gumbymaster

Wow. I cannot begin to think about how this was for your family. Clearly the Troop needs to review the meaning and spirit of the Scout Law. People not coming to my ECOR was always by biggest (but unwarrented) fear at that age, but I have not heard of it happening before (birthdays yes, but scouting - I thought even the lesser of us would be better than that). For the benefit of others who may come later and be in a similar situation, I would recommend they speak with the district executive or unit commissioner. They would be able to muster a cadre of Scouts and Scouters to rejoice i

First, Let me congratulate you on a FANTASTIC recruiting effort. We can (and are) all armchair quarterback on this one. Clearly your upcoming meetings will determine what you want to do. The largest potential impediment you have is the COR. If he's not going to side with you, and it doesn't sound like he would, your options are very narrow. 1. Unless the violations are so egregious that the council would revoke the charter, the council and DE really have their hands tied. 2. You could trying going above your COR to the IH. It would depend on the IHs familiarity with Scouting,

I'm with Stosh on this one. The full, proper, uniform is always appropriate for any scouting activity. They are actually very durable, my current, well loved, CM and RTC uniforms are both more than 24 years old. Ok I got new pants, but that was for different reasons

At my MBC training course, they made a particilar point that the SM signature is NOT required for a Scout to start a Merit Badge. This appears to be supported by the GTA section 7 The theory being that the SM really didn't have the authority to prevent a scout from working on a Merit Badge or otherwise creating impediments to the Scout's advancement. However, in typical BSA fashion, this also appears to be contradicted by Which would imply that the real purpose of the SM signature is to make sure the scout is working with an approved counselor.

His problem was he tried to turn the ship and reverse it at the same time.

I've been an EMT/NREMT; I've been an Advance First Aid (when they had that course), CPR, First Aid, BLS, and a bunch of other ARC courses instructor - I am not currently certified as an instructor. Before any of that, I was a Boy Scout with First Aid MB and Emergency Prep MB. The worst "wilderness" case I had to deal with was as summer camp staff (~18), we were leading a group of ~ 30 first year campers to an overnight camping site off the camp property (only about 1-1.5 miles, very hilly terrain), and my co-leader took a brown recluse bite to the calf. I had to send my CIT and two scout

Sorry, I should clarify. I meant that in the communitty at large, if they think of someone performing first aid (not professional EMS) they probably think of Red Cross and their CPR training first, and a boy scout second. Even AHA, since their training is typically more to professional workplace needs, might not be as well recognized. Actually in our area, they have some deal with the ARC, and we have quite a lot of BSA sponsored ARC certified training.

Stosh, While I really like the system, I'm not sure I would agree that the mentoring/coaching/guiding level was none. As adults, you identified a task that you wanted the scouts to complete, and you provided specific motivation to see that that was accomplished. Now, if the PLC has asked if the adults would provide that as a reward to the first patrol .. that would be too awesome to contemplate.

Developed, yes, and we could seek out help and specialties for developing the course, although the earlier pdf link implies BSA has already identified what the course should be. I was referring more to actually running the courses and the trainer courses. Also, despite being an outdoor organization with lip service to leave no trace, the Scouts, as a program, did not always have a good reputation on the subject matter. First Aid on the other hand, we're probably second most known to the Red Cross.

Realistically, is there any real reason that the BSA could not create our own self-certified course in WFA, in much the same way we have outdoor ethics trainers, or many other self certified courses. In terms of Wilderness First Aid, I would have to believe that we (as an organziation) have at least as much credibility as ARC and probably more than many of these for-profit companies that teach the course. OK, maybe we still farm out the CPR component, like we do for BSA Lifeguard, but otherwise - This is something BSA could offer for adult leaders, venturers, and older scouts alike; witho

Well, as long as we're sending this topic off in 4 different directions at once ... Re: I&P on the forum (at least I am indicating which tangent I'm on) I think, at some level, almost everyone here is here with the intent of learning how or helping others to offer a good program for the Scouts. Maybe I've been fortunate, but I've not yet encountered anyone specifically looking ONLY to troll the users. I&P lets us have a place to vent our issues, maybe it's not always as scout-like as it should be over there, but by having it, it at least contains the damage. It's the warn

I believe in uniform by example, and I wear an appropriate uniform when leading the pack, often remaining in the field uniform even when the scouts are invited to wear the activity uniform. I am also a realist, and Scout pants are expensive, and the cubs grow out of them much faster than they do with the uniform shirt. Thus our pack makes the scout pants optional if blue pants or shorts (jeans, trousers, etc.) are at least worn. As a result, we have maybe 10% that have the official pants. Yes, in the grand scheme of things, it's not that expensive compared to other activities, but fo

Well, here now, I thought my son's troop was making pretty good efforts at Boy Led, and now it's been shown to me there is a BIG hole in the system. Knowing what is going on is definately a SM/Committee email to the parents list. The boys may also share some communication that I don't see (PLC?), but my son has not yet been a part of that. This one is a hard balancing act. Emails, etc. are a great communication tool, but not all parents are ready to let their kids have such an account, depending on their age. Most social medial platforms require the users to be 13 and up, so that too c

While the training helps, that's not all of it. I grew up in a boy led troop; I'm an AOL & Eagle; I have 8 years of white stag leadership development training, including 5 on staff; I've been to National Camp School; Summer Camp Staff 9 years, Program Director for 3; 2 Pow Wows, 3 UoS and teaching this year, 4 years as a CM; MBC for 20 MBs; done IOLS, and just about all the on-line trainings there are; I'm on the Roundtable staff. Knowing the right answer (with or without training) is not always enough, and this is why the CO and the Committee have to be very thoughtful in the sele

While I do understand your point on two-deep vs. no one-on-one, I've had several conversations on this point before, I'm not sure I'll take quite the hands off approach give here when it is an offical meeting, in a person's home. Thus it is the event; as say opposed to those that think you need two adults in each car traveling to the event. In this case, it was a "door" conversation as people were getting ready to leave; and yes, I fully acknowledge, that (1) The conversationshould not have been there or then; (2) I need to learn how to better and more politely extricate myself from the c

In this way, "uniform" itself is a misnomer. While the uniform is ONE of our methods for delivering the Scouting program, it is only a part of an overall stragety to achieve our aims and goals. The purpose of the uniform, among other things is to give each scout a sense of belonging to a larger group, to shed socio-economic barriers so that the scouts may befriend all, and for recognition within our community of this is who we are and what we stand for. If you go back far enough, the parts of the Scout uniform had a scouting purpose beyond simple appearance, whether the triangular

Last night I was an adult chaperone to a Patrol Meeting. The Patrol leader, while 15, is new to the position, and to troop leadership in general; and is currently second class. They were working on Knot tieing; when I brought my son, I inquired with the Patrol Leader's father (it was at their house); if he had the two-deep leadership covered, the did technically as his wife was home, but they asked if I know much about knots to help. I indicated that I would stay, but that I only planned to help if the Patrol Leader wanted to teach a knot he didn't know. There were many times that I

Remembering Scoutmasters: I remember who my scoutmasters were. Well, not my very first one, he changed maybe 3 months after I joined. The second one I remember because (1) He had a very dynamic personality, (2) He was tremendously good at recruiting, and (3) there were incidents (thankfully not involving me) that we all were briefed about after his sudden departure. I don't remember who replaced him - but I remember my SPL and PL. When I became SPL, I remember who the Scoutmaster and Assistants were from then on. So I think that I can agree that if you can't remember your Scoutmaster

Yes, I think you could. Make your own Neckerchief slide that has a place for these mementos. That said, at some point, when the slide becomes a distraction from the uniform itself, again we need to reevaluate the spirit of the guidelines. I do like the earlier comment about coming to the ECOH w/o the prior mentor pins, it lets the recipient know that they are special, not just/mearly one more story.

I really like the analogy, can I steal (I mean adopt) it for my JSN's?

A lot of the Den leaders in my pack will focus one getting one time through the required activities (requirements, adventures, pins, etc.), and making sure the parents of Scouts who miss the material know what to work on from home. Once the required elements have been gone through, they will, to the best of their ability, go back and work on filling in the missed activities with the boys who need it; this is also an ideal time to put skilled parents to work, and a den chief - if you have a good one; as there are many boys, and what they haven't done is all over the map. As a pack, I al

I try to be pretty good about uniforming. I want to set a good example - and I really try to let my example be the limit of how I uniform police. But I also like to account for the spirit of the uniform guidelines. As to the parent's pin. At a court of honor or equivalent, parents are encouraged to celebrate their childrens' accomplishments by wearing the parents pin(s)/ribbon. My pride in my Child's achievement does not go away simply because I am a uniformed leader; my Child does not deserve to see less of parent's honoring his accomplishment, simply because I am also a uniformed

I had forgotten to account for the LDS structure, thank you. I guess you could actually earn all the necessary activity badges for both awards during the Webelos year. So other than the six month requirement (and maybe reearnng/recertifing cyber chip - I don't have the requirements in front of me at the moment), I guess you could do it quicker if you wanted.

I'd say that I might have a different position because I was a cub master, but this is a cub forum, so ... I do not even begin to try to compete with Sports. When I recruit, do a Join Scouting night, or even talk it up at the Grocery Store; I emphacise that (Cub) Scouting is here to support the family. Not to become an extra headache. If Sports, seasonal or otherwise, is important to the family, and they have to miss events - that's OK; we are here to support the family. Our den leaders will be happy to let you know what they are working on, so that the Boy can work on these things

Under the new program, other than shared book and electives, the Webelos Program and AOL program are effectively separate. So the usual year to get through the Webelos Badge and another 6-9 months to get through AOL seem to fit the program guides very well. Getting through the minumum 7 activity badges should be possible without too much hair loss. As for academics, I've always seen the Webelos Activity badges as more vocational and hobby oriented - much like the Boy Scout merit badges. The new program really is geared to helping the Webelos better prepare for what to expect when the