to take a lesser role. But, if it is truly a situation where the boys feel like you "dumped" this lanyard project on them, you want the help of the parents to encourage them to think of something else. If it's just that they haven't made any effort, then pulling up other projects is just wasting your breath and their time.

If the boys decided they hate lanyards and ask you to come up with another project, maybe you should. But, if they are just shrugging their shoulders, it's on their parents to think of another project that they should do. They might want their boys to make a holiday decoration or gift for a teacher (or maybe for those talented sisters ). This falls under the "listen to the youth" aspect of scouting. You're not really dictating assignments. You're making suggestions based on where you think they would like to expand their talents. At the end of the day, if the youth would rather not do

One early bird from Son #1's den stayed and Eagle'd at 16. He did stop attending scouts for a few months, but came back ready to do dig in an do the work. Then his dad found a job in warmer climes and the family moved away.

Just so you know, in general I have seen very few troops that excel at nighttime insertions. Younger scouts are not particularly good at following patrol leader's direction in the dark. If this troop is new to the boy-led approach, older boys can be resentful of the responsibility foisted on them. As a result everyone is less attentive to everyone else's needs. Keep an open mind. For some families, this may still be the troop for them.

I gave this to the ASPL and said "You may want to read this at some point in the meeting." After looking it over, the poor boy (a soft-hearted fellow) was mortified because he thought it was an E-mail I received about our troop! (Why he would thing this when we haven't had an entire den of Webelos on a weekend with us for years, is beyond me.) He was quite relieved when I explained it was about someone else far away in internet land. One very important sign of proper training, IMHO, is if the SPL and other older boys take time to introduce themselves to the parents and check in on them on

I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, I'll have my boys read this as a cautionary tale for when they invite Webelos to camp with them. On the flip side, you have a good idea of how that troop operates. I hope you and your boys will take up those invites and be able to make a fair comparison.

Hey DJ13, I'm a WHCS alumnus living north of you pretty close to the "seat of power" (a.k.a. Flag Plaza). Nice to know that boys are still crossing over in Central Greene! If you're talking about the Beascout.org site you should have access to change that via your MyScouting account. I did it once upon a time but forget how. However, you may have to contact your DE. Or call the folks at Flag Plaza (412-471-2927). They got people who are pretty good with the IT, given the Byzantine monstrosity they are having to work with.

BBF, Webelos is perfect for 8, 9, or 10 year-olds. Treating an11 year old like he should still be in a Webelos program needs is insulting. Treating a 14 year old like that is degrading. Myself, I don't use the term "Webelos III." I just promise a boy that I will never treat him like he's a girl scout. And, GS mom's, when I do that I am not insulting your troop (if they are camping - under canvas or less - every month out of the year).

This falls under the category of "nobody knows your boys like you do." There is absolutely no reason on paper that this should be an issue if they are first class scouts (the concept, not the patch). But, if you have a boy who hasn't grown out of that firebug stage, or a boy who seems to weaponize every sharp he holds, an adult may need to at least drop in on them (maybe with warm drinks and pizza) at random intervals. If someone is blowing smoke for seemingly no reason, you may need to ask them what experience they are basing this on, and be prepared to explain how these boys are di