King Ding Dong

So while I am not afraid of change, I understand the dynamics of those that are, and will not belittle or dismiss their concerns, and neither should anyone else.

Sage advise there and difficult to do.

 

Ridiculous, considering nothing has actually changed yet. Best of luck to them wherever they are going.

I am sure I made comments about moving to Canada last November. Still here. Life hasn't change much if at all, yet.

Still torn on this. Here is my red line. Leggings, yoga shorts, crop tops, 2mm inseam jean shorts, exposed brasiers under tank tops, sports bras, lettering on the butt, makeup, you know the standard female middle and high school wardrobe. That stuff affects me and certainly does teenage boys. We are visual creatures.

 

We can certainly control that stuff within our units but not so much at camporees or summer camp. The 4 summer camps I have been to have plenty of young female camp staff but dress appropriately and the boys do just fine. If the BSA offers no compromise, I think this could work with minimal problems. Not so sure it can.

 

Just think about all the KYBOs and shower houses that are going to have to be built. Guess who gets the new ones.

@@Saltface

Although I am now several states and 2 years removed from GSLAC (St. Louis, MO and one of the big Councils) I am still on the contact list and received the survey. Might also have to do with the various stipes I wore (IH, CM, CC, etc). Did not receive one in Simon Kenton (Columbus, OH) but I am just registered as a ASM. Did not think it appropriate to fill out the survey for the old council.

Wow, just wow. Never thought this would actually happen and still absorbing it. I really wonder how hard GSUSA is going to fight this. Maybe they have more important things to worry about.

 

One positive outcome might be forcing troops back to the Patrol Method, provided they don't go with co-ed patrols at some point.

 

I really need to hang around these parts more often again. Interesting times.

The boys are allowed to bring the same electronic devices I do.  If it has to be plugged in for any reason it stays home.  It's a good lesson to learn that if one has the DT's by Tuesday or Wednesday, then there's something seriously wrong with one's life.  Yes, a bit of time with the game console can be relaxing for some, but so can drugs and alcohol or a morning cigarette and coffee.  Somehow I don't see the necessity to promote such addictive behavior nor should the leaders be leading in that direction.

I want to see you argue against this one. Scout has his technician class FCC license and wants to bring his ham radio. That is old school scouting. We even have an official Amature Radio Operator strip to wear on the sleeve now.

 

Everyone remember 300' Kudu? He had no problem with electronics. There is a video he posted here of his patrol hiking and all the boys had earbuds.

Well as usual I will the contrarian. The SM and other adult leaders royally screwed up. Emails are not documentation that does not keep up to date. If the SM and other leaders had a shred of decency in them they would handing over their devices to the boy at bedtime or at minimum encouraging the other boys to share.

 

He didn't forget something. He was lied to,

Depending on the troop some boys not quite 11 are allowed to camp with the troop in the spring as guests, just no advancement takes place until they are able to join officially. YMMV.

The paltry service hours at least ensure at least something gets done. The resume building parents wouldn't have their sons do any if given the choice.

As a calorically-challenged American, I have been telling people that you can be "fat but fit" for years, and no one believes me.  In some of the old comic books, you can actually see ads for programs to help you gain weight.

 

Send me some of those ads, I have been trying for years to fatten up my oldest. Almost 14 and weighs barely 70lbs, 1% body fat. I sometimes mistake him for a little green alien and have been considering a paternity test.

Ah, but YOUR program is not becoming more open, unless you choose to do so.

A Scout is thrifty is relative to your income bracket.

^That sucks. I haven't seen that. The Open times have just been announced in the morning, though I think you could schedule a Troop Shoot.

I only have two boys and yes the cost for T shirts or polo shirts for activities really starts to get annoying especially when they start go north of that $10 mark. In Cubs it really got annoying when you get that leader who thinks the solution to waning interest in the pack is a new Tshirt design.

 

Once you hit Boy Scouts and depending on your climate the synthetic shirts really are better. I sweat a lot so I can go through 2-3 cotton shirts a day or wear one synthetic. Fortunately my current troop considers the Activity Uniform (Class B is not a BSA term) to be any plain Tshirt or scouting related TShirt. We have the option of purchasing the $16 synthetic one only if we want to.

 

I have loosened up a bit recently about it becuase my boys don't not have a problem with wearing their scout shirts to school or anywhere else so we get our use out of them. The Chior polo I had to buy that he only had to wear 3 times for shows kind of irked me.

 

On the plus side I really do like the BSA uniform shorts/swimsuits for $20. My boys pretty much live in them all summer though they last only two years before the chlorine eats through them as we spend a lot of time at the pool or water park.

 

$20 for a kid size I agree is a bit excessive. 3XL not so much. See is your son really needs or wants that shirt maybe he can help with some extra chores to ease the sticker shock. I am all about speaking your mind but pick your battles wisely, you don't want to be "That Guy".

 

EDIT: The more I think about this my suggestion is to wake up every morning and thank the Lord you did not have 4 girls and just write the damn check.

I call them arbitrary deadlines when you look at the repercussions and who's on the late list.  If the kid can still go or there is a way to make it happen, then it's arbitrary.  Call it a preferred date.  It's just not a deadline.  

 

The funny one is when I've seen these deadlines and who's missed the deadline.  It's usually the scoutmaster and his kid; the camp coordinator and his kid; other key leaders and their kids.  I always enjoy it when the person publishing the date misses the date too.

 

I may or may not have seen a SM change a date on his own med form in the parking lot. His wife is a MD.

@@blw2

 

We had that experience a couple of yours ago. Not sure what happens but one boy was missing a part C that his parents insisted they turned in. The camp just said he had to leave within 72 hours if they didn't get it. The fax went through.

If you new Scouts ever doubt what they are up against, or need a lesson in teamwork show them this.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/racooon-chain-over-wall_us_5768af51e4b0853f8bf1fe90?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

@@David CO

 

I can certainly see your point on most of that but as a public school the resistence to scouting comes from the fact that the program is not open to ALL of the CO's boys.

And apparently some camps are even scheduling night time classes and activities that you have to register for in advance.

Astronomy comes to mind.

 

Pardon me if we are talking apples and oranges but isn't scheduling in advance a good thing? So we don't have 40 scouts attempting swimming MB at 10AM and 7 scouts at 9AM. 40 scouts going for Canoeing MB but only 10 canoes? Overcrowding/understaffing/underutilization is certainly a factor that leads to poor MB experiences.

@@blw2

 

Agreed inviting yourself etc. But at S-F in MO that is how it is works, the adults are split up with the patrols for meals. I suppose if you had enough adults for a patrol they could do it themselves.

@@blw2

 

Nah, the Old Goat Patrol cooks for itself on all the weekend campouts. At a Patrol Cooking Camp the Old Goats eat the Scouts food becuase they are serving as MBCs for those working on the Cooking MB. If a MBC will not eat the Scout's food he is doing something wrong. The nap part was a joke.

 

Some Dining hall camps do offer a Patrol Cooking option, you just have to look a bit deeper in the Leader Guide. Even if they don't you could try an negotiate a reduced rate if you skip the dining hall and go it alone. Nearly every family has at least one or two coolers and while not every grocery store carries dry ice you can still get it even in smaller cities. Just search on "carbonics"

 

Now this is assuming you have one or two Old Goats per Scout Patrol, if you are in one of those troops with a more 1:1 ratio you are still doing something wrong.

 

In addition there is no better way to show a scout you trust them than to eat their food and if you compliment their culinary skills you will never a bigger smile on their face.

I just don't get it. I can barely tolerate a Camporee, the thought of a Jamoree is just nauseating. Never was a fan of crowds, just something that has to be tolerated every once in awhile.

I was getting ready to follow the scouts up to the dining hall....

 

I'm thinking I was doing it wrong....

Yep you went to a dining hall camp. You nap while the scouts are cooking your diner and then again while they clean up.

Have an good rollercoasters up there?

Shouldn't the value of something be considered based on what you get in exchange?  If your unit never participated in OA, you have no idea of what you get in exchange.

 

So, for our Ordeal it is $60, less the $10 discount is $50.  Included in that is the first year's dues of $15.  So that is $35.  For that we got two HUGE meals, two small meals, two nights camping and a sash, pocket patch and book.

 

My son went to Conlclave for $38.  That included food on Friday, three meals on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday with two nights of camping.  He also received a goodie bag, pocket patch, hanging patch and more.

 

However, there are things you can't put a price on.  My son went to Conclave alone -- without me and without anyone from our Troop.  On the way going there I asked him what parts of the scout law he would focus on.  His response is "friendly, helpful and brave -- because I don't know anyone."  He came back after having the time of his life.  He said, "I made like 10 friends in an hour and felt more at home with the guys in my lodge than I do with alot of the guys in our Troop."  He is with a bunch of guys who take scouting as seriously as he does -- not the guys that are doing Eagle for their college application and not the guys who are sash and dash.  He is already planning on running for a chapter position in the Fall.

 

Over that weekend he learned the meaning of a new word, "fellowship."  PRICELESS.

That's the a goal. Took my son to a sectional conclave a little bit ago and it didn't work out as well. That happens with youth run sometimes. Maybe next time will be different.

Unfortunately not every person at scout camp is a true scout. One of my Scouts had his patch collection stolen at jamboree, which was a big deal. A friend of mine had some swimming goggles stolen, and I almost had my walking staff stolen. I was lucky, I saw the "scout" taking off with my staff across the field and was able to stop him.

Ah, one of my favorite James Bond scenes.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OmpBYcM06Sk