runintherain

I asked a question on this message board and when I got a couple of responses that this is not considered a big deal and was directly asked what I would do, I responded that I would keep an eye open and see if this kind of thing is a regular occurence and council my son not to accept a ride alone with a scouter. I also said that if this is normal behavior, I would discuss it with the CC and consider moving to another troop. How is that throwing anyone under a bus? I think you need to relax a little. I am not a paranoid parent. Every parent was requested to take YPT and I did that. We

Evmori, I am planning to keep my eyes open to how this troop does things and to tell my son that he should never drive alone with an adult other than his parent. If I see this going on again, I will mention it to the Committee Chair.

Our troop had a camp out this weekend that was about 2.5 hours away from our chartered organization. I did not go on the camp out, but when waiting for my scout to arrive back home I saw the scoutmaster and a scout pull up alone in the scoutmaster's car. Now, they were immediately followed by another car and I know that the scout's parents and the scoutmaster are very good friends. However, I still believe that to be against the rules of youth protection. Is that the case?

Basement, have you talked to the SM about this? We have had several similar discussions about advancements in our troop. I had a big disagreement with another ASM in our troop about the 10 requirements for 1st Class. We took it to the SM and let him decide. Of course, I was happy because he sided with me. There are many advancements that are open to a lot of interpretation. The putting up a tent requirement is not one of those, in my opinion. In a life and death scenario when a scout needs a shelter, he needs to be able to put up a tent by himself. I am curious how long you ha

Our troop reviews all merit badge earned anywhere, even summer camp. All the MBC's show up for 2 or 3 Saturdays and have 30 minute blocks of time the scout must register for. The requirements are reviewed by the troop MBC. This has caused quite a division in our troop. Some feel that it is adding to the requirements, by making the kids meet with a second MBC, since the summer camp classes are taught by a MBC. Others feel that the summer camp is not doing an adequate job of ensuring that the requirements are met. My understanding is that it has been taken to Council and that t

I have recently had to talk to my wife about her obsession with our kids earning Eagle. Her Uncle is an Eagle and she thought it was the most important thing in scouting. Tonight I think we finally had a breakthrough. On Wednesday nights our Troop has an opportunity to give back to our CO by doing some clean up at a supper. Tonight, my two sons in the troop and another set of brothers were the only ones that showed up. For the third week in a row. This is a troop of 55 kids. However, 2 other scouts were there tonight for MB Counseling. They both left after their sessions and di

I am pretty happy with how our troop does merit badges. The boys are not allowed to do anything merit badge related during the meetings from 7:30 to 9:00, with two exceptions. They are allowed to turn in a completed merit badge before 8:15PM. Also, before 8:15PM they are allowed to request a blue card. We do occasionally offer a Merit Badge taught as a class, but only on non meeting days. I was very impressed to sit in on a Cycling MB class a few weeks ago. It was a 4 hour class and not one thing was signed off on in those 4 hours. It was taught and then the boys were advised to g

lovethescouts, Boy Scout rank has nothing to do with age or height. Tenderfoot has many requirements that need to be satisfied. It is not just handed over to someone because they say they are a scout or have facial hair at 10 years old. As stated previously, it requires at least 30 days but will probably take somewhere around 3 to 4 months for an active scout to achieve. The scout would have to have all these advancements signed off and then have a SM Conference and a Board of Review. I agree with what many on here have said, about you taking a step back and let your son shine.

Tenderfoot takes a minimum of 30 days to complete, so if your son and this boy just crossed over than it would be impossible for him to earn Tenderfoot at the crossover. If someone at the troop level does not quickly realize they have a brand new scout that just crossed over as a tenderfoot, you may want to look for another troop. The SM and ASM should know the kids and the rules well enough to immediately correct this mistake. That would be my biggest concern at this point, if all the facts you have stated are correct. Our Troop does a crossover ceremony for incoming Cub Scouts that h

Thank You, ScoutNut. I had done a lot of searching, but the resources you came up with are better than what I found.

I am also wary of the power a CO has over a troop/pack. I have seen it be destructive in 2 cases now.(This message has been edited by runintherain)

The scouts that go to school in one particular town that we pull from have a 5th grade program. They are able to get it signed off on by bringing their certificate. The rest of the county no longer does it, as they have had budget cuts. They also cut the Police Explorer program in our town. The local PD is willing to let me copy the notebook that they teach it from, so that may be our only option. I was curious what other troops have run into with this.

The Second Class Requirement 9a is one that a number of our scouts are having difficulty getting signed off on. I have spent the better part of the morning calling the local PD and some well known programs that they teach. The PD department says they have had budget cuts and would not be able to help. We have several home schooled scouts and several that joined as older scouts. The schools in our area teach this in the 5th grade. I contacted D.A.R.E but they will only sell their program to Police Officers. Does anyone have any suggestions of a program they have done in Scouting to te

I was not a Scout as a kid, but I was a kid. Almost every year in Elementary School and Middle School I came in first in my grade on every event on the Presidential Physical Fitness. Except for pullups. I never did more than 2 until I was in my 20's. We are all made different and not every kid that cannot do pull ups is a couch potato. The real method for improving on pull ups is to lift weights. I do not believe that 11 year old boys should be lifting weights to the extent that it would take to improve on pull ups. In youth sports, I see kids pushed beyond their limits all the tim

Thanks, for the responses. Now the real tricky question I should have asked earlier. Is there any BSA documentation to support allowing someone who has not earned their Firem'n Chit to fuse a rope. I agree with you all. However, we had some ASMs who saw it the other way and were a little irate about it. One ASM was the father of the kid trying to get that requirement signed off. He is also the District Executive. Honestly, I was worried they were going to have ago at each other over it. Would like to address it at our next adult leaders meeting.

Fusing a rope is a tenderfoot requirement. Do you require the Scouts to have their Firem'n Chit before using a lighter or candle to fuse a rope for that tenderfoot requirement? This came up at our latest campout for some younger scouts trying to earn tenderfoot. The Firem'n chit requirements are all second class requirements. Any thoughts? Thanks!

My part may have been a tad goofy and meant a little in jest. I have not looked at Scouts as a competition and I hope I never do. I get enough of that hyper-competitiveness from the rumble, tumble, live on the edge world of Junior League Soccer. Perhaps I am being too protective as a Dad, but the thing that really upset me was when I found out that the boy had gone to an ASM to ask him essentially to re-check my Son;s book because he didn't think my son should be a 1st Class Scout. I was kind of curious, so I gently asked my son on the way to soccer. Son, is everything okay with y

Moosetracker, That may have just been my poor wording. I did not mean to say that he started out with the goal of 7 to 8 months. It just worked out that way. I said 7 to 8 months because that is the time frame we are in right now, since he joined in March. And he is almost done. The first time a goal was set was when he had his SM conference for Tenderfoot and the SM asked him to set the goals. That was in July. Keep in mind he went to summer camp in June and did the Swimming MB and Mountain Man. Those two events, coupled with his previous camping knowledge covers a lot of 1s

Moosetracker, I like your analogy about traveling across country and I think I will tell my son that one to make sure he is appreciating what he is doing. It seems to me he is, but an extra check could not hurt. I want to make sure he is not feeling pressure from me. It will be a good check in myself as well. I do have to say though, there is a third option. Just because someone is traveling slow across country does not mean they are enjoying it or learning anything. They could be staying in hotels and watching TV all night while eating fast food.

Pridhocas, We actually do not have a new scout patrol. The new scouts are mixed with the experienced scouts. I am watching and learing and have read a few threads on here about that. Even in an existing patrol it seems the younger Scouts are always the grubmaster. I guess I will just have to get used to Thursday night shopping trips at the grocery store. I have 3 more boys crossing over from Cubs in the next 3 1/2 years. Stosh, I will add that my son is doing his DC training right now. He was told that he had to be a 1st Class to be a Den Chief so he missed the trainin

I didn't think that Boy Scouts was a blanket program that was the same for every scout. There may very well be some kids that need more time to master the skills and there may very well be kids that come to Scouts with most of the skills mastered, due to already having done them multiple times in Webelos or with family on camping trips. I don't understand where the all or nothing approach comes from. And saying that you cannot get signed off on a requirement the first time you do it, seems to be adding to the requirement to me. If you can do it right and well the first time, why punish

My son seems to consider any time spent in a Scouting endeavor as fun and that includes service projects. I stated above that he has been on every campout since he has been a Scout. No snow skiing yet, since it is only October. But we have a sign up for one in January that my son wants to go on. I just haven't decided for sure if we can afford it. He just enjoys being around other Scouts. I could see someone being concerned about him going too fast if he walked around miserable. But every Scout activity I have been with him at, he has a huge smile on his face. Maybe he ac

I feel like I have to add that my son is not on track to be an Eagle at 13 or 14, as some of you keep stating. He only become APL because there was no one else that stepped up (there were only 3 boys from his patrol at the meeting where they decided) and the only 2 merit badges that he has completed (or really even started) are those that were done at summer camp. He seems to have no interest in doing MBs right now. He is just a kid who already knew most of the skills involved, because of the time we spend outdoors. There seem to be a lot of assumptions made that he is not enjoying

Yes, perhaps I am too involved with this. It bothers me a little when I think my son is being treated unfairly. Time to just drop him off at the meetings. I think I will ask my son how he feels about rescheduling his Scoutmaster Conference until next year. I just found it kind of interesting that the only two people that seem to be so concerned about this are the two ASMs with kids his age. Everyone else has been encouraging him and when he had his tenderfoot Scoutmaster Conference, the SM asked him to set some goals. He set a goal of being a 2nd Class by September and 1st Clas

My son crossed over to his Boy Scout troop in March. He is having a great time and has not missed a meeting or a campout. He has also done almost every service opportunity that has come up. He went to a week long summer camp in June. Because of all this and the fact that he already knew most of the outdoor type things (we spend a lot of time outdoors, even though I was never a Scout), he is already doen with his 1st Class advancements. He still needs his Scoutmaster Conference and BOR. His fast advancement seems to have rubbed a couple of the Assistant Scoutmasters the wrong way. Th