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Although it's not quite like partialling a merit badge, if they stay sharp with their skills, they should be able to easily get their certificate when they turn 15. It depends on the instructor. He might sign a note that the boys did everything but the age requirement. This might help a boy who was hoping to lifeguard this summer. It might not.

TC Does anyone write proposals this way professionally? I'm sure some professions do, but more likely proposals give general proposals and count on the competence of the folks implementing to proposal to figure out the details. Yes, we do. From architects, to gardeners, to doctors, to football teams. Ever since the first recessions that shut down our mills, folks with deep pockets want to know technical details before committing to anything. We haven't been able to create booms (like the costal housing markets) where people seem to have been willing to float twice the real value of a

Been there, done that. With our oldest, we followed-up his COH in with his HS grad party. Made for a long day, but tremendous fun. We told our youngest that if he earns his bird early, we'll have two parties for him. As for going back to cubs, YOU ARE A SAINT! I couldn't handle it again.

They may actually not die in the process of rescuing. What's that worth to you? They may also read fine print better. Who knows how much that will result in future savings?

BS, I completely forgot about the MB requirement. I'll remind my SM of that one. (He's a real congenial fellow, but not the public speaking type. I had no clue his first COH as SM was his first time in front of a crowd! Anyway, he's pretty determined that the boys get their first speaking engagements before they graduate from the troop.) dl - and I think that is your "in". Register as a Communications MBC, then offer your services as a coach to any boys who want to fulfill the requirement as part of the badge. This will give you the opportunity to share you vision with a "captive aud

MIB - you're spot-on with the cookin. The challenge is to make sure you have diverse patrols. Get info on students' outdoor experience when they sign up so you can assign well. That's what our district did when I took this way-back-when, and we had a fun patrol. I think we learned as much from each other as we did from the staff. I credit the staff in that course to the start of my geocaching odessey. (The guy just mentioned it obliquely in the orienteering demo, and I was hooked.) Look for youth staff (maybe the O/A lodge chief or local camp directors know a scout or ven

Frank, I think we're the victims of a "project development" town. Half the folks around here make their dimes cranking out 100 page proposals. When I showed my son and some of his buddies my project workbook (3 pages typed doublespace, with a hand drawn sketch on the front) he just shook his head in disgust.

COH's are sacred to the troop. If the committee has decided that the boys should have a lot of lattitude in planning, and the boys agree, then the committee's job is done. If an adult comes to this kind of committee and says "you need to step in, these boys are doing slip-shod work", the adult can expect to be ignored. If the SPL comes to the committee and says "we want to make the COH a little more special" then the committee may be compelled to respond. They may appoint an adult who is skilled in probing the boys to figure out what to tweak, but this type of committee will probab

For those of you whose older scouts (esp. PL's and Troop Guides) do not sign off on trail to first class, I'd like to know why? Honestly, I've had more problems training adults on this than boys. (Adults invariably fall for the "I did this at camp last summer when I earned __ MB" line, where boys will ask "Can you show me that skill now?" as we trained them to do.)

rr - Like I said earlier, I've been watching because I'm in a similar situation, but with an older age range. For what it's worth, I think Seabase is worth every sacrifice that an adult leader could make. I first took my crew with my oldest when he was 14. I had snorkeled Louee Key before, but doing it from a sailboat and hitting Sombrero reef the next day and swimming to the beach at Bahia Honda at the end of the week was over the top. But I understand the financial back-against-the-wall. I would simply put this in the boys hands. Explain that CC xx would like you to add a

My pleasant surprise with troop backpacking experiences is that the younger scouts were good for the extra miles (up to 6 or 8) if the terrain is not particularly severe. So a hiking aree with loops that allow you to fit in more distance might be a good start. Your MBC will probably have some good suggestions for where you live.

The boys are entirely responsible for opening meetings, announcements, and closing meetings. Adults must request permission from SPL to give an announcement. Scouts name their own patrols, come up with their own yell, make their own flag. Sit as patrols. PL's and First Class Plus sign off on T2FC reqs. Outside of summer camp. We have a hard time getting our boys to "work" as patrols. They like doing the "ad hoc" thing. They like camping and cooking as a troop. Regardless, they do all of the shopping, cooking, and clean-up. (Actually our SM has a bit of a servant heart, so he'

Thanks for volunteering. The fact that you're an accomplished scout and still sticking around your senior year speaks loads. If you wanted to be sarcastic, you could suggest the dads apply to be Girl Scout Leaders. I recommend that you not be sarcastic. Ask for a scoutmaster conference. Explain your vision for the upcoming year. Explain why it's important for the boys to "skill-up" to the point that some serious backpacking gets done. Some things to suggest ... An "old farts" patrol. A patrol cook-off. Dad's vs. the boys. Pan polishing contests. Site inspections.

I figure it's been that way since Genesis chapter 2 ... [fruit crunching] "So, do you feel any smarter, yet?" "No, do you you?" "I think we've been scammed." "What's a scam?" "Nevermind, I'm gonna chat with the monkeys." "What, I'm no good for conversation anymore?" "I'm sorry Ms. wannabe a diety, but at least they have the sense to not let snake-talk get in their fur." "Oh yea, well at least they have fur ..., I saw that look in your eye when you saw the chance to get God-smart. Explain that to your chimp-chump friends in your hairless hide!" "Don't start with me, you'

In Arabic, there are two words for sin. One is the same word for "a mistake", something that flies in the face of cultural norms, or inadvertently offends someone sensibilities. The other is "an offense", a corruption, a tendency to rise up against the Almighty. If you have a uniform culture with defined norms (e.g., a young man and woman should not sit in the parlor unchaperoned) then lots of sin/mistakes can be regulated as if they are sin/offenses. In a diverse culture such as ours (where folks of different beliefs are here because their forefathers were fed up fighting someone

Included in summer camp: parking, meals, lodging, your buddies. There's no archery or rifle range at Disney, and Mickey won't allow you to angle for them fish in the moat -- not even catch and release.

The venturing program encourages each crew to come up with its own set of by-laws. Some of those are online. Many of them may fit what you might expect from a troop committee. You may just have to tweak the names of the positions. (And drop any clause about public displays of affection!)

CCb, first of all, thanks for volunteering. I've seen several CC's from the perspective of a scout parent. The best ones do the following: 1. Coach adults (i.e. the ones who don't have an official position) in serving the pack. 2. Follow the lead of any adult who has a good idea. 3. Keeps meetings short. 3. Starts looking for their replacement from day one. Most direct contact leaders (be they CM, DL, SM, ASM) need a small number of things: 1. active parents, 2. facilities, 3. money, 4. training opportunities, 5. coffee and/or flowers (depending on the preference of the lead

NJ - The study did control for "Marital Happiness" (or lack thereof) and psychological well-being; however, that's a far cry from accounting for multiple potential causes for divorce (e.g. adultery, financial stress, physical abuse, etc ...). Even if those factors could have been measured with any degree of precision, this sample was just too small to come to any reliable conclusions from that much detail. Since it is unethical to randomly assign divorce or marriage "treatments" to families experiencing infidelity or abuse, we'll never nail down the chain of causality for certain. The p

SF, any of those parents wanna rent a timeshare in Orlando on Race Week? Send 'em my way. I don't want 'em on any trip with me, but I'll take their $$s! Let's not neglect that for some of us, that means splitting our vacation time between scouting and family. Now, our scouts love a lot of the "same old same old", they actually voted the low-end campout as their #1 activity. My crew nags me to camp on a local freshwater beach about 2 hours away every year. That is the majority's preferred "super activity". The problem with that is it's too crowded on the weekends so the adults

I think most campers do cat holes. Decomposition is pretty quick on those islands. No experience with Cornplanter.

Also, I would add that the "hit" in this study is small relative to other things that happen to kids throughout the world (war, famine, pestilence, etc ...). And we're talking averages here. I'm sure you'll find some kids who do better than average after a divorce, but the majority who do worse pull the curve down. CCb, I intentionally did not use the s- word. Your "evil stepmother" situation shows that sometimes divorce is merely the symptom of our inability to love unconditionally. Adultery or abuse are truly harmful to people, and I agree that sometimes divorce is the only way to "

I think your boys are on to something. They seem to be a clever lot, so ask them what behaviors they would consider: 1. rude 2. immoral 3. plain stupid 4. just lame Persuant to a discussion our troop had this weekend, you might want to toss in "I promise to never pick on an adult leader's playlist until I've listened to the artists he selected."

Bd and bd, Thanks for those opinions. I never thought that question would wrankle anyone. (I treat it as more like the scouting equivalent of "What's your major?"). I don't think our troup treats W-I's and W-II's any differently, but I'll have to look at that the next time we host some cubs. I agree a solid friendship with a scout means the world to a cub (and his parents). It does not always transfer into sucessful recruitment, but it's a good idea on principle alone.

He also heads up a shooting team, and I told him I would take up where he cannot. Why not let him lead where his talents are? He can be an ASM and you could ask him to help counsel shooting sports MB's and maybe set up a few venues for your boys to attend and shoot some skeet or whatever. Amplifying on what jts said: just a couple of ASMs like that and your boys will have an active schedule that will be the envy of your district. One more hint with regard to sports. Try to set up events and overnights that are near where your 2 athletes have games. If they know you are trying