Stosh

I guess whoever hits <enter> first wins. Look at the time stamps.

Most of the "problem children" we get are a result of either parents butting heads with SM or the boy butting heads with the SM. Either way when they come to our troop, half the problem is automatically taken care of.

Yet any of those items mentioned can be addressed with Boy Scouting in general, they don't need a secret society to make it more important. Mic-o-Say Chieftain on your college application or employment resume means nothing to anyone other than the candidate. But Eagle Scout does. A focus on Scouting without the distractions might prove well to restore a lot of what BSA has lost in the second half of it's existence. I was a Scout - That speaks for itself, plain simple and says a lot. I am an Eagle Scout - Okay, impressive. I am an Eagle Scout with Palms - Okay, but I don't know what that means. I am an Eagle Scout with Palms, OA Vigil - Lost me there. I am an Eagle Scout with Palms, OA Vigil, NYLT trained. Yawn I am an Eagle Scout with Palms, OA vigil, NYLT trained, Mic-O-Say Chieftain - zzzzzz Sorry, but when one gets that far out on a limb, the issue might only be important to the person hanging on to it.

Getting a physical is not the same thing as getting treated.

Looks to be organized to be more adult led than OA. So why then is there an OA in this council? Or is that for the boys that can get into an honor society on a vote rather than good-old-boys invitations? And what happens to the boys that never get an invitation?

Door's always open to anyone wanting to join. History is history. I only work with the future.

My bonus daughter went to medical DO school. She was tops in her class and passed both the DO and MD exams. Her training in DO was more homeopathic and holistic. She has more options available to her for her patients than does the MD. She is starting her 4th year of residency and will be chief resident this year and when she is done she has offers in private practice in the field of OB/GYN. I don't know if she uses the DO or MD title or both. We have a branch of the Mayo Health system in our area and there seems to be about as many DO's as there are MD's on staff. Checked with her. Bonus daughter's title is DO because of her schooling, but the hospital she's at in Houston is a MD residency program and she qualifies because she passed the MD exams. She is not a surgeon per se, but she does surgeries on a regular basis. From her explanation and my historic understanding of the MD/DO issue, I'm thinking the titles don't always give a reflection of the actual situation of each doctor.

We have a neighborhood clinic which does the full exam for $25, as well. They just walk in as their convenience and it's done. It's not a big deal.

I offer up a chance for the Eagle candidates to visit in a session as prep for EBOR. What they did with that information is up to them. I had one boy who sat through my "session" and did not pay attention to what I suggested. In fact the Board asked him 22 questions he grunted and gave one or two word answers to. They asked me in closed session what my take was on the boy and I told them I had submitted my form letter SM recommendation to the council and it should be in the paperwork. Of course they passed him on through to Eagle, but it wasn't a stellar moment for the boy. He really didn't care, his dad had Eagled so he was going through the motions to satisfy him. The next boy that evening was another of my Eagle candidates and he followed to a "T" my suggestions. He walked in, took control of the situation and the Board was able to only ask him 4 questions. He walked in, stood before the panel, saluted and held it. The Board did not know how to respond to that. Finally one of them told the boy saluting other scouters was not respectful, to which the boy cited chapter verse and page number of the Scout Handbook that it was an appropriate way to show respect. After that I think the Board was a bit nervous about asking him questions. He was the Eagle Scout speaker at the Council's Golden Eagle Banquet that year. Some boys benefit from learning, others do not. I create opportunities, it 's up to the boys to make the best of them.

Ε Τ Πε τ π As compared to ETP which is Rho.

Like I said 45+ years working with youth and one stays away from such things if they wish to continue. How such things stay viable in the BSA is kinda surprising. I'm with @@MrBob on this one, it is rife with YPT violation possibilities. Nothing said so far remotely resembles the Scout Oath and Law when describing this "wonderful" program. "Yep, just drink the Koolaid and you're all set to go!" Besides YPT, one might want to toss in a lesson on bullying and drop "A Scout is friend to all..." while they are at it.

I've been working with various youth groups for 45+ years and no way I would ever get involved with this MOS setup. I can also guarantee that none of my boys would ever attend a BSA camp that promotes any of the US/THEM dynamics of social bigotry.

We have a regional convenience store that has its own bakery (and dairy, and everything else including specialty coffees, et al) that pretty much moved both KK and DD out of the neighborhood. I don't think KK lasted more than 6 months after opening and DD does a bit better because they do coffee too. They're rather new, so the jury is still out as to how long they will last.

I think one can get those sunscreen sprays in a pump bottle.

Those of us in less affluent areas of the community tend to be a bit more sensitive to financial issues than others.

Since January, my troop has had 6 fund raising efforts. All of them have been set up/organized by the adults on the committee, the boys have all pitched in and helped on the effort as well. We are still $1600 short of funds for summer camp. My boys can't afford these BSA activities, but everyone is pitching in and working so that ALL the boys that want to go can. Uniforms have been scrounged and everyone is in the effort to cut costs. With that said, I don't mind putting up my own $$'s with this kind of effort going on. In January these boys were Web II boys working on AOL. They crossed over at the end of June, and 8 boys are on the docket to make it to summer camp.

One has to be careful with the maintenance issue. Routine or maintenance is not acceptable. Creating and rehabbing are okay.

I find that most of my boys have their parents contribute a lot towards fund raising. I tell the parents either they raise money or pay out of pocket. They organize the fund raisers and the boys carry them out. The boys only have to come up with $50 for summer camp regardless of how much it costs, the fund raisers pay for the rest.

Have him pick an outdoors' skill and excel at it. Learn about trees, flowers, native vs. invasive, have him become the outdoor professor. Otherwise, there's First Aid that he will appreciate knowing a lot about down the road. Orienteering, have him become the expert on map, compass and GPS. He doesn't have to pick an indoor activity all the time to be successful, have him try something outdoors. I took Weather and Climate in college and still use the information today. Herb and medicines and other useful plants, edible plants, etc. there's a plethora of outdoor stuff he could master and excel at. He just may find his future vocation staring him in the face.

Sounds like their own little political conclave within the BSA with a strong emphasis on adult participation/recognition. Really not my gig.

I always do a BOR for the old Scout award. I told my boys it was a freebie one so they would have some idea the kinds of things they would be asked once they got to their actual rank advancements. Anyway, the boys liked them because my committee used the opportunity to make sure the boy wasn't going to feel intimidated and it was upbeat and encouraging for the boys. I always would do an SM AAR after wards to get an idea of the boys' reaction. None of them had a negative reaction and 90% said they were nervous going in but it wasn't as bad as they thought it was going to be. Some initially thought was likened to getting called into the principle's office. For Eagle I have a pre-EBOR session besides the SMC. I give them pointers and the session is optional. Boys that take my pre-EBOR session fare far better at their EBOR than those that don't.

The only knowledge I have had of MOS is the section in TroopMaster software where they track MOS "advancement?" I never read it very closely because it doesn't pertain to anything I was doing or would ever do. It was strange because TroopMaster didn't have anything about OA except for the dates for Ordeal, Brotherhood and Vigil.

As long as it's just a participation trophy and the boy is dead set on being a Paper Eagle, not a problem. Have the CC sign off on all his advancement and then one doesn't need to participate in the sham. When the EBOR ask why his SM didn't sign, he can explain it to them. My council required a SM recommendation for the eagle candidate. I didn't give him one. The council held up his EBOR. It was against National policy to require a SM recommendation. But it wasn't my problem. Now the boy either shapes up and does what is necessary to gain my recommendation or he can go through the appeal process. Again, not my problem. Fortunately the boy chose the sit up and fly right policy and after 6 months or so I gave him his recommendation.

Hmmmm, how does any of this correlate to bullying? I would find it difficult to fit it into my "Take care of your boys" Leadership emphasis.

The boy can mow my lawn, weed my garden, and he can do it for anyone else in the community. Alabama? Okay, he can't shovel walks, but there are tons of things the boy can do to be thrifty. The patrol can also get out and raise money for their members by doing the same things. A Scout is Thrifty, this means he can be resourceful and find ways of earning money on his own. Of course when the boy does my lawn, I am quite generous, too. In my troop we do not have individual scout accounts, but we do have patrol accounts and that money can be used however the patrol decides. I do know that some scout camps do have camperships for such an occasion, he needs to find out if the camp does that and how to apply. My parents bought my scout uniform when I joined. I paid for everything else on my own. I know it can be done, even in this day and age. Oh, by the way, the lessons learned at that age carried through more than most of the other scout skills and the Mrs. and I are retired quite comfortably now.