zippyboro

eagle, You are right, pack tradition is hard to break, however, this "tradition" started after the tigers were integrated into the CS program and even after they started wearing the blue unis. I know this is just a pet peeve on my part, but it points to a larger issue in this pack of little time and opportunity to hand out advancements. Pack meetings end in April, and it is frowned upon to use the Blue and Gold in Feb and the Web crossover in March to hand out advancements. By the time you get to April, there is a load of advancements with little time and attention given to them with the inc

"Another premis that is held in here is KIS-MIF. Also many , many coments are made about how to retain kids for next year as well as having a fun, exciting program. Yet as soon as somebody does, a bunch of adults belittle you for doing what the adults percieve as insulting. Well thats great if you are insulted, but since the whole program is about the boys, and ALL the Cubs including the Webelos had a blast and didn't act insulted, I think somebody forgot the "disrespected" cub's mindset. " ^^Scoutfish... chill! Expressing a contrary opinion should not be interpreted as insulting. If you

It's overkill to cross every rank over. To me, it diminishes the significance of the Web 2's accomplishment of crossing over finally after 5 years in the program. Our pack still has a tiger crossover which seems pointless since they are involved in every aspect of cub scouts, from fund raising to wearing the uniform. Back when they only wore the orange shirts, it had some significance, but not any more. From a practical standpoint, why hand out new neckerchiefs in the spring when there are no guarantees that they will return in the fall?

"The purpose of this corporation shall be to promote . . . the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in Scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues . . . . 36 U.S.C. 30902 (2003)." ^^ Boomer, every single aspect of those ideals can be achieved without killing animals. When did self-reliance get turned into the need to procure food via the killing of domestic animals?

agreed engineer. There is so much more to scouting than reenacting a survivor episode.

"... and not about being prepared for any situation or getting kids out in to the woods who would insted be stuck in the city practiceing base ball on their wii. " hahahaha... these are the only options? Killing for food and the grand experience of it vs. playing video games all weekend? I never thought of scouting on such a narrow focus, nor did I see scouting as a venue to teach disaster survival skills. Clearly the original poster is not from the northeast where this would never fly.

We always do awards and recognitions first thing before the food which is followed by the entertainment. By the time the show is over, people are more than ready to get out of there. You should definitely reconsider your order of events.

IMO, double dipping on the community service aspect, in particular of this award is diminishing its meaning. After all, National is logging all the hours by requiring you to register them online before receiving the ribbons. Make it special for them... something they will remember being part of and make sure they know why they are doing it. Don't be so eager to check them all off... it does not have to be completed until December. There are ample opportunities to use rank specific achievements to earn other portions of the award.

You can rationalize it all you want, but it comes down to common sense and liability issues. BSA does not want to let den leaders make judgement calls in terms of readiness and skill levels of cubs with firearms. Yes, there may be packs that look the other way, but they are clearly not supposed to.

obviously there is no rank difference, but I have always heard the terms Webelos 1 and 2. It is the accepted way to distinguish between the 2 age groups.

This is an absolutely wonderful idea. It is something that the boys can wrap their heads around and really feel as though they are doing something truly special for other children. Hope you don't mind if I "borrow" your idea.... : )

"Scouting is fantastic and a fun thing till you add adults." truer words have never been spoken, basement ; )

Your inability to acknowledge ineptitude in male leadership while only extolling the virtues of men in those roles speaks to a very narrow point of view. I readily see the need, importance and value of male role models, but I fail to see how this diminishes what female leaders have to offer. Quality leadership is quality leadership... BSA is in no position these days to turn away someone who is willing to step up based on gender. I fully agree with your statement that a chief value of scouting is to provide "a context in which a boy can stand on his own two feet." It is the second half of your

Mr. Boyce, incompetence and ineptitude know no gender. You are looking for evidence to support your antiquated point of view with your "sanitized scouting" comment.

why did a positive thread have to turn into a nitpicking train wreck? And you wonder why parents shy away from boy scouting....

you only have one in the whole pack? haha I would tread carefully with the parent involvement... it has been my experience that their presence often worsens behavior.

frankly, I think it is ridiculous to require cubs to wear the pants... dark jeans work fine. To say that a 7-10 year old boy could get 2-3 years out of a pair of pants is highly optimistic to say the least.

maybe consider having the boys sign/create a feel better card/poster to be presented to him. It might make them all more aware of the situation and I'm sure the boy would appreciate it. Probably an ach/elective or two involved, lol...

that is just scary long. In our pack we had to request to let our boys get their bear badges as they were trying to keep it as short as possible and didn't want to hand out any awards.

I think it sounds like a lot of fun... even if there are kids who won't know. Anytime you can turn something dry into a game or competition, the boys will get into it and have fun. Is this for a pack meeting? Let us know how it comes out!!

I fail to see the connection between finding a purpose for a perfectly fine object and twisting that into condoning the use of something that the object once held? It's a PC world for sure, but I would not hesitate to go ahead with the project and defend it's purpose, if necessary. If anything, the cigar box presents you with a platform to discuss the dangers of tobacco... there are warning labels on the outside of the boxes.