shortridge

But seriously, if you've discovered a counselor is "pencil-whipping" the cards, you should bring it up to council immediately. Getting a reputation among boys as an "easy badge" could be a lure by a molester. But seriously - I hope you weren't serious when you wrote this. If that's the case, then let's kick out all the lazy teachers and professors who have a reputation as easy graders! Sometimes incompetence ... is just incompetence.

For a lot of youngsters these days, Facebook messaging and wall posts have replaced e-mail as their main form of electronic communication. So a troop Facebook page can definitely help keep your Scouts in touch. Make it a group page, not a regular personal/"friend" page - that way you can't see what your Scouts are posting on their own walls and such - no worries about "snooping." You can restrict who sees info, and who posts, to members only. You can even keep outsiders from seeing your members list. Facebook really is a great tool for group communication. Photo albums from treks - reminders about upcoming events - mass invitations - etc. - all with a few clicks.

The details you've provided make it difficult for me to understand how one person's presence or mere involvement in district activities would be enough to curtail your pack's involvement in those activities. Swearing at kids, falsifying training and lying on records - none of that affects your pack any longer. The YP violation is being handled separately, as it should be. What exactly did they say or do that makes you want to keep all your Cubs and parents away from any potential contact with them? What is your position with the pack? Unless you're the CM, CC or COR, you really don't have the ability to forbid your pack from participating in activities. Nor can you prohibit individual members from going to day camp, for example. Are you really willing to say "We're not going to day camp or PWD"? Seems to me that you then would have to explain why - which opens up the can of worms all over again. You've given these people incredible power over you. That's probably exactly what they want. Only you can take it away from them by refusing to let them control your Scouting program. As an alternative, if your entire pack leadership and CO is committed to not having anything to do with these people, attend day camp in another district. Don't cheat your kids of a fun time because adults are behaving badly.

They're gone from your unit. You can ignore them to your heart's content. You do not need to go to "arbitration" or respond to anything. Let the district and council deal with them now. The YP issues are being dealt with by the SE as they should be; the incompetent training is a district or council issue. None of the issues you've described needs to be handled by your committee. By participating in this "arbitration," all you're doing is giving these jackanapes power over you. Don't give them the satisfaction.

I also enjoyed the book, but thought it suffered a bit because of its focus on Seton's personality. I realize this is because of the wealth of source material on Seton they had access to vs. the other players, but I felt at times as though I was reading a Seton bio.

A four-MB-per-MBC limit seems a bit arbitrary. Any good Scoutmaster or ASM should be able to counsel at least the outdoors MBs - any combination of Camping, Cooking, Wilderness Survival, Pioneering, Orienteering, Backpacking or Hiking. That's seven right there. I could do all of those based on my Scouting and personal outdoor experience, plus Journalism, Communication and the Citizenships from my professional life. So that's 12 I could counsel without breaking a sweat. Think about your own education, career, hobbies and interests. Most adults have a high level of expertise in more than four subjects! There's the local attorney with an undergrad degree in art who leads the local Toastmasters chapter and has been riding horses since age 12 who also raises Great Danes. You've got your carpenter who started his own business and sets up elaborate model railroad displays when he's not fly-fishing and coaching the high school track and field team. The list could go on.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

It's an easy answer. The SM can direct them to a particular counselor or suggest they pick from a list. Scouts don't necessarily get to choose their counselor. I did all my Citizenship work with outside counselors. No need for a class. It was easy, and fun. If we approach certain "boring" badges with the "class" mindset, then of course they're going to be boring for the Scouts!

I told my wife that boredom is not a crime. Boredom is the greatest inspiration for imagination that exists! Hear, hear!

Eagle92 and Proud Eagle, Yep, I do the same thing. Google is your friend ... Lots of websites turn their internal search functions over to Google. I'm not sure how it's done, if there's a fee, etc., but they seem to function just fine. The other main issue I have is with the overall organization via the top tabs - Parent, Youth, Volunteer, Visitor, Alumni. If I click on "Volunteer," all I get are a few links to training and the like. I should be able to click on that tab and get instant access to the G2SS, Insignia Guide, program materials, new leader apps, etc., all organized by specific program level. Those tabs ought to be portals to a wealth of information tailored to the audience.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

I beg to differ. Canvas can last a good long time if taken care of properly. That does take work - it has to be put away dry (even the slightest hint of damp will kill a tent over the course of the nine months it will sit folded on a shelf), checked regularly for holes, stored in a dry, critter-free location, etc. A barn presents multiple problems! Proud Eagle, your camp's property manager was guilty of tent malpractice. Unfortunate.

I hope he has some experience in content management and website organization. Scouting.org is so counter-intuitive it hurts my brain.

Rethink your concerns. Don't put yourself into the position of saying to the Wolf and Bear DLs: "You have to invite everyone or you can't have any fun!" That's just plain silly. You describe the events first as den activities, then as pack activities. Well, which were they? I think you may have lost sight of two very important things: (1) A den doing cool program doesn't hurt the rest of the pack; and (2) There's nothing preventing the Webelos DL from putting on the exact same program or going to the exact same event. The two DLs should be commended for doing such a good job! Learn from them and try to expand that to your other dens.

He never considered that another car could cross the line, be speeding or just a drunk driver could come along and hit him even though he was being REALLY careful. I think this is also the basic reason why parents drop off and pick up their kids at the bus stop instead of having them walk, or why they want the kids to stay in the house instead of standing by the side of the road. All it takes is one split second for an inattentive / drunk / tired driver to veer a few feet over onto the shoulder and hit a waiting or walking kid. Speaking only for myself, that's on my mind far more often than abduction. I see how idiots around here drive on a daily basis, and it scares me.

Camp director rides golf Cart to my tent... And we're bellyaching about parents being soft?!? What's wrong with this picture?

If each of their customers bought a pack of Butter Light Microwave Popcorn (about $40), we're talking about 10 people who won't get the product they paid for. That's a lot of people whom, as Scoutfish correctly says, will soon be talking about how your pack stiffed them. You have the order form (or should) with the customers' names and addresses. Deliver the popcorn to them directly as a sign of goodwill. Don't mention the family taking the money - that will cause more problems than it's worth. Just deliver it, thank them for supporting Scouting and wish them happy holidays. Eat the cost and develop a better, more secure system for next year ... like having the money turned in along with the order form! This sounds like a learning experience.

An interesting previous discussion from the Girl Scouting side of the coin: http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=250796 Peresonally, I think those parents who object ought to be put on a lie detector and forced to answer a questionnaire about whether *they* engaged in pre-marital sexual activity. And their children should, too. But I agree. Your CO needs to make the call on this.

This flagged them for liability concerns about having responsibility for the Scout funds absent direct oversight and implications for IRS reporting (might bump them into next bracket so more paperwork). Have a heart-to-heart meeting with your PTA leaders, COR and DE to outline the obligations of a CO. The PTA's lack of understanding of the CO's relationship to the pack is telling. The PTA can have all the direct oversight it wants - it owns the pack. As for IRS reporting - did no one explain how this works when the pack was chartered in the first place?

Ditto with what Eagle92 said. You're going to get complaints about things you may know nothing about - the state of the bathrooms, why there aren't "enough" shooting stations at the BB range, the quality of the food, why there isn't more pool time, etc. So before you start doing your presentations, have a warts-and-all sit-down meeting with the camp director and property manager/ranger, putting past problems on the table, so you're up to speed and can have answers to those types of questions in advance - "We've put in all new toilet stalls ... we can't add more shooting stations because of XYZ ... we have an all-new cook who is completely revamping the menu ... pool time is limited because of staff, but we're always looking for volunteer lookouts and lifeguards - can I put you down to help out, sir?" That type of pre-emptive approach is much more effective than saying "I'll get back to you."

It's not a national training. Looks like some councils, including SF Bay Area Council, do on their own and may require for Klondike attendance. gracekouca, your question is probably best directed to your council offices.

Of course you do a quick shakedown before you leave (and before parents leave). But that should just be a formality. There should be no surprises, unless someone just plain left their flashlight on the kitchen table. If you're doing extreme-weather (really hot / really cold) or extreme-activity (climbing / survival / boating / etc.) activities, talking about gear and clothing should be part of the planning process. They should know what's appropriate and what's not from the get-go. One thing I've found helpful, especially for the benefit of new Scouts, is to have two older Scouts bring in two fully-loaded backpacks - one with the right gear, one with the wrong gear. For a snowy winter, the wrong gear might be an indoor kids' sleeping bag, cotton clothing, thin sneakers, no hat, etc. Pull the gear out in front of the Scouts and have a discussion, so they have visual examples - and can even touch and feel - of the difference between cotton and synthetics, for example. Also show them what to look for on labels, and talk about how you can get good gear for low cost at thrift shops, Goodwill, etc. That way there are no excuses.

Call her and inform her that the pack needs it within a week, simultaneously reminding her about pack and denmeetings and inviting her son to come back. At the end of the week, send her a certified letter, one she has to sign for, informing her that she must pay up or face legal action. Four hundred smackers is real money in my book.

A copy of Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv.

Get in touch with your local OA chapter. They should have a camping promotions team with a full-fledged presentation, maybe a video. Even though you're doing the Cubs part of it, they may still be able to help (and should!).

I used my cell as my personal clock for the longest time, and thought I couldn't function without it. Then I started going into the county courthouse daily for work, where there is a cell phone ban. I bought a $5 analog wristwatch and got back into the habit. And I can use it as a compass. Simple, easy and cheap. A cell phone is a tool, just like a pocketknife or a piece of rope. It can be used for good or for ill. It's not inherently negative. It's up to the user to decide how to use it. We ought to be teaching our Scouts proper usage of gear, not banning items outright - as well as demonstrating through our own examples that there are much better alternatives.

That site was so full of ugly anger that I could barely read it. I did enjoy reading the horror story about the kid who GOT A HOOK STUCK IN HIS THUMB -- OH NOES!!!!! Because no kid in the history of the world has ever accidentally gotten a hook stuck in their thumb except on an LDS Scout camping trip!!! The agony!!! And it's all the Scouters' fault because the parents wouldn't give permission to treat!!!!!!! Utter silliness. We should be able to have discussions about differences without it degenerating into attacks.