scoutldr

I have a co-worker who is a perfectionist. She has her college son e-mail drafts of his papers to her, which she diligently corrects and rewrites and e-mails back to him. Same son is an Eagle, dad was SM, mom was CC, and I have to wonder how much of it he actually did. (of course, as soon as he had his ECOH, they all dropped Scouting like a hot potato) In my day, we called that "cheating". But we are surrounded by people who just don't see anything wrong with it, and the epidemic is growing.

Not sure what we're disagreeing about, except the statement that some scouts' time is more limited than others. We all get 24 hours per day. It's how we choose to use them...one of my biggest beefs with adults who sit on their cans watching football while I'm out in the cold, wet woods trying to instill skills and character into THEIR sons. That future major league pitcher just successfully completed his EBOR, by the way.

Green Bar Bill's words are nice...if you want to see membership dwindle to nothing. It's a different world from 1937. Some are still "all ate up" with Scouting...but we are becoming a rare breed. I think if a scout has a POR, then he needs to attend. The first step to responsibility or leadership is to show up. For other scouts, probably the younger ones, what we do is treat each one individually. If they are regularly advancing, attending some meetings and outings, but are also busy with other things, that's ok with us. We have one scout who thinks he's gonna pitch in the majors one day...so we don't see him much during baseball season. That's ok with me, as it was with my own sons...as long as he's not sitting on his kiester playing video games and wasting his life away. He's got goals and he's working on them...that's what life is about.

Rule #1...once everyone agrees, stop arguing and move on.

Just looked for something similar for Southern Region, but they just have an announcement that they are closing the doors and moving to Irving as of 31 December. Is this a nation-wide study, or just for NER. Agree...if this is the national standard, my camp is history, too. That's gonna tick off a lot of people.

Approached by whom? Has a CO been identified and "signed up" by the DE? Who is the COR and what is he/she doing to "start a troop"? First things first. Are you and your son unhappy in your current troop?

As Beavah would say, "Yah, hmmm." One of the articles states that alleged encounters occured at scout campouts. That should not happen in a unit that was YP trained and the fellow Scouters were alert and vigilant. What happens in a scout's own home is beyond our control...that's the parents' responsibility.

That's it in a nutshell...$$$ and numbers. When recalcitrant Scouters such as us start dropping inactive names from the rolls, it directly affects the only metrics they know...money and membership.

I never understood the "support your local camp" argument (for summer camp). If the facilities and program are competitive, you will get OOC troops to make up for the ones who go to other camps. I don't know of ANY troops any more who go to the same camp year after year. As I am fond of saying, the metric should be "butts in cots"...doesn't matter what CSP is on their shoulder. In fact, OOC is better, because we charge them more. We even have senior scouts and Venturers who STAFF OOC camps...because they are paid better and are treated better. If people are not staffing or attending your camp, look in the mirror and ask why, then FIX it. Don't blame the volunteer unit scouters.

That's fine until recharter time when the DE and/or DC take it upon themselves to personally call each "dropped" member and convince them to remain on the books, then bill your unit for the fee.

I never thought of the strip as an "award" to be given someone...if you're qualified, go buy one and wear it. I think most people don't wear it, because they don't know about it. Boys and adults may wear this strip if they show their knowledge of a foreign language or the sign language for the hearing impaired by: 1.Carrying on a five-minute conversation in this language. 2.Translating a two-minute speech or address. 3.Writing a letter in the language (does not apply for sign language). 4.Translating 200 words from the written word.

As a scout and Explorer, I wore the "Deutsch" strip, having taken German in high school through fifth year. I was semi-fluent at one time. I can still read German passably, but I no longer wear it, because my German is so rusty, I would just get quickly embarrassed. And most European kids speak English better than our kids do.

There are things called "travel bugs"...coins or other objects with a serial number on it. When you find it, you log it in on an internet site and take it to your next location. The next person to find it logs it in and takes it somewhere else...you can track the "travels" of your bug online. A cache can be like an ammo box with trinkets and a log book in it...you can take a trinket (e.g., a small toy or scout patch), but you should leave one in exchange, and log your visit in the book. Other caches can be camoflaged to look like a hollow log. Another variation is the "micro"...you can be spot on the coordinates, but spend the rest of the day looking for it...maybe as small as a shotgun shell (or smaller), tied 30 feet up in a tree. See www.geocaching.com for more info...

I agree with Oak. I think we can all be thankful that there are alert Scouters out there thinking about this stuff and asking questions! Kudos to Apache Bob for starting the discussion and for the mostly civil and thoughtful replies.

So you want to "go-see-it" without "going"? That's a tough one.

Sounds exactly like the old Explorer Post I was proud to be a member of in the early 70's. We were chartered by a Vol Fire and Rescue Squad, and they gave us a 1959 Cadillac Ambulance to use (think Ghostbusters!). We staffed all district events, OA events and even for other districts. Our advisor was a member of the VFD so he and the ambulance were fully licensed should a trip to the hospital be necessary. Our older members could join the VFD when they turned 18, but couldn't drive equipment until 21. From the ages of 14-18, we trained just like the full members...back then it was ARC standard and advanced First Aid, and First Aid instructor (I was the youngest ARC instructor in the area at age 16). We also could take all the firefighter and rescue training. We learned a lot, had a blast, and provided a valuable service. Those were still my best days in "Scouting".

From my years as a Cubmaster: "I couldn't POSSIBLY be a Den Leader...I WORK full time" "You can have my Master Card...just don't expect me to DO anything" "I don't agree with that...let me talk to your SUPERVISOR" (so I handed the phone to my wife)

Ditto from another FOS who will probably retire from Scouting soon. I can take a hint. Agree with the Dr/Pt relationship...but I suspect the Obama/Reid/Pelosi gang will also dictate to us. I can predict it now..."in order to get the taxpayer subsidy on your mandatory health insurance, you MUST adhere to these standards for weight/smoking/diet/lifestyle." Far-fetched? Nothing would surprise me now.

Your "Jamboree death march" is just a normal summer camp for us... I, too, hate to be cold...if I don't have to be. I guess I've never really invested in the proper equipment, since it doesn't get "really cold" here...I've seen "Freezorees" in the 70's. Felt kinda ridiculous accepting a patch for it.

My favorites are the ones who drive through blinding rain/fog with no lights on...and get furious when you pull out in front of them because you couldn't see them...clueless MOE-RONS. (yes, we have a law...doesn't help).

The new book, "Boy Scouts of America: A Centennial History" ($35 list), is available on Amazon.com for $23.10 and I saw it at a Barnes and Noble store yesterday for 20% off list price ($28). Note, this is the book only, not the $300 "collector's edition" with all the extra doo-dads.

In the interest of fairness, I would be interested in seeing impartial data which disproves the above polls.

I recently discovered Facebook and established a "Troop XX Alumni" page and have been inviting scouts and former scouts and their families to join. My goal is to someday have a reunion, and it is interesting to see what the guys are up to some 10-15 years later. I was worried that having "Mr. Scoutldr" as a friend might not go over so well with them, but so far, all have joined when asked. I do kinda cringe at what I might discover, since their Eagle boards are coming up...but so far, so good. I do resist the urge to chime in with comments, when "Billy" says "I'm bored with nothing to do", and I want to reply, "So...how's that Eagle project writeup coming?"

Give me 90 over 30 any day...here on the right coast, all we got was rain...and 40-50 degree temps...perfect camping weather! Of course, the ground is still saturated from the 10 inches we got 3 weeks ago from the nor'easter, so my backyard is a mud pit. I don't like snow unless it's on the weekend. People drive like morons...as they do every day, and going to work is to risk one's life. Since we only get measurable snow once or twice a year, they don't invest much in snowplow equipment. Everything here grinds to a halt and they close the schools. They are already having to go to school on Saturdays to make up for the nor'easter. (not much damage, but streets were flooded and power was out in a lot of areas).

Rasmussen poll, July 2009: 53% of Americans oppose congressional health care reform.