The Latin Scot

So here's what I have found so far (a number of people have not yet responded): So far, none of the people from my district that have replied to my inquiries have heard about this (and we are by far one of the biggest and most influential districts in our council). The one person from the Council office who had heard about this pointed out a key part of the message that I feel rather foolish for not noticing myself: What I was told by my friend at the Council office is that they are assessing, as in they are exploring the possibility of, a filing fee, and that such a fee may

I have heard nothing about this, and I am SURE it's something that would be talked about if it were true. I have just sent out a few e-mails to various friends at the OC office. I should have a concrete answer by tomorrow; however, I have to go run my den meeting and the a committee meeting, so I will be offline for the rest of the night. I will bring you all official news direct from the source in OC first thing tomorrow morning!

I totally concur! The very idea of charging a boy to submit his paperwork is suspect - and my thought it, what would they do if a boy refused to pay such a fee? Would they dare deny him his right to submit his papers, despite his having done all the work? I feel like this is the kind of situation where a well-organized boycott may actually do some good. Something at least to get that council to realize the preposterous nature of their demands.

That sub reddit is wrong. I am IN Orange County Council, and if you read my post earlier in this thread, you will see there is no such fee being charged here.

Wow ... I have never heard of an Eagle application fee before. Our council actually sends every new Eagle Scout a packet with his new patch, a few congratulatory letters, and information for an Eagle Scout photo opp - all completely free (including cost of photos). To charge boys for all of that sounds crazy to me.

At the same time, our troop of only a few boys had a push to go back to the book and follow it more closely, and it has helped strengthen the unit and the boys tremendously. It's not as much the book itself as how you use it.

Give your son a few options, and ask what he would like to do. He should talk to his SM about the matter, and see what he recommends. He could just keep calling and e-mailing the MBC, even if it takes a few calls a day to get him to respond. He could ask his SM for the information of an alternative MBC, to whom he could then explain his situation and request the requirements be signed off anew. He could (if you have the address and the means) even drop by the home of the MBC to request some help expediting the process. Talk to your son, and see how he wants to proceed

Wow, I WISH we had a bugler in our Troop! We have a boy who is decent enough at the trumpet though, so I just need to find a way to translate that skill to adding bugle calls to our activities. Any ideas welcome!

I had that very issue last year; for about 5 months I only had two boys. But I didn't let that stop me! I put in the same energy and excitement with those two as I would have with a full den (maybe even more so!), and I made sure never to bring up our low numbers - if you don't bring it up, the boys don't stop to think about it. Sure, we had to modify some activities, but I never let the room "feel empty." We also did a few more combined games and activities with the Bear den and the new Scout patrol that meet at the same time in our building, but for the most part, it looked just the same as

I would like too, but it's still too early to tell.

@Thunderbird Amen to that. What goes on with the Webelos sets a precedent for all the younger Scouts in a Pack. Technically, the Den Leader guides recommend that no Scout should ever wait more than TWO WEEKS to be recognized for an award he has earned. I take it that includes ranks, like the Arrow of Light. There is solid pedagogical reasoning behind it, and as a Child Development specialist, I fully grasp why - kids lose interest in awards systems quickly if the awards never come. Making a child wait longer than two weeks is basically a guarantee that they will lose interest in the system, an

I always try to use friendly questions to encourage the person to reflect a little on what they are doing and representing in these kind of situations. A sample of a conversation I had recently: Me: "Hey Mr. Wilikers, (name has been changed) I didn't know you were registered as a new Scout leader!" Him: "Oh I'm not actually yet." Me: "But you have a new uniform on! Aren't you only supposed to wear the uniform if you are officially registered with the BSA?" (asked sincerely, and with a big smile) Him: "Oh, I just thought it would be fun to wear one I guess." Me: "Is tha

Incidentally, if you have a Scout who has completed his requirements and is ready to move on, talk with your leadership and see if they can award him his rank sooner rather than waiting around for the others. It's false to believe that boys have to wait to earn it all together at the end of the School year, and as a parent, you have the right to a say in your son's advancement.

In my Pack, boys advance by birthday, and we go year-round - there's no summer break, and we ignore the School year calendar. So, if a boy turns 10 in March, he becomes a Webelos Scout, and when he turns 11 he advances to the Troop chartered by our same congregation. As the Webelos Den Leader, I make sure that when a boy earns his Arrow of Light, he receives it at the very next monthly Pack Meeting - I don't wait around for other boys to earn it. So, if the boy who turned 10 in March competes the requirements in November, then that's when I award him his AofL. That means his bridging cer

I don't believe culture is something that can be "owned." It's a dangerous path, claiming that something as broad and esoteric as culture can be owned and dictated by one group of people. That's one of the primary issues challenging society today - the idea that cultural ideas, artistic expression, or symbolic representation can "belong" to somebody, or even more challenging, to a group - and who, pray tell, determines who can or cannot belong to that group? I am not talking about race, mind you - although some have trouble distinguishing between the two. But my parents come from two ver

Admittedly, they have announced many times that there won't be any official information on the girls' program (including its name) until 2019 - they still have the better part of a year to figure it out. But even if this article had never come out, the fact is that there is still a lot of uncertainty as to what's going to happen with it. A year is still not a lot of time to create a whole new program that is at once tailored towards girl's development and yet meets the same criteria required to earn them their Eagles in a manner that's legitimately "equal but different.' They haven't given the

I read this article last night. Surbaugh is not the most eloquent speaker, and the writing sourced in the piece isn't that far out-of-step with his somewhat colloquial writing style, but I don't know how likely it is that Buzzfeed would be getting such an "inside scoop" while other, more credible sources remain oblivious. I concur with the fact that there are some mighty worrisome things going on at National, but ... I can't say I feel "aghast," lol.

When the OA comes to do our AofL crossovers, it's a very meaningful and impressive event. The lights are dimmed, and a large, deep drum starts beating slowly as OA members walk in to the room in full Native American regalia. Then one begins to tell the legend of the Arrow of Light and the young brave who led his tribe out of darkness with his arrows (I can't remember enough of the details to retell it here), and then he calls out the names of the boys who have achieved the rank of AofL. The boys are charged to live the Oath and Law and the Outdoor Code, then their parents are called up so

Welcome! Always a pleasure to welcome another Cub Scouter here!

Another New Yorker, hooray! I lived in Huntington Station for a while, and in Hempstead before that - but a born Queens boy here. Welcome to the forum!

It's times like these that make me grateful my CO is sticking to boy-only Cub Scouting, lol.

Oh no! That would be tragic; my boys LOVE when the OA comes all decked out in full regalia for their Arrow of Light ceremonies! I note however the use of the word rumor ... I hope that is just the case here. So many stories get bandied about here sometimes, one can only hope this is one of those times when the tale proves to be unfounded. Luckily the majority of my current crop o' boys will be getting their A'sofL before NOAC!

Most of the above posts have been correct - LDS boys are in Webelos for just a year, so as the Webelos Den Leader, I work to get them their Webelos rank AND their Arrows of Light all in the same year. It's really not too difficult; I have been at it for two years now and have never had a boy fail to earn either. And I don't use the new simplified requirements either, lol. Also, boys were indeed automatically registered into a Varsity unit at 14, then a Venturing crew at 16 - every U.S. congregation had a Church-sponsored chartered Pack, Troop, Team and Crew of its own up until the change.

I wouldn't use the wording "only the knot," since the knot is still an honorable indication of rank. I think part of the problem here is that people seem to have disparaging views on the Eagle knot, as though only the actual rank patch was really good enough. Why is this? Is it because it's bigger and flashier? Is it the attention we are craving? The knot is just as honorable as the rank patch. And if one really is starved for attention, there are the neckerchiefs, the slides, the belt buckles - goodness knows a hundred other ways to advertise that you are an Eagle Scout if that's what you wan

It's a bit easier in an LDS Pack like mine; as has been mentioned, we use a simple 3-year program. At 8 a boy is a wolf, at 9 he's a bear, and at 10 he's a Webelos Scout. At 11 they move on to the Troop in a new Scout patrol. Easy to manage, very few complications. Their Primary Sunday School classes go by year as well, so they are always with the same boys from year to year.