SSScout

Up here, the UoS includes a Cub College, a Boy Scout College, and Adventure Scouting College (High adventure, Venturing, etc.)and a bunch of undiffentiated "electives". The Pow Wow is only Cub Scout related. I was told the Pow Wow was going to be more "how to" and the UoS Cub College was to be more "why is it" and philosophy of Scuting stuff. Mechanics versus intellect, I guess. That's how it was explained to me. Utilizing the wonders of the internet, one can Google "University of Scouting" and get a whole bunch of Councils and compare them for content, purpose, cost, all kinds of stuff. Then go wash your dishes and get back to living...

I like mn_scout's answer. Beyond that, the key is a registered, knowledgeable Merit Badge Counselor. A Merit Badge Counselor SHOULD be an expert in the subject; at the very least, more knowledgeable than the Scout earning the badge. A professional in the field, or an experienced hobbyist is preferred. There is a training for the post available, see your local District Executive or Commissioner for info . AND... there is info on line, if you dig for it. See http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/GuideforMeritBadgeCounselors.aspx Very often, the local Troop will have a cadre of registered MBCs available for the more poular ones or Eagle required ones. For the more exotic ones, you will have to do one of three things: 1) call around to other Troops, check out the local clubs or businesses involved. Someone may know someone who knows someone... If you are fortunate, your District or Council will have a list of MBCs to consider and contact. The boy SHOULD do the contacting, if he wants to earn the MB. 2) Recruit an appropriate professional or hobbyist (? Dentistry? talk to your dentist. Geology? Check with your local Rock hound club or college. "etc.") or 3) sign up yourself and get knowledgeable . Speak to your Troop's Committee Chair, he/she may have the form and knowledge of how to register.. If your boy wants to earn the XYZ MB, and you can't find an already registered MBC, sign up yourself, and then offer your services to the District at large. Put a notice in your local District newsletter and I guarantee you will find some more Scouts interested in the XYZ MB. Call around to appropriate offices and companies and agencies, arrange the tours and sessions, and then get your Scouts together in your rec room or out on your deck or down in the Fourbucks coffee shop to discuss the requirements. Surprise! They have to meet some requirements. Some of them will be eager to meet your standards of performance, others will be surprised that you actually ask them to study the subject, and learn something about XYZing. I did this with the Farm Mechanics MB, had a class of 6 boys, three saturdays, a visit to the state's largest farm implement dealer, some local farms, and voila, a MB! And the families all got their lawn mowers lubricated and serviced for the season, and some tools sharpened and repaired. Help the Scouts to gain a sense of accomplishment, a pride of skill and knowledge. MB Days/Colleges/o-ramas/clinics have their place, if done right and with the right expectations (Personal Fitness in one day? I don't think so...) With some advance planning and preparation, they can help Scouts earn MBs they might not otherwise earn. I knew a MBday whose organizers insisted on specific advance preparation, and the boys were well served. Some of the MBCs used the day as just one of several meetings. MBs are just one more oppotunity that Scouting has that the rest of the world doesn't. I know some home schollers that use MBs as part of their curricullum, using the MBbook as a text, and the earning as proof of mastering the subject. The home school advisor we use does that. Astronomy? Nature? Forestry? All worth some allowed academic credit. Maybe not college, but middle school science... Good Scouting to you.

Came up too late for Automobiling MB, so earned Automotive Safety. Dad had a landscape business, so I was the chief asistant mechanic growing up. I "inherited" a 1948 Ford F-1 Panel truck, when dad decided he didn't need it (in 1965!). Drove it to school, and dates(!). Wish I coulda kept it. Onward and upward...

Can you say "Owasippe"? http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=87008#id_137760 Oh, yes, National can too jump in to "help" troubled Councils. The problem is who defines the trouble? The CORs must participate in the governing of the Council, or accept what happens without compalaint. It's called "democracy".

Try these on for size. Scoutson will be making them for a bike trek/tour this coming summer. www.instructables.com/id/Make-4-gallon-square-bucket-bike-panniers-for-less Combination panniers/campseat/grocery tote/water bucket/drum?

Twocubdad: All very true. Lightnotes: Go to your Scoutshop, and ask for "Bugle Calls/Voice of Lord Baden-Powell" CD #AV-054CD. The one I have is several years old now, and has UPC 7 30176 32279 7. Some MBs, a Scout can come to a "class" and expect to walk away with a signed blue card. We have MBDays like that. Not Bugling. Fellow walks up to a gent on a New York street and asks, "say bub, how do you get to Lincoln Center?" The man, who happens to be a music teacher, answers, "Practice, my boy, practice!!" OK, from the diaphragm, now...

Welcome to our electronic campfire. If you'll do a search of these forums, you'll find lots of discussion and ideas for bugling. Go back a couple of years. If you googlesearch, you can find old copies of the original Bugling MBBook, which listed many bugle calls and their sheet music and history that you can print out. Go for clarity and volume , as well as intonation. You might experiment with your boys as to how far away a bugle can be heard and understood, both over clear land and back in the woods. I always liked a melencoly and mournful version of Tatoo, before Taps. Gives the bugler a chance to "play" the instrument, not just "sound" it. Good for you for promoting a traditional type of communication. I volunteered and was accepted as the staff bugler for a Wood Badge course. I was gratified by the positive comments from the participants after the course, and the CD even said he changed his mind about the idea of a camp bugler afterwards.

Fill out the Unit Fund Raising form, check in and get approved by Council, make sure of your plans and go for it. Anything is possible. The Scout Troop of my youth sold fresh, still warm Krispy Kreme donut dozens door to door on a Saturday morning. Made boucou bucks. Maybe arrange to sell at sport events in your area? At local park? Tennis courts? "All the day I faced the barren waste, without the taste of water... coooool water...."

A bit of history , bokris: Once upon a time, a Cub Scout was a Cub Scout. After he joined, he earned the Bobcat pin. Every Cub did this, regardless of the age they joined. Then they were a "real" Cub Scout, wore the blue uniform, the yellow neckerchief (ONLY the yellow) and did Cub Scout stuff. The Den they were in was USUALLY age/school grade specific. The boy was a Cub with his buddies. I say USUALLY, because, if your Pack was small, you might be in a neighborhood Den, with other boys of differing age. Had been done that way, sometimes. Depending on his age, he would work, with his Den Leader (Den Mother!) and family on the Rank/Badge appropriate: Wolf, Bear, Lion or Webelos. Cub did not need to work on a "younger" rank, tho some were allowed to and did. Nice to have all four badges. The idea of a Den being a "Wolf" Den, or whatever, is a more modern idea. We were in "DenOne, Having Fun", and Den One (or two, or three , or four,) was the Den, not the rank. The rank was what you EARNED and was really independant of the Den appelation. As the Cub earned his rank, (some sooner than others) he received it at the next Pack meeting, with appropriate (at least we thought so)cheers and applause, the cornier the better. I remember discovering the idea of earning something by what I accomplished. Blue and Gold banquet was a special affair. I remember having one at a really nice sit down restaurant. The Dens made decorations for the tables and room. Best behavior! Grandparents in attendance! Some special awards, some special entertainment. If he did not earn the rank by the end of the year, the Cub could earn it later, even next year, and be awarded it as appropriate. Or, he could commence on the next years badge, as he and his parents decided. I had one friend of mine that had moving trouble, multiple houses in one year, and didn't earn his Bear until the next year, along with his Lion shortly after. Each Den could be, as I said, either age/grade dependant or not. The Cub did his crafty stuff and museum visits and such with his Den. The Pack was for greater recognition and bigger fun. We had a Cub softball league, our Pack fielded a team that played other Packs thru the spring and into the summer months, coached by the Pack dads. I still have several ash softball bats of that vintage (collectors, anyone?) . Yes, we met thru the summer. If someone was on vacation, well, we all heard about it when they got back. The idea of naming the "Wolf" Den, "Bear" Den and (now) Webelos 1 and 2 Dens, and making the ranks more dependant on the end of the year (if you don't earn it by June, you've lost the chance, start on the next years rank) is more modern. The emphasis, to my memory, was on the Cub Scout activity, and the rank came along automatically, it was not 'earn the rank' as a goal in and of itself. Do you see the difference here? Den 4 may be the "Wolf" Den, but the Wolf rank should be awarded as they earn it, not all at the B&G or at years end... Too much reminincing? (not enough?)(This message has been edited by SSScout)

announcements, Announcements, ANNOOOUUNNCEMENTS,....

The thread about the hectograph (which, as luck would have it, I remember doing as an experiment a long time ago), made me think about another old style technology. Let the Scouts communicate across the "gorge" by Wig Wag, Semiphore, and ...Heliograph, perhaps home made? Ask the Scouts to develope their own method?

Is it too late to file a grievance with your shop steward? ;-) There are Scouts and there are scouts. If the Scouts in our home Troop asked to plan the summer camp, boy, wouldn't I be surprised and pleased. It is a balance between allowing and hearing the SPL say "you mean I can DO THAT?" when we ask him for his decision about something. As the UC, I often find myself reminding our SM that his lectures are very authoritive, but you can see the boys dozing off, waiting for the meeting's Patrol game. Our present SPL asked for ideas from the Troop for Troop meeting activities. His surprise was evident when several Scouts and adults suggested (in writing) Scout skill practise, and instruction in Scout skill things. We will see....

Great idea. Waaaaay back in prehistory (when I was a Scout), our District (the whole county ) held an event called the Scout-o-rama. It took up the whole County Fair grounds. Every Scout Unit was asked (?required? I forget) to set up a booth, exhibit, demonstration, something. One Cub Pack ran a movie theater. One troop built a lash up tower. Another sold campfire brownies (gave away?). I don't remember the Pinewood derby back then, still new I guess. Almost anything could go , I think. I have seen lashed up merry go rounds! Sell popcorn (fresh! not that canned stuff...). Show "Follow me Boys!" I'm thinking someone could find a distributor to set up an outdoor theater. Small pool for boating, bigger pool for canoe jousting (check with Navy recruiting for SCUBA dive tank.. COPE course. Zip line. Camp cooking. Lots of camp cooking. Steaks, potatoes, brownies/dutch ovens, spaghetti (check with county health inspector) (and fire marshall for outdoor burning) . Do flag retirements. Get Press coverage. LOTS of press coverage. Ballon release. Racing pigeons. Helicopter landing (state police?). Bicycle motocross? Band concert? Celebrities visit? Mike Roe?? Cub Packs do games: Bean bag toss, throw rope lasso, rubber band shooters, water gun targets, R/C car races? PWDerby? Crafts: make Cub stuff to take home with your Pack Troop name on it. Two boy crosscut saw, cut off a "cookie" to take home with the troops name stamped (?burned?) on it. Need nice straight dry fencepost logs for that. Home Depot? "Oh the places you'll go, the things you'll see"... With sufficient control::: hatchet throw?

""...are things that we would do as a family anyway. "" God bless the child that can stand up and say, I've got my own. Not everybody can, knows how, or can afford to go and do that stuff as a family. Let's do'em as a Cub Pack! Or... organize a predominately volunteer Day Camp! Might even get the stay-at- home dads and moms out (aw... I don't know anything about this Scout stuff...) More fun for the Cubs, being with their buddies, maybe a little fun for the adults (I remember the Denwalker mom I overheard mumbling to a compadre about "all the work I'll have piled up waiting for me on monday" moan groan I've been with Johnny all week...). You know what it takes, help them along. For comparison, our big urban Council has the following: *Districts sponsor Cub Scout Day Camps. Our District has three. Monday thru friday, 9 to 3 or 4pm, usual camp stuff: Scout skills, nature, flags,crafts, skits, , archery, bbs, one has a raft on a lake, one has a pool. Bring your lunch. Lots of volunteer leadeship, about $125 or so *Council sponsors a couple of "parent and one" weekends. Saturday morning , lunch, dinner, sunday morn breakfast, lunch, go home. Lots of "extra value" stuff. Might have climbing wall or jr. COPE course, RC planes, archery, BBs, fishing, nature trail, Bring your own tent and gear. maybe $90 a pair. *Resident Cub Camp. Council thing, at a Cub dedicated camp site (they do other stuff there too, like WB). Big wall tents on platforms,cots, your sleeping bag., arrive sunday late afternoon, thru tues. morn, and a second set , weds. afternoon thru fri. afternoon. Paid Scout staff, meals in dining hall, swim pool, boat/raft class(age appropriate), model rocketry, shooting ranges, crafts, campfire at night, skits, etc. $180 Adults and Den Chiefs get a discount. Then we get to the Webelos camps, and they are waaaay away... I still say that Scouting is the best bargain in town.

SM had another C/O to do the same night, so he asked me to take care of C/O #2. Went with BSHBs, neckers and tabs. Knew I had 3 boys to welcome, in company with two other Troops. Initially, I had not met these boys or their parents. I had their names, that's all. OA team did a nice job, made the evening very memorable. The CM said a few goodby words, introduced the Scouters from the three Troops, and the boys made their walk. I welcomed my Troops three boys, and then introduced myself to the parents and collected their names, phone numbers and emails and gave them mine and the SM's. SPoke with them at length about our meeting times, activities and such. Assured them their boys were in a good Troop and we looked forward to having them on the next hike (on such a date). All three are still with us, 2years later, very active, the dads are also very connected. I credit the active interest I gave them right then and there.

There's a competition for you... give advance notice so the Patrols can study up on it, then space'm across a 200 yard wide "gorge", and have them "attempt" (ha!) to send and receive Wig Wag signals with the neckerchief tied to a Scout Staff. Dot to the right (Patrol medallion is a round Dot), dash to the left (Troop number is a long Dash), space is down, period is up-down, up is 'tween letters. Hey, put one Patrol on the north side, one Patrol on the south. Each sends a message to the other, if it is received correctly, they both get points!

Clenlaw: I think you have the right impression. But so do you also have the right atitude, the one about camping, the one about the "out" in "scout". I think you know, if you think about it, that you are in this Scouting stuff for not a short time. If you were not a Scout in your childhood, you are here, now, in it for your CHILD'S childhood. I think that's what I mean. Anyhow, think about the other Cubs and their parents. The cabin camping is , afterall, a good intro to the wild and wooly stuff. Gradual is good. Can't expect the beginners to want to go wilderness trekking on the firat time,umm? Take the BALOO training so you have the certification to help plan your Pack's outdoor stuff. Your son has a dad (and mom?) that are outdoorsy, yes? Take the Tiger Den (and,eventually, the Pack) along with you when you hike. They will find the fun stuff along the way. One of the Tigers I led umteen years ago just got his Eagle. He remembered the old Den Leader... Set the example, be available to the boys, the parents will come along.

As can be seen, we are talking both equipment and technigue/skill differences. If you can find the old gear, might pack up (frinstance) an M4 plywood packframe with a Yucca pack, filled with wool and polyolifin insulated sleeping bag, aluminum canteen, cookkit, metal box first aid kit, canvas tent, rubber nylon poncho, etc. strapped on with diamond hitch.... and then pack up a comparable Kelty/Gregory internal frame pack with comparable ultralight stuff. Compare weight, service, and let Scouts try'em on.

Choice one: Go to sewing/notions section of local store, seek out tool named "seam ripper". Choice two: Go to work bench, seek out tool known as "razor blade paint scrapper". Take one of above choices in one hand, hold Scout shirt sleeve appropriately in other hand, and REMOVE THE POCKET by slooooowllly and caaaarefffuullly cutting out the thread holding it to the sleeve. Do not be in a hurry. You can do this. Leaves sleeve open for patch wearing. Small thread holes do not show, will be covered up by patch, will blend back into sleeve material eventually.

Boomerscout has the right of it. I was a Cub, Bobcat back in, oh , let's see, 1955 I was 7, and my mom was one of our several Den moms. I earned Lion and then Webelos rank (with the Arrow strip). Went on into BScouts. When I came back to Scouting as an adult, and discovered the new ranks, I thought that they had not necessarily done a good thing by enlarging the Webelos rank by a year and removing the Lion rank. Even as a boy, then, I discerned the rank progression: Bobcat, Wolf, Bear, Lion as a logical progression of size and bravery/meaness/strength... I do not understand the rationale of starting as a Lion and then a Tiger and then a Wolf... it short circuits the Junglebook connection, too. Where does Mowgli come into this? And Akela? A cub (wolfcub?) is by rights the start of the pack progression, if one is to retain the Junglebook mythos. Or maybe Kipling is no longer appropriate for our boys to learn from.

The ribbons are the Troop's history. I would not discard them. I also would not send them to some unsuspecting Eagle or their parent. They might have shared in that history , but you are then diluting that history. The recipients then have to decide what to do with them. I like Dk's idea, but it would prove to get unwieldy eventually. Here is what some Troops and Packs have done: Go to your local hobby shop, and buy some acid free display boards, maybe the trifold kind such as kids use for their "science fair" displays. And get some acid free double stick tape, maybe in the scrapbook department. Take the ribbons off the flagpole and sort them out as to type or year or both. Using a COOL iron, not hot, smooth the ribbons out, print side down (the printing may melt off the ribbon!). Arrange them on the display boards and double stick tape them to the boards. Makes a nice display for B&G banquets, CoHs and the like. Portable, too. Admire the fact that your Troop has been to so many places and done so many things. Use as an inspiration to the PLC for future endeavors.

Perhaps the reasons are more, dare I say it, pecuniary in nature . By enlarging the possibly suitable age range, they are making it more likely the Jamboree will be filled. Wasn't there some retrenching of Jamboree enrollments/expectations this last time? And Philmont is already behind in it's usual enrollments this term. Our Troop was recently offered about two dozen open trek dates, and we weren't normally eligible this season having gone just two years ago. That wasn't expected a-tall. This is a NEW, unproven venue. Oh, I know, it will be an unforgetable event as always, no doubt. But, there are also unforgetable bills to pay, despite Bechtel's largesse. They can't expect really new, young Scouts to succeed at the Jamboree, it is something more than the usual Scout summer camp. You have to expect some maturity and ability to navigate solo, so can't make it too young. By the by, any word on the level of summer camp reservations? Or is it too early to judge those things?

Eammon: That is known as "cognitive dissonance", where a really poor, or dumb choice, or bad result is justified by the "owner" as a really good choice because of 'loyalty' or 'future' possibilities, or trying to convince others that the poor choice is a good choice for them too, thus 'sharing' the agony and diluting it somehow..." At the top of the coleseum stands, 40mph zero dgree wind in your face: Repeat after me: "I have season tickets and you don't, I have season tickets and you don't..." A Chicago Cub fan might understand your Steeler fan friend's belief system. A dad or mom might loyaly come to hear their son or daughter scrape a bow across the violin strings at their recital, thus justifying the months (?years?) of lessons. Maybe a future Heivitz, maybe not. But that's loyalty. I know I'll be proud of my son's accomplishments, even allowing for the years of whippings to get him there. ;-) I had a boss who was truly surprised that his employees had no desire to stay late or volunteer for O/T. He could not make the connection between his treatment of the crew and their feelings of not being 'appreciated' in their efforts. I nominated a man for a compliment for an action the man performed. Record a compliment for THAT? The boss responded that the man was "just doing what he was expected to do", and denied the compliment. This boss was like that. Loyalty? I could not name anyone in the office that was sorry to see him promoted sideways to another site. Loyalty is more earned and deserved. It can not be merely expected.

Yep. Gotta ask'em. We had a Hindu family join our Troop. We are sponsored and meet in a Methodist church. They came regularly and the boy made friends. Came time for the first campout together, they tried real hard to make allowances for the family's dietary concerns, everybody ate vegetarian for the weekend! Unfortunately, they dropped out over the dietary thing. Their boy couldn't resist the temptation his Scout buddies represented. No religious conflict seen, as the boys handled all that. No adults to muck it up.

Amen, brother. The P/C is way overpriced, and only for the good of the organization will folks buy it. If one WANTS popocorn, one goes in the grocery, if one WANTS cookies, one LOOKS for a Girl Scout. That said, my local CPack sold over $26,000. of P/C this year. One Cub did over $1,000. by hisself. Or his family? This is one reason why the related STroop does not sell P/C, but Christmas decor.