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If they were very active in Webelos, I would definitely say yes. There was no reason why either of my sons couldn't have nailed down all of those skills. They had already camped and hiked and knew community leaders and had to learn to swim (because we spent lots of time with in-laws on Lake Erie and on the FL Treasure Coast). But lacking a sense of urgency, they took years. Adults (and even a PLC if they are determined) can set up a program that moves boys along and gets them tested properly. Now, the real challenge is helping those boys maintain and build upon those skills. That's where your troop comes in, BD! Have your SPL call their SPL and see if there's a location that your troop can share for a weekend and work on orienteering, pioneering, or some other activity that will help keep everybody sharp.

I'm suggesting to my older boys that a skit about the merit badge process would be helpful. I have one youth who should do quite well at it. But he's more "director" than "playwright." If anyone has something prepared, I'd appreciate sharing. (Woodbadge ticket, maybe?)

It's amazing how the things you think are easy can become quite complicated. Usually that's because the goal is dependent on other people. Becoming conversational in any language requires a huge commitment. That includes, among other things, spending time conversing with native speakers. If you have tons of Spanish speaking friends who will welcome you into their community and won't fall back on speaking English with you, you're goal is attainable. Otherwise, not so much. Don't judge other folks' ticket items. Getting first aid certification or trying out a few new recipes may be a huge challenge for someone. That's why you'll have a ticket counselor to help set reasonable goals. I thought getting my crew to Seabase would be easy. Turned that there were so many financial hurdles (including a folded airline) that it consumed most of my energy for months when I should have been working my ticket. Why I didn't make the high adventure one of my five goals? At the time I thought it was too "easy" and "routine". So, don't just think in terms of personal improvement. There may be a few simple things that have just not been getting done around your unit, and you are in a position to do it. You just need a little "fire under the butt.". Those make great items.

Boys that are in school full time asking for another class in the evening? Never saw it happen. If the boys wanted to hear from a counselor about a particular MB they could invite him to come and present on it. It's each boy's responsibility to start the badge if he's interested. Our boys do ask to meet with counselors during meeting time. We allow for that. It's the easiest way to address YP issues. And it's a good way to demonstrate for younger boys how to work on MBs. As boys mature, we see he following progression: 1. Earn a badge at camp. 2. Earn a badge from a counselor who frequents our meetings. 3. Earn a badge from a counselor who is willing to drop by on our meeting night, 4. With a buddy, earn a badge from a counselor at the location of the counselor's choosing. 5. Plan a troop/patrol outing with an outfitter who can counsel a MB of interest. Some boys will rack a few badges at district/counsel pow-wows/universities. But that's he exception, and they don't seem to advance any faster for it.

Depends on what the leader and his/her assistant can handle. But, I would say "No, it's not okay. At least not for the first few meetings." It's also important to get to know the parent's situation. Sometimes there is a mom/dad out there who truly deserves a "pass". Sometimes it's good for the kid to have mom away from the building for an hour.

Really, the cop should take jr. to the homicide investigation scene? The surgeon should take Jr. into the OR? The corrections officer, the pyschologist that counsels suididal pateints, shall I go on... not sure of the correlation there... Love the "shelter the boy" mentality. Of course you don't take him to the scene. It could impact the chain of evidence. But, by venturing age he could ride along. He could watch mom/dad present the evidence in court. One of our boy's moms is a child advocate lawyer. From following her to work (which can be a dose of gruesome mixed with sad some days), he decided his Eagle project will be to make a kid-friendly area in the courthouse waiting room. Again, the OR is a sterile field which takes discipline to maintain. But, yes, boys do watch from the galley. My wife's anatomy books are on the bottom shelf and our kids have been reading at them since they were toddlers. (My statistics journals, not so much.) Confidentiality dictates when my kids could come into the psych research office. But they've served as pilot subjects for our interviewers and technicians. They've answered the same intimate questions and have been subjected to the same tests. I've been talking to them about teen depression and suicide attempts for years. Heck, even TT's drawings would be something to show his boys long before they march off to college. Be neat to see if they could imitate one in Lego bricks! Obviously, there's a continuum. You don't dump every aspect of your job on a cub. But as they grow older, boys should be up for more interesting dinner conversations! But, can a so-called erotic artist proudly share any aspect of his/her work with a pre-teen? Or his/her mom and dad? Maybe it is a societal thing, and one day we'll get over our hang-ups and be able to suggest to kindergartners that in just 13 years they can have a lucrative career letting someone besides their spouse gawk at them luridly. My gut, however, tells me that will not be a good day.

It might but it also burns way too many scouts. How many scouts does it burn, really? How many "marginal" boys will be put off scouting and will never participate again (even though they hardly participated at as Life scouts year after year)? How many boys involved in "outside activities" don't even bother to call in weekly or put forth an effort to drop by an activity even for half a day? Not even for half a year? How many boys care so little about their troop, that no amount of verbiage is going to convince an SM that his signature belongs on the bottom of an Eagle app? I'm betting it's not all that many. But if it were 5 million, none should be Eagle.

Not in any manual that I've read, but ... I expect an Eagle to have a certain sense of dissatisfaction. Most recent example: Had an eSMC last week for a 17.9 y.o., and we pointed a number of areas that the boy would need to sharpen (chapter 1 material) before his board. He's a smart guy, I'm sure he could cram the night before and be good to go. But got a call from the SM today, and the boy wants another conference even though the paperwork was signed, checked, and approved. He is not satisfied with his performance, and wants to make a better showing to be sure he's prepared for the board. He also, I believe, sincerely cares that *we* respect him. He's in college, and has held down steady jobs, so this medal doesn't affect his standing with anyone. Bottom line: he will not be satisfied with himself until he can make up for the shortcomings he discovered at the last conference. Other examples: I expect an Eagle to be dissatisfied if he let his sports team or coach down. I'd expect him to be disatisfied if he wasn't the best musician in the band. Not getting straight A's would bother him, not to the point of worry, but to the point he figures out what's keeping him from learning everything put before him. If a disaster hits, I would expect him to wonder why he couldn't prevent every death and be rankled by every home that's not restored. I would expect him to think deep thoughts about his creator and think about the next step in his spiritual growth. That's the biggest distinction, as far as I can tell, between Life and Eagle. Fact is, most guys grow into that mentality, they just do it long after their 18th birthday.

"Can your boys join ours on a campout and teach us some of those skills?"

Last night I just saw an vocal stand of boys get a yellow card and evicted from the end-zone because the goal keeper complained that she was being harassed. No trial. No appeal. The ref just deciding that there was a teachable moment, and put a strike against the team. Two more of those could have cost the team the game. But complain to the conference that the ref was holding too high a standard of sportsmanship? Not a coach or player around that would dare ... Reason #4 (I'll wager) why families choose sports over scouts: varsity athletes AND fans are held to high standards, a letter means something nowadays.

"But I just want to hike and camp -- and other distractions."

"Did you do the requirements? Convincing yourself that your answer is the right one."

Back in the day ... No geocaches! Rock climbing? Nope. Compound bows? Rarely. Trap shooting? Not at camp. Rifle? Yep, but buy your own ammo. Line up at the trading post by the pay phone to call mom.

What about a man (my dad) who lets his 11y.o. son work at his beer distributor, hauling cases and legs into every bar in the county? Maybe he shouldn't have been a committee member. Very few of us are really in a position to throw stones. That said, if your profession is not one where you'd bring your kid, you probably have some thinking to do. And regarding the polished view of Thai bar girls, I met a woman who was widowed thanks to AIDS from one such "respectable" sex worker. She dug deep, forgave, and got to know some of the girls (most start their careers at age 12 and few reach age 18 - think the age of our scouts), nearly all were dying to get out, but nobody thought they were worth the time nor money to educate or retrain. No amount of religion can whitewash the fact that prostitution, wherever it occurs, exploits the most desperate in our society.

Put him with the den whose leader is most likely to succeed with the boy.

I think as parents of two girls who are getting fed up with the politicking, they have a say. But BP has a point. The best way to redeem the situation is to put the girls in touch with their leaders. It's really hard for a kid to complain about another adult. They want to be respectful. Plus, they may have recently acted like this adult (leaving not much room to throw stones). So you don't want the girls to feel like they have to complain about the person. What you want them to discuss with their leader is how they want what they say to be respected, and how they are afraid of certain program changes that may occur if the youth are ignored, and how the whole thing is robbing you all of a little fun. I'll endure a lot of crotchety old parents, but if a youth tells me that they are feeling bad about a situation, I'm stepping in.

P. - I think E was trying to connect a story with some experience guiding scouters who had adopted a similar attitude. E. - My cousin just teamed up with a cleric to ask hotel chains to stop offering porn on their subscription channels. Their proposal is getting some serious consideration. It may sound like he's swimming upstream, but there is a certain ebb and flow to these things.

I've heard that it's pretty standard GSUSA operating procedure. Not having ever need to deal with them, I've never bothered. Honestly, it depends on the type of camping. If you are in place for a week and working with fresh meat and locally harvested produce, bleach is a good idea. (Washing fruit in bleach before peeling is standard practice for travelers in the tropics.) Wipes are fine for a day and if you don't want to worry about a wet cloth molding up your pack, but they add a lot to the garbage in a large group after a couple of days. Hot water. Soap. Clean rinse (maybe with sanitizer). Sun dry. That's a lethal combination for most microbes. The three tubs is just an organizational thing. It makes it easy for youth to line up with their utensils/plates/cups and process the dishes. You have dozens of kids sticking their hands in the dishwater ... you want those hands cleaned before they grab the drying rack! Then a couple of youth are ready to clean pots and pans. Cleanup is done in minutes. If at all possible, I would train your girls to lash together a drying rack with rope and sticks. It really does add to the "cool factor" in a campsite if you can improvise the comforts of home.

Bead collecting is an adult instinct as old as stacking cairns at stream crossings. From time to time we let the kids in on it.

You know, there are folks who just can't stand it when something wonderful is happening. The kids having gobs of fun is not sufficient evidence that you're doing something right. The pull out reams of quotes from some adult oriented guide in an attempt to shame you for not operating by the book. Non leaders sit on their hands, period. They don't suggest. They listen to what's needed to be done and they support it. They offer time talents and cold hard cash where needed at the leader's approval. They stop doing what the leaders disapprove of. How complicated is this? PS I know nothing of what latitude your GSUSA council will give you. It would be a shame to slight the girl because of the parent.

Hate to say it, but if my council didn't make me, I probably would not have ... Did it make me drive better? Don't know. Did it give me a rough outline to review with drivers before every trip? Yep. Could any of my adults have avoided accidents given the training? Maybe. Could all that have prevented our troop's one fatality? I sincerly doubt it. That one was completely out of our hands. By the way guys. When you get a moment, check your brakes.

We have had the opposite luck with transfers. Even if we were a little more strict with MB acquisition, they stuck with us. Let's face it, if you join us, you're drinking our koolaide! Likewise for the parents. They were good people and greatful that we accepted their boys. We got real leaders from each of them. Now, one or two of those boys parted ways once he or his friend made Eagle, but none asked us to cut corners. Or, if they did, they accepted our "well, no" cheerfully. That's not to say some of those boys weren't anything but trouble. We do try to touch base with the old SMs, but we also take their report with a grain of salt. Sounds like you've done the same. So, don't let the bad apples ruin the pie. Have a warm handshake ready for every transfer.

Our council requiires Risk Zone training. It addresses those specific personal habits topics plus (this one that I've seen many adults ignore) no car caravans!

As the temps drop around here, we find a buddy has helped protect a lad from hypothermia. So, 2 minimum is what we promote. We're fine with 6 in a tent, although sleep deprivation can be an issue like 2nd class mentioned. Our youth bring their own tents. That comes in handy if they want to go camping with their family or friends. (For example, son #1 and his girlfriend used our family gear to take 8 friends from their fellowship camping this weekend.). Over the years, we've kept a variety of tents from 1 to 6 man in the garage. Of course that strategy only works if one in three families are interested in helping their boys maintain their own gear. Finally, if an SPL or JASM would rather tent on his own, that's fine as long as there's a berth for everyone.

It sounds like your 3 oldest should move up to JASM, that will give them the free time to found a crew with their girlfriends! More importantly, it will give them the authority to guide the new PLs. Your basically training them to fill your present position. With any luck, one of them will have time to help ASM in the future. On the other hand, if your older boys have had their fill of intense leadership positions, they may want to go back to being "just this guy in a patrol." If they are willing to be good followers, that's OK. If one of your high school boys wants to have a crack at SPL, or wants to have a do-over because he wants to improve, that's fine too. This may be one of those things that you bring up with the boys. They may have an opinion. Or, in may just be time to hold SPL/PL elections.