shortridge

4. They go at least as far back as 2002. See http://rapidcityjournal.com/article_5d518ac4-bd1b-5493-be10-aacb98250762.html What do they mean? Well, they strike me as a slogan you'd see at the tail end of a GOP presidential candidate's television ads - standard conservative political verbiage.

Do the dens in your pack routinely do gathering activities, opening and closing ceremonies? I don't currently work with a pack, but in my experience, most dens do have those. They're just part of the program. A lot of dens I see don't do that, and doing a common program for those elements of the den meeting are what I'm contemplating here. What's there to do to create this "common program"? Gathering activities can & should be simple - drawing, shooting marbles, a quick no-mess craft, etc. Opening ceremonies help get the boys centered and focused that the real fun is about to begin - a den yell, a friendship circle, something with flags, even as simple as reciting the Promise and Law of the Pack. Closing ceremonies help refocus the Cubs and calm them down from the rambunctiousness of the meeting. They're also the DL's opportunity to remind them of activities to do at home, to announce upcoming events & dates to parents who are there for pickup. I'm thinking you might appoint an Assistant Cubmaster to do that, or perhaps rotate that assignment to different parents each month. If your DLs can't come up with a gathering activity and simple opening and closing ceremonies on their own, they probably either (a) shouldn't be DLs or (b) need some major coaching, guidance and support. The job of the pack leadership should be to support the DLs to run their dens fairly independently from the bottom up. If there's a program problem, solve it one-on-one. Don't create some new meeting structure from the top down.

I think packs that adopt the common-meeting arrangement are losing out, big-time. >> The packs and dens lose out by effectively barring any Cubs and parents who aren't free on that one weeknight out of five. With dens meeting on different nights, there's a greater chance that one of them will fit a Cub's schedule. >> The Cubs lose out by being concentrated in one location, usually the CO's meeting place and usually indoors. Cubs should be running around in someone's back yard, learning whittling in a woodworker's shop, going on a nature hike at the local park or building Genius Kits at someone's kitchen table, not clustered on hard metal chairs in meeting rooms or (worse) corners in the church or VFW hall. "Often those dens don't have much in the way of gathering activities, opening and closing ceremonies." That's a program problem that can best be solved by one-on-one coaching between the DL and the CM. No need to force a one-size-fits-all meeting structure down the throat of three or four functioning dens to solve a situation with one poorly run den.

How long have you owned it? Any knife can be hard to open if it's not used regularly.

BS-87, Thanks for the reply. I thought that was the direction you were leaning in, but wanted to make sure. I'm sorry you hold such a stereotypical view about gay men, but I'm not going to argue with you about it. Thanks.

Most Cubmasters and DLs I've seen just go necker-less. As a troop committee member, you should be wearing the troop's chosen neckerchief.

As a former homeschooler who was not affiliated with any organized religion during my time in Scouting, I can see the family's conundrum. But I can also see how that would raise some major eyebrows. For the educational reference, has the Scout worked with a tutor on a particular subject? Has he taken music lessons? Attended any classes at the local community college? Taken gymnastics classes? Worked with other families in a local homeschooling group? Participated in a homeschooling writer's workshop program? Unless the family is an entirely self-contained, completely insular educational unit, there are other adults who could potentially provide this type of reference.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

So the private corporations' donations aren't called contributions, they're called licensing or participation fees? That sounds a bit odd.

Once an Eagle: The problem with your argument as support for the BSA's anti-gay stance is that the Bible is not the Boy Scout Handbook. Its contents are not universally accepted among Scouts and Scouters. There are plenty of other faiths and even Christian denominations that strongly disagree with your interpretation of a centuries-old text. Now, if the BSA wants to come out of the closet, drop the pretense and become an arm of the LDS and conservative churches, that's fine. Though I'd strongly disagree with it, I sometimes think that honesty would be preferable than continuing to pretend that Scouting includes some underlying universal "religious principles" that justifies the "Gays are bad" mindset. BS-87: Just following back up on my question from the second page in case you missed it. Traditional heterosexual methods of courtship, relationship progression, and methods of showing affection are preferable to homosexual. For this reason, openly gay individuals do not make the kind of role model for relationships that Boy Scouts need to become great American men and citizens. Uhmm... can you explain what the homosexual methods of courtship, relationship progression and showing affection are? Do you mean like asking someone on a date? Going on more frequent dates, going on trips together, getting to know one's family, spending the night together? Holding hands, hugging, kissing? Or is there some sort of secret homosexual approach to relationships that we don't know about?(This message has been edited by shortridge)

Yeh have a group of people trying to force a private organization based on religious principles to abandon their position. They're willing to try to cut off funding (public and private) cut off access to public spaces and resources, accuse 'em of spreading hatred, etc. As far as the cutting off of access to public spaces and resources - to my understanding, the group of people who did that in most states were the elected state legislators who approved anti-discrimination laws.

vol_scouter: Where did you get your information on LFL's funding from? According to its IRS Form 990, in 2009, Learning for Life received $93,792 in grants and contributions. The bulk of its revenue came from "program service" - labeled as participation and licensing fees ($5,539,861). The documents are on guidestar.org if you want to take a look.

I hope, but doubt, that **** meant "hugs." There's no call for that.

So much for National's little game, thinking it can operate LFL as an independent program so as to not get any of the anti-BSA backlash. It was silly from the get-go. They're not fooling anyone.

Traditional heterosexual methods of courtship, relationship progression, and methods of showing affection are preferable to homosexual. For this reason, openly gay individuals do not make the kind of role model for relationships that Boy Scouts need to become great American men and citizens. Uhmm... can you explain what the homosexual methods of courtship, relationship progression and showing affection are? Do you mean like asking someone on a date? Going on more frequent dates, going on trips together, getting to know one's family, spending the night together? Holding hands, hugging, kissing? Or is there some sort of secret homosexual approach to relationships that we don't know about?

Whoops ... sorry, didn't mean to ignore your question. I think that's a great point. In Boy Scouts, we aim at the Scouts - as we should - and expect that they'll share and communicate information with their parents. It's a small step on the path toward youth leadership. But it's reasonable for parents to have questions. Should they just read their son's Handbook, or ask their sons to ask their PL? Sure. But many probably don't.

No, no copyright issues, unless they're stealing content from BSA publications. You don't need a subject's permission to write a book about it/them.

They can see if units who have an active advancement program retain Scouts or not. I really doubt if National's statistics allow the decisionmakers this kind of close look, given the horror stories we've heard about screwed-up council records.

It appears to be self-published, for what it's worth. Anyone can get a book printed & distributed via Amazon these days, regardless of quality. But perhaps it does fill a void - as in a parents' guide, maybe? The Handbook and SMH are aimed at Scouts and leaders, not parents.

As a former liberal arts major (history, dabbling in political science), I sometimes wish I'd gone into a vocational field. The skills I use in my day job as a journalist were mostly self-taught or picked up in a newsroom. History classes gave me a great, deep background that helps me understand current events and put them in context; doing research on 1960s U.S. diplomatic cables taught me how to evaluate sources and dig. But none of that got me my first job. That came from many late nights at the campus newspaper office. I saw far too many people slide through four years of college without any marketable skills except "critical thinking." They knew how to write and argue. But so do hundreds of thousands of other kids hitting the job market every spring. If I were designing a college program, it would involve two years of liberal arts and two years of training in some practical, hands-on field - graphic design, plumbing, emergency medicine, carpentry, environmental services, physical therapy, child care, nursing, even journalism. If they wanted to take either of those to a higher level, they could. But at least they'd graduate with some solid skills to enable them to get a job.

If I recall correctly, my mother's yellow den leader blouse from the 1980s was designed to be worn untucked. Seems as though styles have changed.

WND is no Enquirer or Star-type media outlet. It's a very conservative site that has spent a lot of time and virtual ink covering Islam in America from that perspective. This particular piece uses the approach of "guilt by association" - because X and Y are connected, and Y and Z are connected, then X and Z must be connected.

It's very clear that both da Tea Party and da OWS people are frustrated, and for some good reasons, but neither has da education or training to actually understand what's goin' on and how things work. An alternative reading of both critiques is that the system has become far too complicated and complex. If it can't be understood by the average person who lacks a decade or more of financial experience or higher education, then shouldn't it be simplified? Why does it *have* to be so confusing? Not saying I agree with that - just that's another way of looking at it.

Has anyone else encountered difficulties in signing up for Red Cross training sessions? I recently tried to find a combo course - adult/infant/child CPR and First Aid course. From now until the end of 2012, there is exactly one being offered in my local region. The local office said there have been cuts to training and that it's now all scheduled through a national training office, rather than by the local branches. I can still get my certifications by taking separate programs, but that both increases my cost and my scheduling challenges. It was really nice to be able to knock everything out in a single day.

I was quite amazed while at the eye doctor's office recently that my daughter (age 7) was able to identify an image of a rotary-dial telephone on the exam sheet. Not that she'd know how to use one. When I was in Cubs practicing how to call 911 in a smoky room (while blindfolded), my dad unplugged both our rotary and push-button phones and had us practice on both. Guess it's a little more complicated today. Digression: While I was sitting in the waiting area at my daughter's dance studio recently, I overheard two slightly older girls (maybe about 8-10 years old) talking about an iPad one of them was using. She described it thusly: "It's a big phone that won't call." I just found that fascinating. To them, a "phone" isn't necessarily a device to call other people - it's first and foremost a portable computer.

TAHAWK - My guess is that "rule" is derived from the other part of the NCS standard: "All high activities (shoulder height or more above ground) must have a reliable protection system and backup system to protect participants." But since "reliable protection system" is never elaborated on, we really have no idea what it means.