Tampa Turtle

Not as rude but once I explained the rules got few takers. Not invited back. Well less work for me.

I have been given different length ribbons for the device on Ordeal vs Brotherhood. And everyone wearing their different sashes kind of emphasizes 'levels'.

This is more of the discussion I meant. Some folks are Species-ists (Humans #1) and others wish we had never been on the planet at all (I know a few Biologists like that who after a few years manage to pump out a few children of the their own).

I only know what I saw at my Council store: Order of the Arrow Knots for Ordeal, Brotherhood, or Vigil members. You had to show your ID to get them. If this is a rogue uniform move I do not know.

I agree with Aging Eagle...my sons both Eagled and the COH was after their 18th birthday. They were awarded their badge and it was pinned on their well worn Class A uniform for the ceremony and pictures. It was then retired for posterity (because that is important for scout moms). Thereafter they wore a new shirt with the appropriate Eagle, AOL, and OA Knots after they did their YPT and are now registered as adults.

I have observed the same things as Cleveland. The museums, groups, and non-profits that offer Merit Badges close to their area of expertise often do a much better job than the actual BSA ones. In addition in the last few years I have observed it is many of the Scouts, not just the parents that want the easier rapid badges and advancement. I'd like to blame it on the worksheets that started as tools but seem like the goal all the way into High School, perceived hyper competitiveness for stellar college applications, and a shift toward being able to retrieve the answer via the internet over

We still use Trooptrack which is great for communication but lousy for Advancement. I miss Troopmaster but most of the adults hated to use it.

But Tracky saying " self-proclaimed liberal friends" label does not really help that discussion. The discussion cuts across many different philosophical (economic, moral, religious, historical) axes. I taught a sustainability Class at a university 20 years ago and was anticipating being a MBC on this one but man..but BSA made it so boring and there were so many potential directions to make it more interesting. In any case the word of mouth by our scouts is to stick with Environmental Science.

"rebellion against his Eagle Scout/Scoutmaster dad" seen that a couple times!

Ditto to Communication. I have had a few coffees with my Pastor who never did scouting while growing up and he really had very little idea what it was all about other than 'Flags and Camping'. So he was reacting to things and valuing the Troop as part of the Church completely differently than we thought.

This could be an excellent discussion for Sustainability MB which unfortunately is a bit of a snoozer.

Depends on the boy. Does the boy really want it? How bad does he want it? Some boys even at 18 may lack organizational abilities because of a disability and that becomes an obstacle. Others lose interest...I give 'the speech' and move on. I know in my Troop adults will work hard to remove any artificial obstacles for a boy making a good faith effort. Several times I have been 'on call' for last minute sign offs for one of my Eagle required Merit Badges if I know ahead of time. If I am going to be out of town I will suggest other MBC's that I trust and give them a heads up (but I never tell the

This is the thread that just keeps on giving!

....and this is the point in the thread where someone brings up the whole Flavor Aid thing...

Like I said I am willing to be convinced of the benefit to my Troop but so far have not seen it. I see a lot of Wood Badgers at OA events and aside from constant interrupting of events to sing about their animal they tend to just cluster amongst themselves and shun folks who aren't Wood Badgers. It is quite off putting and not a good 'selling job'. I am sure it is beneficial to some folks who were never exposed to management training (especially small business owners) and some 'tickets' probably benefit some camps and councils. The Troop tickets I have seen seemed like a LOT more effort went i

(I just think that too much girls in scouting controversy should go back on a separate thread) I think I was fortunate to have entered my Troop at a time when there still were a few older Scouters that took newbie 'brown shirts' under their wing for part of that first year to keep me from mucking too much up. Later I tried to return the favor. That is how unit norms for greetings, handshakes, etc were passed down and how changes to BSA training and requirements were passed down. I was also lucky to have been able to spend a week at Woodruff summer camp one year and take the Scoutmast

I am friends with our COR and we are both ASM's and go to the CO UMC church. I think a majority of his time is spent apologizing for inadvertent damage to church property by rambunctious youth. Poor guy. Our CO sees us as part of their youth outreach and is pretty supportive but hands off. We have tried inviting the various pastors to a few events but they are pretty booked. I have encouraged our sometimes shy pastor to occasionally visit a meeting and remind anyone looking for a church that they are welcome there; he seems to feel this is crossing some kind of line. I do think that a c

Hearing about all this again is just so depressing. I know our unit used to renew the charters for some AWOL boys rather than purge the rolls every year because some of them are kinda half in and half out when they are in High School and half in is better than all out. We do that a lot less now because we have less funds to spare. We might keep a guy on an extra year unless we hear from the parents they are definitely out for good and place them in a 'Limbo Patrol' or something on a roster. So I guess the intent their is not to cheat.

Received the January Boys Life and January-February Scouter Magazines yesterday. My observations: - Skimmed the Boys Life, seemed like a typical Holiday/Winters issue. Long article on spotting Depression which given what I have seen in Scouts and that we had a suicide this year was probably a good move. No mention of BS4G. - Scouter. Banner on front page about girls in scouting. Carefully crafted FAQ inside (which should have been done a month or two ago) about the logic of the decision and the fact that many 'rogue' units where having sisters do things at many Packs anyway. I though

Love the video. Our historian did a "year in review" video at a previous COH and it was a bit melancholy since we lost a scout this year and you saw the pictures and videos of events with and without him. Especially hard to be in the room with the parents who are also major Troop leaders. Same year my youngest just got his Eagle. Real roller coaster. Still worth the trip, glad I was there for that boy and my son to say nothing of helping the walking emotional wounded. We had our holiday party for the Troop...basically just a pot luck. No program just folks talking and laughing. Got to sit

I appreciate Cubber's questions but can we not re-hash girls in scouts on this thread?

Even for the older boys the KISS principle is about the best to expect. I had a real hard time with my older boy, getting him to go up to folks and ask stuff. Kept coming to me and kept sending him back out all meeting. I was requested to come on campouts (just in case) but would turn my chair around so I wouldn't even see what he was struggling with. I get it, it can be hard.

To be fair to Wisconsin it is not so clear in your first year in the Troop where the land mines are. I think she is trying...the Forum is a much harder place to have these kinds of conversations than over a cup of coffee FTF.

Evil?

" I have watched too many youth flounder under the pressure from mom and dad, to only flourish once the parents backed off and gave the Scout space." Amen. I have rallied more than one reluctant Eagle with the "who cares what your parents want, what do YOU want" speech." One time the scout said "no one has ever asked me". If your boy needs to ask and it is a problem for him have him make his own "to do" list for the meetings. (only 1-3 items). Not ideal but better than you doing it.