acco40

jpstodwftexas, your lodge does not have the authority to "allow" the sash to worn on the belt. If you feel an overwhelming need to wear your OA sash on the belt, in spite of it being pointed out to you in a crystal clear manner that it is incorrect - go for it. For that matter, wear it as a headband - nothing in the OA handbook specifically states that is not allowed.

Advancement is like a suntan - if you dwell on it too much, it can become cancerous. From Acco40's guide to Scouting parental behavior.

Your spelling prowess!

Prayers go out to his family and friends.

I proposed this to our district about 10 years ago and was shot down. The reasons I was given was the sometimes "adult" topics were discussed at roundtable and the roundtable staff did not want youth present. In my 10 years or so of attending roundtables, I did not find this the case. I would much rather have had my SPL attend to hear about the upcoming district jamboree preparation, sharing of scouting themes, best practices, camping ideas, etc. It would have been a hard sell to parents sometimes but well worth it in my book.

Scouting is a private organization - the BSA has gone to the U.S. Supreme Court to fight for that. Scouting costs money. Uniforms, crafts, camping equipment, travel, etc. Scouting has vehicles for raising money - popcorn sales, public goodwill, etc. I don't buy the money issue wrt to proper uniforming. It is all a priority thing. Regardless of how much a uniform costs, I've seen families complain. Heck, in my neck of the woods it costs $450 to play sports for the local high school and not to many blink an eye at that, yet then complain vociferously about the cost of a BSA

I feel that society is slowing having their social skills eroded by - yes, online forums, Facebook, text messaging, email, video games, chat rooms, fear of crime, youth sports run by adults, etc. Therefore, instead of talking to a parent, as I did about their son's behavior on campouts, they would rather have some of "law" state that those Scouts who take stimulants to treat hyperactive disorders for school be required to take them during scouting functions. Come on, if a Scout misbehaves on an outing, I'll have a conversation with the parent (after my conversation with the scout, his p

The BSA encourages the proper clothing / uniform for the proper function. No, the field uniform is not very functional for in the field (while camping). Duh, the BSA doesn't push that. Now, for a Court of Honor - yes, the field uniform should be worn, all insignia properly placed, no sashes on belts, etc. Regardless of how we "feel" - why not just administer the program the way it was intended to be administered? I think what many are really showing with their posts on this thread is an ignorance of the program.

Kudu - What is linking Christian Scientists to the BSA? I don't get the connection. Near where I grew up was Principia College. I was a very respected Christian Science college with a beautiful campus over looking the confluence of the Illinois, Mississippi and Missouri rivers. About every 15 years or so measles, mumps, meningitis, or some other "common" child disease would sweep through the school (most Christian Scientist don't get vaccinated against these diseases). Is that abuse? No in the classical sense in my book. Heck in 50 years, society may look at the fact that we fed our chi

Scoutfish et. al. - What is the purpose of a mock BOR? As a Scoutmaster, I would laugh if the committee suggested they ran voluntary mock SMCs to prepare the Scouts. I think the trouble now with the BSA is we have a bunch of parents who want to run the troop for their precious children, who are of course more special than any other children, and they view "Irving" as getting in the way with a bunch of silly rules. For them, just go down to the Scout shop, purloin a few Eagle patches and be done with it.

While I am always against the uniform police bullying people about unnecessary details of their uniforms, I strongly push leaders and scouts to wear a complete uniform . . . So how does one differentiate between "uniform police bullying" and "strongly pushing?" Uniforming is a touchy subject on this forum. It was very tiresome when at almost every event, Scouts would come up to me (SM) and ask, do I have to wear my uniform? I would usually always answer, "It is always appropriate to wear a Scouting uniform to a Scouting function." I had a former committee chair that steadfastl

There's abuse and then there's abuse. When I was in junior high school, heck even in sixth grade, the boys took showers in gym class. Two points were deducted from your grade if you did not. The gym teacher was there with his clip board checking off your name as he watched you go in (or was it out?) of the shower. It was considered a "teaching moment" about proper hygiene. Now, did I feel that was abuse? No. Did my parents? No. Did anyone? Not to my knowledge. As such, we as young teens learned to develop a little bit thicker skin than the youth of today. If someone rea

I know that above is what the boys want and I know that is the program. What I struggled with during my time as Scoutmaster is dealing with parents who thought my (and the BSA's) expectation that he boys lead and take ownership of the program was a huge over-reach. They were more in the camp that it was the adults role to entertain the boys. Without parental support in the BSA mission, the "job" of Scoutmaster was made more difficult. My biggest failing, in retrospect was that I enjoyed working with the boys so much I didn't spend enough time explaining, lobbying, etc. the parents of

Eagledad - and where from the Scout law or oath can you surmise that homosexuality is "unscout like?"

BartH - I agree, some of us have a hard time understanding why some people would not want homosexual leaders in the Boy Scouts. The only type of explanations I've seen from your posts is the "because some folks think it is wrong" explanation. Okay, I know that. Why do they think it is wrong? Because the Bible says so? We don't ban folks who eat shellfish. Because some religions say it is wrong? We don't ban folks who are not circumcised. Because homosexuality is different from what they feel and it makes them uncomfortable? We don't ban folks who have different mus

Given all the media frenzy about the BSA and CEOs are you telling me that there are actually reasonable men in both organization? Sacr Bleu!

Keep in mind, I think the new app fee is only $1.00 and many times the councils take care of it for you.

and that includes non comittee members such as Den Leaders and Parents who are not registered leaders if your registration on the charter says CC or MC, then you're on the committee. For a Cub Scout pack, I believe the BSA has vacillated on the role of den leaders as being a part of the pack committee or not. They used to be separate from the committee, then they were an integral part of the committee and now once again they are considered separate (much like in Boy Scouts). Can anyone back me up on this?

As a unit leader, I gathered applications for the troop to turn in to council - as a courtesy to those who did not want to drive all the way to the council office. One of the adults leader applications disclosed an arrest record and conviction. Not to get into details but the application was signed by the COR, the council performed a background check (not BSA mandated at the time) and that person became a den leader - and a good one at that. Each case should be judged on their own merit. Sometimes a unit will approve a leader with an arrest record and conviction and disapprove some

BSA24 - I catch your drift, I really do. But to me it's sometimes like something I saw on the old Truth or Consequences show many, many years ago. A male and female contestant were in the proverbial green room waiting to go on television. The female was very concerned about her appearance and asked the male contestant how she looked - hair, lipstick, etc. It just so happened that the ladies slip was showing quite predominantly. This being the mid-60s that was not the fashion of the times for those who may be wondering. Well the inside "joke" was that it was a set-up. The males conte

The uniforming guide says the OA sash should only be worn over the right shoulder. From the guide it states: worn over right shoulder, under epaulet of tan shirt. (OA sash is never worn on belt or with merit badge sash.) What is this tan shirt that is referenced? jpstodwftexas - It is a common occurrence on this forum for someone to pose a question about "proper" behavior, the correct answer is given and then selected folks jump on those who provided the correct answer by calling them uniform police, not having the best interest of the boys at heart and other similar red herrings.

Most people think of BORs as the last step in advancement for a particular rank and that is one of the purposes of a BOR. The other is to evaluate the program that the Scoutmaster is carrying out. There is a reason that the Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmasters should not be present at a BOR and why a committee member should not necessarily be performing SA tasks on outings. If a requirement is signed off, it has been completed in the vast majority of circumstances. Now, if the BOR is noticing a trend that indicates to them that Scouts are coming to them with requirements signed off a

Patrol Leader - thanks for asking and I assure you, you will get many varied answers. First, being a leader is difficult. Sometimes a badge, title and/or patch is not enough - you need to learn how to get the Scouts to follow your lead. I would talk to the SPL and tell him that instead of trying to boss or command the boys to stop talking try to imitate good behavior yourself. Have the SPL, adults, yourself, etc. just cease talking until the talkative Scouts learn to be quiet. Sort of like a troop version of the Cub Scout "signs-up" except no physical sign. Second, I'm not a big

I wear my OA sash under my hat, along with my dutch oven. I keeps my neck strong and I don't get accused of showing off. Also, since nothing in the BSA literature states I can't do this, it must be okay.

I wore my silver shoulder loops only when I was acting as a Unit Commissioner. I wore my blue when acting as a Webelos Den Leader and wore my red as a Scoutmaster. If I wore my silver as a Scoutmaster advertises that that either I'm ignorant of BSA uniform policy or an ego centric bore who chooses which guidelines to follow (like may who frequent this forum?). Position patches are more difficult to spot than the shoulder loops but yes, they are somewhat redundant.(This message has been edited by acco40)