ScouterLew

Some thought that WWI was going to be the last great war. Some thought that prohibition was the end of alcohol in the USA. Some thought that the Great Depression was the end of American Society. Some thought the 60's and the riots were going to destroy our Democracy. Some thought KISS would have all of us children worshipping the devil. The BSA is the BSA. The knot is not going to change the BSA. Maybe the knot represents a change the BSA needs to make in how it addresses an issue. Those knots, pink, purple, or blue do not threaten my core values or b

I've been devouring all of this wonderful discourse over the last two days since I signed up. I was in this thread when it suddenly occurred to me...tomorrow is Veterans Day!! What a wonderful culture we have where we can have this kind of discourse in this kind of medium...with this kind of freedom! Maybe if it were today it wouldn't have taken 11 YEARS for our founding fathers to come up with the Constitution. The BSA isn't perfect and will never perfectly meet all of our needs. But with our constant collective input it will remain the best alternative for us.

If the troop is unhappy with the quality of merit badge instruction they should find another camp or volunteer to counsel merit badges at camp. Volunteer to counsel?.... Be proactive?? You mean....actually HELP in a positive way??? The parent and son should get an apology from the SM for the poor communication on the front end. The parent learns a lesson in " nothing's perfect." The son learns a lesson in " life isn't fair." The parent and son decide whether to pitch in and make it better or pack their lunch and eat at another table. The DE or other ap

There are three keys to a successful meeting... 1) preparation 2) preparation 3) preparation The beauty of this is that if you lose one or two keys, you still succeed! I have bought the cubleader's book and read it a lot. I find that many of the problems I read about and experience have already been addressed and resolved in that tome. Whatever happens...stay after it, keep looking for answers, and never ever give up. One of the unanticipated benefits of being a scouter as an adult are the things we get to learn also. You will be stronger and better for get

Lisabob, I was in for almost two years around '75 as a tenderfoot and 2nd class. I was an overweight scouter and never felt accepted in the troop. I drifted away with my father from the program. Now I am still overweight, but in my 3rd year as a Den leader and considering cubmaster for next year. I have 2 Webelos II and a Tiger Cub. My Tiger's twin is a brownie in GSA. ( Yes, I have 2 sets of twins, 3 years apart. No, twins do not run in either one of our families...until now! ) My Webelos II's are being groomed as Den Chiefs starting next year. My Tiger is being taught some basic se

Wearing the scout uniform is somewhere between Halloween and the military. For Halloween you can wear anything you want. In the military wearing anything you want can land you in confinement. The wearing of the scout uniform is a privilege and the awards that we put on it are earned. If we are leading our youth and would not accept this behaviour from our youth then why would we accept it from each other? We should have the courage and tact to address this one on one with the 'offender.' If that doesn't work then we work it up the chain of command. If the problem is unit w

Yes the whole troop knows what happened by now. As soon as one scout overheard his or other parents talking about this... Their ongoing involvement in the troop should be decided ongoing if their presence presents an obstruction to scouting activities. This should be decided by the scouting leadership and not the parents. But parents are always welcome to provide 'input.' With my employees I accept mistakes. And yes, sometimes these 'mistakes' are premeditated acts of stupidity. I find the best employees are ones that have been 'fixed', not ones that have never been broken. My