SSScout

It should be pointed out that there is NO "official" Whittling Chip or Totin' Chip curriculum. Only the safety guidelines on the back of the award pocket card. The teaching of the safe handling and skillful use is totally dependant on the experience of the instructor. All good ideas mentioned here, and the Cub Pack 178 curriculum is excellent, if a bit wordy and academic. I always try to instill in the Cub a pride of skill. "Showing off" must be discouraged by teaching that it is often a sign of LACK of skill. I was asked to help present the popcorn sales awards and prizes at the Pack I commish. One of the prizes was a pocket knife, presented to a Wolf, who sold a truly respectable amount of Popcorn. When he accepted his prize (handed to his dad), he returned to his table and immediately took it out of it's box (it was his prize, right?), unfolded it and it became an X-wing fighter (zoom!). I interrupted the proceedings, walked over to the table, respectfully asked the Cub to please put the knife on the table, took it up and demonstrated how to fold it safely and handed it to the father. I said "perhaps the Cub should wait until he has earned the Whittling Chip" and the dad nodded with a smile. The Whittling Chip was awarded to some Bears and Webelos at the same meeting. As to "type of knife", I believe that the Cub should see and learn to safely handle, with adult supervision, any type of knife. I always display a collection of different pocket knives, big, little, fancy and plain. The Cub should be taught that some knives may well be too big for them to handle, and that's okay. The time will come when they will be able to use dad's 12" watermelon cutter, just not now. Teach respect for the blade, pride of skill and good care for the tool. Watch the smiles...(This message has been edited by SSScout)

Pint: Thank you for the clarification. I could imagine something like this helping BP to gel his ideas about war, trust, honor, and dare I say, the brotherhood inherent in humankind. Many warriors have had their own epiphany. Look up Smedley Butler for some interesting reading. Twice awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and then wrote a book entitled "War is a Racket" . YiS

We use the term "flag courtesy". I am a substitute teacher for the public schools. I relish the times I am assigned to a middle school history class. I usually get to talk about flag history or trivia. The last class they were learning ( I hope) about the war of 1812. This inevitably led to the battle for Fort McHenry and the "Star Spangled Banner". Altho the regular teacher's plan, which I did follow, did not include it, I was able to get these ipod kids to think about the flag as more than a mere piece of history they needed to memorize. We talked about how the stars are added (15? 37? 48? 50? an art student's grade was changed?). Talk to your Cubs about "intent". Did he MEAN for the flag to get dirty? Or did he quickly pick it up to prevent more dirt? It can be fun, and worthwhile.

((on a roll)) ""As I went out one evening, to my RoundTable to play , A thirty five year old DE, to me these words did say.... "I see that you are a Scouter, and not just an average bum, For only does a Scouter, stir his coffee with his thumb. My ASM, he was a Scouter, there're no more like him today. If you put a tent up on it, he'd sleep on a pile of hay..."" ((Stay tuned...))

(throwback time.....) "so tired, tired of waitin', tired of waitin' for yooooou. I was a lonely boy(scout), I had nobody til I met you, but you keep-a-me waitin', alla the time, what can I dooooo? "(it's your life, an' you can do what you want.) Do what you want.... BUT PLEASE DON'T KEEP-A-ME WAITIN', please don't keep-a-me waitin',,,, cause I'm sooo tired, tired of waitin' , tired of waitin' for yooooou, for yoooooou, for yoooooou....."

Marvelous. BP always said Scouting was an international movement. I applaud Ms Gustafson, but the article and pictures raise some questions for me. Boys and girls together? In the same troop? No head scarfs on the girls? The mosques of my experience here in the US are'nt quite that "progressive". Still, I wish them much good fortune. "Inshallah"

I think Ms Secretary forgot (or never learned) her manners. One does not side step a co-worker, one should always include others and plan together. As the CC, you will set the tone for the way the rest of the Pack leadership operates. If all things are done "out in the open", Ms secretary will have no complaint about being left out. If she continues to assume more than her share of responsibility, then, as Nike has counseled, you need to bring in the COR and the UC . But we must ask, has everyone involved gone to Cub Leader training as appropriate? The UC can cue you in as to the schedule and availability. He/she can suggest strongly to Ms Secretary that she would benefit from such training ( and that training is what you can point to when she asks 'who gave you the right...', assuming all the other Cub leaders are properly trained). And the coffee and donuts are included. Step lightly, but stand your ground. Use her talents and make sure she knows you do appreciate her efforts. But if she insists on being less than a team player, do what you must for the sake of the Pack.

Wingnut: An interesting observation and justification/rationalization. Either way, a Scout can see a need to be satisfied and a way to satisfy it. Anyone else notice that a half gallon of ice cream ain't a half gallon anymore?

Messr. Shortridge gives much good counsel. Media is important. Now as to the contributed critters...If it's a new stuffed animule, no problem. If it's a gently used, but USED item... Enlist the help of a neighbor dry cleaner and arrange to have your collected menagery cleaned. This will prevent the allegation that the huggy critter is DIRTY. Then, add a distinctive ribbon/bow (bright red? Scout green? Red, white and blue?) to mark your effort but no "donated by" or name tag. That's not the important part. Wait... name it "Cubby?" Nah.. too obvious. Still, might be right.(?) Wrap it up in a cellophane bag to keep it fresh and ready for it's "life saving" duty, as it will no doubt be stored in the police or ambulance "special equipment" box in the trunk or cabinet.Ummm. A bag labeled " OPEN IN CASE OF NEED FOR HUG" in big red official letters. I bet some STAPLES or SPEEDY COPY would make those for you for free. Remember, the foam filled huggable critter need not be a "teddy", but could be a bunny or tiger or go-rilla. Ha! a go-rilla named Cubby! A hundred Cubby-s in a hundred squad cars and ambulae. I like the idea. A really Good Turn, Helping people at all times, and being Cheerful, too. Don't stop at a hundred. KiSMiF YiS

Hal: It is only a rumor on this side of the river, too. But the effect would be the same, consternation. Since it is no longer required to spend time in rank before the next advancement, it is very common to pass a couple of rank items at the same time: frinstance, after the Scout earns "Scout", there will be an occasion to earn the First Aid MB, say, during a series of F/A classes after Troop meeting. Earning the F/AMB obviates the F/A requirements for TF, 2 and 1. Presto. Pioneering MB obviates all the knot and lashing requirements for T, 2 and 1. We recently had a 15 year old TF, a very active in the Troop young man, FINALLY awarded his 2, 1 AND Star at the SAME CoH! Lots of good natured applause and cheers. I cannot testify as to the exact reasons, but he camped and hiked and sang with all of us often, served as ASP and SP previous. He then worked as a counselor at Council summer camp. So maybe we list the BoRs as 25, 26, 27 October?

As can be seen in the above references, east coast tribes did not "do" totem poles. The west coast tribes did them for identification, decoration and glorification of their clan spirit animals. All this doesn't mean you can't try your hand at a similar project. I have two friends who are pro wood carvers. They love the occasional commission to "adjust" the profile of a standing tree. One did a white oak, evoking the human struggle to overcome adversity, near a local Metro station. This sculpture unfortunately had to be removed due to construction. The other recently completed a really big magnolia, covering it with very realistic animals and birds, modifying his plan to accommodate the various limbs and knots. It stands at the entrance to the Friends Retirement Community in Sandy Spring , MD. A third man, whom I do not know, created the "Angel Joseph" out of a red oak chunk (! it's 15 feet tall and it's wings as wide) in honor of a local religious leader. It stands behind the Brookeville Academy in Brookeville MD. Me, I'll stick to the occasional necker slide. All would recommend that whether you do a tree "in situ" or a pole that you later place somewhere, that for preservation purposes, you treat the surrounding ground against termites. You have earned your Totin' Chip, haven't you? ;>)

"" If a religeon thinks saluting a flag is the same as idolizing the flag itself, what about crosses, stars, bibles, and what not thew other religeions bow to? Not trying to bash anybody, but seems like a bit of "But it's different when I do it" "" Scoutfish: That's exactly the point. Each faith does see it differently. To some, the Bible is the absolute Word of God, to others, still inspired by God, but written by humans. Ask a Catholic and a Baptist and a Quaker about praying to a statue of Mary, see what opinions you get. To many (most?) faiths, the first allegiance is to God, everything else is a distant second. And with the PoA, you are promising to loyal to a piece of cloth, special though it be. But my faith is not yours; you have found your way to yours by your path and education. By the twelveth point, I will respect and defend your belief, differing from mine tho it might. Someone else will judge it's sincerity and correctness, not me.

...and you will not regret it. Don't be shy about asking questions, take the training when you can, and eat a polite amount of donuts at every training session you attend. Repeat after me: KISMIF, KISMIF, KISMIF. And welcome to our virtual campfire...

NWScouter: Thank you. I will add this to my "data bank". The less distraction from worship, the better. Liz? Is thee out there?

Calvin Coolidge. Absolutely, slipped my mind. Thanks. So, what else to reduce the problem?

Legalities... No where is it required that a Scout, if it is counter to his sincerely held beliefs, salute and repeat the Pledge to the Flag. It is, however, a Scout requirement to be knowledgeable about, and be able to act appropriately (Wolf Badge requirement #2, frinstance), where the US Flag is concerned. There are many faiths that view the PoA as a loyalty oath and bordering on idolatry, in that one is promising to be loyal to a piece of cloth, both of which are counter to their teachings. The piece of cloth in question, however, DOES embody a proud history and DOES represent a certain set of ideals of which we should ever be reminded when seeing it and DOES symbolize our nation to the world. It should, therefore, be treated respectfully. But a Scout is Trustworthy and Reverent. He must, therefore, believe and mean what he says. If the Cub is saying the PoA and the father is not, it could be 1) the father is not a citizen of the USA, and the Cub is or 2) the father and the Cub are not citizens of the US and the father does not want to embarrass the Cub and so allows him to join his young comrades in the cermonial recitation or 3) the family is of a particular faith as described above but the Cub is being allowed to decide for himself what is right to do by his own belief or 4) something else. I would not embarrass the Cub in front of his buddies, but privately and non-judgementally ask the parent his reasons. I daresay he would be willing to discuss them with you. I know several folks that will not recite the PoA for various reasons, but all will stand when the flag is "presented". Patriotism is generally taught better by example than by insistance. LanceEagle:::Good Scouting to you, and welcome to the campfire. Even tho it is electronic, you'll find it usually gives out a fair amount of heat...

"Illegal Immigration" Why is it such a problem? Because people want to leave their country and come to the US of A, any way they can. Any solution must/could/should include some or all of the following: 1) Make the US of A less attractive. This means a) eliminating the many of the freedoms we enjoy. Need more government intrusion into our lives and activities. More travel restrictions among the states. Perhaps an internal passport (among other things). b) Define the way an American can worship. Too many choices in relating to God/Spirit/Creator/Nature makes ones life too complicated anyway. c) Restrict the way people can EARN a living. Tax more, make job choices harder, eliminate union negotiation power, the bosses and "market" should determine pay anyway. d) Don't worry so much about sanitation/health/medical treatment. We live too long as it is. e) Give the police and other law enforcement agencies a free rein in dealing with bad guys. That might make us more safe, huh? And help eliminate the backlog in court cases. f) Allow kids to drop out of school earlier. Fire a few more teachers, we spend too much money on our spoiled brats anyway. More students per class means more efficient use of personnel. 2) Make it harder to enter the US of A. Hire more border guards, build higher fences, patrol boats are needed, reactivate the shore batteries (Fort Monroe) and improve our radar and visual monitoring of the coastlines. Eliminate customs (allow NO ONE in), cut off all international travel. Why do we need it anyway? Don't we already have everything we need right here ? 3) Help other countries make it more attractive for their people to stay home. Insist that US industries pay a living wage (the same as a US worker?) in the factories they utilize in other countries. Allow US unions to investigate labor abuses over seas. Help the other governments build trust with their people. Insist on humane treatment of all prisoners. Reinvigorate the Peace Corps to help improve health and sanitary conditions in foriegn lands. Insist that aid sent actually is used for the purpose intended. Use military force sparingly. Have the courage to point out the abuses of power when they occur and to admit them when they occur with ourselves. Support governments that treat their people well and equitably and do not support those that do not. 4) Be charitable to people when it is needed, and as a nation live up to our ideals. I believe it was Woodrow Wilson who said that "the business of America is business". Perhaps that definition needs to be revisited.

What are you to this boy? Cub master? Web Den Leader? Concerned other parent? How have YOU dealt with the Scout's behavior? Does he need an "escort" during activities? What exactly have YOU observed? Is the behavior truly "malicious" or merely "mischievous"? A boy might enjoy seeing another get the blame for something, but what does that indicate? What do you know about the family dynamics? Have you spoken to the boy's parents about your concern? "It has made it hard for anyone to want to be around this Scout". Maybe that is a problem to deal with. It sounds a little like this Scout NEEDS to have some good people "around him".

Ziplock plastic bags. Quart size is a good compromise.. Dry powdered milk. Bisquik. Cocoa. Sugar. Margerine. Strawberry preserves.(or orange marmalde, or...) PLAIN Instant oatmeal (or real. Just takes longer). Raisins, or other dry fruit. NOTE: If not mixed together, transfer all ingredients to ZLPbags for packing and transport anyway. DO NOT carry in original packaging, prepare at home. Less weight, less stuff to pack out when empty. Pack trash into ONE ZLPBag for pack out (LNT) Read instructions for Bisquik. Read instructions for powdered milk. Measure appropriate amounts of each into ZLPBag. Time comes to cook, add appropriate amount of water to bag and mush up. Plop spoonfull of goo into hot greased (margerine!) pan (you did soap the outside of pan, right? That prevents permanent blacking of outside.). Grease spoon, Mash goo down into biscuit shape. Fry and turn as needed. Repeat with more goo. When done, split "ho-cake" and insert strawberry preserves. Measure appropriate oatmeal amount into ZLPBag, add appropriate amount of dry milk, strawberry preserves or dry fruit. Time to cook, add hot water to bag, mush around alot, eat from bag. Find your grandmom's Hot Cocoa recipe (not "Quik")(Heloise published an easy one lately). Measure out cocoa, sugar, and generous portions of powdered milk into ZLPBag. Seal and mix up thoroughly. When needed, spoon appropriate amount out of bag into cup. Add Hot water, stir. OR:::: Substitute Ovaltine for Cocoa and sugar. (Sugar's already in it). Use Patrol coffee pot and make alot all at once. If you are cold weather camping, you can break eggs, pre-cooked sausage, cheese etc. into your ubiquitous ZLPBag and seal and FREEZE IT SOLID. ((NOTE: RAW sausage, bacon, ham does not do well in this scenario. Cook it ahead of time before including in the ZLPBag)). Squeeze out as much air as possible before you freeze it. When time to cook, either peel off the bag and slide the block into your greased pan, or try boiling the bag in a pot of water. Hang the bag so it does not touch the hot sides of the pot. Try this at home first, some brands of ZLPBags are more (less?) heatable than others. Easiest Backpack recipe... Dinty Moore stew and a Scout knife can opener. Fold can top back into handle, be careful. Heat slowly, stir to heat evenly, prevent burning. Use empty can (washed out) for other boiling duties. Walk on...

Hendrickms24: Greetings from the Old Line State. Here in the US, I've been assured by my Muslim friends that avoiding left hand contact is cultural, traditional AND religious. But originally based on hygienic reasons, as you allude to. They are still Scouts, and I grasp their hand.

Washington Post did a nice article about the new stamp, with photos. Note the new Centen BIG neckers, worn OVER the collar, and smoky bear hats. No bluejeans. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/NewsSearch?st=Scout%20Postal%20Stamp& Nope. Doesn't look much like a BSA stamp. Any grapevine about how the design came to be? Doesn't evoke much of any Scouty thing to me. Not even thru the WOSM folks. Gotta buy more "forever" stamps.

Scout fist bump? Scout pinky link? Scout slipnslide? 'Course, the Muslim Troop I Commish won't do left hand shakes anyway, so we do right hand and it's alright...

"DEN CHIEF.... don't leave home without one."

The distinction JiKC is trying to make ( and succeeding very well, I might add) is that we, as Scouters should encourage the Scouts faith, whatever that may be, as defined by the Scout's family and ultimately by the Scout, but... I like to think that a "Scout's Own" service might just include some personal worship, but ,indeed, it would be wrong to have the service (there's a word that deserves it's own discussion in this context. Who or what do we serve?) leader/facilitator imply or insist that one type of ritual or prayer is more appropriate than another. UNLESS everyone attending is of one faith tradition (Christian, Islam, Bahai',, etc.), in which case, that particular faith ritual or observance is pursued as appropriate. What JiKC is so adamant about (correctly) is that in trying to please everyone, we please few. It is still possible, tho, to note the glory of the Creation, the brotherhood of all Scouts, the agreement between all faiths of the observance of what is called The Golden Rule, the need to subserve oneself before the Divine, and the possibility of seeing agreement of the ideals of the Scout Promise and Law with the faiths of the world. Such "Scout's Own" can be very successful if designed carefully. Way Opens. I note the single example of the Hindi family that joined our Troop. They professed marvel (?) at the similarity between the SP and the SL and their Holy Script (whose name escapes me). They only withdrew because their son had trouble adhering to their strict vegetarian diet with the rest of our omnivarous Scouts (who did try , but ultimately could'nt totally reconcile the camp menus). The Responsive readings are out there (OT/NT/Q'ran/Bagavt'gita/etc. to the SPromise and SLaw) for consideration. The prayers from every tradition are there (wonderful google). Try www.tolerance .org Allowance does not equate Agreement, only Acceptance.

I hear "ego led" rather than "spirit led". But then, maybe worship of "nature" could be a religion? Or worship of one's self? The supremacy of the individual? Belive in only what one can "see"?