Nike

Off the top of my head, NO. Bob White will hopefully be in soon to cite you the reg, but even if it's OK, mmmm, my answer is still NO.

Much of GSUSA's upper echelons for the past thirty years have been filled by dedicated second wave feminists and not a few anti-patriarchy, really liberal crusaders. However, those women are beginning to retire and be replaced by more sensible people who understand that men in this day and age are just as involved in thier girls' lives as mothers are in the past. Girls need both strong female and male role models. As for treating all males at campouts like perverts, I hope that will soon be as much a thing of the past as comments about female ASMs. We can't hang a "MEN" sign on a door or used red and green plates for "OCCUPIED?" I mean really, all males at our Council's campsites MUST wear a RED bracelet at all times so we know they are OK to be on the property. Can you imagine if BSA did something like that with women?

If this is the first time you've had this serious a problem with the boy, let the boy leadership handle it. However, a BoR with the CC, AC, COR, and a few others is well called for. If this is a subsequent bad act, its time for the Youth Leadership and SM to advise the Committee, but for the Committee to determine punishment after a BoR. If you've given this Scout myriad other chances to get his act together, suspension followed by probation is warranted.

You have to RINSE them in the sink first!! Now go wipe out the drains.

Why don't your Scouts have thier own backpacking 2-man tents? Leave the 'rent tent at home.

OMG! Boys read directions!! That's the most important thing they probably learned. Scout skills definitely need to be practiced and re-enforced. Unfortunately, some troops don't do a good job at making it fun. (Not pointing fingers.)

Stosh, Sounds like your group is hitting on all cylinders, and you and the boys are having a fabulous time. Perhaps as your troop grows, you and the CC can separate the MC/ASMs into two distinct groups with two distinct missions. The ASMs work directly with the boys, day in day out, and the MCs deal with adult level stuff that comes as troops get larger, mostly managing the adults. As an MC, I value the SM's participation on the Troop Committee as essential. He sees things I don't. (I'm buried in popcorn. ) He has a perspective I don't and is closer to the boys. I also believe that the MCs need to participate in the Troop, be around, be known: BORs should not be the first time a Scout ever sees an MC. As for JASM, someday you may find yourself with JASM material, but they are rare. If you find you have one, you can use him as your Sergeant Major, your special projects guy. I suppose the best test for a JASM is if I have to look twice and see the "J", since the boy should really be working and acting like an ASM. So, Happy Scouting!

When I first looked at the Scout book a few years ago, I was surprised that Star and Eagle didn't have more strenuous requirements. It seems to me that a boy should be improving on his Scout skills learned in T21. It also seems fair that a Scout going for Star or Life should be asked to exhibit those skills on the fly at any time afterwards. A pop quiz if you will. I know the BOR isn't to retest, but I certainly don't let those Star and Life kids slide through. If a kid isn't ready to step up and be a contributor to the troop at Star, he doesn't get my vote. Then again, I haven't had any absolutely rotten kids come before me, either.

Hopefully that's just a placeholder name. UGH!! But, since Daisy GS's have been around for nearly twenty years, I guess BSA thinks it's time to catch up. I just don't know how they're going to make things any simpler than Tigers.

My mother, in Virginia, took my then three year old to the polls for a local election. The child had on an American Flag T-shirt from Old Navy or something, and the poll workers wouldn't let her bring him into the church hall. Who knew?

I'm surprised that all the books aren't on audio for visually impaired Scouts.

I see a new by-law.

Politics has always been a dirty, nasty game. It's just that our definition of dirty and nasty has fallen beneath the crass and vulgar. Anyone care to remember, "Ma, Ma where's my Pa? Gone to the White House, ha, ha, ha?" directed against Grover Cleaveland. That was pretty vulgar for the 1880's. However, until one party so overwhelmingly fails to provide leadership on THE seminal issue of national survival (Remember the Whig Party which utterly failed in the 1850s?) then we are stuck with what we've got.

The limit makes sense in that it forces troops to recruit more adults as MBC, exposing more of them to Scouting, and exposing the boys to a wider array of interesting adults.

Wasn't it George Washington who showed up at the 1st Continental Congress in his old regimentals? And look what happened to him!

Well, as a parent I wouldn't be terribly eager to join this unit based on the attendance requirements alone. I really don't want a Troop that demands doctor's notes like the school does. As for the MB requirements that have been superimposed along the way, they make sense as a set of skills and might be a good troop program on their own. However, what about the Scout who transfers in as a Star and never earned Cooking? Is he "demoted?" Is he less of a Star Scout? Is his advancement held up until he does earn it? As a prospective CC, I'd start asking, "Oh? Where does it say that in the book? Doesn't it say niether subtract nor add?" I'd also point out the strengths and weakness I saw in the troop while talking with the CoR, the IH, and SM. If they didn't agree that some things weren't going according to the national program, I wouldn't take the position. As an Adv Chair, I would only take the position if the proper requirements were to be followed henceforth. Lastly, I'm sure this SM is the picture of health, but what happens if something happens to him? Is he training his replacement? Does he even acknowledge the need for one?

From the parent perspective: I expect everyone on a Scout trip to be either registered, a parent/guardian, or an invited expert/support person necessary for the activity. I also would expect an invited guest to be publicly invited and the Committee to know about it beforehand. From the MC perspective: I want to know that invited expert/support guests are there for a legitimate reason. Not because it's the SM's fraternity brother in the area for the weekend. (Of course if said Fraternity brother is a registered Scouter from another council, then I'll chalk that up.) I would be really hot if the SM is using Troop campouts to camp with his buds and they bring nothing to the program. And, believe me, I would bring this up with the CC. Talk to the SM, causually, and find out who and why these guests are there. If he blows you off, you may have other problems.

Gossip, gossip, gossip. That appears to be the root of the original problem. Is there anyone who physically checks the charters or a software program that checks charters to prevent such a situation from occurring? In the absence of this, and in this particular situation, one solution is to have the IH, COR(s), SM/CM/VA, and all the CCs, in one place at one time with the DE and a Commissioner to explain what is what and who fills in which slot on the org chart. Follow the program, stay organized, don't rush the details. This is also the perfect time for everyone to come together on vision, micro and macro, and policies/bylaws. Sometimes we get so down in the weeds on our own issue, that we fail to see the larger picture. That's a human fallibility. As long as everyone can take a breath and a step back, then discuss things rationally and calmly, it can be worked out. I hope things have worked out for clc5105.

OneHour, can I steal you? Agree with GW that maybe you don't need all the aggravation. Of course stepping back usually drives them right to your door in six months.

I agree with BW. An official quarterly CoH is really more for the parents and to fulfill a Communications badge req. The boys deserve and want what they've earned now.

I always thought camping like a girl meant using a charcoal grill and obsessively washing dishes!! My Eagle Scout husband was horrified when I told him we washed dishes three times a day, and I was equally horrified when he told me he ate out of his frisbee, then used it for a game of Ultimate. Having a bottle of nail polish along can be useful for frayed shoelaces etc., but most boys I know will pass on my Pompeii Purple.

Does anyone have a diagram of who "picks" on who around here?

BrownieMom, you deserve a case of your favorite cookies. You have truly shown your girl how to live by the Girl Scout Law. As for problems with parents, that should be handled within the adult world, and it should not even be noticed by children as young as Brownies. No one is perfect, and at times the burr under our saddles may seem like an acutal knife in the back. However, that's one of the things that helps to not only build our character but truly reveals it. As far as I'm concerned, the Leaders in question do not exhibit leadership, judgement, discretion, or compassion.

Holding back advancements just so you have something to hand out at the quarterly CoH sucks, and the boys don't get the immediate recognition, fill-up, and Dawg Pile they so richly deserve. Our troops have always given out the new rank at the end of the meeting where the Scout advanced. If we didn't have the patch, it was at least announced in the closing announcements by the SPL, and we'd get a rank patch to the boy at the next meeting. My bugaboo is having more than one Scout with the SPL patch on his sleeve.

I think ours are off as the lowest priced item we have is $10. (Council sets the prices) However, we have other fundraisers as well as a buy out option. With the $9 tin, we would frequently get $10 and be told to "keep the change." Now, there is no change. I would like to see a smaller item, like a five pack of microwave popcorn for $5. Then it would be more competitive with GS cookies.