qwazse

Thanks for the update. These things take time. Sports? Our troop is 80% soccer players. Good ones. Year-round. When we camp, it guts the team. Gives the 2nd string a chance to step up. No regrets.

A good OA chapter does wonders for a boy and, in turn, his troop. I know for some of you there's no comparison, but a good VOA (Venturing Officer's Association) should also be doing the same thing for a youth and his/her crew.

Good thing I'm a crew advisor. I can only pull off the naps!

Either he or a clever imposter just posted on the trail life thread.

good point, dc. Plus when you fit that bit in about how far you can jump on the moon using the same force (which has to deal with hang-time minus drag), you can point out that watching movements (among other methods) is how one can tell an authentic moonwalk from a staged one. The motion of the actors is different (longer aloft), and the dust that gets kicked up doesn't form clouds, it just flies up and drops (no drag)!

It's like the boys in my troop have evil twins!

Sometimes, families have guests. Yes, they do change the dynamic. Usually for the good (although there was that one incident, over tiramisu, when the Maurtanian and the Malian started a row over the price of tea in Timbuktu).

Mine would be ... M: water bottle rockets, T: geocaching, or (if folks won't volunteer GPS's) radio station orienteering, H: catapults, F: lofting water balloons (to determine the probability of soaking the camp director)! Good luck. Get help from teachers. Ask them what they would like to do with their students but the classroom stuff got in the way. Ask lots, and in the process a few helpers might get roped in.

JB, if the kid's backyard can be set up as a wetland to draw ducks, then you have a point. But that's more than just putting up a box, isn't it? Your family would have to commit to not mowing that section of property, you would have to clear it of refuse, maybe reclaim the tract for wetlands, and pen up the dogs. My brother-in-law and his wife did just that on his suburban property, and the ducks came, but it was an impressive piece of work. For it to be sustainable, they had to build a pen to keep the nests away from the coons and keep gators out of the pond.

When our adults are guests at scouts' tables, we stay at the adult campsite sipping our coffee (usually my espresso and one other lest robust brand) until a messenger is sent to let us know the meal is ready. We leave before the washing up starts. Although, if the dishwater is ready, I'll clean my own bowl, porcelain espresso cup, and gay floral patterned silverware and leave it to dry in a corner of the camp box approved by the PL.

Leave No Trace was designed by several US government agencies for any and all organizations to use in their programs. BSA is perhaps the largest consumer. One could say that BSA has been milking the fruit of practical Christianity for years and TL is only putting the original moniker on it. (That's technically not correct because methods of ordering one's life stem from monastic traditions that predate the Evangelical movement by a millenium - but in broad strokes, it fits.) Breaking accomplishment into small steps is nothing new. The European University model was developed in the 12 century. BSA has 7 ranks; TL six. They seem to be imposing age benchmarks, which BSA does not do. You say potayyto, I say potahhto ... More importantly, the TL organizers are very much aware of copyright law. Some of them may have helped BSA defend it's turf over the years. I really don't want a dime of my membership fee going towards infringement challenges against TL. I'd rather the boys who are caught up in this culture war to get into learning and growing and building program, so I'm glad the conversion chart is available to them.

With the troop, it varies. At summer camp, adults take rotation as guests at each patrol. On backpacking trips we often have our separate mess kits. And, boys will split the meal with whoever wants to share the same thing. Sometimes that's an adult. Other times, when I really want to show how it's done, I organize the old-fart's patrol into a culinary masterpiece. With the crew, we're all a team and when my most talented youth are cooking, you ain't keeping me from eating with them.

Yep. We run the gammut. From D/O, to grill, to kit, to cup, to nuthun but coals (I can still taste the steak/fish). The boys are responsible for choosing the kit(s) they will use for a particular activity.

There's no business like show business ...

In general, we're suckers. If we know there's an extra seat we'll fit 'em in. It's up to the patrols how to figure out meals, but we usually buy a little extra. Parents, BTW, should not have to pay attention. I agree that it is disruptive, and if it was the same family every time, we would have a serious discussion. Worst case scenario (this happens with our Crew a lot): if not enough folks sign up, the event gets canceled. It's really depressing when you get a bunch of calls two days later with close to the minimums you needed! I'm usually pretty blunt and say "If only you had been more responsible and called in saying you were thinking about signing up."

Yes, you can be multiple registered and wear a different hat in each unit. No extra cost (except the paperwork) to do so. Sounds like you have a good plan. Thanks for your service and enjoy the boys.

If the boy is enthused about a unit, and the unit is enthused about the boy, let him join it. The other alternative, that folks are ignoring here, is to simply quit scouting for a year. We recruit the occasional boy who was fed up with cub scouts. They do well. The occasional boy who didn't like cub scouts but was forced to participate, then forced to crossover ... he doesn't do so well. Now, regarding the young crossover who I knew, it's not like he was engaged in the troop continuously. Around age 14 he begged off scouting for about a year. He claimed that was because of maturity issues, but I don't think it was from issues that stemmed from him crossing over young. That is, had he crossed over a year older, he would have hit the same "rut" at high school age.

Agreed. Birdhouse is not an option. Do encourage the scout to consider fish and wildlife MB if he still want's to build the nesting box. The main reason is so boys learn to follow instructions with some degree of precision.

Since when is there a copyright on fire starting? Also, religious recognitions are not a requirement of BSA, a distinctive of the "Trail to Freedom." Were I to advise a TL group; however, I would encourage the boys to demonstrate that they have mastered most of the skill related requirements before requesting sign-off on the respective advancement.

Well, BSA goes around touting that the unit should be considered an extension of the church's youth ministry. Lots of us, myself included consider scouting to be an excersise in "practical Christianity." In this charged political atmosphere, when folks are being forced to choose sides, like children in a nasty divorce, what do you do expect a Christains with sincere convictions on the other side of the cultural divide to do?

So, loose 100,000 members ... that's about 2 million in income from registration fees alone. Disney's contributions were only in proportion to its employees who donated to BSA. If 1 in 12 who were donating to BSA left, it's unlikely they would apply for matching funds anyway. Since most corporation contributions operate via matching funds without prejudice as to the groups their employers support, nationwide, membership decline will has a greater long-term direct impact on corporate donations nationwide.

Guess to recoup those $$, BSA needs to build a better mousetrap.

This is a more articulate description of venturing as the "Un-Cola" of scouting. It also makes the point that all the changes are likely "window dressing." Still, it ignores the economic issues in venturing and does not recognize the CO as the true customer base.

Well, they are volunteers, so acting professional won't get them a raise. This is a common story in small packs. Look around for another Pack with the accountability you think you deserve.

Which membership fee? The 2010 one?