acco40

I for one, don't believe God is a nationalist.

One of the requirements for Eagle (and Star and Life) is to "Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law in your everyday life." If the boy in question follows what Rooster decribes as minimal effort, he should not pass the Scout Spirit requirement. By all means, welcome him back.

Traditions are just that, traditions and not rules. We let the parents of our 2nd year Webelos Cub Scouts plan the Blue & Gold Banquet (a BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR CUB SCOUTS) which traditionally we use as our Pack meeting for the month of February. During Pack meetings we formally present awards. For the Blue & Gold, this includes the AOL award. We also have a cross-over ceremony for the boys who are going on to Boy Scouts. We present all 2nd Year Webelos with a "Boy Scout" compass. We present the boys who have earned it the AOL award. We present the boys who have decided to join a tr

I know that this is going to sound very pessimistic, but when looking for a troop, talk to families that have left that troop. Remember, changing troops is a fairly natural occurance so don't be alarmed when you find out the troop has had a few boys go to other troops. However, talk to the boy and his parents about why they left and you may uncover a pattern. Yes, please start looking in the spring while your son still have a year left as a Webelos Cub Scout. Especially if you son plans to cross over in February or before.

Robk, I share some of your concerns. You can teach your children what is and what you believe is not sinful in your own home. I too, would have a problem with any scout leader, homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual, celibate, eunuch, etc. teaching my son that any sexual act is sinful or not sinful. There is no place in Scouting to teach value judgements about sex acts and sexual behavior. Read the Scoutmaster Handbook. It details how to handle questions about sex if a scout brings them up. I agree with it 100%. A leader should never bring up the topic on his own. Assuming you ar

Why? You are lumping all homosexuals together. Yes there are sexual deviants, both homosexual and heterosexual. You might say that this is necessary to protect the safety of the boys? If you really had the boys safety as your number one concern, how about banning all male leaders from scouting? Studies have shown again and again that the overwhelming factor in almost all sex crimes is testosterone. Very few females molest boys. I've got a better idea. Why not admit leaders based on our current criteria, using background checks, interviews, etc. and not sexual orientation AND fol

May I offer a comment? I in no way am trying to blame the victim but I don't think you or the den leader handled the situation very well. The first public response to the boys was stated as "She (the den leader after you had talked with her and made the assumption that the cards were stolen) promptly announced that my son's cards had been taken and we needed to search the room or who ever had them needed to give them back." The natural reaction to such an announcement is shame and denial. If you offered the offender a "way out" such as stating, my son doesn't seem to be able to find his Yu

I'm with NJ. I donate much more money to the United Way than I do to FOS. However, I donate much more time, supplies, effort, etc. to the BSA. Why the BSA doesn't allow homosexual leaders mystifies me.

Background checks are not the answer. Following the youth protection guidelines is the answer. To make sure the guidelines are followed, all parents and youth should be aware of the major points, for example two deep leadership. With two deep leadership the chances of molestation and exposure go way way down. I agree 100% with eisley's comments, for youth protection to work parents (and scouts) need to know about it.(This message has been edited by acco40)

One easy thing that our Pack does is make the Blue and Gold banquet planning the responsibility of the 2nd year Webelos den parents. That is when they cross over in our pack and the majority of the pomp and circumstance is for them so have their parents involved. I would not recommend having the CC and CM be a husband and wife team. We circulate a sign-up sheet at the beginning of every scout year asking what voluteer position that each parent will fill this year. Some years it gets a great response, others not so good. Don't try to take on too much yourself. I know what can

You ask for badge ideas (i.e. Webelos badge) but do you mean ideas for the various (20) activity pins? Look at your council resources, i.e. program helps come to mind. I think many of you are confusing "signing" a requirement and "doing" a requirement. Only the Webelos den leader can sign off on a requirement. However, if a parent wants to tell the den leader (preferably, the scout should inform the den leader) that the Webelos Cub Scout has completed a requirement (i.e. I fixed a flat tire on my bicycle) the den leader can choose to sign-off on that requirement, no questions asked, or

The ability to challenge one's background check is key. "Those who are rejected will be given the opportunity to review and challenge any adverse information." I don't go for mandatory anything. A seventeen year old boy can have sex with his seventeen year old girl friend (and future wife) and because of his actions be convicted of a sex crime in many states. Does this make him unfit to be a Scouter twenty years later? Maybe, maybe not. Jimmy Carter was a former SM who admitted he "lusted in his heart." A definite sex "crime" by some guy who use to write on stone tablets.

During my Wood Badge (for the 21st Century) training, I was the Chaplain's Aide for the day they taught us how to put on a ecumenical service. I thought the lessons learned were very apropos.(This message has been edited by acco40)

Official policy? There are no policies on ceremony to my knowledge. A boy earns his Arrow of Light (or Tiger, Wolf, Bear, etc. badge) and the Pack can mail him the badge, make him go buy it, or lavish a town hall parade in his honor. The BSA doesn't regulate other than to state that awards should be earned and awarded in a timely fashion. AOL is unique in that it is the only award that I try to SLOW down the boys in earning so they can all get it at our cross-over ceremony. The 2nd year Webelos cross-over ceremony should be just that, a ceremony for the Cub Scouts who are crossing o

kwc57, students study science? No, not necessarily. Religious education students study religion. Mathematics students study math. Science students study science. When I took a science class in college, the first paragraph of page one mentioned creation as a theory (one or two sentences) and stated that the science book would concentrate on evolution. Enough said. If my son or daughter signed up to take a science class, I would be appalled if biblical creationism was taught in depth. Robk, your statement, "The government, state and federal, has no Constitutional authority for al

The first rule we emphasize in our Pack is that the den leaders choose the size of their den, not the Cubmaster (who should be little more than an emcee at Pack meetings) or the leader of the Pack, the Committee Chair. A rule I have for my den is that parents are welcome if they contribute to the den meeting, if not, they may (should) leave. I found that having two parents gossip, exchange recipes, talk about their son's school work, etc. is extremely disruptive even if not heard by the boys. Also, some boys act much better when mom and dad are NOT present. Some just the opposite. The big

Also, especially for a pack, don't forget that you can set up an UDA (Unit Debit Account??) at your council office. Your pack can deposit money with council and then essentially use a debit card to purchase badges, books, etc. We only have two people who can write checks but we have about five or six who can use the UDA account.

ASM, I am curious why you feel a Pack committee and a Troop committee are such different entities. I'm involved in both a Troop (as SM, wife Advancement Chair) and Pack (Webelos den leader, wife CC). I guess I'm a little sensitive but I've witnessed that many involved at the Boy Scout level have somewhat of a superior attitude concerning Cub Scouts. The programs are very much different but I would not label one as better or worse. I've seen Bob White's opinion on committee voting, i.e. not needed, and partially agree. However, I don't see the Pack and Troop committee functions a

I tend to agree with Rooster on this one (I think). Most of our countries law were based on J-C teachings. What I feel many do not understand, is that many individuals can fully embrace these values and be "non-believers/atheists." As for teaching these values, public institutions need to tread lightly. As always, the devil is in the details.

Yes the owner has the legal right to set off fireworks on his property (in accordance with Canadian law) and yes, the BSA does not approve. But the individual in question politely asked for permission from me and I have gracefully denied permission and no problem exists. Again thanks for your feedback.

I like the idea of patrol competitions, but if you believe in having a patrol of peers (i.e. Venture Patrol, Experienced Patrol, Pathfinder Patrol, etc.) the deck can be stacked against the younger folks. To remedy that situation, I usually put in various handicaps.

Thanks for your input. I knew it was not a good idea (I told him I did not think it would be a good idea.) but I wanted more 'ammunition" and you all provided it. Normally I would have given a firm "no" but we will be staying on private property and it is the owner who wanted to give the fireworks display. Well intentioned yes, but not a good idea. Again, thanks.

I'm not too familiar with the case but it seems to me that the issue was not if the men in question were gay or not, but were they advocates of (God, I hate this phrase) a "homosexual lifestyle." I surmised from the last sentence, stating that the appellate court believed that they had been vocal about their sexual preference to mean that if they were not, they would not have been expelled (shades of don't ask don't tell?). I tend to agree with the BSA's stance that sexual preference should not be a discussion topic with the youth.

My troop is venturing into Canada this coming weekend. A father (committee member) would like to give a fireworks display. No fireworks would be transported across borders or stored with any of the troop equipment. No boys would be handling fireworks. I told him I did not think it would be a good idea. From the Guide to Safe Scouting: Fireworks secured, used, or displayed in conjunction with program and activities is unauthorized except where the fireworks display is conducted under the auspices of a certified or licensed fireworks control expert. The selling of fireworks a

Rooster, You seem to have a habit of interjecting your thoughts and making them others beliefs. Where do you find any evidence that I believe Bush "staged his tears?" I stated no such thing. My only point is that having a president feeling sorry about loss of life doesn't exactly float my boat. Granted, the opposite, a president that does not care, scares the heck out of me! Put your biases aside and consider the following. If I stated that "We should be happy George W. Bush is president" because he showed up at a press conference in a smart looking suit with a nice red