CHLees3rd

Base, I totally agree with consistency which is why I mentioned it. To me a good District Training Chair will not approve any Pack Trainer to facilitate a course unless he/she has actually seen the Pack Trainer train as a member of the training staff. To give carte blanche to any old Pack Trainer would most likely be disastrous! While I like the online courses for their consistency, I think they do not offer the intangibles that instructor-led training offers such as networking, groups discussions, and to a point, experience. Sure there are a ton of trainers out there who just lov

I think the question of whether a Pack Trainer can conduct training depends on at least a few things: his/her experience as a trainer; the course he/she want to conduct; and possibly the approval of the District Training Chair. I say "possibly" for the last one because Den Chief training, in my opinion, could be facilitated by most competent Scouters. In fact, I believe the Den Chief training syllabus states that an ASM and/or ACM should facilitate it. I think most districts around the country conduct it because many troops and crews many not do it themselves every year. However, a troop

"Other than the religious knot, the ONLY other thing a scout may transfer from cub scouts to boy scouts is the Arrow of Light." I do not believe that is entirely true. Even though the Religious Award knot and the Arrow of Light Award are the two most common badges that WEBELOS take with them to Boy Scouts, I do not know anyone who would tell a new Boy Scout that the knot representing the Honor Medal which he was awarded as a Bear Cub Scout for saving someone's life could not be worn on his Boy Scout uniform. Same goes for the knots representing the Heroism Medal, the Medal of Merit, and

The POR patches drive me crazy! Boys leave the old ones on and take forever to put the new one on. Velcro might be OK if it is Khaki. I did that for my Webelos DL/ASM patches but it is not so great. The new "smokes" pocket is a great disincentive to getting the patches on. - Tampa Turtle Uniform inspections as part of a patrol competition can work well with Scouts. Peer pressure in such occasions is a key factor. As a Troop Committee member, I ask Scouts about wearing incorrect patches during Boards of Review when discussing Scout Spirit. Some other may not think such things are import

I am now irked as I find out the Tickets that got approved. Date night with the wife???? lose 10 pounds???? increase popcorn sales???? Attend roundtable???? Create annual troop calendar???? take the boys camping???? Go camping with the girl scouts?????? Attend a LNT workshop???? Help at district camporee???? - BasementDweller Base, why do these ticket items irk you so much? Is it because they sound too easy to you? Without knowing what the Scouter's vision is, it is not really fair to judge his/her ticket items or compare them to your own items. I know of a Scouter who had an ite

Make a campfire blanket by sewing the patches on a wool blanket which you can wrap around yourself at campfire during cool or cold nights. I started one because a few of my Scoutmasters I had as a Scout had them. They are great conversation pieces and Scouts get to see your Scouting history. YiS, Chazz Lees

Hey Eagle92, I think there are only two types of Scouters with regards to knots. Those who wear them and those who do not. I don't consider the Sea Scout limit of six to be its own type because I have seen many Sea Scouters in uniform that count the knots they wear like this: one, two, three, four, five, six, six, six, six, six, six, six.....yep, only six knots! LOL Chazz

Troop Committee Members need the following courses to be considered trained: This is Scouting; Fast Start: Boy Scouting; Troop Committee Challenge; and Youth Protection. All the courses are available online. Chazz Lees

I once purchased a Scout shirt on eBay and the previous owner had glued on the patches. I removed the patches and brought the shirt to my dry cleaner. Whatever solvent they used removed the glue residue and the shirt looked great. I used needle and thread to apply my patches. So if you are planning on donating the old shirt for another Scouts to use, then remove your son's badges/patches and have the shirt cleaned at a dry cleaner. Chazz Lees

My take is that you need to emphasize different aspects of the program at different times of the pack meeting. First, present the Wolf Badge to the Cub Scouts who earned it just like you will present the Tiger Badge to those Tiger Cub Scouts who earned it and so on for Bears and Webelos. "You do the work and you get the pay!" This allows you to keep the integrity of the Badges which is good training for those who may not make Eagle by 18 when in Boy Scouts. Second, have each den move up to the next level together (i.e. have the whole Wolf den move up to the Bear den together.) This al

I would say that Trainer's EDGE is good for as long as you can remember what you learned. However, if you need it to count as a prerequisites for Wood Badge or NYLT, then you need to have taken or retaken it within the past three years. I took it a few months ago to see how it was different from TDC and do not plan on retaking it unless either I accept an invitation to staff Wood Badge or NYLT or technology changes so much that I want to see how it has been incorporated into the course. Chazz Lees

Moosetracker, Try sending your question to JTE@Scouting.org. It was mentioned at the end of the webinars that the email address was set up for such questions and would be monitored daily so that Scouters submitting questions would not have to wait days on end for an answer. Good luck, Chazz Lees

I just did a bunch of youth and adult transfers last week including a new ASM who just turned 18. The fee was $1 for each as they had already paid their membership fee of $15 for the current year during the last rechartering period. I also submitted an adult application for a new parent who wanted to join and paid a reduced rate on the yearly membership fee ($2.50) which was based on how much time is left on the current charter. I know background checks will be run on both as they are new adult applications, but no one mentioned having to pay full price to cover it. I guess that money come

One night I had trouble with a course using Internet Explorer 7. I downloaded and installed Firefox which I have used ever since. Works like a charm. Chazz Lees

Vigil, The insignia guide states that one world or one national jamboree patch may be worn over the right pocket. Notice that it does not state one world or one BSA national jamboree patch. So if the Canadian Jamboree you attended was Canada's national jamboree, then go ahead and wear it. The BSA has a ton of smart people who know how to write in English to express what they mean. If the BSA decides in the future to add "BSA" before "national jamboree," then you'll have to take it off to have a correct uniform. Chazz Lees

HICO_Eagle, Based on your post and a few assumptions on my part, I'm going to guess you made Eagle in the 80's like I did and have been in Scouting ever since then. If I am correct, then I wonder why you would want to take the old Wood Badge course compared to the new one. I took the old course in 1992 and found that the outdoor training parts were, at least for me, to be a waste of my time. While I did add to my knowledge the management lessons it taught, I found myself bored most of the time having to sit through classes like Totin'Chip and fire building. As for meeting new people i

Until OldSchool Scout replies about the how the Den Leader refused, we do not know if someone from the pack leadership told him that the totem and beads needed to be use and he defiantly said, "I refuse to use them" as opposed to a group a Den Leaders talking about their pet peeves as leaders with one says she hates snack time and he commenting, "the totems are a waste of time and I just refuse to deal with them." "I refuse to use them" in the first part shows disobedience while the second part could been a bragging. Disobedience to the pack leadership would be grounds for the pack to say "T

Clem, The original post never mentioned anyone speaking to the Den Leader. All that was noted was that the Den Leader does not use the totem and beads. This information could have been shared as a comment at meeting or just offhandedly in a conversation. OldSchool - was the Den Leader counseled by the pack leadership about the how to present the Cub Scout program? Chazz Lees

"If that's the only thing he's doing wrong, then I would do nothing." I disagree. Things like this need to be addressed immediately because they tend to snowball into bigger issues if nothing is done. It has been my experience that when Scouters do not follow the program due to their own issues, it is very rare that they do everything else properly but just the one thing. Chances are they take liberties whenever they feel that they know what is best. We know the current issue is that the Den Leader is against the totem and beads. If nothing is done to change this practice, the Den Le

ghermanno, Did you ever think that the Scouters to whom you used to go for answers probably had years and years of Scouting experience and not just Wood Badge beads. I know when I was a young Scouter, the experienced Scouters I went to for answers usually had beads. However, I think it is a mistake to equate a Scouter's Wood Badge beads with his or her experience and knowledge. Wood Badge does not make or certify someone as "All Knowing in Scouting" and it never did. Whether it was the old course which I took in 1992 or the new course I took in 2008, Wood Badge just gives Scouter tools

When I was a Cub Scout in the late 70's/early 80's, packs used the totem and beads and we Cubs loved them. We were awarded our Bobcat, Wolf, Bear at the next pack meeting once all requirements were met. The beads were the way we monitored how far ahead or behind you were with your friends. Plus, back then you could start working on your Bear as soon as you made Wolf, so wearing the red beads for completing Bear achievements made you stand out in the dens. Nowadays, I see packs that wait until the Blue & Gold celebration to award all badges so I guess that the beads are not as popul

I agree with everyone's advice. Let the Committee Member go on the wild goose chase to prove his/her point. Until he/she can "enlighten" everyone with facts in writing, say that the way things run now are just fine. The Scoutmaster is not required to be on all outings. Chazz Lees

Twoscouts, To me it sounds like the Scoutmaster and the assistants are not developing youth leaders so much as just trying to control their destinies. It's all about them having control and power over the Scouts. What does the committee and/or the COR think about the way the Scoutmaster and the assistants handle the POR's? Have they done anything to try and stop the practice? Chazz

I agree that you should sue him. A Scout is Find and a Scout is Trustworthy; however, a Scout is not a Fool. When he needed assistance, you helped him out when asked. He said he would pay you back and he hasn't yet. You reminded him at the first meeting and the ran away. You saw him at the gas station and he ran away again. It would be one thing if he approached you and offered a payment plan, but he hasn't even done that. He is just hoping it all goes away. Let him know it hasn't gone away and that he will have to answer for his actions. Let him try to run away from the court. G

Horizon, This situation does not sound like the troop can pick and choose the package (i.e. accept the Scout but not the parents.) It sounds like if the troop accepts one, it gets them all! Remember it was stated that the parent that quit the Troop Committee stalked the parking lot spewing anger. Who really wants to deal with that again? I sure as heck would not. MikeF, I suggest that you tell the parents and Scout that it was not a good fit the first time he was with the troop and you see nothing that would indicate now is any different. In my opinion, it will be easier to deal