Novice_Cubmaster

Wow - I haven't laughed this hard since my son was 3 years old, and his surgical and hospital bills hit my health plan's 1+ million dollar lifetime cap. Thanks to the "Katie Beckett" medicaid deeming waiver, he got the medical care he needed - and we didn't have to move into a cardboard box. Keep in mind, my witty friend, in health & finance - most Americans are only 2 circumstances away from being well & truly fouled up beyond repair. NC

Adult Leader: Blah, blah... blah blah God. Blah blah, blah blah blah duty. Blah blah blah... Who wants to sing the "Yogi Bear" song? Cubs: We Do!!! Yeah!!!!! Fortunately, that which is so important to adults, isn't that much to the cubs. PS - my sons were the only Jewish kids in the pack, chartered by the local Methodist church. (More power to the UMC, by the way - good folks). NC

Stosh, Gotta correct you on 2 points... "2) Genealogists will have a nightmare trying to link Jesus to the House of David because Joseph was the descendent of David. Mary was from the House of Levi, i.e. her kinsman Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist was a Levite." In Judaism, tribal lineage is Paternal. "This is why Passover in the Hebrew calendar is marked as a Thursday after a certain lunar cycle and thus Good Friday/Easter jump all over the solar calendar." Passover isnt always a Thursday (cuz that would be too easy). It is a lunar calendar-based date, so it wobbles around on our solar-based calendar. Fun Fact - The Nicene Council intentionally came up with a formula for calculating the date of Easter to avoid the dates for Passover. But hey - Merry Christmas. NC (2 candles down, 6 to go)

This makes perfect sense. My father-in-law was a fantastic ER doctor, and is responsible for 1000's of children choosing to become little old Jewish men. NC

Let the Webelos use knives to chop vegetables, etc. "Yes, you can do something with a knife besides make a pointy stick". Also, let them make something fairly simple & kid-friendly - like mac&cheese. NC

Irsap, go down to the Scout Store & get yourself the "I'm a Great Dad" award - you've earned it. NC

An "Eagle Mill" is any unit where getting a eagle is a goal, not a side-effect of their program. NC

I was really bothered by this statement: "I guess the real question we need parents asking themselves is "would I rather have my son be an accomplished musician or an honorable man?"" I think a lot of Scouters overrate Scouting in terms of turning boys into good men, and the rightness of the cause. And along with it, there's a real sense of entitlement - "why shouldn't Scouting demand as much attendance and committment (both from the boy and the parents) as band, or football?", or "why won't the city /public school ignore their own anti-discrimination policies and do fill-in-the-blank for Scouting?". There does seem to be a feeling that "After all this is Scouting, we're so noble we deserve whatever we want." Scouting does provide good role models for young men. Scouting also creates opportunities and controlled situations for them to develop leadership and organizational skills that some people may not get until they're much older. Scouting reinforces the good traits in a boy's upbringing, at an age where parents become less influential in his life. And in some sad cases, it can help make up for a poor upbringing. Any amount of time a boy spends in the program will be beneficial - in whatever proportion works for the boy along with band, sports, girls, cars, hanging with buddies, video games, and school. Or should we get huffy about it & have boys with other interests drop out completely - since they won't devote themselves to Scouting to the degree we think they should? NC(This message has been edited by novice_cubmaster)

Neither of my boys were much on reading for pleasure til at least middle school/start of high school. I got tired of tossing unread copies of Boys Life. Was very happy when the unit stopped lumping it into the dues & made it optional. NC

onevoice, you ask "...is that unlike the U.S.Constitution, the scout law and oath don't have a mechanism for being amended. How do you think you will enact such a change?" I'm completely unable to enact a change to BSA policy, as all Scouters are. What will change BSA policy? Dwindling numbers, and a diminished stature. Look at some of the other forum topics, with titles like "why does band beat scouting?", "why do parents support sports over scouting?", "Council selling Camp due to lack of funds", "United Way no longer supporting Scouting", "City Bans...". Even in this thread, a Scouter reported "A few stores I know of do not let us have popcorn booth sales in front of them because of the BSA stance on homosexuality. The stores do not want to be seen as supporting us." The BSA can change to reflect broader interpretations of "morally straight", and acknowledge that atheists can be good people and worthy role models - without abandoning the other 11 more universal points of the scout law. And regarding, "Take out "morally straight", and "Reverent" and no one will have an issue. Or go start the Gay Atheist Scouts. Why are all these people afraid to start their own organization? If the numbers are there, they will come out the winner, and Boy Scouts will wither and die." I don't think any other group could ever create a national organization to equal the BSA. But that doesn't mean the BSA won't wither and die on its own. All over a couple of issues, that in 50 years nobody will comprehend.

onevoice - gay and morally straight are not incompatible in everybody's religion or system of beliefs. There are those among us that think every gay person leads a promiscuous Fire Island lifestyle. Which is as unrealistic as judging your hetero lifestyle by Lindsay Lohan's, or Magic Johnson's behavior. And I think you can be reverent and an atheist. If you show respect for the world you live in, the people around you, your"good fortune" (what theists would call "blessings" in your life, and not take everything good in your life for granted - then I'd say you're reverent. perdidochas - your point is more to the point... How can you be an atheist and do your duty to God. The answer is you can't. And I think that to an ever growing faction of US society, the answer is "you can't and who cares". Is doing your duty to God important to me personally - yes. Do I think it's the most important part of Scouting - no; if it went away, would scouts stop being brave, trustworthy, etc? NC

A lot depends on how many new 5th grade boys you have. And how many of them want to try cramming 18 months into 9. If you have enough to make a functional den, and they really want to make a go of it - then let'm try & have your existing W1 & W2 leaders facilitate & mentor. Main thing is, they should get as much as possible out of Cubs as they can. And have fun. NC PS - just because your current W2's might be crossing over in February or March doesn't mean this new crop can't take a few months more.

I dont think city bans have any impact. But what does is the delusion some scouters have that the BSA is some great moral compass and the accompanying "holier than thou" attitude. A large segment of the population apparently doesn't find being gay or atheist in contradiction with all the things scouts are supposed to be - brave, loyal, trustworthy - and even reverent & morally straight. I think Horizon said it beautifully. Even if someone isn't excluded from Scouting, they may not want their son to be part of it because others are excluded - for reasons that are alien to what they believe in. NC

Sounds like Dad needs to come to the next campout OUT OF UNIFORM - not as an ASM, but as his son's father. With his sole task being to OBSERVE his son's behavior, his son's interaction with the uniformed leaders, and be ready to take his son home if necessary. NC

Scoutfish, Make sure somebody who can well represent your pack goes to school night. We are one of two packs that recruit from the local elementary school. The DE arbitrarily directs families to one pack or the other based on a map. The other CM & I used to let families know, we didn't care which pack the boys went to, as long as there was the best chance their son would stay in scouting. We told them to consider which pack the boy's friends were in, what night the pack/dens meet, location and activities. One thing we'd mention is our annual special trip - like to the USS Yorktown, or the Okefenokee Swamp. We'd also mention nasty little details the DE wouldn't like what the pack dues are & what our expectations are around popcorn sales participation, uniforms, etc.. NC

Despite my alias of "novice_cubmaster", I retired from scouting last year & am no longer a registered leader. After 6+ years, have become a civilian again, and divested myself of all my manuals, guides & other BSA documents. Here's my question... A friend has a son who just became a Tiger Cub. My friend is being temporarily shifted to working nights, and has asked if I could fill in as his son's Adult Partner (Mom's home with other kids, otherwise, she'd be there). What paperwork is necessary, if any, for me to fill in for 3-4 den meetings? Thanks, The artist formerly known as "novice_cubmaster"

A 16 year old friend and classmate of my son recently committed suicide. He had told friends that he was having trouble coping with the academic pressures at home and school - and the pressure at home to get his eagle. Its sad that scouting, which could have been a great stress reliever for this young man, was misused by his parents and added to his misery. NC

Belt loops are really simple. Scouts sell popcorn. Pack gets money. Scouts get beltloops. NC

Only 110 partners? I think Magic Johnson's got that beat. And he's HIV positive. And he's not representative of the heterosexual population either. I think a report from 1995 is seriously out of date today. And possibly irrelevant as well. NC

Since there's lots of documented proof of homosexual activity among many types of animals (monkeys, dolphins, penguins, etc.) both in the wild and in zoos - it would appear that homosexuality is natural. Normal is a whole different question. From a purely medical standpoint, is homosexuality an aberration, or a variation? I doubt you could get either a consensus or an objective answer from the medical community on this. But, the medical standpoint isn't the important criteria. From a cultural or religious standpoint, you won't get a consensus about homosexuality being normal either. Some cultures & religions are ok with it, some are not. Hence I'd have to agree with NJCubScouter, if the BSA is truly nonsecterian, and there's no universal stand on the issue for all religions, then the BSA is favoring one set of beliefs over others.

Why are there state gay rodeo clubs? Same reason there's Black History Month. If the "mainstream" of any group excludes you long enough, you make your own group. NC

For a group that bans homosexuals, we sure seem to be fascinated by discussions about homosexuality. Almost a fixation. I'm sure there's a Freudian explanation. NC

Why was his mom around to yell at during summer camp? Maybe he needed a week away from mom - for reasons outside of scouting. NC

Generic Nondenomination Worship - yuk. The proper term is an abomination. A service centered around a plain-vanilla god, composed of all the good things held in common in all faiths, is not the same as worshiping my God (with a capital "G"). Unfortunately, the "lets all sing Kumbaya" crowd doesn't realize that attending this non-denominational worship is doubly offensive because they have an expectation that it is acceptable to everyone & everyone should be able to participate. In US law, and in the BSA, all faiths are created equal. However, faith means that I know what I believe in is true, and conversely, what you believe in isn't true. We each have a right to believe what we believe, and that includes steering clear of things we cannot participate in.

Expect a lot of fun. Suggestion - make sure you have a strong Assistant Den Leader (or even better, a Co-Den Leader). First off, you can share the load. Second, two heads are better than one. NC