st0ut717

Questions for the group - is marriage an inalienable right. If it is an inalienable right, does a majority have a right to vote to take away an inalienable right from a minority? If it is not an inalienable right, then what is it?

 

Yes marriage is an inalienable right but the minority hasn't had any rights taken away at all. Those who identify as homosexuals can marry -- that is, homosexual men can marry women and homosexual women can marry men.

my son has his current career goals and we mapped out what merit badges would help him get to that goal.

Challege think of a career and see if we cant find the merit badges that will help the boy get that career

I have written and canceled a responce to this 3 times.....

Uniform is part of the deal. Your boy wants to be part of scouts thats part of it you take the good and the bad.

This is discipline. A pack / den that does not wear class A for pack and den meetings in not prepareing the Cub for Boy Scouts

.....Over the years I have had a fairly substantial number of scouts that always have a book, or sometimes more than one, with them on outings and at summer camp. On occasion, they have had to be asked to please put it away while we did an activity; and it is rather nice to see a boy leaning on a tree in the woods reading. What has often been the case in that regard in the families is that TV was either not allowed (in a few cases) or drastically monitored; same with computer related things as the age has developed. Most did not have phones until high school, and they were very limited plans, meant for real needed use only. While they all relished visiting other kids without those limitations (the overheard grapevine), they mostly were more polite, better at things in general because they actually read instructions and the book maybe, and did well in school. Many also were involved in sports, though they tended towards the more singular type such as track or wrestling.

......

I do now have a bit of a problem with the video games and so on becoming a distraction, even when they are not actually there. A few scouts cannot talk about anything else it seems, if not given a specific challenge or goal. They will generally not argue about going back to the task at hand, though they need to be monitored closely, which is the PL and SPL biggest challenges now.

......

 

I'm just going back and reading, or re-reading this thread.

You brought up several varied points in your post, but some really make me think....

 

I would so much rather see a boy leaning against a tree reading, than playing with technology..... but what I see more of is a boy or boys huddled up in a tent with a video game, with other cubs that didn't bring their games or tablet computers huddled around watching and wanting a turn. Our CM's sons are the ones with all of the latest gadgets, and it's usually around their tent where you find this huddle. On a campout, I view this tech as a sort of cancer. On a camp out last year, I had my son leave his tech at home. Unfortunately, other boys had theirs. I asked my son to go climb a tree or something, but it's hard when he wants to be right in the huddle!

I wish I could drive a removal of that cancer from our pack, but as mentioned, our CM, as well as other leaders, are the tech crowd and I think view the tech as a way of getting the boys out of their hair so they can burry themselves in their own smartphones.

 

Your point about TV on the home front is interesting. I was raised without much limit on TV. I have always contented that a kid can learn from TV, even stupid fiction. I feel that I was able to put myself in the situations of the story line and learn from it...... Situations that I may not otherwise find myself in..... shows like Andy Griffith, Brady Bunch, Munsters, Beaver, Lucy, etc.... usually had some sort of moral or social lesson

I think even the newer ones that my kids watch now that aren't nearly as "wholesome", can be educational to a degree.

Still, I do agree with your point that generally speaking kids with stricter limits tend to be more polite and socially well adjusted.

My wife and I limit our kids with TV & tech, but MAYBE not nearly enough.... I'll have to give this some thought for sure.

 

Its a tool ust like a pocket knife a rifle or a 2M radio. and the kids ned to have the skills to use that tool effectively.

Really OP Armed with a cub scout knife? are T-ball players armed with clubs? If you dont think its ok for you son to have a knife dont let him. it's really that simple. My son was allowed to have a knife on the belt while in class A or while camping. Other then that it was put away.

A pocket knife is an invaluable tool, not only for Scouts, but for anyone. Everyone I work with knows I carry one, even in a suit. This being said, we start teaching knife safety and proper knife usage, first with popsicle sticks, then with plastic knives (all with soap), with our Tigers (we actually have the Boy Scouts teach this during our Cub Day Camps).

 

Starting with the Tigers teaches habits and by the time they are Bears, most of the Whittlin' Chip is "old hat" and they can easily recite (and teach the new Cub Scouts) the rules of using this tool. However, our Scouts don't usually their own pocket knives until 1/2 way through their Bear year (parents will usually "present" the pocket knife as a Christmas gift to their Bear Scouts).

 

The Wolf elective requirement of assembling an outdoor kit introduces the Scouts to proper camping skills. Yes, you want them to learn what they really need, especially when taking care of themselves while camping. This is not to give them while camping, but to start teaching them and introducing them to the "tools of the trade." If the Scout is taught properly, he should ask Mom or Dad before the campout ... "Do you have the ....??" By the time he becomes a Webelos, he will be checking himself for the proper outdoor kits.

 

Now, as for the proper type knife one should use, BSA does not "allow" lock-blade knives (funny, though, they sell lock-blade knives at scoutstuff.org). I do not like for my sons to carry a lock-blade knife until Boy Scouts ... they are usually too difficult to close for the younger Scouts. Start with something simple (I really like the Cub Scout knife at scoutstuff.org, or the whittling knife). If you get one with too many "toys" (like a multi-tool or a larger Swiss Army), the knives become too large for the Cub Scouts to really learn how to use the tool.

 

The point of the Whittlin' Chip, and the knife skills taught in Cub Scouts is to teach whittling ... for this, you only need a single, small blade. Let the Scouts learn more uses for the tools as Boy Scouts (however, it is quite entertaining, for a while, to watch a Cub Scout try to open a can with a can-opener from a pocket knife).

 

Teach knife safety early, and thoroughly and appropriately, and you shouldn't have to worry about the "dangers" of "arming" ... (as already said, stress the tool aspect of the knife and correct whenever a Scout refers to it as a weapon, or anything other than a tool) Cub Scouts with small, personal pocket knives for whittling ... at least until they start hanging out with those older, non-Scout boys, referenced in an earlier post. Good Luck!!!

This is why scouting is such a great program. As the boys grow an they start to choose their path the merit badge system allows and encourages these different paths.

You want to be a lawyer? eagle requirement in particular Citizenships, Communication, Law, Scholarship, Crime Prevention, American Business, Entrepreneurship, American Labor, Public Speaking.

You Want to be a Act? : Eagle requirements,Communication, Art, theater, Bugle, music, cinematography

You want to work for an F1 team? eagle Citizenship of the world, Communication,Automotive maintencance, Computers, chemestry, engineering, inventing .

I dant think of an occupation that cannont have a meritbadge system behind it to ensure that the boys succeed in their path.

My sons responce to a baseball player who said scouting is for wimps this weekend:

"Let see you had your parents drive you to a game and then you went out to eat later right? I rode my bike 8 miles to a gun range set up camp shot 200 rounds of .22 rifle and made my own dinner"

I am in the N/E us knives are not much of a issue here. even in Massachusetts. once you are out of the airport there will be no issues. Too many trades rely on the leatherman to be an issue at all and you will find them a common sight while you are here.

fixed blades at a mall will be an issue at a mall but not at a campsite.

I have worked extensively in Vienan and you will find that the social norms of walking in Amsterdam or Utrecht are far more strict than Boston.

OK My first post.... this is not all doom and gloom.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703712504576232753156582750.html

I think shows like are you tougher than a boy scout will assist. but at the end of the day I would rather have 10000 boys who truly want adventure and the challenge of nature rather then 1000000 boys who want to just pass the time.

Hi, Well my son has been in scouting since Tiger and he just crossed over in March and in now a Tenderfoot. We are a very active high adventure troop. I am looking forward to learing from all of you.