SSScout

Tenderfoot requirement #9: ""Explain the importance of the buddy system as it relates to your personal safety on outings and in your neighborhood. Describe what a bully is and how you should respond to one."" Stosh: Are you asking who the "bully" is in this case? Or who the Scout's "buddy" is? Christineka: I am sure your Scout is aware of his desire to please you and take care of his "business". Our Scoutson was in 4H, and we home schooled from 7grade thru HS graduation. Along the way, he won awards in science fairs, went to Philmont twice, staffed a Jamboree, raised 30 plus rabbits, winning ribbons and paying his way. And earning Eagle just before he was 18.... At age 21, he still has some contact with his Troop and we certainly are guilty of both reminding him of stuff and being proud of him. Along the way, we also learned to back off and remind him that it's his Scouting, not ours.

The last Jambo might be educational. WiFi relay towers, Scout schmart phones that were to be included with the registration fee, Jambo wide announcement apps that didn't, Solar powered (sometimes) charging stations, cellphone access to the lucky/privileged, Scouts concerned with competitive recharging ("hey, mines up to 40%", "mines up to 45...")(actual overheard conversation @ 9pm), Jambo News that were never intended to be in print but online, I could think of some more given time, but you might get the idea.

Jag-off, Jaggers, from (?) Jakers! (from Wkipedia, yes I watched it with my much younger son).... : Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks (or Jakers in Europe) is an animated half-hour children's television series. The show was animated using computer-generated imagery and broadcast in the United States on PBS Kids (English) from September 7, 2003[1] to January 24, 2007.[2] The show chronicles the boyhood adventures of Piggley Winks, an anthropomorphic pig from Ireland, and how he relates these stories to his grandchildren as a grandfather in the present day. The word "jakers" was originally a euphemism for "Jesus" in much of Ireland during the 1950s and 1960s and was an exclamation of surprise, delight, dismay, or alarm. Piggley and his father use it to express their delight when they discover something on their adventures.

Recruitment is the topic today. If Scouting is deemed a good thing for boys, why is YOUR unit the one they should join to get that "Good Thing"? If the Troop only depends on Crossing Over Webelos for it's "new blood", what is the real reason for that Troop's existence? If a Cub Pack recruits from the general school population, what's to stop a Boy Troop from doing the same thing? Does your Troop make any effort (posters, handouts, presence at PTA meetings, back to school nights, school assemblies?) to give 5,6,7,8 grade boys the opportunity , the reasons to consider Scouting along with sports, band, debate club, etc.? What is the reason some boys "jump ship" to another unit ? Why the jealousy between Scout Leaders if we are all (officially) bent to the same task ? What was that mission statement again? If a Troop depends on ( a ) Pack for it's "new blood", shouldn't it help that Pack recruit Cubs? Shouldn't it make itself attractive to those Cubs ? If a boy LIKES being a Scout (Cub, Boy) , how can we, the ADULT Leaders, make it easy for the Scout to invite his friends to join too? Assuming , that is, that we want "outsiders" to join.....

Since this enumeration of Scouterdotcom doesn't have a "spin-off" function, Time for another thread.

I'm thinking that it is late in the year for April Fool's day.... ""living out the organization’s motto of using any tool they have, be it a piece of rope or piece of technology."" I would like to know where she got this. I am not averse to technology. I think archiving your certificates for future reference might be a good thing (BSA never lost any paperwork, naaaah). I would like to know who gets the money out of this, Eagle94: Time for a Sewing Merit Badge Day for your Troop :-) and point out the benefits of "Badge Magic" or even "Goop" used judiciously.... And, one can always safety pin things on and get aunt Matilda to sew it on, or your local dry cleaners will often sew Scout stuff for cheap if you have it placed where you want it.

The ultimate in Leave No Trace : Pack out your human waste: How to Shit in the Woods by Kathleen Meyer. http://www.amazon.com/How-Shit-Woods-Edition-Environmentally/dp/1580083633 THE reference for human hygiene. NPS rules, back country policies, equipment (both professional and home made), health issues, what COULD happen..... Goes along with Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi http://www.amazon.com/Everyone-Turtleback-Library-Binding-Edition/dp/0613685725 Somebody's got to tell'em... that toilet does go somewhere......

Yep. It's been awhile. I also like the Opinel, got one in Spain on my Camino trek two years ago. Here's a nice "Cub " knife: http://www.scoutstuff.org/cub-scout-lockback-knife.html#.VZsulrtRHIU And in answer to a long ago request, since the PI function doesn't, herewith our Whittlin' Chip curriculum, one of many that can be found..... https://www.dropbox.com/s/gtu8g107a5e4t1v/ScoutWhitlinChip2.docx?dl=0 Good Scouting to you!

Any Troop want to invite Mister and Misses President to hike Philmont or The Summit?

GSUSA depends more on the leader's desire than the BSA does. BSA has specific training to LEAD the leader into the outdoors, so to speak. Not so in GSUSA to my ken. If the GSUSA leader doesn't want to camp/hiked/etc., it can't happen. Gurlz who want to CHE, (especially etc.) need to join Venture Scouts!

Incorrigible: Welcome to the forums. A lot of us are retired and come on now and then. Some of us work early, write late, I used to work early and write even earlier.. The YP is online, as a Scout Leader one has to sign on to MyScouting.org, and start off. Lots of the required training is now on line. Have fun as you let your Venturers have fun....

Home School Aviation Venture Crew! Why didn't I think of that! As you may have noticed, there are few parents as dedicated to their kids success (and independence) as home schoolers. I would definitely promote your crew thru that avenue, but make it a publicly aware thing too. A thirty seat plane is the "smallest" you have access to? Wow. What is that, a DC3 or a DASH8 ? Ditto the comments about training. And YOU need to insist on the YP training. That Council wonk needs to have his ears pinned back by the SE, or somebody, as that lack or forging can come back to bite you. Good Scouting to you and your Venturers.

This discussion is not so much about "what the boy(s) need or want" as it is about what the adult wants. Here, the adult seems to want a Boy Scout Troop. If he (or she?) has a big Troop, with boys moving into it, he feels successful. If there is a Cub Pack that is "his", then that moving in, that joining is almost automatic and guaranteed. Where is the effort? Where is the proof that the Troop is a good one, boy led, full of the adventure and safe opportunity that we here are always talking about? "If you build it, they will join" but only if THEY know about "it". Recruiting involves more than protecting Cub Pack "turf". You need a program that the boys have ownership in, that they would want to tell their buds about and invite them to join. The community needs to know about it, thru posters and signs and media stories and service projects.

Mention "Cub Scouts" and you get amazing responses. We always schedule "Specials" . These have included (in past years): the State Police Rescue Helicopter, lots of fire trucks and F&R personnel in turn out gear, Hawks and Eagles from rescue places, RC model aircraft (including jets!), homing pigeons, hot air balloons, big trucks from construction sites, cranes, professional archers, parrot circus,the Army Corps of Engineers (big trucks and a building stuff class!. We had to do NOTHING!), Embassies have sent exhibits and crafts, NASA sends astronauts to talk about space exploration, model rocketry, astronomy/telescope club (in the middle of the day? Yep), Star Wars club in costume, model T club builds a car in 15 minutes, farm equipment, fishing gear, Scales and Tails (state parks), Civil War re-enactors, and more, but I can't remember them all. Someone has to think and ask.... They will come!

Thomas Crapper: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Crapper Swearing( to tell the truth): Mathew 5:34 Tinker's dam(n): https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tinker's_damn Other dam(n): to condemn, make worthless, destroy in hell... Bodily functions of various types, used as nouns, verbs , adjectives, adverbs..... All (and others) can be replaced with better choices as means to express frustration, unexpected pain, disgust, anger, and other emotions. Used as descriptive adjectives for no good real purpose or to only lend emphasis to what is otherwise a poor argument , they can likewise be replaced with a little thought with better choices. Encourage those choices....

Think of the great "camplantern" (no fires allowed on the WH lawn!) the POTUS can tell! "It was a dark and stormy committee meeting...."

""It Depends"" In our District, we have the good fortune to have a number of really dedicated-to-Scouting folks. They love doing the camp thing, and , if it is a lot of time and effort, it can be seen as a labor of love. Somebody will know who stores "that" piece of equipment or supplies . Our Cub CD this year is also our District Camp Chair. She worked out a deal with a resident school for "at risk " youth (they teach carpentry and other building skills) to use a portion of their 50 plus acres for Day camp. We have cut down trees, cleared ground, planted grass, killed PI, set up piles of straw bales for archery backstops and generally made an old tree farm into a campground that will be used for CSDC, Webelos Weekend, maybe IOLS, close in Troop campsite... Our extra large, economy size Council has a very nice overnight CSCamp, but it is more than an hour drive from our District area (one of 26 in our Council). It is on a 400 acre property that is also used for Woodbadge, OA ordeals, public school events, MB days , COPE course, Range officer training, and lots of other things. It was purpose built for Cub stuff, with a stockade, a pirate ship, and lots of woodsy trails and fields for Frisbee and such. It has been equipped with barracks, tent platforms, a formal lodge for meetings. Folks coming to the Nat Jam and touring our NatCap are often overnighted there. CWBSnyder: http://www.ncacbsa.org/members/group.aspx?id=118926 and https://www.facebook.com/CampWBSnyder So, "it depends" . I think it is very neat that someone came up with the idea of a day camp for Cubs. It is fun, serves a purpose, they actually learn something at it (I would hope!), and a lot of the Cubs are encouraged (if it's done right) to go on in Scouting. Like much in Scouting, "the work is done by whoever shows up". If you have the fortune to have folks that love the idea of Scouting, stuff gets done. "It Depends".... Again, we have the opportunity to give our kids an opportunity they would not get anywhere else, from anyone else....

Girl Scouts Camp on White House Lawn, first ever? http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/girl-scouts-camp-white-house-lawn/story?id=32141434 http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/01/politics/girl-scouts-obama-white-house-evacuated-storm-dc/ Never heard of any Scout campouts like that. You?

Scouter dot com use to have a news search section. It automatically sought and listed "Scout" items in the news. I guess that was a "luxury " item when the site was rebuilt. Thanks to all for posting Scouty things for us to read.

Oh, I want to be a member of this Troop. Patrol leaders and SPLs are superfluous, great, simplifies the chain of command so things get done quicker. Lots of parents on the camping trips. Very good, they can carry in the gear for the Scouts and set up the camp kitchen and sanitary facilities so they're "done right". Saves wear and tear on the poor Scouts. Cooking for the Scouts might be a good thing, too. Give mom a sense of purpose, and the boys a chance for better meals. No need to learn about how to boil water if dad is there to do it. Cocoa tastes the same, no matter who pours the cup, or does it? Parents doing everything? Very nice. More time for Scouts to play "I Doubt It" and text their friends at home to complain about the dirt and bugs. "My little darling" is close to hand for picture taking in his "so cute" Scout Tshirt and shorts. Cursing? Well, obviously the lack of a large descriptive vocabulary is a disability owing to the poor education in the person's past, and so must be "understood" and "allowed for". Then too, if one's masculinity or self-esteem is in question, naturally one must defend it with appropriately strong language. Helps to build esprit de corps, being part of the team, groupthink, etc. No mamby pambies in MY Troop. No boy ever wants the challenge of being away from home. By himself. Alone. Or with some buds, having fun without M & D to protect him. It's scary out there, in the woods (world). M&D certainly didn't plan on using that bedroom for anything else, right? Yep, a good Troop for a boy to join and have fun in. Who was this English fellow and what was he mumbling about, anyway?

AHA!

Oh , the history. I was the dad with the pick up truck for my daughter's class... They entered a "Ecology" contest and we collected aluminum cans for about a month, crushed, filled up the back of the P/U. It had a "cap" on it, as I remember, we won with about a ton (!) of AL.

Canadian friend says you.re welcome, as do I...

My Canadian friend says he remembers the arrow one as a British Scout patch, but he does not remember of what it signifies.

As a member of the Friends Committee on Scouting, the liaison of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) to the BSA (among other orgs), to answer some of the above, I will say : 1) In general, the religious awards are designed, administered and awarded by the faith, thru whatever organization they have. In our case, we decided that any youth of Scout age may earn the Friend awards thru their local Friends' Meeting or Church. "Your (faith) mileage may vary". 2) The awards are worn on the BScout/GScoutUSA/Campfire etc. uniform as that organization allows. Or not. 3) We also work with other Scout/Guide orgs to help understand their rank faith requirements as they apply to us Quakers (ask me about the new Cub and Webelos requirements another time). 4) If a non-Scout earns any of the Friend awards (and there have been some), they can wear it where/how they think best. It is viewed as a form of religious education. Hang it on your wall next to the HS diploma....Or Elementary school diploma.... 5) If it is an award you are proud of, wear it appropriately, with pride. But with humility. 6) As to the Congressional Award, I see no reason to object if a Scout wishes to display his accomplishment on his Scout uniform. It was, after all, earned from a Congressional-BSA partnership. Said so right up there... Good Scouting to you!