moosetracker

The only suggestion I would make, is to put the birthday celebration as first thing or last thing, where if they want to come late or early to miss it, then they have that option.. Otherwise, they can go for a small walk if they wish to be abscent during the celebration, or can sit quietly and observe. It is up to them to figure out what they need to do to be comfortable with the situation.. They need to be able to function in a world that will not cater to their every whim, and will hold opinions different then theres.. We have had families that were against Halloween, or Jewish Families that did not do Christmas.. Either they chose not to attend the pack meeting celebrating this, or we would add something where we could also include Chanukah to the celebration and make it educational and reverent. Reverence of everyone is what they must learn along with you, so I don't see where you have to change for them, but allowing them options to quietly remove themselves from an uncomfortable situation is respecting their beliefs.

Hi SailingPJ. I agree with you, that it is scary. I was considered poor in English when I went through it (back in the day of the dinosaur.) But I know by the standards today kids are at, I was not as bad as all that! My high school skills today would have probably gotten me an A++.. (Still today, I have to guess at punctuation, look up harder and I love my .. or ?? or !!! at end of sentences when one would do just fine..) I never saw my son come home in grade school with a list of spelling words at all, I had them weekly, and remember having to write them x amount of times almost daily for homework up to the Friday spelling test (although I never thought that was the best way to learn the word.). I do not think they should have gotten rid of the spelling tests, just found a different way to learn the spelling of the words over the week. Have a question for you though. By Engineering major I take it that you are in College, while your after school program is in middle school. Did you think some things fell into place when you went to college?? My son was very bad himself up through high school, and I worried about him in college. Now he is in college I see an improvement (even when his fianc is not double checking his work, although I see remarkable improvement when she does.) But, I have proofed some of his papers before his fianc and in high school I would mark up whole paragraphs, put "What???" all over the place, fix painfully bad mis-spellings of simple words (or if done on the computer the obvious wrong word, that he selected from the spell checker).. Now with his college papers, there are only minor suggestions and occasional words.. I dont know what happen between high school & college that kicked some of this stuff in. But, I have seen it in others too. Just wondering if others have noticed this. Not sure if this light bulb goes off for the kids that do not go to college though..

Huh.. Our camp specifically states to bring button up shirts & parachute type pants because those are the only clothes that kids can make float. The year my kid did his swimming MB, I had to go out and buy the right clothing for him. You could say it is adding to the requirements, but if they tell you they will fail to get anything else to float, I take them at their word. And it does seem to mean jeans would be too heavy, and T-shirts would not hold the air in.. So besides chastising me because of what my camp has instructed us to do, to get the clothes to float, no one else has anything they thought was a strange requirement from an old or new MB book? My husband says the fingerprinting using ink is now outdated, as no one uses ink anymore. But, I would imagine, if you did some school/BSA project and had a ink fingerprint of your kid, then he went missing, then the police would use the ink school/BSA project. (Unless they had your sons fingerprints in the police databanks already, for some reason.)

Ok someone resurrected an old thread (I think they were trying to push some sales).. But I was interested in the chicken slaughtering in the Wilderness Survival Merit badge (back in the '70s or '80s).. Tombitt wrote : I did the Wilderness Survival merit badge when it was brand new - we took a bunch of live chickens, some matches, and a few sheath knives into the woods, killed and cooked the chickens (imagine that with sheath knives only), and safely survived an unexpected severe Oklahoma thunderstorm without tents or high-tech comm gear. I'm also a technology expert, I advise major companies about new technologies, and I help our school district with their technology plan. I guess Horizons did the meritbadge with the chicken bit also (from same camp).. I don't know if the chickens were really a requirement back then, or if this was something that was this camp's idea of "adding" to the requirements. But it gave me a laugh.. Really? Wilderness survival? How many take live chickens with them in case they get lost and need to survive in the wilderness?.. Now I could have seen the requirements starting with snaring a rabbit or squirrel, or fishing.. But not dragging chickens into the wilderness with you for survival.. Does anyone else have memories of merit badges that had (or have) requirements that made no sense?.. Or where someone zealously added a requirement that not only was something they should not have done, but that made no sense to the merit badge either.. I think the current swimming requirement of using your clothes for a floatation device is unneccessary since you need special type clothing like button down shirts & parachute type pants.. Clothes you normally would not be wearing when at the beach or boating. (This message has been edited by moosetracker)

Now Camping states he mis-calculated it is to be OCT 21st, not May 21st.. Can't give up on his dream of world annihilation.. So how many of his followers will follow for every new timing prediction he makes? I will say, though I don't believe Camping's calculated time.. I do wonder with all the natural disastors we are currently facing, and that was in the bible that judgement day would come around a time when we faced alot of natural disastors.. So I will give pause to the possibility, that the time may be near.. But, I will not believe anyone can calculate it out to the date & time.. And the magnatude of natural disastors could also be just coincidence.. Call me open minded..

Me too.. I was running an IOLS & OWLs Training so although I didn't think I'd get taken, was worried I would have to explain to someones family why some of my participants & Staff never returned home and just disappeared.. I figured the massive swarms of hungry black flies theory may have been believable.. But, I lost not a single person.. So does that mean there was no one worth saving on judgement day? Well I guess I will have a lot of good company in the other place, and will not have to take my winter coat & boots with me either!

I don't know anything about GS and who is the the one who really is in control of the unit. But in Boy Scouts it is always the good of the many trumps the few. If you hsve one boy or one family (even if there is an adult leader in the family) If the rest of the unit is leaving due to their actions, you show the scout the door, and be prepared for the adult Leader/Family to follow.. Or if it is the adult acting up and the scout is good, you show the adult the door, and expect the scout to follow.. We lost a good committee chair, because he was upset that we held firm to holding his son to the standards we believe all scouts should behave at. We hadn't gotten to showing the scout the door, just a either-or final ultimatum.. Surprisingly the scout stayed and did a wonderful turn around.. The Father (our then Committee Chair) had a huge melt-down, and was so nasty and negative that the committee (with the COR's approval) voted him out of his postition.. He became a drop-off dad after that.. On this forum though there have been times we have advised the scout has used up his second & third chance.. Your scout whether it is at the point of final ultimatum, or showing the door, depends on the feeling you get of the other girls in your unit. If they simply have gone past the point of willing to stay, even if she turns herself around, then it is time to ask her to leave. If there is a chance that if she changes the others will be willing to tolerate her (maybe never be best of friends).. Then she can be give a final ulimatum.. Main thing is you should not loose the whole unit, because you will not (or afraid to) confront the problem.. Good luck..

Hey, It's great for the lefty who wants his belt to have his belt feed from the other side! Well they want everything else opposite, sissors & notebooks etc. why not belt buckles.

Sounds like your council is looking to rake in a profit by requireing something, when by BSA rules all the previous uniforms are still official. Our woodbadge staff allows all official uniforms.. But doesn't want the new green wool jacket/shirt on staff yet.. People thought I had a case to argue about not being able to choose green over red.. But, I did end up buying red.. I'll match hubby, and I figure if times get better & I do want the green jac/shirt later on I could buy that, but not the BSA red jacket.. Who know my son is crabbing because he likes the red over the green(but for some reason thinks he should not own a red jacket until after he retires as a SM (he isn't even a SM yet).. So if I keep mine neat enough, I may have a hand-me-down for him 30 years from now.. Son gets weird ideas, just because our troop gave the red jacket to the last 2 retiring SM, he thinks that's when you get the jacket.. But, I doubt when our current SM leaves they will continue the tradition. If he does ever become SM it may be to a different troop with different traditions.. And his father, nor I, nor half the people with the jacket are retired SM's..

Don't worry, the SM position will grow on you. The only training for SM I see missing is the SM/ASM Specifics training which is not offered on-line yet.. Even if no one steps up for SM, I hope some people will come in that would like to help you run the troop, good ASM's are worth their weight in gold.. You need at least one other for campouts, and sometimes it would be nice if you can not attend due to other commitment, that you can depend on your ASM's to take the boys without you to the event.

The boy is unregistered, and the parents still thinks he can earn ranks?? Unbelivable!!

I was going to ask that perdidochas.. First I had to check what a Hobo stove was, then I was going to ask if this was ok for cubs if you used charcoal..

As I prepare to go off camping in a mud pit after it has continually rained for 7 days now.. And we may have a small break during the weekend, which means the black flies will be viciously attacking, while I sink ankle deep into the mud... I will repeat your 10 reasons as to why this is better then a hotel and repeat them over & over.. Thanks..

WOW!! and true type format too, not scanned in jpg pages which makes for a very large sized pdf.. Thanks AlFansome!

Yeah qwazse - I don't think the JASM is to strip them of doing any position if they would prefer.. It is just our troop kind-of looks at JASM as similar to Troop Guide, but with extra benefits.. So if scouts stay between Eagle & 18 they usually choose the honored position as they don't have an opportunity for it elsewise.. They do the same type of guiding and mentoring of a Troop Guide, only they no longer are in a patrol, but part of the adult ASM leadership and they (along with SPL & ASPL) eat with the adults.. They are also allowed to get into the older adult discussions.. When lining up for flags all patrols group together with SPL & ASPL in front.. The JASM will line up with the SM & ASM group.. That sort of thing. They are essentially allowed to guide and be a part of the youth oriented groups similar to a Troop Guide position, but interact and be treated as part of the adult group also.. Best of both worlds type of position. If for some reason a boy is 16 & Eagle and let the SM know he prefered staying in a different position in the troop, or remain in a patrol with their friends or whatever that would be acceptable too.. It is just considered a benifit, if the boy does not want to utilize it, no one will force it down their throat.

I may scan it at some point, but no promises, and it will need to be during summer free time. Like I said it was to be released in March.. It is on that merry-go-round of promises, promises from the training division at National.. Don't hold your breath.. I guess our Council was one of the ones that was a beta-tester Councils, each district was to run one with a troop and comment on what they thought of it, so that is why we have a pre-released version.. One of our District Trainers who did the beta-testing was the one presenting it at Scouting-U (as it was to be released by then), when it wasn't he continued on as planned and gave us all a copy.

Oh the joy of helecopter parents in charge!! saschuster - what is the opinion of the Webeloes den Leader about his two assistants? Any way that when he is out, he could set a strict agenda for her to follow? If he is someone who wants a quality program, you can at least work with him to keep these two on short leashes. Pchadbo - good thing I have to key enter the advancements of Rank & activity pins only for cub scouts in our district, not belt loops.. I would be chewing your ear off if I had to.. That's a large cost for a Pack to absorb, and it is one thing if you feel they earned it, another if you think they did not.. Are you CC yet, or just soon-to-inherit?? If you are CC I (with the CubMaster) you might sit down with her and ask how she accomplished so much in so little time, with out having a 24/7 round the clock den meeting for the last few weeks.. She may try to worm her way out of the hole with lies, but it will get her to think about pulling this type of move next year..

That is a troop decision how they wish to utilize the JASM position. In our troop no one gets JASM unless they are EAGLE rank & 16+.. Older boys who are not EAGLE can be Troop Guide.. Troops utilize positions as they see fit. But, the title of this thread is "Eaglescout = SPL?" and I don't believe that an EAGLE rank means you deserve SPL over those who are not Eagle rank.. Just that if you want to and are still under 18, you have the right to run for it, but also have other position options available. The Rank should not give you a right to hijack the election and cut any of the boys below the rank from the right to run..

As long as the Eagle scout is under 18 then there are no rules against it. And if they are not 16 yet, they can't take the position of JASM.. Nothing for or against it. As you say, they may make the better leader "maybe".. But, then on the other hand, it is a great position for someone Star or Life who is aspiring to become Eagle, and the Eagle scouts can be great Troop Guides, Guiding the younger scouts to becoming better leaders.. When they reach 16 they can them become JASMS, so there is some good positions for those already at Eagle rank.. And many ways that they can mentor the younger scouts or non-Eagle scouts.. How large is your troop? Is it hard for the other scouts that need positions to get a position because there are more scouts then positions?

ick.. Sorry no.. we got a zerox copy paper format, not a pdf (or any other type of computer format.)

For good or bad, things have gotten stricter over time with what is and is not allowed. for two reasons.. 1) BSA gets hit with many lawsuits, so have uptight micro-managers combing through everything. 2) Parents tend to want to bubble wrap children these days.. And will sue over a small cut on the pinky..

I am our district Training Chair.. If you emailed me with this question, I would pump it up to an email that hit both our DE & the Programs Director for the council. The District Training staff doesn't teach this type of stuff.. But.. I know there was some sort of training going on about 2 weekends back at one of our council camps dealing with shooting sports, I do not know what it certified you to do though. Yup, if you District Training Chair does not respond, I would suggest asking you Council Program Director (The DE for me is just to keep him in the loop.)

There is a new TLT program.. It was suppose to be released in March, before our University of Scouting presented it, but was not released yet at that time. So we all got zeroxed copies of the prototype for it.. It is keeping some of the TLT stuff, but then also re-incorporating some of the old JLT stuff that has team building and hands on skills back into it.. No one liked the (old)new TLT, and was continueing to use JLT or doing no Youth Leader Training.. NYLT is great to send an current SPL to, but quite a bit steep for a troop to send their whole leadership group too.. And struggling units can't even send the SPL. Sort of a catch 22 because if the SPL gets NYLT and the SM gets out of the way and allows him to lead.. Then the troop would probabably not be struggling any more.. They recommend the SM going to Woodbadge training so that the SPL & SM are on the same page..

Well, I truely have no intention of picking an arguement with my Course Director.. Per everything else of uniform as stated he is fine with the old & new uniforms.. Just has something about the green jacket looking different. Truthfully he is a most awsome, coolest guy.. Makes you feel a part of things and a valuable member.. This little snafu is all it is a little snafu in comparison of the wonderful personality and all he does for scouts & scouters.. I will not organize to rattle his chains over something like this.. Now if I had the Course director who I had when I took wood badge, I would be happy to rattle his chains, teeth and gums..

Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure it is when they complete the current grade.. Throughout the summer they would then be officially Webelos, but if you completed wolf rank in March you are still not officially a Webelos until school is out for summer.. That is why Tigers can not go to residence camp, but those who were Tigers in the past school year can attend, because when school ended they were now officially Bears. It is just those who are recruited in the spring and will be Tigers all next year can not go to residence camp.