qwazse

The recent activity tab doesn't seem to show all new posts, just new topics. Advanced Search from yesterday sorted by date - updated gets a lot more hits. Seems to work almost like the old one-click link.

So, DS, are you saying we should paint our Eagles yellow?

It's a little bit stupid. But not as stupid as changing the total count of MB's required. Tampa, let your boy take the MB when it suits him. It's just a bookkeeping thing. Come Jan 1, there will be one too many spaces in his book for elective MBs and one too few spaces for required MBs. He can fix that with two strokes of a pen. It's just like now when a First Class scout earns his first 6 MBs are all from the required list. We have him fill in the six MBs on his Star page, write "(required)" by the last two, and scratch the "(required)" from two of the blanks on his Eagle page.

Here's how I think you should help a boy manage things in his book: For now it goes in a non-required slot. Probably, since 2C's scout sounds like he has all of his electives for Star, he should write it in on the page for Life electives. Next year, or whenever he goes for his bird, it will count as a required badge. All he'll have to do is jot "required" beside the line where he recorded that badge. He still earned it, it still counts for something. It's just at the end of the year it will count in a different way.

Walking tacos, line up on a table in separate bowls: Corn chips in single serving bags (a.k.a. Fritos) Spoons (It's up to you if you use disposables or durable cups and spoons.) Taco filling (ground beef, cooked drained and refried with chili powder, parpika, ground red pepper, salt, etc ... or your favorite pre-made mix.) Grated Cheeze Grated lettuce Chopped Green Onions Chopped black olives Sour cream. You get the idea ... Everyone line up. Each person grabs a bag, opens it, grabs a spoon, inserts their preferred ingredients, eats. Sitting down is optional. Serve cookies after everyone has had the main course! Only give them to guests who return their empty bag & spoon.

From an Eagle who has developed a penchant for cussing ... I made a pact with my youth, they have the right to call me on every offense just as I presume I have the right to call them. Humility stings, but it helps. Regarding those speeches that point out the "bad" Eagles. Why are they pointing it out? Why don't they also point out the "bad" Tenderfoots, Football Captains who never were in scouts, non-scout class presidents, etc ...? Because these speakers have already "marked" Eagles for something more noble. Getting an award like this doesn't make you a saint. It just makes people expect more of you -- sometimes more than you can possibly give. So, if an Eagle's wasting in jail, he's still expected to dust himself off and somehow make life a little more tolerable for his cellmates and the guards and the wardens. If he's angry with the school or mayor or governor or president, he's still expected to dig deep and express himself courteously. If he's gawking at someone else's spouse, he's expected to snap out of it and direct his attention elsewhere. If he can't do it on his own he has to hunt down the pastor or counselor or group of guys who will help him or otherwise wrestle with his Maker until he does it anyway. The badge won't help him do that. But the expectations that people have of him might.

A Centennial Unit patch? Well, whatever. I think the boy should do his best, tidy up us uniform, and ask the SM for an expedited conference and BOR since it sounds like some adult is bypassing the wishes of his SPL. If there's a patch I'd like a boy to wear, I'd let him know, but wouldn't halt his advancement. You know what? I have yet to meet a boy who didn't get it right for his next rank. I would try to get a one-on-one with this adult and tell him from your end of things, he is adding to the requirements and needs to lighten up. Do it over coffee and keep the lawyers out of it. (No offense, Beaver.)

Cubs is tougher because you don't have as many campfires to hash these things out.

Wow! Overthink much? I suspect what we do with any particular membership application will depend on our CO. Like I said in an earlier thread, I'd like our COR to be on the lookout for gossipers and backbiters. They do the most harm to our boys. On the last two issues. I will have to practice holding back a slap the minute a boy in my crew asks "So, does this mean I can bunk with the ladies?" (It's gonna happen, I'm just writing it here as proof in case the scout thinks he's being original.) On sexuality in general: It often comes up with my older venturers. In general I try to direct them to their families, but sometimes it's down to me, and we have a frank conversation, that includes a "do what your religion commands, and do it in a way that is trustworthy, loyal, helpful ..." On sexuality in specific: Our boys don't want to hear about this issue. They are feeling the brunt of decisions made by parents on their behalf about problems that may be foreign to them. They may have friends that have called them "haters" when in fact they would be courteous and kind where their friends would jump at the chance to pummel the odd duck. In short, we go back to the 70s.

Sorry, can't get past being absolutely right

pc, Although I'm of the ilk who think that constraining one's sexual persuasions is good for soul and body, I'm fairly neutral about the national BSA pronouncement. Mainly, because I was a scout before the explicit ban and there were plenty of other forms of expression efficiently chipping away at our collective morality. Frankly, when harm was done to my units, it came from backbiters and gossipers. (You know, the "we need to pray for so-and-so" types.) I would have been been better served by a national ban on those folks. I think the local option will not be satisfactory. Parties on both sides want the BSA to be a conduit for disseminating their practice of morality. The anti-homosexual movement had their way for a few decades (longer than Cromwell's parliament -- to their credit), now that the pendulum is swinging the other way they probably fear that if they exclude a nice homosexual couple, other CO's will push for a national non-discrimination statement on the aggrieved party's behalf. It would be nice if they could do it quietly, however. As my SPL put it: "I'm just sick of hearing about it. All I want to do is hike and camp."(This message has been edited by qwazse)

A. I would never disrespect a blue loop, but if you feel it matters that's okay. E. how bout "Without vision the people perish"? You might want to have a backup in case a group of SMs walked in with whit canes! I think you're covering most of the bases.

Yep. Son #1 got dinged for not showing up at BOR with his book, his patches were in order, though. By the time boys are up for Eagle SMC/BOR's they look pretty sharp. (Sometimes I get panicked calls from a sharp boy who can't find his scout belt 15 minutes befor his SMC. That's not something we all fet over, but after I hung up it was really temping to call the SM and ask him to rattle the boy a little.) If I were him, I'd bust the PL/SPL's chops for not noticing his patch on inspection. Of course they might bust back saying they told him once last year. Then I'd sew the patch on, ask the SM if it's adequate and ask if he could complete his conference sooner rather than later. In fact, if the troop is camping soon he might ask "I'd really like to have a fireside conference and BOR, is there any chance we can make that happen?"

A few summer camps back, a boy's uncle (on leave from the army) told me that he was overwhelmingly moved at seeing the boys at opening flag. That settled the relevance issue for me. It's only been affirmed since then by citizen after citizen (and a few internationals) who I've met since then.

foto, nobody in their right mind reads these topics by forum. (Frankly, I have no idea what forum this is at the moment because my screen only shows the middle of the page, and I'm too lazy to scroll up or down.) Folks click on "today's active topics" and pick what they want to read or write about. That said, folks if you are being the solution to some of foto's concerns, it sure would be nice to hear about it here.

Summer camp: really structured campfire program. One adult (a very senior ASM) leads most nights. One or two nights the youth lead. The adult passes the lead to him. Other nights: entirely at the boys' discretion. We do try to encourage the SPL to go over "Thorns and Roses".

- the last pig incident in the Pacific Northwest nearly led to war between the US and Great Britain. JMH, are you picking on my autocorrect? Do we need to file a "near miss" for damage to self-esteem?

The church I attend has little use for the BSA, they've never hosted a unit, and are perfectly content to cobble together a youth group on their own. There may be some CO's who feel the same, but not to the point of dropping units. I think, rather, that CO's would be happy to have more direct control over membership selection.

Hey BD, I remember that Navy Dive Tank! On one level, it was truly ridiculous. On another, it was the first time I ever snorkeled! Also it was the simple things: Meeting other scouts. Attending three different religious services with a buddy. All of the gateways and displays. Launching a catapult for the king of Sweden. Getting the tar beat out of me on an orienteering course. Coming home with an aerial photograph of tent city. The only down side: someone nicked my shirt that had an O/A patch from my tap-out. (Kiasutha Lodge #57 pocket flap, just in case anyone out there wants to fess up.) Never replaced that patch.

Sentinel: don't know which "thumpers" you know. But the best ones I've met reply, "Yes, and greatly." Of course, that sort doesn't get the best TV time. Now, nationwide we have certain "clashes of orthodoxies" here. One that insists that scouts in scouting should only be exposed to adult leaders who comport themselves sexually in a particular way (set of ways) vs. the other that insists scouts should be exposed to adults who comport themselves sexually in the variety of manners that represent the communities in which they live. One that insists that scouts in scouting should have a religious life as that is intrinsic to sound character vs. the other that insists scouts should be taught that religious life is not intrinsic to sound character and (by way of including the irreligious) that faith is an incidental, not a necessity. Clearly, this pack's membership voted to draw a line in the sand (in favor of the more secular orthodoxies), and then after consultation decided to remove it. I can't imagine this was merely a philosophical exercise. There are probably individuals whom they want to secure for the pack while still securing their association with BSA. It's odd how folks want a middle road, when there are two perfectly serviceable roads to drive on.

Went over these with the boys. Seems like they got it. None of them ever noticed that they never needed to light a fire! (The aren't a lot to leave any lay unlit.)

Discussed this with SM while hiking this weekend. For these near misses, can we just send in a photo and general description of each boy in the troop? Proactive reporting would save so much time! Seriously though, I think structured interviews of a stratified random simple of unit's across the nation will be more effective and accurate. Most leaders have a good idea of the troubles they had last year, and your more likely to get them to rattle off that info than to report every incident pig or small.

If I were you, I'd encourage your venture patrol to give itself a name that reflects something leadership corps-ish. Some examples: The Bosses, Top Guns, Long Walkers, or Leadership Corps A second unit has a lot of hassles. There are a few rewards, like helping out kids who missed out on scouting from ages 11 - 13. But if you don't have adults who'll support it, or youth who have a vision for it, it amounts to a lot of paperwork for what you could otherwise do by simply giving special attention and challenges to that patrol of older boys (by whatever name you call them).

Thanks for the update. This may be a challenge. For example where would this fall on the Good, Better, Best continuum ... ? Venturer fell skiing. It hurt. After evaluation by the group, qualified for for the crew face-plant award. Was given her choice of imported chocolate bars. She chose raspberry filled milk choc. No further symptoms reported afterword. I guess it's a near miss. Not typically something I would complete paperwork for. It would be something our youth would evaluate. It would probably be forgotten by the end of the charter year.

Pack, this was pre-GPS. The boy had dropped out of scouts, so I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't have a compass and only carried half the water he should have. I'll have to have him re-tell the story. He did get some great pictures. General question: what level of skill/experience do you require before you let a patrol navigate off-trail in an isolated area like this? Let's not factor in adults because even when they are there, my experience is that it's even odds that they will be a liability instead of an asset. Some of my boys are almost at a level where they could do this, but I'd like to know what you all'd expect before you'd give your approval.