scoutldr

In our school district, it's left up to the individual Principals. The school in my area will not let the BSA in the front door to hand out flyers or do "boy talks". Our feeder pack has gone from 150 boys down to 6 in the last 10 years. I agree, it is not the school staff's job to handle BSA paperwork or take time out of the instructional day to promote a private program. With the advent of Standards of Learning testing, there is not a free moment in the day that's not directed toward the SOL test.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but the Scouter's Training Award medal originally was a "V", not an "A". It signified completion of the "5 year training plan" (I think it was called)...the V being a Roman numeral "5". When that plan was discontinued, the V became an "A" which has no significance, as far as I know. You can still find the medals on eBay from time to time. I am in the market for a Cubmaster Award and Cub Scouter Award medal.

While not really an "award", if he is bilingual, he is eligible to wear the Interpreter's Strip, a small patch that says "Deutsch", worn above the BSA strip above the right pocket.

The word should have been "pulling". I have no idea how that smiley face thing got there.

Just thought of a great BOR question, especially for Eagles: "Do you have a Myspace web page?" ::Pulling out a laptop from under the table:: "Would you mind if we take a look at it right now?"

I'm afraid the scout may be in for a hard life lesson. "I didn't read the directions" is not likely to be met with much sympathy, unless perhaps, he was ill-advised by an adult mentor. As my troop's "Eagle mentor", I am VERY careful to make sure they understand that NO work may begin until the approvals are obtained.

The terms of service (TOS) of Myspace are that members must be 14 or older. My 12 year old nephews and niece have accounts, and they list their ages as 19. Their parents didn't see anything wrong with this since "all of their friends are doing it". That is, until my son (age 27) took them on a tour of myspace and showed them their children's pages, full of sex talk, hate speech, provocative pictures and lies. Personally, I think that's irresponsible and sends your children the wrong message. Any scout who lies about his age to join is not "Trustworthy".

One of the primary duties of the Troop Committee is to conduct all BOR. Not just the ones you're comfortable with. If the SM has indeed signed off that the requirements, including Scout Spirit, have been met, then the BOR needs to happen, even if the outcome is not positive. If the BOR is withheld, the Scout has grounds to appeal to the District Advancement Committee. After the BOR is held, by all means, the Committee Chairman needs to have a chat with the SM about his quality standards.

This is a new concept to me. I always thought OA regalia was home-made.

When I made Tenderfoot and came home from camp with my first merit badges, Rowing and Basketry, my Mom handed me a needle and thread and said, "it's time for you to learn how to do this." Been hand sewing my own stuff ever since. I did machine sew all my knots on a new shirt once, but constantly changing colors on the bobbin was a pain. It's a great summer camp project for those "dead times" when you need something to do. I sat an Eagle Board last night as the District rep. The Eagle candidate had one of the best assempled and pressed uniforms I had ever seen. When questioned about it, he admitted his Dad, a Naval Officer did it for him. I'm more impressed by a less-than-perfect uniform knowing that the Scout did it himself. "Never do anything that a Scout can do"

Beav, thanks for the law lesson. I'll freely admit that I am not an attorney, and my comments are my opinion, based on a layman's understanding of the law. My opinions are also based on a recent seminar I attended on Workplace Violence conducted by a police officer. As a manager, I also am required to have annual training in Sexual Harrassment Prevention. My job also requires me to be able to read and comprehend laws and regulations and be able to translate them into practical applications. My wife is a school nurse and an "expert" in child abuse. I am approved by the Council to teach Youth Protection Training (as well as all other BSA Leadership training except Wood Badge). I also admit that laws and customs may vary among jurisdictions and Councils. In my Council, this is reportable as a YP issue, no question. Now what are your credentials?

It doesn't matter what the CIT thought about it. The laying of hands on a scout by an adult for the purpose of humilating or embarrassing is one of the definitions of hazing, and indeed, child abuse. This is clearly a YP violation and reporting it to the SE is the only proper response. In some jurisdictions, it could be considered assault and battery.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

"I TOLD YOU (WHACK),,,STOP (WHACK),,,CRYING (WHACK, WHACK, WHACK)!!!" (from personal experience)(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

Sounds like an appropriate scout-like solution. Shake hands and move on.

One subscription per household qualifies. And I agree it looks silly on the uniform. The ribbon for the flag was enough. Or perhaps keep the mylar thread on the patch and just delete the "100% Boys Life" lettering.

The BSA already has pre-printed dues envelopes for this purpose. We use these every week...the patrol scribes collect dues and record attendance, then turn them in to the Troop scribe to record the info in the Troop Record Book. Your local Scout Shop should stock them. PS: Welcome to the forums!

Agree with the "get a life" response. I think it was a reasonable compromise to get the kids into the woods. The alternative would have been, what, no campout? And that benefits who? I have little patience with today's overprotective parents who think that every waking moment needs to be supervised and programmed. Why did she just "show up"? To check up on you? Tell her that when she takes her turn at being SM, she can run the program her way. If she elects to leave, tell her that her son will be missed and move on!

Reading about the NASCAR promotion above, I couldn't help think about my nephew whom I reported on in another thread. ("ya can't trust the adults...they promised to take us camping but they never did!") We lure them in with NASCAR, but then once they're in, do they ever see or hear about NASCAR again? Isn't that a dirty trick? Kinda like the restaurant owner who sends a pretty girl out on the street to hand out free pizza samples...only once in the restaurant, there's no pizza (or pretty girls) on the menu! As Beavah would say, "Wassup wit dat?"

I'll admit it, I'm one of those t**ds. I'm 52 years old, 5'6, 262 lbs, wear a 2XL shirt and 46x29 pants. Both of my sons aged out years ago. I was out camping in the rain and mosquitoes last weekend with my troop, while their young, slim, trim dads sat on their dry butts at home. Now who's the better role model? Don't get me started.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

OGE, I think we are contemporaries...I was a Cub in the early 60's. Bobcat was a pin that one got upon joining and memorizing the CS promise, Law of the pack, Motto, etc. Then it was Wolf, Bear, Lion, Webelos/Arrow of Light. The Lion/Webelos book was combined. WeBeLoS stood for "Wolf, Bear, Lion, Scout". There were lots of giggles when we had to promise to "be square", which more often than not came out as "be a square."

My 12 year old mentally challenged nephew who recently relocated here hit the nail on the head. He came here after a bitter custody battle to get him away from his alcoholic/drug abusing mother. I have been trying to get him into scouts ... he was in Cubs where he was. His answer, "you can't trust adults. They promised to take me camping and we never went." The kid is smart enough to realize that he needs to avoid situations where adults let him down. The cub pack that I started in 1984 was once up to 150 boys...15 dens. I just got the district stats and the unit currently has 6 registered cubs, and will probably not be around much longer. It breaks my heart, yet we are still being pressured to form new units in the same neighborhoods.

"but wouldn't a single troop of 20 Scouts work better than two troops of ten Scouts each?" Not when it comes to meeting the DE's performance goals.

I have a different twist...what do you do when a BOR member (EBOR at that!) shows up in a dirty t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops? I recently had this happen at my own Troop's BOR, but have also seen it occur at EBORs that I sit as the District Rep. They look like they've just come in off the beach or from cutting the grass! It's especially irksome to me since I rushed home from work and skipped supper so I could press my uniform and make sure that not even a service star was out of place. My opinion is it's a show of disrespect to the Scout. This is an important occasion, and we adults should conduct ourselves accordingly. This should go without saying. Is it just me, or are people in general just morons when it comes to social graces and common sense?

You're probably not going to like the answer. Technically, you can't "vote to change CO". The Charter agreement is between the Council and the CO. Pack Leaders are not a party to that agreement. You can only act as individuals. If you want to leave, you need to resign - individually - and then form a new unit somewhere else. Yes, all of the Pack property and funds belong to the CO, as does the unit number. It is up to the CO how much of it you get to take with you. Contact your DE for assistance. Perhaps he/she can act as a negotiator for you. But be forewarned that the DE's job is to make sure that the unit survives, at least on paper, so you may not get much assistance there.

We recently had reason to scrutinize this requirement. We requested 6 letters of reference and by the date of the EBOR, only 2 had been received, one from a neighbor and one from his Dad. Rereading the requirement, the scout only needs to list the names. There is no requirement that letters of recommendation be received. The recommendation could be obtained with a phone call...or not at all. It's at the discretion of the EBOR chairman. As long as names have been listed, the Scout has met the requirement. "List the names of people who know you personally and would be willing to provide a recommendation on your behalf." Also, it does NOT say "Religious Leader". It just says "religious". Most of my scouts are "unchurched", so we interpret this to mean an individual who can attest to a scout's spirituality and can verify how he performs "duty to God". It doesn't need to be an ordained clergyperson.