The Latin Scot

As a pack we try to have our regular monthly pack meetings throughout the season, and by keeping our activities routine it makes it easier to keep them on people's dockets since they know about them more than half a year in advance: In July we have our Raingutter Regatta outdoors in the shade; after the racing the boys spend the rest of the evening enjoying a free-for-all with their boats on the waterways. In August we have our Bear Carnival (regardless of its emeritus status as a required adventure). In September (mind you, school starts and ends much later here in SoCal due t

My district is attempting a combined course the first weekend of October. They asked me to come do a number of courses for BALOO but unfortunately I will be busy that weekend so I won't be able to see how it goes; otherwise I would give you more information about how they plan to integrate/separate the two.

I concur. This is his event, so let him decide. We can only offer suggestions and anecdotes, but the final choices should lie in his hands, just as they have for his entire Scouting career (or should have at any rate).

That's a great-sounding project! And while certainly he may have hurried his project along to finish by the end of the year, at the same time there have always been many LDS boys who earn Eagle early, so he may just be reflective of that long-standing trend. My two brothers and I all earned our Eagles before 14; the family of 5 boys across the street has always worked to get them their Eagles early, most of the LDS boys I know are 15 tops when they reach that rank - it may thus be that we have so many other activities going on as the boys get older that it's simply easier and wiser to get it d

Since we crossed our boys over by birthday, we had no need to award the AofL as a group; rather, each boy received it whenever he earned it, whether it was six months into the program or a week before he turned 11. Since we worked on most adventures as a group, it wasn't unheard of for a few boys to earn it at the same time, but just as often we'd have a few Arrows awarded throughout the years along with intermittent crossings-over. The school year never had any influence on our awards programming though, and if a boy earned the AofL early enough, he would usually proceed to earn a bunch of el

Once again, I'm SOOOOOO grateful my unit crossed our boys over by birthday, not all at once as a group. It made it so much easier to give each boy individual attention as he prepared to move on, and to tailor the last few weeks of his Cub Scout experience to his strengths and needs. And that way, it didn't matter whether his birthday was in January, June, September, whatever - he got a custom-made plan to prepare him to join the troop, and we had 100% retention after they crossed over. I don't think I could ever manage to do it by school year.

What was the Scoutmaster Award is now called the Unit Leader Award of Merit, and can also be earned by Venturing Advisers and Cubmasters.

I suppose if I ever were to accrue so many knots, I would simply go by which nine knots meant the most to me. For example, my knots for the Arrow of Light and Eagle ranks are the most important to me since they represent my greatest accomplishments in Cub and Boy Scouts. Yet others are nice, but not as important - for example, the Scouter's Training Award is very nice and represents a lot of tenure and training, but in a way, all it really conveys to my mind is that I met the measure of expectation for my position - nothing too extraordinary when compared to the greater service represented by

You will definitely want to get the new Webelos guide, as it features the most changes in advancement requirements. Lion- Wolf are mostly cosmetic alterations, and Bear has had some changes in required/non-required adventures. However, I would still recommend buying at least one of each new guide just so your materials are in sync with the Scouts' books, which by now will be all-new editions as well.

Wow, this thread is OLD - I was barely out of high school when this conversation began (it's funny to think that this site is old enough that I could have joined as a youth member had I been more internet savvy then!). Anyway, as long as it's been resuscitated ... 1) Yes, we have a troop neckerchief 2) It's the stock black neckerchief with silver trim 3) It's worn by all the boys under the collar, except for one boy who wears a vintage uniform and so prefers to wear his over the collar to better fit the era of his attire 4) The black and silver go with their patrol emblem, which is a silv

This has been extremely helpful. Thank you!

That's not the message I get; just because they license an outside, independent company to use a term like "class B" does not, in my eyes, count as an endorsement of the term for official purposes, nor that they "aren't that serious" about a policy. And I know that for me, having absolutely no connections with military culture or terminology, the terms class A and B mean next to nothing, while I can actually see how "field" uniforms (= those worn out and about in public and at events) and "activity" uniforms (casual clothing for rough/outdoor adventures) make more sense considering how the BSA

As many of you may (or may not) know, there are two new adventures being previewed nationally and under consideration for inclusion in all future Cub Scout materials. My problem is, I can't figure out how to order the awards once the boys have earned them - they aren't available in Scout Shops, and I can't get the internet order page to load properly. So what do I do? How do I get a hold of these award loops and pins? https://www.scoutshop.org/nsearch/?q=protect+yourself Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I don't think there's any reason for you to apologize. And speaking for myself, I hold nothing against you, nor your position on this matter. I come to this discussion from the other end of the spectrum, where those who try to promote proper uniforming, however friendly and positive we may be, are labeled as the "uniform police," an unfair term which automatically implies a mean-spirited criticism of the efforts of others which is miles away from the intent and approach I and others like me use to address these concerns. Too often in our attempts to support our own opinions we try to paint th

I, however, am not a Scouter coming online here for the first time. I'm a Scouter who has read almost everything published by the BSA regarding uniforms from the past 30+ years, and so I know the materials and I understand where the BSA stands on this issue. Believe me, even if I were to attend your district, council, or even regional meetings where the terms Class A and B were promulgated, promoted, and pushed, it would not be enough to "convince" me that the terms were official synonyms for Field and Activity. Only official materials published by the BSA would be enough to do that, and their

I believe that Troop 1 here in today's Orange County Council is found in Huntington Beach, along with their historic and charming Scout Lodge. They were established in 1920, along with the creation of our Council which celebrates its 100th anniversary next year. I haven't heard anything about any other, earlier, troops.

I do find it rather frustrating when people become sticklers for ... well, let's say a lackadaisical attitude towards the uniform. I could simply repost a comment I made earlier in another thread concerning uniforms, but as far as this topic goes, I have only one line of thought: changing our personal language to refer to field and activity uniforms (as opposed to "class A and B") requires almost no effort beyond a conscious choice, and those who find such a tiny alteration of their speech challenging are hindered not by the difficulty of the task, but rather by their own attitudes and pr

Agreed on the magic of Scout socks - they're the most comfortable, well-made part of the whole uniform! All it took for me to get all the boys (in both our pack and troop) converted to the socks was to let each boy try them on for a few minutes - now they all own them, every cub and boy scout, and I see them worn not only at Scouts, but at school, outside activities, and even church! I haven't bought a pair of the red-tops yet, but I suspect they'll find a way into my Scout wardrobe soon enough.

I have never heard of a "Scoutmaster merit badge." Do you perhaps refer to the badge of office, worn on the left sleeve?

Yes, the new program is moving forward and we are getting more and more information almost weekly at this point. It looks like it will be a WONDERFUL program and it fully incorporates whatever programs each child wants to involve in their personal development, whether Scouts, orchestra, sports, dance, art, or whatever - this will be a monumental change that will bless millions of youth the whole world over!

I notice that whenever the issue of uniforms is brought up, there is an immediate influx of opinions to the effect of putting down those who support proper uniforming. Sometimes those who support the uniform are belittled as being obsessive-compulsive about something these naysayers claim "doesn't really matter," or, there arises a rather condescending tone implying that these others have "more important things to worry about than patches or pants." I find such patronizing unfortunate, and disappointing. The implication is that if you take time to care about the uniform, you are ign

Just to clarify this point:

Well well! Your troop and I were born in the same year.

I'm particularly proud of the names and emblems in our units. Our Webelos den is the "Merry Archers" den, the 11 year-old patrol is the "Savage Viking" patrol, and the older patrol is the "Knights of Light" patrol, all with attractive patches. What's fascinating about their titles is that, as a boy moves up through the different groups, he also moves through various phases of English history - first the Anglo-Saxons, then the invading Norse vikings, and finally the knights of the Norman conquest, each with successive advancements in warfare, technology and government - just as the boys themsel

Too late. It's already being previewed as an adventure at all levels, meaning there will be a belt loop AND a Webelos pin: https://www.scouting.org/programs/cub-scouts/preview-adventures/