mrkstvns

Yet another feature news article about girls joining BSA, this time in the Houston TX area:

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Boy-Scouts-new-recruits-234-Houston-area-girls-13683424.php

I don't know if Gus was ever an Explorer, but he was evidently a Boy Scout for at least 4 years...here's his scout record card:

http://www.americanheritage1.com/nasa/guss-grissoms-card.html

12 hours ago, mashmaster said:

I tried a Helinox cot and OMG it was amazing.  but it is like $400 so I didn't buy one.  I borrowed one and it was amazing.

$400.....for a cot....that's like, aluminum poles and a piece of canvas. And that's $400?

I could buy 10 regular cots for that.  Of course, then I'd need a bigger tent....(and some more friends)...

1 hour ago, Jameson76 said:

Also if you have a dead tauntaun nearby, and your lightsaber handy, you can cut it open and put the patient inside.  Granted you would need to be on a frozen planet for that to really work well, but it is an option

But what about the SMELL?!?!

7 minutes ago, sst3rd said:

I mean this seriously, go find another Pack. NOW. This will not change, as this person holds all of the cards, and she knows it. When she sees scouts and families leaving, she won't have to wonder why. It's the only way to make the point. And if she says to come back and she'll change, don't buy it. Life's too short to have to deal with this. Find a good Pack for all to enjoy. I'm sure they'll want your help and support.

Kind of hate to suggest giving up, but this really is the most practical approach. 

Might want to also drop a line to the COR's "boss" (like pastor of the CO church, or grand poo-bah of the Water Buffalo Lodge, letting them know that their COR is doing them no service). Ditto to local scout executive. The SE will claim to be powerless, but he should know that there are good reasons for the pack's imminent demise.

It might not actually get the COR/CC their richly deserved pink slip, but doing nothing is 100% guaranteed to do nothing.

45 minutes ago, fred8033 said:

Worry less about legalities and more about being supportive and helpful to the scouts. 

Yep.  Enable the scout and you can't go wrong. Just remember the adage, "no more, no less".

Just an aside: I always like signing off the nature requirements for young scouts. I've seen some very creative ways to meet the 2nd class requirement to "show evidence of 10 wild animals..."   Had one kid come in with a bag of "stuff":  a bird's nest, a feather, a snakeskin, a turtle shell, etc.  I signed him off.  Had another kid show me pictures of road kill: dead squirrel, dead deer, dead raccoon right next to a dead vulture (guess he didn't fly off quick enough for the passing car....)  I signed him off too. Had other kids identify tracks and other signs along a hiking trail....they got their sign-offs too.

When in doubt, favor the scout.

2 hours ago, TheGreyArea said:

Hi Guys,

I am a new Venturing Adviser of a Newly Re-minted Venturing Crew. I was just wondering if it is acceptable practice for the Crew to fund-raise for equipment congruent to it's program: decent four season tents, backpacking stoves and the such.

Thanks for the help,

Chip

You might want to poll your members and see if you really do need all that.

My son bought a lightweight tent when he earned Star, and bought his own hiking boots, lightweight cold-weather bag, and backpacking stove before he turned 14 (planning ahead for more HA trips).  If my kid is typical, then a lot of your Venturers will already have a lot of their own backpacking equipment and you might not need to buy all that much as a unit (or deal with typical quartermaster problems of storage, cleaning, damage repair/replacement, etc.).

14 minutes ago, ItsBrian said:

It is the adult leaders from what I heard - and they also met on the night of my troop meetings.

Yes, too many adults can certainly put a monkey wrench into things...

Meeting night conflicts are kind of inevitable.  Unfortunately, there's only 4 good weekday nights to hold meetings, and chances are good that if you pick one of those 4 nights, it's going to conflict with SOME local troop's regular meeting night...if not yours, then another troop's.

Same things happen with Roundtable. Pick a night of the week to reserve for Roundtable and inevitably, that will be the only night of the week that some local troop is able to get their meeting room reserved / scoutmaster available, etc.  

4 hours ago, Eagledad said:

Thank goodness for the internet. 

Sometimes....

Often though, you need to take information found on the internet with a very large shipment of salt....fake information is far more easily spread than it was in the old days when we had paper publications with real editors who would do real fact checking...

Progress is not always progress.

On car campouts, I bring a cot and a 4-man tent that fits it. Tried using a hammock a couple times, but it feels unnatural to me and I got a worse night sleep. On backpacking trips, I'll use a small lightweight tent with a sleeping pad. The sleeping pad isn't a bad night sleep, but the cot is better, and nobody really wants me to wake up grumpy from a bad night's sleep.

14 minutes ago, mashmaster said:

I 3d printed one 🙂  it was cool and in the shape of a woggle

Cool.

Glad it didn't turn out to be in the shape of a gizmo, or a widget...

On 3/26/2019 at 9:27 PM, Liz said:

...Do NOT be afraid to attend camp with him this first time if that's what he needs. 

... If your son's anxiety is too high he can hang out and help you with your task; and if he's feeling OK he can go around camp with his patrol and have fun. 

Sorry Liz, but your Scoutmaster would be well served to keep you away from camp...and to keep away any other adult who has the misguided notion that they would be welcome in camp so that they could be there "his first time if that's what he needs."

No scout is well served by a parent in camp who can't, or won't, let her son try things and experience things on his own. It just ruins the camp experience for everyone and it undermines scouting's aims and methods (especially the patrol method, when you star counter-manding the instructions and leadership of the PL and SPL).  

Sure, you know your own son best...so if he really is so anxious that he couldn't function in a patrol environment, then leave him home for his first year or so in scouting so that he has time to grow as an individual and to learn enough self confidence that he doesn't NEED mom helicoptering over him.

If you are in camp so "he can hang out and help you with your task" then you are there for all the wrong reasons (and you really don't understand how summer camp works). Your role as an adult is to be in camp as a resource for the TROOP. As a scoutmaster, I would tell you that you are NOT welcome in camp if you aren't trained and you aren't there to help the scoutmaster, the SPL, and each and every scout in the troop.  And if you really think you're going to "let your son hang out and help you with your task" then I REALLY don't want you anywhere close to camp! Camp has scheduled activities and we expect the boys to take advantage of the opportunities that summer camp offers. One of the prime roles of adult scouters is to make sure the boys keep busy in their activities and that they are not sitting around idle in camp, and never, ever tagging along behind their mama like a 2-year old.

A troop needs some adult leaders. But they need adults who are there for the entire unit and who are there to help the kids find ways to solve their own problems and to become confident, competent young men. A troop most certainly does NOT need a mom who is there "for her kid", getting underfoot, giving bad advice, and making the troop adapt to her ways. Don't embarass the troop, your son, and yourself.

If you have an overly anxious child, do everyone a favor....stay home your first year.

Scouting resources are fine for understanding things specific to scouting, but to understand the English language, it is better to use sources that specialize in English language.

The best openly available source on the internet is Merriam-Webster:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demonstrate

My favorite dictionary is Oxford English Dictionary, but their real web site charges too much to use, so I will omit any pointers to it.

On 3/31/2019 at 9:30 AM, ItsBrian said:

I was elected for the OA in my troop, but I declined it. It depends on the scout, see what your scout wants to do. I’ve heard our lodge isn’t the best which also steered my decision.

When your lodge "isn't the best", you've gotten the gift of opportunity.  Anybody can jump into an organization that runs like a well-oiled machine, but only a real leader can take the rusty, worn out machine and oil it and turn it around.  

"Demonstrate" implies some degree of explanation to accompany the "show".  Maybe ask "how" or "why" with "demonstrate" vs. just "what" with "show".  For practical purposes though, the two terms are synonymous.

On 3/26/2019 at 2:07 PM, DuctTape said:

I typically don't do a real breakfast in general, but that is a function of my body not liking food that early. 

My body likes food....especially the mouth part of the body..

Seriously though, breakfast isn't the meal I'd skip, particularly not on a backpacking trip.  (Maybe my mom just told me too often that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day"...)

2 minutes ago, Liz said:

Not as high in calories, but for a shot of protein and more lightweight than peanut butter is *powdered* peanut butter. Reconstitute with water and spread on a bagel, or just add it to your hot cereal of choice. It's actually quite good. I use it in cookies, smoothies, and lots of other things around here. 

Powdered peanut butter, eh?  I've never heard of such a thing....is it sold in grocery stores?

13 minutes ago, Liz said:

... some kids participate in shenanigans, and some don't, and that isn't going to change. Adults need to be diligent at keeping it to a minimum, and the more determined kids will do what they're going to do regardless of what safeguards the adults put into place. Just like they do in every other aspect of their lives. Maybe it will help to look back on when we were kids, and think about what we and/or our friends were up to, and own it as part of the growing-up experience...

Yep. The cliche that says "kids will be kids" is true.

I tried my best to child-proof my house, but those kids still manage to get in!

2 hours ago, SSScout said:

Fire stories....

OA is in charge of the Camporee campfire and program....

The campfire site is a nice one, open field, slight hillside for folks to sit on...

The OA Scouts  decide that this will be a "memorable " event, and manage to collect enough cargo pallets (seasoned oak) to amass and pile up two (2) pyres, each about twelve (12) feet tall and twelve feet across, 50 feet apart.  The intention is the "stage" for the skits will be WELL LIT between the two fires. ( if not well baked).

...

Sounds like you might have averted a real tragedy.

Reminds me of Texas A&M University and how their long tradition of enormous bonfires came crashing down in 1999, killing 12 students..

A fire doesn't have to be enormous to be "memorable".

6 minutes ago, Liz said:

Is this one a regular square or rectangle shaped cover? Or is it more kite-shaped? Homemade or purchased? Tarp or nylon rip-stop? 

Why not just buy a simple square tarp and a length of rope and experiment with re-creating some of these configurations?  Then you'll be able to amaze the scouts when you go on campouts.  Who knows, you might be able to come up with an improvised structure that's even better than the photos posted by ValleyBoy...

Hands-on experience, my friend.  Nuthin' like it!!

On 10/16/2018 at 11:45 AM, acco40 said:

So yes, the rules have changed (didn't find a 2017 Patrol Leader's Handbook on-line). 

..

I'm sure it was a liability issue for the BSA but it's sad they took the patrol option away.

Sad indeed.  

It's a steady progression towards a wimpier, less self-confident kind of boy. Challenges help a kid grow and meeting them head-on are what make a man.

Looking back at the original 1910 BSA rank requirements, I see this for First Class...

4. Travel alone by foot or rowboat to a point at least 7 miles distant and return (15 miles if by vehicle or animal), and write a short report. It is preferable to take 2 days to do this.

16 minutes ago, jr56 said:

Totally screwed up article, first it says it was a man, then it states that "she" withdrew funds, and then it mentions a Boy Scout Pack.

We live in an era of instant online news.  

Unless you're on a professional news site like nyt.com or wsj.com, you shouldn't be surprised that articles aren't researched, fact-checked, or edited for consistency and grammatical correctness. 

Quality is not the hallmark of today's newspaper alternatives.

Saw a news article today about a scouter who was indicted for stealing $4K from the scouts...

https://www.jerseyshoreonline.com/ocean-county/ocean-county-man-indicted-for-theft-from-local-boys-scouts/

21 hours ago, MikeS72 said:

Quite true.  I am hoping to bring some skill instruction to gathering time on Roundtable nights.  ...

Sounds like a good idea!  I hope you'll post in the future to let us know how that works out.

I imagine that you could implement something similar at a unit level. Maybe 30 minutes before pack/troop meeting, offer a skill demo to interested adults.

4 minutes ago, HashTagScouts said:

Was a representative from your Lodge present and running the election? As far as a Scout getting on the ballot who doesn't want to be elected, it happens.  They are not actually part of the OA after election, they need to go through the Ordeal weekend within 1 year of election to be considered members.  As far as there being "already OA" members, are they actually truly members? Or, were they elected last year and did not complete Ordeal?  

Precisely.

If a kid gets voted in but doesn't want to be in OA, all he has to do is just not go through the Ordeal. 

But then, if he later decides he wants to be in OA, he'd have to get voted in a second time.