walk in the woods

Our district has done this over two weekends. Sunday of weekend1 is the SM Specific followed by the IOLS Patrol meeting. IOLS is the following weekend.

So not using a pressurized lighter to light a pressurized stove suggests using a zippo to light the stove is ok. Get one with a skull and crossbones on it . Practice and you can teach the scouts to flip the zippo open and light in one really smooth cool motion.

Rational? If you can't light a stove by rubbing two sticks together you need to go back to Tenderfoot. Stoves are for parlor scouts. When I was a scout we ate our food raw and LIKED IT! The lawyers and risk managers have stock in piezoelectric crystal company.

Eagle90 and KDD, The issue isn't about the final act but rather grooming and establishing a barrier to that. The social media component, including the bit about copying another adult/leader on emails is at http://www.scouting.org/sitecore/content/Home/Marketing/Resources/SocialMedia.aspx. I suppose the key paragraph is ~~As it relates to social media, two-deep leadership means there should be no private messages and no one-on-one direct contact through email, Facebook messages, Twitter direct messaging, chats, instant messaging (Google Messenger, AIM, etc.), or other similar me

Tahawk, The argument I would make for a second on an email chain is it provides an independent verification as both ends of the conversation could edit the message. Best two out of three kind of thing in the event that something came up.

I think the local option can work if the National organization provides insurance and cover for charter organizations that might be the next target of law suits. I think it failed last year because it seemed to come out of left field. Regardless, let's assume the BSA goes totally down the local option for everything path because ultimately they have no choice. Remove the restrictions on all the Gs and make the changes to the program foundations as necessary to accommodate. I'm not trying to be facetious, just brainstorming. I'm not convinced that changes the membership decline or the perceptio

Barry, I do doubt the validity of Deron Smith's statement, which said the BSA offers life changing experiences that youth "cannot get anywhere else." I gave the counter examples to show that life changing experiences substantially similar to those in the BSA can be found in other places. I suppose the National and World Jamborees are unique to the BSA and Scouting but that's a small list. In general, making easily disproved statements is probably not great marketing because they are difficult to rally around. I mention 4-H and FFA because in my corner of America those programs are stron

I'm not trying to bash the BSA, just asking a question based on the BSA spokesperson's claim. When faced with declining membership and declining public support, one needs to take a hard look at the value-add of the program. Any youth-serving organization can access outfitters in the BWCAW, sign up for a week with Adventures on the Gorge, charter an adventure in the Keys or go hiking in the Rockies. Summer camps are offered by many church denominations and 4H clubs. Our local 4H and FFA groups do weekend outings similar to those done by scout units. My son participated in a national group

Another take on the mentos would be to use the same number of candies but different kinds of soda. Come up with a measuring platform behind the soda bottle, etc. You could do multiple trials and averages. Probably gets a bit expensive unless you have each group do one set of data and combine it all at the end?

Here's the Deputy Chief Scout Exec's take... http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2014/04/09/smartphones-in-scouting-a-curse-or-a-cure/

How do you know what was said in a SM conference? Did you hear the exact words or read a transcript? Was the SM referring to your scout or another boy?

Like these guys Stosh...http://www.churchofsatan.com/? Quoting from their front page, "We Satanists are thus our own “Gods,†and as beneficent “deities†we can offer love to those who deserve it and deliver our wrath (within reasonable limits) upon those who seek to cause usâ€â€or that which we cherishâ€â€harm." Probably not a huge following that would be thinking about joining the BSA but based on many of the arguments in this thread would be good enough to meet the requirement of Reverent.

Ask your son, but, I wore a suit and tie. I chose my role as Dad over my role as Scoutmaster.

Yep, I had exactly the same ideas as Q for M, T, and Th. For Friday you could incorporate compass skills as well or build inclinometers from protractors, straws, strings and plumbs for the height of the tree. Instead of calculating how much they'd weigh on the moon I might suggest having them do a standing long jump, measure their vertical leap, measure how far they can throw a ball, etc.. Then ask them how much those would change with 1/6 gravity. It's not exact but I guess they'd still have to multiple by 6 at a minimum. Maybe have them calculate the lift of a helium balloon (balloon ti

Well, I suppose the folks at lnt.org would take some disagreement with you on the origins of LNT. Merit badges started as early as the Scouting program in the UK. So, I guess the BSA stole those both of your examples. You all spend a lot of time carping about an organization you assume won't amount to much, has it all wrong, etc. Get over it. Organizational decisions were made and personal decisions were made. Those that choose to stay need to stop bitchin' and start figuring out why membership continues to drop at an increasing rate.

If it's a passion for the boy, the wood duck house might be a nice seed for an Eagle project or a Hornaday project.

I'll take the contrarian view. I think the Eagle project has become over emphasized and way to focused on bureaucratic project management rather than actual service to the community. I've had more than a few members of the community ask me why the Eagle candidates on projects weren't "doing" the project rather than just "coordinating" or "managing." We talk in terms of leadership but the reality is the current Eagle Project workbook has absolutely nothing to do with leadership and everything to do with project management. I'd be happier to see projects scaled WAY back and see some ser

The boys in my neck of the woods like to camp, make fires and play with knives as well. They just don't care if the BSA is wrapped around it or not.

I think it's a combination of things. I've seen a number of parents pull kids because of membership. It's certainly part of the equation. Right or wrong, I think it will get worse when the restrictions on adults are lifted. acco40, I think there are plenty of kids who like camping and the outdoors. That said, in my corner of rural America by the time they are Boy Scout age they've spent many hours with Dad hunting, fishing, canoeing and camping. They've driven ATVs and jet skis and snowmobiles. They "own" their own firearms. Boy Scout aged boys in my area that are interested in the out

Give us some definition of your shoestring . At the risk of being labeled a BSA shill, the Summit is offering such a sample platter starting this summer. But it's not inexpensive ($600+/person I believe). Our crew went to Latimer Scout Reservation a few years back for the whitewater. I think they offer other programs as well. Not sure of the cost.

I suppose there are two levels of selfishness there. One, the parent who doesn't fundraise but expects program and two the parent who no longer wants to subsidize parent one. I suppose you'd have to argue that neither have a place, no? Nobody wants to be on a team with a non-contributor.

Sorry Moose, maybe you should go read the original post again. I'll quote it here for your benefit: SO MY QUESTIONS ---- Do others think BSA youth protection should be improved by teaching more about the nature of abuse and nature of the abusers? ---- Any news about potential updates to BSA youth protection? so again, where YOU took the conversation is a simple reflection of your values and supposed tolerance.

Sorry Moose but I reject your assertion that I started anything. The OP asked if there was any news about potential updates to YPT. I responded with a link to a BSA source and a quote from the pertinent portion of the FAQ. Where you lead the conversation from there is on you and you alone. I simply and directly answered a question, end of story.

There are no updates to YPT coming. Quoting from the Membership Standards Implementation FAQ at http://www.scouting.org/filestore/training/membership/pdf/Unit_Implementation_FAQ.pdf. "This change in membership standards is not a youth protection issue. To consider it a youth protection issue would lead one to believe that sexual abuse and victimization is considered inherent to same-sex attraction. This is not the case."