FScouter

My dad would sometimes tell us kids we didnt have enough sense to come in out of the rain. Maybe he was right, and maybe we just wanted to experience that for ourselves. When we go hiking I always nag my son to put on a hat. He says he doesnt need one. Every few months I go to the dermatologist to have him cut out another piece of my face that has gone bad; a result of numerous attempts in my stupid days to get a tan. Tattoos seem to be the hot item nowadays. Yet ask anyone that has had one for 20 or 30 years if they still think it was such a great idea.

Disruptive or not, does that justify pounding on a dead carcass?

That's an interesting approach. The pack in our community ran an ad in the local paper and did get a guy that wanted to be the Cubmaster. He and his wife were not able to have children, and he wanted to be involved with kids. Ultimately it didn't work out because the pack also needed to recruit den leaders and committee members. Somehow, all the Cub parents thought the Cubmaster was going to do everything himself. I would not recommend that approach to recruiting a CM, but it might work to recruit "helpers" for the pack. After they help for awhile and you get to know them, Select the best one. Though, if your entire pack is down to 3 boy members, maybe adult leadership is not the primary problem.

What does it mean when one refers to beating a horse until it is dead? Why would one do that?

Yes, it's kind of a big deal. The flag is a symbol of our country. When you recognize and address someone do you crank your head 90 degrees to look at them, or do you turn to face them?

Rules are established by the members of a group to guide the group as a whole. I find it perfectly ethical to object to a rule, and to petition the group to change or vacate the rule. I find it repugnant and completely unethical to ignore the rule, interpret the rule to mean something else, or to belittle or trivialize the rule. The same applies to an individual that makes up a rule and misleads other members of the group to believe that the group established the made-up rule.

Not trying to defend his non-payment at all, but, you said "pay, or else". He chose the "or else". When it comes to registration fees or any fees, a good policy is to register those that have paid, and notify the others they have opted out.

Whenever a body decides to make up a new rule or interpret a BSA policy to his liking, it at least ought not conflict with what the boy is told in his Boy Scout Handbook: Along with another Scout, a relative, or a friend, set up and attend your first appointment with the merit badge counselor.

Surely it was an oversight of an opportunity for BSA to steal your money. Send the 2 dollars to Texas (OK to deduct 39 cents for the stamp)

Its abundantly clear that merit badge counselors are to be selected and approved based on the individual knowledge, training, and experience of the applicant. Some may have broader background and subject matter knowledge that others and may be well qualified to counsel a lot of merit badges. A blanket rule laid down for everyone that says 7 or 4 or whatever is the limit completely ignores the qualifications of the individual counselor. It also perpetuates the notion that the chairman, the committee, the DE, or whoever else claims power, can make up rules that clearly have no support from our BSA. That's reason enough in itself to challenge the "rule".

OGE, in someones head that might work. It would be an application of J7 and J15, which could be combined into "My supreme arrogance trumps all else".

How about a humble recognition that the thousands of volunteer leaders each with years of experience and insight, who have designed, tested, and perfected the Scouting programs before they are adopted and published by our national organization, might just maybe have a better way than the personal opinion of joeleader-doin-the-best-he-knows-how? How about guiding our fellow brother and sister Scouters away from the concept of reinventing the wheel? Surely that would be more helpful to the movement than encouraging everyone to do whatever they feel like.

Yeah, it does seem like a small stuff kind of issue. So if its small stuff for a Boy Scout to earn a Cub Scout award, why does it become a big deal when someone suggests we follow the program the way it is designed?

Thats an interesting concept; that of justifying what we do or dont do in conflict with the program, if we preface it by saying were doing so in order to do the right thing. That sounds like a self-serving model.

The "Trained" patch under the Scoutmaster or assistant Scoutmaster position patch indicates the use of woods tools has been covered. Assuming of course training committee hasn't eliminated Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills or the woods tools segment from the requirements to be considered "trained".

The answer is ... You either follow the program, defined in the written materials published by BSA, or you blow it off and do your own thing because you believe you know better. The MB counselor program is way abused and out of control in some districts/councils. Ignoring the directives that are designed to build and maintain a competent program doesn't help. It seems obvious that the "limit" solution is a clear indication that the local MB program is in trouble. It's a weak attempt to patch up problems caused by failure to implement and follow the proven, workable program laid out by BSA.

"(Maybe the "young staffer" is trying for a promotion to the uniform police ...) " No way. He would not be permitted into our ranks. We who are so often derogatorily referred to as "uniform police" by the uniform scofflaws back up our uniform statements with the Insignia Guide. This young staffer is making up his own rules, or ignorantly repeating someone else's made-up rule. Of course he could be an attorney or judge or someone with intimate knowledge of local law, but it doesn't sound like it.

Don't be fooled about the references to "April Fools Day". After word of the capture leaked out, I suspect the government forced BSA to add that part in to allay suspicions. The video is pretty convincing, and the 18 second gap makes one wonder what was going on. Are all the Scouts REALLY accounted for? And what about Magnus Pedis state park? Why would the government allow BSA to publish the location of the capture. Me thinks it was really down in northern Calif near Humboldt State U. The place was crawling with dark colored Dodge Coronets about the time the news broke.

Hey, wouldn't it be great if Betty could be your best ally and supporter? What could you do to make that happen? It'd be better than an enemy, and she may not be going away anytime soon.

"I've not been in favor of assigning routine tasks as punishment, like kybo cleaning or dishes, that sort of thing. I have it in my head that if you negatively stigmatize those tasks, they won't get done unless you are punishing someone, or those assigned feel that they're being punished when it's their turn...that's my theory any way." I have to agree with that approach. At summer camp one year, the kybo in our campsite somehow got a full roll of TP down the hole. Of course, it had to be removed because the service truck cannot suck out a roll of TP. The SPL and I presented the dilemma to the troop as "who among us has the most ingenuity to figure out a way to retrieve the TP roll from the kybo tank?" It was amazing to see how many boys jumped up and down begging to be selected for the task. Aaron got special mention at the Court of Honor following summer camp for his successful effort at taking on a tough job in support of the troop, (and the kybo company).

Here's a "high adventure" story. There was a TV program on PBS recently about Big Foot, discussing the scientific validity of the various sightings over the years. Apropos, there is a write-up about a recent sighting involving Scouts in the April issue of a reputable national magazine. Quoting the story: When the creature known as Sasquatch or Bigfoot crashed into their campsite at Magnus Pedis State Park in Washington, the Scouts of Troop 685, Meh-teh, Ore., were prepared. The guys tackled the intruder and used bowline knots to tie it up until help arrived. Authorities agree the legendary beast has finally been captured, and the Scouts are being celebrated as heroes. The media frenzy surrounding the troop has the guys stressed out. Were planning our next trip for someplace less exciting, Eagle Scout Harry Henderson, 16, says. Maybe Roswell, N.M. " Does anyone have any further details?

"... most of the text in ACP&P (includin' the text ajmako quotes) is not national policy." Really, that's a pretty wild statement. Our national organization publishes the Advancement Committee Policies and Procedures book and you're suggesting that it's not national policy? That is not to say that any individual, committee, DE, or district may choose to ignore national policy, but ignoring the policies of our organization is arrogant at best. The DE in this case sees a problem, likely that of certain counselors signing off merit badges right and left with little consideration as to whether the boys put forth much effort to earn them. The proper solution would be for the district (volunteer) advancement committee to tighten up the the system for approving merit badge counselors. I'd guess the district has a weak or non-existant merit badge dean or advancement committee, so the DE has fast-forwarded through doing things the right way to finding an end result. His end result is a letter in violation national policy. So the unanswered question is how much effort has the DE and the district committee expended to solve the problem the right way? If they haven't tried, I wouldn't cut them any slack at all.

Which edition is the correct edition, and which ones are wrong??

One patch may be worn on the back. The second post on page 1 of this thread has the complete list of patches that are permitted.

In the BSA model, there are only two elected positions in a troop: patrol leader and senior patrol leader. Every other boy position is appointed. Appointed by other boys that is. There are no boy positions appointed by adults. Adults like to appoint because they know they can select the "right" boy, and pass over those that won't do a good job in the position. Is it possible a PL or SPL might appoint a boy that would do a better job? Maybe, or maybe not. But the goal in Scouting is NOT to have the the most efficiently run troop with the "best" boys in the leadership positions. We adults are there to build character and create learning experiences for all the boys. A boy's time in Scouting is his chance to learn and experience a lot of things, and to make a lot of mistakes in the process. That doesn't happen when the Scoutmaster or other adult appoints the boy that he thinks will do the best job for the troop.