acco40

nldscout, I've got a simple question for you. Where does the burden of proof lie to determine if Mr. Hamdi "was picked up in afganistan(sic) and was working with the other side"? If you believe the burden should be placed on the prosecution, I agree with you. If you feel the burden should be placed on Mr. Hamdi to prove that he was not, I disagree.

Again, maybe I'm just dense, but I still think we just have a semantics program. Let's say as Den Leader, I plan one of next month's meetings this way: Mr. Bob White, could you schedule about 35 minutes of activity for the den on February 24th? We plan to be working on the Engineer activity pin that month. Let me know if you want any ideas or help. Get back with me when you decide what you plan to cover so we can review it together. Thanks. To me that is what I call "shared leadership." Granted, the BSA has a specific definition of shared leadership and how it applies to the Tiger Cub program and that is where the confusion may reside. In my example, has the DL abdicated his/her leadership role? No. Does it go against BSA guidelines? IMO, no. Is it a different definition from what is stated in the BSA literature (wrt Tiger Cubs) and therefore probably not a good term to use? Probably so.(This message has been edited by acco40)

Before your SPL/PL elections, I would hold a brief session informing the youth and parents what duties and responsibilities these positions entail. Why have them vote on something they may know nothing about? Good luck!

Politics, politics. If the Dems attack Bush for his "enemy combatant" stance, the Dems fear that they will be perceived as "soft" on terrorism. Similar to disagreeing with our efforts in Iraq is seen by some as being unsupportive of our men and women in service. Now, the courts are used to being villified as too liberal, too conservative, etc. depending on what way the wind blows. Hey all you conservatives out there, why aren't you attacking one of your favorite scapegoats, the ACLU for defending Mr. Rush's right to privacy with respect to his medical records? Personally, I find it scary that the Government, with very little burden of proof, can declare a person an enemy combatant and his rights are stripped away. What constitutes membership in Al Queda? What is the legal definition of enemy combatant? While I have no idea what so ever about the guilt or innocence of Mr. Hamdi, I happen to trust our Government about their accusations of his actions. However, I do not like the broad powers that the administration is claiming, even if constitutionally legit. I've seen too many cases of the Gov't using the IRS, FBI, etc. to harass individuals on their "enemy lists." I guess having my formative years during the Nixon administration has shaped my thinking.

From the BSA Boy Scout Uniform Inspection Sheet: For headgear (hats) two styles are permissible: a visored cap or a campaign hat. All troop members must wear one of the headgear chosen by a vote of the troop. Also note that "Uniform" is one of the eight methods of Scouting. That said, wearing the proper uniform should be the goal but it is not mandatory for maintaining BSA registration.

Folks, I think semantics is getting in our way. Let's say a Major General, in charge of a division, commands a Colonel to make sure all the vehicles in his Brigade are "nice and shiny" for the upcoming parade. The Colonel commands his battalion commander to make sure his vehicles are in good working order and in "presentation" shape. The battalion commander tells a Captain (company commander) the same. The Captain informs the platoon leader, Lieutenant Smith to clean the HMMWVs in his platoon. Lt. Smith informs his Sergeant to make sure HMMWV #216 is all bright. Sarge tells Private First Class Bob White to clean the vehicle by 0800 the following day. Who is responsible for the cleanliness of vehicle #216? Some would argue the Private, others the General. In my den leader example, with shared leadership, the den leader never abdicates responsibility for den leadership. However, as presented to the other parents of the boys in the den, the DL requests that they "lead" (plan, organize, conduct) a den meeting. This methodology was implemented so as not to discourage adults from taking on the DL position and having the sole burden of planning and conducting a quality year round program with weekly den meetings. When I was a den leader (particularly at the Wolf and Bear level) I "chaired" 100% of the den meetings, conducted approximately 50% of the den meeting activities and the other parents conducted the rest. Regardless if you call this delegation of tasks or shared leadership, the results are the same. I have found that presenting it as shared leadership to the other parents made it more palatable than simply letting them know that they have been delegated a specific task.(This message has been edited by acco40)

From a Cub Scout perspective (where I believe the phrase originated) this is what we did: If a den chooses to, instead of the Den Leader being the sole person responsible for every single den meeting from start to finish, another option is Shared Leadership. The Den Leader becomes the contact point for pack and den communications and can act as a coach in planning activities. 1) Each adult partner with his/her Cub Scout is responsible to plan and run an entire den meeting. That meeting would be held in that parents home or at the location scheduled for that particular den. The meeting should deal with achievements or electives from the Wolf, Bear or Webelos book. Another thing to keep in mind when planning a den meeting is the monthly theme coming up for the next pack meeting. 2) The Den Leader should have a list of dates for the den meetings during the course of the year. From that list each parent should volunteer for a number of meetings (based on the number of meetings and the number of scouts in the den) to plan and run and communicate what will be done in advance to the rest of the scouts and parents. From a Boy Scout perspective, the role of the SM and SA is of course very different than that of the den leader. The SM's primary responsibility is to teach leadership skills to the youth. The SA's responsibility is to carry out tasks assigned by the SM. However, most SMs do not act in an autocratic manner. The SA's should also be able to fill in for the SM in his absence. To me, one sign of a good leader is the ability to delegate a task (not necessarily the responsibility, but the task.). The SAs should see themselves as contributing to the development of the youth and not just as "gofers" for the SM. IMO, the "rules and regulations" of the BSA provide for much leeway in the duties of the SM and SA. Granted, the SM and the SAs all need to be on the same page so to speak but I've seen too many autocratic, "my way or the highway" SMs in my day. THe SM should not monopolize the troop. (This message has been edited by acco40)

If you read near the bottom of this web page you will find: "This is a private community provided by SCOUTER Network and reserved for Scouting related discussions." I fail to see how this thread relates to Scouting. Please try out the "private message" feature if you wish to continue this discussion. No, I am not a moderator or affiliated with this site in any way. I'm just a grateful user of this forum. Thanks.

Christianity in a nutshell? An atheist and a Christian go out fishing in a row boat out on the lake. The fish really are biting and both are doing quite well. After awhile, the atheist hooks a really big one! The struggle is quite pronounced. After fighting the fish for over an hour, the atheist tires and the fish with one big yank on the line pulls him overboard. The atheist yells out, "Save me, I can't swim!!" The Christian asks, "Do you believe in the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost (oops, modern update: Spirit)?" The atheist swallows some water goes under, surfaces briefly, and cries out again as he lunges for the boat, "Save me!" The Christian quickly rows the boat OUT of the atheist's reach and states again, "Do you believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?" The atheist, near exhaustian cries out, "What does it matter? Please just save me!." Again, the Christian asks, "Do you believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?" Finally, the atheist exclaims, "Yes, I do believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!! Please save me!". Hearing that, the Christian calmly rows the boat away mission accomplished as he states quite confidently, "You're saved!"

The new Field Book is now available in our Council trading post. I plan to purchase it on my next visit.

Coming to terms with your age at 19 or in your early 20's is a piece of cake! Try doing it in your late forties! Now, the 50 & up crowd will state the same for the 40's "younguns" but hey, it comes with the territory. Seriously, have fun in your new role in Scouting. Once a parent, you can live vicariously through the achievements of your offspring and drive them crazy! By the way, how's the weather up there for ya, eh? From a "troll."

Ask any Catholic priest if he ever (since becoming a priest) has doubted his faith or God. If honest, most will say yes. Same goes for member of the clergy for other denominations and for lay persons. For me, boys of Scouting age question their beliefs and those of their family. They are formulating their independence and character. I believe as Scout leaders we should act as role models and not as the "religious police" with respect to Scouting. Be reverent yourself. I'm aware that not everone shares this opinion. Why on Earth do you feel compelled to remove him from your unit? Unless he is proselytizing for "atheism" among members of the crews I'd let it go. I believe the Advisor is more in the wrong with respect to Scouting's methods and aims than the young man.

Our council has already filled up their allotment for three troops (108 youth, 12 leader positions) and a standing waiting list exists. Hopefully, we will be able to obtain permission to send another troop. To my knowledge, they have not selected the adult leadership to date. I believe they will have an interview process.

NJ, I've got some potential bad news for you. I can't recall if it was our Council (I think it was) or National, but I've heard that we (units in our Council) will not have any tour permits approved within a 250 mile radius of the Jamboree while it is being held. They want to discourage units from attempting to attend the Jamporee without belonging to a particular contingent. However, it IS open to the public so nothing would keep you from camping out as a father/son duo (not as a unit) near the Jamboree.

I have some bolo ties. Maybe getting their name spelled correctly would help. Again, my pet peeve, it is WEBELOS.

On a humorous note, my sibling and I all have first names that are not prone to shortening or nicknames. Now, when my mother addressed any of us by our first middle and last names, we knew we were is serious trouble. To this day, if I'm addressed by all three names it sends a shiver down my spine. On occasion, I'll refer to some of the youth in my (our) troop as Mr. Lastname. Nearly 100% of the time the youth is oblivious to the fact that I am addressing him. Granted the troop youth is young (11-14 yr of age) but still, I'm amused that when I address teh young men as Mr. they just assume that I am addressing someone else. I remember the first few times I was addressed as "sir" or "mister" in public, it was a bittersweet moment. I enjoyed the respect but felt way to young to be called with that salutation. C'est la vie.

You can lead a horse to water (make training free and readily available) but alas, some will still not drink. I would like to see training a requirement for a position (leader specific training) grandfathered in for all new leaders. I believe the Girl Scouts go this route. As SM, I've tried and tried to get the CMs trained to no avail. Any suggestions?

I tease my children by telling them constantly that my name is not "butt dad." Over half the time their response to my comments are in the line of: "but dad, [insert excuse here]." Seriously, I agree with BW 100% and etiquette books will back him up too. It is common courtesy to call someone by the name they prefer. If that preference is not known, either ask or go with which you think best erring on the side of being too formal as opposed to too informal. As SM, when addressing the boys I refer to the SAs as Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones, etc. One boy in our troop refers to his mother by her first name. He is adopted and that is the salutations that their family feels comfortable with. It doesn't bother me but some of the parents in the troop view as disrespectful. They need to get over it. It all reminds me of the joke about the indian boy who asks his parents how he and his siblings were named. A good joke but one I should not repeat on this forum.(This message has been edited by acco40)

As a SM when a boy comes to me to obtain a "blue card" (which my council now charges me for) I 1) Make sure he has met any prerequisites for the badge if any are needed. 2) If prerequisites are met but I feel the Scout may be unprepared for the MB (example a fifth grader who wants to take the engineering merit badge) I may advise him on the difficulty of the task but never give a blanket disapproval. 3) Congratulate and encourage him for opting to pursue another MB. 4) Ask if he has any particular counselor in mind or if he would like for me to select one or a few to choose from 5) Sign his card (only after he a properly filled out the other portions of the card. SMs do not approve or disapprove MBC. That is the job of the training committee. I may give the training committee my 2 cents worth about a particular MBC but have no authority or desire to restrict a Scout from meeting with a "qualified" MBC. By definition, if he is a MBC he has been registered, approved and therefore is "qualified" in the eyes of the BSA. There is no "FOG" test or hoop to jump through to become a MBC. In short, if signed by a MBC it IS earned.(This message has been edited by acco40)

Brain, while once a delicacy, is rarely purchased anymore in the US. Some "lower scale" hot dogs, sausages, etc. do contain a small amount of brain or spinal cord matter. As the saying goes, you don't want to know what goes into your hot dogs.

I don't want to be combative but I think Twocub and Korea have it backwards. One MUST be a registered Scouter (redundant term?) to be a committee member. However, one does not have to be a committee member to participate with the unit. Yes, parents may help out and even carry out assigned tasks, but that does not make them committee members. Similarly, a non-registered youth may attend a troop meeting and even an outing but that does not make him a Scout.

"but the merit badges have no other representation other than on their sash. " Not true. Check out the uniform inspection sheet. The MB sash would be appropriate. While class A (field uniform) and class B (activity uniform) are not officially sanctioned BSA terms they are almost universally accepted phrases. Our council and our training staff uses the terms. Congrats and good luck!

1) Use the resources that the BSA makes available 2) Fully understand the role that the SM plays 3) Fully understand the roles the SM does NOT play 4) Allow the boys to fail (without health & safety impacts) 5) (Saving the best for last - get a good SPL! Good luck and congrats!

To be a Scouter (adult, post 18 member of the BSA) one has to fillout an application, pay a fee and be approved by the BSA which will conduct a background check. To be an adult member of a unit, in addition to the above, the Charter Organization of the unit (Troop, Pack, Crew, Ship, etc.) needs to approve the individual for the specific unit position (committee member, committee chair, scoutmaster, assistant scoutmaster, etc.). If one is not registered with the BSA and approved by the CO, one is not a committee member. What are the benefits? None to too numerous to mention depending on your point of view. IMO, the benefits are endless.

You hit the nail on the head. Some requirements do specifically state to show, demonstrate and/or tell. "Demonstrate how to whip and fuse the ends of a rope." - A Scout would need to actually whip and fuse the ends of rope to complete this requirement. "Explain the rules of safe hiking, both on the highway and cross-country, during the day and at night." - A Scout would need to vebalize the rules to complete this requirement. Note, it doesn't say he needs to memorize them! "Repeat from memory and explain in your own words the Scout Oath, Law, motto, and slogan." - A Scout would need to verbalize the Oath, Law, motto and slogan with no aids. In short, do what the requirements says! How simple.