WWBPD

OGE - yea, I don't know why Mr. White calls B-P his national hero, I guessed that Mr. White must be from England. As far as the living heros of scouting you mentioned - what have they done to promote scouting to the nation lately, other than just being? I would like to better understand why - Baden-Powell instructs us, as scouting leaders, to use our ingenuity, in harmony with the local conditions, and to focus on the objectives of Scouting (rather than focusing on the details and steps of a defined program) and yet, so many others on this thread believe that B-P must be just plain wrong.

Lest we forget the words of Baden-Powell (who by the way Mr. White considers the sole national hero of Scouting) in the foreword to Aids to Scoutmastership: "So most of these pages will be taken up with the objects of the steps rather than with the details of the steps themselves. These can be filled in by the learner according to his OWN INGENUITY, and in harmony with the LOCAL CONDITIONS under which he is working." Wow...you mean B-P promotes individual ingenuity in harmony with local conditions, over the details of the steps themselves. What kind of scouting hero is that? Could

DW, WELLsaid and WELcome to the Forum. WWBPD Deut. 23:13

DW, WELLsaid and WELcome to the Forum. WWBPD Deut. 23:13

I would venture to say that not a single scout in your unit can name either the BSA Chief Scout Executive or your Council executive...take a poll at your next meeting. Worse, most of you could not do it either without looking it up. Why?...because the execs are businessmen who care more about the numbers (enrollments and dollars) and protecting what they have (from lawsuits) then about providing visible leadership at the national level, leadership that creates a sense of national excitement and pride about scouting. What we have now is men of reaction, not action, and the result is that, at

Somewhat related question, Scout has been nominated to OA by scoutmaster for each of the past four years. Scout has been elected for OA by troop in each of the past four years. Scout has not participated in an Ordeal in any year - does not appear to have any interest in OA. Is SM within his authority to not nominate scout for a fifth year even though other tests are met? Suppose the troop has adopted a policy to that effect that is communicated to all beforehand? We have a policy to this effect in order to provide some motivation for an elected scout to complete his Ordeal. Are

Absolutely an approvable eagle project. More than just scouts will benefit...there are others that enjoy orienteering. As long as the county sees the benefit, should be no problem.

We are a 'gypsy troop' - go to a different camp every year because that's the way we like it. Best camp in the last five years is Camp Barton in Ithaca NY (Baden-Powell Council). The best combination of program, staff, food, facilities, and admin we have experienced. And the waterfall is spectacular. Its small but a great stay especially for younger scouts.

Baden-Powell, Ernst Thompson Seton, Dan Beard, Bill Hillcourt, Juliet Low...where have all our hero's gone? They are all dead. Now I know each of you can probably think of a scouting 'hero' that you work with on a regular basis, and you yourself may be considered a 'hero' by others (and by yourself, in some cases), but what about a nationally recognized scouting 'hero'. Can you think of anybody? National BSA seems to be run by administrators, not visionaries. Baseball needed Babe Ruth, basketball needed Michael Jordan, our country needed John Glenn...to take us to new heights.

Sounds like symptoms of the bigger problem, which is the Scoutmaster has been allowed too much authority in the decision making processes of the Troop. The PLC and the Committee both need to reign him in on these two points (BOR violations and summer camp selection). It should be the Committee's job to do this (moreso than the PLC - I expect he would roll right over the PLC). CC and advancement chair need to point out the violation and that it will no longer be allowed - if he wants to fight them about it then we will have to let the council mediate. The summer camp issue has arisen becaus

Thanks for the 2 thumbs up. They were wearing real Cub Scout uniforms?? I seem to recall that the BSA had refused to allow its official licensed uniforms to be used for commercial purposes sometime in the 1970s or 80s, unless they had some input rights to the script. I though Disney's Follow Me Boys was the last movie to portray the real uniforms. WWBPD Deut. 23:13

Mr. Invincible, I know nothing about the program in Hong Kong but here in the US, requirements cannot be added beyond what is stated. I would suggest you sit down with the SL and discuss it. Don't be accusatory, you just want to express your feeling that you are being singled out for more work than others and you want to undertsand why that may be. Be friendly and courteous and I bet your SL will back-off in the future. It may be that your SL (is that an adult or scout?) thinks very highly of you and he wants to see you put forth greater effort because you can do it. Don't let it discou

Thanks all. I was thinking more about the big leagues where the fan behavior is especially a problem. We did do a minor league baseball game as a troop outing halfway through a summer camp week (the Pulaski Rangers a few miles from the Blue Ridge Mountains Scout Reservation). Our troop represented about half of the total attendance - we had a great time and there were plenty of foul balls.

When does the 'Program' not work? Look in the mirror. When it causes dedicated scouters like yourselves to spend a hundred hours debating and slamming each other over a nonsensical question. That is time that could have been spent changing a boy's life and transforming the 'Program' from the perfect world of paper to real-life, with all of its human imperfections. Those hours are gone and wasted, but there is still time. Get out from behind your computers and work with a scout. Every hour counts and too many have been wasted here. WWBPD Deut. 23:13

When does the 'Program' not work? Look in the mirror. When it causes dedicated scouters like yourselves to spend a hundred hours debating and slamming each other over a nonsensical question. That is time that could have been spent changing a boy's life and transforming the 'Program' from the perfect world of paper to real-life, with all of its human imperfections. Those hours are gone and wasted, but there is still time. Get out from behind your computers and work with a scout. Every hour counts and too many have been wasted here. WWBPD Deut. 23:13

Communication is key. The more the better. We use: Long-term communication (1 month or more) Annual Calendar Monthly newsletter Website Flyers describing upcoming trips Annual parent meeting (not comm meeting) Bulletin board at meeting place Short-term communication (less than 1 month) Troop meeting announcements E-mails (yahoo groups) Phone trees Too many hands in the bowl can cause significant problems - misinformation, duplication of effort, confusion of where to get information. Unless it is organized and consistent, things can break down to the point th

Merit badge requirements come and go. Anybody can find something objectionable about just about any requirement of any merit badge...if they are so inclined. Of course, there are some pretty stupid things in a lot of the requirements and if we were asked to write a merit badge booklet, I am sure we each could do so much better and it would be survive the critique of this esteemed panel (I for one have written our troop's underground Farting Merit Badge - a true labor of love). Lets stop arguing about it and get the kids outside and working on achieving these predetermined, objective goals -w

Thanks TXeagle! I hope ICLU (Iraqi Civil Liberties Union) doesn't find out about this. Any councils, districts, units out there doing anything big service related to help Iraqi youth? WWBPD Deut. 23:13

Cubmaster, As a CM and SM I have had to step into numerous parents issues over the years. You do need to meet with the DL and ADL to sort this out as soon as possible, find out the real issues (which are never what they appear to be), and figure out how to make this work for everybody. It may be that the DL is so fed up that he is willing to step aside or maybe work in a different capacity (sounds like he could be a good CMA). It is so early in the year and in the Tigers' scouting careers that this should be a salvagable situation if it is addressed in a straight forward, honest and compa

NewCubDad, Just to echo what others have said...I was in the exact same position a decade ago. By focusing on your den and making it right for them other dens will notice and they will begin taking cues from you ...sounds like you will eventually be the cubmaster...your concern for the kids shows through and it would be wrong not to share your enthusiasm with as many young scouts as possible. Be somewhat careful about handing out your own den awards and making it too spectaular. I did the same thing after getting the old boring cubmaster's approval and the stuff hit the fan when

Thanks Boleta. The delays have been a part of our district for at least 10 years now. I think the problem is that the DAC has been hammered about it so many times that they have 'dug their heels in' and are no longer looking for help, advice or changes. DAC chairman and the Eagle Project Coordinator have been in their roles for over ten years now and seem very content in the delays. My understanding is that folks have tried to get Council to address but that has gone nowhere. But your 'week or two' to review sounds like heaven to me and gives me hope.

Patience...Patience...Homosexuals can't reproduce and so they will be unable to pass on their deviant values and behavior to a new generation in any great numbers. The 'homosexual lifestyle' fad fueled by the sexual revolution of the 1960s and hammered by the AIDs epidemic of the past two decades will slowly die off as they die off. Oh, there will always be some hanging around, but eventually they will go back into the closet. Unfortunately, you must suffer them during your lifetime...but your great granchildren will not. I am curious..what is the BSA policy on transgenders?

I am sure you have all seen the deplorable conduct from both players and fans at the Pistons-Pacers game by now. That reminds me of the three times I have gone to pro sports games as part of a council 'Scout Night'. First Time - Indoor Soccer. Both benches emptied onto the field, major altercations, 45 minute delay in game. Scouts and adults sat dumbfounded. At the next scout meeting we had to put on skits demonstrating good sportsmanship in order to counteract what we saw. Second Time - Major League Baseball Game. Again all players on the field for a fight. Pitchers throwing a

Rip, Its a jacket...technically not part of the uniform. Your choice. Personally I would go with the red (with green pants its better to look like a Christmas decoration than...I really can't think of anything that is olive green and royal blue).

Fscouter I have often wondered, what happens when a boy comes to half the meetings? Do they pay half the dues of someone who comes to every meeting? Or are they supposed to make it up at their next meeting? What if they don't make up for absences? In a large troop, doesn't this create a tracking nightmare for someone?