SSScout

OOOOO, I want to be in DeanRX Pack. Full disclosure and full supervision, both important. If the parents are informed about the NEED for them to COOPERATE in sibling care, and the need to not have the future Cubs and Brownies wander the halls, then all will be eventually well. BW is correct, but limited so. The desire to limit litigation by severely defining responsibilty makes sense if one never desires to encourage cooperation and communication. Parents require proper behavior from their children, and help each other to do it. Some guidelines and training for the "sitters" will h

What Eamon said, and one more word... Souvenirs. Jambo stuff will be offered before the event and during and after. Everthing from Jambo Tshirts and socks to Footlockers and toothbrushes and stationary sets. Virtually anything a civilized human may need will be immortalized with a Jambo insignia and offered for sale for double it's normal price. Even the meal tickets are considered collectable. I leave it to you to figure out how to surrender your meal ticket to eat and also keep it. "Choose wisely"

"Retests"????????

Well, there you go, then. Make application with the Fund Raising Form. Your Troop Fund Raiser is.. (drum roll)... selling trailers! Sell it a piece at a time. Supporters can buy a tire, a wheel, a rear door, a roof rafter, a tow hitch pin, electrical hook up, left brake light, top right clearance light, etc. Then, the ownership "bill of sale" will then be DONATED to the CO. Presto! A trailer! ""Troop zyx thanks all the good folks that bought this trailer:"" and list them all in sufficiently small type on the side of the trailer. Much better than popcorn. Longer lasting. Little o

I just thought this belonged in the SM Minute section, moreso than any other. The bloodiest single day in the Civil war, if not the entirety of US warfare. Although the battle actually happened in September, every year, hundreds of folks, many Scouts, place luminaries on the battlefield in the December season; one for each death or casualty. 23,000 candles. 23,000. The drive thru is about five miles long. Leaves one thinking... Saturday, 6 December. If you're in the area, come on by. http://www.nps.gov/anti/planyourvisit/luminary.htm

Along that vein, here's a game I've seen used to good effect: Prepare a sries of 3x5 cards, one word to a card, listing the "Cub Scout Promise" and "The Law of the Pack". Fold'em each in half, and put them in a big paper bag. At the start of a meeting, where a Cub usually leads the Pack in the CSP and LotP, CM interupts : "wait a minute,Horatio, I know YOU know the CSP, but I wonder if the parents have been paying attention." Here he brings out the paper sack and walks back to the parents. "I'd like to give the adults a chance. Here, pick a word out of the bag. Good, now arrange you

Oh what a lead in... Uniforms too expensive? Remember that bare space on the back of the uni shirt? "Don's Pizza supports TroopXYZ" Back of the Merit Badge Sash? "Acme Plumbing Merits your Business" I know our Council already names campsites after corporate sponsors... "Camp BigHotel" and "Camp ParkingLotMogul" Now, I would NEVER suggest selling advertising on the side of a Scout Troop Trailer. But then... But at the 08jambo, many the area gateway mentioned sponsors, I remember a detroit pizza restaurant especially. A certain green tractor company comes to mind. Is this

Dang. Well. I only deleted the two multiples, and the boxes were still there with "sorry" noted therein. What happened to the boxes AND the original? Well. I tried to define the need to be proactive and therefore remind our Scouts early in their career about the promise we ask them to make. It is not sufficient to wait until the week before the EBoR to think about the Scout's 'activity'. "Tap three times on the submit if you love Scouts (tap,tap,tap) twice on delete (tap,tap) if the answer is noooo..."

OK... So now even the boxes are gone. It was there, before I sought to eliminate the mutiple entries. MODERATORS: What'd I do wrong? John-in-KC saw it, right John?

Now, there was a style of tent , like the Baker, open at the front, but sides that slanted in to two poles that were beside the front "door", which could be tied out like a porch roof. I think it was called "Camper"?

MODERATORS: Wierd.... I wrote an answer here timed 11:31:42am, and came back to see it repeated TWO more times (makes three). So I edited, erased the last two, but came back to see the FIRST one also totally gone, so that my Pulitzer winner was no where to be seen. Any chance of retrieving it? J/KC read it before the erasure, thank you for seeing what I meant. Y still iS

Every so often Scouts are mentioned indirectly on TV. Ran across a Hank Hill episode and ran it down on the internet. Seems Arlen Texas has a boys group named the Order of the Straight Arrow, wear blue unis and do boy syuff as defined by their adult leaders. In the episode I watched last night, "Straight as an Arrow", Hank wants his son to have the same adventures he had when he was an OotSA. But his leader partner has other ideas, gotta stay safe. Indoor camping, electric fires, clean shoes, don't climb trees,etc. The show satirices Scouting, but really talks about the middle ground. Hank

Flashlight tag is harder to play than it sounds. Not because of the idea (tag, but you tag with a light beam, not hand), but because it degenerates into merely running around, waving lights. This might not be bad for the CSs (wear'em out before bed?) but it's hard to have an actual game, I think. Depending on numbers and room, (indoors? outdoors? in dark?)Cubs love 'steal the bacon': Do Not do this on asphalt. Dirt, grass, hard smooth floors okay...Traditional way: count off by twos, form two lines about ten yards or feet (depending) apart. Count off each line in order (1,2,3,4...) from opp

J/KC: Never said the SM could give the ESC a P/F. This SM conference should occur about when the Scout is a new Star or Life. As I suggested, the idea is to REMIND the Scout of his promise to be Loyal, Trustworthy, etc. and set the internal gears turning. Again, let the Scout define how he has been Trustworthy and Loyal. I admit, the 'oficial' requirement is to have a SM con, but there is no paper directive that says there be only one or when, or how formal. The hallway encounter might be enough. If the Scout's Scout Spirit is evident in his non-Scout life, so much the better I say. The Eagl

Scotteng has the right start. But I would suggest two more things. The Pioneering Merit Badge book and some 1/4 inch braided cord, usta be called 'Venetion Blind cord'. Encourage neatness in the splices, as it adds to the strength. YiS

Any teacher (of any subject) has as a goal the imparting of that skill or knowledge that is their specialty. The teacher has to ask : is their success (or failure) a function of their teaching ability and effort or of the student's innate talent (or lack) for the subject. Then too, if the teacher passes the student without the 'officially' defined testing of the knowledge or skill, then who has failed? The student or the teacher? I say that often our regrets at being forced by regs to "pass" the ESC comes from not being sufficiently proactive in the years before. Dropping from the roles

Yep, "active" is 'officially' defined and 'personally' defined. But Eagle candidates need to be reminded that {first) they've been promising to be 'trustworthy' and 'loyal' for some time. One thing to try is the SM conference and ask how the ESC has been 'loyal' to the Troop, and how has he been 'active'. Let him define it. (second), the ESC should be reminded that if and when they meet all the OTHER requirements of the Eagle award, they will never stop being an Eagle. It ain't temporary like Tenderfoot. Encouragement and expectation.

The teaching of ideals is never the same as the succeeding in meeting them. We can teach and encourage. We can reward and punish (directly or subtly) as the ideal is approached or forgotten. We can "example" or we can say "that's good enough". I would hope that we can agree that the ideal is a fully, properly uniformed Scout, proud of his appearance and his Scout heritage. And I would hope we can agree that the forgiveness of some problems is appropriate. I have a Scout in our Troop who has parents that are intent on letting him make his own way as much as possible. He has ADDH issues.

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you give his wife a free weekend." Seriously, the biggest problem I've seen is the Scout designing a project that involves others. Not a few I've heard suggested are basically one boy affairs. It has to be pointed out that the project's purpose is not only doing the good turn but demonstrating leadership in it's planning and completion. Hence the need to include "help" in plan.

So his purpose was served. Ho hum. Oh, bytheway, that's "cue" as in a prompt to act or a reminder, not "queue" as in a waiting line. A querulous poster but strangely inappropriately verbose. Almost like his/her typos were purposeful. Oh well, fun while it lasted.

Magnetic North has changed (declination) almost 5 degrees in my area since 1965, from 7deg to almost 12deg east.

It truly is amazing what one can accomplish by internet without ever leaving home or waiting for return mail. Some notes on trips like this: 1)Buddy system. Each Scout walks with a buddy, doesn't have to be the same each day. Each Scout carries ID, a map of the area , cell phone numbers 2) morning meeting to make sure EVERYONE knows where we are going and how 3) check in times and places. 4) wear the uni. Wear Scout Hats! One can see a Scout hat a long way off, but a boy's head is a boy's head. And be appreciative of the waves and smiles you'll elicit, and the 'favors' you'll be offered.

Dunno. I wasn't at that one. But when I was in the P/U AAMB, it was an aerobic experience. Stands full of people or rain, we RAN on, fershur. I think some of that video is "pixilated," the stands are not all that visible in my viewing of it. Trouble is, I have no access for you to the films of my run ons. can't point and say "see? there I am." Memories...

Welcome (in advance) to Maryland and DC. Lots of stuff to do. Free museums, the zoo, free concerts, monuments, etc. Contact your Senator or Representative, their office can arrange alot of visits and stuff. Look into visiting the Baltimore Inner Harbor and seeing Fort McHenry and the USS Constellation on your way. Drive to see the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum out in Virginia (seperate from the A&S in downtown DC). Places to stay... Camping: about 30 miles NW of DC is Little Bennett Park. Very nice campground, Scout friendly. See:: http://mcparkandplanning.org/Parks/enterprise/p

SctDad: Thank you for your service to our boys. Sometimes seems there ain't many of us left. But the issue isn't about what the Army/navy/CG/Girenes might allow, but what is considered appropriate by the BSA? If a DE is willing to "stand in the gate", well and good.Perhaps in that case there were other problems afoot. But BSA leaders still need to set the example. I am sorry no one could come up to you and respectfully engage you in conversation about what is appropriate as uniform. Ahead of time, at our CSDC, we announced (via "guidelines" and emails, etc.) What we considered "appro