qwazse

Not much enthusiasm for the new shirts around here. Venturer's rarely have OA Flaps. So although there's nothing against them, it probably wasn't a design consideration.

I WISH my cell had a Morse code repeater/converter. Texting is so slow and requires so much concentration. I never really remembered Morse code more than a year after I'd (re)learn it, but if I had a way to integrate it into rountine communication, I bet that would change.

What a relief! I was about to call the SE and tell him that our district's advancement committee was playing fast and loose with the regs. Actually BP, sounds like the fundamentalists would be the ones properly administering the rules. They would take the DRP at face value, and -- like Merlyn did -- point out the distinctions. They would also recognize -- by virtue of the print -- that scouting allows someone who's religion has "poor fundamentals" to participate fully in the program. The one's I've seen have no qualms about non-semitic religions being represented in thier scout uni

[The first time I submitted didn't take, so this is a hurried do-over ...] V, while we're dithering with semantics, "the way" was what they used to call themselves before everyone else started calling them Christians. BP, Except for insisting that a district representative moderate it (what our council does as well), I don't see how any of your EBOR rules (DAC who decides ... where ... who ..., NOT allowed to be organized by any of the unit leaders or held at the CO) do anything to insure that there was "impartiality, consistency, and fairness in the way they were conducted." Say you ma

Dinner by citronella candellight! Wildflower bouquet. The boys singing "Misty" in the background. Oh well, two out of three aint bad.

Oh, and when I was a committee member, I recall one or two boys bringing up the DRP as one of the things they liked about scouting. As ASM, I recall one SMC where a boy linked his rank advancement to his spiritual walk. (We encouraged him to tone it down a little for the EBOR. Religious though MC's may be, mid-week sermons can put them in an ill mood!)

Although 60 miles north of the Mason-Dixon line, our troops' EBORs are always hosted at our CO (a church) are moderated by a council volunteer representative (the district advancement chair or his assignee). are open to troop committee members, the COR, and possibly the crew committee members. Representatives of the CO are in the minority. are closed to SM's, ASM's, or crew advisors -- except for a brief moment when they introduce the candidate. include a hand-out of suggested open-ended questions, one of which is "how do you apply the 12th point to your daily life?" That questi

I'd peg the year at 1965 based on that blog of unvarnished truth, Wikepedia, under Eagle Scout Leadership Project ... History The merit badges required for Eagle have been a requirement since the inception of the award. A Scout's "record of satisfactory service" with his troop was first added to the Eagle requirements in 1927. This changed in 1952 to "do your best to help in your home, school, church or synagogue, and community." This vague statement was refined to "plan, develop, and carry out a service project" in 1965. In 1972 a leadership component "give leadership to others" was

b540mom, Bottom line: Ask detailed questions, including why the boy chose the team he did. Take the list of "did he's" in your original post and turn them into "how did you's". Did he do the work himself? ==> How did you divide up labor? Did adults do all the work? ==> How did you employ your adults?** Did he delegate well? ==> What tasks did you ask others to do, and what did you do yourself? Did he problem solve well? ==> How did you solve the biggest road block in your project? **(Note: not a problem if they provided lots of manual labor or expertise.

So (besides not letting a good post fade away prematurely), there are two suggestions that I will not follow ... 1. Pretend that the 11 year old boy in the original post must mean that he's simply "fed up" with the God of his parents and is fishing for an offering from a pantheon of options from our pluralistic society. Life is far too short to not take a boy at his word. 2. Swift and sure dismissal in the name of BSA policy. In spite of Merl's protestations, there is -- as with many policies -- room to be deliberative. There's also room for individual courses of action. I li

Eng, much as I'd like to agree, the ability to enforce will be nearly impossible. Sooner or later, there's going to be a campout where your guard is down and the fuel is smuggled in. I like the "incremental enhanced educational opportunities" approach. I wouldn't see it as punishing the troop. You're just "sharing the love". And if the boy needs to be suspended from a hike into a drought area because of your love for the outdoors, then so be it. Scoutfish -- The Firem'n Chit card is not a bad idea for younger scouts, for older scouts it probably won't have the desired effect. Unl

I've been in situations like this and made exceptions. But it sounds like these guys want a routine. Also tent walls are thin. Boys will catch on. Did they have a designated driver? How many cold ones? Do they realize that there are troops who've lost drivers because of DUI? Do they know they could have an adults-only affair on their own time? If your COR does not have a zero-tolerance policy, it's up to the adults in the troop to decide how much is too much. Here may be a polite way to pull in the reigns: Does your troop try to do the patrol method? Require the boys

That's funny, qwazse, there are quite a few atheists who were forced to attend church when they were 10 years old, because they were 10 years old. ... How many 10-year-old atheists do you know, anyway? And there are quite a few believers who were denied church as children because their parents were athiests. And lots of folks in between. I agree with you that there's no point in mincing the kid's words (like scoutfish is). The OP is clear that his scout's statement was athiestic. And I've known several kids who made statements like that.** But, on the flip side I've known kids to

Last check, M., no rules ignored. Most atheists I know don't go to church with their families. (Unless we're talking about 2nd century Christians who were burned at the stake for their "athiesim".) So the boy's actions aren't aligning with his words, better to give him time work that out on his own. On the bright side, this gives you leeway to assume that every boy who spouts off religious rhetoric before their "age of accountability" is just going through "a passing phase" on the road to cynicism.

Written apologies from a 10 year old are a waste of time. If the two kids won't settle the grievance then the agressor (or winner, if you really can't tell who started it) is out of the pack. Done. Tough part: convincing everyone else this is the right thing to do.

There's always a few who make rank while incarcerated.

The Orthodox will tell you he is very much real. The secular portrayal is a contrivance of Madison Avenue, but his passion for the impovrished was notworthy and inspiring. Chances are he'd enjoy a good slice of cured venison and port over sugar cookies and milk. I actually told my kids that every year. Never did get any deer jerky though.

Thanks for volunteering! Will you have a den chief from your troop helping your W2's? Use him for a foil. Every meeting have one open-ended question up your sleeve about the troop. (E.g., What is your favorite campout? What do you like about meetings? What's a cool merit badge to earn? Who's the best at fundraising? How did you manage to learn all these knots?) It's a little counter-intelligence on your part. But it may also get your boys excited about crossover. Also, today's den chief may be tomorrow's SPL!

My favorite line to Sunday school kids 3rd -5th: "You seem to be having a tough time with compliance today, I guess we'd better have you join your mom in her class." Fact is, I try very hard to avoid using the words "time out", I don't even call them "three warnings". At the beginning of the year I say, "If you're having a tough time being respectful in class there are three things that we will try to do to help you. 1. We'll let you know your being disrespectful, just in case you didn't notice. 2. We'll let you sit away from the class for a minute because sometimes you just need a mom

Pack, I think the "first stone" thing was in reference to a G2SS violation (venturing age female found in the wrong tent). The log-in-the eye reference I made earlier is the closest fit to this context. There is a line of Christian thought that frowns on casual references to Satan as well (no "Ache Eee Double Hockey" sticks loosely either). When I was in Italy, vain references to Madonna (the virgin, not the pop star) were common -- and equally frowned upon. One's belief in virgin birth was irrelevant. My point is, unless you divulge your doubts to a scout (and I've only k

Great points. And, when I became "the first crew advisor I ever met", I wish I had read a couple of them. It's one thing to get it from one manual, but to hear it from a bunch of other folks ... While your boys are coloring their flag or whatever, you need to start coaching the adults. Explain ... - your vision for "boy led." - the troop's need for a pool of locations to practice "minimum impact camping". - that you will have other needs as the boys reflect on the activities they want to do and how they want to do them. - that you would eventually like to only explain things to

What if the next day the scout performs CPR and revives his cell mate? Do you get the stamp back out?

FYI - Thats very different from how we do it. SM and any available ASM's meet with the boy for his Eagle SMC. Only committee members and the district representative sit on our EBORs. SM introduces the boy, then leaves the room and waits more or less patiently in the hallway.

I used time-out and whacking with my kids. Whacking was a quick way of sparing them the time-out. If they were acting violence on one another, it was a way of saying their actions were begetting violence, and we (mom and I) will firmly stand in that path and block their way with force if necessary. It immediately re-opened paths to them, but some paths they would tread with fear. Time-outs were an exquisite form of tourture because it forced them to comply to a behavior we wanted. (e.g. "Be still for as many minutes as your age. And, when you come out I expect you to apologize/do

Anybody ever read an Arabic Bible? The word for God is "Allah", same as in the Koran. As far as the Semitic religions go, it is not a matter of "what" or "who" but "what He did." Most agree He called the universe into being ... beyond that, things start to diverge. So, yes, inasmuch as we reference the font of all creation, we worship the same God. If I believe niel_b is blonde and had a cup of coffee after his/her last post and you believe he/she had a glass of milk. If we both reply to niel_b's post we still are replying to neil_b. And, if a pre-teen is still going to church w