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scoutergipper

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Posts posted by scoutergipper

  1. I am disappointed in my boys that is the bottom line.

     

    I got 4 cards back last night, 3 of them were fine and one was bad, and I am stuck focusing on it.

    Yeah, unfortunately putting out fires like this can become the focus. I faced a somewhat similar situation, but in that case an experienced MB counselor signed off on a Camping Merit Badge when the Scout did not have 20 nights. And the counselor had been TOLD he didn't have 20 nights. It was a bad scene, and I struggled with who to hold accountable. In the end, I figured the Scout was going to get to 20 nights eventually, and so let it go.

     

    However, I think your solution is right in your case. Your Scout clearly did not do the work and the fact that he's just bald-faced lying about it's pretty troubling. We can't add to Merit Badge requirements, and should certainly not be subtracting from them.

  2. Keep telling yourselves that...Mean while Scouting in the Rest of the World is Treking along Co-Ed at all levels. Just In America do we continue to hold onto the separate but Equal Programs However Boy Scouts just Happens to be superior than everyone else attitudes
    I've counseled both my own kids and the Scouts in the Troop that the old "everyone else is doing it" is not a valid reason for them to do it too. Boys and girls are welcome to mingle in the Venturing program.
  3. We've had this happen to two different Scouts in the past few years. One Scout had photo-copies of his rank advancement pages so the re-creation was easy. The other did not, but "A Scout is Trustworthy" so no one had any problem taking the Scout's word for it.

  4.  

    This is a youth program, not a family program. YMCA has family programs, families are free to check them out.

     

    Stosh

    Great Advice lets give people reasons not to join Boy Scouts and give another option where Families can spend what few chances they have to spend time together. Since Boy Scouts is about Youth unless it is Female youth then they don't matter

    Regardless of the activity, all experiences with one's family are the same in their potential to impact personality. Boys and girls need separate, unique experiences to fully develop as young persons and then as adults. Learning to function even while away from one's family is one of the most important elements of maturity.
  5. Anna, I would like to apologize for our behavior.

     

    KDD, you should be more Scout-like.

     

    Anna William is the BSA's national director of Wood Badge, and she deserves our respect.

     

    Zen Bedrooms and Bathtub Residue are previews from the new Wood Badge based on Life Skills Merit Badge. National has replaced office management theory with practical "program neutral" skills that are equally useful to both Patrol Leaders and Den Mothers.

     

    When I was approached to be one of the guides for the first new course, I took the plunge. Basically we had to run the course while learning it. Maybe because we were the first, we had to put more into really understanding the new directions and ideas. And being a guide truly strengthened me personally. Today's course has evolved into a real "home management" school of sorts; and if the participants follow up and stay with it, they will grow considerably.

     

    We have a few that seem to just not get it, that in the end it is for the kids, not the leaders. Much of our reactions to these things are reflected by our general view of our world. It seems pretty obvious to me that we have a few here that no matter what is said or proven within almost 100% accuracy, it will still be a bad thing, or is misdirected to ruin the program. And they worry me if they bring that really negative vibe to the youth.

    I think your Sarcasm Detector might on on the fritz there, skeptic.
  6. People are very interesting creatures. There was a grandfather in our area who recently pulled his two grandsons out of a local Pack BEFORE the recent membership policy changes because he wanted the policies to be changed and go even farther than what was ultimately done. He was an Eagle Scout. As I noted at the time, he had no problem using Boy Scouting and his Eagle Award for his own benefit over the years, even while membership policies with which he disagreed were in place, but he now wants to deny those same benefits to his own grandsons, despite the fact that they are too young to have any thoughts or feelings about these issues and don't even know anyone (or at least realize they know anyone) who would have been impacted by the previous membership standards or the current ones. Hard to respect someone like that.

  7. It depends on the kind of Pack you want to have. If you set an expectation that uniforms will be worn when traveling and on "official" Scout outings, then that's what your Scouts and Adult Leaders will do. Since this doesn't sound like an official Pack event, I wouldn't expect any requirement, but certainly an option for yourself and your son and others would be appropriate.

     

    One of the areas BSA falls down is in marketing and visibility. As I noted on another thread, having Scouts wear the uniform to school on the day of a Pack or Den meeting was a great way to generate visibility when I was a Cub Scout. Being ashamed to wear the uniform in public is no way to generate public confidence in our program.

  8. In my council there is only help for national registration. Nothing for unit dues or fees. I hear them year after year raising money for scout shirts and books for those in need. But request one. In 5 or more years of requesting I have received two shirts from council. thats it.

     

    With that said, of all the boys I have bought shirts for, paid summer camp fees, outing fees, bought gear. Only one has remained in scouting for more than a year or so and he has been with me now for about 6 years.

     

    So I have a less than smiley face when I have parents driving new cars or with new cell phones asking me for a free trip to summer camp for their scout.

    I can't stand families who will take advantage of the good heartedness of others like that. We also have families who are truly destitute, but who believe they should just be "given" Dues & Summer Camp fees without their Scout having to sell anything or make any fundraising effort at all. Different side of the same coin.
  9. Five (or more) overnight campouts for Cub Scouts is way, way too many, particularly for the younger grades. One Family Camp and Summer Camp (day or resident, depending on age/maturity level) is plenty. I'm with BD on this - if no one will help, forget the Pack-wide campouts. Focus on your Den.
    The single biggest problem facing the Cub Scouting program in my area is the lack of Adults who will do anything. I know several Cubmasters who are essentially running the program by themselves (they are typically also a Den Leader). We just had the entire leadership of a local Pack quit all at the same time - just abandoning not only their own sons, but everyone else's as well.
  10. Five (or more) overnight campouts for Cub Scouts is way, way too many, particularly for the younger grades. One Family Camp and Summer Camp (day or resident, depending on age/maturity level) is plenty. I'm with BD on this - if no one will help, forget the Pack-wide campouts. Focus on your Den.

  11. Lots of opinions exist on this and many many many are wrong. Period. Read what BSA says in the Guide To Advancement. You can't go wrong if you do your best to implement the program you signed your name to running on your BSA application.

     

    Read GTA section 4.2.3.1 ... "impact" ... "making a difference" .... "reasonable" ... "a lesser level of activity is explained"

     

    http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf

     

     

    Want clarifications? Read the advancement news.

    http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/...ment_News.aspx

    As I note in our "Advancement after First Class" document - "A Scout cannot show leadership on a campout he does not attend." He may show leadership before or after.
  12. I created campout attendance requirements. It makes it so much easier to have the discussion Eagledad mentions. What I'm learning is the clearer the expectations the easier it is for the boys to grasp them and harder for them to fudge them. The SPL or ASPL has to be on every campout baring an act of God. Same for PL and APL of each patrol. The PL is expected to go on most of the campouts (yes, that's fuzzy for a reason).

     

    My PLC just had to deal with a PL that hasn't been on a campout with his patrol since he became a patrol leader 4 months ago. The expectations above triggered a discussion with the boy and the PLC that was good. Turns out he's in over his head with all sorts of activities. They finally agreed that it would be good for the PL to swap with his APL until he can get things under control. The participation requirements made it easier to start this conversation. It's a tool, I try to use it wisely.

    Totally reasonable. The boys understand who is and is not doing the job they're supposed to be doing. They are more than willing to move other Scouts out of Leadership positions when they are not performing.
  13. First Class is definitely, in my mind, the goal of every Scout. Just look at the requirements. Very few have changed since the beginning...

     

    The most important First Class requirement is missing: The First Class Journey.

     

    Therefore the BSA's outdoor requirements are designed to get Cub Scout survivors to Eagle without ever walking into the woods with packs on their backs.

     

    For a while, Hillcourt's Patrol Leader Training got Patrols out into the woods without adult helicopters, but in 1972 Wood Badge replaced it with Troop Method training called "Leadership Development."

     

    Therefore the BSA's leadership skills requirements are designed to get Cub Scout survivors to Eagle without ever walking into the woods with a Patrol at their backs.

     

     

     

     

    Perhaps, but both those items could be easily completed in a neighborhood or town. Heck I could do the bird requirement in my backyard. Maybe it was assumed that all these things would be done in the woods in those days without having to actually specify it. Different time.
  14. First Class is definitely, in my mind, the goal of every Scout. Just look at the requirements. Very few have changed since the beginning...

     

    The most important First Class requirement is missing: The First Class Journey.

     

    Therefore the BSA's outdoor requirements are designed to get Cub Scout survivors to Eagle without ever walking into the woods with packs on their backs.

     

    For a while, Hillcourt's Patrol Leader Training got Patrols out into the woods without adult helicopters, but in 1972 Wood Badge replaced it with Troop Method training called "Leadership Development."

     

    Therefore the BSA's leadership skills requirements are designed to get Cub Scout survivors to Eagle without ever walking into the woods with a Patrol at their backs.

     

     

     

     

    Interesting that the 1916 program doesn't require any hiking and could also be completed without ever walking into the woods with a Patrol at their backs. Or ever walking into the woods for that matter.
  15. My only concern would be if this tells you something you don't like about the kind of parents they're going to be if their sons choose your Troop. It would be interesting to know what their thinking is about why they chose to reserve the cabins and not bother to tell you about it (or maybe they did tell you - that part's not clear to me). We normally take Webelos under Troop rules, not Cub Scout rules. A parent is welcome to come along, but not required. Webelos are expected to participate as though they were Scouts as far as boy-led - having a Troop Guide and so forth.

  16. We give all boys the opportunity to fundraise to pay any part of the Scouting program their family feels they cannot pay for themselves. We expect the boys to "do their best" at that effort - a Scout is Thrifty. If they don't make it, the Troop scholarships them. The Council provides partial scholarships for Summer Camp and we pick up the rest if necessary. Our policy is that no boy is going to miss out on the program for financial need. Now, fortunately, we have only a handful of families who need help, and some of those have good "salesmen" as sons, which further reduces the scholarship amounts. We probably provide $1000 a year in various subsidies, mostly for Summer Camp.

  17. I'd encourage you - or your Roundtable Commissioner once you have one - to contact Scoutmasters and ask them what THEY are interested in, or feel they need help with.

     

    I generally don't attend Roundtable in our District. My ASM's or Committee Chair usually go to pick up paperwork. When I do go, it's either because the Troop has some responsibility for a District-wide event (like Camporee) or there's a topic on recruiting that I'm interested in.

    I typically don't attend because there are no subjects of interest from a sharing/mentoring/learning perspective. I always respond to requests for subjects that would be of interest, but I suspect there just aren't enough people at my experience level who want the same things. I am sure the Roundtable is trying to provide the greatest good to the greatest number.
  18. It's important for Troops to continue to provide opportunities for First Class Scouts to practice their Scout skills. Very few kids can learn something at age 11, not use it very often, and then remember that skill perfectly at age 15. First Class Scouts should be working on their Scout Skills on every campout, including teaching those skills to younger or less experienced Scouts in their Patrol.

     

    It's a mistake, in my judgment, to rush boys from Scout through First Class. Our Troop has picked up "drop outs" from Troops who tried this method and simply burned those boys out. "It wasn't any fun" was their number 1 complaint. A good time should never be sacrificed on the altar of advancement.

  19. Ya I am cynical......

     

    We had a number of troops without packs associated and a number of packs without troops associated. It worked for the units and the boys, the boys would visit the unit and find one to their taste.

     

    So what did our then DE do.......He created a number of new troops to associate directly with Packs that did not have them. End result three years later all of the troops with out packs directly associated with the troops are folding. We have lost three troops this year from this, the last unit folded Monday last week.

     

    I can hear old Bando, In his best rah rah scout voice," Why didn't those lazy scouters go and create a Pack directly with their Troops?" Good question, Because every single school that could support a Pack did, and the Units that had multiple schools refused to give one up to a new unit.

     

     

    So the DE screwed several 40 year old troops for greed. Sure he met his numbers, but the poor new guy, is hosed, with more units folding than that idiot created. What about all that local scouting history he flushed down the toilet.

     

    I have had 4 DE's in the last 4 years, NONE of them has keep their word or delivered on the councils obligation to provide books and shirts as requested. I am not even going to get into the money one DE stole from me.

     

     

    Buy you guys think it is great and fine....so be it. I know a number of retired scouters who would make fantastic DE's.

     

    Life long scouters, these guys have 40 years in scouting and are completely selfless. They would do the job because they love it not because of a paycheck.

     

     

    Scouting in this country is in big trouble, If you guys are too blind to see it I am sorry.

    You should probably consider a different organization for your volunteer work. You're not providing much of a role model for youth with this attitude.
  20. I'd encourage you - or your Roundtable Commissioner once you have one - to contact Scoutmasters and ask them what THEY are interested in, or feel they need help with.

     

    I generally don't attend Roundtable in our District. My ASM's or Committee Chair usually go to pick up paperwork. When I do go, it's either because the Troop has some responsibility for a District-wide event (like Camporee) or there's a topic on recruiting that I'm interested in.

  21. I cant understand how people cant differentiate between being social and sharing and full blown communism. There is a lot in between too ...

     

    Base even posted twice by now that its not about hand outs.

     

    Thing that gets me smirking and thinking:

    when US Tax $ where given to Banks there wasnt as much of an outcry; try to help the sick and the country stops. Literally. Superpowershutdown.

    Yeah, the distinction's pretty simple - if I'm forced to "donate" money by government fiat, it's bad. If I choose to voluntarily donate my own money, it's good.
  22. May not be practical for your unit, but we sell Holiday wreaths and greens annually. Despite the fact that several other Troops and Packs sell in this area as well, we netted over $10,000 last year with 26 boys selling.
    Yeah, you have to choose fundraising activities that make sense for your neighborhood, or be able to travel somewhere closeby where they will make sense. We've also done a pancake breakfast (only $5 a person) but we also had good connections to various folks and had most of the supplies donated.
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