acco40

"I think sharp metal objects suck the neurotransmitters directly from kids brains ... never underestimate what lack of neurotransmitters can do to behavior." How true. At my 2nd or 3rd summer camp as Scoutmaster, myself and a number of scouts were quietly conversing around a couple of picnic tables set end to end. One of the new scouts, who was taking the pathfinder course (T21) sat down at an open spot and pulled out his pocket knife. He opened up the blade, put it in his right hand then suddenly swung his arm, fully extended, in a semi-circle. Those next to him and directly across had to quickly get out of his way to prevent from being injured. The scout with the knife did this in a very calm, "efficient" manner. After the initial shock subsided, I thought the other scouts were going to attack him. Before that happened, I quickly jumped in and questioned him on his behavior. He told me that he was just doing what he was taught in his class. "The instructor told us to make sure everyone is at least an arm's length away before we start to use our knife", he told me. Well, I couldn't get too mad but did have a long talk about a better way to accomplish his goal!(This message has been edited by acco40)

Congratulations. Wood Badge (two words folks) should not be viewed as the pinnacle of training, like some feel, but just another supplemental course, and a good one in my view, along the trail.

For temporary relief of AE, wear all of your pins on your uniform hat.

But the babysitter I have for my kids doesn't bring along a superintendent, principal, secretarial staff, janitorial staff, kitchen help, report to a "sitters board", charge me for capital improvements, constantly barrage me for donations/fundraisers, etc. Some say the most important job in the world is being a mother (Dad's shortchanged again!). While possibly true, there are some that excel at that job and others who do a poor job. The problem is - the pays the same for both. Public school teaching is the same in many cases. Poor teachers and good teachers get paid similar salaries and I would think that unions would work hard to change that.

For the red jac-shirt there is also a cool National President's Scoutmaster Award of Merit large oval patch.

Scoutfish - I think you totally missed my point. I look at speech similar to etiquette - something else that is lacking on our society today. My point is why use speech that is hurtful to others if your intent is not to hurt those folks? If the word is used correctly, and the user of the word did indeed use it correctly without malice .. then if offense is taken...that is the sole responsibility and fault of the offended and in no way says anything negative about the user of the word. So, if my friend who happens to be an adult male, 5'6", 165 lbs and who happened to be adopted is addressed a "short, fat bastard" - no offense should be taken? SeattlePioneer - how on Earth does a discussion about language useage once again get turned into a "liberal" pejorative? Homophobe is pseudo scientific hate language And your use of the term "liberal" is what?

Words do have specific meanings (many times multiple) but they also can hurt. If I went around calling all my left handed friends sinister people I don't think they would be too pleased about it. Correct usage or not, if they are hurtful why use them? My teenage kids a few years ago began using the popular phrase "that's so gay" - super popular among young teens a few years ago. I told them that I did not want them to use that phrase and more importantly, not around me. Now, some phrases like "call a spade a spade" does perk up some ears and I'm not encouraging anyone to always go around on pins and needles fearful of possibly insulting the uneducated. But, use some common sense when around Scouts.

Part of the course is to "be prepared" and for others not to describe in detail what the course will be like. Scouts should be prepared to backpack and carry their supplies. Don't think of your "pack" as separate from your tent and sleeping bag. See if you can borrow a backpacking tent and / or a backpacking sleeping bag. If not, don't sweat it. Put in your backpack your sleeping bag and tent and what ever else fits or you can carry. If you need to make a separate trip for other gear, my guess is that you can.

kenzabel - the Eagle ribbon; are you referencing the Eagle rank patch (assume you are not), the red, white and blue square knot or the Eagle Award (medal suspended from scroll)? Like the FSU alum states, the Eagle Award is worn by adults only on formal Eagle occasions, adults wear the square knot if they have earned the Eagle rank in their youth. (This message has been edited by a staff member.)

Sorry for the long post, but you hit a nerve. A few facts about the Detroit public school system and public education in Michigan in general. We have a new governor, a self-proclaimed nerd, who is trying to maintain fiscal responsibility and many oxes are being gored, rice bowls emptied and sacred cows killed. I've lived in many areas and southeast Michigan has the worst racial relations that I've ever witnessed. As such, the city/suburban schism is huge. It has gotten so bad that the city area (square footage if you will) is huge compared to the population it serves. At one point, the city consisted of 1.8 million folks. Now, it has lost over 1 million and still declining fast. The "new" news is black residents of Southfield complaining about the black residents of Detroit coming to their city and defacing public parks, lowering property values, etc. Detroit city services are spread over a huge area, are non-responsive (garbage, police, fire, public education) and Detroit taxes and insurace rates are extremely high. Yet, everyone blames everyone else. Right now, the popular "solution" is to move folks (condense the population into one area) and start urban farms! Case in point: 1) The city of Detroit turned down a $200 million gift to revitalize its schools in 2004. Bob Thompson, a road builder, wanted to give the bulk of his fortune to local education to help schools graduate 90 percent of their students and send 90 percent of those graduates on to college. Instead of grabbing the money and doing a happy dance, Detroiters, as is their custom, wailed about a suburban outsider taking away their schools and stealing their children. Then Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (currently spending time in federal prison) told Thompson to just drop off the check and let Detroit Public Schools decide how to spend it. 2) Enter Robert Bobb - got to love "Bob Bobb" - as the emergency financial manager for DPS since March 2, 2009. He had a one year appointment but it was extended. He's trying to change the system for the better but he's fighting a lot of graft, corruption, etc. There's lots of money to be made for some to keep things the same. 3) The state legislature is debating a new law that would give state-appointed emergency financial managers unprecedented new powers - including the power to void union contracts and dismiss elected officials (i.e. school board members). Unions and elected local officials are stepping up protests. A rally is planned Tuesday at the state Capitol, led by the Michigan AFL-CIO, to specifically target the emergency financial manager legislation that the Senate could vote on this week. 4) Cash-strapped Detroit Public Schools paid dearly to attract investors to buy $231 million in one-year notes in the municipal-bond market Thursday. The district sold its debt through the Michigan Finance Authority in two parts: $120 million of bills due in February 2012 yielded 6.45%, while $111 million of bills due in March 2012 yielded 6.65%. Those yields far exceeded those of top-rated, tax-free munis maturing in one year. The yield on a triple-A rated 2012 note is just 0.38%, according to a widely watched index from Thomson Reuters Municipal Market Data. 5) With Detroit's public school district facing a $327 million budget deficit, the state-appointed Emergency Financial Manager has proposed closing half the district's schools and putting up to 60 kids in a classroom. Nobody likes it but it is living within one's means. 6) 34 schools across Michigan, 32 of them in metro Detroit, showed test score gains over a one-year period that experts say are statistically improbable. 7) It's a widely held assumption that teachers don't earn much money. Fortunately for prospective educators, that assumption often doesn't hold water. The real salary situation is much more complex and subject to a great deal of geographic variation. Michigan teacher salaries, for example, averaged $57,958 in 2009-2010, according to the National Education Association, about $2,500 more than the national average but about $13,000 less than the highest-paid teachers, in New York State. In order to truly evaluate Michigan teacher salary data, however, it's important to consider the cost of living. And on that measurement, Michigan teachers do quite well: median monthly housing costs for homeowners are 12 percent lower than the national average. So, about 5% more pay than average and a standard of living that is 12% less than average. Hmmm, not bad. Not only that, but Michigan teachers are eligible for competitive retirement benefits, including pension plans and health insurance through the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System.(i.e. they contribute $0 to their pension and health insurance - something that some are trying to stop. Also, pension income is not taxed in Michigan!) Add to that the fact that teachers enjoy famously long vacations, and suddenly the compensation for being a teacher looks very attractive indeed. Fringe benefits and cost of living aren't the only factors affecting Michigan teacher salaries, though. What grade level you teach can also have an effect on your earnings. The annual 2009 average for kindergarten teachers, for example, was $50,500; for special education teachers at that level, the annual salary was $56,830. Secondary school teachers in Michigan earned an average of $52,110. Salaries also vary quite a bit depending on where you live, reflecting cost-of-living differences. Here is a sampling of Michigan teacher salaries at the secondary school level in five major metropolitan areas: Ann Arbor: $57,320 Detroit: $48,580 Grand Rapids: $50,750 Lansing/East Lansing: $53,250 Warren: $58,800(This message has been edited by acco40)

The EBOR process allows for an SM/ASM to witness the BOR - and one of the reasons for that is to make sure the folks in the EBOR don't cross the line. Yes, the Scoutmaster may be a witness / observer to an EBOR. Therefore, the Scoutmaster should not speak unless asked to speak. The reason for their presence is to provide additional evidence, if asked by either the Scout or board, not to act as a check and balance to see if the board members "cross the line."

One way to teach to a test - remember the following: 1) a 2) c 3) d 4) b 5) a etc. I don't think anyone is in favor of that. What I think should be taught more is critical thinking, problem solving techniques, etc. Too many times, we think a reguritation of facts is learning. Now what will teachers do? They will "do" whatever it takes to reach the metrics they are given. If the metric is to get the students to pass a test, earn a grade or specific subject matter - that is what they will gravitate towards.

Eamonn - care to relate the origin of the term "dog's breakfast"? Bollocks?

That law enforcement is involved and we, as citizens, wonder why crime is an issue? For some, competitive events bring out the worst qualities - I've seen it in my kids sporting events for both girls and boys. I saw in with advancement in Scouts - parents who denigrated other Scouts who earned advancement before their son who was always more deserving. I'm afraid as a society that spends more time on Facebook, Scouter.com, video games, etc. and less time truely socializing that events like this will be on the increase. Just to throw gasoline on the fire - WB21C subject matter expertise would be much more helpful than Scoutcraft in situations like these! (This message has been edited by acco40)

Boy that was an honest opinion! Again, I ask, what are your expectations of a Wood Badge course?

Briggs & Stratton - I like that. Is that for gear heads only? Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). E/I, S/N, T/F, J/P. FYI, I'm INTP. A weird coincidence, I took a work related class in the spring and Wood Badge the following late summer with about a 40% overlap. No big surprise when one reviews where the course content originates from.

As to diversity, I did not say nor mean to imply race or any other marker of diversity. I still do not agree in changing the program for diversity's sake. I don't think the diversity portion of Wood Badge is trying to change the program. It is trying to educate. I still hear Scouts and Scouters tell everyone to "remove your hats" during a prayer. Even during our Wood Badge training, we had a Scout (male) dress up as a nun and do a brief comical routine during a "Scouts Own" type service. The ticket reads like a lot of touchy-feely things that I have been forced to do throughout my life and I have never found them to be beneficial. The ticket is made by the participant so it can contain "touch-feely" things or not. Yes, it needs to be approved by teh ticket counselor but the content of the ticket is really up to the course participant.

Lots and lots of threads wrt Wood Badge. For those who are critical of the course, I'm interested in knowing what their expectations are of the course. As others have said, it's purpose is not to serve as an advanced Scoutmaster course.

First, you might try a patrol campout at the end of a daytrip and see what happens. You'll need two adults to join in. I would not recommend it for this situation but one doesn't need any adults for a patrol campout.

So decreased taxes stimulate the economy? That's why businesses are flocking to South Dakota (lowest business taxes in the USA) and stay away from states like California and New York. :->

It's Grandma's money when she is alive. If she wants it to go to her heirs or next door neighbor - she should do that. When she dies, yes, it is the USG money (to tax). She should make arrangements for joint ownership, POD, etc. when alive. My mother had a very modest net worth. Her house was paid for and she did have some CDs/IRAs. All her liquid capital she had her children listed as 'POD' - payment on death - so no USG taxes on that, regardless of amount. For most estate taxes, the first $1,000,000 is not touched.

The pack's policy is that parents can sign off on advancements . . . That is one of my pet peeves with some Scouters. They feel they have the authority mold the program the way they want using such rationalization reasons as "it's for the boys" or other nonsense.

Here is what I did a few years ago for a boy who, along with his den mates, wanted to join our troop. I had the boy ceremoniously join the troop with his den mates. He was not 11, had not earned AOL and had not completed the 5th grade. So, I told his parents that he could attend meetings, outings, work on requirements, etc. but that he would not officially "join" the troop until he finished the 5th grade. No real need to work on AOL requirements if the Scout did not wish to. The fact that he was still a Cub Scout on paper was transparent to his fellow Scouts in the troop, most of the other adults, etc. It turned out fine in the end.

I agree wholeheartedly with TwoCubdad. Also, don't think of Wood Badge as some pinnacle of Scout training. I really think it should be taken in the second year of a Scouter's "career" right after they've become officially "trained" in their POR. There are many, many, supplemental training courses out there and most are well worth the price. If your bent is more "outdoorsy" as some profess - try OKPIK, Powderhorn, Wilderness Survival. There is also a Philmont pilot program (the name escapes me) that teaches all sorts of high adventure skills (it is a one week course). Our council taught the course a few years ago.

Seeing that Wood Badge is comprised only of adults - staff and students. All of our activities were adult supervised. What is your point?