gwd-scouter

In our Troop, the PLC plans and runs the Court of Honor. Many times we have a Scout working on Communications merit badge and uses the opportunity to MC the Court of Honor to satisfy one of the requirements. Rank badges are given with highest ranking Scout awarding the next lower rank, and then that Scout awards the next lower rank and so on. We've had some very nice ceremonies, and some that were obviously not well planned or practiced ahead of time. Most of the COHs they plan involved all the Scouts in some way. Some Scouts are very visibly nervous just standing up front, even if they don't have a speaking part. I think the thing I like best is that they are learning that they will not drop dead from shame if something doesn't go perfectly. For instance, the night when the candles wouldn't stay lit. Sure, some of the younger guys were embarrassed, but soon realized the laughter coming from the audience was from their parents and families and was in good humor, and the older Scouts found it funny, too. And, of course, they were all still alive, the sky didn't fall on them, and the world as they know it continued without notice. So, what do you do in your troop?

Guess I'm used to my boys being away for varying lengths of time, either individually or together. Both are working at summer camp this year and husband and I are absolutely loving every minute of it. Sure, I miss the guys, but this summer my house is always clean, there is always food and drink in the fridge, the dishes and laundry are always washed and put away, there is no clutter of shoes, bookbags, jackets, and other manner of "oh I guess I'll just drop it here" in every room of my house, we can walk through the den without tripping over a tangle of controller cords to any of three video game systems. My goodness - even their bedrooms are clean! Yep, been a nice summer. Three more weeks left!

Hey Vicki, how was your week at COI? What campsite did you stay in?

Hello LCScouter (that would be Long Cane, wouldn't it?). I'm from Greenwood too. Bet we know each other.

This post is not about cell phones, but electronics at camp in general. Camp Old Indian does not have internet service of any kind (so no emails home) and even getting one bar on a cell phone is a rare occurrence. It's funny to watch people in the parking lot or at end of the meadow walking around slowly or at times in circles holding up their phones trying to find a signal. I call it the signal dance (it almost looks tribal) and I am always amused when watching. Anyway, this year I saw what had to be a first at summer camp. One troop had movie nights. They brought an LCD projector and DVD player and every evening after twilight activities were over, they would gather at the first aid lodge, plug in, and then all plop down to watch a series of Adam Sandler movies projected on the side of the building. One night they even brought in a snow cone machine - SM proudly announcing to me that it had six flavors. The Troop is from my District and has a reputation of being pretty soft on the boys, but movie nights at camp? Yikes!

Thanks for the replies folks. I've always congratulated our guys on becoming an Eagle after completing their BOR. I have also explained the process that follows and that they must wait to schedule their COH until approval from National. I've sat on a few Eagle BORs and have never heard the Dist Advancement Chair or anyone else explain the application process. I was taken aback at the comment of our District Advancement Chair to our newest Eagle that he wasn't an Eagle until National approval. I, too, thought that was insensitive.

Wow, Packsaddle, what a lovely description of popcorn smell. You may have just ruined the stuff for me. Nah... We have never had much success in getting all the Scouts to participate in popcorn sales. The younger Scouts are OK with it, but lose interest as they get older. Last year we used the incentive that all profits a Scout made would go into is Scout account to help pay for activities. Two Scouts sold enough to fully pay for their week at summer camp, the rest sold very little. So, it seems helping them/their parents save money wasn't incentive enough. The older Scouts may have lost interest in selling popcorn, but they are very good at selling cookie dough, pizzas and fruit for marching band. They say those products are easier to sell than the popcorn. I admit, I do look forward to the marching band fund raisers more than the popcorn sale. Our troop is having its first yard sale in a couple of weeks. We don't expect great attendance for this since it is summer and a couple of our guys are working at camp, a couple more will be on vacation. But, for those remaining Scouts, we will have a pool party/cookout after the sale. The parents have been very helpful with this fund raiser, donating many items to the sale. The guys seem excited about it, too, so I hope it goes well.

I'm hoping someone on this forum can point me to an official statement or document that has the answer this this question. Last night one of our Scouts had his BOR for Eagle. Afterwards, when we were congratulating him on becoming an Eagle, our District Advancement Chairman said that he wasn't yet an Eagle Scout until he received approval from National. I mentioned that I thought he was an Eagle after successful completion of his BOR. If a Troop uses Troopmaster software, for instance, when an advancement report is printed, it shows the Eagle award without having to put a date in for National approval. Have also read so many threads on the forum about presenting the Eagle patch to a Scout so that he may wear it while waiting to arrange for his Court of Honor. So, what is the real answer? Can a Scout wear the Eagle Patch before his approval from National, or does he have to wait? (This message has been edited by gwd-scouter)

GoldWinger - just exactly what do they say about middle aged women? (I would put a smiley face thingy here, but I don't know how). Back to the thread - in the many years and times I've helped out with recruiting nights and roundups, only once was the DRP mentioned. I would say that the majority of adults that sign up as leaders have no idea about DRP. Or, if they do, they do not know precisely what it says. At least in my neck of the woods, parents and adults leaders think that the BSA is a Christian organization. I would agree with those that state that if the BSA thinks it is so important for members to agree to and sign the DRP, then it ought to make it more pronounced. At every recruiting night and roundup, the organizer should announce at the beginning that the BSA doesn't think an adult can be a good leader and no boy can grow into the right kind of adult unless they have a belief in god. After announcing that, the organizer should go on to say that the BSA doesn't define that god or how a person goes about practicing his/her belief. In reality, I just don't see this happening.

Troop had a great time at summer camp. Unfortunately because of my health issues, I had to leave after Wednesday night campfire, but I did get the pleasure of spending time with the families that came up for family night, watching our Scout and adult get called out for OA, and seeing my sons participate on the Dance Pageant - older son was narrator and younger son is learning traditional style dance. The themes the boys planned were fun. Hawaiian theme worked the best: just before the PD called for attention at lunch assembly, we all ran up to the assembled staff and presented them with the leis. The Scouts had big smiles and were very proud when staff members complimented them on their cool shirts. Afraid the Monty Python thing didn't work out as well as hoped, but they will try again next year. We had a Scout with us from a Troop in another District. Husband met the Scout's father at OLS and became friends. Husband mentioned we'd have plenty of room to take Scouts from their Troop if they wanted to come. Throughout the week, the visiting Scout kept saying things like, "our Troop never does stuff like this," and "this is fun, our Troop doesn't have any spirit." I was told by one of our Scouts that the visiting Scout thought it was cool that "you're Scoutmaster let's you do stuff like this." Can't think of higher praise for our Troop. I met everyone on their return on Saturday and all were happy and excited to tell me about the rest of their week. All the boys enjoyed the merit badges and free time activities they chose. One Scout gleefully showed me the tree frog he brought home to care for as part of reptiles and amphibians (his mother was not too pleased, but was a good sport about it). Husband reports that two of our Scouts were dragging their feet when it was time to pack up - they didn't want to leave. Two events stand out personally for me: 1) the terrific surprise of meeting Packsaddle himself. And, yes folks, he does sleep with a Little Mermaid pillow! 2) close to the end of Wednesday's campfire, I was feeling very dizzy (blood pressure had been quite low all day). So, I walked out quietly, not wanting to cause a scene, and began walking down to the health lodge. Buster, our camp ranger, came up to me and said in his usual non-PC way "you get in this golf cart or I'll kick your ass." We raced down the hill in what I now call "Buster's Wild Ride." Camp Old Indian is my favorite place on Earth. Spending time watching and listening to the Scouts, just hanging out with them in the campsite, meeting other Scouts and leaders, and sharing stories and jokes with the awesome staff, I always come away with renewed spirits and wonderful memories. Come on 2009!

I'd be interested in anyone sharing tips on how to get older Boy Scouts interested in selling popcorn. It was easy to get the Cubs to sell, still fairly easy to get new 1st or 2nd year Boy Scouts to sell, but they sure do loose interest after that. Using my 15-year-old son as an example: he's been selling popcorn since he was in Tiger Cubs. Told me last year that he's tired of selling popcorn, it was getting harder to get folks to buy, and he was going to focus more on his High School Band fundraisers. Using my older son as another example, back when he was in his 14-15 age range, he used to take younger brother (all dressed up in his Cub Scout uniform) along with him. He said people were more inclined to buy from a cute Cub Scout. So, anyone out there with ideas on how to 1) get older Scouts excited about selling popcorn, and 2) help them be successful?

Regarding disposable water bottles, earlier in the Spring I read that it is not recommended to reuse the bottles because the repeated washes cause the chemicals in the plastic to leach into the water. Admit though, I've also read that the danger of reusing disposable water bottles is just an Internet/email type hoax. Around the same time, I heard on MSNBC that Nalgene was pulling its familiar hard plastic bottles from store shelves because of consumer concerns over the chemical BPA used in the plastic that some think leads to health problems. Regardless of what type of bottle you use, always remember to wash it thoroughly with soap and water between uses. Bacteria is probably much more of a health problem than the plastic bottles themselves.

let's not forget geek. From Wikipedia: "a peculiar or otherwise odd person, especially one who is perceived to be overly obsessed with one or more things including those of intellectuality, electronics, gaming, etc...The terms nerd and dork have similar meanings as geek, but many choose to identify different connotations amongst the three terms, although the differences are disputed." Afraid I have too much free time this morning. :-)

What is the definition of gobsmacked?

GW - having just celebrated my 50th birthday, I thank you for including me in young people!

Sorry GW, didn't know about John Carpenter. Guess I'll have to look it up.

GW - that was the Death Star. Must admit, the title of this thread certainly had me intrigued.

Thank you, FScouter. It has been a while since I read through the Boy Scout Handbook. Guess I should take time for a refresher.

Hey WildernesStudent - snakes may be venomous, not poisonous. A couple of years ago, one of our Scouts was afraid of spiders. Now, not so much. I don't know what helped him get over his fear. Maybe spending time in the woods helped. As for me, living in the South I am completely freaked out by palmetto bugs. For those of you unfamiliar, think big cockroaches that fly.

"I am obnoxious and disliked, did you know that, sir?" ditto John Adams, 1776

"Scout should be neat in his appearance and should be in a coat and tie or his uniform, which should be as correct as possible, with the badges worn properly" - I interpret that as a requirement. Careful there Acco, I'm sure someone will write a post letting you know the difference between should and shall. I've been curious about the statement that the BSA doesn't require a boy to have a uniform. Is that actually written anywhere in some official BSA document? Or, is it simply that the BSA doesn't officially state anywhere that a boy MUST have a uniform, therefore we can infer that to mean it isn't necessary to have one. As far as I can tell, the only requirements for a boy to be a Scout are meeting the joining requirements, filling out an application, and paying the registration fee. As Acco posts, it isn't necessary for a boy to know how to swim or tie knots to be a Boy Scout. But, those things are required for advancement and advancement is one of the methods. So is uniforming. Since we expect our Scouts to know the particular skills required for rank advancement, I see nothing different in expecting our Scouts to wear the uniform.

Barry: throughout our Troop's earlier years, my older son and another Scout were the only two that ever attended NYLT (then, JLT). Older son worked NYLT staff for two years and is now in his fifth year on summer camp staff. The other Scout? Well, this summer he's working staff at Philmont. Younger son went to NYLT last year with another of our Troop's Scouts. The other Scout was invited to work staff this year, but had other commitments. Younger son in working his 2nd year at summer camp. Kudu: I see some merit in your Troop using NYLT as a requirement for SPL/PL as being better than using an age/rank filter. In our Council a Scout must be at least 13 and 1st Class to go, so that in itself is an age/rank filter. Last year we sent two Scouts to camp, this year we sent two, and I already have my eye one two for next year. To me, the fact that these Scouts are willing to go to a week of training camp right after school gets out shows a commitment to our Troop and to each his own personal growth. I can only expect good things to come from that.

SR540 - my older son staffed NYLT for a couple of years (back in the days when it was called JLT). He said he got more out of staffing than he did as a participant, so I'm sure your son will be the same. I was Camp Director for Cub Resident for many years and loved it. Bet your son also has a great time staffing resident camp. The staff I had was always eager to work and play with the little guys. I don't know why some SMs don't encourage, or worse discourage, NYLT. The guys from our Troop have always benefited from the experience.

African or European?

Theme days are just for our troop. It's just something silly and fun to do. Last year for Saturday breakfast we all came down in goofy pajamas. Admit it was my idea, but it was done in an effort to get these guys to stop taking themselves so seriously. During assembly and just after our SPL gave the troop report all the boys yelled out, "we're too tired" and dropped to the ground. I didn't know they were going to do that and it was great that they came up with the idea on their own. Last year's nudge worked because this year they came up with the themes all on their own. Horizon - our guys do take some of the Eagle required badges, especially swimming and lifesaving. First Aid is done particularly well at our camp. I was referring to discouraging the more classroom type badges. Now, where did I put that holy hand grenade...