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The Latin Scot

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Everything posted by The Latin Scot

  1. Bless you for your willingness to be involved! Here are a few guides that might help you get started: https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/510-239.pdf https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/512-735_WEB.pdf And here's the link to a whole page full of forms, applications, awards and resources: https://www.scouting.org/programs/cub-scouts/resources-forms-applications/ The Cub Scout Leader Book will be your best help; I would try to procure one as soon as possible. It has a very good, clear breakdown of the program: https://www.scoutshop.org/catalog/product/view/i
  2. BSA policy has never prohibited using hours helping with an Eagle project being used towards advancement as well. The only guideline from the Guide to Advancement is this, from section 4.2.3.6 So while it's encouraged to pose these questions to Scouts and discuss these ideals with them, there is NO REQUIREMENT prohibiting nor demanding the same. This article also addresses the issue in the last part of the Q & A: https://scoutingmagazine.org/2017/02/ok-complete-two-advancement-requirements-one-activity/
  3. My gracious. I dread the possibility that a person like this might actually be a Den Leader working with children.
  4. How affordable is affordable? Here are two options the Scout Store offers; a can opener is actually a pretty standard accessory. I've never owned a pocketknife that didn't have one: https://www.scoutshop.org/catalog/product/view/id/4093 https://www.scoutshop.org/catalog/product/view/id/3412 Admittedly they're not as cheap as the $6 option, but as long as you have one can opener you can still teach them how to use it.
  5. I apologize if my comments came off as severe in places, but I write what I do because I feel it is important. The last sentence of my previous message demands the context of the rest of the post. Please note that most of what I wrote was positive, not critical. And I agree with you utterly; adults should support and provide programing that allows Scouts to move at whatever pace they wish, of their own accord.
  6. HOWEVER Let it be noted that it is not bad to want to earn your Eagle sooner rather than later, and there are many, MANY boys who earn the rank of Eagle Scout at 14, even 13, and who continue their Scouting adventure, appreciate fully the significance of their rank, and go on to have wonderful Scouting adventures later on in life. Earning your Eagle at 14 is an impressive feat, and should be honored, not derided. For many decades that was the average age of most Eagle Scouts. Not only that, but for every 17 year-old who goes on to finally earn his Eagle and has a wonderful tale to tell ab
  7. I am sorry you have decided to misinterpret my comments so insistently, but it is not your place to make such a request of me. I have been decidedly on-topic, but unfortunately you don't seem to like my opinions and you want me to take them elsewhere. So I will do you one better. I will leave this thread entirely without adding further comments of my own. However, I request that my comments NOT be moved to some other thread, because they express my feelings on the video shared - exactly on-topic. They belong here, in this discussion, not in some other thread - I have the right to express an op
  8. You fundamentally misunderstand my comments, and I must confess I feel as though you are drawing out false statements about my posts while putting words and ideas into my ideology that are not my own, all of which is equally off-topic when compared to with words as you perceive them. I do not want to debate opinions, ideology, or viewpoints. I am explaining how I feel about the video. That will inherently include how it makes me feel about the direction Scouting is going. I have no desire to debate anything; in fact I would prefer to avoid such discussion. It's plain that not everybody wi
  9. I am not talking about masculinity. You missed the point of my earlier comment, so I will make it clear for you. I am talking about Scouting, and what this video is trying to communicate about it. This video wants people to believe that the program of Scouting, as it currently exists, will have just the same effect on girls as it does on boys. I think that is absolutely false. I think the video is an attempt to convince parents that the traditional Scouting program can be made to fit girls just as well as it fits boys. But I believe girls and boys are inherently different, and a program t
  10. I don't even have words to express how upsetting it is to see videos like this trying to make the admittance of girls into Scouting look like some wonderful thing. And the mess it has caused with Youth Protection issues is only the tip of the iceberg; the organization of the Boy Scouts of America is coming apart at the seams, and there is no uniform on Earth that will withstand the impending troubles that I forsee coming to it down the road. Every time I see a video, advertisement or promotional image of girls in Scout uniforms, my stomach knots up. I believe in Scouting. I believe it ha
  11. Yes, I've seen those, but almost none of the award applications, planning resources, or other really helpful materials are available in Spanish at the moment. Looks like I'll be spending this weekend doing more translating ...
  12. Greetings all! Does anybody know of any good sources for getting training materials, forms or applications in Spanish? I have been asked to train leaders in our Latin American community more and more often, and all I have are a few old handbooks and den leader guides in Spanish, which are hardly sufficient to really facilitate training for new leaders working with Spanish-speaking youth. If anybody has any resources they can suggest, I would appreciate it greatly. Otherwise I will just have to translate everything myself, which is fine except for the time it takes to do it right. I will gladly
  13. Nope. I'm saying you should be clever and come up with solutions to get every boy into the best uniform possible! Collect old uniforms, do more fundraising, start a uniform exchange - be creative! I have many economically-challenged families in my Den, so we have to think of all kinds of innovative solutions to get every boy into a complete uniform - but we do it, and the boys look AND FEEL great! A Scout is thrifty, so think of solutions! But don't accept mediocrity. And I have NEVER heard of any boy, girl or leader complaining that the uniform pants are ANY less comfortable than jeans. How a
  14. My Scout Shop still has tons of them available if you feel like making a trip to Southern California.
  15. I am also a relatively young leader who has been in Scouting since I was a Cub Scout. I got my Eagle when I was 14 and have read more manuals, guidebooks and articles on Scouting that you could shake a stick at - but I still value any opportunity I have to learn more and hear from other leaders' experiences to broaden my perspectives. That's why I come to this site - to learn more and gain from the wisdom of as many people as I can. I would never be so bold as to presume that I "have Scouting down," that I know everything or that I "don't need" more training. That would be arrogant and false o
  16. I have never heard of this kind of extremism in a SE before, but it sounds like it's already pretty out of control. He has no right to make that threat, let alone carry it out. I would recommend possibly writing a letter of concern to the higher-up powers in your area carefully alerting them to the situation (in precise but measured tones) and asking how you can help rectify it.
  17. This is exactly the kind of mentality we want to prevent. We don't want Scouts to ignore the uniform just because they aren't comfortable in it, and many of those people who have become too attached to their jeans may have even more to learn from the correct uniform than the boys themselves. We expect these kids to mature, and to learn to do things not for themselves, but for others. I have a friend who is a Marine, and I once had him come and speak to my Scouts about his uniform and how he feels about it. He appeared in full dress uniform, and he looked INCREDIBLE. It was clean; it was sharp;
  18. I must respectfully disagree. I find that most people who defend wearing jeans with the uniform are those who insist that we mainstream what is an inherently casual garment, and I don't believe that supporting, or worse, endorsing, the slow slide towards 'casual Scouting' is a move worthy of our consideration. There is a legitimate psychological effect underlying the reason we wear official Scout pants or shorts in place of jeans, an effect that comes from (among other things) color, fabric, and our vision. See, the eye automatically makes connections through color - red lights mean stop
  19. Wow this thread is old! But I think it's important to add one of my favorite B.P. quotes here: “Smartness in uniform and correctness in detail may seem a small matter, but has its value in the development of self-respect and means an immense deal to the reputation of the movement among outsiders who judge by what they see.” I am now a Scout leader working with the same Pack and Troop I was part of as a youth, and were ALWAYS lax about uniforms. But as I progressed as a leader and came to understand the program more deeply, I realized that the way the boys dressed directly affected t
  20. I know this is a late reply, but that is a beautiful patch. I wish my lodge would come up with patches as attractive as the ones some other lodges regularly produce.
  21. It is important to remember, however, that one's health and fitness is reflected by more than just one's size. Some people are naturally larger than others, whether taller or wider, and it's becoming all too frequent in our society to look at being larger as a "bad" thing, as though everybody should be thin and toned, and everybody who isn't is doing something wrong - or not doing something right. If you were to judge my fitness based on my shape you would easily think I was very healthy and exercise daily - I'm trim, toned, small waist et cetera. But the truth is I have conditional asthma and
  22. I wish I could be more helpful in this thread! But I can say that I am still pretty much in my "prime" (if I ever had one), and I often find myself wondering how I will maintain my energy and vigor working with kids 20 - 30 years from now. It's only by virtue of age and genetics that I am trim and healthy now, but I have to remind myself that as I get older, those aren't guaranteed to last. And even now as a spry 34 year-old, I sometimes get worn out after a particularly rowdy den meeting or a long day outdoors. So for sure, if I am to keep up with the kids over the decades, I will need to be
  23. This actually isn't particularly unusual, nor is it a new or obscure regulation. You DE was simply following the correct procedures according to BSA policy. A volunteer can't serve in more than one position within a unit; admittedly smaller units sometimes bend this rule but it's not supposed to happen. So you shouldn't have anybody serving as both Cubmaster and Den Leader either. Here's the link to an article from the Scouting Magazine blog that should hopefully help you understand the rationale behind this principle: https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2016/04/29/can-volunteer-serve-mult
  24. In addition to the fact that there is no "cub-" or "boy scout-" specific trained patch per se these days (you can wear the red or the green at your preference), it's also important to remember that you should never wear two of any patch on the uniform. No doubles of anything, even if it's an award you've earned twice.
  25. That may depend on where you live; in my area Wood Badge is promoted, advertised, even glorified ad nauseum, and for those who haven't taken it (myself included), there is often an uncomfortable amount of pressure to do so, as though one isn't a real Scouter until one has their beads. And the number of Scouters around here who do have them is very high; I've nearly been made to feel somewhat guilty at a few events for being as involved in Scouting as I am and yet not having taken the course. Nevertheless, I have never been one to acquiesce to peer pressure generally, and if I end my Scouting d
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