SeattlePioneer

Congratulations! What Wood Badge meant to me was the idea that we "work our ticket" as long as we have the energy to do so. The beading ceremony is a way station on that long term commitment.

Hemmm. Don't give up the ship, Basement! I took the WB ccourse in 1985. Circa 1987 just before the two year deadline to complete my ticket, I got a call from a WB staffer asking me about that. Yes, I had completed my ticket. That was the last I heard. Circa 2006, I asked around about whether I was a WB graduate or not. One of the Scouters who staffed on that checked up, found that I had completed my ticket based on the records, and arranged a formal beading ceremony! So, 1) it pays to ask 2) there may be a slight delay....

When I was Scoutmaster circa 1981-1987: 1. It was the custom in my troop for OA members to wear their sashes at Courts of Honor. I don't know if that was officially approved at the time but I think it was a Good Think, recognizing OA members and "waving the flag" so to speak. 2. There was a maximum number of Scouts who could be elected to OA each year, which made it modestly exclusive. That was also a Good Thing in my experience. 3. I was selected as an adult OA nominee, and attended the Ordeal. That exposed me to the OA program and was probably the best possible introduction to OA. I was too busy, and remain too busy, to do anything else in OA. So I guess I'm a "Sash 'N Dasher." Do you really want to discourage that? My district has adult and Scouts who have been working manfully to revive OA, with a degree of success. Personally, I'd lean towards abandoning the feathers and dancing in favor of more relevant themes, but perhaps I just Don't Understand.

Hello Basement, > Personally, I'd nod if they ******* at you, and then go ahead and keep selling where you are going to get the best sales. I think they are TOTALLY wrong trying to enforce that kind of restriction.

I was never a Scout as a youth except for a few weeks as a Cub Scout. I think you've done very well. A non Scout leader who gets trained should do well, except that they MIGHT not have much background in outdoor skills like backpacking, orienteering, canoeing and such, and it takes a good deal of practical experience to be competent in those skills. You can learn that on the job as a volunteer though if you work at it. Thank you for your service! You sound like you are doing a terrific job!~

Hello Desertrat, I'd agree you aren't a likely prospect for that program. I'd be surprised if there aren't a goodly number of people who would like to hook up with BSA again, and wouldn't mind throwing a few dollars into the pot. That might be a pool of people susceptible to being recruited for a more active part in the Scout program. Personally, Id say it's an experiment worth trying.

I'm betting SR 540 wouldn't be so picky.

My district makes up it's annual goals in January. I' considering suggesting that we get a list of 100 alumni and call them to see how many might be interested in helping with district programs and activities. Perhaps have five people make twenty calls each. Then we could evaluate the results and see if that proves to be worthwhile.

Personally I find Vol Scouter's line of argument reasonable. Particularly offensive is the Supreme Court's effort to censor the speech made at public assemblies --- valedictorian addresses that might contain a prayer. If it were a Communist reciting Karl Marx--- they'd be falling all over themselves protecting that speech. But prayer? Nooooooooo! But what is Marx anyway? He was the Jesus of the Communist secular religion ----and tyranny. The Supreme Court is pleased to take pot shots at conventional religion, but not the new secular religions of Marxism, environmentalism, feminism or whatever. Let them ALL have their say and let people decide for themselves!

I think most human beings have a suscetibility towards venerating various things, which I at least associate with religion. The Pledge of Allegiance would be an example of a secular prayer. ML King Jr. is an example of a person who was CLEARLY a religious leader. But liberalism finds that awkward, so it claims he is a secular figure and has declared his birthday to be a secular holiday --- no different than celebrating the birthday of Jesus. ML KIng Junior is the patron saint of American liberalism. The American left tends to meet for church on picket lines ---see the OWS movement at prayer pretty much any time these days. "Do this in remembrance of me" --- smoke medicinal marijuana --- it's a sacrament! The educated establishment has converted the constitution into a secular religion, in my opinion. And that includes the Supreme Court as the 12 apostles, and all the littler judges and lawyers who tend to take a pew in that church. If it is VENERATED, it's probably a religion, in my view. And if it's supported by the government, it's a state supported religion. I don't think you can avoid that, but conventional religions should be controlling that impulse towards ever more powerful state religions by being able to compete politically with them. No surprise that the Supreme Court no longer wants that kind of competition and regularly patrols the hall of government to exclude competetive forces from challenging the primacy of the state supported religions. The Supreme Court has been vacuuming the competition of conventional religion with the secular religion of government from the public square for decades now.

BSA has a set of national goals, and among those are to significantly expand the number of adults involved in Scouting. I presume that the Alumni program is a part of that program. I would suppose the idea is to have a National Eagle Scout Association aimed at those who weren't Eagle Scouts. That sounds reasonable to me, and perhaps there will be additional efforts to involve Alumni in getting more involve in unit, district and council leadership. As I noted, when I asked about using alumni lists to find more people willing to help with district activities, I was told that was appropriate to do. Since I'm currently a registered leader, I wouldn't spend more money to register as an Scouting alumnus. I'd say it's early to judge the program. If it's used by councils to get more adults involved in Scouting, it might prove to be very valuable. I know my district is critically short of volunteers to serve as Unit Commissioners, helping to organize district activities, make FOS presentations and so on. Getting a list of 100 Alumni and calling them to ask if they'd be willing to help with a Scouting activity would be a worthwhile experiment to see if the names can be converted into volunteers to help with the Scouting program. Sending out our monthly council newsletter to alumni would be worthwhile too, I'd suppose. Perhaps that's already being done. The newsletter is well done and might tend to encourage Alumni who receive it to feel invited to participate more.

> http://www.seattlepi.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=entertainment&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Occupy+Wall+Street%22

Interesting that the Supreme Court has little tolerance for those who might "Occupy the Supreme Court" but doesn't mind providing endless restrictions for those who might want to control the occupation of any other place or institution in the United States. When it's their own turf though, they get it.

I took Wood Badge after being SM for several years in 1985 and took IOLS after returning to Scouting in 2004. The experience of being in a patrol and experiencing the small groups dynamics was useful to me in both cases. Was it the SAME THING that youths experience? No. But still useful experiences that reminded me of what to aim for in Boy Scout programs.

I inquired and was told that councils can provide lists of Scouting alumni to use in recruiting adult volunteers for unit, district and council volunteers if desired. Ditto for NESA members. Identifying your membership base seems like a good idea. What kinds of things should councils and national expect to do with such lists?

Wow.... you guys are VERY good. OK --- you have me convinced!

Hello Packsaddle, If you go back into the early 20th century history of public education, John Dewey for example, it's clear that among the reasons for the interest in expanding public schools was to give elites much greater access and control over children, and to reduce the influence parents had over children. My, has THAT been a successful program! Teaching academic skills may be hit or miss, but indoctrinating children in political, social and cultural values is far more effectively done under the public school system! Families and churches have had their influence greatly reduced. Indeed, reducing the influence of families and churches has been one of the OBJECTS of public education, in my opinion. One might point to sex education classes as being an example of the catechism of public education on that subject. The celebration of "Earth Day" in public schools serves as part of a more comprehensive effort to indoctrinate children with environmentalist values. It's a religious holiday celebrated in public schools, for all practical purposes. ML King Jr. birthday is another secular Saints Day celebrated in public schools. I would compare ML King's birthday to the use made of the death of Jean Marat during the French Revolution for political and cultural reasons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Marat He too was made into a secular saint and used for political purposes, helping to sell and justify the Terror of the French Revolution, among other things. I see the religious impulse rather widely exploited for use in public schools. Among other things, it's ironic that secularism is preached as part of this new state religion.

Our council has a good Rah! Rah! kickoff for the popcorn sale, but not a real nuts and bolts class in how to manage this small business effectively. What is needed is a class that draws on the best individual Scout-salesman to explain the secret of effective selling and upon the best units to explain their methods of organizing their popcorn sale and motivating families to sell. Since no one else was doing this, I did this as our August Roundtable theme. It helped my pack triple our sales this year compared to last year. But this kind of thing should be a class at council "University of Scouting" or Pow Wow kinds of programs, in my opinion.

Hello Lisabob, I wasn't going to comment, because a discouraging word didn't seem appropriate. But I think you are correct in making your son take responsibility. Too many Scouts are carried into the Eagle's Nest because of the drive and determination of a parent, in my opinion. It's something Scouts should decide for themselves and achieve for themselves, in my opinion. To me the most important rank in Scouting is 1st Class.

Suppose the courts decided that making the birthday of a Christian minister a national holiday unconstitutionally entangled church and state. Or that environmentalism must be excluded from public schools as "nature worship," the world's oldest form of religion. While were at it, the Supreme Court might decide that worship of the Supreme Court is a cult, with nine Popes sitting in a Greek Temple in Washington DC and with Archbishops, Bishops and Priests in lower courts, law schools and such all busily promoting this state religion --- and their own power. Government is shot through with various kinds of state supported religions. But the courts protect many of them and attack primarily Christians. Better to get out of the business of picking which religions will rule and let them all contend for influence without the Supreme Court putting their thumbs on the scales of justice.

Personally, I find the extent to which the courts have excised religion from public life and public schools to be outrageous. Any politician who wants to raise such things as political issues is entitled to do so, and might well have my support for doing so. Frankly, I haven't paid much attention to Perry's use of this issue, so I can't comment on that specifically.

MORE good ideas! I agree with Eagle that a good camping program is the key to a good Webelos program. Unfortunately, my Webelos Den Leader doesn't seem to have that in his program. And drmbear, what are your methods for getting the Tiger Cub Den off to a great start? I agree that is vitally important. My method starts with recruiting in the spring. K-2nd grade boys recruited in May form a Bobcat Den and I act as the Bobcat Den leader while we go through the Bobcat requirements, do a terrific hike and hot dog roast and prepare for our June Pack campout where the Bobcat den is dissolved and the boys join their regular dens for the next year. New Tiger Cub parents are encouraged to attend Tiger Cub Den Leader Training in June (which I conduct for the district) and then attend the July Tiger Twilight Camp, which I also conduct for the district. The idea is that by that time parents should under the theory of Tiger Cubs, and had some cracking good experiences so that they know what a good program looks like and feels like. Unfortunately, that didn't work too well for me this year. The Den leader I recruited in the spring quit in September. The Den Leader I recruited in September hasn't done the job. I have another new Tiger Cub Den Leader who took my training at in November and seems to be promising. But I'd be glad to hear your methods. In my view, starting an excellent Tiger Cub program EVERY YEAR is critical to Cub Scout packs, and often it isn't done well. That includes my pack this year despite all my efforts.

Hello scouting again, Those all sound like good ideas!

Hello Calico, The Federalist Papers pedaled the idea of structural limitations on Federal power that would limit the Federal government, even while constructing a much more robust and powerful government. So I think it's plausible to quote the Federalist papers supporting the idea of a limited Federal Government based on specific, enumerated powers, even though those ideas have been a failure as a practical matter in limiting the growth of Federal power. Just as an example, the President and Congress have approved sweeping new powers and roles for the Federal government in Obamacare. The only thing that might stand in the way of the Feds acquiring those sweeping new powers would be a Supreme Court decision declaring that unconstitutional. The Tea Party has probably been the most active grass roots force opposing that kind of new Federal power. It's possible that view might prevail.

Whew! LOTS of good ideas, but mostly they tend to contradict each other! Very little I'd disagree with --- but I still don't really have ways I'd confidently intervene. I'm afraid my attempts to intervene might be taken badly, too. I've encouraged den leaders and parents to feel free to call or e-mail me for two years --- pretty rare I get contacted though, except by new parents. I've done my best as Cubmaster for two years, and am planning to hand that off to my excellent Wolf Den Leader at the first of the year. I very much hope he will be better at the job than me. I've put A LOT of time and energy into the job, but perhaps I lack talent for that job. In Cub Scouts, we "do our best." Sometimes that's not a high standard.