tombitt

Horizon - absolutely it was Camp Garland! I thought they switched to ground beef right after our experience (1974-1976 range). Opinions are good. This forum has been helpful for me to understand how polarizing this issue is, needless to say. I am completely in sync with your views. I also agree that my son needs to abide by the troop policy, but he may be one of the few who are actually going to do that. You see, the scouts are mostly carrying phones, and hiding them out of sight of the leaders. I saw this firsthand at a scouting event a few weekends ago - and from what I saw, scout

Excuse the long post - this will be my last on this topic. For the spirited and mostly Scout-like discussion of a difficult issue, I thank you. For those who felt the need to declare someone with a different opinion immature, a helicopter parent, an unworthy scout leader, or unethical - well, you weren't as effective. I urge you to respect open discussion. Why didn't we choose a different troop due to the policy? Because the policy was essentially just made up a few months ago, and passed on verbally. It's implementation is spotty, and seems to change on the whims of the SM. Would h

This is really helping me nail down my own position - and I'm less concerned right now with my son's experience than with BSA policy in general. Scouting teaches character, responsibility, self-reliance in today's world - not just the great outdoors. Scouting is involved in all aspects of a young scout's character development. There's no reason to exclude something like responsible use of technology. The easy thing for scouting to do is exclude things like cell phones, Internet access, etc., etc. The harder thing is to find an effective way to integrate what is already a part of the

Twocubdad, I'm listening. I'm Eagle 1975. I've been a cubmaster, and I suspect I'll eventually become a scoutmaster. I did the Wilderness Survival merit badge when it was brand new - we took a bunch of live chickens, some matches, and a few sheath knives into the woods, killed and cooked the chickens (imagine that with sheath knives only), and safely survived an unexpected severe Oklahoma thunderstorm without tents or high-tech comm gear. I'm also a technology expert, I advise major companies about new technologies, and I help our school district with their technology plan. I'm

Lisabob - I didn't ask the SM to make an exception for my son. The issue is that the policy (which has only been verbal) has been ignored by the troop, most boys carry cell phones with them but hide them, and use them out of sight of leaders. I suggested that the SM change the policy to "OK to carry, but must remain off", and enforce it better. We had a situation this weekend where the SM heard a boy was using his phone, asked the scouts who had one, and two honest scouts, including my son admitted they had them. He confiscated. The other scouts lied (including the SPL and sons of other s

Appreciate the feedback, but a little too much psychoanalysis here. I'm not tethered to my 14-year old Star scout son. I do not and never have called my son while he was on a campout. He's quite independent, and we treat him very much like an adult. The question is why can't the scout leaders trust the kids? I want my son to have a tool. I want him to "be prepared" - in the 21st century, not 20th. I've been in a house while it was half-destroyed by a tornado, and I've used my cell phone to call for an ambulance once, and the police three times. I see no reason for my son not to have that

My son's troop has a zero tolerance policy for cell phones. That means no cells phones on campouts, no cell phones in meetings, no cell phones ever. This conflicts with our family's policy. We believe cell phones are at least an emergency tool. We want our kids to have their phones with them at all times. If my son was on the way to a campout, and there was an accident, if my son was not close to a leader and someone got hurt, if a tornado was sighted and I wanted to let them know, or if my son was lost - I want him to have a cell phone. I'm sure with just a little bit of searching I cou