SemperParatus

Valley Forge - stayed at the Volunteer Fire Co that sponsors Troop 73 up there. There were about 5 other troops camping at the same place that weekend - almost a mini-Camporee. Located about a mile from the park. Nice set - except for when the fire alarm goes off at 2 in the morning.

http://www.vftroop73.org

Another scout troop close by has a cabin that they rent out - we haven't stayed there.

http://www.devon50.org

While there, we did the Valley Forge Historic Trail - about 10 miles - took most of the day (Sat). Includes the visitor center. There was a reenactment group encamped on the park. Very nice, talked to us and did some drill stuff.

Hershey Park - there is a campground across the road from the Park. Highmeadows campground. Spend all day in the park - there is plenty to do - great rides and entertainment. Nice museum is on the grounds, chocolate factory tour, etc.

http://www.hersheypa.com/news/hershey_resorts_press_room/campground.html

I remember when PONG came out - boy was that fun. I remember my younger brother getting a Commodore 64 and thinking, at the time, that will never catch on.

For what you are doing, 5 MB does not sound like enough. I would look for 50 MB at a minimum to give you some room to play.

Since you asked,

I would first make sure that the 'early crossover' is what your son wants. You seem anxious to get him into boy scouts, but it should really be about what your son wants. Is he okay with leaving behind his den and his last year of cub scouts? Patience is a virtue with great rewards.

If the normal pack bridging ceremony is in May, it sounds like your son will not be ready at that time since you indicated his finishing over the summer. Given that, you would want to discuss with both the DL, CM and SM of the troop he is joining - how they would like to proceed with a crossover ceremony for him. It may turn out that his personalized crossover ceremony will not be as showy as the one that the adults usually plan for a group. Make sure your son recognizes that possibility.

As I indicated (and some disagree) most troops take crossover 'dens' in the late winter/spring timeframe. It may be that your son crosses over in September after he has earned the AOL - that should not pose a problem to a troop, but recognize that if the troop has a first year-first class program, your son may be playing a little catch-up to those who crossed over 6 months earlier. Boy scout advancement is individual based so he should not get discouraged by that - he has his own timetable for all advancement.

Moving to a different troop than the one affiliated with your pack is typically no problem. You and your son should pay a visit to the troop of choice and arrange some time to talk with the SM. In fact, visit several troops to see which one he likes the best and seems to offer the most and best scouting program.

Finally, don't expect "confidence, independence, goal-setting and organizational issues" to be changed overnight. He is still 10 years old. It takes years for these attributes to develop.

Good luck.

Yes. Assuming all the other requirements have been met and he is 10-1/2 he can earn the AOL. After he has earned the AOL, he can join a boy scout troop.

Welcome to the forum.

We do 'Mystery' nights - although could be applied to campouts too. We limit to one a year. It is adult planned.

We have it planned on the calendar, we just don't divulge what we are doing. Typically, we give clues along the way - enough to entice participation but not enough to figure it out (watch the moms though - they are very shrewd). Last year, each scout received a letter with a jigsaw puzzle inside. Once they put it together, they had a paper that contained clues, as well as other jibberish to throw them off the track.

Pretty much any activity could be turned into a mystery event as long as you give folks enough advance notice on what to bring.

We keep ours cheap and close-by so that if someone doesn't want to participate once revealed, it does not cost alot or they can get a ride home if they are really put-out. That's never happened though - we try and make the activity something everyone would enjoy.(This message has been edited by SemperParatus)

Our hosting package comes with 2 GB of disk space and 25 GB of data transfer per month. Way more than we need. We have a pretty extensive unit website that uses 30 MB of storage and 250 MB of data transfer per month.

This link has some ideas with wide-area type games at the bottom.

http://www.boardmanweb.com/party/robin_hood.htm

Good luck, sounds like fun!

In my opinion, what you are seeing is a reflection of society. At some point in time, good clean competitive fun has become subjugated to a general win-at-all costs mentality. From the earliest of ages, children are being taught that winning is the goal of any competitive activity. The old phrase "it doesn't matter whether you win or lose but how you played the game" has been supplanted by "winning isn't everything, its the only thing". We are a nation obsessed with winning. Winners get the gold, the money, the chicks, the publicity. That is ingrained in us from constant media exposure and the proliferation of youth sports leagues with children being pressured to choose their sport at ever earlier ages. And parents that are placing far too much emphasis on tangible results (wins) rather than the intangibles of learning, growth, confidence, etc.

No one enjoys losing. But until competition is put into the proper perspective as a game to test your skills against yourself and others, and not with the sole purpose of crowning a victor, then those that do not win will go home feeling like losers.

While your pack may be stressing the 'fun', the boys may be getting an entirely different story at home from a dad whose zeal may be setting expectations for racing glory.

I have heard of packs that just run the derby for fun - scouts run their cars until the wheels fall of with no designated winners. That is always an option, but I would suspect that may be a very difficult format to establish.

We used to run the derby for results, with another fun track set up in another room that the scouts would go to after their 'sanctioned' races. Laughter and enjoyment emanated from that other room. Scouts saddened by not winning in the sanctioned race, usually went home with a smile after seeing their cars in action on the fun track. In those particularly difficult situations, I had my special, secret-weapon car (light weight, bent axles, etc) that would be brought out for challenge races against scouts that were really frustrated. That car had a perfect record (all loses). At a minimum, they could go home boasting that they beat the CM.

(This message has been edited by SemperParatus)

See BSA guidelines

http://www.scouting.org/webmasters/units.html

It doesn't hurt to get approval from the charter organization. I can't think of any reason why a CO would say no.

I usually mark this day by reading his "I Have a Dream Speech". I think his words speak to us all at some level. Enjoy.

"Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

For me, the sign-off is purely subjective.

The requirement as stated is "Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life." This is not something that I can necessarily determine with much accuracy since it is only the scout that experiences his everyday life and how he lives it. I can only make slight inferences as to whether he is demonstrating scout spirit from my observations of him (which is limited), feedback from others (even more limited), and questioning him about his life and the application of the ideals of the Oath and Law (the most important aspect of the sign-off).

I do not interpret the requirement that the scout must always live out the Scout Oath and Law at all times, that would be an impossible feat. However, the scout should be able to identify and distinguish times in his recent past (since last rank advancement) when he both demonstrated and did not demonstrate the scouting ideals. A scout that has done something really 'bad' since his last rank advancement, would get a sign-off from me if he can express how such action was not consistent with points of the scout law or promise, and that he has learned a valuable lesson in the process.

Before conducting a scoutmaster conference, I typically solicit feedback from all the ASMs, in particular the ones that appear to work closest with the scout (leader mentor, new scout group, patrol advisor, etc.).

I would not say its an automatic sign-off from me, but I don't think there has ever been a time when the scout could not demonstrate or express how he has applied different aspects of the law and promise in his life to my satisfaction.

Steve,

Might I suggest a pair of gloves...sounds like your new toy may be a bit too complicated and dangerous.

Hello...welcome...I think there are some very dedicated girl scout leaders on this forum who can help you out. My own daughter is beginning her Gold Award project now...Girl Scouts is a great thing. I am now placing in my mouth the last Thin Mint until next year. So sad.(This message has been edited by SemperParatus)

I agree that more specifics are needed.

I find it very strange that a council would support the demise of a unit. I was told once that troops needed at least 5 scouts to retain their charter, but I don't know if that was just our district/council talking or not. I assume there are scouts registered to your unit.

Now, it may be that your suspicions are correct and some folks are out to get your troop for some unknown reason. Maybe this John fellow needs to be confronted with this question and you demand to know what is up. If he is being supported in this endeavor by Council then he may respond with a more strident attitude. If there is no real support, then he may likely back off, especially if you threaten to go over his head. If your unit leadership is adamant about getting a response to your questions, I would start with the Council Exec (have you talked to him) rather than National first.

On the otherhand, it may be by a strange sequence of events that it would appear that your unit is being treated poorly, and there is no intent. You mention you have gone to Council for help with recruitment, but to no avail. In my experience, Councils are not much help in these matters anyway - recruitment is pretty much solely a troop responsibility - don't look for help from your Council on that matter. As for the bad-mouthing from other troops, hold your head up high, your unit's view of itself is all that really matters. Maybe, its time for your unit to remove itself from District matters (sounds like you would not be the only ones attending Roundtable) and focus on your immediate needs - recruitment of scouts and adults, implementing consistent troop meetings, and developing a model BSA-unit. In my opinon, this would be the best way to 'fight back'. It would look pretty bad if your Council made specific and documented attempts to shut down a thriving and model unit.

EagleInKy,

I don't think I have ever heard of a counselor application being rejected, although I am sure it could happen. Our District is pretty organized, we send in our applications but never hear a peep as to accept/reject. Our Advancement Chair calls the MB Dean to make sure he received them, but rarely gets a return call. At one point, he said if you don't hear from him then everything is okay. My suspicion is that they are not running background checks, but most of our troop counselors are already registered as adult leaders.

If I were in your shoes, I would run my own background checks (maybe even register the new counselor as a MC too), make sure I keep a copy of the application that is mailed on, and send the applications certified return receipt. I would then feel comfortable having done everything on my part in registering a counselor. If the DAC doesn't do anything with it, then that would not be your problem, but his. With 99% certainty, I can say that there is never a question raised by anyone (for advancement purposes) as to whether a counselor is properly registered.

Sorry to hear about your problems though.

I think there may be a correlation...look to the genetic adsence of melanin on the upper calf and lower thigh.

No. Any blue cards and worksheets should have been returned to each scout at the end of the day, with the counselor initialing for any requirements that were completed. It would be up to the next counselor to determine if the scout needed to be retested on the previously signed off requirements and the worksheets could be important documentation for that. What a waste of a perfectly good blue card.

FK,

Someone has the list somewhere. Talk to your District Advancement Chair and he will put you in touch with the Dean of Merit Badges.

If you made application and received no notice of rejection, then you should be qualified as a counselor whether the district list exists or not, or whether your name is on it (many times, the MB Dean only updates the list once a year). Keep a copy of your application for documentation.

In spite of your vast and varied experience, and your dedication to helping youth, if you were in our District you would be limited to 7 merit badges. That would be a shame. It may be that your district has no such limits and you are free to do as many as you desire.

In fact, I think being a merit badge counselor for 30 different merit badges would round out your extensive resume rather nicely...don't you?

Ten days without my car?!? That is really out there. How is your search for a new pack going?

I can't see how this will cause the boys any problem. For now, I don't think anyone else has noticed. The only boy that probably has any idea is his own son. I would think he said something to him about it. Now, eventually the boys and other adults will notice and I will be asked about it...by someone...sometime.

Hear are my choices, as I see them.

1. Don't say anything and see where it goes. It could be that nothing is ever said by either him or me and he walks around with the patch and is never asked to do anything (basically, no harm -no foul). Or, it might be taken that my silence is tacit approval and anybody can proclaim themselves to be an ASM which could lead to problems down the road like too many ASMs doing nothing and too few adults to sit on BORs or take on committee positions. Likewise, if I don't say anything - he may figure that he really is an ASM and start trying to act like one (which could be good or bad depending on what he thinks an ASM does). I will say that I am intrigued to find out where this could lead - it may prove very entertaining.

2. Wait for him to approach me. If I end up waiting too long then I fall into the troubles of 1 above. If he comes to me in the next month or so, then maybe we can have a reasonable conversation - but if its six months then I must either feign ignorance of the patch or possibly risk being construed as giving implied approval.

3. Address it now. I could simply say "NO" you are not an ASM and ask him to remove the patch. That kind of is not in my nature. Maybe, I congratulate him on making the commitment, tell him I wished he had talked to me first though, but since he is interested I am glad to line him up with training opportunities over the next four months (which should scare him off), and we could use a summer camp coordinator for next year (he would never go), and the equipment is getting kind of shabby (he would never clean anything), and little Johnny who needs lots of special attention could really use your special attention (the nail in the coffin) etc. etc.

OGE,

I tip my hat to you...you are a stellar moderator...and a more stellar scouter.

He is registered as a committee member on last year's charter. So, he has been approved by the Committee/CO for adult leadership. This year's recharter is due the end of the month.

I did talk to the CC, she just shook her head - joked that I guess he is 'now your problem' and laughed. It was left to me to handle this as I choose.

Has this forum addressed the car smoker. Our smoker has had to transport scouts on occasion in his car. I am sure he has transported scouts who have parents that do not smoke. I don't know what happened in the car, but I would suspect this guy lit one up while the scouts were being driven by him. He may have asked beforehand, but my guess would be that he did not.

Do troops make accomodations for this situation? Prohibit car smoking while transporting scouts? Arrange transports so that only scouts with smoking parents are transported by smokers?(This message has been edited by SemperParatus)

So there's a dad in our troop that I really don't get along with real well - goes back to him demanding to sit in on his son's first board of review and kind of mouthing off about different things not being fair from the beginning. He has calmed down over the past two years or so, and we kind of just have a cordial (but definitely not close) relationship. He comes to about 1/3 of the committee meetings and really does not do too much, other than talk. In three years, he has made an appearance at about a dozen troop meetings and went on one overnight.

At the first meeting of the new year, I see him in our meeting room wearing his scout shirt (he was a asst. den leader before) and I notice an Assistant Scoutmaster patch on his sleeve. Funny thing is that I (SM) have never asked him to serve in this role and he has never approached me about serving in this role. I was always under the impression that the SM should determine who his assistants are - rather than people self-designating themselves to a position. We currently have a great SM staff of ten folks who get along very well and each have our own special areas. I really don't want or need a new ASM at this time and when I do, this dad is not near the top of the list.

I am not sure how I want to approach this yet. My first inclination is to ask him what's up. But, maybe I should wait for him to approach me. Or just ignore it altogether and see what happens (which may be much more enjoyable).

Your suggestions and insight are appreciated.

We have one adult that smokes who is on about half of our trips (less lately since he found a girlfriend). The first time he lit up, I politely asked him to please do it out of sight from the scouts, preferably in the parking area. He understands and has not posed a problem in the four years he has been with us. Funny how, after the mile swim (which he always completes way ahead of anyone else in camp) he always disappears for a smoke.

We always address it at the New Scout/Parent Meeting we hold just before crossover.