DeanRx

The biggest reasons school districts have zero tolerance policies is not for safety. Its so administrators can wash their hands of any and all decision making. If you don't have a zero tolerance policy and you punish one kid (because he had the knife in the locker room and threatened another student), but let the straight A kid with a knife locked in his car off with a warning, then the kid in the locker room (and their parents and a good lawyer) will file a discrimination lawsuit on the district because the rule was not applied equally in two very different situations. The largest prob

For Scouts - "The Dangerous Book for Boys" - scouting needs to be the adventure these pages talk about For Scouting adults - "Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Louv - while it draws a few far fetched conclusions, the overall hypothesis that kids (both genders) need free-play in nature as a supliment to well-rounded growth is well supported. We as parents need to be reminded that kids in the forest are not going to hurt themselves, are not going to die, and left to their own devices will likely learn more than we can teach them with programs structured down to every minute of the day.

John-in-KC... Dude - you need to go to bed !! Its late here in CA, its REALLY late in MO. BTW - how'd you like the beating my Huskers put on the Tigers tongiht ? Pretty sweet comeback

Its "traditionally" done as part of the Bear achievements for rank, but there is nothing I have found that states that a cub must be in their "bear" year or earn the Bear rank prior to earning the Whittling Chip. This came up in our unit this summer at cub-camp. Only had ONE wolf scout attend with a bunch of Bears and Webelos. The "lone Wolf" as he was know at our camp did the requirements and thus I awarded him his "whittling chip" at the next pack show along with the bears that had earned it at camp as well. Funny - had a couple pack parents (including members of the pack committ

Can I answer your question with a couple of my own? 1) What have YOU personally observed, seen or heard from the scout to tell you he's an atheist? Unless he is openly professing this belief, then you really have no basis to judge his faith (or lack thereof). If he IS openly expressing such beliefs, then your issue is not with the scout, but with the unit leadership that has allowed the scout to continue to advance in the unit. Or is his lack of belief in a "higher power" something you are aware of second or third hand? If so, then you must discount it as rumor and inuendo - not fact.

I would agree with the OP. While I am not aware of the threads he is referencing, I have personally taken "time outs" from these boards for the very reason that a good number of regular posters seem more inclined to want to debate, degrade, and call-out those that have different opinions than their own, instead of offer constructive feedback. Aside from being un-scoutlike, it serves no one but the aggresive poster's ego to place such things on these boards. This should be a place to come together and learn from each other's expiriences and grow the program. The longer I am in scout

Thought the adult application asks for a SSN for the background check? HOW can someone provide an SSN without being a US citizen? Wonder what BSA says about being in the US legally to hold such position within a unit? Hard to recruit those hispanic units national is pushing for if we're going to get hung up on little things like legal status and SSN's... but I digress....

While not licensed to practice in NY, I am a doctor of pharmacy in real life... There is a HUGE difference between dispensing medications (either directly from a practitioner's office or persuant to a legal prescription written by a legally licensed provider) and "passing meds" on behalf of a patient persuant to the prescription label as provided by the dispensing pharmacy. Now - if a scout leader takes it upon themself to dispense (i.e. Johnny is acting up, so I think I'll give him one of Jimmy's pills - they seem to work for Jimmy...) then yes, they are committing a crime if said

Yeah Evmori - you got me there... they'd probsbly all quit without the door prizes Its the only quality thing we're doing.

evmori- I'd be glad to have you come an observe one of our pack shows next time you're in the San Diego area... you might learn a thing or two. Funny you seem to KNOW what we need to be doing or not doing in our pack meetings. Every meeting has at least one song, one skit, one game and various awards. We have a pack that is 5 years old now and started with 6 scouts. I just got an application for our 7th Tiger this fall in the new Tiger Den and that puts us one scout shy of 60 in the pack in 5 years in existience, so we must be doing something right. Its not breaking any scout

evmori- I'll give a couple reasons we do them... 1) Its FUN to 'win' something. If you are a scout that is not getting an award of some type that month, what is your incentive to show up to the pack meeting? Boring if you get to sit for an hour watching others get called up on stage. Yeah, you get to be in a skit or sing a song, or help with the colors (maybe if its your Den's turn), but if you've already gotten your rank badge and have no belt loops or arrow points being awarded - why be there? Sorry, but thats a very true statement for kids of the cubs age. It helps keep those

As an interesting aside from the article refernced... The BSA national finance guy advises that "products in the $5 to $7 range usually sell best". Funny that the entry level item in popcorn sales starts at $10 (and is an extremely small can for your money - some might even argue that the product received doesn't meet the standard of fair market value for the size). I know the article was written in 1999, but this is where the Girl Scouts have us beat. Even though they are overpriced, more folks have no problem paying $4 / box for some cookies. Wish BSA would follow its own advice

We do "drawings" for door prizes at most every meeting. Its a way to break the boredom if a scout has to sit through several awards that he is not getting. Cubs get restless and it also gives the next presenter time to get to the stage and get set-up / etc... if I keep them going with a raffle. Usually 2 to 3 a pack meeting. Anything from a pack of gum, to a camping safety whistle, to a collapsable cup, etc... Once or twice a year, we'll have a big ticket item at the end of the pack show. Example, one year for Space Derby we gave away two tickets to a travelling Star Trek Exhibit

I was wondering how long it would take before black bears figured this out. They are some of the most adaptive creatures in the world. Guess now we'll need to bear bag our bear canisters, and set-up an electric fence perimeter around the tree the lift line is tied to. Here's a thought - if a bear wants your food, they'll eventually figure out a way to get it. Best solution is to make yourself a hard target with good campsite selection, good campsite practices (i.e. cook, eat, clean in an area well away from sleeping area - change clothes after cooking and keep cooking clothes out o

While I tend to agree... anyone know of a manufacturer in the US that is capable of providing the lot quantities needed for bulk merit badge purchases that BSA makes for the scout shops? I don't, but I'm not in that line of business. We do order specialized patches for unit activies from a local patch maker, but they run $3 plus per patch. With 3 to 5 colors per merit badge, I would guess even at large quantity they would charge $1.50 plus for them (assuming a stateside maker could even handle the lot sizes). Anyone want to pay $3 to $4 + per merit badge? Didn't think so. That's

I have a very hard time justifying any type of 'reward' or 'recognition' for a task that is done as part of a rank requirement and also (if not more importantly) should be done because the scout is learning to be a leader and provide service for the greater good of the unit. To dangle a reward will only teach the scouts that a job is only worth doing if one gets some type of payment for the service rendered. To me the POR portions of the rank requirements are there to encourage the patrol method, but more importantly to teach the scout in the POR the importance and satisfaction of doing

You are going to always have some that sign up, but don't participate. Some, but usually fewer, are clueless enough to think they should be entitled to a "refund" after they've paid. I would chalk it up to a learning curve. But I would NOT refund for non-participation. If you make this a regular practice, what do you say to the parent that shows up in April and states, "Well we paid registration and dues, but Johnny hasn't been active and didn't go to camp or on any unit campouts this year, so we'd like 50% of our fees returned to us..." Once the check is written, the money belong

Sounds like a fun and exciting addition to summer camp. Just a couple of thoughts... Why PWC's and not actual power boats? Harder to fall off / out of a motorized boat than a jet ski. Easier to loose control of a jet ski. Seems it should be the other way around. Are scouts allowed to pilot power boats? We we're when I was a lad. I'm still in cubbies w/ my son, so I'll have to look that up on the G2SS online. Also, if jet skis are OK on the water, WHY not ATV's / dune buggy's on land? Scouts can ride in non-motorized aircraft, but cannot pilot a propelled plane. They can'

I often wonder how much outside influence plays into the decline in scouting enrolment in the U.S.? I will be the first to agree that keeping the "outing" in scouting is paramount to its success. The oath and law and the lifelong guiding points they offer is a close 2nd. Uniform, take it or leave it... I've never heard of it being a defining reason of why a scout stays or leaves. They might discuss how dorky or how functional it is, but its not a deciding factor in if they stay or go. Membership is driven by matriculation from cubs to BS. How many actually join boy scouts without

I tend to look at this in a wider sense... Yes, its easy to lay the issue at the feet of the Camp Director or Council(they should have a chaplain on staff), or to lay the issue at the feet of the staffer and state "well, he should have known the schedule when they took the job..." My take is this... This relatively small issue (in the grand scheme of things) is a wonderful opportunitiy for this young man and staff member to LEARN about the challenges of juggling many aspects of his life. Better he struggle with this now, and know where his heart stands and how to communicate re

San Diego Imperial Council has THREE levels of summer camps for the cubs... 1) Each District holds a weeklong day-camp (M-F 0800 - 1500) - open to ALL cubbies 2) There is a Webelos only weeklong resident camp (Sun-Sat) - Web I & II only 3) There is a 1/2 week Cub/Web resident camp (Sun-Wed) - open to Wolf, Bear and Webs

Best college night out: a platter of Gates BBQ - 1 loaf wonder bread - 6 pack of beer - and tickets to the cheap seats in "wrap around right field" at the K. Those were some fun summer nights

BadenP- Thanks for stating what many of us in the "border states" already know to be true (even if the local councils aren't permitted to state it). I think BSA has historically, and to some extent recently, unintentionally divided its units based on a common community connection. Whether that be LDS, Catholic, or other church, or other civic organization based on the Chartered Organization for the given unit (i.e. Free Mason, Knights of Columbus, Rotary, etc...) I am very glad and VERY proud that my son is in a very diverse pack. We have LDS scouts in a non-LDS unit, we have Cathol

baggsjr- Welcome to the virtual campfire. What part of KC are you in? I went to school there at UMKC, but lived up north in Gladstone for the time I was in college. Fun town, I miss it sometimes. Good to see some younger blood on the forum boards. Welcome (from San Diego-Imperial Council scouter) Dean

To run or not to run.... that is the question.... Well, if you are feeling burned out and you have held the positions needed to fullfill your rank requirements, then I would consider the "not running" part. You are not avoiding your responsibilities as much as you would be clearing the way for some fresh blood to have an opportunity to lead. If you find it in your heart to run, then by all means, do so. This is a tough choice that only you can make for yourself. Adult life is full of these, so good you get the practice on one like this I might suggest, if you don't want