ScoutParent

jcfraz: another point of view for you to consider follows------- John McCain explains the Pledge of Allegiance By Sen. John S. McCain, a Vietnam era Navy Captain and POW WASHINGTON, DC -- As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room. This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of

In this particular troop the individual scout accounts could be used for anything pertaining to scouting. For instance our son has paid for his entire uniform, every summer camp, almost every camp out, two major trips, and his books. This gives the scouts a sense of accomplishment and pride when they see how to earn their own way. When any scout transferred they transferred the account to the new troop. When a scout left scouting, the troop waited until the scout turned 18 (in case he had a change of heart and wished to return) and then the money became part of the general troop treasury. T

Our son stayed for 2 years after the current leadership took over out of loyalty to the troop he started scouting with. He tried his best and when he had had enough he decided to transfer; never expecting a problem transferring his money. So while it wasn't planned it also wasn't a quick or easy decision on his part. While we haven't said or done anything to hurt this troop, we are still pursuing getting the money either: A. transferred or B. for him to be able to use it at the council store.

and your responses sound quite humorous to me

Sorry folks, no policy you haven't been told about; no loose ends to justify this leadership's actions. As far as the purpose of these fundraisers...they were billed by the leadership of the troop as being entirely for the individual scout accounts. So, yes, the purpose in participating in these was to fatten his individual scout account. That is not to say that he hasn't participated faithfully every year in the Troop fundraiser. And every year it was made clear to each and every person that there is only ONE TROOP FUNDRAISER per year...all others benefit the individual scout accou

We tried this and the first screen turned out ok but the second one was great! We used the inkjet printer with transparencies. We found that setting it on the densenst setting and printing two was the best way for us. Then we stapled the transparencies together in the middle of the paper strip. The kit we purchased was one made by Speedball available at Arts & Crafts stores. It contained the screen, photo sensitizer, emulsion liquid, screen filler, drawing fluid, squeegee and textile ink. It was about $ 50.00. Thanks again for the help, Mike!

Mike, Thanks very much. I'll try it and let you know how it goes.

No experience in making the screen. Would like to use the photo emulsion method. Have a design with black and white. My question is which part will print--the part that is black or the part that is white (so we get it right before we do all that work to the screen)

Has anyone done screenprinting at home/camp? What method did you use to prepare screen--tips hints, etc.

Our pack picked a theme for each blue and gold banquet. One year it was Knights of the Round Table, another year it was Under the Big Top and another it was Native Americans. The kids made table decorations, costumes and skits based on the theme. Personally, I didn't like this approach as much as a traditional blue and gold but was outvoted. The year that we had Under the Big Top, we had sawdust on the floor, a brown paper big top, we had a caterer that brought hot dog machines, cotton candy, popcorn, etc. My den made lion candy dishes for the tables, we had inflatables for the centerpiece

Our pack had awards that were given at the monthly pack meeting. One was for the den with the most parents (% wise) in attendance. For the parent's attendance to count they had to be seated at the table with the scouts. The award was a bear with a cub scout uniform on that was rotated to the winning den each month. The other award was for the den that had the most spirit with their den yell. It too was a rotating award. It was alot of fun and the kids really worked towards having the award for the month. Of course then it's important to have the award present at every den meeting to rei

Probably one of the most important ideas to impart on your son is that no matter what anyone tells him you and your husband are adults and can protect yourselves and him so if anyone ever threatens your safety in exchange for his silence to come IMMEDIATELY to you and let you know because it is wrong. Pedophiles would have a much smaller chance to intimidate children if parents let them know this one important fact.

I think it's important to teach your son to do what his conscience tells him is the right thing. There is no way you can insulate him from all possible repercussions but throughout life there are tough calls to make and the right ones are sometimes the hardest. I guess we also have to put a certain amount of trust in the leadership to be professional and keep the names of scouts that do speak out confidential when situations like this occur. It's important too, to let your son know that you are always there to support him and to come and talk to you about any situations that make him uncom

Doesn't seem like there would be much of a downside of having reference material readily available to leaders and parents alike.

I cut and pasted Bob. I did not infere that there were no other parts to the conversation but rather copied the parts that were relevant to what we were discussing. Now on to the team analogy--where are the refs in the BSA?

How about a well planned survey given to scouts and parents addressing specific topics; filled out anonymously and returned to the local district where they can be tallied and areas needing more training or improvement can be targeted?

"Keep in mind as I mentioned in my first post the Chater Org. has all the control of finances, if the committee and the Charter rep say no, then it's no." "A national policy already exists. It says that money earned by the troop belongs to the troop" "As you are aware the CO owns the unit and its assets. Your advice will only frustrate the family more without changing the outcome." "The law says the money belongs to the chartering organization" These are direct quotes from you, Bob. You mentioned the national policy. I guess I wasn't clear on the idea that people that differ

I respectfully disagree, Bob. Your interpretation of the unit finance policies and mine are different. Did I refuse to believe what I read or not read it? Certainly not, I just came to a different conclusion then you did. It says "It is important that the unit committee understands its responsiblity in guiding the finances of the unit. It promotes the proper use of the unit budget plan, both as a sound method of securing unit funds and also as a means of training boys in thrift, in paying their own way, and in the planning and wise administration of the unit funds" It also says "The uni

"I agree, you will never get everyone to read off the same page. Not becaause the same page doesn't exist, but because there will always be people who don't believe what they read or choose not to read." How about different people read the same words and come to different understandings? I believe it is this attitude that makes people angry with you, Bob and not actually what you have to say. Why is it so hard to see that people with different backgrounds, educational levels and abilities volunteer in scouting and that to have open dialogue is the best way to come together on important

"All forms of hazing, initiations, ridicule, or inappropriate teasing are prohibited and should not be allowed." Singing for a lost item, does not, in my opinion, violate this policy. Ridicule is a strong word and must include dissaprobation in it's usage. Singing for an item does not constitute disapprobation. Nor do I think it follows under the veil of hazing after looking that word up in the dictionary. While I don't necessarily endorse this practice, if we asked the scouts, they would probably have less problem with this practice then any of the parents posting on this board. I a

If they were told repeatedly to settle and would not after lights out could you have given them a task to perform? Prepare something for the next day's activities? Then the next morning when they are tired from not sleeping as long as was available, reinforce the importance of following the lights out rule of quiet behavior? Not in a demeaning way, but in a way designed to show that actions have consequences and not directed directly at the boys that comitted the infraction but in general. As far as the part of where does encouragement end and harassment begin, I think if the boy knew

There will never be 100% agreement on policies as long as there are people from different areas and backgrounds coming together with their own interpretations of these policies. Every time a legislative body of our governments make a new ordinance, law or statute, they try to eliminate the gray areas and still you have lawyers arguing cases based on their interpetations of these ordinances, laws and statutes. It's part of being members of a free society and thinking independently. The great thing is we have a forum to discuss our opinions and hopefully we can use it to come to fuller unders

"The BSA does not permit the use of corporal punishment by unit leaders when disciplining youth members." It is obvious by this statement that you may not use corporal punishment while disciplining youth members but what does disciplining mean? When I looked it up in the dictionary, I found the following: tr.v. disciplined, disciplining, disciplines To train by instruction and practice, especially to teach self-control to. To teach to obey rules or accept authority. See Synonyms at teach. To punish in order to gain control or enforce obedience. See Synonyms at punish. T

To blithely answer that there is no contract or that the money belongs to the charter organization indicates that you haven't understood the situation. Let's start out again--when our son joined the troop there was a different set of leadership in place. We were told then and repeatedly throughout his tenure with the troop that the money he earned on each fund raiser, except one specific one per year, was to placed in an account for his scouting needs. At no time was it indicated that these needs would only be honored as long as they were with the troop in question. Since that time any boy

FScouter, Of course the scenario you describe would not be right but that is not the situation. Time and time again we were told there was only ONE TROOP FUNDRAISER per year--all the rest were for the scouts to raise money for their accounts to fund their uniforms, camp outs, trips, etc. At no time did they say for activities sponsored by this troop. At no time did they give us a set of rules that indicated that was the case. We would not ask for the portion of the troop treasury that he contributed but that is NOT the situation. So yes, each boy worked hard on these particular fund