CalicoPenn

Note the wording used: Every BSA activity SHOULD be supervised. It does not say must. It does not say shall. It says should. Why? Because the BSA knows that there will be times when a "BSA Activity" is NOT supervised by an adult and they would have no defense if a Patrol decided to go play Frisbee golf during a Patrol meeting (for example) without an adult tagging along and someone got hurt if they required supervision by saying shall or must. I'll remind everyone again - these guidelines, procedures, rules, and policies are designed to do one thing, and one thing only - protect the cor

Just like public school districts, Catholic schools (and other private schools) are not immune to demographic changes or to issues of building maintenance. Demographically, you have fewer people every year identifying themselves as religious or as part of a specific religious community. Organized religions, particularly the more traditional churches like the Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, etc. are seeing their attendance drop as people decide that while faith may be important to them, church isn't or members decide to go to the mega-community-church down the road that is so popular (and do

Thanks!!

Matt brings up a good point - you son has been a Scout since he was 11 - assuming he's been to at least one long-term summer camp, are you sure that he doesn't have the 21 days in camping already? I'd start adding the numbers up from when he started camping (the requirements also does not say "camp 21 days and nights since starting work on the Merit badge). There is a good chance he's already met that requirement. You should also contact the Council Service Center and ask to speak with the registrar to double check that the Scoutmaster is ALSO registered as a Merit Badge Counselor. Whil

I wish I could find it but someone commenting on this story in a newspaper found and posted a picture of Pope Francis greeting US Girl Scout leaders with a big smile on his face.

Tiger, In addition to moving on (probably best, as irksome as it is), there are a few more things that should be done. You have a Pack Treasurer now - great! Going forward it is no longer YOUR responsibility to keep track of pack funds. It is the Treasurers. If I were you, I wouldn't even get listed on the bank account as a signatory on the account. The Pack Treasurer, the Committee Chair and one other Committee Member should sign the checks - and work with your bank to require 2 signatures on every check - no matter how small it is. If you're doing a fundraiser and are taking

As DuctTape said, they are TOYS. They weren't designed as a medical aid for kids with ADHD - they are not a medical device. They are the 2017 equivalent of the Rubik's Cube. Remember those? These are a fad - like hula hoops were once, like Rubik's Cubers were once, like Pokemon Go was once - and like all fads, it'll fade away. You can buy these things just about anywhere now - my local 7-11 has them for sale with a handwritten sign on the door that said "We have Tri-Spinner-Figits. Just tell the Scouts to put them away during the meeting - no need for the PLC - remind them that A Scout i

We had a Rubber Duck patrol - not so weird name actually but the patrol yell was "Rubber Ducky, we're so fine" but the really cool thing was the patrol flag - the patrol had a Scout who was a really good artist and he drew a picture of Ernie driving a chartreuse microbus getting in not just one but two rubber duck references without actually drawing a rubber duck. As for the beret - my unit wore berets - the only ones that didn't like the berets were the new scouts whose parents bought them berets a size or so to big because "they'll grow in to them" and whose berets were not worn in y

Werd!

I don't believe I said Mollusca is a kingdom - I believe I said Mollusks are part of the Animal Kingdom - but perhaps I wasn't clear. The requirement is to identify or show evidence of 10 different kinds of animals - the rest of that sentence is just filler really. Let's think about this from an 11 year-olds perspective. Animal means anything within the animal kingdom - whether its a phylum, a class, and order, a family, a genus or a species. This is a second class requirement - it's not Zoology Merit Badge (oh right, the BSA discontinued the Zoology merit badge). Think the common usa

It's the Boy Scouts of America - if they hire hackers, you can be sure they're hackers from Elbonia.

Some questions: 1) Can you folks planning and running the event (and not as Scout Leaders or Scouts) join this club and run the event through them? Since they've already run it for a number of years, those pesky tax issues would likely not apply if its still a Club event. Since they've already run it a number of years, that should make planning a bit easier too. 2) Will the club promise to donate all the proceeds to the Troop and can you trust them to do so? While you can't go to the club and ask them for money for the unit, there is nothing preventing the club from donating to th

Unless it's spring migration and you're on a certain boardwalk in Northern Ohio on Lake Erie where you might find 20 or more of 54 species of warblers in a couple of hours. I think we've identified the biggest problem with the requirements - the problem is us - and specifically adults. Identify or show evidence of 10 different kinds of animals. You're average 10-12 year old is going to be able to understand that at a basic level. You need 10, they need to be different, and they can't be plants or fungi. Only adults would try to parse that by phylum, class, order, family, genus or

Yes - that document does say you can't use squirt guns to shoot water at other people - it's always been quite clear - it's a simulated gun - and the BSA teaches never to point a gun OF ANY KIND at other people. It does NOT say anything about throwing water balloons at people - that's a misinterpretation and its not surprising that it might be repeated at any number of summer camps - The last time I went to National Camp School, the instructors were volunteers - not professionals (there would be one professional there, and lets face it, they're a bit clueless themselves when it comes to p

Who told you that you can't toss water balloons or water filled sponges at people? Can you find one policy by National that forbids this because I certainly can't and I've looked and looked and looked. In fact, I want to thank you for helping to prove up my statement that people go to training (or in this case read something) then go ahead and claim that something they've heard or read is policy and that some things are banned (when they aren't). The BSA does not ban water balloon fights. The mention of water balloons in the shooting sports manual is only about using them as ammunition

Col. Flagg....Did you actually read through the shooting sports manual or are you just using what some "reporter" for Newsmax quoted out of context (which is something Newsmax does often - take a real quote and turn it in to fake news to outrage their readers)....Had you looked for that quote about water balloons.....(Quoted here for everyone else to see..Further, the manual states, "For water balloons, use small, biodegradable balloons, and fill them no larger than a ping pong ball.")....you would have learned that this refers to using water balloons as ammunition for sling shots and wrist ro

From the Boy Scouts of America Website: Pointing any type of firearm or simulated firearm at any individual is unauthorized. This prohibition includes archery tag. Scout units may plan or participate in paintball, laser tag, or similar events where participants shoot at targets that are neither living nor human representations. Units may participate in formally organized historical reenactment events, where firearms are used and intentionally aimed over the heads of the reenactment participants. The use of paintball guns, laser guns, or similar devices may be utilized in target shooting ev

Kind of sad that this has been up for over 24 hours now and only 3 stories have been shared.

I may have told this story before - it happened about 12 years ago now - I was camping alone at a state park across the road from a local Boy Scout Troop. I was a little worried about getting some peace and quiet but they all settled down about 8:00 each night and were away most of the day on Saturday doing their thing. Sunday morning, I was taking down camp as they were taking down their camp. I always carry a litter pick-up stick with me and was picking up litter along the way to the dumpster after I had policed my own site, which a couple boys watched with interest (because it was obv

We don't often hear back from folks who have raised issues or have asked questions what their decisions are, or if what has been suggested has made a difference. I think that is what is missing here - the feedback loop. As a result, I think it is easier to come to the conclusion that the forum is just not useful. But I don't believe that's the case. This website has a lot more members than folks who post in the forums. We rarely hear from them if they are reading the posts or taking anything away from them. We rarely hear back from folks who ask about how to handle a recalcitrant tre

Outdoor Activities (Per the BSA) These activities must be in addition to any similar activities counted for rank advancement, and can be accomplished as a family, den, or pack. â—¾Participate in a nature hike in your local area. This can be on an organized, marked trail or just a hike to observe nature in your area. â—¾Participate in an outdoor activity such as a picnic or park fun day. â—¾Explain the buddy system and tell what to do if lost. Explain the importance of cooperation. â—¾Attend a pack overnighter. Be responsible by being prepared for the event. â—¾Complete an outdoo

Outdoor Activities (Per the BSA) These activities must be in addition to any similar activities counted for rank advancement, and can be accomplished as a family, den, or pack. â—¾Participate in a nature hike in your local area. This can be on an organized, marked trail or just a hike to observe nature in your area. â—¾Participate in an outdoor activity such as a picnic or park fun day. â—¾Explain the buddy system and tell what to do if lost. Explain the importance of cooperation. â—¾Attend a pack overnighter. Be responsible by being prepared for the event. â—¾Complete an outdoo

When polled, the American people estimate the number of LGBT people at about 25%. The reality is it's about 4%. Notice I did not say "only" 4% - because such a statistic can be used (and is often used - not necessarily by anyone in here) to marginalize minorities because after all, it's only 4% but when translated based on population numbers (currently estimated at 326 million by the UN), it also reflects that there are slightly more than 13 Million people who self-identify as LGBT in this country and I can only hope that none of us think that 13 Million is an insignificant number. A

We've had discussions before on banning food choices versus encouraging healthy food choices. Seen through the lens that EagleonFire brings, I'm thinking we're just not very consistent or good at it no matter which way we lean. I think David CO is right -we don't place as big an emphasis on healthy living as other youth organizations do. We play lip service to the idea (to keep myself physically strong) and touch on it in ranks and merit badges, but we really do a poor job of it. Not only do we not do a very good job at it, the amount of pushback we get when healthy living does rear it's h

This has been an interesting thread - from where we started to now discussing the alcohol and smoking policies of the BSA and soda versus juice.............On Soda vs. Juice (and I'll toss in Chocolate Milk) based on sugar content alone, there really isn't that much difference between soda and the "more healthy" juice and milk....20 oz coke = 65g of sugar, 20 oz mountain dew = 77g, 20 oz orange juice = 60g, 20 oz apple juie = 65g, and 20 oz chocolate milk = 72.5g.