NeverAnEagle

I took your advice and sent out an email asking for another adult volunteer to watch the patrol in order to verify what I saw. So far only Dylan's mom has volunteered and I don't think she'd be a good choice because the boys will know that they are being watched. Then again, maybe then NEED to know they are being watched.

Around Here Merit Badge Counselor $15; Safety Afloat/Swim Defense renewals $15; CPR is $30; OLS runs $50; SM Specific/Safety Afloat/Swim Defense/Troop Committee $120; Wood Badge is $230. I can't remember what I paid for Trainers Edge, but that was years ago, so it probably cost more now. The only trainings I've been to where I didn't have to pay were online.

joebob: It looks more like this: E - Enter the room X - X-ray your volunteers checkbook. P - Puff up your tail feathers. L - List your credentials A - Affirm the value of repetitive training. I - Inflate your ego N - Never actually teach anything . . . . but recommend another, more expensive, err I mean, EXTENSIVE course.

Sentinel: I am a parent. Boys change their behavior if the SM or ASM is standing near by, so we use parents to watch patrols so that we know how they are really preforming. Since my oldest is an Raven and my youngest is an Eagle, I was the obvious parent to watch the Owls. (Another troop rule is one brother per patrol--the parents of this troop have a tendency to beget boys.)

~~What do you do with the boy causing problems isn’t the obvious suspect? Our last group of Weblo’s included Lars, a high strung lad with ADHD. He managed to earn absolutely nothing at Summer Camp. When they were settled into Patrols in August it was suggested that he be in a Patrol with James, a small, mild mannered boy, because their teachers keeps them together at school because James is a good influence on Lars. Anyway it became immediately obvious that Lars was disrupting his patrol (Owls) and that neither the PL nor SPL could manage him. I was sent to watch and ma

Dedkad: I've never seen a bridge used for Boy Scout Cross-over, but I've only seen cross-overs for 3 of the area packs. I have seen a lot of strangely constructed bridges used at Blue & Gold banquets so that tigers could become wolves, etc. I used to run the FOS circuit for area Packs when I was the Cub Round Table commissioner. Every pack I visited had something the boys had to walk over to advance, though it was seldom very steady. I guess that was part of the fun.

Moosetracker: I think that is probably because 4H, FFA, debate, etc. don't place as much value on character development. A 17 year old 4H member will compete in the same class as a 8 year old 4H member when it comes to animal quality, because classes are divided by weight of hog, sheep, etc. When it comes to wining a champion ribbon there is claim that they achieved moral, or ethical heights, just that they had the better marbled, or better muscled animal. It's the same for non-animal projects as well. All first year projects (example 1st year Dutch oven cookery, 1st year handwork from ou

Stosh-- Our troop holds a Joining Ceremony for all new scouts. Once they finish the joining requirements we make a big deal of giving them their scout patch and neckerchief.

The OA members are supposed to be there to welcome them into the brotherhood of scouting. The ceremonies work like this: Parents present child with arrow, CM gives child patch, a group of nearly naked OA boys make an @ss of themselves, then the boys are officially Boy Scouts. The Troop has no part in this. Neckerchiefs are handed out at the Troops Court of Honor, Joining Ceremony, or whatever the Troop chooses to do. The Pack has no part in this. (Our Troop does a Joining Ceremony in conjunction with a COH where possible.) The only time the “bridge†is used is for cu

I'm glad you Gents are enjoying this. I was thinking something like this could become a SM min. Maybe paint a profile of two guys (One of them above) and some other chap and ask the boys to identify who the Eagle is. I'd bet the boys wouldn't ever associate a criminal with the rank of Eagle. Might get them thinking along the lines of actions speaking louder than words. They can earn they rank, but the rank doesn't make them a respectable citizen.

Chief Scout Executive Robert Mazzuca, and his anti-Scouting campaign! "Did you know that there was a time when to be a First Class Scout--you guys didn't know this I bet--did you guys have to learn how to catch a runaway horse to be a First Class Scout? When was the last time you saw a runaway horse?" Chorus from the Audience: "Tuesday" http://inquiry.net/leadership/sitting_side_by_side_with_adults.htm Well, I guess there better off than me, because I haven't seen a run-away horse since September. LOL!

BD--Non-Catholic boys were not allowed in the Catholic Troop, so when they were ready to move on, we sent them to whatever troop they wanted. I've never seen a SM at a Cross-over ceremony. They way it's done in my council is you let the DE know when you are ready and they send some OA boys out to do the Cross-over. Unfortunately, the boys who show up are usually, 1) Drunk, 2) Stoned, or 3) Both. Then they dance around in their underwear and loin clothes, let out a couple of "war cries" generally make a spectitcal of themselves and a mockery of Native American traditions. That's why I

I saw an article where an Eagle Scout ended up accidentally scattering a ton of pot over an airport and was amused. I tried to verify it, but couldn't but came across these instead. Just found it interesting.

http://crime.about.com/od/serial/a/richardangelo.htm Profile of Serial Killer Richard Angelo; Angel of Death Richard Angelo was 26 years old when he went to work at Good Samaritan Hospital on Long Island in New York. He had a background of doing good things for people as a former Eagle Scout and volunteer fireman.

It’s often publicized when at Eagle Scout earns a high rank elsewhere. (Think of Gerald Ford, Ross Perot, and Neil Armstrong.) It’s odd to claim the moral, ethical, or scholarly high ground for the entire organization when someone with the rank of Eagle happens to attain such accolades, epically when ignoring other, equally famous Eagle Scouts. I found this particularly interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman Charles Joseph Whitman (June 24, 1941 – August 1, 1966) was an American engineering student and former U.S. Marine, who killed seventeen p

Ahh . . . The old cross-over delima. The person who was CM before me would hold all the boys back until everyone was ready to cross over. That would mean sometimes there would be a cross-over in February; other times not until May. I favored the policy that a boy could cross-over anytime he has his AOL completed. Some boys crossed over on their own, most waited for their buddies. It was done when the boys were ready and wanted to go. Boys who did not earn the AOL did not get to become boy scouts until they completed the 5th grade. You’ve only got one boy, so if his AOL is c

I still thought it was a bad move to allow someone with a known history of embezzlement to handle Pack funds . . . I don't know BSA Paid staff think . . .

I think our notion of privacy has changed. When I was a kid we all knew there wasn't any expectation of privacy on the phone because the other 4 households on your party line could, would, and often did listen in on your conversations and if there was anything juicy it was repeated all over town. Everyone knew there wasn't any privacy if you were using the telephone. Now we freak out because some knows that 555-1212 called 555-1234 at 7:49 PM and it lasted 00:09:36. We have more privacy now than we ever did before. Once upon a time when I was a kid if you did something in, err, PUBLI

months . . . . If you send in a "expedited application" you can here back in as little as 4 months . . . otherwise prepare for a long wait.

It depends on your council. I was accused of being discriminatory when I refused to allow a man who spent 18 months in prison for embezzlement to be the Pack treasurer. Council said he paid his debt to society and he could not be denied.

I think you an be a troop of 1. We have a troop here that was down to 2 before crossing over some Weblos in May.

It doesn't matter whether the memory is an exaggeration or a lie-- Memories are inaccurate and you need accuracy when trying to record history.

If your looking for a mess kit there is a good one from Army Surplus that is "Scout Proof." It's heavier than other kits, but the boys can beat the devil out of it and it will keep it's shape and still function.

Useful in that the person can tell you what they typically ate for dinner. Not useful when it comes to actual real life facts. Old men will claim they fought in several battles in WWII when they were really 4F. Old women will claim that they had to start the laundry at 2 AM for "Washing Wednesdays" when the electric company records show that "Washing Wednesday" electricity didn't come on until 4:30 AM. I'm working on a book right now and discussed this very frustration with our state historian. He said if you want good information you really need to stay away from the oral histories. O

Absolutely no memories are accurate. Eye witness testimonies are often wrong and disproved by DNA or other evidence. I am an amateur Historian and one of the first thing you learn is that all those oral histories collected from "old timers" are bunk. They will claim to remember anything but, when you get back to good source documentation you often find that the "old-timers" have sent you off on a wild goose chase. I was working on a project for the local historical society when some idiot decided he was going to one up the historical societies publication by doing the research hims