acco40

I always thought that one of the requirements for scout leaders was at least 20 lbs of extra heft!! I sure qualify! What is the thirteenth point of the scout law? A scout is hungry! Seriously, physical education has seem to have taken a back seat in our society. Nobody questions remedial reading for a boy who can't read in the 4th grade. But PE classes have been cancelled in many school districts for lack of funds. Very few require PE every day. We tend to downplay physical requirements too much in my opinion. On my honor, I will do my best To do my duty to God and my coun

Excellent comment dogau (k9gold). With the boys leading the service it teaches not only reverence but public speaking, confidence, etc. It also lessons the probability of "preaching" IMO.

Quixote, to quote an ex-president, "I feel your pain." Last summer, my younger son (at the time just turned 9, finished Bear) attended Cub Scout day camp. As you already know, one of the requirements to attend is to have a parent serve as a volunteer for at least a day. My older son, (1st Class Scout), volunteered to help out too and it did not work out well at all. He did not use any craft supplies and we are required to bring our own lunch so by volunteering he created no cost to the council. However, as he helped escort the boys from activity to activity he was reprimanded by adult vol

Let me recap what I have seen posted, admonish adults for bad etiquette - bad, admonish boys - okay. Remove hats in a church, good, except if hair has been lost due to illness, or maybe if in military uniform or except if against your religious teachings, or except if ... At what magic age do you go from a boy to adult? I need to know so I can properly admonish. Don't you see, if we treat the boys with the same respect that we treat the adults, they just might act like adults. If we continually treat them like children, guess what. I'm not saying never to be critical in public. But

Huh? I'm sorry Ed, I don't understand your previous post.

Great to see a thread where most all of us are in total agreement! I second the great stories, good advice comments. I had a second year scout try to earn the swimming badge merit badge this year at summer camp. He came to me indignant and told me that "First they would not let me wear my mask and then when I held my nose they said I couldn't do that too!" Boy was he mad. He thought that was totally unreasonable. By the way, some counselors allow wearing the mask (believing it does not aid the swimmer, just helps him overcome his fears) and other do not (if he can't swim comfortably

Ed, think before you vote! (That was said in jest everyone!) This past year in my troop we have had three boys who were not citizens of the United States (nor were their parents). Why should we make them recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the US Flag to "pass in rank." That is ludicrous.

Sorry I could not let this one pass. Loss of hair for medical reasons? Come on, I call that vanity. Chemotherapy and or illness (medical reasons) may have caused the hair loss but wearing a hat does not alleviate any illness that I am aware of.

Army, Navy, Scouts, they may all have different rules and regulations concerning the issue. My original point was not what was the proper etiquette but simply that it is considered bad etiquette to point out bad etiquette in public! In other words, while we may debate the proper etiquette for removing ones uniform hat while indoors for a flag ceremony, it is not acceptable to admonish someone who does not follow what you may believe is correct in front of everyone else. We have some parents who do not stand and place their hands over their hearts (forgetfulness?) during the Pledge of

Its Trail Day, A clarification please. You mentioned that you expect that at a non-denominational event such as most scout functions that the service be non-denominational. Later you mentioned that you expected to hear Christian prayers as well as others, i.e. a balance. To me that is two different things. I don't necessarily equate non-denominational with multi-denominational. Should a poll be taken of attendees religions? That would be rude in my book. Where do you stop? Let's say I have a Jewish prayer and a Christian prayer. Am I over looking someone else? It is well int

Rooster, you hit the nail on the head. What he (Quixote) may find obedient, I find distateful (pompous). That does not make one intolerant. We disagree, that is all. I don't question his right, maybe his motives (I really don't know the individual). Others' faith lead them on crusades, pilgrimages, missions, suicidal bombings, service to others, charitable works, jihads, solicitations, and on and on. Some of these actions I find distasteful, others admirable, some blasphemous, etc. As for that fact that I should recognize the verse he quotes, you should know that many interpretatio

Rooster, what makes you think I was attacking? What I do not like is outward expressions that some make about their religious beliefs. I view it as a pompous act some of the times. For example your statement, "As a Christian, I have to question ..." Why not just state, "I have to question ..." What does having to be a Christian have to do with it? To some, it implies, whether it was meant to be taken in that regard or not, that if one was not a Christian, a different thought would be expressed. Religion to me is a very private matter. I am not a big believer in ritual, headdresses,

Rooster, I am curious how you can delve the intentions of either Mr. Mori or Merlyn. Any clues?

Being mistaken? The word dujour is "misspoke" something which our politicians, who never lie, often do.

What boggles my mind are people who feel the need to wear their religion on their sleeves and proclaim such things as "A Statement of Faith" on a chat forum. Why would you be so presumptuous to believe that I or anyone else cares about your faith? acco40 Ecclesiastes 1 (Everything is Meaningless)

I know I'll get a lot of disagreement on this but ... On page one of The Scoutmaster Handbook, it shows Scoutmaster Badges and lo and behold it includes one that has the words Scoutmaster above the BSA emblem and one that says Assistant Scoutmaster above the BSA Emblem. The whole SM Handbook uses the term Scoutmaster generically for both ASM and SM. Sort of like the term Colonel in the military, it includes Lt. Colonels. Personally, I believe that ASMs are under utilized in many troops. Why not have the ASM who is in charge of a new patrol give the SM confernce for Scout, Tenderf

On a lighter note, some background information on how the "under God" was inserted into the Pledge of Allegiance (don't worry, you don't have to subscribe): http://detnews.com/2002/religion/0207/14/a06-536645.htm Hey sctmom, you may want to edit your last post, "This is about me now my daughter" makes no sense. I believe you typed "now" instead of "not"?

ScouterKid, You have a dilema. If your SM won't let you or the SPL, i.e. the PLC have input into your activities outside of munu planning I suggest the following: 1) Talk to your committee chair and explain the situation in a factual, non-complaining manner. If you need to bring "back-up" about the troop being boy-led, use the SM Handbook, Patrol Leaders Guide, Committee handbook, etc. 2) Talk with your Unit Commissioner. 3) Talk with your Charter Organization Representative. 4) Go directly to your Council hierarchy. I would suggest doing the above not by yours

Talk with your senior patrol leader. The SPL and not the Scoutmaster, should be organizing and manageing the troop meetings. The senior patrol leader is in charge of troop meetings from beginning to end (directly from The SM Handbook). As for the camping trips, as the ASPL, were you involved with the annual troop planning meeting(s)? If not either you should have been or the previous ASPL was. The patrol leaders' council along with the SM and other key adult leaders should have been involved with planning the year's events. If not, change the program for next year!!! Good luck an

Pardon me while I philosophize for a bit. I don't want to appear sexist, but if you asked most males 50 to 100 years ago if they thought life was "fun" they would look at you funny and say life was something to be endured. The idea that life should be "fun" is a rather recent idea. Jobs, raising a family, military service, etc. were duties that were honored. I'm NOT saying those were the "good old days" but I think it is something to think about to keep the problems of today in perspective. Parents and their children do seem to over commit to various things these days. My wife

Mosquitos (mosquitoes?) can be really bad in central Michigan. Lots of stagnant water, etc. And as residents of Canada & Alaska know, the cold weather does not eradicate the pesky bugs. The inside joke at camps and else where is that the mosquito is the OTHER state bird of Michigan. I know that your system reduces the number of missed items that are not brought to camp. However, it buts more burden on the leaders and less responsibility on the boys. That is a delicate trade-off. For my own son (11 yr old Star), I specifically DO NOT EVER check what he brings or not. So far my o

Rooster had a good summary for when to cancel or not. The problem I have is when the majority of boys are well prepared but some are not. At this years summer camp, one boy did not bring any bug spray (northern lower Michigan). His answer, I'll just use someone else's. My response, no you will not (at least mine). He didn't want to buy any at the trading post. After being eaten up for two days, he finally realized that maybe instead of the candy he was buying, some bug spray may be a wiser investment. Alas, the trading post ran out of spray to buy, it was on order, so only then did I al

Rooster, We are not arquing about your "rights", but more of consideration for others. For what ever reasons, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush (Herbert Walker) and Clinton did not publicly invoke Jesus' name when reciting prayer, benedictions, etc. Bush (Dubya) did (does). Some have complained. Is he violating anyones rights? No. Does he have a responsibility to try to be inclusive (sometimes he represents the position or office of the President and not himself) and not use denominational references? Some, including myself, believe he does. When you wear the Scou

"As for my personal faith and practice, I believe when I say a generic prayer I am offending God." Do you believe the Philmont Grace isoffensive to God?

Green and purple? Did I say green and purple? I'm so sorry, our new T-Shirts are emerald (or jade, lime, olive, etc.) and indigo (or violet). We never would have chosen your rival's green and purple!