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scoutldr

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Everything posted by scoutldr

  1. A scout or scouter can belong to any unit he/she chooses, as long as the unit is willing to have them.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)
  2. Center looks at academic integrity ills By Monica Rozenfeld\Correspondent Published: 10/24/05 For the last 15 years, Don McCabe has looked into what influences a student to peek over at the test of the person next to them or to pass off an internet-purchased essay as their own. McCabe is a professor of Management and Global Business at the University, and also the founding president of the Center for Academic Integrity at Duke University. His research in the past 15 years on cheating has included over 140 colleges and universities in both the United States and Canada, surveying over 100,000 students. Aside from college-level cheating, he has focused on high school students as well. According to his research, high school students report a higher level of cheating than college-level students. Does this mean that cheating originates at a younger age and the habit transfers over to college? "It often does originate at younger levels but also can be very situational so that there are some students who may well cheat in college for the first time," McCabe said. Data show that 75 percent of the 4,500 high school students surveyed engage in serious cheating, according to a national survey by the Rutgers Management Education Center. "There are many reasons different students cheat," McCabe said. "Time pressures, competitiveness, panic, a way of life." In a CNN article, "Survey: Many students say cheating's OK," students respond to McCabe's findings. One student, Alice Newhall who attends a top school in northern Virginia, said the pressure to do well academically and compete for good colleges has made cheating a way to survive high school. "What's important is getting ahead," Newhall said. "The better you do, that's what shows. It's not how moral you were in getting there." And this mentality attributes morality to the real world as well. Aside from academic pressure, the most common response on why students cheat is due to the corruption of the adult world they see, including politicians and celebrities. "I think kids today are looking to adults and society for a moral compass and when they see the behavior occurring there, they don't understand why they should be held to a higher standard," McCabe said in the CNN article. There are many reasons why students do cheat, and knowing or not knowing possible consequences they still continue, but why does this not stop them? "It depends on the student," McCabe said. "Some obviously think they won't be caught. Some really don't care because they feel the reward outweighs the risk, especially if penalties [at their school] aren't severe. " "Some simply panic and others simply do not think about the consequences assuming somehow they'll get off if they're caught," he said.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)
  3. When my dad saw me watching TV on a nice day, he would walk in the room, turn the TV off and tell me to get my a-- outside. If I didn't have anyone to play with, he would find a few chores for me to do. It's entirely within parents' control. I have to agree with the school lunch issue, though.
  4. I have been a member for many years. It's locality specific as to whether you will have a local chapter and how active they are. We don't have one, to my knowledge. For your money, you get a nice certificate (suitable for framing), a quarterly magazine (most of which is a listing of new life members), and a resume entry. Council gets a list of members for their use in recruiting (commissioners, etc), which I have since decided is probably the main reason the organization exists...a tracking system for Eagle Scouts.
  5. As some here would have said, the Rules are the Rules...everything else is just opinion. In reality, the DE should sit down with the CO and ascertain their intentions of continuing their affiliation with the BSA. It is the DE's job to "talk a blue streak" to get them to maintain the charter and not give up the unit. If they intend to reform a unit in the future, the CO can retain the assets "in trust" for that future unit. If they have no such intention, the assets revert to the Council for use as they see fit. That's the terms of the Charter agreement that they signed when your unit was formed. Under NO circumstances do any of the assets belong to the Scouts or Unit leaders to do with as THEY see fit. If the CO wants to allow scouts to transfer their unit accounts (if any) to their new unit, that can be negotiated, I guess.
  6. Rules and Regulations, Article XI, Section 1, Local Council and Unit Finance Clause 2, Disposition of Unit Funds Upon Termination of Local Council or Unit (b) Unit Obligations. In the event of the dissolution of a unit or the revocation or lapse of its charter, the unit committee shall apply unit funds and property to the payment of unit obligations and shall turn over the surplus, if any, to the local council, if there is one, or if there is no local council, dispose of the same in accordance with the direction of the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America. In the case of a chartered organization, any funds or equipment which may have been secured as property of the unit shall be held in trust by the chartering organizaiton or the chartered local council, as may be agreed upon, pending reorganization of the unit or for the promotion of the program of the Boy Scouts of America. © Administration of Local Funds by Corporation. Any property or funds acquired by the Executive Board upon the dissolution of a Scouting unit or local council shall be administered so as to make effective, as far as posssible, the intentions and wishes of the donors. (d) Special Funds. Special funds created for specific purposes, acquired by a unit or local council, shall be vested in a bank, trust company or BSA Intravest Trust, in trust for the use of the unit or the local council, in accordance with the wishes of the donors, with the provision in the statement of the conditions governing the admiinistering of the funds that in the event of the dissolution of the unit or council or revocation or lapse of its charter said trustee or trustees will, after satisfying any clams against such fund, turn over to the Boy Scouts of America the balance for use by the Boy Scouts of America for the benefit of Scouting in such locality and for the specific purposes for which the fund was granted. If there is no suitable opportunity for the use of said fund in such locality, it may be used elsewhere.
  7. Of course, if this fundraiser is done for the Ship, you will have to submit a Unit Fundraising Application to the Council. Should be an interesting discussion after they realize what it means.
  8. Expectations go both ways. As a District Committee Member at Large, I can tell you how frustrating it is to only have about one third of the District positions filled 3 years after being forced to form a new district. The positions that are filled are filled by "multiples" who are also SM's, DLs and CCs in units doing double and triple duty, while hundreds of adults with youth in the program are doing nothing. Units should encourage adults to get involved in Commissioner service or District positions, rather than having 10 ASMs on the roll that are not needed. If units expect services from the district and Council, someone has to volunteer. As was said before, the professionals' jobs are to find new money and form new units. Everything else is dependent on volunteer labor....that's me and you.
  9. So, what are you saying, Eamonn? If the campsite access cannot be controlled by BSA, and if we can't assure separate facilities for youth and adults, the site should not be on the approved list? That would essentially kill any Cub camping in this Council.
  10. This park IS on the approved list. They were in a "group site", which is just a larger site mixed in among the RV sites. The playground and shower house were on the other side of the campground, and kids were allowed to roam at will. The kids weren't being bad...just having fun. If we limit cub packs to just council-owned properties, I would guess that most would not go, since there would be no flush toilets or showers, electric hook ups, or even water, unless they drive 2 hours to the main Council Reservation. There was no problem with the park that would cause it to be "unapproved". The problem was with the adult supervision. I think that most leaders will assume that, as long as the scout's parent is there, it's the parent's responsibility to protect their own children. Perhaps the solution is to make YP training mandatory for all parents, as well.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)
  11. Pack or troop? Since you mention BOR, I assume troop. Position descriptions are found in the Leader handbooks and can also be found online. As the title implies, the Committee Chair chairs the committee meetings and recruits other members of the committee to whom various responsibilities are delegated. BOR are conducted by members of the troop committee. The chair can participate, but not required. Typically these will be coordinated by the troop advancement chairman, a member of the Troop committee. The troop committee chair also works hand in hand with the Scoutmaster, who's primary job is to train and mentor the youth leaders. You sound like a natural! Go for it!
  12. Just got back from a weekend campout at a local city owned campground. Also in the campground were two Cub Packs camping with moms, dads, siblings, dogs, and, of course, cubbies of all ages. Why am I uneasy? Youth protection seemed to be non-existent in these units. Kids were running rampant throughout the campground...no adults, no buddy system. Several times, I found myself alone in the restroom/shower building with youth, one as young as about 5. Last night, there was some guy in there taking a shower who looked pretty scruffy...I think he was a homeless guy who just dropped in to freshen up, since he put his ratty clothes back on and had no towel, soap or other stuff that one normally takes to the shower. Word to the wise to Cubbers...public campgrounds are not "safe havens" where you can kick back with a cuppa joe and let the kids run wild. They are public places and the front gate is open all night with no security guard checking ID. There was a ranger patrolling in a pickup, but his schedule was very predictable. If I had been a pedophile or kidnapper, I could have had a field day. A little common sense, please, folks.
  13. No offense, but one more piece of "junk mail" is likely to just get tossed without the scout and/or parents ever seeing it. In my house, all the bills get pulled out and everything else goes in the trash without opening. I lose a lot of rebate checks that way, but nothing I say seems to make a difference. I know it's more work, but how about "peer to peer" recruiting...if the scouts are in the same neighborhood or school, assign each scout a name to contact personally and invite to a meeting. As an alternative, have a troop "open house" on a Saturday ... have hands on activities and feed them.
  14. Fscouter is correct. Once a scout becomes 18, the Eagle badge of rank comes off and is replaced with a square knot. How many square knots one chooses to wear is a personal choice, and nobody's business.
  15. Unfortunately, the ones with the real power on the District Committee rarely show up to use it...the CORs. The only other people on the Committee who have a vote are the other volunteers - District Members at Large, etc. The DE does not have a vote...on anything. He is there to guide, advise and provide suggestions by working with the other two members of the Key 3...the District Commissioner and the District Chair. Looks to me like the District Chair is still in unless he has resigned, reaches the end of his term, or is subject to a recall vote by the committee.
  16. This could be just plain shyness, or a symptom of dysthymic disorder, a form of mild depression. People suffering from this may have low self-esteem and feel that they don't "deserve" the recognition, and constantly avoid things that challenge their flawed view of the world. One way to explain it to him is that is not so much for him, but for his parents, who are very proud (assuming that they are), and for the younger scouts who need encouragement. How does he act otherwise?
  17. Assuming that the scout is a registered member of the BSA, and that the Eagle Scout award is granted by the BSA, I would say this is a no-brainer. If he were being awarded the top award of the Asociacin de Guias y Scouts de Costa Rica, then he would wear that uniform.
  18. I have also seen this tactic at a local concert venue. No one wears a scout uniform, but there is a sign posted behind the counter that says "Friends of Troop XXX". It gets the message across without using the words "Scout" or "BSA". Come to think of it, there is a precedent for selling a product at 6 times it's fair value. ($6 for a beer!)(This message has been edited by scoutldr)
  19. A prerequisite for wearing a kilt should be that you know the proper spelling of "Scot". And as Scotty said, "Scotch is what a Scotsman drinks to wet his whistle!"
  20. The council in which I serve routinely asks for volunteer help to input registration records every year after the new member rush. I have no idea who these volunteers are or what their motivations may be for volunteering. I'm sure that 99.9% of them are people like me who are just interested in helping with no other evil intent...aren't they? I guess I am just more sensitive since I am a govt employee who has to take annual security training which includes the Privacy Act.
  21. packsaddle, yes we are thinking the same, albeit you wax much more eloquent. Perhaps this thread illustrates why we now have to do a "Diversity" ticket for Wood Badge. Too bad she's not also gay...that would make things a lot "cleaner."
  22. If the woman is not indecently exposed (according to the law) then it's nobody's business. I'm presuming that she is not otherwise acting in a lewd or provocative manner. Do you propose to check everyone to make sure they're wearing appropriate undergarments? The boys will see more on TV or at the pool/beach, unless they live in a cocoon. Everyone has a right to be unattractive (thank God!). Is it any worse than those Commissioners with a 52 inch belly hanging unfettered over their 38 inch belts?
  23. I would tell the lad that he has a choice. He can either be in uniform, or not. If in uniform, it will be complete and proper. If he opts to wear a kilt, it may not be mixed with uniform parts. Of course, the same rule should be in place for the rest of the troop at all activities, to be fair. I recently attended an Eagle COH where the troop did not enforce proper uniforming. There was a mixture of blue jeans, shorts, orange tennis shoes, no socks, sandals, no neckerchiefs, bolos, etc., combined with scout shirts that looked like they had been stored in a knot under the bed since the last troop meeting. It looked horrible. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when the SPL had no idea how to do a proper opening flag ceremony, either.
  24. We're still talking about popcorn. We are discussing alternatives to sending little boys and their parents out to beg for money in exchange for an overpriced product that few people really want. We are discussing alternatives to selling off scout camps to meet payrolls. We are talking about ways to reduce administrative overhead (how many staff hours and other resources are devoted to Popcorn sales?). I think the discussion is valuable. I only hope there's some lurkers out there taking notes who are in a position to effect change.
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