gwd-scouter

The proper wearing of uniforms is a thread that appears over and over again. Funny how among the eight methods, the uniform method gets the most attention. Wearing the uniform properly starts from the top down. Scoutmasters and assistants should wear the uniform correctly. When I say uniform, I mean the FULL uniform. Others will likely chime in here about the uniform not being required to be a Boy Scout - and they would be correct. I see nothing wrong, however, with a Troop setting an expectation for uniform wear. In our Troop, for instance, boys are expected to wear the uniform for SM Conferences, BORs, Courts of Honor, flag ceremonies, Scout Sunday, and other occasions that come up. For traveling the guys wear the activity uniform - Scout pants/shorts and Troop T-shirt. Troop T-shirt and any old pants for weekly meetings. This uniform 'policy' was developed by the boys and me several years ago. Before that, the uniform requirement in our Troop was shirt only - any old pants would do. Even with only the shirt required, boys showed up without it. Poor uniforming was a symptom of much larger problems in our Troop at that time. We wanted to build pride among the boys in the Troop and a sense of commitment. Among other changes, we changed the expectation of uniforming. What it came down to was a discussion with the boys about the methods of Scouting. Basically asking them, if you guys don't think the uniform method is important, what other method(s) should we ignore. Advancement? Outdoors? That was four years ago and since then only occasionally do our junior leaders have to remind a guy that he is out of uniform. We meet in a basement and can hear someone coming down the stairs. The guys are all down there starting their meeting. A Scout shows up late and they hear him coming down the stairs. When he comes around the corner and is not wearing his Troop Tshirt a chorus of voices shout - so and so is out of uniform! I've found that if a guy continuously ignores our uniform standard, there is a bigger problem to deal with. At least in my experience, it is a symptom of something other than just not wanting to wear the uniform. There is no 'punishment' in our Troop for not wearing the uniform properly. I disagree with Troops that have a waist up policy. To me it sends a message that the uniform isn't really important. And, if the message is that the uniform itself isn't important, then why should it be important to tuck in the shirt? If you're going to wear the uniform, wear it properly or not at all. I strongly disagree with troops that set some kind of policy on that - sending guys home, postponing a SM Conference, etc. I just don't agree with motivation by punishment. IM_Kathy - It will probably take some time for your Scout and his parents to understand wearing the uniform. Generally Cub Scout Packs/Dens only ask the Scouts to wear the shirt. During my many years of Cub Scouting, I saw a lot of untucked Scout shirts, too. After perhaps five years of that, it takes time for a boy and his parents to take uniforming seriously.

Naturally, we are only reading one side of this story. SeaGull, I'm not suggesting that what you posted isn't an accurate depiction of the events involving your son. I'm just coming at it from a SM's point of view. As a Scoutmaster I can only add that I generally do not respond to specific complaints in emails received from parents.Emails are too easy a format in which parents can vent and also, as we see here on the forum, the intent behind what is written can be misunderstood. It has only happened a couple of times, but when I have had a parent complaining in an email, my response is very short - I would love to talk to you about your concerns. Please plan to meet with me before or after next week's Scout meeting. Also, while I am not condoning the SM in this instance for dressing down the boys that missed the training, I will say that I believe parents have no idea how frustrating it is to plan an event such as training and then have the boys fail to show up. Sure, a parent can say to him/herself, there will be a lot of boys there - they won't miss my son. Unfortunately, as in your case, there were a bunch of parents that may have had that attitude. Yes, your son was sick, I get that. But, you say that seven of the boys didn't show up for the training. That's a lot of Scouts missing at the same time. Did they all have a good excuse or did they just blow it off? Maybe they all called to say they weren't coming, maybe none called. Try to understand the SM's frustration. Again, based on your post, I don't think he handled things appropriately. I will say that one of the biggest challenges I face as a leader is to get parents to have a sense of commitment about their son's involvement in the Troop. We are all busy people and stuff comes up, guys get sick. I'm not suggesting this fits your case, but we leaders certainly get irritated by those that feel blowing off Scouts is OK without regard to the time and energy put forth by the volunteers. Take some time to cool off. Let the Scoutmaster cool off. Then, in a non confrontational way, ask him for a time that you and your son can sit down for a friendly discussion.

Unfortunately, I've been ill for the past three years and only last summer received the diagnosis of lupus, so my fitness level has fallen off. I used to be a marathon runner and some days now can barely walk a mile. Still, I keep walking. I also do a variety of stretching exercises every day - even when it hurts - to keep my muscles and joints from seizing up. I lost about 30 pounds very quickly last spring because of a bad reaction to some medications which landed me in the hospital. I've gained about 10 back since and am now holding steady, although I've never regained the appetite I used to have. I have to watch what I eat because certain foods seem to trigger the lupus flares. Husband started a diet with me last spring which my doctor prescribed to help me with my symptoms. He doesn't stick to it's strict limitations - no bread, no pasta, no caffeine, no sodas, only certain types of fruits, and so on. He's modified it a bit so that it isn't so much a diet really, but a better food choices. Not too much bread, rice, or pasta these days, but it's whole grain when we do. Lot's of fruit, veggies, chicken and fish. Let me tell you, that man can create some fabulous meals with boneless chicken breasts. Younger son is benefiting from better eating too. Husband walks daily as exercise. Since last spring, he's dropped 50 pounds. "That's great," people say. He says, "yes, but unfortunately I had it to lose." His reason for shedding the pounds was because he wanted to better keep up with the boys on the backpacking trips. They are getting more adventurous, planning longer and harder treks. He feels so much better now and can zoom along with the best of 'em.

I do Scoutmaster conferences all the time, not necessarily for rank advancement. Thing is, the boys just don't know they're having a Scoutmaster conference - at least not as it is described in their handbook as the last requirement before a BOR for rank. I have a talk with a Scout who has behaved badly. I have a talk with a Scout that seems frustrated. I have a talk with a Scout who needs help in understanding how to be an effective leader. A guy just seems off his game for a few weeks - let's have a chat. Starts missing meetings and outings - what's going on? All sorts of things lead to Scoutmaster Conferences. By the time a fella is ready to advance to the next rank, we have a brief chat to go over what he's done in his current rank, see if there are any areas he feels he needs to work harder on for the next, and his plans to get there. In a way I would say, yes, the Scoutmaster is the gatekeeper to the BOR in that he/she should be engaged with the boys in the Troop and talk to them. I've never had a time when a Scout came to me and asked for a SM Conference for advancement when I thought that he was not ready. A Scoutmaster should have known long before that point that the Scout had some areas in which to improve. Yes, I know Scoutmasters whose only real interaction with a Scout is when it's time for a SM conference for advancement. That's too bad - for both the Scoutmaster and the Scout. In our case, perhaps it is because we are a small troop that I know the boys so well. Then again, I have such wonderful junior and adult leaders that I can spend my time watching and listening.

I don't know if our CO would be so harsh as to say that if we leave they will keep our trailer, it's contents, and the money in our bank account. They haven't contributed anything to our Troop. I suppose it's possible though. LisaBob - only one boy in our Troop is a member of the church. I'm not sure the size of the congregation, but I think a fair estimate would be at least 1000, perhaps twice that. Very big church. I don't know about the church affiliations of our new crossovers. Two of our Committee members are long time members of the church. One is our former SM, the other a former ASM. Even though their sons are in college now, these men continue to help out the Troop with BORs. They, and a few other interested folks, said they would take up our cause with the church. My hope is to talk with the church leadership again and help them understand the difference in a Boy Scout Troop compared to other youth organizations. Our Troop has finally started working the patrol method and are ready to welcome the crossovers into a new scout patrol with a very well experience Troop Guide to help them. Putting our Troop into one small room will not be conducive to building and maintaining the patrol method and therefore the health of our Troop. Surely they would let us use another room in the building for one night a week. As always, I'm hopeful things will work out.

I was just notified by our Chartered Organization that they are moving the Troop again. We've been relocated a few times before because of their need for space. For the past two years we've been in the basement of a small house they own behind the church. No heat, no air, severe water problem causing mold. Still, we worked with what we had and spent several weekends fixing up the place to make it our own. Now, we are being moved to a small bedroom sized room in another property the church owns. I was told we could only use that room for meetings, can't put anything up on the walls or store anything there. We can't use any other rooms, so we won't have any space for SM conferences, BORs, separate patrol meetings, etc. Even worse, we are about to double the size of our Troop with Webelos crossovers and we just won't fit in there. Our CO has never given me the impression that they really want a Scout Troop - more like they just tolerated us. They have never helped us recruit leaders - not even the Chartered Organization Representative. We've reached out to them, offered to do service projects. They would only allow us to fix up our basement. We attend Scout Sunday every year but they do not acknowledge us there. I've asked them to at least post a link on the website to our Troop's site, but nothing. Whenever our guys do a service project and I send in an article to the newspaper, I always acknowledge the church as our CO. Every year on Scout Sunday I hear over and over from the members - we didn't even know we had a Scout Troop. I've been told by a couple of our parents that there are two churches in our town that are actually eager to start up a Scout Troop. In talking with our leaders and parents, we've come to the conclusion that it's time to move. DE also knows about this situation and concurs that it's something we should begin to look into. Besides, if those other churches are eager for a Scout Troop, perhaps they will help start up a Cub Pack as well. Our current CO has always turned down the possibility of starting a Pack. Have any of you changed COs? If so, what are some, if any, problems you encountered?

Just curious. We all hear on the news about millions of Americans losing their homes, their jobs, their retirement savings. I'm sure it's true, but I don't know anyone personally who has lost his/her home or job. Everyone I know, however, has seen retirement savings plunge. I was just wondering how you forum folks are faring. Husband was just notified that all employees where he works will have their hours, and therefore their pay, reduced by 25 percent starting next month. That's a good sized hit for any family, but we will manage. My company just started a mandatory one day furlough each month for all employees. Not too painful really, but I expect they will probably expand it. I am helping with this year's District Friends of Scouting effort and have noticed a sharp decline in pledges from past years.

Hmmm, seems to me GWB was given very good chances. He was reelected.

I wonder if President Obama didn't have the idea that if the stimulus bill contained everything including the kitchen sink, there would be more areas on which to compromise - knowing a lot of compromising would have to be done to bring the Republicans on board. So far, all I've heard is that the money was removed for resodding the National Mall. Yeah, the Republicans in the House all voted no. Could it be because the Democrats weren't willing to listen to anything the Rs had to say? Sure seemed that way to me when I was watching some of the Committee debates on C-SPAN. Perhaps instead of having chats with the Republicans in Congress, Obama should spend some time with the Democrats and reintroduce them to the idea of comprise.

Cub Resident Camp is Fun - both for the parents and the boys. I attended camp with my son for three years and then was a camp director for five more. The most fun I've ever had in Scouting. There is another thread running about training opportunities for leaders during Cub resident camp. Not a bad idea, but at least during my years there wasn't any time during the four days to really put on anything meaningful as far as leader training. The adults were expected to stay with their sons during the camp. Activities ran from after breakfast until about 5:00. Dinner was at 6:00 followed by evening activities. The only free time was after lunch when there was a rest period (a requirement to meet National standards). We actually had two different camps running: Webelos came for four days and three nights, Cubs for three days and two nights. Webelos would arrive on Wednesday evening, check in, get to their campsites, do swim tests, then gather at the flagpoles in their dens - the dens were created by me based on the registrations, I tried to keep members of the same Pack/District together. Each den would select a den leader and assistant for the weekend (mostly to make sure the boys stayed together and made their way to each activity). The dens, with the help of a couple of staff members, would take time the first evening to create a den name, cheer, and flag based on the theme for that year's camp. After that, the staff would take the dens around camp for a tour, sing songs and have general fun with the boys while I conducted an orientation session for the parents and leaders. All ended with a crackerbarrel in the dining hall before lights out. On Thursday evening the Wolf and Bear Cubs would arrive and go through the same process, while the Webelos left camp and went down the road to do a night of tent camping. We had six activity rotations on Thursday for the Webelos and Friday for the Cubs which were the same for both: swimming, canoeing/rowing, archery, BBs, nature, and a craft that kept with the theme. On Friday, we had six additional rotations for the Webelos targeted to activity pins such as readyman, outdoorsman, forester, aquanaut, scientist, etc. We had free time on Friday night after dinner for the dens to get together and practice their skits for the Friday night campfire. Then on Saturday we had campwide games planned to fit in with that year's theme. Camp closed at noon on Saturday. That's a snapshot of what you could expect attending our camp. Yours may differ slightly, but probably not too much since a lot of what we did had to meet with National Camp Standards. Edited to add: we handed out sheets to the adults during the orientation that showed what advancements their sons could earn during the rotations. Also, we did have safe swim/safety afloat during the rest period after lunch.(This message has been edited by gwd-scouter)

Stimulus Payment info: This year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment. This is a very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q and A format: Q. What is an Economic StimulusPayment? A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers. Q. Where will the government get this money? A. From taxpayers. Q. So the government is giving me back my own money? A. Only a smidgen. Q. What is the purpose of this payment? A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy. Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ? A. Shut up. Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the US economy by spending your stimulus check wisely: If you spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China. If you spend it on gasoline it will go to the Arabs. If you purchase a computer it will go to India. If you purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala (unless you buy organic). If you buy a car it will go to Japan. If you purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan. And none of it will help the American economy. We need to keep that money here in America. You can keep the money in America by spending it at yard sales, going to a baseball game, or spend it on prostitutes, beer and wine (domestic ONLY), or tattoos, since those are the only businesses still in the USA.

Think for yourself - what a marvelous idea

"If anyone's interested, politifact.com has created the Obameter... they've cataloged all his promises and are going to track them." Yes, and O'Reilly is calling himself Paul Revere because he will be the only person to bring Obama's mistakes to light. Obviously he doesn't pay much attention to some other folks on his network. My memory isn't what it used to be, but if there was ever a Bushometer then I would say that is just as childish as an Obameter. I know a lot of folks get all jacked up when Hollywood people get on their soapboxes and drag down the Republicans. But, honestly, is that any different than Hannity's Great American Panel which includes Joe the Plumber? I really do wish we could all find some middle ground.

Certificate of Live Birth is the only record of birth I received for my sons. Older son, born in Maryland. Hospital did not give me a hospital birth record certificate. Younger son, born in South Carolina. Ditto no hospital birth records. The only documents I ever received were the certs of live birth. Going back a few more years to my own birth. My certificate from Washington, DC doesn't even have an official seal on it. It is dated thirteen months after my birth. Why? Because I was adopted. As far as I know, there is no 'official' document anywhere that was issued at the time of my birth. My parents adopted me when I was eleven months old, at which time I was given a name and the birth certificate applied for. My mother doesn't remember ever receiving anything other than the document she gave me. Guess I could never run for President. Edited to add: a few more complications - I was adopted from a Catholic orphanage in Wash DC. Records of my birth parents sealed. My Mom and Dad were not given any information other than the fact that I was actually born somewhere in the mid-west and some physical characteristics of the man and woman responsible for my creation. Of course, should I decide to run for Pres, I supposed the Feds could dig up the facts.(This message has been edited by gwd-scouter)

By the way, I was watching the clock and Obama did not take the Oath until after 12:00 noon. So does that mean for a few minutes we actually didn't have a President?

Hey Beavah - get that spelling right - it's Barack. Sorry, couldn't resist.

No, I dont' listen to talk radio. I prefer to listen to the CDs I mix myself. I never thought that Colmes was meant to actually be a balance to Hannity. In fact, I always thought it amusing that Fox News seemed to have found the least persuasive liberal pundit they could to "try" to balance Hannity. Sorry Scoutldr, while I agree that some folks on Fox or MSNBC (I don't get that channel) are clearly partisan and that you were taught in journalism class to report "the facts," I think your post shows that you are partisan as well.

Yep, I watched it on CNN. Chief Justice messed it up. Obama paused because, let's get real here, he new the Oath of Office. Don't you all think that anyone about to take the Oath of Office of the President of the United States hasn't memorized it backwards and forwards. Heck, even I knew when the Chief Justice messed up.

Welcome to the forum. In what part of the Southern Region do you live? Lot's of southerners around the campfire here. You mention continuing the vision of Scouting from 1910 - tell us a bit about your Troop and how you are carrying out that vision.

If I remember correctly, the Boy Scout skirt was an actual skirt, while the Cub Scout version was culottes. Never owned either. I didn't like the culottes so I bought a skirt the same blue color and wore that at our Blue and Gold banquet every year, along with my yellow blouse. I still see a few female Cub leaders in the yellow blouse, but most prefer the tan. As a Boy Scouter now, I doubt I will find a reason to buy the skirt - I really like the new pants. Interesting uniforming tidbit here: Female leaders in Cub Scouts can wear the patch for National Camping School above the right pocket, but female Boy Scout leaders must wear it on the pocket like other temporary patches. Not sure why the difference, except maybe it has something to do with JAMBO patches.

Oh well, I was never a fan of the show Hannity and Colmes, but now Colmes is gone and Hannity has his own show. I decided to watch last night just to give it a chance. Good grief, can't Hannity find ANYTHING positive to say about Obama? I don't care for all the overly optimistic gushing going on by other 'news' people either, but good grief, where is the middle ground? I did vote for Obama and am thrilled about today. I'm just wondering if there is anyone out there that think he's neither the Messiah nor the Devil.

Today's the day. An historical moment in our country. Martin Luther King, Jr. was heard to quote an old pastor: "We ain't what we wanna be. We ain't what we ought to be. We ain't what we're gonna be. But, thank God, we ain't what we was."

Coin collecting merit badge? No, I'm not a counselor. Maybe I ought to consider it, though. I have a collection I started when I was quite young when my grandfather gave me my first silver dollar. My sons showed great interest in the old coins, but never took up the hobby. Well, older son did start collecting the new quarters, but gave that up after about the second year. Coin and stamp collecting was fairly popular when I was young. I wonder - do boys or girls still collect coins or stamps? I don't know any that do.

I've heard the arguments about IGWT on our currency for years. I don't really care either way. I wonder, though. If the mint just quietly began making new coins without IGWT, would anyone even notice? Does anyone really inspect their change that closely?

District Award of Merit and Silver Beaver - knots that are given through nomination and then selection of a Scouter that has shown service beyond his/her unit. OA Vigil Honor and/or Founder's Award. Though not square knots, they are also awarded through nomination and show a significant level of commitment to one's Lodge. Scoutmaster Award of Merit. Again, received through nomination. My choices are not meant to take away from the training knots, but I do like to see the knots awarded by the nomination and selection of one's peers.