Tampa Turtle

I respect them for their stand and I suppose if a lot more really did it it could be a real BSA PR disaster since they market the "Eagle Scout brand" so aggressively. I do not think they should be expunged--it is like trying to quit the Catholic Church "You can check out any time you want but you can never leave." I suppose they can always get a replacement medal but I doubt the public knows that.

It just seems really cool to set them up.

I will add my thumbs down of the E-Z-ups. They are very heavy and encourage car camping. (but then so are patrol boxes, hmmmmm....). Also it seems like once sand starts getting in the joints they start sticking and malfunctioning a lot. And if you don't follow directions it is pretty easy to damage them--a concern with boys. The traditional dining flies encourage scout skills and can be quite a bit lighter. I have seen boys improvise them with trees and a couple hiking poles as well. It can be all part of the great game IMHO. We also have a very large awning with steel legs. We

My son has a 1943 handbook that the cover and pages are JUST now falling out of. This is ridiculous. I suspect if National has an e-book version it would come with a "Fatal Error" message.

Welcome. There is good advice, pro and con, on just about any scout topic here. Just be prepared to wear some pads...

I don't know why the comments about the Council patches...anyone can walk into a scout store and buy any of the council patches. I think the Scout uniforms were probably the easiest for him to assemble. Any new news on this guys motivations?

Ya know if they want to things a certain way THEY should step up and be the SM. You are--so it is your decision right or wrong. My Troop has a new SM and while I do not agree on a number of items I could have stepped up. We have a number of ex-SM's on our committee as well and there is always a little friction. I agree to the advice on (1) get some active ASM's to back you up and (2) ask the boys.

Ya know if they want to things a certain way THEY should step up and be the SM. You are--so it is your decision right or wrong. My Troop has a new SM and while I do not agree on a number of items I could have stepped up. We have a number of ex-SM's on our committee as well and there is always a little friction. I agree to the advice on (1) get some active ASM's to back you up and (2) ask the boys.

I do not think this the hill to die on. The book is like a compass--you sure are gonna need to look at it. Sure you can borrow one but I know new scouts who memorize the dang thing. We do require a book and full uniform for SMC and BOR. Our boys jump at the chance to get their book sign offs. It is a system that works. Start doing online all the time and I bet most of the emails will be from parents not boys. Of course you need to be reasonable. A boy forgets it, OK. Loses it and needs to reconstruct his record--we will resign a new one. Can't afford one or parents too lazy to d

To get back to the subject... If I was a SM I would consider working with either a GSUSA or AHG unit on a project.

I have had to learn about the ADD/ADHD stuff but because of my boy's (co-morbid as they say in the trade)other stuff we can't medicate them. I do not know how folks manage the stimulant curve--it is by no means a constant. But yeah we tell our boys they HAVE to adapt the best they can. Use the advantages it may bring, work around the problems, and work longer or find new strategies. Sometimes there is no great solution but it IS a disability and sometimes the answer is "no you can't". That said I am constantly amazed at what any of the Special needs scouts can do when working with an

I usually address the Scouts as "Mr Smith" or "SPL Smith" or occasionally their first name. If they just got an advancement perhaps "Hello, First Class Scout Smith". If I ever use a nickname it is rarely, with a friendly smile, and if I think the lad has embraced it. Since that is hard to know I stick with formality and leave the nick names to the boys. Occasionally and in private the adults may call each other by the nicknames the boys have bestowed on us--all in fun.

Well these things are as much a training thing for the parents as the children. I really don't care much beyond the labels anymore for my boys I just want strategies to try. As for the excuse argument the lad needs to "own" his disability. I tell my boy that even though he has a disability, Tourettes, he needs to try to mitigate what he cannot control. Accidentally say something insulting or hurtful then you need to apologize. If your sensory issues are bothering you (like my son hates the sound of my wife smacking her lips at dinner--which is almost inaudible)then you need to remov

Yeah the reporting is pretty powerful but ya gotta dig in the menu's. I find playing with it helps a lot. I sometimes get a useful report and then come back and forget where I got it.

Funny. I never had a nickname stick growing up though many tried. My son, who is party Autistic "labels" people instead of using names. Adults might be "Navy Guy" (for a dad in the Navy) or "Canoe Man" (for the canoe instructor). If you get a "tag" it is a significant sign sign of affection. Naturally we work hard with him to learn proper names but he sure isn't wired that way--it takes up to a year. As you imagine it cause him a lot of problems but some of the adults like them. Of course he also has Tourette so any "tags" just come right out--not much filter here. Some of the ones f

I think TM is good IF: (1) You have a large Troop.(50+) (2) You have very active boys. (3) You can assign ANOTHER person to do the data entry. It is valuable for extracting lists of boys with partials, skills left for advancement. It seems to keep track of the camping days and nights fine. Its seems like a lot of data entry. It does seem to get updated as MB's and Advancement change. I think with a small unit you could get by with paper forms for a while but I would assume you would need to do some data entry to get into an electronic file for Council, etc. Seems to be

Numbers man, numbers. At camp one troop told me they shake up the patrols every 6 months. Any 1st Class or higher can start one if he can get 5 guys to commit. At their special meeting a guy sits in a corner and the boys go where they want--vote with their feet. So the wanna be Patrol leaders have to have a plan, charisma, and some politicking going on. We don't do that but it might work.

No need to go into the story of the boy named "dingle berries". Some of the boys are really want a nick name and others do not like them and consider it bullying. One boy kept calling another "puppy face" and meant it as a term of endearment--the kid really had a puppy face. Bit that boy really, really wanted out of that name--apparently he was bullied at school and was pretty sensitive. His tent buddy was "Skunky" and relished the power of his name and his (admirably) foul odor. "Puppy Face" tried to get folks to call him "killer" but it never stuck.

We tell the boys (and parents) to periodically scan or photocopy the advancement pages and blue cards "just in case". In case of a dispute we will take the signed book over the electronic records...

Yup this is our local story. Likely higher visibility with all the recent shootings and the RNC just around the corner. Authorities getting twitchy. Florida is the 4th. most populous state and within 400,000 folks of overtaking New York so of course we have a LOT of crazies here. This particular gentleman already impersonated a Coast Guard officer at some local event so he is more than just a "collector". I believe today's paper mentioned he had some priors. I have had discussions with guys who claimed they were Vietnam vets. They would talk about Da Nang, etc. There was one g

Ya know sometimes kids react better with other adults than parents--less baggage, different approaches, different hot buttons, not sure how far they can be pushed. Can talk to the parents and use it as an opportunity to experiment with some new strategies on how to deal with their boy--provided they are willing to pitch in. I am always happy to get a tool to use with my boy; plus I am always happy to come home at report to my spouse that "he did great!". It is nice to observe success when you deal with a lot of negative stuff all the time. But if the boy is really that bad and the p

It is a poor one. Some MBC's hold 'em back because boys keep losing them and then hand them a completed one at the end to turn in. I don't consider the change that much of a biggie other than a prompt to the SM to recommend someone--it doesn't say it was mandated to use that MBC.

Fred, Our Troop is pretty consistent on not allowing any "double dipping" on any of your examples. As for service you usually can get a feel for which boys (or parents) are gaming the system for quickest vs the ones that you know are always doing cheerful service all the time--they are usually the ones who don't keep good track of what they do.

Seattle, Nicely done, I will steal that! When I talk to individual scouts I usually encourage them to work at it a bit and leave it at that. In several cases, I have found that ANY interest in faith has required the scout to push his family out of their comfort zone.

No we do not allow double dipping for advancement and MB.