BamBam

1 hour ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

This is the video I would share as a MBC:

 

All I can say is just wow. Comments like this is why the merit badge is needed. You choose the views of millionaires to say what is wrong with Black Americans.They are so removed from the plight of everyday Black Americans.  Sorry. That doesn't fly. Attitudes like this is... Nevermind let me keep the rest of my thoughts to myself.

Great project!! 🥰

That's a great way to get the boys plan better menus! 

good stuff!

I'm glad that your son found a troop that he's happy with. May his next 2.5 years be happy in scouting!

Welcome!

I agree with Beavah. Boys will do the fun stuff and pass on the more school like aspects of the merit badges. My son has 4 partials and at this time he doesn't want to finish them. He says it was fun doing the requirements than he finished, but he didn't feel like doing "research" or writing a paper. It  did surprise me though  that he completed family life without any prodding.

Your kids had a blast! Keep up the good work!

My son went to two camps this summer. One was a council camp with his troop and the other was a "normal" summer camp. He most definitely liked the non BSA camp better. He said that they were at the waterfront everyday for swimming and canoeing. They had water gun fights. The kids were encouraged to bring their water guns because the temps were supposed to be  90+. They did arts and crafts, archery, and had time to read, write, or play games during their free time. There were no requirements to hurry up to complete or merit badge books to go over. There was no "you can't do this because you didn't sign up for it". This was his fourth year of going to this camp and he's already talking about going to the 10 day session  for teens next summer and skipping scout camp because it wasn't as fun,

So sad. 

As I am reading through these posts I'm alarmed that some units are treating BOR like they are military promotion  boards. ready for the promotion boards. I had to march into the room, stand at attention, salute,and  repeat the NCO creed. All of this before I was asked a single question to be considered for promotion. I was an adult, nervous and afraid.  I can't imagine how a 11 - 17 year old kid would feel doing something similar to this for a BOR. I sat on about 10 BOR in the past few years. The scouts come into the room and he either joins us at the table or sit with us on comfortable sofa and chairs and we have a casual conversation with the scouts. Questions are asked about how he feels about the  troop, his patrol, what's going good, what's going bad, etc. There's no retest. They are asked what meal did they cook for this rank or what or who did you teach with the EDGE method.   The questions vary on the rank and age of the scout. It is not an inquisition and it is not an easy check off either. 

^{We had a situation recently where we had a Scout pass his Second Class and First Class ranks in 1 BOR. After the fact, we discovered that Mom was signing off on the requirements, and parents that attended the orientation meeting, which she did not, were told that the Scouts are no longer Cubs. We also told the Scouts on several occasions that parents could no longer sign off. Again after the BOR, when the adult in charge of the records went to update the troop's records book, one signature didn't seem right. We asked the Scout 2 times who signed it off and he "can't remember." When it was recognized as his mom's, we asked him a 3rd time if mom signed off, and he said yes.}

 

^{Unfortunately we could not revoke his Second Class and First Class ranks. And we didn't have time to work with him to get the skills up to par since he missed meetings between that night and when he moved. I feel for the troop he will be transferring to.}

Why wasn't this caught at the Scoutmaster's Conference?

My prayers for the boys, their families and you.

I just have to promote this underappreciated movie:   Troop 491: The Adventures of the Muddy Lions  

 

See the trailer:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPcCsGQ_xjY  

 

Order the movie on DVD:   http://www.troop491-movie.com/

I was looking for this on Amazon. Thanks for posting!

Thanks for all of the replies. There are people out there that doesn't know that scouting still exists. When I make a stop with my son before or after troop meetings you would be surprised at how many people say that they didn't know there were boy scouts in the area.  

Recently I've seen commercials promoting the values of Girl Scouting in my area. My son has been involved in scouting for about 7 years in two different parts of the country and I have never seen a commercial promoting Cub or Boy Scouts. Is this normal for Cub and Boy Scouting?

My son is on the Autism Spectrum. There are a lot of things in his life that he can't do. He's having a hard time learning how to swim. He does this crawl. It's not pretty, but it gets the job done. He doesn't let that stop him. He had made it his mission to learn how to swim, not for advancement, but in order to pass the BSA swimmer test so that one day he can earn some waterfront merit badges at summer camp. 

Congratulations! Your son's hard work and dedication has paid off! He'll be proudly wear his pacth and be an inspiration to the other boys in his troop.

My son uses it to keep track of his requirements when his handbook isn't handy. His troop uses another tracking program so it's for his personal use. It looks nice on his phone, but that's about it in my opinion.

That's a great video. A nice message without a lot of hype.

Hi. I'm new to posting. I've been  a guest visiting this site since my son became a boy scout last year. I've learned so much and have enjoyed the various opinions and comments.