shortridge

The commissioner system is a foreign one to many people. The idea of floating, roving mentors who don't come to every meeting, aren't part of the unit's core leadership team, have no real authority, are utterly unaccountable and have no personal interest in a unit is an odd one indeed. I think that's why there are so many "What's a unit commissioner?" responses in the help-my-unit-is-in-trouble threads. We're more familiar with investigators and inspectors, people with authority and muscle, enforcers who can clean up a problem at the snap of a finger. Does it make sense to give a volunteer the job of helping a unit grow and serve Scouts, without any budget, resources or authority, just by the sheer force of his or her example, experience and personality? I'm not necessarily advocating paid enforcers, but the current system is just such a recipe for failure that there has to be another way.

There may be some interest in a previous discussion on this topic, including some pros and cons: http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=293071

TLT can be whatever you want it to be. If you want practical, hands-on, field work, do a campout with patrols doing their own thing and call it "training" for the leaders. If you want to run a standard TLT program, have the campout as the "capstone."

Opening up a separate thread for opinions, experiences, perspectives and random thoughts about dogs and outdoor adventure. I get the impression that at least one member of the forums has exceedingly strong opinions on the subject ...

Go camping as patrols. Then go camping as a troop.

No, not at all, and I'm sorry if it read that way. I was referring to the mindset that all Muslims are extremists or terrorists who will blow themselves up in a tent on a Cub Scout camping trip.

(still not quite sure on the legalities of opening an account in your personal name and depositing a nonprofit groups fundraising money in it when they have a bank account in the groups name) Unwrap your head from this issue, and drop it. He did nothing illegal. Let's look at what he did. Opened a bank account in his name? Legal. Put money in it? Legal. Depositing someone else's money of which he was the temporary custodian? Legal (and safer than sticking it under his mattress). Handed all the money over when asked? Legal. Lessons learned? Develop firm procedures for handling and checking money. Get a for-real treasurer. And make sure this guy knows the rules before putting him in charge of money again.

All right, try these simple steps. 1. Talk to his parents. 2. Welcome the kid into your pack. If you want, add an item 1(a) - "Read up on Islam." But that's optional. My whole point is that you don't NEED to do "anything special" to "integrate" this family into your pack. Give the kid a handshake and offer his parents an adult volunteer application. He and his family will take care of discussing differences if they want to. If the idiot parent you spoke of is a reflection of your area's population in general, they are probably already experts at dealing with that type of ignorant behavior anyway. If they have concerns about conflicts with prayer times or problems with fasting (and some kids don't fast during Ramadan, anyway), they'll come to you or the DL. And that's it. I don't think anyone's questioning your motives; you sound like you're trying to do the right thing. What I'm questioning is your approach - how you're doing it. *You* were the one who said you were excited about the family joining because they will "hopefully do alot to show that not all Muslims are extremists/terorists." There's simply no need in this day and age to bring that up. I don't care if you're locatedin the most backwater county in the U.S. - bigotry has no place in Scouting. The challenge is not on the Muslim family to "integrate," but on the current adults and pack leadership to openly and loudly reject the idea that not all Scouts are equal because they look / speak / worship differently. I will end by quoting Lisabob, whose comments are spot-on: "Treat him just like you treat every single other boy in the pack. If religious questions or issues come up, ask his parents to provide input. It is no different from having a Hindu, Jewish, or Buddhist boy (or Southern Baptist, or Catholic, or whatever) in your pack."

If you post in nearly any Internet forum (except perhaps the board of the Society of Super-Polite People), you're going to get a wide range of replies - straight answers, support, flames and answers to questions you didn't even ask. We're no different here. We all learn things every day, and it seems to me this situation has created a lot of learning opportunities for your pack. Clearly the first challenge is to fix the immediate problem of the money and accountability. After that, you as CC need to fix the volunteer recruitment and fundraising system. Whether it predates you or not, by presiding over it without taking steps to change it, you're condoning the way it works. You've gotten good feedback here, and should take it to heart. There's an awful lot of experience represented in these forums, and it can be useful. Set the sometimes caustic language aside and take the advice for what it's worth. One thing I'd suggest is a double-check system for parents. If the money going into a Scout's account is directly related to the volume of product the Scout sold or the amount of work the Scout did, the parents should have records reflecting that, so THEY can double-check the balances and make sure everything is kosher. It should be fairly simple to do that. If Amir is supposed to get .50 from each candy bar he sells, and the sales sheet says he sold 20 candy bars but there's only $2 in his account, the parent can start asking questions.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

And I bet the loss of membership will help get things back to where they belong. Nah. There are 1.6 million Cubs at present. If you figure that just one in six has a sister of roughly the same age, that's an extra 260,000 new kids that would jump onto the registration rolls almost automatically. That would far outweigh any protest drop in registration. My position is a little complicated: >> I think coed Scouting is the way to go, and will be the wave of the future. >> I think the gentleman and his wife doing this work with the refugee community in Arizona ought to be applauded and supported. >> I think the rules in place ought to be followed until such time as they change across the board. Special, "one-off" waivers for certain situations isn't fair and leads to confusion. As I said before, it sends mixed messages to volunteers in the trenches who have to field questions about co-ed Scouting. I hope that the council staff in Arizona is prepared to answer those questions after the staffer's statement in the paper.

I just want to open a few eyes and show these folks that they have something to offer instead of something to fear. These parents don't want their boy to be a "lesson" to counter ignorance and stupidity. They want him to be a Cub Scout. And if you're thinking about his membership from any other perspective than that - how can I serve this new Scout? - you're going about it all wrong. Sorry if that raises your dander, but you asked for ideas, and that's mine. No one joining a new group, especially a kid, wants to be held up as an example of "the different," even if it's done subtly. If you approach the involvement of this young Cub and his family from this point of view, you're going to lose them pretty quickly. If the boy or his parents WANT to VOLUNTARILY give a presentation about their faith or family or heritage or culture or practices, that's GREAT. More power to them. But don't single him out. Another way to think about it. Would you have asked the same question if your pack was made up entirely of evangelical Protestant members, and a lone Catholic boy wanted to join?

No crane, but there are multiple flagpoles, and it's a very fast process. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1407181/Flying-the-flag-is-a-full-time-job-in-modern-America.html The department, correctly known as the Flag Office of the Architect of the Capitol, is not exactly secret, but it is definitely sensitive. The Daily Telegraph was told it was out of the question for a reporter to watch the flag-raising. The discretion is understandable. Most recipients - a mixture of party donors, supporters, cronies and good causes, as well as ordinary constituents who have paid 20 to have a flag flown for them - fondly imagine that they are getting a flag which has flown all day. The truth is harsher. The Flag Office uses special short flagpoles, near the small dome over the House of Representatives. For rainy days, there are three poles under the lip of the dome, and for September 11, a dozen extra poles were erected. Each flag is typically hoisted for just a few seconds.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

The relevant portion of the Flag Code is Section 174(b): "The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously." It is silent on the exact manner of the brisk hoisting. I've seen it done as Eamonn describes, where the flag is unfolded just enough to hook to the line and then raised quickly so it unfolds fully as it rises. The risk you run is that nylon flags that have been left folded for some time (I've mostly noticed this during the summer heat) can sometimes get "stuck" when raised in that manner, so they only unfold part of the way until enough breeze comes along to shake it all out.

I think I understand the underlying notion here. Opening Scouting up to all siblings in a family will help introduce the entire family to Scouting much more easily and quickly than just one kid at a time. Overall, it's an excellent goal. But it instantly raises the question - why stop at new immigrants? What is it about this small Arizona refugee community that makes things different, aside from having a sponsor? Why couldn't the same approach work for military kids on an Air Force base in Virginia? Or Hispanic children in a Texas border town? Or a small group of children in an isolated Alaskan community? Seems like a hugely slippery slope that sends mixed messages to volunteers around the rest of the country who have been asked similar questions: "Why can't my daughter join the pack/troop, too?" Also, I don't comprehend the logic behind the uniforms. The donation theory doesn't hold water, as they look all brand-new - it's not like they were taking whatever they could grab off the racks at the Salvation Army. So unless some wealthy benefactor just breezed through the Scout Shop indiscriminately grabbing armfuls of stuff (but not neckerchief slides, I notice), it doesn't make a whit of sense.

OK, yeah, that parent's comment was incredibly offensive. But also offensive is holding up a single family as representing an entire racial, ethnic, cultural or religious group. Lisabob put it far better than I ever could. Church, synagogue, temple, mosque, no religious affiliation at all ... it doesn't matter. We're all Scouts and Scouters, and we are all welcome. Unless the CO explicitly restricts membership to members of its organization, being "welcome" in Scouting should NEVER be a question! I'm glad that you don't plan on asking them to talk all about their religion to introduce themselves. From the way you opened the thread, it sounded like you kind of *were* aming to do that - I honestly wasn't sure. The fact that this little boy is Muslim is just one thing about who he is, just like being Christian is one part of who most of the members of your pack are. He's probably also a comic book fan, a soccer player and a video game expert, just like most of the other kids in your pack. To elevate one of those things about him over all the rest is to make him a token above all else.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

Was the account in his name? If so, then yes, there's nothing wrong with him opening the account. Depositing money that wasn't his? That's another issue. Generally speaking, however, you're not going to win any points on the legalities of this problem. Fight this battle on another front. Unless this leader was authorized by the CO to open a bank account for the pack, he shouldn't have done it. That's not a question of being illegal - it's a question of simply not being proper. Your pack has an account, and that's where the money should have gone. You need to be prepared to cut this man loose - get the support of your CO before it goes any further. Either he provides the account information and fundraiser details, or he's gone, no questions asked. You don't play games with money. You need your CO on board no matter what. This money is the CO's money.

I know you're trying to be helpful and open... but this -- "...and hopefully do alot to show that not all Muslims are extremists/terorists." -- struck me as exceedingly odd, even offensive. That's like saying that you're glad a kid from West Virginia has joined up, because he'll help show that not all Appalachian-state natives are banjo-twanging hilbillies. He's a kid, he's going to have fun in your pack, and he shouldn't be treated any differently from any other kid except for respect for his faith and cultural practices. He's not a walking, uniformed lesson of tolerance. He's a kid. http://www.islamicscouting.org is another good resource to tap into.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

Astronomy is another merit badge that often disappoints boys at summer camp. If it is too cloudy they can't do all the requirements, it turns into just a classroom exercise, and they get sent home with partials. What's wrong with getting a partial? The Scout is that much further along the path toward learning more and earning the badge! If I were King of the Camp, I'd ditch all the merit badges except for First Aid and Swimming, since those are so foundational. All the program areas would run programs - specialized topics such as dutch-oven cooking, bird identification, beginner canoeing strokes, neckerchief slide carving, an all-day hike to the outposts, etc. The rifle, shotgun and archery ranges would be open-shoot, all the time. Boats would be available for checkout and basic instruction all the time. There would be no "class periods" or blue cards or attendance sheets. If a Scout wanted to earn a merit badge, he could meet with one of the program instructors and figure out how to do it. The goal would be to learn new skills and have fun.

Regarding typing - do these kids have computers at home? Unless they're at a keyboard regularly (not just at school), they're not going to develop those typing skills. And do they have smartphones and text a lot? I've hypothesized that traditional typing skills may be degraded as texting takes over as a primary form of communication (texting as the new typing), but don't know if that's true. As for writing, I've found that the best writers are also the most frequent readers. Lisabob's final point really nailed it. If you don't read well-written sentences on a regular basis, you won't really know how to write them on your own. You have no example to follow. That principle also applies to the rules of grammar. If you don't read and see good grammar used daily, the stuff about commas and apostrophes and dangling participles that the teacher is putting up on the board is just gibberish. Words mean nothing unless you consume them regularly. (Yes, I mean consume. Reading is like eating - it's one of the necessities for life.)

I really doubt that killing chickens was EVER part of the Wilderness Survival merit badge requirements. Just because tombitt's camp did it doesn't mean everyone else did, too. The badge has only been around since 1974, and chicken killing certainly wasn't required by the time I earned it in 1991. Offering an experience that's not directly linked to completing a requirement isn't "adding to the requirements." It's what a good camp does. (Is killing chickens such an experience? That's for another thread. ) I hated the inflation requirement, and these days I rarely wear anything but a polo shirt, but it's good to know about.

I've heard it said that marketers have to repeat a message to someone five (or 10, or however many) times before it sinks in. Point being, a flyer and an email aren't enough. My advice: Repeat your pitch. Try again, focusing on the parents as well as the kids. - Speak at a PTA meeting. Speak to the school board. Speak to the homeowners' associations in subdivisions with lots of kids. - Put flyers up in restaurants and stores, especially those that cater to young parents. If you're in a rural area, tape flyers up inside the wooden school-bus shelters by the side of the road. - Is kindergarten universal in your area? If not, speak with private preschool/kindergarten directors and ask them to send flyers home with their rising first-graders to catch new Tigers by the toe. - And don't forget to hit up the private elementary schools, parochial and otherwise! Ditto with homeschool groups! - Send notices to the local newspapers two or three months in advance so they can run in the calendar for several weeks. - Don't compete with Little League - team up with it! Have your pack carry flags, march in front of the parade and help with the opening ceremonies, then send the Cubs and parents through the crowds handing out flyers. Refine your pitch. Take a good look at the flyers and email. How were they written and designed? Jargony or easy to understand? Were they cluttered with clip-art graphics that obscured the message? Too much information (did they describe in droning detail the different levels of Cub Scouting - not stuff parents need to know right away)? Or not enough (did they explain when meetings are held - a very important consideration)? Figure out what three small pieces of information you want to be your takeaways, then ask someone not connected with Scouting to give your material a read and have them describe the key points to you. The fact that it wasn't clear that parents needed to attend your event, too, is an indicator that they needed an edit. Research a new activity. Look at it from a boy's perspective. By the time they're in elementary school, kids most likely have done them already. They're fun the first time, and the second time, but by the time you're a Webelos-aged boy and have made bottle rockets three or four times, it's old hat. Not all that exciting. Pick a new night - at the start of the week, a Monday or a Tuesday. (And when nothing else is going on, as Eagle92 said. Scour the newspaper event calendars, check with the schools, check with other youth groups to see what's going on.) As a parent of a 6-year-old, Thursday is my almost-there... night - I'm tired, she's tired, the week is almost wrapped up, and we both usually just want to have a quiet evening at home and to go to bed early. The start of the week is much better for reaching people.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

Forgot: - Those landscape paintings hanging on the wall are now the real thing

- The mini-bar is stocked with gorp - That continental breakfast is served streamside - S'mores on your pillow - No being woken up by a garbage truck outside your window

Just make sure you use the steel wool pads *without soap*! I write from experience gleaned from grabbing a box off the shelf without looking.

Zephy, My reading of the Religous Life Bronze information is that you have to do nine of the 11 requirements - so you don't have to earn the religious award (No. 1). The volunteering requirement (No. 4) says "in your church or synagogue or another nonprofit." So you could volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, for example. And the teaching requirement (No. 10) can be adapted - see the catch-all statement that says: "Activities or projects that are more available in your area may be substituted with your Advisor's approval for activities shown above." So chat with your Advisor and try to find some alternatives if you aren't a member of an organized group or one that has a youth group. Best of luck! BadenP, I just read the Sangha Award requirements, and they're very specifically addressed to active, practicing Buddhists. There are lots of requirements about leadership in your temple and participation in temple youth activities. I'm certainly no expert, but I'm not sure they could be easily adapted. (Some excerpts: "Name the sutras used in your temple ... Show that you're are giving financial contributions regularly to your temple, as well as attending Sunday services. ... Know the history and the administrative organization of your temple system in our country, and include the counterpart of your temple in some foreign country. ... Show active participation in the youth organization of your own temple. ... Know the major activities and the events of you temple and show how you had helped in one or more of them. ... Name some of the social welfare activities of your temple and show how you had helped in one or more of them. ... Choice of one: A. Plan and complete a project satisfactory to the minister or qualified counselor. B. Give twenty-five hours of dana to your temple ... Describe the administration, the organization, and the affiliated organizations of you own local temple. ... Show that you attend Dharma School services regularly." ========= Opinionated postscript: Requirements 4 and 10 are exceedingly poorly written, excluding as they do faiths other than Christanity or Judaism. No. 4 should say "your local religious institution or another nonprofit. And No. 10 uses the term "Sunday school," a very Judeo-Christian idea, and refers explicitly to "church/synagogue" activities.(This message has been edited by shortridge)