BoyLedMyEye

On a different note.. It seems many kids today don't know how to communicate live. They text, instant message, email and tweet in 140 characters or less, almost exclusively. They seem to have almost no use for picking up the phone and making a call, resisting doing so at all costs. They use their smart-phones as everything but phones! Employers get irritated with the lack of live communication skills, and the lack of relationship building skills. Having to pick up the phone to call a Merit Badge Counselor should be highly emphasized. I would like to see the Scout calling the counselo

Do you make taking and/or "passing" the quizzes a requirement for merit badge sign off?

Sorry. Paper Scout - Paper Eagle - hits a raw nerve. Let's call it what it is - ADULT BULLYING. What is lacking from the discussion of Paper Scout / Paper Eagle is any consideration of what it takes any particular Scout to meet the Eagle requirements as written, before a heap of subjective, judgmental additional hoops are placed in his way. What does the patch actually represent on the individual boy wearing it? What about the Scout who has to work ten times as hard to make it, vs a Scout to whom it comes easy? Maybe the bookworm has struggled all his life with athletics and truly

Congratulations to your Scout and Council, and a sincere thank you to the many adults who mentored him to such an accomplishment ! I see your point - Eagle is not required, other than Palm opportunities, but it does seem to lend itself to a natural progression - each of the last three ranks done in order, so most Scouts in my experience will naturally gravitate toward the goal of "finishing" the main journey to Eagle, then focus on other, additional awards, if they do so at all. Especially since most Scouts never attain Eagle, it make me ask two things - one, why so highly discoura

When a Scout leaves a Troop, does he receive a Troop written check as reimbursement for his ISA in the amount reflecting the total he earned for selling xx dollars of xx product during the Troop-wide fundraiser? Does it matter whether he leaves voluntarily or involuntarily? What is the correct, legal, and ETHICAL thing to do with such a check if it is received, unprompted, and is notated on the memo line as individual Scout fundraiser credit reimbursement?

I like this VERY much. Thank you!

http://www.stlbsa.org/scouts/boy-scouts/Pages/Bronze-Hornaday-Award.aspx From the above article on a Bronze Hornaday recipient: Michael’s other notable Scouting achievements include Eagle Scout with 11 Eagle Palms, Varsity Scout Denali Medal, all four National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS) Scout Religious Awards, all four God & Country Scout Awards, the BSA Triple Crown of high adventure (Philmont, Northern Tier and Florida Sea Base), the Congressional Gold Medal for Community Service, Brotherhood in the Order of the Arrow, and the National Youth Leadership Traini

One option is on speakerphone or via Skype, with a parent within earshot, and have the parent say hello to acknowledge they are there at start of conversation and end of conversation. Simple, quick, respects two deep.

On a related note... This must be common enough for there to have been an article written on it some years ago. Unfortunately, I have seen all the behaviour described, with similar treatment extended to other leaders and parents also. It's easier to ignore it, and not be the one to get the arrows in your back, but that is exactly what can allow it to flourish and become entrenched. Pity the fool who resists. http://netcommissioner.com/askandy/2008/08/issue-144-how-scoutmasters-can-lose-it/

Thank you to the participants who respond in a Scout-like, give and take, manner. The other, not as helpful. If it makes a difference, I have no dog in this fight, in the sense that I do not have a Scout son in need of a POR. I am also not a mom, if a certain comment was meant for me. I enjoy hearing varying viewpoints, because no one has all the answers and we should always be willing to learn from others, to improve ourselves as leaders and improve our delivery of the program for the sake of the boys we serve, though when there is an entrenched culture in a Troop, that is not alway

"Officially Patrol Leaders and the SPL are elected, and the SPL selects all the troop wide positions with the advice of his Scoutmaster. Unofficially many troops elect every position." "The SPL assigning everything besides Patrol Leaders is how it's supposed to be. " In my youth Scouting, other than PL and SPL, I do not recall our employing other POR's. We functioned differently back then, though we did have a bugler. So despite my long experience, I am so very surprised to read the above quotes, and think to myself a stunned "REALLY!?!", because I have in seven years neve

"So the OP is looking to educate/extract revenge or some other agenda. " Nope. Simply seeking various opinions. As a leader, I would never utter such an expression to a Scout, any Scout, even if it were well deserved, and was wondering if it was common practice in other regions, and considered acceptable. Will keep considering your view points and I thank you for them. Scout is not misinterpreting what he heard. Can tell you with certainty the Scout in question does high quality work, inside and outside of Scouting, the quality of which is well known in the larger community.

Is it ever OK for a Scoutmaster to tell a Scout, dismissively and with contempt in his voice, during a Scoutmaster Conference, that the boy is a Paper Scout, and that he, the Scoutmaster, will never allow his Troop to produce a Paper Eagle - basically telling the Scout - forget ever attaining rank while I'm Scoutmaster? Aren't "Paper Scout", and especially "Paper Eagle", considered by many in the Scouting community to be among the most offensive insults that can be uttered? Even if it were true of the Scout, should these words ever come out of a Scoutmaster's mouth? Is it psychol

Thank you for considering my perspective on MyBoy's situation. My Scouting history/positions were included only to show I am not an inexperienced outsider looking in, but someone who has worked through the system as a youth and then contributed as an adult leader, which might be important to some people as they consider my viewpoint, as there are not only leaders posting in these forums, but also non-involved Scout parents and also perhaps people just learning or curious about Scouting, but who have no actual Scouting experience or contributions from which to draw, which might render their opi

Very long time lurker, MB Counselor, Committee Member, Den Leader, parent, and longstanding Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow member who has heard of this situation one too many times to not finally express an opinion... "You understand this is going to get real ugly if you just go stomping around" To the careful reader/observer, the quote above from a prior commenter is very telling indeed.... this type of gleefully being primed for a fight should have no place in Scouting on any level by any adult, least of all a SM. Not very attractive nor honorable. If this young man has