qwazse

There's a balance. Depends on the maturity of the boys. For example, we left a pretty open schedule this weekend in case of snow vs. clear nights for star-gazing, etc ... But I made it clear that I would be bringing maps of our community in which they were to plan and make at least one significant hike. They did. (Meanwhile SM and I hiked to a coffee shop and touched based via cell-phone when they asked for guidance on our way back.) Meanwhile one scout realized we were camping next to a girl friend's property, called her, and she asked if they could visit her chicken operation. I told them to clear it with her parents, invite the rest of the patrol, and be sure to invite them back for dinner (which they declined, but it's the thought that counts).

No I think geometric covers it, specifically though, the amount of chaos per body-count is typically hyperbolic rather than exponential. There's an asymptote out there somewhere ... a.k.a. "Shh, the SM's gonna hear us!"

jc143, have you read the Guide to Safe Scouting? From your other two questions, I thought you had, because indeed there are no specific restrictions. But, this one sounds like you've been taught the opposite of national policy. What resources are you using? Maybe we can direct you to better ones.

You've answered your question.

Depends on the tent. Most I've experienced was maybe 24. Growing up, our troop had a "circus" tent donated from the national guard. We'd set it up on winter campouts. (Mainly 'cause it was easiest to move via Klondike sleds.) Like 'HAWK said, geometric curve ... as in bedtime snowball fights (the snowballs on parabolic trajectories, of course )! As far as minimums, I've allowed -8. That is, if a group of boys wanted to sleep under the stars, and only a couple set up a tent or an emergency tarp in case of rain, that was no problem with me. Site clean-up is actually a lot easier because stuff stays in boys' packs rather than splayed all around a tent.

I fondly remember the summer after first grade walking with my cousin (visiting from out-of-town) about a mile to the community park, then dropping by an uncle's bar for a hamburger and soda. Yes my mom was afraid of nearly everything, but she was more worried about what would happen to me if I stayed home when the "adult features" on PBS started coming on.

Would you expect there to be? We're talking about a very loose federation of national organizations. They aren't in a position to issue censures. If I understand the history of world scouting in general, the real impact comes as youth convene at world jamborees then take their discoveries about scouts from other nations home and re-tell them. A truly glacial process in our post-modern age, but then again glaciers are receding more quickly as well too! I think substantive "actions", if there will be any at all, will be in which organizations get invited to world jamborees. For example invitations sent to, the US based Baden Powell Scouting Organization vs Trail Life might indirectly communicate WOSM's sensibilities. (Or it might simply indicate, who knows who in the broader scouting community.) In any case, at the moment we can't even expect to have tea leaves to read.

JG172, although I respect your enthusiasm, sometimes taking a step back is the best strategy. Does it mean fewer youth get served? It could. But it could also means that fewer scouts have to look at a burned-out ASM and say "Gee, I'm never gonna volunteer and wind up like him." Doing all those things for the committee meant j649 was doing less and less for the boys. Worse, it sounds like he was an easy mark for parents who lacked the stones to deal with the SM. That's a bad place to be. It's one thing if parents aren't stepping up ... you just reduce the number of activities ... it's another if they are not stepping up and criticizing the SM/ASMs for how they choose to take up the slack.

That's good news about your son! (Nobody wants to here a bad report, but it's good to know you have folks tell you straight.) He's comfortable with his buddies and you can count on him to keep experiencing scouting with minimal tears. Parents do need to step up. Eventually you will find the one or two things that you do best and let the other 10 fall by the wayside. Every parent and boy has to decide to do the same.

Great points S947, and I think you just made 'HAWK's point ...

I had an erudite reply, but the forum locked-up before I could send it. Who can you talk to besides some guys spending lots of time on the internet? Well, you should have a district or council advancement chair. That person keeps up to date on the requirements. If the supervising counselor is convinced that your boy really is worthy of the badge in no uncertain terms, he could give the SM a call as well. But, what was really lost here? Well some communication. And, that's a pity because communication is what builds trust in the long run. The only fix is that son learn how to plan a little bit more in advance and try to close those communication loops between him and the SM. Then there's a patch. That's it, the boy doesn't have a little round patch that can be sewn on a sash. But the SM seems to indicate that that's only a matter of time. And, good news! There are 130+ other patches to earn in the meantime. I think his next move is to ask for a conference about what MB (or two) he should work on next. What's gained? Skills! There are precious few young men who know how to safely perform water rescues. You now have the peace of mind that your son now has some sense of what to do (or refrain from doing) when a day threatens to turn very bad. Combine that with good judgement and some assertiveness, and he may have a hand in forestalling death. Then, you may talk to your district/council advancement chair about Medal of Honor paperwork! If he stays in shape, in three years he can take the BSA guard course ... make sure he picks the biggest buddy he can find to be his practice victim!

I guess here's an original answer to the OP: (Colossians 4:6) "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." I'm not exactly sure what St. Paul intended by "salt" but it probably wasn't what my SM called "salty speech". Regardless, it's a reasonable model for "a scout is clean." And it came from a guy under house arrest for his public declarations. I'm not saying I know exactly what pen strokes allow a cartoon to become "grace, seasoned with salt", but I kinda suspect that we all have a sense of what we should allow ourselves. Even so, that's not gonna keep someone from being killed over what they say ... Nero had a quite visceral answer for what Paul and his lackeys said ... but what was said eventually won over an empire.

I'd chalk it up to post-modernism and the necessity that there be more than one narrative for everything.

When we had a scouter who was dying, regular transfusions of blood were a huge help. So, the boys canvased the neighborhood and hosted a blood drive for him. After he passed, they hosted it for many years in his honor.

Every school district is different. Ours will allow us to produce flyers with the note at the bottom that the program is independent of the school district. They sometimes will make copies and circulate them as well and put them on the "community" page of their website. The principal may arrange time for an assembly or let you set up a table at the end of the school day, or the PTA may ask for you to come to one of their family nights. The school principal and superintendent would probably love to hear from you. Let your DE know your plans. He/she might have promotional materials all ready to go.

Excellent questions! Some uncomfortable answers: Engage lovingly by learning the arguments for and against the other faith.This includes Getting to know the the occasional zealot. Understanding what they value. Learning their language. Distinguishing the thugs from the idealists. Reminding zealots that in their hey-day, Islamic empires benefited from the good graces of their non-muslim citizens, and in its dark ages Christian Europe marginalized non-Christian (sometimes non-catholic) citizens. The Soviets marginalized everyone who would not put the state above all else. Things weren't all that great when our countrymen started demonizing godless communists, and when they stopped being communist, the simply godless. The general consensus after centuries of observation: a healthy society grants folks a little room to be themselves. Admitting where your people may have sold out your faith a little for the sake of your culture. Learning how to communicate what your religion has taught you about handling provocations. Prepare youth to oppose thuggery wherever it may appear. This means figuring out how to stand up against and command the respect of brute force bullies. It also means figuring out how to stand up against and command the respect of those who openly mock others.

Willkommen! I can assure you that each of your six boys is different even if they are the same age. (But you probably already knew that!) We look forward to hearing your adventures as they hike and camp and generally grow into find young men.

JoeBob, the proposal is based on a skewed Western understanding of Islam. Even if there were a tradition of Allah being unwilling to honor the works of any body touching swine, it could simply be annulled by fatwa declaring that the lamb sacrificed for the Eid would be sufficient to overcome any infidels' defamation of your corpse. Pawns though they may be, jihadists are not deterred by feeble attempts at twisting their superstitions.

I have a couple of friends who are political cartoonists. So, I know that they've born malice from extremists, and it made them think twice about what they drew. I think there are bounds on taste. If we are merely mocking someone else, or setting them up for abuse, then maybe we should change our tone. If we are appealing to someone else to see things at a higher level, then maybe they should listen. I agree with Pack that you can't legislate courtesy. And those gunmen who felt the could do so by force are mere pawns in someone else's very nasty game.

This is where you get state park/trail maps, and draw a radius reflecting how far you all want to travel. Then have the boys research points of interest within that radius. Then, figure out how you can get by with minimum equipment. I met a troop from Michigan who was backpacking the North Country Trail in PA. They didn't bring tents. Each patrol was assigned two light-weight tarps. These were specifically designed for backpacking. But trade-off some weight, increase flexibility and 8'-by-8' or 8'-by-12' tarps would serve.

E94, look into the politics of those "primitive camps." In our council they are typically land grants that if the council cedes ownership (i.e., attempts to sell), all proceeds revert to the estate of the original donor. A rule from which my boys benefit greatly, since they love primitive camping!

Rechartering my crew was nasty. That's partly my adults' faults for waiting so long to do their YP online, then discovering that the site was resetting their password or whatever. Partly, because the system didn't recognize who my COR was even though he was registered as the troop, so I had to touch base with our troop CC to make sure we had our documents in line before I even bothered sending them to HQ. Staff in most councils aren't IT saavy, and unless there is a volunteer who knows how to design user interfaces they set things up badly, You're not alone.

Barry has a point. And it's not just adults. My boys know my opinions about the irrelevance of an SPL unless there are 18 or more boys around. Nevertheless, they are down to a 1-patrol troop and they still fuss over who is SPL ... even though we haven't doled out an SPL patch for a couple years. The real issue is what a troop tasks the senior patrol leader with. Does he coordinate? Or does he dictate? Is he mentoring? Or is he bailing out slackers? Are the PL's giving after-action reports? Or are they waiting for his orders? I'll through this out: with a troop-method emphasis, the SPL is a grueling, nasty, mop-up-other-peoples-mess position. With a patrol-method emphasis, the SPL is an honor position, slightly easier than PL, with ample time for naps (or practical jokes on JASMs).