DeanRx

BSA post LDS... Not soon enough was my first reaction! Look my beef with the LDS is the fact that THEY already are practicing a local option with the blessing of BSA national. They have adjustments to program, adjustments to leader requirements (all male), they only go to summer cmap in group blocks, etc... Whats good for them should be good for everyone else. period. However, that's not the case because BSA make the willing decision in the 1980's to be kidnapped by the LDS (and to a lesser extent the RC church) to hold on to "ideals" that at the time the majority of society en

Well, had a nice pint with my buddy (the SM). The beer was good and the conversation better. He took over 9 months ago amid an issue that had the CO and COR mandating that the current SM and an ASM take a "hiatus" from direct interaction with the youth.... Hmmm, I'll leave that one alone for now, but lets just say the compass of morally straight lost its bearing for a couple of leaders. So, dear friend takes over and is trying to right the ship. Every single issue I brought up, he is aware of and is actively trying to "fix". His main two issues: 1) an old 'culture' for lack of a

Just to clarify, I did not at anytime, address any issue directly with the PL. I addressed it with pls dad, who happened to be on the campout & is registered as an adult leader... He's the troop treasurer. I only addressed the advancement issue AFTER my son had been dismissed twice with his request for inspection. Thanks for the feedback, will be having a discussion w SM tonight.

A couple things need to happen... 1) You appoligize to son for putting him in that position. 2) If the ASM is truely sorry for his actions, then the apology should be in public, as the offense was public as well. Can stand when folks in a leadership position screw up publically, then try to "own" it by making it right in private. Man up and say you're sorry in front of the scouts. Thats a HUGE lesson for everyone to learn.

Well the follow up... Survived and as a whole the campout was good. NSP worked well as a team (for the most part) and scouts were successful in completing many advancement requirements for TF and a couple items for 2nd class and one for 1st class. That being said - I am asking for a meeting with the SM to sort out some things. 1) SM was gone all weekend with older boys on a Trek (dropped off AM on Sat and picked up Sun PM), a committee member was left in charge of base camp. Not much adult leadership other than making sure the scouts didn't kill each other. 2) Had to inte

Who needs a refresser course in skeet and trap shooting at national? Come on, put those shotgun range skills to the test! Better yet, if you're over 14, you can go at it with the black powder. BBQ'd hawk at the Irving cafeteria on Monday! Yummmm

"Full-contact stick fighting"... since when does a group of boys need instruction and encouragement to engage in such things!! We get this as nauseum at just about every campout I've ever been on Boxing and MMA come later when the boys are older and get into disagreements at Boy Scout camp. Never seen knife fighting (thank goodness), but was involved in a couple non-sanctioned BSA rock throwing fights at summer camp as a youth. I think the point is, even in 1911 - young men did NOT need to be encouraged to fight. Kinda comes naturally with the surge of hormones.

OK, a couple observations after I read the entire 3 pages of posts just now... After I got past the part of thinking the lad was in trouble for not sharing with the adult leaders.... (just kidding)... #1 - the quoted "Mandatory Report of Child Abuse" from cubdadinnj states, " exposed to any form of sexual exploitation including the possession, manufacture, or distribution of child pornography, online solicitation, enticement, or showing of obscene material." Now, unless it was possession of CHILD porn (I'm assuming the lad wasn't producing and distributing his own porn via h

OGE - I agree 100% - the duty to be fit for the task lands with the unit leaders. The standards are published. But, it would be a hard call to turn away a unit dues to leaedr ratio or YPG issues because they show up with an adult that doesn't fit the standard. Its hard to tell a paying customer "no" without backlash.

Update - well the PL took on the patrol food buy himself. Doubt he will make the mistake of not discussing this with the patrol in the future unless he always wants to be the one stuck buying the food. Tent issue is a learning curve thing to me. 8 boys in the patrol going and myself and another adult each have an extra 3 man dome with us. Doubt they'll need it, but if they all show up without tents, they can cram 4 into a 3man and the lesson will be learned, I guess. I think I might approach the SM about a patrol advisor for the NSP. These boys are well versed and are all great c

As for the UK, I find it quite odd too. As I watched the Gala for the Queen on TV recently, I thought, gee a huge amount of expense for a "figurehead", especially given the economic environment worldwide right now. But, I would agree that when it comes to pomp and circumstance, no one can quite match the British. I understand the fondness, its tied in with tradition and the UK's sense of patriotism. Much the same the flag, the republic, and Uncle Sam is in the USA. We loathe our politicans, but we are still extremely patriotic. I sense the Queen is an embodiment of patriotism for the UK.

You don't think it all boils down to the $$$ involved? Weight limit / BMI is there to apease the BSA's insurance company and legal eagles (I think Bevah is one of these... legal eagle). The health form can (and most likely does) be fudged (by those that like to eat their fudge). Problem comes when said scouter shows up at PSR or other high adventure base with himself, two other leaders and x number of scouts in tow. I don't know the exact scout to adult ratio required for trekking, but I bet there is one... lets say 5 scouts for each adult. Fatty, plus two other adults

Disclaimer at the start... my son and his buddies just bridged from WEB II a few months back, so trying to make that gear change from adult led to boy led program, however... Troop meeting last night. Over 1/2 the time was devoted to Patrol time to plan the meals, etc. for this weekends advancement camp. My son is in a new boys patrol (all newly minted Boy Scouts with scout rank) and the PL / APL are newly minted 1st class scouts... good guys, but only about 1 to 1.5 years older than my son. So, they go have their planning time, and the meeting wraps up. I ask my son (and PL who i

Yeah, Maybe change the charater reference to Bear Gillis and the cubs will get it.

JMH- I agree with you 100%. My point was more on placing the responsibility with the scout. My son recently bridged from webII to a troop. One of the campout rules for the troop is no Pop-Tarts for breakfast. Ok fine. I don't really agree with the rule, but I told my son he is not to pack pop-tarts. If he doesn't like the "rule" he should get to 1st class rank, get on the PLC and make a motion to change the rule. Until then, he is a "follower". he might find out there is a good reason for the rule. There is, above and beyond the nutritional value... the youth leaders in the t

Roadside fight - call 911 on my cell phone. Unless it involves my friend(s) or family member getting mugged / etc... I'm not getting in harms way. I did it once while on active duty, saw two E-4's going at each other outside the barracks. Got out of my car and yelled at them to knock it off. One started towards me until he saw my officers rank and I let him know I was a personal friend of both his CO and 1st SGT. That stopped the lad in his tracks. As for an unsafe act at a scout outing with multiple uunits... If you are an adult leader, then you are a leader of ALL scouts. If

Not to belittle the topic, but if your greatest concern of uprising at mealtime with a group of 200-400+ 12-17 year olds is noisy and off-key singing and such, I'd suggest to call yourself lucky, choose your battles wisely, and join in the "spirit". Otherwise - one might reconsider their role in the BSA program. Dean

Going back to the OP (about getting thru to parents, not just about cell phones)... The easiest thing to do is hold the scouts accountable for themselves. Kid shows up with banned item (soda, candy, cell phone, chainsaw, etc...) - it gets confiscated and locked up at the CO's location (if able to prior to departure) or gets locked up in the SM's vehicle for the duration of campout. I make the scout come to me WITH a parent to retrieve the item(s). That way I know both scout and parent receive the SAME feedback on WHY the item is prohibited and why it was confiscated for the cam

Hey, I'm still waiting for my trophy and participation certificate....

Realy, You're going to compare homosexuals to drug dealers and pedophiles... you're gonna stick with that argument are you? Sheesh! Good for Mr. Zulu... he was once a BSA supporter and an SM, now he leads his life. Too bad those two aspects have a mutual exclusivity. Ironic, the mutual exclusivity is on the part of BSA and not the homosexual community... being that we are loyal, friendly, curteous, kind, etc.... Oh yeah, forgot that the BSA law only applies to non-faggot bible thumpers. Don't have to extend those points of the scout law to those we distain.

I read the article... Can I get my participation trophy now please....

It goes both ways... I think BSA24 is over-generalizing just a bit. Here's the thing, you get polite and rude people in real life. Scouting is real life. In real life, you have to deal with both types of people. You have folks who volunteer and then don't follow through... happens in the workplace too. Its just that hopefully at work, their boss holds them accountable for it. In my expirience, it takes about 2-3 interactions to discover who are the real "doers" in the group and who are the big talkers with little follow through. You also find out who is naughty and who

Yeah, Most open space in all our city parks (with grass on it) is covered by either a baseball or soccer field. Once I was walking the dog mid-week in the day. Park dept. employee told me I couldn't be "on" the field without a use permit!!! I told him I pay taxes in my town and the field was not in use at the time. I asked if the field was park of the city park? His answer was "yes". So, I called up my local city councilman and asked him to explain WHY a taxpayer was barred from using an area of a city park that was not under reserved use at the time I was on the field? The

Yeah, I was talking with a parent across the street about their summer plans (her son is HUGE baseball nut - nothing else, doesn't play with other kids b/c he is practicing, never seen him on a bike, etc...). THe kid LOVES baseball, some basketball, but baseball is it... wears nothing but jerseys to school, etc... Anyways, they cancelled their vacation plans b/c they are taking him to a travel team tourney in South Carolina !! (we are in San Diego!) This kid is 11 years old heading into 6th grade in the fall!! WTH? I think the Little League spokesman might be giving lip s

Is it the single parent family? Maybe... but divorce rates are actually DOWN over the past 10 years... In my part of the world, the economy is bad, but most folks are still gainfully employed... most often the male in the household. The "bread winner" is working longer hours and more weekends to make the same amount of $$ they did in a 40 hr week 4 years ago. I can't count the number of scouts (both cubs and boys) who I've been involved with at the unit level who you ONLY see mom with. Dad is working late, on a business trip, working weekends, etc... to keep them in their upside d