Trevorum

Welcome to the forum and Welcome to Scouting!

You and your son are going to have a great experience, I know!

I would imagine that Canadian citizens would salute while the rest of the audience would stand respectfully, including Scouts in uniform.

Man, that guy could write a speech! What marvelous prose.

I wish we had some statesmen of his calibre around today.

Good info, thanks! This will be my 1st Jambo since 1969 and I'm as excited as when I was 15!

A few other questions... What do you suggest as travel gear - canvas duffel, footlocker, or what? Is there electrical hookup in the staff tents? Do you recommend skeeter netting to sleep in?

How do you feel about lobsters?

The one time we cooked lobster at home, we were driving home from the wharf with the live critters in a plastic bag of water in a big grocery sack. My wife peered into the sack, looked at the two lobsters for a minute and said, "They look like Mutt and Jeff." I gaped at her in disbelief and gasped, "You don't name something you're going to eat!". But they were tasty anyway...

Since we sorta hijacked Eisley's thread (People Eating Tasty Animals!), I thought I'd continue this thread here. I was genuinely baffled by some of the thoughts expressed. A google on "religious tolerance" showed me that some view religious tolerance as a weakness, even a sin. They are supposed to be righteously intolerant. OK. However, in re-reading the posts, it is clear that some folks also mistake tolerant for wishy-washy. I am tolerant of others but I also have strongly held beliefs.

This is spun from a post by Eamonn on wearing uniforms to BoRs.

I agree with Eamonn that wearing the uniform to a Board of Review is not a requirement and should not be a reason to fail the scout. In fact, I very strongly feel that failing the scout means that the troop has failed the boy and it should never come to that. If you haven't already please review Eammons' thoughts (and those of other folks) on that issue.

Anyway, it got me to thinking how we would "handle" a scout who refused to wear the uniform. If is wasn't a religious issue, I would certainly want to discuss it at his next SM conference, under the "Scout Spirit" requirement. Which got me to thinking that it is that particular requirement which perhaps has the most "wiggle room" of any of them, for any rank. It is a completely subjective requirement, unlike say, either getting the bowline right, or not. It is completely up to the SM as to whether this young candidate is a good scout, or not.

Which got me to wondering, how do you other SMs handle this requirement? Do you have criteria (written or not) or go with gut instinct. This is always the central point of my SM conferences for Star, Life and Eagle. We briefly review the candidates completion of all the other requirements, but them have a fairly intense discussion of the Scout Oath and Scout Law, what they mean and how to live one's life that way.

What do you other SMs do?

For some reason, I am reminded of a Roundtable I attended several years ago. The speaker was a Scouter whom we all respected for his thorough knowledge of Scouting and his very clear dedication to our youth. I think the topic was chaplains aides.

Anyway, this fellow made a very bald statement - which it was clear that he knew for a fact, that Catholics were not Christians. There was a moment of dead silence as we all looked at each other in disbelief. Did he really say that?? Then a riot of "What a minute!", and "How can you say that?"

The speaker looked at us as if we had doubted a Great Truth and then started to tell us exactly why Catholics could not be considered to be Christians. Well, all the Catholics were incensed and insulted and the rest of us were amazed at his narrow definitions of Truth.

After some back-and-forth, we all eventually agreed to acknowledge that we had different opinions on the subject , that it was impolite to criticize another persons beliefs, and we got back to the program. Today, we get along great. I hope he'll get his Beaver this year. I have no less respect for him because of his beliefs, because he was willing to acknoweldge that other people had opposing beliefs that they also knew to be True.

This is spun from a post in a thread on the History of the Silver Beaver Award

Ridges54 says she is ..."proud grandaughter of a Silver Beaver, great neice of a silver Fawn, and second cousin to a Silver Beaver. Daughter of an Eagle, sister to 2 Life Scouts, mother of a Star, First Class, Tiger Cub, and future scout."

wow!

This makes me curious as to what degree does Scouting run in families? Is there a Scouting "gene"? And how dominant is it? I know many of the scouts in our troop (but not all) have fathers (or mothers) who were scouts/scouters. This makes sense of course. But what about the opposite? How often is the fun of scouting not passed on?

acco - I think we're in agreement. Maybe I didn't express myslf clearly. Certainly the requirements must be met regardless of age! However, the understanding an 11 year old has from, Personal Management, say, is going to be very different from that of a 17 year old. I'm just saying that MB counselors must teach to their audience and sometimes that's tough with a mixed age group. It's like designing a history curriculum that will be comprehensible and interesting to a class with 5th graders as well as 12th graders.

OGE - Did you not see where, after pointing out where he disagrees with our faith, R7 then said "I just cant stomach lying in any shape or form." This pretty baldly insults the entire UU faith and all its adherents.

It's like someone pointing out the numerous contradictions and flaws in his belief system and then saying "I can't stomach cognitive dissonance in any shape or form."

One of the problems with most MB requirements is that they are written for such a wide range of abilities - from 10 to 17 years old. Now, it's true that some MBs are "starters" (e.g. Basketry) and are generally earned by the younger crowd, while others (e.g. Atomic Energy) have more difficult requirements and are mostly pursued by the older fellows. However, mixed age groups are the norm and MB curricula must be simultaneously possible for a 5th grader and challenging for a 12th grader.

OGE - you're right, I was discourteous.

R7 struck a nerve; I try to be tolerant of other peoples beliefs and kinda feel they should try to do the same.

(This is spun from a thread by cajuncody about alhohol use.)

How do ya'll handle tobacco use by adults? A total ban during scout events (can make for a long & testy weekend for some), or a designated out-of-sight smoking area? We are lucky not to have this problem, but new Webelos parents are fixin to join up and I want to be prepared!

Yes, very slow. And, my machine has crashed 3 or 4 times in the last several days, each time when I was on the forums. Coincidence? mebbe... I'm not a tech guy, so it's all just magic to me anyway.

R7: I take it back. I don't think I'd want to watch a football game with you. You are narrow-minded and righteously intolerant and probably not much fun.

Most junior staffers are not paid "wages", which would be subject to the federal minumum wage law. My 15 year old son just got his first W2 for working of staff last summer (aside: Dad, does this mean I have to file a tax return?), and his W2 clearly stated "Stipend" and not "Wages". In other words, staffers are consultants who recieve a fixed compensation.

Of course that begs the question as to whether $100/weeek is an adequate incentive.

What is the difference between a District Executive and a District Director? We have both and I've never been clear on who handles what.

"... the PETA folk have no clue!"

Hooray! We agree!

OGE, I agree. Can't say I remember this issue addressed in G2SS or any other policy guide, but gambling with real $$ just doesn't seem to go with scouting. (But that's just my own take - those in the Boulder Dam Area Council might disagree)

way cool! and congratulations!

I'm curious - did your troop sign publicity waivers, or is that included in the fine print we all sign with our registration?

hmmm... interesting question, Semper. I'm not into cards and neither (it seems) are any other adults in our troop, so I can't speak from experience. However, I could see playing cards with some of the high school fellows in the Venture patrol. I don't think I'd sit down with the younger ones though, even for M&Ms.

At a troop meeting last month, one of the patrol programs was "games". It turned out they meant card games! They went over the rules of several games, broke into groups, passed out cards, and then the whole troop practiced card games for 30 minutes. It looked like a casino! Everyone had fun though and it was a well recieved program. However, we had Webelos IIs visiting that night and I had to explain to the parents that "usually we do scout skills"...

whew! I'm relieved. For a moment I thought you might be one of those nuts who opposes the Endangered Species Act and actually thinks it is OK to destroy habitat for monetary gain.

Good advice from Hunt and Semper. I also suggest first checking with your Troop Committee and/or Advancement Chair. As Ed suggests, your troop may already have a policy regarding this issue.

"God gave us dominion over the animals"

Ed, you do understand, don't you, that this is your belief and that persons of other faiths do not share this belief. I respect your belief and you are entitled and encouraged to act accordingly, but I will vigorously oppose any attempt to insert it into public policy.