qwazse

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.

You really do live in your own little world don't you. Yes, it is a pleasant one with Muslims, Jews, Bhuddist, Jains, Athiests, etc ... with whom I have honest conversations about matters of faith. We've spent some good moments trying convert each other! No you don't have to be a credentialed theologian to not believe in the resurrection, however without some kind of credentials few will take anything you say very seriously. Actually, I find if your are willing to pray for someone when they're sick, visit them when they're in prison, morn with them at the loss of a loved one, we

It takes a lot of faith to believe in science. Lot's of my colleagues don't want to believe the margin of error in their measurements any more than some false prophets want to believe in their margins of error!

NJS - This thread is about what Christians believe, which is why I have not weighed in, since it's really none of my business. Since, the term was given to us by non-Christians, it's allowed to be everyone's busines. What you think, looking from the outside, is pretty important. ... mentioned members of another religion ... and what they think about what Christians believe ... I don't think we need to be singling out anybody in particular. Ok? BP referenced theologians who asserted the ressurection was mere fabrication by early church leaders. My point was, you don't have to b

Another issue, was the girl using the cell phone? Anyway, like ea says, there's a lot that's gotta be "water under the dam" because time has passed. You may need to consider the following ... An apology to the mom for not bringing the daughter to her on the first infarction. And a sincere apology for not insisting that she and her daughter be sent home to cool down without the eyes of the other moms and girls on them. An explaination to the daughter that being frustrated about not getting her way wasn't the problem ... cussing and being obstinate was. Making it clear that

Oh, and by the way, thanks for volunteering (again). If you're starting with grandson in cubs, the online stuff should be adequate for now. (I go over it myself from time to time by way of "refresher".) In fact if you took the time to knock all of those out, you'd be a step ahead of most committee members. With boy scouts, I would actually suggest recertifying first aid and CPR training. If you're into shooting sports, being a certified instructor for firearms or archery can open up a lot of opportunities for the troop. If you had BSA guard, try re-updating (although those sprints

There are a few theologians who have written that Jesus was not truly resurrected and claim that early Christian leaders made up that story to keep their movement alive and growing. A few? Only a few? Like, how about all my strident Jewish buddies? But weather the outsiders thought the story was a fabrication or not, they identified Christians based on this belief. Later on, they identified them by a stubborn unwillingness to burn incense to Cesar, but that flowed out from the whole resurrection thing. I get the whole doubt thing. But, often folks who confess to those doubts als

We have a Eureka Teragon 4 that child #1 got and is now the tent of choice for child #3. The only issue was the fly's plastic windows that ruptured in maniacal gale force last-gasp-of-winter winds after it's second outing. Needs regular reapplication of packing/duct tape. It's suitable as a 3 man (cubs), 2 man (scout before the voice drops an octave), or 1 man (i.e., me). I'm guessing it has another couple of dozen outings left in it. As BD implies, he'll be chucking the Walmart tent in the trash the minute he wakes up after (or during) the first storm or gnat swarm, so get him st

Nostalgia rises as I stare at an empty but probably quite useless plastic coffee container.

Sounds like you did a great job listening to your team. Now you need to think of your next moves in "a game with a purpose." Like any coach, you gotta suck in your breath and not let your displeasure overwhelm everything. Let your ASPL know that based on what you saw in the weekend he may one day make a good SPL. Tell him there is room for improvement, but the best way to figure that out how to improve is to hear from his team. In a PLC have the SPL go over things (the usual "what went well", "what didn't go so well","what we should do differently"). Don't let this ramble on o

Sorry if my choice of the word "cynicism" was equated with faithlessness. There was a time when that wouldn't be the case. BP - ... Dark Ages, countless numbers of wars, and enslavement of entire cultures by so called "good Christians" ... OE-AE - ... the people who claimed to be Christians and missed the mark ... don't align with what a 'Christian' should be Your summary judgments and condescension are duly noted. Scripture (and experience) tells me none are "good", not one. I'll work from that lens and avoid delusions that my walk is any better. My point is, that the one

Youngest son and I heard the story on the radio. What a riot.

NJ - It's probably a good idea to copy those E-mails to whoever you are training as your backup committee chair! Do you save your E-mails? You could put them all in a folder and say to some third party "here. please review for YP purposes", and you've fulfilled the policy. Have you made the boys any safer? Not a wit. Why? Your correspondence is largely administrative the person getting them would tune them out. And, if you were a predator, you'd send lots of inocuous E-mail's with cc's until you've picked out the boy who is willing to correspond on more than "strictly business".

I know it's small consolation, but there seems to be no amount of telling beforehand. Venturing daughter on her first hike decided to not put socks becuase 1) we were rushed and 2) we were only hiking a mile into camp. Next morning: lessons in mole skin application before 6 more miles on the trail. Silly me for thinking I didn't need to check footgear on 14 year olds. As far as aftercare at home: evening soaks in epsom salts. Keep clean and dry before bed time. In the morning put guaze over any blisters that haven't popped. I generally prefer powder for AF.

t366e, Thanks for throwing out the question, and it's too bad you did not hear from some other SPLs/JASMs. (They'll probably all write in after your weekend's over.) There is a very fine line between "scrutinizing" and "making feel like a failure". An event can not go as planned and still be a success. And leadership always occurs. Sometimes it's just not the leadership you expect. So stay positive, keep an eye out for those youth who are showing some leadership and be generous with the "attaboy"s.