ASM7

Cub_Dad I see that this is your first post. Welcome to the forum. But more importantly, welcome to scouting. It will be a great opportunity for you and your son. I hope that you will take time to be involved with your unit. There are many ways to do that. The training offered by your district and council is a great help in understanding the way Scouting works. Take advantage of it. If you do, your son will see that you have a great interest in his life and you will grow also. YIS Doug

You know that this writing on the wall syndrome lasts a lifetime. We have adults that write on the walls of the restroom at work. The management installed dry-erase boards so they could write anything they want. Freedom of speech. Another tactic was to paint the walls gloss black. Very eerie but it worked. I like the idea of letting the kids clean the bathroom. And not just when they mess it up. Teaches responsibility to those that have their mommies clean up after them at home. You would probably be surprised who is actually doing the writing.

This the responce I received from Steve Ledingham. He's the guy that wrote the article in Souting Magazine about ADHD. Thanks for contacting me per you problems with ADHD Scouts. Do you have a copy of my book, the Scoutmaster's guide to ADHD? In the book I have some specific techniques to help with these kinds of problems. Steps: 1. Identify the problems. (and assign a specific pair of scouters to the youth) 2. Has the Scout been diagnosed? 3. Is the Scout on medication? 4. Is he taking the medication and who is responsible for monitoring that? 5. Pair the problem scout with one or two other scouts who will help guide him. 6. Have an open and honest discussion with the problem scout, and the adult scouters, and experienced scouts who will be working with him. 7. Secure an agreement as to the expected behavior and work out some sort of non-embarassing code which will allow the helpers to indicate problem behaviors. (such as pointing at my ear=please settle down.) I am certain you will have to get help from his peers to work towards controlling this problematic behavior. This process will take some time, probably 4 to 6 weeks of consistent work, until you begin to get some favorable results. I can send you a copy of the book if you would like. The cost is $15.00 plus $4. For shipping. If so send a check to me at: D. Steven Ledingham 2917 Sherwood Rd. Columbus, Ohio 43209 614-348-5971 D. Steven Ledingham Information Management Electronic Classroom Of Tomorrow 614-348-5971 I have not purchased the book so I can't review it for you, but he seems to know a great deal about the problem and the BSA. Doug

I'm obviously surprised by the response that Bob White had on this subject. ASPL position is not an elected position. He is appointed by the SPL with the guidance of the SM. I used to be in an organization where the next years leaders were elected. It works fine except that when there are goals for the leader to reach in his year and it looks like they won't be met, the group tends to start looking prematurely at the incoming leader and sandbagging items for his year. This causes a lowering of respect for the current leader and sets him up for failure. The current method of choosing ASPL helps to teach the SPL delegation of duties. If the ASPL is elected, this choice is taken away. This system works well because the SPL is picking a team to work with, just like the POTUS. I don't think POTUS would be happy working with a VPOTUS if he had no choice of who it might be. Doug

This is what I found on the micosay.org website under purposes of micosay. Ceremonies, customs and traditions of the Tribe are for the eyes and ears of Tribesmen only, and are not to be discussed with non-Tribesmen. The site also has the BSA registered logo on it.

Bob White A premature welcome to NC. If you are going to be rafting the Nantahala River, be aware that the water is about 48 degrees even in the summer. The water is discharged from the bottom of the lake. Have them eat right and dress right and know the signs of hypothermia. Have a great trip Doug

Troopmaster has a built in program for tracking popcorn sales plus the scout's names are already on the sheet. Less data to input. Doug

All of our scouts and scouters attend the Red Cross First Aid and CPR classes annually. The scouts are up to date on the latest FA and CPR methods approved by the Red Cross. We have yet to experience a true emergency but often provide situational emergencies, usually along the trail. I think by keeping them up to date, they tend to be more aware of what is the safe thing to do and use better judgement because of their training. I hope that we don't have to use any of their knowledge and skills, but I feel better knowing that they are prepared. By the way, all of our trip info sheets for the parents have emergency numbers so they can get in touch with us, no matter where we are. We once were contacted by the county sheriff in the middle of Linville Gorge because a scouts family member died. Be Prepared. Doug

It sounds to me that Mic-O-Say and Order of the Arrow are similar in respect to the native American influence. From what has been posted, the OA (I'm a member) concentrates on service to others and MOS concentrates on individual growth. If I'm wrong, tell me. I always thought the BSA programs to be geared for increasing personal growth while giving service to God, Country, and others. The OA does the same thing. All brothers are equal. Does the MOS program put a greater emphasis on advancement within the org? Are higher levels treated differently? If so, this would be a problem for me. Nothing I say is meant to take anything from the program and participants. I'm just trying to understand it and how it fits into what the BSA program teaches. Could it be that there are great numbers involved because it is more self-serving? Clue me in. Doug

I also noticed that yaworski headed out the door, but ZP hasn't

Maybe we're looking at multiple personalities. He could actually be two different posters. Or could there be some more personalities involved. I can't keep up with my own posts, much less two or more. Doug

My Scoutmaster and myself have a little inside joke going about the costs of rank. We decided to set a price the new scout parent pays when signing up. So much for each rank. For those parents with more money, they can pay for the Eagle Badge for $10,000. This is the cost per rank: Tenderfoot: $500, SC:$1000, FC:$1500, Star: $2000, Life: $2500, Eagle: $3000. You can see that paying for Eagle up front is cheaper. Any nagging by the parent increases the cost. Of course, helping by the parent can reduce the cost. A good sized troop can bring in a pretty good income. And that's for only an hour of work per week!

Sorry, I double posted(This message has been edited by ASM7)

Great name. Happens to be the name of our District.

That might not work usscouts.org/Scoutcraft/Charcoal_powered_water_heater.htm

I knew I saw it somewhere check out www.usscouts.org/scoutcraft/Charcoal/powered/water/heater.htm

Our troop maintains current Class III's for all of our scouts. Why make a scout parent go get another physical form filled out for high adventure, when we always do something thats high adventure. That's what the scouts want.

We had a Father of a scout from another troop tell us that he has had it with his son's troop BOR. He said that scouts have a First Class BOR that lasts 1 1/2 hours. They retest on everything back to Tenderfoot. They have been visiting other troops in the area. These hard line retesters need a wake up call. Maybe a sign hung around the scout's neck that reads, "I have learned, I have been tested, DO NOT RETEST, Thanks, Scoutmaster". If I had to sit and be grilled for 1 1/2 hours, I'd quit that night. Doug

LV I looked in the Boy's Life website in the archives section at the June 2002 issue. It won't let me enter the articles. You can only read the subjects.

LV Was that your picture in the post? If not, that's how I imagined you would look. Doug

LV Was that the May 2002 issue of "Boy's Life"? I couldn't find anything in that one. Or was it May "Scouting Magazine". If your boys find some of things you describe in your posts as fascinating as I do, they may want to take on the project. It probably may have to do with the age of your scouts also. Those attention spans for the younger scouts aren't very long. Doug

They should make that the aim of Scouting.

Mark I don't know many people who know all the policies of both programs. Usually, when someone makes that kind of statement, they either don't know what the BSA program is supposed to be or the program that's being offered is not what it is supposed to be. BSA and GSUSA are two different organizations with a few similarities. My wife was a GSUSA leader years ago, but I am not knowledgeable enough to give the answer you require. Another comparison is when parents say, "that isn't the way we did it in Cub Scouts". Although in the same organization, the Cub and Boy programs are different. I suggest a new scout parent orientaion program to explain just what the BSA is about. Doug

acco40 I was referring to the minimum position training for the BSA to consider a leader trained. I know there are committee members who are trained to the gills. We need more of them. The training, however, is voluntary. I wish the training was listed in the duties of individual leader positions. I believe we are on the same page on everything else. Doug

"To make sure that the work has been learned and completed" can be done by just talking to the Scout and the experiences he has had. If you go down the list and have him answer, you are retesting and that is not allowed. Talk to him about Scouting. Put the requirements in front of him and ask what was the hardest one for him. What was the easiest? What was the most fun? These kinds of questions reveal lots on the matter of his skills. He has already learned, and been tested by people who are supposed to have more skills and training than you as a committee person. They are on the campouts and at the meetings and know the boy better than anyone on the committee. Retesting makes the scout nervous. They may seem not to know something when they actually do. I've seen young scouts who could not remember their name because of nervousness. The members of the BOR should put the Scout at ease, so he can talk freely about his experiences. This is how to find out if the program works, and thats the responsibility of the Scoutmaster.