qwazse

One topic that leaders from all units found interesting was Tax Deductions for Volunteers. Our commish brought in an accountant from a reputable firm and walked through expense that we could deduct and how to report them. This may not amount to much for cub leaders, but I think many of them found it nice to know that as things become a little more expensive, some of it may be honored as charity.

I think the triple crown award should still be given -- just award it for any three of the four. Sure, it may make it a little easier to earn it, but that's only because the chances of one of the bases being close to home are higher. Regardless, I'll bet there'll be a patch redesign. I'd be proud to see them add either a red-tail hawk or turkey vulture.(This message has been edited by qwazse)

Spj, tech jargon entering common paralance is an A-Okay evolution of the English language. No need to consider it a snafu! I read a NY Times article saying that FB statuses actually have a positive effect on coherent writing. I've observed this effect in some of my youth. They make a statement, their friends point out flaws in logic. They correct it. A counter-arguement is posted. They revise the thesis. And so on ... All of this without the aid of a teacher. On the other hand, unless the kid makes errors that lead to misinterpretation, writing FB statuses does nothing to

NJ whoever referred to JASM's as being in a patrol... I don't think they are supposed to be in a patrol. Find me chapter and verse and I'll run screaming to our SM to boot those JASMs out of their respective patrols ASAP. Until then I'll quote you under my "Don't ask someone for a rule, they'll make one up for you." theory.

It's a boy scout award IMHO, it's not mentioned as an award available for cubs YHO doesn't matter. Either the official regs state the award is exclusive to troops or it does not. If you have a cub who's racked up 100 nights camping, give him the award for crying out loud! That said, I wouldn't go out of my way to punch cub camp in the troopmaster.

Apparently your son has never gone camping with me. Rain clouds save the dates months in advance of any trip I'm on! Notebooks, two zip-lock bags, some grease pencils/crayons. There, you waterproofed it. Fact is, water resitant paper is pretty cool, and Geocachers can find themselves in some serious messes. I've tried all kinds of water resistant gear. So far those zip-locks have been my best friend. I think the same applies to most geologists.

Nope, the more I think on it, with both time needed to do something and the fact you have no patrol groups to do it with, TLT just doesn't lend itself to this type of training.. [insert Kudu's management training rant here.] I'm sorry, I did not realize we were thinking TLT as an evening course. If that is the case, I would suggest the following: Assign boys to patrols as they enter the room. Direct them to their patrol table where there are the fixings (markers cloth, whatever) for making a flag. Signs up. Pledge oath law. SPL announces: you have 5 minutes to come up with a

I support Cub scouting being coed. Not dumbing down the program or changing it for girls, then it would be Girls Scouts and that is not what most girls want. The GS in my crew rarely quit their troop. So I wouldn't expect any real bump in numbers in the general population. A good GS/brownie troop has as much draw as a good CS pack. On the other hand, when there are some CO's that only have resources for one unit, they'll pick one that can draw both sexes and have parents combine efforts. And in some cultures within our country, families insists on that sort of thing (e.g., the "s

Most hikes work better in patrols. If you have a number of trails at your facility, have a morning hike that involves the whole troop. Have afternoon hikes where each patrol is assigned to a different trail. Have the boys evaluate which went faster/covered more distance.

I have known many muslims who have been blessed (their words, not mine) by Christian endeavors. One of them was a couple whose son was in cub scouts. This particular couple, having a high regard for Christians, would expect you to act, well, Christian toward their children. They understood the differences in religion, but in no way thought Allah and God were two different beings. So, don't bother changing one word in an English oath to make it "politically correct." If the boy wound up at a church service (scout Sunday, for instance), you'd make it clear that he didn't have to sing/say

"Advisor" is an incorrect generic term! Committee members and consultants are not advisors! If you used it, some MC's will feel left out. We have two choices: "Adult leaders" - okay, but could apply to folks outside BSA. "Scouters" - fits people in about where I want 'em. My point (and I think BP's) is that Venturing adult leaders do not want to be seen as distinct from Pack or Troop leaders. They may pack a little lighter, but that's about it. P.S. - "Venturians" might get confused with the folks who need 20oz of coffee-laden fluid in one sitting!

Six years ago, I would have thought BP was splitting hairs. But I've experienced committee members trying to advise, and it doesn't go well. If they took VLST, they would know that they are "consultants" (sort of like DDHII described in that 6-year-old post). MC's who act as consultants do give advise in their specialty (be it treasuring, committee chairing, etc ...) when asked. But although it makes the advisor's job easier, it doesn't make them the Advisor.(This message has been edited by qwazse)

Ditto what BP said. I have a hard enough time convincing the youth that they are Venturers in a Venturing program. They aren't going to buy that I'm anything other than a Scouter.(This message has been edited by qwazse)

Also, a wolf patch is not an end in itself. It's better to tell a boy he did not earn it, but he'll have a chance to earn bear in his next den. Who knows? For some boys the memory of not completing Wolf would be just what they need to nail down those Arrow of Light requirements.

m2c - The answer is "it depends". If a troop is planning a series of consecutively more challenging trips, then no, the scout will not be welcome on the 30 mile backpacking weekend without having conditioned himself and his gear in the previous 3 trips and made himself mentally awake in the 9 training sessions held during meetings. Doing "all the cool canoeing/kayaking/mountain climbing" comes with a price. On the other hand, if we haven't seen a boy for a while and he shows up the month before summer camp asking to go, we can probably find room for one more. Sports are like

Well, as we know, some venturers have this attitude about uniforms ... But I'm inclined to think this is a group registered as a pack and promoting itself as such. They either don't officially register the girls, or make it happen through lots of hoop jumping.

scouts does not equal school Our school bans pen knives. Our troop does not. We gave up on our cell phone ban. There are more important things to enforce. (Such as fireworks, swords, sidearms, pipe bombs, etc ...) If you want Jr. to have a cell phone, fine. But in my family, the youngns' pay for their plan. I strongly encourage our other scout families to do likewise.

Well obviously the point here is to help folks rethink what we've been doing and let us realize there's a lot of lattitude. A lot of our troop policies have to do with the way our SMs want to operate. Sometimes what the SM does is just what the previous SM did. So ideas from outside the troop are a breath of fresh air. Our JASMs do just fine as patrol members. In fact by age sixteen they're in about three "patrols" (e.g. their O/A lodge, their crew, and their troop's patrol). The point is that because of their other associations, they have an opportunity to bring unique talents to tr

[sorry, double post](This message has been edited by qwazse)

Good points, Beav and BP, but more broad than what this topic can handle. We're moving from what it takes to for someone to label you "Christian," to what it takes to be accepted by God. We'd like those two to be synonymous, but I think they are two different things with a whole lot of overlap. (Of course the presupposition is that there is a God who accepts, and His acceptance actually means something tangible to human flesh -- big leaps of faith there.) There are a lot of folks who are getting by in this life with just one or the other (or neither). In the same way "head" knowle

Scouting is actually a good place where you could tell people that, but timing and method are important so you're saying it out of humility and not putting people down. That's what campfires are for. Anyway, the fact that your are trying to work out a balance will speak loads to the mom.

Our camp goes over the plan (drills included). Our troop covers what to do (in case boys are isolated). The harsh reality: none of them would suffice in the conditions that made headlines this week. If there were a choice I'd take a ditch over an above-ground structure, but there aren't enough ditches! Time for some camp catacombs?

ALB - There is a distinct difference between my female venturers who were girl scouts and the ones who were not. The non girl-scouts have more of that "pioneering spirit" which maybe is one slice of the "male mystique". The girl-scouts have great organizational abilities and can sing around a campfire until the cows come home. So I think some of that is learned behavior. But, they both want to be respected as ladies. And I think that's where with the co-eds you see the "male mystique" kicking in. A guy who slacks around a camp full of boys might get yelled at or have his

Yes, the potty mouth is an important issue. Perhaps the only redeeming thing about situations like these is an opportunity to help a kid manage better when they are frustrated. I just had to ding a former scout for cussing on his FB status. So, this never ends. On the other hand, if I'm ever out of line, I know there are a bunch of boys who will call me on it! The other issue is: can you work with this mom? If so, have a heart-to-heart over a cup of tea. Settle differences and move on. The final issue: are you willing to give ground on the cell phone rule? (A lot of us have

I have no complaints about the cub program. I think the expectation that it would feed the ranks of Boy Scouts is overstated. I also have seen that Troops do not necessarily feed the Venturing program. Some of you have pointed out that this happens because of adversarial reasons. I have noted that Troops do not feed the crew even in non-adversarial situations. At every level you need to recruit, recruit, recruit! I think my venturers really like the cubs.