FScouter

"... I overheard two little old Ladies remark how nice it was to see Boy Scouts... " And there is the reason we wear the uniform while traveling. The uniform helps present a positive image of Scouting to the public. "Class A's are always in style!" Is that the old red beret?

I kinda like the official cards with the fancy pictures and colors.

I suppose the OA ordeal could be considered hazing if the purpose of the ordeal was to humiliate, embarrass, punish, and make a laughingstock out of the boy. Do they do those kind of things at an ordeal?

The Cub camping rules are in the Guide to Safe Scouting, and there are no date restrictions. That rule sounds like something a well-intentioned but untrained adult inserted into unnecessary Pack "bylaws".

"If you think that money is missing ..." If the treasurer has embezzeled funds, the course of action is clear. If money is unaccounted for due to sloppy bookeeping, perhaps the person selected does not have bookeeping skills. The skills must either be learned, or the individual replaced. At a minimum, the committee should require a written treasurer's report at every meeting, including all income and expenditures. An informal audit should be done every year.

robertv36 - You said "... I believe in sticking to what is taught in training and the books is crucial." You're on the right track. After almost 100 years, BSA has figured out a few things

YES, (6-1). Tea-pot punishment songs are hazing, and just plain dumb. Some kids may like the attention, others will decide their lost item is gone forever. Tea pot songs are fun for pre-school kids when done in a group where everyone participates.

The Scoutmaster handbook has an interesting discussion about patrols and patrol size. Bottom line is 8 is best, and less than 6 doesn't work. On occasion I've used excuses to deviate from what BSA teaches. "Be flexible", "adjust to the situation", "they're only guidelines", "our troop is special". What I've found is that after numerous failures, we discover that the methods and practices found in the BSA books work best. My advice for new leaders is to not try to re-invent the wheel. Thousands of troops, leaders, and boys have already done that over the last 90+ years. Its like the teenage kid that thinks he knows more than his father. When he gets older he realizes his father actually knew some stuff.

If the job function is being completed in a satisfactory manner, why make a change?

One-on-one contact is never allowed. Multiple boys at the den meeting covers that angle.

Assistant Cubmaster - CA Assistant Den Leader - DA Several of the "official" abbreviations can be found on the inside cover page of the adult leader application. I think they came about from the olden days when storage space in computer systems was very expensive. A two-character code was adopted. 3 characters might have been better, but 3 is a lot more storage space than 2.

I would agree that it makes sense to keep mailing lists current. Why would it be a problem for a former member to receive a letter? Did the letter contain confidential information such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers of youth members? What are they afraid that this particular recipient might do with the information in the letter?

Did you hear about the boy that is paralyzed from the neck down because he squirmed and slipped from the Cubmaster's grip? Of course that was only one boy out of thousands over the years. The success rate is pretty good. Why ruin a perfectly good ceremony for the majority just because one boy freaked out and caused the CM to drop him? Count me in the Ed camp too. We dont need no stinkin admonitions.

BP - ...the BSA regulations allowing it and I know how dear you hold doing things by the book so it is case closed. Not to dispute your statement at all, but could you share with us where we can read that regulation in the book?

Everyone here certainly must agree that the purpose of the sleeping rules is to minimize the opportunities for child sexual abuse. Sure, that may pose some inconveniences on parents and adult leaders. So what? Is our inconvenience more important than avoiding sex abuse on a child? I would be highly suspicious of any adult that tried to dance around the rules to gain access to a boy in a tent that is not his son.

"... screaming for love and attention from his parents." His family is being destroyed by the two most important people in his life - his parents. Its no wonder he cries.

When you say you "submitted our game plan to the DE" does that mean you submitted a tour permit that said "LASER TAG" for the itinerary? Did you get back your tour permit approved and signed?

Where would the "concerned citizens" Pack meet?

I wonder whether it is more work to use the "book" approach and recruit a working committee, or to do everything oneself?

Does a crew that codifies a practice banning OA flaps have some animosity towards OA? What I see is a group that is unsure of its identity and looks at OA as a rival.

Agreeing with Fotoscout. The chairman of the Camping and Outdoor committee is not doing his job if he becomes the Day Camp director. The job of the chairman is to see to it that people are in place to run the event. You, your program chairman, and district chairman have a responsibility to see that the camping committee gets staffed. Work with them and your nominating committee.

If the chartered org was planning a fundraising dinner on Saturday, they would not want the Pack planning a fundraising dinner on Friday. Or if you plan a rummage sale two weeks before they have another rummage sale planned. It would seem to be a whole lot easier to work out a fundraising plan with the CO than to pull out and go elsewhere. Our council will no longer charter "parents of" units because without exception they flounder and fail. Conflicts with the chartered organization is probably the worst reason to set up a "parents of" unit. Conflicts are with people, not institutions, and "parents of" is just a group of people. Please don't be fooled. "Parents of" groups create a whole new set of problems.

Have to agree with Packsaddle. Converting one form of energy to another involves huge waste. That's why the whole idea of hydrogen fuel cells is so absurd. It takes electricty to produce the hydrogen. The idea that hydrogen is "clean energy" is also absurd. The coal-fired electical plant used to create the clean hydrogen is as dirty as they come. I believe that ultimately, and probably not in our lifetimes, we will get our energy from the sun.

Ed (or anyone else) that sleeps with a boy other than his or her own son runs a VERY BIG risk. Ed, its inconceivable why you would advocate such a practice, particularly when the Guide to Safe Scouting specifically forbids it. Are you just trying to be argumentative??

Most kids are raised by their parents. Those that have no parents are raised by a guardian. Those are the only adults kids are permitted to sleep with. There is no such thing as a "guardian for the camping trip".