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You may think it's right because someone made up a rule for your troop/district. But it is not required by the Guide to Safe Scouting. And for some of the things we should expect boys to do at this age (especially your troop's older boys, once they wash their mouths out with soap), the presence of adults undermines those expectations. So, 8 boys, two minivans and two adult drivers for an overnight are compliant with the G2SS (as long as they aren't overladen with gear). Likewise 6 boys, one adult and a minivan on a day trip (say, first aid instruction) are compliant with the G2SS (as long as the instruction doesn't involve the adult being alone with one of the boys). Eight boys, no adults, no motor vehicle and a solid hike plan (reviewed by the SM) are compliant with the G2SS for the day. Not saying that you all don't have a right to make up your own rules. Just be aware that they aren't from National.

Uniforming in a promotional message is used to reach: the ladies -- moms to be exact. Especially with the little cubs. Precious little else tugs at their heartstrings more. the veterans. Servicemen are sincerely moved when they see boys working at looking sharp while raising colors. businessman. Sharp boys = courteous customers. Form a boy's perspective, he has the choice of dozens of uniforms (sports leagues, school blazers, Sunday bests). He already has learned that the threads don't define the program. He may have learned this the hard way. (One season on a team of diva's will do it. They all line up for opening ceremony looking sharp, but after the coin toss, what's under the uniforms better perform with flawless execution.) So, looking from the outside, unless those uniformed fellas are skipping through a meadow or shooting skeet, they communicate nothing to the average teen.

Truth: one boy who liked waiting at our spaghetti dinner fundraiser above all else. another boy liked the fellowship and fair weather (it happens sometimes, usually in my absence) and staffing summer camp. others liked our ski trips, shooting sports, and service opportunities. It's not all about camping. That's just where the majority of our boys find their passion. It's also where they can be most independent, but not every boy is ready for that. At age 11, the concept can be intimidating. Then, at older ages it can feel like a distraction.

Chips would require a reader, something that may not be available. Plus the encoding would need to be standard and interpretable across generations of software. (Same applies to bar codes.) Furthermore, they would have to withstand electromagnetic radiation and electrical currents of diagnostic and therapeutic instruments.

Thanks for the window into the minds of British youth! I'd love for my scouts to read this. (The youngest in our troop is 13.)

That's about how it works in a volunteer organization. Yours is a big one at that, so micromanaging becomes a full time job. Don't let it dominate you like that. Note: if your troop is successful, the ASM or SM won't be deciding to have a patrol meeting. The PL will. Honestly, if this troop were more boy-run, you might have a much easier time with this paperwork. Things will be so much easier when we come up with medical record tattoos.

No matter how big the catch, it's always the ones that got away! Sounds like your answers will be found in the 13 scouts and 5 crossovers who missed the event. You (and your PLC) need to tease out: Health issues. (I had one crew member with circulation problems ... Dr.'s orders: no cold weather) Apprehension on the part of the boy or parents. (Never mind that when the ice snaps power lines, beside that wood stove is the most comfortable place to be!) Other activities/obligations. Doesn't like camping. Not prepared (no gear or training) for a particular event. Then think about what you all might need to change. Obviously, getting everyone prepared isn't gonna help if most of your absenteeism is due to other obligations. One general strategy is to be flexible with older scouts who are often very active in several things per season. If their parents approve, let them drive up Saturday evening or encourage them to stop by for breakfast. Chances are they don't need the camping nights or service hours, but fellow-ship is a big deal. Warning: this could open the door for parents of younger scouts to try to spread their boy's weekend too thin. Be frank with parents in explaining that every boy is different and what may work for some of the boys is not working for their son. Another is your after-action review at the next meeting. This is usually best started by a report from the youngest scout (maybe with the help of a buddy). His perspective on things usually reminds the rest of the group of the fun that could be had anywhere.

I think we're actually better for keeping it simple. It returns us to the original notions of projects, which weren't intended to teach boys general contracting. However, I do agree: "Briefly" should include a metric (one, not a half-dozen) that quantifies what you expect to do. Fred's examples are fine ... except for the "how much you hope to collect"? That's a little out of the scout's control. And we should be satisfied with "... the beneficiary is grateful ...", at the same time, we should coach beneficiaries in expecting an appropriate level of action. Then the scouts after action review should be able to critically evaluate: Did he implement his plan? Did it have the intended result?

So, we had a break in the weather this weekend ... which basically meant a few inches of snow instead of mind-numbing cold. So I spent a lot of time shoveling snow/slush before everything re-freezed. In the afternoon I walked a mile to our neighborhood coffee shop. It's a pleasant walk through a sleepy town across a couple of bridges: saw some deer bedded down in the valley, the finches were out, etc ... Anyway, an erstwhile scout in Son #2's class was working at the shop, and when I placed my usual afternoon order (iced coffee), he pointed to the snow outside the window and asked, "Are you sure you want that given the weather?" I assured the young fellow that it was the beverage of choice given the conditions. And I ribbed him that if he had spent more time camping with us, he'd have a better sense of when warm beverages were essential. Sometimes, you just gotta model to young people how they should live ... really live ... and hope that they'll try on their own and think "So, that scouter might have been crazy, but he was also right!"

When we use someone's style (or lack thereof) as an excuse to discount everything they have to tell us, our words become bludgeons instead of ties that bind. Here's an link that references the article in the OP: "PC doesn’t so much liberalize our nation as divide it, and the divisions will only widen the louder and angrier the forces of political correctness become."

For fits and giggles, I started with the clearance (since it had an online app). In the organization field, I put "Church scouts". I'm playing "God is who I'm working for, and anyone who accepts currency with his name on it should be fine with my one clearance." If the bureaucrats kick it back to me, I'll let you know. P.S. - There seems to be a way to submit your organization's code if they're footing the bill. I can see that going bad quickly!

As absolutely important as it is that we hear from you, maybe you should submit your musings to the course newsletter ... How were the tents? Hopefully canvas. Nothing grates like snow sliding down nylon (millions of tiny fingers on their little chalk boards. )!

It can be worse to be the SA and spouse of a type-A personality with a 17.9 yo life scout. "Can't you become a counselor for one of his remaining MBs?" "Sure, honey, you know me. I'd love to add to the BS in the BS of A." (Actually, I didn't have the spine to say that. Instead, I pawned it off on the District Advancement Chair who knows everyone in the troop and has no qualms about raising red flags.)

Don't get me wrong, I think the elective MB program is terrific for a boy. If you can encourage your boys to each pick one elective to work on outside of camp and a couple in camp every year, you'll be doing right by them. "Hey son. Earn some badges. Sucker your troop into participating in some of them. I'll find you counselors." That's what I do. As far as my contribution to STEM, sometimes I bring my work with me camping. Then I'll show the boys some of the analyses I'm working on or writing up. We get deep into scientific method, ethics, experimental design, and statistics. But, given a choice between introducing the boys to our latest MB counselor in whatever program the boys are designing versus promoting one more top-down scheme. I'll choose the former. I'll encourage the adults to do the same. Caveat: I'm in a school district that sends a lot of its students to college. Their math and sciences are quite good. If that wasn't the case, maybe I'd be a little more pro-active, tell the boys to read http://www.scouting.org/stem/Awards/BoyScouts.aspx, and let me know if any of them would like to try it. If they give the go-ahead, I'll find them a mentor. If I were in a community where the youth lacked any vision of their role in the sciences AND other adults were doing a bang-up job with the outdoor program, I might consider being a STEM mentor. Finally, let me clarify my understanding of "youth driven": a unit comes up with a program, finds out that other troops want to imitate it, and make a proposal to national. An example would be the recent "Honor Guard" position. It may not meet some national imperative, and the way it's being implemented irritates the tar out of adults who want there to be a laundry list of requirements and qualifications, but it captures the vision of the boys of troop 944 and writes it large! I assert that STEM, on the other hand, is "adult driven" ... very thoughtful adults who may be on to something ... but adult nonetheless. Name the youth advisory board for the STEM awards, and I'll retract my assertion.

Sentinel, part of my comments were just to lighten things up a little. Advisors who I know laugh at this bean-countery. Wanna date across the fraternization boundary? Just let one of your registrations lapse while you do. Worst that can happen? Someone's service star comes in a few months later -- if the registrar even notices. Hopefully, this link will shed some light on your question.

NJ, I'm not entirely sure this should be in I&P. Yeah I know. I really resent (should Mrs. Q ever decide to leave me for the milkman) not being permitted to invite a venturer to a candlelight dinner until she ages out of the program. The fraternization policy isn't about age taboos. It has more to deal with leader-subordinate roles being undermined by dating relationships. There's a number of threads around here somewhere that discuss it. No need to cuss.

More details and heated opinions Here

On the flip side, most of us need the clearances for other youth programs we're involved with. So it's not like we're not already getting this done. But yeah, it may be more economical for the boys if they just go hiking and camping on their own. 😉

Yes. The choice of CC is entirely up to the Charter Organization; therefore, the Charter Org Representative can allow whoever he/she thinks is best for 5he job to chair the committe.