Buffalo Skipper

Well, lots to digest, and my heart has been very heavy over this all week. The consequences of these boy's actions will be significant and multifaceted. However, for the moment, I am asking specifically about how to handle the issue of Scout Spirit. Clearly, this is not to be signed off, but neither scout is ready to advance. One aspect of this (there will be additional consequences) will be a Scoutmaster conference, and I intend to formulate a 3 month plan of showing improvement. How can I phrase this? Do I say something like: "I have to see that you don't use racial slurs for 3 mo

I spent several winters in Germany working Base Ops in the Air Force. One of my job was to determine the runway conditions and to "scientifically" measure the slickness of the surface when there was snow and ice present. This was done by driving down the runway in a full size 1982 Dodge van, build up speed to 30 miles per hour, intentionally lock the brakes, then while skidding down the runway, take my eyes off the "road" and read the decelerometer between the front seats, to determine how "quickly" I was slowing down. This had to be done every 500-1000' on a runway which was 10,000' long.

Rumor has it that the National Guard has been called out to retore order and to protect the public (from itself). Nothing is quite as interesting as the spectacle: "Southerners on Ice."

I sat down with Joseph last night. It was hard for him to talk about what was said, he kept his head down and talked softly; it took a bit of coaxing to get the story out. I made sure to commend him on his bravery, and I explained how difficult I know that decision to be to come talk to me. Afterward I thanked him for opening up and trusting me. I told him that I would deal with the issue directly, and that if there were any additional words spoken, he was to come to me and tell me right away. Our talk revealed only one unexpected fact: that it did not involve our troubled scout whom I d

bacchas, The only reason to hold back advancement is...not having completed the requirements. Intentionally deciding to hold back a POR to keep a scout from advancing is like telling a new scout, we aren't going to have any first aid instruction in the troop until next year, because we don't have time to teach you that now. I am glad to see that you, as a COR, are taking an interest in this and will act on it. That is the way it should be, but from my experience, it is uncommon for a COR to pony up to that aspect of their duties. Keep up what you are doing.

rjscout, We have done the same thing in our pack, that is present an award once, and recognize the award (or belt loop) on subsequenet occurrences of the award being earned. We invite parents to purchase multiple belt loops, if they like, but he pack only buys the award the first time.

Thank you all for your kind responses and support. As many of you said, I should take a stance that this shall not be tolerated, and I cannot agree with you more. I also appreciate the level at which you suggest I respond (not react). Not yet having all the details, I cannot exactly say what the response will be, but will be direct. This not an issue by which I mean to polarize the troop, its members or its supporters. Interestingly, 20 minutes before Joseph called me, I was talking to him about working with a Webelos den (as a Den Chief). This particular den has a 50/50 mix of whi

I need some advice on how to handle a situation in our troop. Allow me to provide you with some brief background. Our troop is all white, with the inclusion of one black scout, whom I will call Joseph. Joseph has been in the troop for nearly 2 years, and was in my Cub Scout pack for the two years prior to that. His father is in jail for shooting his mother and grandmother (both survived). It was shortly after this that he joined as a Webelos. He is a walking example of the scout law: Reverent, Loyal, Trustworthy, Kind, Obedient; he lives by this at meetings and in his daily life. He serves as

Our council Venturing Chair was a part of the team re-writing the Leader Training syllabus, and also had a heavy hand in most of the material for the Vector course, which had it's pilot debut in our council back in April. Vector, for those who are unaware, is a weekend leadership training program--not training to be a leader, training to be a leading trainer; I dislike comparing it to "Train-the-Trainer," but this does convey the topic effectively. I have seen these materials, and am impressed with what was done. I have, however, heard that many of the recomended changes (both courses)

MissingArrow, Thanks for the play by play. I sure hope they get it. I hope enough of us went in and voted to give them the edge....

Of course "Monthly Program Forum" is correct, and by no means is it a big deal, just a curiousity.

As Venturing Rountable has been disolved and replaced with "Venturing Forum," will BSA issue a new POR without the word "Roundtable" on it?

As a scout in 1981 I attended the National Jamboree, the year it made a brief stop at Ft. AP Hill. Our contingent troop was "required" to purchase at least one complete ODL uniform, which had just been made available. It was always my assumption that this was a national requirement, not a council policy. These uniforms were used for specific activities on certain days. Owning several older green shirts, we resisited the idea of the ODL shirts with a vengence, but we never mixed shirts and pants. (You think todays crowd is in an uproar over the new uniforms? This is NOTHING compared to th

CubPack28, I was not suggesting you give away the items in your closet; I was simply relating that that was what we do. We are blessed with good (anonymous) doners who keep our scholarship fund around $1000, and we are able to maintain 2-3 times that in our general fund. We buy all our pack's awards, put on a stylish Blue and Gold and we try to be generous with our scholarships. In the past 2 years, the school from which we draw our scouts has become more diverse, sepecially in the affluence of the families attending. With this in mind it is regretable that too many of our parents

oldsm, Check to see if your district purchases the trainers pack. It has all the training material for all scout leader training from Cub Scouts to Varsity and Venturing (though not Sea Scouts, the scoundrels!). Anyway, I believe this video is in the Venturing packet. I am able to use the is when we conduct Venturing Leader Training. It is an excellent video aid, by the way.

When I first read about organizing a uniform closet, I thought you were talking about how to organize all your scouts in the closet. I assumed I was not the only one with more than half a dozen uniforms and more activity shirts; sometimes I disagree with my wife as to what hangs where...LOL. When I got to the second paragraph, I realized this was meant for a cub scout pack recycling uniforms. Oops. But I can add to that also. We have a very small uniform cache with our pack, despite the fact that it has been discussed to expand it. We are able to turn around uniforms as soon as they

SMT224, As these are likely older boys, you may want to consider some Venturing games (very unlike reindeer games, which are known to be exclusive) Here is a good link: http://97.66.88.42/bsa/VenturingDistrictAndCouncil/Here'sVenturingCD/MonthlyProgramForum/ACTIVITIESGAMES.htm (you may have to cut/paste the link, as the ' breaks the code in on the browser)

Who is late? Yes, it is mostly the older scouts. Often these scouts drive themselves to meetings, and they see fit to arrive when is convenient. We have a few who are involved in sports and theatre, but never did I intend to include them in this group. I am really talking about scouts who just wander in when they please. One of these scouts who drives is sometimes brought by his dad, and ususlly shows up later when his dad drives him. And I am not talking about activities here, only troop meetings. The local school district changed times for middle and high schools this year to init

Yes, you are right. Bylaws are not about what most troops employ them as. And yes, I agree that they are not necessary (convincing the committee of that is a different matter). I will review that section of Robert's Rules of Order tonight. Prehaps it should be defined as you say as a "Troop Policies document." I did do a poor job ofexplaining my reference to Venturing bylaws. What I should have said is that there is nothing in any Boy Scout (troop) literature suggesting or requiringa troop (committee) shouldadopt bylaws, whereas this is encouraged for crews. Thanks for the good and accurat

Beavah, thanks for the perspective of "what are bylaws." I have had an idea of bylaws based on what I have seen, and it is nothing like what you described (that's not to say you're wrong, only that I had not looked at it that way before). I have looked at a dozen or two websites with troop bylaws posted. Most cover everything you said: from dues and attendance to PLC defined and elections, from committee descriptions to BoR schedule, and from defined membership to discipline. Many are dozens of pages long, either quoting or re-writing what is specified in a variety of scouting publicat

OK, here's a hotbed topic. Troop (not Venturing or Sea Scout) Bylaws. A little digging in our old troop files uncovered 2 different copies of our troop bylaws dating back 12+ years (before the days of electronic copies). There has been some debate about updating these and storing them on our new (now 5 year old) computer. Why should we have them? What should they cover? Dues? Equipment fees? Registration expectations? Participation? Website policies? PLC responsibilities? Conduct? Punishment? Or should they be done away with entirely? If you use bylaws, how do

PL and any scout of Star or higher rank can sign off requirements for T-2-1 (except the last 3 reqs and the swim req for 1st). S-L-E are to be signed off by SM or ASM (again except the last 3 which are done by SM and Committee). Not too complicated.

Our troop is ordering several ALPS Cascade backpacks for our scouts. We ordered one in advance and fitted it to several scouts. For most, we ordered a small belt (they can grow into the medium as they age). Can anyone comment on these packs? Any quirks, concerns or tricks to fitting them well?

The inside joke of the Florida panhandle is that we are sometimes referred to as "LA" (lower Alabama). We camp across Alabama at least once or twice a year. For local trips, we sometimes show up at the Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores. It has taken a beating with hurricanes recently, but I have camped here since I was a Webelos. Every 2nd or 3rd year, we hike a section of the Pinhoti trail near Cheaha State Park. Rugged area--great backpacking experience; thirty years ago as a scout my troop hiked 20+ miles of the Odom trail. We also use the facilities in the Conecuh National

A couple of other things to consider. If the "sponsor" is the Charter Organization (which I presume it not to be), then that would be a completely different ball of wax. Remember, in reality the trailer is owned by the Charter Organization, not the troop. Second, instead of overt advertising, consider a "PBS like" acknowledgement such as visibally in small print "funding for the Troop 500 trailer provided by XYZ Electronics." Either way, run this by the District fundraising subcommittee for approval.