evmori

I agree regarding the SM conference. In this situation, however, the requirement of Scout Spirit has not been meet. Therefore, the SM is in his right not to sign off that requirement. Since the BOR is the last requirement for rank, all the other requirements must be completed 1st. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

All the training in the world will not eliminate being careless. Hopefully what it will do is stress the importance of keeping accurate records & keepin them in a safe place. In my Troop, my Advancement Chairman handles all the paperwork for advancement. He uses Troopmaster & I also have it loaded on my PC. When he makes changes, he gives me the disk & I update my version. This way, we have two current & updated copies. What I wish training would cover is dealing with the parents who want their son's to be "given" advancements just because they were there. This is probably the most frustrating part of Scouting I have encountered. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1(This message has been edited by evmori)

I did a PPP for my son's Eagle. What I did was scan in pictures from the time he was a Bobcat in Cubs to the present. Then I added text to eaxh page & varied the transition. I got background music & worked out the presentation to fit the music. It turned out great. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

Bob, While the Scout needs a signed merit badge card, does anything he does prior to getting a signed card count toward the merit badge? Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

I think Bob & jmcquillan are on the right track. I alos feel if there is no medical reason for this Scout's behavior, then you have a very different problem. If a young boy acts like this infront of his parents then you will have your hands full. I suspect there is some type of medical problem behind this. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

In mu council, we have the strong support of the local United Way chapter. I guess we are blessed with a UW chapter with high moral fiber! Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

Rooster7 & Weekender, Thanks for your earlier posts regarding your faith. I, too, am a Christian & agree with both of you. Now back to the thread! Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

OGE, What I do at summer camp is make my rounds of all the merit badges areas & check to see how my Scouts are doing. I do this on Wednesday & Friday. This way, I avoid what happened in your Troop. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

I feel you did the right thing. I feel Scout Spirit & living the Scout Oath & Law is more important than the rest of the badges. It seems the Scout in question did fullfill all the other requirements for Life. It also seems he should have been removed as the Historian since we wasn't performing the job properly. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

ScouterPaul, In my Troop, we sign up all the new Scouts for 5 merit badges at summer camp - basketry, woodcarving, leatherwork, wilderness survival & swimming. Unless they can't swim, they will come home with 5 merit badges. We feel this is a better way to utilize the resources at summer camp for the new Scouts. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

On Sunday April 21, 2002 a Scout in my Troop passed his Eagle BOR. His name is Matt. He had been my SPL & will now be an ASM. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

As far as I know, patrols can be grouped anyway you like. Some Troops opt for patrols by age. Others like to mix older Scouts with the new ones. I prefer this method. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

Thanks Bob.

Bob, Gotta ask! Wouldn't letting a patrol go on an outing without adult supervision be flying in the face of danger??? And would the SM want to be held accountable if something happened & there wasn't an adult present?? Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

I was at my council's annual Eagle Recognition Dinner last year as a sponsor. There was another adult at my table who related a story to the other Eagles at the table. He applied for a job & was actually less qualified than some of the other applicants. He got the job because he is an Eagle. His new employer told him he knew he could learn & do the job because he is an Eagle. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

Korea, Send it again please.

I received a book titled "Lord & Scoutmaster" from my wife as a birthday present. It has stories from a man who (I don't know if he is still is) was a Scouter for a lot of years. He relates inspirational stories from his years in Scouting. This is a excellent book. I have told some of these to my Troop when they applied. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

The two deep leadership requirement the BSA has in place is there to prevent this from happening. I don't feel this will adversly affect Scouting in Catholic churches. While this abuse seems to be everywhere, I feel it isn't. Everyone is now "Catholic bashing" because of this. It is our job as adult leaders to ensure our Scouts are safe. I was raised Catholic & attended Catholic grade school for 6 years. I saw no sexual abuse nor was I sexually abused during this time. I left the Catholic church for other reasons that are not pertenent to this topic. I was also a Cubmaster of a Pack chartered by a Catholic church & there was never a problem with any of the clergy. At times, we tend to jump on the bandwagon before we have all the facts. We also jump to the conslusion that if this happened elsewhere, it happened in our area. I feel as Scouters, we need to try to curb this. We are role models for our Scouts & they look to us in these situations to see how we handle them. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

I have always told my Scouts that Scouting comes after your faith, home & school. I expect the members of my Troop to miss meetings & events. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

I have about half the program scanned. I schould be able to finish by this weekend. I will then send it to those who asked. It will be a Word 2000 document. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

I must disagree with Dan. I think most of us know the BSA policies. I know some of us don't agree with all of them. I feel these types of forums are great places to discuss our opinions. There are people for all over the USA as well as other countries. Getting their insight & opinions on matters is great! Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

My wife & I have always raised our kids not to be quitters. If they start something they must finish it. If they don't like it, they don't have to do it again. I recently had a Scout quit. He told ne his dad made him call me to tell me. I asked him why he was quitting & he told me to spend more time with his family. While I feel this is a good reason, I don't feel this is the real reason he quit. His dad told me before he called he wanted to quit everything he was involved in. I told the Scout I wasn't dropping him from the roster & when he was ready to tell me the real reason he quit to call me back. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

Bob, You are correct in a sense. I have the right to say anything about anything in a public forum. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

"You have a RIGHT to question BSA policy, and if you do it constructively to the the appropriate national committees, fine. Do it publicly as a scouter and the BSA has a RIGHT to remove you from membership." Bob, If I choose to exercise my 1st Ammendment right of free speech about a BSA policy I don't agree with in public, the BSA can't - I repeat - can't remove me from it's membership. They can't erexcise their 1st Ammendment to exclude certain lifestyles then puunish me for exercising my 1st Ammendment rights. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1

Bob, You & I really don't disagree on this. Most of the new Scouts I have had in my Troop earned their 1st Class rank in around 15 months. Retention has never been a problem in my Troop. And we don't stress FCFY. Your personal observations always carry the same weight as mine, maybe more. I look forward to your posts! A 11 or 12 year old Scout that has completed all the requirements for 1st Class might be ready to be a PL. Let me explain. If the Scout has a real problem with authority, I don't feel he is ready. If he is immature for his age, I don't feel he is ready. I have had both types in my Troop. They were appointed QM's when they earned 1st Class. And the job they did was sub-par. And the reason it was was not due to not having the "Scout" skills. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1