Eagledad

>>In the US, the "elite" is a label used by the conservative right wing media, and often, conservative right-wing politicians, for any person, any organization, or any broad grouping of people (ie "liberals", "gays", "Washington Democrats", "unions") that they disagree with as a way to convince their followers of the rightness of their position without having to actually work to develop and express a cogent set of facts to back up their assertions.

>>. We will not stand by and watch one parents ruin something for everybody else out of fear of upsetting that one parent!

>>And it was exceptionally poor management (with insanely high salaries) that sunk GM.

>>Wow, I am SO glad to hear about the boy who won the PWD -- put a smile on my face too (and a tear in my eye)

The right time for me was when I stopped answering the phone for fear of the caller at other end wanting to discuss scouting business. Barry

Our EBOR often asked current event questions (one per Eagle) and I must say many of the answers are interesting. But I never saw the adults respond in anyway other than just to move on to the next question. Barry

This is a great idea. We looked into it several years ago but never did anything about it. I understand that a couple of councils did something like this with the JLTC program in the 90s. and I know that the Wood Badge experimented with at Philmont. I would certainly enjoy you keeping us up to date and even giving us a little of how the daily agenda and lesson plans work. I think it will be hit if you pull it off. Barry

Sadly the solutions aren't about encouraging and practice of proper behavior, but instead watering down the fun. If boys can't learn to control themselves during competitions in the pack, how do they learn for life? I know its old school, but for me the BSA is in the business of developing character. We must demand proper behavior at all times. If an adult (and unit leader) don't enjoy an activity of which most boys are excited for, that is a good time to delegate the responsibility. A pinewood derby can run without an incident like the one in the other discussion (the vast majority are). I know this because I've seen it done many many many times. Barry

>>...I want to see each and every boy and family learn through its experiences in our pack that 'Life is about serving others, and that serving other is FUN!' I know I need to add more but.

>>Most leaders have some weak points ---- I know I do.

It kind of sounds like you are doing OK to me. I dont worry about asking for a demonstration of skills, I think their character can handle that if I need to see it. But a SMC for me isnt about series of test, its about what the scout is getting from the skills, or the troop, or patrols or what ever. I want my scouts to leave a meeting feeling good about themselves. I might as a skill question something like have you used the square knot lately in your activities?. But I also try to get to know the scout better too. I know that is recommended, but I am a people person and that is just me. I ask adults the same questions when I want to get to know them. I like to learn about their other life away from the troop. But most important for me is that I talk man to man with them. I try very hard to keep the talk as more of two friends having a discussion of ideas. The CC once told me that they when they asked a scout during his second class BOR what he learned from the SM Conference, the Scout said he hadnt had a SM conference yet. He told them the only time we had talked that day was when I bought him an ice cream cone. I do the Eagle Conference a little different. By this time I know the scout really well and would not be having the conference if I didnt think he was ready. So this is a time where I try to honor him and just listen to him tell me what he feels about the Eagle, what it means to him, what it will do for him. About the only question I ask of them is how would a stranger know that he is an Eagle Scout in his day to day life? Even then I tell them I dont expect or want and answer, the answer is for him, not me. Then I spend a few minutes briefing them a little on the EBOR. Mostly so they dont get too nervous. And really I do that more for the scout to help his parents not get too nervous. Generally the scouts are fine until the parents start getting asking questions and pushing them to study. By the way, I invite the parents to listen in on the Eagle Conference so they can listen to different part of their son they may not have heard before. Hopefully a more philosophical son with thoughts of the world they have not seen from him before. Most parents dont, but they appreciate the invitation. Scoutmaster conferences take a little practice, but I always advice the SM bring a part of himself into the conference that will help the scout learn more about his scoutmaster. I think Baden Powell would say it should be converstation between two brothers. Good Question. Barry

>>Moms who've camped with us have managed to do this, and I think it's helped boys to actually work on that "mystique

You know what is interesting about this discussion, this is exactly what we discussed around the campfire as boy scouts. That and what is your favorite fighter airplane, what is your favorite motorcycle? Yep, I love this scouting stuff. Barry

>>Accepting mobile credit card payments is anticipated to increase total cookie sales, but the organization is also using the new sales tool as an opportunity to teach girls about credit.>>

I'm not a fan of MB fairs because they teach troop leaders bad habits, so we as a troop did not participate. However, I also feel it's the scouts choice and I didn't discourage them. But for all MBs, I require the scouts pick a counselor from the troop counselor list, call the counselor to set up their meeting, fill out the MB card, and get a SM signature. If they did all that, and some did, they were good to go. Barry

While having a skill to teach certainly makes for a good counselor, the passion for helping a young man grow through the exercises of learning makes up for a lack of skills. What could a boy learn from a man humble enough to willingly learn along side the boy? Barry

>>For car guys and non car folks, if you want a laugh check out Top Gear on BBC America some time. My kids turned my on to this show and it's a riot. My wife even likes it.

>>Well, shazam! With that kind of positive attitude toward Cub Scouts, is it any wonder that trying to recruit those same scouts is not successful?

I think the problem is most adults view the effort required to get Eagle as a just working a list of merit badges, not a series of experiences for developing character. So they don't understand the harm of making it easy on the scout. Barry

>>Edited: Eagledad, are you sure about the '58 F150? Seems like I remember the 150 coming out a long time later - to replace the 100 I think.

58 F150 69 Ford 428 Torino 68 Cutlass 442 68 Triumph Spitfire 69 Malibu 72 Trans Am 70 Datsun Roadster 1600 Then I got married and there are few minivans of which I can't remember the names.

Stick with it. You are describing our troop, so I know where you are coming from. We had a scout and his mother visit us four times when our troop was young. After their third visit, I asked mom what was going on. She admitted her son loved our boy run, less formal, style troop and he was ready to join. But she wanted more structure and like the troop down the street better because the adults dressed sharper. She was trying to show here son the problems with our troop during the visits. Her son won out and all three of her sons earned their Eagle in our troop. But more important, we got the Webelos from her pack for the next six years. What you might want to consider is looking and maybe changing your recruiting style a little, what ever it is. For us it was basically what you see is what you get. Our troop never planned a single troop activity with Webelos visits in mind, so visitors saw the real deal at meetings and on campouts. I also worked to get better at presenting and explaining why our rag tag looking program was great for developing character, leadership and a more confident man of the future. It may be that you dont need the pack, but it never hurts to keep good relations. You never know what you will get with a new set of adults. Barry

The approval authority is seperate from our EBOR group. Didn't others did it different. I is interesting that a memeber is assigned and checks on the scout. Not sure what to think of that, is that more than they should be doing? I have always felt that all the board should do is verify the scout followed the process written in the Eagle pamplet for getting the approval. No more, no less. Our approval board got so heavy handed that one member chewed out both the mon and the scout for not following the district proceedures. The member was asked to step down that week, but the proceedures stayed. The scout in question had just moved from Houstion and was following the proceedures of the district down there. Why can't everyone just do it by the book and leave the rest to the scout? Barry

There is point where too much can be demanded from a scout. I learned, thru much humility, to look for signs in each scout of when scouting was nolonger fun. So it would be interesting for me to learn from stoshe's scouts where they reached that point, or where the parents reached the point. Not suggesting anything about stosh, its just my nature to learn where the disconnect occured. Barry

We had a district do a backpacking comporee. The patrols set up camp Friday night, break camp and hike three miles to another camp on Saturday. They have to stop and do several skills competitions along they way. This can be done at a larger scout camp with each patrol taking different paths. Our Troop did something similar using biking, hiking and canoes. We didnt break camp, but did carry packs. We did 12 skills competitions spread between the legs. Surprisingly to all of us, all the patrols finished by 1:30 in the afternoon. We thought it would go a lot longer. Barry