Krampus

I go to campfires to get away from politics and such. We get enough of the baffons on the right and the left on TV as it is. The last thing I want is one of their mouth pieces at campfire spouting off.

Thanks. Never seen those. We just have the scout track and submit for SMCs when done. This might help them track a bit better.

...yet I'll bet every boy can memorize the levels of Assassin's Creed.

Well, then we will continue to risk losing folks who add a great deal to the discussion here. Good to know someone will be around to turn off the light when we're all gone.

What's this Palm application you refer to. We don't use such a thing, nor have I heard of it. Is that a local thing or am I missing out on processing more paperwork?

[bSA just banned thinking about flying or flying at all as being too dangerous. Next: Chewing gum and walking.] We've done this before too, despite all the paperwork we need to submit. Great time!

We had our "mama bears" long ago. They became (somewhat) extinct...thankfully. It was a looong road to get the parents out of the kids' hair. It still happens every other year or so but our guys know how to get the parents to leave. We still struggle with the 15-16 age group. Girls, sports and school just kill that age group.

Just waiting for some kid in STEM to get burned by a Bunsen burner or get some material in his eye before they shut down the baking soad volcano making.

We've had some GREAT Eagle Scouts. SPLs, JASMs, Instructors, you name it. These kids walked on water as far as I'm concerned. I'd sooner have them manage something than several of my ASMs combined. NOT ONE had a single palm!! They got their Eagle, stayed in the troop, held leadership positions, ran events and program areas but didn't feel the need to earn another MB unless it interested them. Planning ahead to get TEN palms...and then being p.o.'d that ten is not achievable and he'll have to "settle" with nine??? I can only shake my head. One of our ASMs is on the review board at a local (very prestigious and pricey) university here in Big D. When he sees "Eagle" on an application he asks about their project, their time in Scouts, what the *did* not what they were *awarded*. He saw this thread too. He agrees, too many palms is a huge warning sign down the road. Just sayin'.

That's even more ridiculous! Sorry, but when I see a Scout with more than three palms, alarm bells go off with me. There's more to Scouting than the bling. At some point the SM and advancement chair need to chat with him about what real growth and leadership is. It is not about getting all the MBs or ten palms. No one other than mom and dad are going to count that as an accomplishment. He should focus his efforts in giving back to the unit, helping to foster a sense of stewardship in the troop, counsel younger Scouts on adhering to the Law and Oath, help with other problems new Scouts may have (mentoring), etc. There's dozens of things this kid could be doing other than putting another notch on his belt. If he were my Scout we'd be chatting about how he can give back to the unit. If the palms happen, they happen, but they're not as important as the bling-less mark you leave behind with a Scout, your patrol, your unit or your lodge (if OA).

Sorry, I hate to be the hard nut here but I'd have done the same thing! It's his NINTH PALM!!!! For crying out loud, if the kid is 17, an Eagle with 8 Palms he knows DARN WELL (or should) what the process is!! All of my guys know by the time they are Second Class EXACTLY what is required for EVERY rank. They know the SMC is the last step before the BOR. They know they contact the advancement chair for their BOR. They know how to follow up if they don't hear back, or if Mr. Smith verbally promised to schedule a BOR and didn't. This kid was seemingly able to manage himself though high school without mommy getting in the way. He supposedly managed his homework, test schedule, sports events, project due dates, college applications, etc. The small process of doing something for the NINTH time should be autopilot by now!!! Hold your ground. He's got enough palms. Maybe he will learn a lesson from this that mom can't bail him out of everything!

Five years from now that same Scout will miss filing his income tax because 1) he was never held accountable, and 2) April 15th is "just a date on paper". You would *think* having done the palm BOR at least SEVEN times previously he'd know what the process was. Meh.

Corrected this advice. Red beans should be slow cooked over low heat with these accouterments. Just sayin'.

Unless we are working on Citizenship in the Nation or World, I do the same.

@@Stosh, Disraeli would have something to say about that.

I hope he's not the cooking MB instructor. He clearly did not grow up in the South. Any self-respecting Southerner knows red beans and rice is cooked on Monday and you never, ever, ever eat raw beans!!!

Given he's looking to get nine (9) palms that's a minimum age of 15 years, 10 months when he got his Eagle. Well, no one can add or subtract requirements either so we can't just punt the BOR either. The Scout owns his own advancement process. If he's old enough to know better then missing the BOR is his responsibility. The SM co-owns this process. If he cannot read the requirements then he owes the Scout an apology for giving him bad information. The SM also owns the process of communicating with the advancement chair who has/has not passed an SMC. If the Scout is 18 then, IMHO, the SM needs to eat crow in front of the Scout, accept responsibility himself and take his lumps. He needs to apologize to the advancement chair for not notifying him he was sending him a Scout for a BOR...or at very least, notifying him he just completed an SMC for a palm candidate. The Scout can go on in life knowing he had 8 palms, which is essentially meaningless to most, and highly suspect to those of us who run Scout units. If the Scout is NOT 18, hold the BOR and award the palm, then let him go earn #10.

What Scouting skills are learned by these? Dodge ball Log rolling Zip lining Tug of war Tomahawk throwing Knife throwing Go karting Dirt boarding These are all great activities which have little or nothing to do with actual scout skills but they are AMAZINGLY FUN and why boys join scouts. What other fun things are the adults and lawyers going to take away? You can eat a Snickers in your tent at Philmont and get mauled by a bear (true story), but God forbid that you have fun rolling a human gerbil ball in to your friend in the water.

Not down south. Major cities are still much worse than the burbs.

After 8 palms mom's intervention should have stopped looooong ago.

While laudable, I doubt it reaches the suburban/rural demographic that represent most Scout units. I showed the trailer to my kids and they thought it was an episode of Law & Order; not something they can really related to. There's drinking, drugs, sex and crime in the schools but not really flagrant or pervasive.

Because of language, etc.

...and it had two B parts. That was a mess.

True...it may be a recent change. However, the SM and TC are responsible for making sure that rules and policies are followed. Something like the Eagle Workbook, which you see several times a year, should be something that SMs know by heart. If you have a dedicated Eagle coordinator/advisor, they should CERTAINLY know it by heart and make sure that the candidate is working with the SM to make sure everything is followed. I will grant you that it may be recent. Frankly I don't know when it was added. That said, you can't have it both ways. That is, when BSA makes a change you cannot use the excuse "Well, it's hard to remember that because we've done it this way for year." I get what you are saying but as leaders WE owe it to our Scouts to read the GTA, GTSS, requirements and other docs when they get changed. BSA owes *US* the benefit of a Cliff Notes version of any changes made to ANY document they put out. We spend enough time doing Scouts already, having the changes highlighted -- like they did with the recent rank advancement changes -- would help IMMENSELY!! I hear you, @@fred johnson, but at the same time I disagree. I see no problem with the SM (or Eagle coordinator) helping the candidate work through and understand the need to observe the Sweet 16, tools/age guidelines, SM attendance, etc. That's all part of Requirement #5 in demonstrating leadership in my book. Just like the SPL pulling together a meeting plan and logistics, the Eagle candidate should be able to pull all of this together. If the candidate is doing excavation he needs to call MISS UTILITY or whatever, how is coordinating a unit leader or SM being on-site any different? I had a Scout recent build a retaining wall. He arranged delivery of dirt from the city, ordering of supplies from Home Depot, on-site leadership, person handling first aid, food delivery, had jobs assigned by age category so younger Scouts were not handling prohibited tools, etc. This was all part of his project plan. He ran the whole thing VERY well. Why would we want to set the bar any lower and deny them this chance to learn?

Traffic would go faster too if people didn't slow down to look at wrecks on the other side of the highway. They do, it is human nature to be curious. Take it away, curiosity is channeled elsewhere.