krikkitbot

We do not encourage OA in our Troop for most of the reason already stated.

 

1. It is a good ole boys club
2. Pulls the top Scouts out of our unit
3. In our council at least, very poorly run
4. Does not allow females (we have a female Scoutmaster)
5. Not real thrilled with the ceremonies and Native American mimicry
6. The Ordeal looks like hazing
7. Looks like what we tell the scouts they cannot do - secret organization, hazing, exclusion etc.

That all being said, I have seen councils where it looks very well run and very open

1. Isn't everything? The roundtable crowd isn't the same as the OA crowd, which isn't the same as the WB/NYLT crowd, etc. However, if you put effort into getting to know the people in each group, you will be welcomed. Believe me, every part of the program wants more volunteers.
2. I've had employers who didn't want to promote their best employees or recommend them for other positions because their team would suffer. It was a disservice to the individual. I think it's the same with scouts. If there is a scout who is a great leader, why hold him back for your own benefit?
3. It's truly boy lead. Sometimes the leadership group is great and put up great events. Other times, they flounder. Sometimes they need better advisors.
4. My wife is brotherhood. Several of my son's best advisers are female. There are lots of women who hold the vigil honor. Now, if you are talking about venturers, you are correct. I wish they would open the program to venturing girls but maybe the "New Family Scouting" will fix that.
5. I agree to a point but I don't have any alternatives that I think would capture kids' imagination.
6. As has been said before, doing things like trail building or camp maintenance in silence hardly qualifies as hazing. The small amounts of food are still nourishing and there is a feast after. Maybe things were different in the past but so was scouting. 
7. It's not a secret. Parents are welcome to observe. The ceremonies should not be shared to preserve the awe for the candidates but if you have concerns, you can talk to the adviser. We've discussed the hazing. The exclusion... well, anyone can get in if they put in the effort. I have seen scouts who were not elected (rightfully, in my opinion) change their attitude and work extra hard to make sure they got elected the next year. 

I hope I didn't come across as snarky. I was trying to respond point for point. 

I spoke with an LDS Unit Commissioner recently. He said the LDS is not leaving Scouting. However, he said that the changes have encouraged LDS members who were not pro-scouting to speak out and make it sound like the church as a whole is leaving. 

I think the SM is way out of line or we are not getting the full story. I guess it could also be both, SM is out of line AND we are not getting the full story.

It sounds like the SPL has been proactive in making sure the contingencies are covered. Kudos.

What is the event? Is it a camping trip or COH? Is it the annual fundraiser for the troop that depends on the SPL to lead? I don't think that asking a youth to resign nor forcing a new election is in order either way. This might be best elevated to the Committee Chair. 

Thank you Mein Colonel!

@@Col. Flagg,

Can you tell us where to send those items that you mentioned? Our troop wants to help sending some items (no teddy bears, I assure you ) . A friend was supposed to get me in contact with a troop from Spring that is helping at a church but I haven't heard anything on that front yet. 

 

Wikipedia says: "A ballistic knife is a knife with a detachable blade that can be ejected to a distance of several yards by pressing a trigger or operating a lever or switch on the handle."  According to the article, the LEAST powerful type (spring-propelled) is capable of firing the blade about 16 feet at 39 mph.  They also come in air-, gas- and explosive-propelled.  And here's one now, thanks to the same site:

 

 

I can kind of understand why people would be skittish about these things.

 

P.S.:  If I'm calculating this right, 39 mph is 57.2 feet per second.  So if it is only going 16 feet, it is getting there pretty quickly.

 

Now I REALLY want one of these!  

But back on topic, I recently had to turn away some scouts from climbing because the camp issued a rule that they had to be 13 or older. My training says that Boy Scouts may climb on natural rock but the camp issued a rule. I wasn't happy about it but it wasn't my decision.  

I had some folks look at me crazy last night when I was discussing sheath knives at a upcoming camporee. I actually had a parent pull up state law and attempted to say that sheath knives were illegal. I told him the key words to the law is "illegal to carry concealed."

I've had similar discussions with parents and scouters. We did find out that in our state switch blades and ballistic knives are illegal. I now want a ballistic knife just because it sounds cool. I have no idea what it is unless it's like one of those knives in Call of Duty. 

I just went through this over the weekend. Holy cow! The emotions that people feel after this game are amazing. Even more interesting than the game itself. 

People don't like having a mirror held up to them and seeing something different than what they thought they looked like. 

I've been through plenty of leadership trainings so I knew early on what the goal of the exercise was. Even still, I think it was a worthwhile exercise. 

It's a very emotionally charged exercise and fully believe that if one is open minded, there is a lot to learn from it. 

Which would be great if any of them were wearing pants, and the YP guidelines don't care about cuffs or no cuffs.  Not to mention that there seems to be one-deep leadership.  

We have a committee member who insists that we need at least 4 adults to go on hikes in case a group needs to turn around due to injury so that we ALWAYS have 2 deep leadership. I say, what if another scout gets injured in the lead group and they need to turn around? Maybe we need double the number of adults to scouts on each and every outing. You know, just to be safe. 

Nice try sneaking that in there

 

Attendance? Well, that's useful if you're scoring a patrol or a unit based on the membership roster. Someone present at least bumps the average.

Ok, I added the "any" but even if you remove it, it says pants with no cuffs. My slacks all have cuffs, so that's out. 

The poor writing is precisely the problem. It is attempting to state that you may wear either the uniform pants OR the uniform shorts, but whether you choose the pants or the shorts, neither may be worn with cuffs.

 

It's not written well at all, of course, but it doesn't take great reading skills to be able to discern the intention from the quotation. I would be more troubled by anybody who tries to find loopholes in the writing as an excuse to be sloppy in one's own uniforming.

I honestly do not see how you are getting that neither may be worn with cuffs? If that was the intent, they would not have had to write "pants" twice. 

Interesting observation from the uniform checklist

Here is the text in question:

"Male Cub Scout and Boy Scout leaders wear the official pants or the official uniform shorts or pants with no cuffs."

So, as I read and reread this sentence, it seems that one can wear:

1. Official Pants
2. Official Shorts
3. Any pants with no cuffs

Since I never cuff my jeans, I think that wearing jeans is perfectly acceptable. 

Oh also, note that just showing up is worth 15 points! 

You lived! Congratulations! Yes, encourage them to say involved and go back for your brotherhood next year. 

Is he a Life Scout?

Eagle

I'd rather see a troop meeting full of kids in jeans, football and baseball gear, and a tan shirt than not see them at all. 

My son recently informed me that because he was effectively only paid for 1 hour a day while on camp staff, he can count 10 hours per day as community service (12 hour + days). When I asked him who said that, he said it was his manager. 

Now, he doesn't need any more service hours for scouting. He does need them for school but even if he doesn't count summer camp, he will have plenty of hours just from what he normally does. It is nice to know that he is at least compensated for his work in service hours. 

Even the military had issues with this. That's why Congress passed the Stolen Valor Act. Unfortunately the SCOTUS struck it down saying it fell under free speech. 

I've heard that Ted Turner's daughter was a Venturer and that she went on a Philmont trek with bodyguards who were poorly outfitted for the outdoors.

The Texas Pledge has been around since 1933. I was required to be recited in all schools starting in 2003.

Ah, so the requirement to recite is new. I'm not surprised it existed from before. I'm surprised it took them 70 years to make it mandatory

You can make the Texas flag in to anything...as long as you're Texan.

 

@@JasonG172, a pledge I took everyday for 10 years. "Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible."

I grew up in Texas and never ever heard of that pledge. I attended schools, public and private, throughout the state (think of every city along I-35 and sprinkle in some of Houston) and never heard of that thing. It must be relatively (I'm getting long in the tooth) new.

Not really sure where to post this but I've been wondering what happened to Beavah? I saw that he hasn't posted at all in 2017.

His writing style made it difficult to read but his advice was always worth the effort.

I hope he is well.

One issue I have with hats is that BSA has put out so many different hats with the logo that people think they are "uniform" hats. 

 Parent didn't worry about kids back then the way they do today because the community as a whole was safe. 

Statistically, we live in a safer world now. The main difference is the world of instant news. We find out about everything from every corner of the world instantly and thus feel less safe. 

Well, we as Scouters should always question things when they involve safety. If someone is afraid to speak up just to avoid hurting someone's feelings, you never know the consequences.

 

I think it is fair game to question the towing capacity of the vehicle, the need for such a long trailer, carrying Scouts with such a burdensome load and anything else that could have reduced the risk here (e.g., ensuring everyone was wearing seat belts).

Oh, I agree to question before an accident. To question now is to pass judgement without knowing all the details and he can't defend himself.

Here are Emily Post's hat etiquette rules.