David L. Perkins

The next to newest Scout Handbook lists requirements for advancement in rank at each level. And, ofcourse, in order to achieve some of the requirements, you would have to have meet with the Troop at their meeting location on a number of occations within the time period stated for the rank specified. (As in Star Rank; take part in service projects - Troop promoted, or a position of responsibility - all listed - which would normally involve interaction with the Troop in meetings or campouts during the active four month period.) Or a Scoutmaster-assigned Leadership Project to help the Troop. Either way, the interaction between the Scout and the Troop membership are necessary to complete any of these requirements. Leadership certainly "says" more than one person is involved, the leader and the follower(s). Positions of responsibility can not be completed without making "contact with" other Scouts - meaning being at Troop meetings and/or campouts.

I am sure there are cases of a historian working alone but I can not imagine the solidarity of an individual Scout meeting any of the other position requirements. Hence, "Active" to me means "interaction with the Troop and membership thereof". If the Scout has not come to Troop Meetings and has not attended campouts, I can not rightfully concede that the Scout as met the "Active" requirement. This is really for the good of the Scout's development in the long run - as I believe Lord Baden-Powell would agree.

This is a new House Bill that was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. It calls for a vote to revoke the Federal Charter for the Boy Scouts of America. The reason is because "A policy of excluding homosexuals is contradictory to the Federal Government's support for diversity and tolerance and should not be condoned as

patriotic, charitable, or educational" (which is the basis for their Federal Charter).

Sorry to take so long. I believe I have seen it or something like it listed on the National Assocaition of United Methodist Scouters web page - www.NAUMS.org - anyway, you can find it inside the United Methodist Church web site listed under UMM (United Methodist Men).

Look around there. I think you'll find it.

I am the C.O.R. for our Troop and a member fo the church that sponsors it as well as an experienced Asst. Scoutmaster. I have been in this situation more times than I wish I had, but then again, like church, Scouting is for all of the boys, not just the good ones. I know the feeling you have about this boy. Lord William Baden Powell did too - so your in pretty good company.

In the past, we (the Troop Committee and all of the Asst. Scoutmasters - usually 11 to 14 of us) have tried to keep these "problem boys" in the Troop almost at all costs. However, there does come a time when you MUST maintain the Troop for the Bulk of the Scouts - purely from a protection stand point. There are other good answers still left to you however.

We suggested to the father, mother and Scout (one like yours) that for the good of the Troop and the other Scouts, he would have to leave. Ever though he was making progress which was a major breakthrough for him, the Scouts in the Troop had experienced too much to over come. The solution, if he wanted to remain in Scouting, would be to transfer to another Troop who did not know him. If he wished to do this, we told him and his parents that we would meet first with the other Troop leaders/committee to first tell them about the Scout's past and about his current accomplishments inorder to determine if they would accept him. If they would, he would then have, perhaps for the last time in his live, a chance to start out fresh. At his current rank with new Scouts, in a new situation, with everything being up to him and his wish to succeed or fail.

Our last Scout to accept this "second chance" made Eagle one and one half years later. He went into the Navy, served on the Carrier Harry S. Truman, and was discharged July 21st, 2000. He died in a car crash July 23rd, 2000. I attended his Memorial Service last Teusday and while there, I remembered when he came to see me on leave just before Christmas. He had told me what a great change it had made for him to have been given a second chance in Scouts. How he appreciated the talks we had after that, from time to time, about his dad and step-mom and how much I ment to him.

I think all boys are good. I think this one is just crying out to every one who can hear him for help. I know you have empathy for his situation and I can assure you that "where there is a will, there is a way". God be with you.

Ofcourse, it all starts with the Troop's method of fund raising. At troop 620, we sell fertilizer once each year. 40 lb. bags. Each Scout is asked to sell 100 bags. This number times (x) our profit per bag equals (=) what it costs to support each scout per year. Camping, summer camp, re-registration, food, transportation, equipment maintenance, etc. If a Scout only sells say 50 bags, then his family or he needs to pay the Troop the balance of profit the other 50 bags would have provided. Ofcourse they (or he) have the rest of the year to pay that amount. If the family is financially challanged, first we have a Scholarship Committee that meets to discuss the Scout and his efforts. Then, a representative of the committee will have an informal meeting with the family to feel out if they might be open to some help. Our statement to them is, "we want you son to be a Scout and in our program more than we want money".

If they are open to assistance, we ask what they (the parents) feel they could afford to do, and we suggest what we could do. Sometimes it's a new or used uniform to get started, sometimes it's some or all of the cost of summer camp. A report is made to the scholarship committee with a recommendation. It is entered into the minutes CONFIDENTIALLY and the Treasurer is notified to set up a separate account equal to the type of funding the committee votes in favor of. This entire matter is NEVER revealed or discussed with the Troop Committee! The funds come from permanently established scholarship investment accounts wich are in the Troop's name. Payments are only made to the stores selling Scout equipment, or to the summer camp, or transferred on paper into the Troop expenses for campouts, as appropriate. We also insure that a Scout has covered his summer camp costs prior to going. It is the largest single expense of the year.

Finally, as to what is or is not "out of line", I can only tell you what the three man committee does. It hears one case at a time, considers one Scout and his family at a time, and try to learn for the past - taken with a grain of salt! For out Troop is sponsored by a Methodist Church and as such, (I am the COR and on the scholarship committee) we are all the more concerned with what our Lord would do, rather than what is prudent or proper. I hope this helps answer your question.

The Boy Scouts of America always have a solution somewhere in our program for these type problems.

First, you might try the "Buddy System". Team each of the problem Scouts with a good Scout during the Troop meeting. Team each of them to new buddies for each meeting until they learn the other Scouts better, giving them other friends in the Troop and learn to have fun "within" the program.

Or, you could try talking to them in a conference setting, along with one of the Adult Leaders in attendance. (His presents is to insure there are no complaints from these Scouts about "what happened" at the meeting. (Child Protection Program) During this meeting, use the Leader's BEST TOOL for handling problem Scouts - as taught in Junior Leadership Training (JLT). That is: use the method of asking questions in order to have the problem Scouts arrive at solutions to the problems they are causing. When you do nothing but ask questions and make no statement concerning exactly what they SHOULD DO, you are putting the power to arrive at a solution in their laps. And when they arrive at a solution, they can be reminded later, if there is not improvement, that it was "their idea" and why it is not working.

How about comments on really neat things you and your scouts have found in their summer camp experiences? ie:Our Troop went to Arkansas this year and found a really exciting OA tap-out experience. By discribing this entire event, not only would other Troops find out about that particular summer camp but also information OA mambers could take back to their "ailing" enclave.

Or, how about pictures and discriptions of how to make really neat camp equipment - maybe something from the past that came from a really old Scout Book or Scout Magazine?

Apathy is only a small part of today's attitudes towards any activity. We are fighting T.V., movies, VCRs, digital games, year round sports of all types, band, dancing, art class, martial arts, single parenthood, low financial capabilities, very low financial capabilities, unlimited financial capabilities but no personal time investment, parents who just dump their kid into whatever activity presents itself.

Apathy? Yes as it applies to been there, done that!

You might try asking someone to scan in an Adult application for you and save it as a .gif or .bmp or .tif file. Then you could load it into a word processor program, save it as a template, fill it out, print it, get it signed and mail two copies to the Council office!

Good luck!

I have been with Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts for over 14 years and have encountered this remark many times. My approach is perhaps over simplified but, I have found, effective.

Our concern is with the boys who are interested in, active in, and enjoy Scouting - which for them is your Scouting program, the one offered by your Troop. I am not concerned with the boys in school who do not think Scouting is "cool" but with the ones who do. I encourage the boys in our Troop to talk to others (friends or not) who enjoy the same things our Scouts do regarding our Troop activities. Friendships are the cement of the Troop. Boys stay where their friends are. Word of mouth is the best advertising a Troop or Pack can have. The boys that do not think Scouting is cool don't know what we do. But when they hear that boys of all types are having fun going places and doing things on weekends,(and they are not) they begin to want to know more about Scouting.

It is a slow process and not effective in getting a majority of boys to try Scouting in a schort period of time - but then, you would not really want a hugh influx of boys all at one time who show up to go camping next weekend - would you? It has taken us a long time to get our communities and our country in the situation it is in now. It will take us a little while to fix it. Be patient and work with what you have and with whomever they can recruit. The Recruiter patch is an effective inducement for the Scouts.

Tell your Scouts that wearing the Scout uniform is what Scouting is all about. How would they feel if they needed a policeman but none wore uniforms - a Doctor, but none would admit they were one when you needed one. Being a Scout and wearing a uniform allows you to tell the world who you are and what you stand for. The values you represent. When leaders wear the uniform correctly and encourage Scouts to, you pass on the values of the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, and the Scout Promise. When they wear the uniform at Scout functions, they do also. You can not make decisions for them, but you can encourage them to make the right decisions for themselves through your example and your program.

In a nutshell, I worry about our program and how it can meet the needs of our Scouts instead of worrying about what some boys at school think. Scouting is always there for the boys who want to be a part of something good and fun.