qwazse

I recently for my acceptance as 1st ASM. In our area we still have 50 slots for boys and my troop needs a 3rd ASM.

As I said earlier, parents shouldn't approach the CM directly unless they're friends. The SM/ASM would like to know what happened. Ideally the scout would be comfortable telling one or the other of them. But, given his age, a parent-report might have to do.

Sometimes adults don't realize they are a source of friction. If the CM is a friend, you may be able to point that out. But, for your son ... In general, just like captains in sports or band and their need to get feedback from the coach/director, the PL relationship with the SM/ASM is paramount. We spend a lot of time coaching boys in relationships with adults (parents, MB counselors, Rangers, etc ...). So when things aren't right, we need to know. Your son needs to review this with the SM and ASM. They are the ones trying to set a new tone, it's on them to guide both him and the CM in this new culture. Should the PL be playing catch while other guys are doing the chores he assigns? It depends on the skill of the boys doing the chores. If they need guidance, he may want to be there on top of it. If they seem like they have it under control, he may want to give them their space. Only he, the SPL/ASPL, and the SMs have a good sense of this.

First thought upon seeing this last photo: "At least some of my boys will have more fellow scouts to compare earrings with!"

Okay, "squirrel!" moment ... Anyone recognize the council patch the model is wearing? Looks like one from now defunct Greater Pittsburgh.

While we're at it, who still has bottle brushes (at home or in their mess kit)? Not the big handles plastic things, but the wire tool that looks for all the world like a miniature chimney sweep's brush?

You not so much ran afoul of the uniform rules as followed official guidelines as written. In so doing, you've undermined any authority someone with unofficial orthodoxies may have over your son. At best, they can speak from their humble opinion and then leave it up to him to make a decision that may shape future scouts for decades to come. The sewer has spoken.

Nor did I, nor my sons or any scouts I've met put anything but MBs on our sash -- not even scouts who I've told they could. So, it's probably a regional thing. @Hawkwin. the folks who wrote the Insignia Guide claim to be a very intentional lot. I once brought this up with Mike Walton on https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2014/03/21/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-merit-badge-sashes/ So, his interpretation makes it clear that he thought equipment patches were not under "miscellaneous," but rather the guide was worded that way so that patches that would not be worn on a uniform could be included. Further down, there was some suggestion that more specifics might be in the next revision of the IG. That was four years ago. The IG's language has not been revised to specify "only temporary" or "only uniform" or "uniform-ish, but not equipment" patches. It still reads "miscellaneous." I take that to mean that The Insignia Task Force felt that this issue was not worth splitting hairs over, or Mike was wrong, and the ITF thought it would be cool if some of the smaller equipment patches made it to the back of a sash, or A correction is pending, but the ITF is holding off until they also need to add a page or two about skorts! My take: I'm not gonna violate my rule #1 by asking for official clarification. So if a scout asks, I'm replying "Yes, but neatly."

The BSA insignia guide is intentionally broad in its statement about what goes on the back of the sash. It allows "Miscellaneous" not "miscellaneous earned" patches. Again, the IG does not say "miscellaneous uniform patches". Although I'm pretty sure most of us would frown on a boy sporting a biker gang's patch! (Unless they happen to be his CO !) We want the scout to memorialize his scouting journey, so we encourage him accordingly. BTW. This is not a matter of policing. This is a matter of being prepared when a scout asks, "May I?" Broadly, our answer should be "Yes, but safely." With regard to uniforming, it should be "Yes, but neatly."

Who told you that equipment decoration was not a miscellaneous patch? Typically equipment decoration is sized differently. It's usually too large to neatly fit on a shirt pocket. The classic example is the Philmont Bull. (Does that mascot have an actual name?) It would be stitched on the back of brag vests, on backpacks, some guys even sewed it on the flap of their tent. There's no way it would fit on a sash. However, that doesn't mean that all equipment decoration should be disallowed on a sash. If the boy is proud of earning it, if it helps tell an important part of his scouting story, and if it fits, sew it!

I encourage, but don't require it.

Once upon a time There was a patch for that https://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Bookbinding

That water bottle will be reused after the first mile!

Any reused bottle will pose risk for severe infection 1. if not properly cleaned. 2. if the mouth and lid are not properly sanitized during purification.

@Hawkwin, this is not about feeling like being a bully, or a savior. It is about assuring that the scouts with cutting implements are sufficiently disciplined to wield them. Can it get out of hand? Sure! But you're weighing a possibility of feeling hazed against the probability of harm to life or limb. Handing a kid a partly-colored buddy-tag possibly could be bullying, but pales in comparison to the probability of drowning. Neither buddy tags or Totin Chip teach anything per se. But both inform scouts something about themselves and each other. In the process, they enable scouts to set goals for each other. Goals that ultimately improve each other's character.

Overnight outings, yes. Nothing new there. Meetings and activities, no. I've had plenty of meetings with female youth in the room when only male adults were present.

I think this was a frog-boiled-slowly kind of deal. Clubs were segregated into sports vs. recreation. ( @David CO collegiate intramural clubs are often unsupervised.) Then the sports clubs were judged according to one level of risk/liability and the recreation clubs were judged by another standard.

How do I know how many times the TF was warned? I might have seen him once passing by my hammock whittling recklessly ... told him to behave. He says "yes sir" ... and puts on his best behavior ... while he thinks I'm watching. On the way from his patrol site, the SPL may have seen him horsing around with his buddy, knife in hand ... told him to behave. He said "yes sir" ... waited till SPL continued rounds to next patrol. At his patrol campfire, the PL may seen him ... told him to behave. He said "yes sir" ... then took his buddy on a walk away from his patrol site. By his tent, an APL might have seen him ... told him to behave. He said "yes sir" then ... went to his patrol campfire. So, do the PL, SPL, or I Confiscate the knives of every single scout after every single infarction that I see? That would be a lot of knives/saws/axes confiscated. Assume this was a one-off until confirmed otherwise at after-action review with the PLC at cracker barrel, thereby allowing a day to pass with this kid likely to nick the hide of a young @CalicoPenn? Or do I ask to see the Totin' Chip cards of any fey scout to determine if this would be his first or his final warning? And, if first, clip and counsel appropriately. If final, ask if I should secure his blades until he and I can set aside time for an SMC to review knife safety. Common sense tells me leaders should communicate. If you see something say something. The nicks in the card are simply a discrete way of saying it. As always ... Your mileage may vary.

Happy Valley is a little less happy http://www.statecollege.com/news/local-news/penn-state-student-organizations-lose-university-recognition-after-risk-analysis-review,1476216/ From the club's board http://sites.psu.edu/outingclub/ Hello? Venturing?

Been there done that with venturing. Prepare to buy lots of flowers/chocolate. Just to remind everyone that the last I heard this was to apply across all programs for all meetings and activities. Advisors of co-ed crews, brace for impact.

And some scouters seem to perversely think that robbing a boy of his or his patrol's cutting tool -- even for a small infarction -- puts one on some moral high ground. I'm sorry, thievery, albeit temporary, does not make a scout/scouter some holier than another scout/scouter who tags a card. Don't want me to call your suggested practice thievery? Don't call the practice implied by the totin' guidelines hazing.

I've seen too many Nalgene bottles shatter. Aluminum takes a lot of dents and can be patched. I do like the 96 ounce collapsible bottles. But after 10 years, they are starting to stiffen and crack. I had a camelback once. I concluded that there was a reason I stopped nursing by age 2.

Tent pitching ... blindfolded.

Two words: aluminum canteen. Mine's going on 40 years. If you have a friend in metal shop, he/she might be able to spin one out for you. Well ... spin two sides, weld it together, and add a tap. Better yet, 3D deposition print one. Extra points if he prints a chain-mail harness.

1. Cub scouts is not Boy Scouts. Nor is Whittling Totin'. But, this may be @Gwaihir's instructor's source of confusion. The privilege of greater accountability comes with moving up in the big leagues. 2. It's a card. In a kid's pocket (hopefully in a wallet ). It's likely to not survive the boy's tenure. If he damages it, should we call him out for hazing himself? Not every negative action is hazing. 3. We are not interested in collecting/sequestering knives and axes. We want scouts to hold onto them and keep working with them, making the world a better place in the process. 4. Some people see permanent damage. Others personal growth. The thing about those clipped corners? Scouts actually look at cards and compare how they've been cut. In looking at them, they sometimes read what's on them. BTW - after the first summer camp, I rarely see boys commit safety violations. (The catapult lofting empty water bottles at my tent being a rare, and admirable, exception.) I keep an open offer to replace any cut cards with whole ones. So far no takers.