FireStone

Not even close to the same thing. And I can fairly confidently say that Bear would not destroy rock formations like that. There's no fair comparison between eating a frog and the recklessness showed in that goblin rock-toppling video.

I feel like there's an awesome solution in these two posts combined. A custom patch that says 2019-2021 on it so it's clear that it needs to be renewed.

So my pack charges $35 per adult, $20 per youth. It adds up quickly. For me, my wife, son, and daughter, it was $110. Not surprisingly, many families only went with the scout and one parent. It's a nice event at a catering hall, but it just seems excessive. And if the cost really is keeping some families away, it just shouldn't be like that. This might have to to go on my "we need to rethink this for next year" list. That list is growing quickly.

I know a Scoutmaster who loves the phrase "teaching success through failure." It's his view of what Scouting is, or at least should be, letting scouts learn to succeed by first failing, sometimes often, and then learning how to overcome that failure. Probably a long way of getting around to calling things "teachable moments", but it works for that SM and I see nothing in that philosophy that is in opposition to the methods of Scouting. Probably sums it all up nicely, really. I'm also just coming out of a family faith meeting in which a guest speaker (priest from a nearby town) talked abo

What's a common/reasonable fee to charge parents, scouts, and siblings to attend the Blue & Gold dinner? I think my Pack is on the expensive end, but before I mention what we're charging I want to get some unbiased opinions. Let me know what your Pack charges/charged and what you think is reasonable.

To be fair, Trail's End isn't exactly top-shelf product either. 😂 I hadn't heard about Country Meats. Will have to look in to that one. One of my "beefs" with popcorn is the steep prices of some of the products. $25 for a bag turns a lot of heads when your scouts are trying to snag some sales outside of a supermarket where a bag of popcorn sells inside for $3. $1 product I think would sell really well. A lot of folks who pass by a popcorn table are quite happy to drop a few bucks, even without actually buying something. I think my scouts would do a lot better with a cheaper product.

On the back cover of the latest Boys' Life is an ad for Jack Links and their fundraising opportunities for BSA units. More info here: https://www.jacklinks.com/boy-scouts-fundraising/ Anyone tried this fundraiser yet? If so, how did it go? It seems much simpler than popcorn. One product, a $15 box that contains two beef sticks, one bag of beef jerky, one bag of original tender bites, one bag of teriyaki tender bites.

It's sad that they're drawing these divisive lines in the sand. There are parents in my Pack with girls in both BSA and GSUSA. Are they going to make them choose? I've always been supportive of the girl in my Wolf den who is also a Girl Scout doing both activities. I ask her how things are going in GS and I'm nothing but positive about her experience and I genuinely think it's great that she gets to have 2 different scouting experiences. Now I wonder what the parents in her GS unit say, if they're as encouraging. I certainly hope so, but I have to wonder.

This guy is looking for you:

The "girl scouts" thing is definitely justified in being picked apart. We all have a lot of adjusting to do to the new language of the BSA, so calling each other out on missteps I think is necessary and constructive. Not just because of the lawsuit. I cringe every time we're at a Pack meeting with girls in attendance and a leader addresses the Pack saying "boys". At the Cub level we've been at this since last summer and we're still not getting it right. This needs to be picked apart.

I suspect therein lies the confusion. At a glance, buddy might sound like "2nd scout working on the same MB", but further review (like the above) clears it up. Hopefully it's just a case of discussing this with the SM to clear up the rule for all involved.

I wore this patch on my uniform as a youth from probably 93-97, only taking it off to put on the JLT patch. Over those years I had pretty constant requests to trade it or sell it. To this day I think it's the coolest patch I've ever seen, although my opinion may be slightly biased. 😁 I check eBay for these periodically, and there are plenty of Allamuchy patches up for sale, but never this one. If anyone has one or ever sees one up for sale, I'd be interested in picking up an extra.

I made the comment earlier that Scout rank is the troop equivalent of Bobcat at the Pack level. Going back to that comment, I'd add that since many Packs (mine included) bang out Bobcat in one meeting, I see no reason to be concerned about the rapid rank advancement at that level. If it continues in Tenderfoot, Second Class and beyond, sure I'd be concerned, just like I'd be concerned to see rapid completion of anything at the Cub level besides Bobcat. If it were me, I'd take a wait-and-see approach to this. Check out the next meeting, the 3rd meeting, see what's happening. Then decide if

Why is it a "dumb idea"? You detailed why going to camp was good for you. But what's so "dumb" about a parent or adult leader wanting to keep their distance from their own scout, especially the first year at camp?

I think that's entirely reasonable. What bothers me about Pete's arrangement is that he'd have to commit to it monthly, and assuming it takes place on a weekend that's 10-12 weekends each year that are now unavailable for other Pack activities. Even if you only needed a few scouts to work the burger stand, you can't schedule something else for the Pack that day (or weekend). Something about the money bothers me too. Can't quite put my finger on it but the idea of the CO profiting while the Pack can only ever hope to earn the flat $1,000 contribution seems off. Nothing wrong per se with a

It's weird in that this was a "gift" of $1,000 previously and now it's become a thing you have to do to get that same $1,000. It could still be perceived as completely generous and helpful to the pack/troop, but it just has a bit of a negative to it when it is presented in this way, demanding that you work for it or you won't get it anymore. If you're comfortable with it, go for it. I wouldn't do it if it were me, but only because I know it would be a challenge to organize enough scouts on a monthly basis to work the burger stand. The monthly commitment, the need to be there each and eve

That's ridiculous. I run recruiting for my Pack and I'd quit the job in an instant if my district wanted that much control over how we recruit. Guess I'm lucky. My DE showed up at our last recruiting night and the only time he talked to me was to just say that he was impressed with what we were doing. Beyond that he watched from the sidelines and that's exactly where a district rep belongs at a recruitment event.

That sounds like what the Pack in the original post did, essentially add time to the cars so that it becomes difficult for them to win. Cars still run, kids still get to see their car on the track and cheer on the races, and the only difference is that the end results will basically eliminate those cars either through disqualification or penalty time added. Interesting that it seems to have 2 entirely different effects between Packs. Yours seems fine with it, while for @karunamom3 it caused a lot of distress. What else I'd suggest beside what I already posted earlier here is just w

You're 100% right, and if I seem at all flippant in my attitude about "we'd be looking for a new troop", that's a fair assessment. But also, going back to my previous comments, I think being in an environment where advancement is blocked or delayed unnecessarily just because of some troop culture, that's just as damaging as uprooting a scout, maybe more so. My experience as a youth makes me think that's accurate. I knew a lot of guys that quit, my troop dwindled in size over the years to the point where while I was in college it folded entirely. Meanwhile other troops in town flourished,

One of our local troops has a hard rule on this: No parents at summer camp for any first-year camper. Doesn't matter the age, if this is the scout's first time at summer camp, no parent of that scout can attend. Of course with exceptions only for any medically required or otherwise necessary situations. But generally, unless a parent can show a real definitive reason they must be at camp, they're not allowed.

I'm not sure that's the correct analogy for Scouting. At some point long ago the BSA made a conscious change from a "proficiency" system to a "merit" system. We no longer require a show of proficiency in a skill after the requirement is signed off. I get your point, that the unit should create opportunities to use the skill, hence reinforcing memory of said skill and retention of it. But I don't think it's a shortcut to quickly learn what is necessary to satisfy a requirement and get it signed off. Maybe it's not the ideal method for Scouts to learn and retain these skills, but by the boo

When I was a Tiger den leader we made Altoids tin first aid kits. Which was good for limiting what could go into them and also kind of fit the age of the group appropriately. Tigers really can't do much first aid beyond learning how to use a Band-Aid, so that's mostly what went into the kits. I got parents to chip in to buy supplies. $5 per scout covered more than enough stuff. I asked scouts to bring their own container/tin, but I bought a few extra just in case.

I run recruitment for my Pack and we did an open house with a camping setup back in September. We used the gym at our CO and set the room up with tables in a "U" shape. Scouts/families come in one door, proceed to table #1 (Pinewood Derby building demo), table #2 (fishing gear demo, with glass jar of worms in dirt, which was a huge hit), table #3, and so on, 7 themed tables in all and then a sign-up table at the end. In the center of the "U" of tables we had our indoor campsite. Tent, chairs, sleeping bags, fake campfire (foam logs and rocks made by a leader, fake flame on top with one o

I grew up in a unit that kind of shamed other units who allowed fast advancement. The unofficial troop talk was "Oh, yeah, so-and-so's troop is an Eagle factory, they let kids advance too fast." And my troop had a lot of older active scouts, which was nice, but I often wonder if we had it wrong, and should have been more open to allowing advancement at the pace that suited the scout. As an adult, I'm much more open to advancement being allowed at whatever pace suits the scout. What I learned after the fact about my unit as a youth and the other troops in town who had different advancement

Correction: Scouts BSA unit. Heard about that lawsuit? 😄 As for the rest, as mentioned it's entirely possible that they met previously, discussed the requirements, maybe went over them and practiced. I see no cause for suspicion here. Scout rank is the Bobcat badge of the troop level. Definitely achievable after 1 meeting, especially if the scouts spent any time at all prior reading the materials and/or practicing.