qwazse

Two campouts devoted to cooking and you'll be set. Plus the boys who didn't take the course can learn by example.

There have been a lot of different meetings over the years, and quite a few agnostics have darkened the doors of our church, Jews as well. But you're right, I don't think we had too much in common with Albert. Besides, his visit to the 'burgh were rare and brief (http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Pittsburgh-Magazine/August-2012/Einsteins-Relatively-Short-Visit-to-Pittsburgh/) The point is that Einstien was quite outspoken, and if he thought the Bible was keeping our society in shackles, he would have made some attempt at "liberating" us.

I love the implication that Einstein was too chicken too declare himself an outright atheist. Maybe the scientists (leaders in thier fields, responsible for extending the lives of untold thousands) I meet for prayer on a regular basis are also cowardly athiests and merely taking time out of their otherwise busy schedules to keep up a pretense.

Thanks. An interesting read indeed!

Every SM get's panned for saying just that. Comes with the patch. Apply this simple test: Are you inviting every member of your patrol, troop, crew, etc ... ? Note that the question is in present tense. The working assumption is that the scout is getting approval IN ADVANCE. As in "what's the writing on the little scroll in the shape of a smile?" If you feel like you need to make up for lost time, here's a retrospective test: was there an invitation on the patrol/troop/crew mailing list or calendar?

What if it was an IYA as recommended here: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/e/e0/Individual_Youth_Accounts.pdf Or here: http://www.scouting.org/filestore/financeimpact/pdf/CFD-Manuals/Product_Sales_Guide.pdf (specifically, page 9) Contrary to your statement, National seems to condone scout accounts. Can you give us a link that expressly prohibits them?

Back when I went to Jambo, we didn't have no stinking schedule! Each day we got handed a stack of Hollerith cards for events at certain times, and we mixed and matched until we had a stack of events to suit us and how far we wanted to walk. Here's hoping your scout learns how to game the system t suit his fancy,

Wow! I wonder if they'll have a booth at Jambo! I have had the occasional scout with a pink/purple pack. I'm sure your daughter will enjoy her gift. Good work, Dad!

And camping and hiking? Don't forget that we do that for the purposes of character development as well. If a boy is not prepared to hike with us, we cannot provide the public benefit of well trained youth on our nation's trails, inspired conservation projects, and a knowledgable citizenry when it comes to issues of environment. P.S. - For the record, I'm just playing devil's advocate here. I hate ISAs. don't have them in my crew, and wish my troop didn't have them. My son and I would be just fine rolling the dimes credited to him into shaving costs for everyone.

Well, like I tell my boys: when a door closes, it's time to knock a hole in a wall. Keep putting yourself out there. There's gotta be someone in your district who would take advantage of you. My son #2 still has a 4 year old partial BC in swimming. So not every camp is a slam-dunk.

".... #1 & #2 ... you have the person who raised the money choosing how to use it and being the first to benefit and often the only to benefit because of wear and tear. " No, my troop benefits first because if the boy is prepared, we don't have to interrupt program to fish around for an old uniform or treat for hypothermia or buy the kid boots (if there were no spares in the troop store from previous stewardly purchases via ISA's). "Plus, if I donate my son's shirt after four years, I don't get to write off the full price of a new shirt. You get the garage sale price / value. Anything else is fraud. " - Nobody's making you use your son's ISA to by that uniform. If the boy uses his ISA, it's the troop's uniform, not his. So when he hands it down, it's not a donation, it's mere stewardship of troop resources. - You're certainly welcome to abstain from the troop's coffers and roll the dice on some organization wanting that ratty shirt after four years so you gain a write-off. Hope your boy respects his uni enough to make it worth your while. In fact, we don't make a boy use his ISA for anything at all. He can opt for it all to go back to the troop's coffers. Importantly, note the lack of boy-led in the statement "if I donate my son's shirt after four years, I don't get to". Isn't it your boy who would be applying for the write-off? Because really, if we compensated him for popcorn sales in the true sense, wouldn't the 1099 be in his name?

I agree with Fred. Credits=Currency. ISA's are real money that a boy uses for things that he thinks are real important. The only "correct" way to view ISA's, IMHO, is by applying youth led principles and teaching your boys this working definition: ISA's are troop monies put under the stewardship of the scout for the betterment of his troop or patrol. Examples ... 1. If a scout uses his ISA to buy a uniform, that uniform is the troop's. When it gets too big, it gets handed down to another scout. Boys inspect each others' uniforms because you never know who will be wearing it next! 2. If a scout uses his ISA to buy gear, it is because the troop needs a boy who is prepared. Any northerner who has had to deal with boys at winter camp outs with only one pair of sneakers knows what I'm talking about. Gear bought with an ISA -- if it hasn't been worn out after dozens of troop outings -- should be handed down to another scout. 3. If a scout pays for camp fees through his ISA, he is doing a service to the troop. Anyone who disagrees with me just needs to come to camp on a year that more than 5 boys can't make it! If you don't allow "ad hoc" patrols, then your boys really know what it's like to do without another youth! The troop/patrol gains more from any given boy being in camp than the boy ever gains from being with the troop. 4. If the boy uses his ISA for jambo, or as a provisional scout on a high adventure, he is doing a service to the troop. That boy will be representing your unit in a far corner of the globe. In the process of training for the trip, he may organize a super activity for your unit. On his return he will give reports that inspire your first-years with big ideas for the future. Thus ISA's aren't mere personal bank accounts for easy accounting of popcorn incentives. They are a tool that your most involved boys can use to shape their unit in ways they see fit.

Stosh, The "pulling out of the bin" happened at the last crew meeting. Up until this last point I had heard zero interest from the boys about the fall council camporee. Then, they reviewed their sports calendars and realized that they could make this work. I explained that the venturing portion may very well be scaled back because no crew has committed thus far, and they may have to contribute some sweat into having the fun. They were okay with that and brainstormed a few ideas. Gauntlet thrown ... Now to talk to the reservation director about the possibility of flaming arrows and exploding targets ... Thing is, if adults are afraid that I'm gonna cause lil' Johnny to lose a limb, the odds of volunteers to help supervise increases.

KDD, if you teamed up with your local Y or Red Cross to do swim instruction in the winter, I bet you could have a lot of boys in your troop (and their sisters) take the MB again by virtue of simply helping you run the course. One mom did this for a while and it was a huge benefit to our community. My kids were too young for MBs at the time, but we spent a lot of our summer on Lake Erie (and winter/spring breaks in FL) and it was a huge weight off my chest knowing my kids could cover 200 yards if they had to. Just puttin a bug in your ear ...

BD, sounds like the group who camped next to our pack one summer. We almost had them kicked out after one night. Camp director read them the riot act and that was that. They were lucky. Had I known the CD then as well as I do now, she would have gotten a phone call at midnight and they would have been gone at 1 am.

Co-parenting is tough. You wil need to communicate with your ex to properly help your daughter through scouting. But you might have an idea based on what you know of your ex's camping experience. If she's into the outdoors and has done a lot of camping, chances are she will lead her troop in that direction. Other ideas: raincoat, boots, survival kit. One time I bought my daughter a first aid kit and she thought it was the bees knees.

NJ, Maybe folks aren't as divisive on your side of the Appalachians! Consider yourself fortunate. Or maybe not. I like our involvement at the district and council levels. (It's almost a requirement for venturing crew officers.) My district and council people have been nothing but helpful most days (and generally take a step back when we make it clear they aren't helping). They've given my youth (both troop and crew) support for truly unique programs and service projects. So, when they stop by at camp - as they did this summer, they have my ear. And they have been spending a lot of time trying to figure out which COR's may need some TLC when rechartering time comes around. I'm hoping next time we cross paths that I can do them the favor of directing the conversation to how my youth can contribute to the next camporee, or the venturing advancement roadmap, or promoting the recent Islamic religious awards. (Oh, by the way, blessed fast to those starting Ramadan!)

K, Yep. The IOLS world is messed up. Nuff said. The one good thing about WB, if it is successful in recruiting across the area, is that you stand a good chance of meeting one or two female adult leaders who've been through the same gauntlet you have. Moreover you get a little time working with some "good old boys" and reshaping their opinions ... making it easier for the next mom/older sister. That quantity and quality of time is not offered anywhere else in scouting. That said, in your position, I would wait until you know your ASMs can carry the unit for the weekends you'll be away. That's the real cost: time away from you unit. As much as I liked my patrol of old crows, I missed those weekends and evenings with the youth in my crew.

Most troops will arrange for a Webelos to visit on nearly any of their outdoor activities. But really, that falls on the parent, not you. Give the parent the contact info for the scoutmaster(s). Obviously, if you have time to take the den on a couple of different outdoor activities, that's awesome! If not, move on.

It sounds like you'll just have to make less of a big deal about advancement. The boy is in a situation that you probably can't fix. Until these parents (or the extra guy) make scouting a priority, the boy's stuck. Just make sure the meetings are fun for everyone involved.

Mostly A or B. Mainly because we do patrol cooking and skip morning formation. No apologies to anyone. The boys know the facilities, they choose how the troop takes advantage of them. One MB problem was that a few eagle-required classes got flooded with first years who weren't prepared to work on requirements, that really annoyed our boys on days 1 & 2. Nearest WIFI is a 20 minute drive off reservation. Not sure if that counts as a plus or minus. Most of our boys have 3G plans so it didn't phase them.

I think skeptic's post applies to outside this forum. I've had quite a few adults (and one or two scouts) bring up the gay issue. I know district and council leaders have had this as a routine part of half of their conversations. Someone called our HQ proporting to represent our troop with an opinion completely opposite of how the SM and I operate. We could be talking about who's bringing a keg of root beer to the next camporee, but this political material keeps invading the conversation. Meanwhile, I was talking to one of the electors who attended the national meeting, and much of the more interesting stuff has received zero coverage. So all this chat about how scouting handles the sexualization of America's unmarried youth does seem to get in the way of teaching boys how to light fires and girls how to balance the load on their packs.

Really? That would be news to a whole bunch of Buddhist (and a bunch of people of quite a few other faiths). Though I guess you could be one of those people that don't believe Buddhism is a real religion. Seems that TJ (if he truly exists and is not some random bits projected on the internet in advance of a trisexual octupus-like exploitation of our blue orb) would be squarely in the non-religious/atheist camp. He makes it clear that he has no need to align himself with the powers of the universe. Any thing that is represented as a power is mere atoms just like the rest of us. That is where my Buddhist atheist friends seem to distinguish themselves. They act in such a way that seems to be out of obligation to a higher order than the material world. -- Along the lines of NJ's thinking. I have never conversed at length to any UUA's like DLWise describes himself. So I don't know how I would categorize that flavor, really. But then again, I am also told that systematic categories are just another artifact of Western civilization, so it may be a moot point.

Took some young adults on a couple miles of the Standing Stone Trail last Friday morning. Huckleberries by the bagful at the look-out just north of Throne Room! A hearty rattle let one young man know that he was picking a little to close to one Timber Rattler's sunning spot! A cupful of red raspberries in our garden today.

AS, First, thanks for being your son's DL, that's a huge gift that he will never forget. Second, stay fit (or get fit, if it applies). The boy will need you and his mom for that "one more hike" or whatever adventure is around the corner. I know one boy who only did a few campouts with scouts, but he get his mom and older brother to do some camping weekends since then. Third, stay trained -- especially youth protection and the other online stuff. Patrols that do overnights on their own need chaperons these days. (Really, they don't, but it's a paperwork thing.) If your YPT is up-to-date you could be that dad (and mom - if the Mrs. is willing) who is ready when they need them.. Fourth, share your passion. Look at the list of merit-badges, see if any match your vocation or hobby, and become a merit badge counselor. It sounds like, by the way you phrased things, you're on this track already. Just wanted to remind you and all the other cub leaders who are saying "bye" to their boy for a week for the first time that they can contribute in huge ways by serving the youth "around" their son as fervently as they've served the youth "with" their son! P.S. - Getting to know some older boys and their parents is great practice for when the one you have to live with hits 13!