dedkad

Camporee is coming up and my son, who's 11, was chosen to do the shopping for his patrol. The patrol sat down and wrote out their menu for the weekend. The closest they came to fruit or vegies was orange juice and blueberry muffins. I know they'll survive the weekend without those valuable nutrients, but what really had me concerned was that "soda" was also written on the list. I questioned the patrol leader, and he said "that's what the boys wanted." I'm glad the boys are making decisions on their own, but how do you encourage them to make some healthier decisions when it comes to food and drink choices?

Not the kind of thing I wanted to read 4 days before sending my son out on his first backpacking trip with his troop.

Webelos are not in patrols' date=' they are in Dens. The insignia sheet doesn't show patrol patches for Webelos for that reason. If you'll note, they show den patches. [/quote']

 

They may not be "patrols" in the usual sense, but I believe the term patrols was used in the Fast Start Webelos den leader training. I guess the specialized round patches are still called den patches, though, and not patrol patches. Here's a link with a picture of how the patches should be placed: http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33066_Section2.pdf If you're going to use the Webelos colors, according to page 32 of the Webelos handbook: "The colors are pinned to the right shirt sleeve just below the U.S. flag. The colors will cover the den emblem and Quality Unit insignia."

Do the contractors need to get prior approval from Council to be a MBC in order to sign off on the requirements?

Wonder if the Scouts would go for this. Sure would get a laugh. Might be better for Venturers. ~~http://www.realfarmacy.com/10-survival-tips-using-tampons/

So I;ve been speaking to the Cambridgeshire Cats American Football club this evening and they are coming in on 8 May to run flag football with us plus give a bit of a demo with the pads and helmets. I'm looking forward to it as much as the kids are

 

I've always been keen on every now and then binning the standard programme and doing something completely different. This is certainly in that tradition!

Great job putting something together for your scouts!

Congratulations!

If you continue as den leader, you will have plenty of years to earn that den leader knot. If you are that concerned about it, you could recruit someone to be Cubmaster and assure them that you will do all the behind the scenes work and they just need to show up to the meetings with your agenda in hand. But if you did that, then you wouldn't be able to earn the Cubmaster knot, so I guess choices will need to be made.

' date=' but we've been a troop for over 35 years so it seems that something is wrong if we don't trust (and can't monitor and guide) the boys so they can sign off on junior Scouts rank requirements..[/quote']

 

So this troop was created by these two individuals and has been going on for 35 years? Sounds like they are doing something right.

Yeah, I clicked on Bryan's link just so I could post an angry comment, then I realized... duh!

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/S...252907101.html

 

The Boy Scouts of America Mid-America Council in Omaha issued this statement Friday afternoon:

 

"... When appropriate we will carefully review the situation to see if there are any safety enhancements that may be necessary. The health and safety of all of our members is of paramount importance to the Boy Scouts of America. Safety is integral to everything we do and the Boy Scouts of America places great importance on creating the most secure environment possible for all of our members.â€Â

And a new chapter in GTSS is born.

FSU,

 

Thanks for posting the link.

 

AK,

 

Yep, no liquid fuels for lighting fires for adults or youth. Heck I had one leader try and tell me liquid fuel stoves were now verboten. Luckily BSA allows you to still use liquid fuels if you use a manufactured device approved for the fuel to use, no more homemade tuna can stoves

 

But my MSR Whisperlight International stove, designed to burn keroseen, gasoline, JP fuel, ad nasueum Is still OK .

My Webelos made tuna can burners for hobo stoves using cardboard and wax. I assume that is still OK.

AK,

 

Once I found the above it seem obvious that BSA policy is to let them earn their rank badges with the rest of the pack.

 

I don't agree at all with your interpretation of the "Do Your Best" policy. "Do Your Best" doesn't mean we skip a requirement completely but still give out awards anyway because our den leader didn't get around to scheduling our go-see on time and the pack insists that we do rank badges at B&G. The intent of Do Your Best is to actually give it a try, but to understand that some scouts may lack the physical, mental, geographic, or other ability to complete the requirement exactly as written. I had boys who were physically incapable of doing pull-ups. They tried several times and did their best trying, but just could not do it because they are large for their age. We switched the requirement for those boys to a timed hang instead. They successfully completed the revised requirement. That's "Do Your Best" in my opinion. Say you live in an area that doesn't have a newspaper office, radio station, or TV station. You think of some other requirement that might fit closely with that requirement, such as listening to a news broadcast on TV, going to the library and reviewing old newspapers, do your own pretend den newscast, or publish your own pack newsletter, or something ...anything. You don't just make excuses and skip it completely. You try! You can't Do Your Best if you don't even try.

Maybe your B&G shouldn't be so much about earning rank badges. Use it as an opportunity to celebrate Scouting and the achievements they have done so far instead. Or just make it a super special party. They have plenty of time to earn their badges. I don't think you should award badges to boys who haven't completed all of the requirements and no one should feel like they failed because of it. If you think the format of your B&G will make the Tigers feel like failures, then modify your B&G format instead of modifying the rules that boys actually need to complete the requirements before they earn something.

I can't either' date=' though I'd disagree that it's a redeeming factor. [/quote']

 

But it's better than having to quote all the time.

 

At troop elections boys running get to give a little speech, but not for OA. For OA I give a little speech. I let the troop know that I have talked with the boys up for election and find that they are ready for such a task. I will let the troop know some of the qualities that I see in the boys. And I let them know that to me that makes them great candidates for OA, but that it is up to them. If they see something else than they should vote what they feel.

 

I think doing this helps boys that aren't always at everything know more about the boys that are at things especially if you have new crossovers.

 

In our troop, the boys who just crossed over or ones who aren't as involved were encouraged not to submit a ballot if they didn't know the boy and his capabilities well enough to vote. That makes more sense to me than blindly voting on someone based on what another person says rather than what they have observed with their own eyes.

We went the preventative route when it came to conservation. My boys built napkin holders to keep napkins from blowing away in the wind. They donated them to civic groups who hold outdoor BBQ's to help prevent the litter from occurring in the first place.

I checked with my DE. He couldn't find anything from Council stating its a "rule" he like I thinks its a good idea. With the complete lack of parent participation the Pack has I dont know how to present it. If I make it an option maybe 4 parents will do it, out of 69 Scouts. Its going to be hard enough requiring health forms for all the boys. If they filled them out in Sept nobody has them now. I will have forms at the campout with me. If they dont have them or fill them out I am not going to allow them to stay. Is that too much?

I posted elsewhere on this. I'm a little surprised at the lack of clarity in this thread on BSA policy, because it's posted pretty openly on their web site:

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/fi..._BSA_Units.pdf

 

If you look at the last page of that, you'll see that individual scout accounts are pretty clearly prohibited. I admit it stinks but it's difficult for me to look my Webelos in the face when reviewing the Citizenship badge and tell them that as law-abiding citizens we all need to follow the law and pay our taxes - and then turn around and skirt IRS regulations.

 

Has this conflict come up with any of you in dealing with your Councils/Districts? Any exceptions?

Elections? We usually resort to arm-twisting to get people to fill volunteer positions. If any parent got wind of someone else willing to fill a spot, they'd beg off immediately.

My son, who just bridged over to Boy Scouts, was looking over my shoulder while I was taking the YPT online. He asked me a couple questions about it, and I used it as an opportunity to let him know what the rules were to make sure that he never went off with an adult Scouter alone. I think it is a good idea to have parents take YPT because they need to make sure the people to whom they have entrusted their boys aren't doing any shenanigans, but to have every adult on a pack campout take it seems silly. It's Cub Scouts and all CS are supposed to have a parent with them on campouts, unless they are Webelos.

My Bear made it to the District PWD last weekend, came in mid 40s in a very big district. My Tenderfoot was really bummed he can not do PWD anymore. I tried pitching Blastcar to the troop committee but absolutely no interest. Adult led troop.

Not sure what my son's troop does, but in Cub Scouts, the boys preferred to sit around the campfire and tell scary stories.

Welcome back, KDD! Keep up that fighting spirit!

The fund link won't work for me. Anyone else tried it successfully?