shortridge

Eagle69 wrote: I guess it gets back to what we have always told our Eagle Scouts: "Once you achieve this rank you will always be an Eagle Scout as opposed to those that didn't who can only say they were a Boy Scout". Sorry if I offend, but that strikes me as the worst kind of snobbery. Only a Boy Scout? Really? acco40 wrote: My sons have "aged" out of the youth program - they are 18 and 20. Both have earned the Eagle rank. Both worked at a Scout camp this summer. I told them that if they expect to wear their uniform, they better register. They did. Well, your sons would have had to register anyway, no matter what you said about the uniform. To work at Scout camp and be a seasonal employee, you must be a registered member of the Boy Scouts of America, either in a home unit, a temporary camp staff Venturing Crew, as a district or council Scouter, etc.

A few thoughts and opinions ... - To what purpose do these parents put all this training? Were they former Cubmasters? Was one of them the SM of the old troop? What positions do they hold in this new troop? Are they active on the district committee, in the OA, anything? - Setting all the Scouting rules & regs aside, if anyone starts reaming me or my significant other out, lambasting and chewing and berating, I'm not going to listen very well to what they have to say. Anyone with such poor control of his emotions needs a ... something. As I tell my 6-year-old from time to time, getting mad and yelling is not going to change anyone's mind! - With all that training, I find it odd that the parents do not understand that the Scoutmaster is the chief program officer of the troop, and what he or she says, generally goes. If the parents have a huge disagreement with the way things are being run, they should take it to the COR. If the COR rebuffs them, they can start their own troop. Simple solution, and end of discussion.

If we were to all meet around a campfire one night, or bump into one another snagging a cup of something at the leader's hut at summer camp, would we talk to each other like this? No. At least, I hope not. But that's what the anonymity of the Internet has done - allowed ordinarily good-hearted folk to call each other names and disparage each other until the cows come home. Let's just all take some deep breaths, step back, and not feed the creatures who live under the bridge, whoever they may be.

infoscouter, This is not meant to be critical, but simply an observation. If your local unit runs its own criminal background checks, you probably should be getting an additional signed release form from each of your applicants. The adult application form only authorizes the Boy Scouts of America and its contractor, ChoicePoint, a consumer reporting agency, to do those checks. Unless the unit committee/CO has explicit permission from the council - which is the legal representative of the BSA - to do those checks, you might find yourselves in a spot of legal kerfluffle. The CO is a separate organization, and by signing the adult application form, the applicant has not authorized anyone else to perform a background check. There's a very excellent reason for that. The background checks performed by council are held at council, by professional staffers, and the detailed information generally goes no further. Doing a local check increases the likelihood that something unsavory will "leak out" among the volunteers and a person's reputation damaged. Another issue deals with confidentiality of social security numbers. The adult application clearly blacks out that number on the unit and CO copies of the form - it's not for their use. If your unit is simply copying the SSN off the council copy for purposes of performing a background check, that's flatly wrong. You're not meant to have that information. I'm not a lawyer, but such a practice strikes me as odd, unless you're getting explicit separate permission. It might be better simply to rely on the council's process. It's there for a reason - it works, and it's confidential. On the other hand, if you simply have a volunteer go to the county courthouse and search for criminal charges in the local jurisdiction, that's a clear matter of public record and anyone can do that - no foul. But that's not a complete criminal background check, and you shouldn't be relying on those results to make decisions. Any lawyers around for a different perspective? Am I totally off-base with these concerns?

Generally speaking, if I'm recruited to be a member of an organization, try to order the handbook that's supposed to tell me everything I need to know, and it's not available from the national or local offices, I'm not going to try much harder to get one or continue my interest in the program. However, this may mark an improvement if the book actually gets a decent edit. The edition I have (2008 printing) has resources lists for the Ranger items that appear to have been simply copied and pasted from another website, complete with the notation in the handbook: "Buy the book today!" The copyright in my manual is 1998. That means the content hasn't been updated for 12 years now. About time for a significant revision.

First: It's not "his den to lead." The DL runs the den as part of the pack, within the pack structure, under the auspices of the CO. I understand scheduling conflicts and time crunches. But you can't get the benefits of being part of a pack without giving something back to the pack. Second: "Help the Pack go." That's critical. If every DL decided to pull out and run their own program without communicating, what would you have? A bunch of little fiefdoms with no common program or support network. That's what a pack gets you. 'Nuff said.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

Interesting. I read "may" as referring to the blue card, since they're optional and not required for use. I think either system could work. But unfortunately, the real point of having the SM involved - instead of just printing out the council or district list and giving it to the boy - is to put some quality control in there. If SMs have heard of substandard practices on the part of a particular MBC, it's their jobs to steer their Scouts toward more qualified people.

This may be off-topic ... but why do you want a hands-off CO? Why not look for a new CO that's hands-on and can provide a dedicated meeting space, financial resources, leadership support and program direction? Seems to me everybody wins then.

Undermining his experience with his son? Wow. So they can only go sailing together if it's under the auspices of Scouting? How sad for the young man.

From the Guide for Merit Badge Counselors: A Scout first expresses an interest in a particular merit badge by letting his unit leader know. To get him started, the leader may give him a signed Application for Merit Badge (blue card) along with the name and telephone number of a district/council approved merit badge counselor. That's why the assigning, Gary. That's how it's supposed to work. (1) Give him the name and number of another counselor. This is not a problem caused by the Scout, and shouldn't be an issue. He should in fact be praised for following through and trying to get another counselor; many boys I know would just have given up. (2) Have him contact the assigned counselor and check his availability. (3) Sit down with the Scout and explain to him why you want him to work with another counselor other than his father - so he'll get experience working with adults who aren't relatives.

A simple query for all the DIYers and dirtbaggers out there ... what's your favorite or most essential item of homemade/repurposed gear?

Oak Tree, I read the Jambo guide, and didn't see anywhere where a Scout was supposed to sign a behavior contract. I saw a very detailed "code of conduct," which could really have been condensed to one line - the first item, adhering to the Scout Oath and Law. The rest of it was just a recitation of the basic rules - no alcohol, no gambling (?), no lasers or fireworks, no swearing (bet that rule was broken a few times), no stealing, following safety rules at events, no guns, no hazing, no bikes, skateboards or golf carts or ATVs (????). Those items are standard in the summer camp leaders' guides I've read (except for no swearing or gambling) - so the adult leaders are responsible for communicating those rules to their Scouts. I suppose that the Jambo organizers didn't trust the contingent leaders to do the same, given all their other responsibilities. (As a serious question - what Scout would bring a golf cart or ATV to a National Jamboree?)

Why make them yourself vs. ordering them? - Thrift. - Creative pride. - Showcasing the skills of your Arrowmen. - Items that are handmade with evident care and skill are far more likely to be taken good care of and passed down through the years vs. things that can be replaced in a pinch through Amazon.

Don't get me wrong - I love the tin-can stoves! Simple and thrifty.

But it isn't all "classroom work." The majority of the merit badge involves Scouts searching for geocaches. They'll also have the opportunity to create and hide their own caches. Well, now I know that Scouting Mag is full of hot air. If I'm reading those requirements correctly, a Scout could complete the badge by just finding a single cache. One. Uno. Only three of the nine requirements (7, 8, 9) involve real fieldwork - hardly a majority! Everything else is showing & explaining the procedures, terms and systems. The only find-a-cache requirement is in No. 7. No. 8 presents a series of pick-your-own items. The create-your-own cache requirement is only an option. A Scout could complete this requirement by putting a travel bug or CITO container in the cache he found for No. 7. And No. 9 doesn't require finding a cache at all.

The Venturing Leader Manual ($16 from Scoutstuff) has pretty much everything you'll need as far as the nuts & bolts. Is the stable willing to be the CO? However, IIRC, the minimum for starting up a unit is 5 members. So you may want to cast a bit wider net just to make sure you'll have a bit more than enough. I'd contact your DE stat. He or she would be incredibly happy to start a unit with a minimum of effort on his/her part, and might even be able to give you some council juice for getting the ladies a slot at Philmont.

I've never seen these, but I'd pick the canvas option instead of vinyl - would seem to look more natural as a ceremonial backdrop. Plus, the material's a bit more rugged. Corral an artistic Arrowman or or two, get some white canvas and red paint, and put 'em to work. Find someone who can hem the edges and put grommets in, and you're golden.

Two things are brought up by this post ... open fires and equipment. I think they're two separate issues. As others have noted, open fires are under the gun in some areas. You need to either carry your backpacking stove or something similar. On the equipment side, I think the "modern" equivalent of mess-kit cooking would have to be freezer-bag cooking. Meals can be individualized, and they're super-simple. All you really need is a spoon, a small metal pot and your bags of ingredients - that's your mess kit! Fact is, metal mess kits simply aren't really in vogue any more. From a backpacking standpoint, they're heavier and bulkier than other options. If you can get by with just one small metal pot for heating water and mix/eat everything in your plastic squishy bowl, heck, why not? While we're at it, whatever happened to the tradition of the tin-can stove?(This message has been edited by shortridge)

When I was a youth, none of us owned a long-sleeved ODL shirt - they simply weren't practical (then & now, IMHO). It didn't get *that* cold during the winter, and when winter camping we simply layered up. The only people I ever saw wearing the L/S ODLs were adults who had stopped growing. There was one exception to that rule. Whenever it was time to march in the town Christmas parade - too cold to walk outside with arms bared, but we obviously wanted our uniforms to be seen - we wore long-sleeved shirts underneath our short-sleeved ODLs. My first troop wore the red berets, so we all wore matching red shirts underneath. My second troop allowed a mishmash, but red and black were the usual colors. The former looked sharper - but I think that was due in large part to the berets! I've never heard anything about matching the color to the program level.

If an instructor of any subject ever told my class to pass the textbook around and start reading out loud in turn, I'd walk out and ask for my money back. Seriously. A good instructor ought to be able to explain the skill or technique in a way that's far more interesting than the Handbook does. I would STRONGLY recommend that the Scouts have read the pertinent Handbook sections in advance so that they at least are familiar with the terminology and equipment. But there's no sense in wasting time doing rote reading when there are trails to be explored and bandages to be tied! Scouting's about adventure and fun - not grade-school rote reading. And if you're having 12-year-olds spend 10 minutes reading from a book, you've already lost them. Attention span at that age is about five minutes, max.

If an instructor of any subject ever told my class to pass the textbook around and start reading out loud in turn, I'd walk out and ask for my money back. Seriously. A good instructor ought to be able to explain the skill or technique in a way that's far more interesting than the Handbook does. I would STRONGLY recommend that the Scouts have read the pertinent Handbook sections in advance so that they at least are familiar with the terminology and equipment. But there's no sense in wasting time doing rote reading when there are trails to be explored and bandages to be tied! Scouting's about adventure and fun - not grade-school rote reading. And if you're having 12-year-olds spend 10 minutes reading from a book, you've already lost them. Attention span at that age is about five minutes, max.

You've done a lot in a year's time - no wonder you're feeling burnt out. My advice to you, aside from getting the committee working to handle the behind-the-scenes stuff, is to scour the parental ranks to get an ACM, stat! Find a Wolf or Bear parent who maybe hasn't stepped into a DL role, or perhaps is an ADL, someone who's naturally good with the kids, whom you can groom to be your successor and fill in from time to time. (Yes, I know it's the job of the COR and committee to pick the next CM, but really, how often does that happen?) Once you have an ACM, you can relax a little bit. Split the long line of parents into two. Take an event off once in a while. At least you'll have someone able to step right into your shoes if you get sick! (What's your pack's plan right now if you do get sick one meeting night? They need to have some sort of Plan B.) Also, I'd encourage you to take a look at the questions you were being asked by that long line of parents the other night, and see if perhaps you can cut down on that in the future by more information-sharing with your DLs. If the parents were just asking about pack-level stuff, that's one thing. But if they were asking about upcoming events, dates, awards, paperwork, etc., those are all things you can hand off to the DLs or committee members. If you get the parents properly trained in the chain of command, it'll make your life a lot easier.

A quick Google search turned up several local council/district/pack uses of the term "Arrow of Light Scouts." It might just be a local term to describe Webelos who've earned the AoL but not yet crossed over...?

NC Scouter, Generally: One of the most important teaching techniques/elements I've used over the years is to simply get 'em outside. If you're teaching how to set up a tent, do it at the state park, not in the church basement. If you're doing first aid, do it in the woods with your packs on your back, not in the Legion hall dining room. Getting to the place where you'll be using the actual skill helps people focus minds and fingers. Generally, again: A picnic table is almost never the best place to teach an interactive skill. It's very difficult for about half of the students to see. As a matter of course, get every group away from any picnic tables. Generally, again, part 3: Don't expect Scouts, especially younger ones, to take notes off the bat. Many kids at that age don't really know what to take notes of - or they'll try to write down everything. But do model good note-taking behavior, and refer back to notes, and they'll start getting it. Remind them of the GIGO principle - garbage in, garbage out - and that writing things down is very helpful in remembering them. For teaching firebuilding and firelays: This is where small groups are critical. You simply can't crowd 20-25 people around a fire circle unless your circle is HUGE with multiple fires and you leave a giant scar on the earth. Form a semicircle, not a whole circle, otherwise your instructor will be blocking the view of at least a quarter of the people at a time. Emphasize the relationship between tinder and kindling. Have a lot of it nearby or previously collected. To demonstrate fire safety, have different types of scrap cloth on hand to sacrifice - showing dramatically how cotton, fleece, polyester, etc., burn or melt - then ask the Scouts to imagine that same material doing its thing on their arm or leg. For teaching basic knots: Talk to some local climbers or your council camp about getting some of its old, retired kernmantle climbing rope for free or low cost. Cut it up into 3-4 foot pieces and fuse the ends, then tape. This size of rope is perfect for teaching younger Scouts and Cubs - it's colorful, large and easy for people to follow the twists & turns. Standard 3/4-inch manila is too small and not big enough to see the knots being demonstrated from a few feet away. Make sure the students watch the knot being demonstrated, start to finish, before they try to follow along. For teaching splices: Wrap the tip of each strand with different color of electrical tape. That helps keep the splicer's work in order. Have some finished examples of splices on hand to show the actual practical application. A splice seems like ancient lore to Scouts who see it as just easier to tie two ropes together with a knot. For teaching first aid: Most first aid really consists less of hands-on skills and more of memorizing steps and processes. This makes it a difficult subject to teach to some younger Scouts. But it's also where group repetition and yells can come in VERY handy - for example, have everyone chant and repeat the steps for CPR.

evmori, If the policy was as you suggest, then there'd be a heck of a lot of parents and leaders who still partake of the demon weed who wouldn't be able to serve or volunteer. And something tells me there's probably still a smoking stoop at Irving ...