CubsRgr8

The training course has to be designed for the volunteer who never planned on being a scout leader until he was asked. As such, I can see it boring the daylights out of someone who took it five or ten years ago. At the same time, the material does change over time, so offering a recertification course on-line would serve both the veteran scouter and BSA's need to have volunteers who know current program and rules.

Anne, perhaps you're thinking of Bay Jammer, held every summer in beautiful Menomonee MI. Here's a link: http://www.bayjammer.htmlplanet.com/ I have not attended, but it looks like a fun weekend for older scouts and crews.

It's not clear to me why you and your friend were offended. The story published is part of the shared history of western culture - would you be offended by Boys Life publishing tales of the Greek gods? Also, the story is part of a religous heritage common to the overwhelming majority of the members of BSA. If you were in India would you be just as offended by a story from the Hindu religion? It seems to me that many people are too easily offended these days, expecially when there is no intent to provoke. Why not contact Boys Life directly and ask them to publish a series from another

I'm a new adult Arrowman, having completed my Ordeal in September. NOAC sounds interesting, but I have a couple of questions. Do councils set up contingent troops like Jamboree or do scouts register as individuals? Are adult members of OA allowed to attend? If so, do they attend the same activities as scouts or are there separate activities? Thanks in advance for your insights.

Yeah Robin! Keep up the good work and not only will you keep the boys you already have, I predict you'll have some new ones wanting to join. Your den and pack are lucky to have you on board.

Venivedi, I've heard the "natural gang" argument before, but am not convinced it would work. I don't see much of the "natural gang" going on in either of my sons' lives (11 & 14). It's more like overlapping circles of friends, with each circle sharing a couple of similar interests (soccer/spanish or math/church/Warhammer). Using the "natural gang" method, how do you setup your NSPs every spring? Just because boys come from the same den or pack doesn't mean they're part of a "natural gang". Do NSPs stay together or recombine after the group reaches 1C? How do you prevent one sco

At our last troop leaders' meeting the Scoutmaster raised a question. What should we do about invisible scouts? Invisible scouts rarely attend troop meetings or weekend campouts, but pay their annual membership fee, show up faithfully for the troop-run summer camp, and frequently are deathbed eagles. Patrol cohesion is very poor, due mostly to the number of these invisible scouts each patrol gets stuck with, anywhere from 3-5 each. The Scoutmaster concluded by asking all of us adult leaders (I'm an ASM after serving three years as a MC) to put on our thinking caps and come back with some i

Welcome on board! I found my three years as a Webelos den leader were great fun and went by way too fast. 1) Get trained ASAP - Fast Start (http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/faststart/), Youth Protection, New Leader Essentials & Leader Specific this fall. Then take the Outdoor Webelos Leader course in the spring. Getting trained built my confidence up quickly and also provided me with a wealth of resource materials. 2) While there are 20 activity badges to be earned, only 8 are required for the Arrow of Light, the culminating award given Webelos in 5th grade. Working backwa

So, say you're a scoutmaster, would you say "no" to a boy who wants to (re)join your troop as a deathbed Eagle? The thread I spun this out of is an apparent example of this situation. Are there other circumstances that you would cause you to say "no" - the boy is a "known" trouble maker, or was dismissed from another troop, or has some disability so severe that you just can't cope? Nothing specific going on in my sons' troop, just a question that popped into my head.

Be very careful about that "six months" issue. Here's what the requirement is: Be active in your troop and patrol for at least 6 months as a Life Scout. It does NOT say these 6 months must be the 6 immediately previous to turning 18 or attaining Eagle rank. That aside, a boy can rejoin a troop at any time, but I recommend a sit down meeting with each boy and a parent (unless auntie has custody) to review the rest of the Eagle requirements and determine if it is possible or not. If not possible, they will at least know why. Your post raises another, related, interesting quesio

A volunter would-be SM who doesn't enthusiastically WANT to get trained is a BAD choice. Find someone else and use this volunteer for a different role (committee member?). As far as you wearing two hats - well, what scouter hasn't already done that a few times? If you're really JUST the pack committee chair - and not also a den leader or CM or advancement coordinator or popcorn sale coordinator or refreshment parent or any combination of the above - then you could also be the SM. Make a specific time commitment to the position (two or three years) and go for it!

Old Grey Eagle asks the question: I didnt think Boy Scouts, and by that I mean OA, did face painting anymore, Arrowmen, what say ye? I just completed my ordeal this past weekend. I would have cringed if I observed what Akaluga reports. I am happy to say my experience was very different. There was no use of face-painting, no eagle feathers, no war bonnets, no loin-cloths over (or not) boxer shorts. I found the symbolism in the ceremonies to be both respectful of its cultural origins and appropriate to the purpose at hand.

Another possibility is to form a non-profit corporation ie "XYZ School Friends of Scouting", which works okay for the units at my neighborhood public school. This non-profit corporations is the CO for both a pack and a troop. They are allowed access to school facilities, just like any other group (BTW, isn't there a law to the affect?), although the leaders have to store equipment at their homes. True, it's not the best setup, but since leaders tend to stay in place for 5-6 years at a time, the turnover isn't a big problem. I wonder if Merlyn has a problem with this arrangement.

Absolutely correct! Therefore, it is possible for a motivated Webelos 2 to earn his AOL as early as December of his 5th grade year, but not sooner, due to the requirement to be active in the den for at least 6 months since completing 4th grade. And once earned, I say the scout should wear it proudly!

How about TWO sites - one east and one west? It might be easier to find two sites to accomodate 20,000 instead of one site for 40,000 scouts and scouters. The Cape Cod site sound great. Then that leaves one out west. Hmmm. Not to hot, not too remote, not too high. Beautiful terrain a plus. Sounds like 1969 to me - Farragut State Park, Idaho. From their website: Scouting at Farragut Because of its size and variety of available activities, Farragut has hosted many large gatherings. These included the National Girl Scout Roundup in 1965, the World Boy Scout Jamboree in 1967 and th

I'd like to respond to TJ's orginal post. You seem to be disputing the notion that this country was founded upon Judeo-Christian values. Come on, are you serious? If not Judeo-Christian values, then what values? Buddist? Animist? Islam? Aztec? I think not. In 1776, Judeo-Christian values permeated Western culture to a much greater extent than they do today. Just which Judeo-Christain values* did the founding fathers reject? Have you read the Declaration of Independance lately? We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by

And that includes getting a tour permit (signed by a committee member AND the council) each and every time this leader has any cub scout (other than his son) in his vehicle! Of course, the same rule applies to all drivers (registered leaders or volunteer parents), not just this guy.

But oh! the colors! the vibrant, pretty colors of bug juice! So pretty! So irresistable! Ahhh!

Your points sound pretty good to me. Society has to balance the individual's rights against its need for the greatest general good. But how many parents do you know who want to retain responsibility for their children through age 21? Not too many, I'll bet. Maybe what we need to look at is a graduated legal age, similar to the graduated driver's liscence we now have here in Wisconsin. Statistics seem to be proving out that this is a good thing (fewer accidents and fewer injuries & deaths amoung teenage drivers). And this "emancipation" thing in SC - you've got to be kidding!

You guys are making me think too hard! Ok, here goes. Packsaddle, Dr. Giedd's research was news to me when NPR covered it earlier this month, so I assumed (uh oh!) that it would be news to other members of this forum. I still think it's newsworthy. Prairie Scouter, we'll have to agree to disagree. I strongly believe it is the parents' right and responsibility to constantly be telling their adolescent children what to think/do, especially about profound issues. The "Parents, the anti-drug" PSA campaign on television is an example of my belief being implemented by society as a whole

Here's a few ideas to toss around. Personally contact/meet/persuade (no arm-twisting now, that's not scout like!) each Pack's Cubmaster. That person's opinion and enthusiasm usually carries a lot of weight with the rest of the Pack leadership. With 300 cubs in your district, I'm guessing that's only about a dozen people/meetings. I wouldn't rely on roundtable, it's too big (or too small) and not personal enough. If you can plan some activities that (brief pause while I assemble and put on full body armour) partially fullfill some reqruirements at each level, the program becomes

Prairie Scouter- Perhaps I'm just an old-fashioned curmudgeon, but I believe it is the parents' right and responsibility to explain to their children WHAT they believe and WHY they believe it, in the very certain hope of influencing their character. You seem to be saying something else. Are you saying that you don't care what conclusions your children reach about God or sexual behavior? or politics? or environmental stewardship? or the war in Iraq? or honesty? To quote John Stossel "gimme a break!" Of course you care! The point I'm making by starting this post is that cur

NJ- 1) I agree that one accepts the existence of God by belief, or faith, not by proof. Perhaps I should have reworded the statement slightly. 2) I posit that your hypothetical scout is incapable of making this decision, due to his physically immature brain. For him to insist that there is no God is merely a reflection of his parents' position. 3) Scouting rewards scouts to reinforce behaviors that their parents want reinforced - heroism, duty towards God & country, honesty, etc. Yes, the beliefs and behaviors were taught to them by their parents, what's wrong with that? Wh

From a notoriously conservative website, check this out! http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/interviews/giedd.html To summarize, Dr. Jay Giedd is a neuroscientist at the National Institute of Mental Health. Recently, he spearheaded research showing for the first time that there is a wave of growth and change in the adolescent brain. His recent research shows that the adolescent brain continues to develop throughout adolescence. The frontal lobe of the brain, the "part of the brain that allows us to conduct philosophy and to think about thinking and to think

Semper, why would the SM approve a service project where the scout cannot wear his uniform? Either field or activity? It seems to me that part of the purpose of these service projects is to put a public face on scouts and scouting.