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Hold that line Bbf! And don't let the Mrs. and Junior talk to my wife. While Son #2 and I were getting ready for summer camp a couple of years ago, the day before Father's day, she puts Daughter on the line who says "Daddy, why can't we have a puppy?" Two years later, she's away at school, and I got 90 pounds of canine jumping on me at 06:30 sharp ready to be fed. Worse part, I offer to take it hiking and camping with me and everyone pitches a fit! (Bears n'at ...) Would have been a perfect weekend for it. Then while I'm away, she leaves a bag of chocolate candy on a counter and betw

Good question. This hinges around another question, which Stosh hinted at: is your SPL/ASPL an instructor or an administrator? Ours are mainly administrators. Which means attendance at meetings is most important because that's when they make sure our plans for the weekend are reasonable, based on their experience. Then, they can delegate responsibilities to other scouts. Now, if your troop really needs an instructor in the field, and your ASPL is the guy, then you're gonna be hurting until he can take off work to be at camp. Regardless, accountability is what I look for in these situations

The most important First Class requirement is missing: The First Class Journey. Therefore the BSA's outdoor requirements are designed to get Cub Scout survivors to Eagle without ever walking into the woods with packs on their backs. For a while, Hillcourt's Patrol Leader Training got Patrols out into the woods without adult helicopters, but in 1972 Wood Badge replaced it with Troop Method training called "Leadership Development." Therefore the BSA's leadership skills requirements are designed to get Cub Scout survivors to Eagle without ever walking into the woods with a Patrol

Although all the drama would make good theater. That's a lot of busy people to try to get in one room. SM and boy should be sufficient for whatever upkicking is needed. Remember that this whole thing started because a boy wanted to bypass interaction with the SM.

BD, something still isn't adding up. Boy says he used his cat, MBC says he was shown pics of boy and dog. Mom would have a lot of Moxie trying to pull one over on the MBC .. and then, expecting the boy to keep his story straight ... Is she blonde by any chance? I'd still tow the line that your signature isn't on the card, and it is therefore null and void. (No need for dramatic shredding ceremony.) It would be unfair to the other boys if you'd let this one slide.

I don't like people having their "Plan B" when I think my youth have thought of everything. But I remind myself that that's just me. The other silk purses ... 1. You get an idea of the adults who really do love to tent camp, or at least are interested on how your boys operate from soup-to-nuts. 2. You might get a sense of cubs who are prone to homesickness. It may mean your SPL or Guide will have to escort a boy to his parent's cabin, (or go fetch the parent), but by starting that relationship early might take the edge off summer camp. 3. You might "check out", pay a visit to the par

I told my youth this week that discipline regarding fire management, first aid skills, and orienteering are the first step toward high adventure. I know they can haul bodies and packs anywhere, but when they stop for a break, their attention to detail needs to be flawless. Arguing with me or SM that a fire is out even though their hands feel the warmth does not instill confidence.

If it's any consolation, I had a parent on my case when I told him his boy will have to earn Cooking MB since he won't make Eagle until next year. Figured I'd take one for the SM last night.

Good plan. Better Lifesaving skills are more essential for most troops.

We have lots of these. So, I never thought about doing anything special ... I would save the "fidelity" recognition for when the boy turns 18 (or, if he's gone on to venturing, 21). Any boy who sticks with the program all those years deserves at least a round of applause from his fellow scouts. If he did participate in the same CO for all of those years, it might be nice for the institutional head to send him a note thanking him for getting the most of the program. For making Eagle as well? Give him a medal with a red, white, and blue ribbon.

Your signature isn't on the card. Badge isn't earned. Done. It's all nice that you are willing to call the MBC and that. But that's all extra mile stuff. And I sincerely hope the boy at least qualifies for "Pets", but be clear that the blue card doesn't count for tinder until you sign it, and you don't sign unless a boy comes to you with a reasonable plan for how he's gonna earn the badge. Time for the angry parent calls ... Have fun.

Just wondering what makes you think involvement on the district level has anything to do with having an unruly child? Either they want their kid to behave because thuggery is unbecoming, or your most important cause (the well-being of everyone's youth) is lost. I hate when parents, on account of being abrasive and sometimes manipulative, ruin scouting for the boys. I've seen good boys want to hide their heads on account of their parents' behavior. But, when a boy ruins scouting for himself, I'm not all that upset. Sometimes being told he's not welcome until we know he'll respect

At Mallory Square in Key West there was this french guy who performed with trained cats. He made a decent chunk of change for his (their) efforts. Make sure the boy wasn't earning Pets MB instead.

A lot of our state parks can only be reached via website. Rangers offices closed on weekends. Most campsites that we shoot for, traveling in groups of 10 or less, do not require reservations. Some rangers are harder to contact than others. Often times my communication has been via messages left with the secretary who will let me know when rangers are due to report in and when I can call after that.

Just back from, troop, crew mtg., then soccer ... That last one was a bit of a surprise, so yeah, I feel your pain. That said, my scouting career was rife with sciences. So, the importance of this is not lost on me.

BD, the course sounds like it's for people who aren't in STEM fields themselves, but need to figure out where to start to make it happen in their district.

Then you truly do have two problems although they may have a common source. 1. The CC lacks management skills and needs to be retrained or replaced. Contact your COR. 2. The boy needs some negative reinforcement, maybe suspension, at the very least a good talking to with parent in the room -- then followed up with positive reinforcement if he improves his behavior. Contact your CM and/or DL. The politically correct (or honey vs. vinegar, or whatever) way to handle this is simple in both cases: "There are some rough edges that will make it very difficult if you continue in scouting (and

Not sure what being CC has anything to do with this. If his kids were gems, would you be able to put up with the mile long E-mails? Some people are verbose, and everyone just endures it if those folks are still great servant leaders.

I made sure I knew what I was taking (got the opinions of lots of scouters) before I took it. I knew I was taking it to light a fire for me to complete some moderately challenging goals. I enjoyed the fellowship that I built. But I missed those weekends with my unit(s)! Plus, a high adventure that we were planning demanded more of my time than expected which -- since all of that work wasn't part of my ticket -- delayed my WB homework. One scout was starting to get too much pleasure in calling me "Old Man", so it was very gratifying to come back from my first weekend and say "Boy,

As mentioned one of the threads about destructive behavior, "park rangers cringe when they see scouts coming". This may or may not be true of the ranger nearest you. Idiots abound, and BSA only contributes to a portion of those. But, the fact is that a wilderness recreation area is much different than the wooded corner of a friend-of-the-troop's farm. So, before your unit goes there, how often (and how) in the past year or so have you or your SPL/PL contacted the park service the week before you intended to make a trek there?

Save up for those lean years when not a single pro team in your town brings home a national championship. (You'd think breaking a 2 decade losing streak would count for something, but even though I was pretty sure the Cards would stop the Pirates, I still was expecting a little more. )

I'm not saying anything about them doing it for YOU! Ask a favor of the retiring pack's key three. By now I shouldn't have to tell you if a door closes you can wait for the good Lord to open one for you, or you can find where He left the sledgehammer and knock out the wall.

Several of our DEs moved on to some decent careers after doing their jobs as pro scouters well. (By well, I'm talking about that integrity and grit thing.) I recall one getting a foreman's job in a factory, another got a job directing a development center for troubled kids, another became a sports store manager. The first two fellas had a stall in their careers, and the DE job came at a good time for them. The other one really needed to get a break from scouting for the sake of his wife (and dog), and the skills that he picked up as DE gave him the skills he needed to excel in the corporate wo

Sounds like you have the right background, but you have a steep learning curve. Now, it may be that your council has an executive devoted to just to Venturing and Explorers. But it wouldn't hurt for you to read up on those programs. Find out how many of those units are in your council,. A good question to ask is if you'd be responsible for any of them.

Time to call the registrar and reprint the charter. MT you need to print your units to figure out what was paid for whom. BD you need your registrar to print up the wannabe retired unit's so you can contact the parents and apologize for everyone else's graft and corruption.