MikeS72

Saw this yesterday on several of the Commissioner FB pages I am a member of; I can only hope that whatever the issue is, it has a favorable conclusion.

I agree that there are MB's that do not lend themselves to this type of setting. There are some however, that do benefit by providing good group discussions and the exchange of different points of view. First of all, I would not want 30 scouts in a session with a single MB counselor, regardless of the subject; but I am sure that with a good counselor and the right amount of time, many of those scouts would remember quite a bit of first aid. I am confident that any scout who sits through a full first aid session with me (and who earns a signed blue card) will have learned a good deal, and will be ready when the occasion to use that knowledge arises.

Yep. We are camping next weekend, and I am sure I will hear a few comments about how cold they are, as it is supposed to drop down to 68 Friday night!

I am very particular about everything being correct on my uniform, and will counsel one of my own scouts if they put something in the wrong place on theirs. Something like this I would just shake my head, breathe deeply, and let it go. This sort of thing is why the insignia guide says that temporary patches should not exceed the size of the pocket. I guess they did not think about someone putting something this extreme under the pocket. Some councils and camps start out with the normal size patch that you center on the pocket, and then offer those segments for different activities and or events you participate in. My council camp when I was a scout offered those rockers to go around your standard summer camp patch, indicating the number of years you attended, and also if you did multiple weeks the same year. if you took off the mess on the bottom (has to be an uncomfortable shirt to wear) and what ever that is above the left pocket, it is a good looking shirt.

East coast of central Florida here. We 27 a couple of years ago when staffing an OA ordeal weekend, and it did not slow them down a bit. I on the other hand, wore a long sleeve t-shirt, BSA zip up hoodie, and the red wool jac-shirt.

Followed the link. Seems to me that this 'story' is nothing more than an advertisement for Skaa Speakers. Not only does the SM extol their virtues, but this in not an actual news site, but a trade website, pushing a product. I agree with @malraux, in that a one time thing is fine, but not every time it is too cold for manhunt. Besides, this is an Alabama troop. How often is it cold enough that scouts would not be able to run and chase?

While not at a camporee, we did something similar on a troop level. We had spent time with several Green Beret's who had recently returned from Vietnam, working on survival skills. At the end of the session, we turned a crate of chickens loose in the camp site. Instructions to the scouts were simple: there is your dinner, catch it, kill it, clean it, cook it.

Depending on the size of your troop, you may well have been limited to one scout elected, but that was not the blanket rule. I was elected 50 years ago, and there was a chart in the OA handbook showing how many scouts could be on the ballot, based on the number of scouts in your unit. (I am at work, and that 50 year old handbook is at home, so I cannot give the exact ratios - as I recall, we were allowed up to 4 and I was the only one to be elected that year) It then showed how many of those on the ballot each scout could vote for; and how many of those scouts could be elected. Just as today, it took a minimum of 50% of the votes cast to be elected. Having a limit on how many you could vote for, and having a limit on how many could be elected, made the OA more difficult to get into than the 'elect them all' thinking of many current troops.

Only been on this forum for a little more than two years. On the other hand, this forum (or the internet for that matter) were not around when I went to WB. MT-14; 1972😤

** Prerequisite for Dragon Slaying?? 🤣😋

I agree that you should try to do this behind the scenes, so to speak, so as not to needlessly embarrass the SPL. I would also want to make sure that the activity introducing the correct information takes place as soon as possible, as there is always the chance that the one bit of the SPL's presentation that stuck with a scout was the incorrect part. I consider first aid one of the most important skills that we teach scouts, as you never know when or where you might be called upon to use those skills. I remember being at a Webelos to Scout transition weekend hosted at our local camp a few years ago. There were a number of areas manned by local troops showing the Webelos how to build a fire, set a campsite, make rope, do knots and lashings, dutch oven cooking, etc; all of which really captured their attention. The last activity area of the day for our group was first aid. Coincidentally, we had just completed the First Responder activity with them a couple of weeks earlier. One of the first situations they 13-14 year old scout leading the demo asked was what to do if someone cut their arm. Several of our boys raised their hands and said to apply pressure to the wound. They were promptly told that they were wrong, and the scout in charge pulled out a tourniquet! They were at times told that the first thing to do for a heart attack was to raise the feet and pack the victim in ice, that if bite by a snake they should try to get close enough to see if the eyes were round or a vertical slit, along with several other errors. Not wanting to stand up and make a scene by telling him all of his instruction was incorrect, we sat through to the end and left the area. Before leaving I suggested to the SM (who was not actually in the presentation) that as a long time Red Cross instructor, I would recommend they review those items with this scout, and then responded to my Webelos who wanted to know why they were told that they answered everything wrong, when they knew they were correct. We spent a few minutes explaining that this was a young scout, who was probably giving them the same information that he had been given, and that yes, all of the answers they gave during the presentation were indeed right on the mark.

If they are going to hitchhike, they might as well go a little further north to Patriot country!🤩

Remember that well. I chose to use semaphore for my First Class requirement.

As a child of the 60's (I joined, and earned Tenderfoot in 1964), I do not recall ever seeing a scout be asked to leave the troop because it took them too long to earn Tenderfoot. We were a military family, and as a scout I belonged to three different troops. Most of us earned Tenderfoot and Second Class fairly quickly. It did take me a little longer than some to earn First Class, as I had to learn to swim before that could happen. 😁

I would venture to say that some of that 57% number is due to the idea that troops should elect every eligible scout every year. In some cases, that results in having no eligible scouts the next year. The 71% ordeal rate is probably about right, especially considering that some troops do not give scouts the option to decline being on the ballot. Sash and dash has always been around, and always will be. I was inducted 50 years ago, and while retention rates were higher, there were still those who wore the flap, but never attended meetings or activities. If it were as difficult to be elected today as it was 50 years ago, with election quotas and limits, we would probably see more of those elected considering it an honor rather than a right, and being more involved after completing their ordeal.

Unfortunately, that way of thinking is becoming more prevalent. I am all for recognizing those who stand out, and whose troop feel are worthy of election, but too often I hear units being encouraged to elect everyone who is eligible. Part of the rationale is 'we need numbers'. When we elect everyone eligible, rather that only those that their troop feels are truly deserving, we are getting numbers on paper only.

I would have to go back and look at everything that went out, but I thought I saw something that seemed to say that fees to council would be capped, and could not exceed the national fee. Here in Central Florida Council we pay $17 for council insurance.

There is already a digital version available as part of the subscription. I read it on my tablet, my scout reads the physical copy.

We generally do very well as a district, and are hoping that we will do even better this year, since Scouting For Food is no longer the same week as our school district food drive. When we are trying to go door to door, and students from 87 school are bringing donation to class every day the same week it gets tough.

Unless I am mistaken, there was already a re-charter fee for the unit of $40.

Indeed. We collect $5 monthly in dues, and spend far more, (re-charter also comes out of dues) depending on fundraisers to make up the difference.

That is likely where your $24 goes. We can spend quite a bit of money at CoH time, particularly after summer camp, when the number of merit badges earned can be significant. Each merit badge your scout earns is $2.49, each rank patch is $1.99, we also give parent rank pins which are $2.49. Position patches are $2.99. It adds up quickly.

Doing that backwards. Shouldn't you have thrown those interns into the volcano ahead of time, thus warding off the increase???😋

Not as bad as it could have been. Without any increase our cost would have been $50 per scout, $33 to National, and $17 to Council. This will put our per scout cost at $77. With a little belt tightening I think both of my units will be ok.

Explorers are now a part of Learning For Life.