qwazse

I personally discourage the use of elsectronic social media by younger scouts. I have not seen our crew's FB group improve communications at all, so I am not inclined to stretch the rules for younger scouts to make it work in our troop. Our time is better spent teaching youth to routinely check a troop website. The boys in my troop who do use FB created their accounts on their 13th birthday. My youngest son actually refused to set up an account the week before his 13th birthday. I inform parents of these norms, but try not to get into details. For some families, it is very important to have individual E-mails for their children. For other's it is very important to have one family E-mail until a kid starts applying for college. Finally, OwntheNight points out a very important facet of E-mail, it has a poor Reciever/Operator Characteristic. A message that goes out to a patrol does not impact all members equally. It's no replacement for regular meetings. So, I guess I tend to be pragmatic about this. It's kinda like that music download thing ... You get more mileage having an open discussion than you do playing detective, judge, and jury.

How can I explain this? If we were sitting at a campfire and I were to tell you that every word we said (less voice inflections or hand motions or any of that other things that let us now this is a "safe" conversation) would be recorded and maid available for review ... would you change what you would say? Probably at our age, the answer would be "no." We've been burned enough by saying or writing things in a way that got everyone we care about riled up that we've learned to be more constant in our choice of words. Younger adults ... not so much. Yet they treat their electronic devices as if they offered them the confidentiality that a cafe` table provides. That simply isn't the case.

Bought my leather hat in for $30 a few years ago. Made in China (which explains the price), but the best piece of headgear I've ever had. Suitable for backpacking. Wore it skiing once (before the helmet regs). Looks good on the street. (I get compliments from everyone -- working stiffs to village people.) Give's me something to tip as the ladies pass by. The cloth band on the inside is starting to fray, may cost more to get a new one sewn in than what I payed for the thing in the first place. Best wallets I get are from an Indian merchant. He sells them for about $5, and the last almost as long as the "men's store" wallet. THE SUPERACTIVITY that my youth ask to do year after year is a $50/person mid-week campout at a beach on Lake Erie. Just a couple of days. One boy specifically requested we schedule it before he has to report to boot camp. I feel bad because it looks like we won't be able to because my vacation days and my dimes our gonna be blown getting 1/3 of the crew on a sailboat in The Abacos Bahamas for a week. The kids who picked this sailing trip literally priced their friends out and -- thanks to college and family needs -- now they themselves can't go. Negative synergism and hard times are like that. I'm feeling a little like we bought that $600 purse when all we really needed was a bunch of $30 hats.

Twocub, the issue is not you giving a word of encouragement to your scout, or me texting my venturer which bus gets him from his school to the night's meeting place. Parents are generally aware that we do a lot of that "on the fly", and are grateful for it. The issue is a young ASM or crew advisor "just being a friend" by having repeated "deep conversations" with a youth and letting it happen over social media completely unaware of how it can be blown out of context. That casual conversation that would get completely forgotten at the campfire winds up logged somewhere for "the rest of the world" to judge. The co-advisor who is always in a sidebar with the same venturer of the opposite sex on every campout is going to hear from me (if the crew president doesn't get there first). Even an ASM can get coached in one direction or another if you're camping together. But that "hair on the back of your neck" kind of feeling is attenuated when much of the back-conversation happens in messages that you never see until a concerned parent is waving the call log in your face. So, yeah, training that says "never do this" is going to be ridiculous and unenforceable. Training that teaches folks the ideal use for each tool and what some boundaries *may* be, will better prepare us for the next big thing. Well it's getting about time for that weekly touch-base call to my crew president. For some reason, I feel like using the land line ...

I think it's awesome how you did this. Incorporate your "rainbinator" somehow (different color for each day?), and your program will never be forgotten. Beyond this syllabus, I think you will need to prepare a "lead a horse to water" minute lecture for the SM orientation. Let them know what (if anything) they can expect to get from you at the end of the week. As far as first aid kits, the few of our kids who don't have them already always raid the troop supplies. We figure it's better that they have a few bandages handy than we account for every dime. I'm sure the trading post would be happy to accommodate them as well. And that's the point about the trail to first class. We want to raise up boys who walk their own path. So, just like the cooking rotation, some things are their responsibility. Now if you do see a boy who's poorly resourced, you should free to act scouter to scout as you fit. Don't let anyone pull that "if you do it for one, you'll have to for all" rubbish. But chances are a simple word to the SM "Johnny needs X or Y" will do for most needs.

What twocub said. More importantly, listen to your boys now that the race is over. What do they say? Do they want to try again next year? Are they trying to build a similar track for racing their cars at home? If so, then you probably want to volunteer to help work on that track and rules/regs for next year. That will also mean talking to other packs in your district to find out how they operate. For what it's worth, that software is a hassle. A necessary evil, but a pain nonetheless.

Thanks for the legwork Oak Tree! Next time I see a practicing homosexual kid, I'll show him the door along with those promiscuous heterosexuals. Bart, love it! But, I was thinking of some seriously rugged leprechauns in a a treasure laden canoe shooting some whitewater through a rainbow caused by the mist. Anyway, I think a revamped service patch (more color, not less) and a snazzier website will get them more traction than a name change.

Ea, I agree that our registrar deserves props. I did lock horns with her once over an advancement issue, but she did me the courtesy of bringing other folks in on the conversation and a call went to National and back in that same hour. Multiply my issues times the thousands of scouters in council, and I can't imagine a day when her agenda isn't derailed by one crisis or another coming through the door! That said, I can imagine a variety of scenarios where someone like OGE would like a voice of reason from outside council. But, I bet that "voice of reason" will first ask, "Have you talked to your SE about this?" Brace yourself OGE.

Because some stat methods I was researching last week brought up stuff by economists ... 1. Devise an algorithm for managing credit default swaps. a. Write complicated equations to make sure it looks like you know what you're doing. b. Analyze some "hard data" using those equations. c. Report your analysis in writing. Make sure that for each sentence describing likely risks, there are two describing potential yields. d. Tell your counselor the importance of disclaimers like "Past yields do not necessarily indicate future performance." Explain the proper small font size. I feel dirty just thinking about it. Gotta shower.

RSchiff, right on about that separation of work clothes. Son #1 started his first week at the mill. Got assigned jacket and overalls that he promptly tossed in with his last load of stuff from college. It all came out smelling like a coke oven! Reminded me of grandpa coming home at the end of his shift.

I guess it's just more motivation for a crew to design their own uniform.

Never counted. But, really, I think cub leaders endure so much more than the rest of us! Bless the lot o' yinz. And if knots keep you in the game, let's make you a few more.

NJ - don't need a source to say it isn't there. Read the youth application. There's no declaration of sexual preference principle. I'm around enough "rule spouters" to know if it existed. (The side of my head would feel the book being thrown at me.) There are other threads that discuss the "hows and whys" of this stance. EA - I don't think the council president mispoke at all. The guy's a lawyer. Misspeaking in front of reporters is bad for business. (Not to say that council reps never botch it royally from time to time.) The reporter never indicates that she directly confronted the guy about "stances against gays and atheists". (She wouldn't tell us that she didn't, that would be bad for business.) And, even if she did, his statement as quoted correctly represents BSA policy. And the OP wasn't interested in the name change. (Which I agree is a major waste of time -- just tweak the logo with a more masculine rainbow.) He was trying to convince us that a rule should be struck from the books by finding a prominent individual who was playing fast-and-loose with it.

Let me rephrase my last line ... Consistent adult-to-youth (emphasis on the singular) communication via electronic media with can be construed as direct contact. But, is impossible to prevent EVERY such transaction. Transactions that are logged at least leave a trail, but that's no guarantee of accountability. It's necessarily at the leaders discretion as to how he/she should operate electronic media to assure youth protection.

I've had to deal with the electronic YP allegation scenario. Of course it was 18 vs. 13 y.o. But the issue wasn't so much the medium, but the content that would be tolerated between two boys or between two men, but is unacceptable between a "man" and a "boy". It got swept under the rug for a year which made things worse. These guidelines aren't extreme, but they aren't easy to follow either.

The quote says nothing inconsistent with BSA policies. There is no ambiguity. Membership is not denied to youth who openly claim to be gay. Never was. Period. The quote does not discuss athiesm. (Unless I missed the memo that "orange" is the new euphamism for it.) The reporter uses the term "everyone." Davidson does not. This is a case of the 4th estate trying to stir up trouble where there is none.

Not much enthusiasm for the new shirts around here. Venturer's rarely have OA Flaps. So although there's nothing against them, it probably wasn't a design consideration.

I WISH my cell had a Morse code repeater/converter. Texting is so slow and requires so much concentration. I never really remembered Morse code more than a year after I'd (re)learn it, but if I had a way to integrate it into rountine communication, I bet that would change.

What a relief! I was about to call the SE and tell him that our district's advancement committee was playing fast and loose with the regs. Actually BP, sounds like the fundamentalists would be the ones properly administering the rules. They would take the DRP at face value, and -- like Merlyn did -- point out the distinctions. They would also recognize -- by virtue of the print -- that scouting allows someone who's religion has "poor fundamentals" to participate fully in the program. The one's I've seen have no qualms about non-semitic religions being represented in thier scout units. I think this is for two reasons: 1. They actually believe in the written word, they understand its limitations, and they make that calculus the moment they sign a charter. 2. Their Lord demands that they be hospitable. 'Nuff said,

[The first time I submitted didn't take, so this is a hurried do-over ...] V, while we're dithering with semantics, "the way" was what they used to call themselves before everyone else started calling them Christians. BP, Except for insisting that a district representative moderate it (what our council does as well), I don't see how any of your EBOR rules (DAC who decides ... where ... who ..., NOT allowed to be organized by any of the unit leaders or held at the CO) do anything to insure that there was "impartiality, consistency, and fairness in the way they were conducted." Say you make three boys travel some variable distance for his review, how is that more fair than making the DAC travel to three locations in the same night? To bring it back to topic, this was also to insure the reverent part of the law, the DRP, and the belief in "GOD" was determined accurately and fairly according to the policies of the BSA and not an individuals interpretation of those policies. Do you really think you'll catch the "inquisitionally minded" with that strategy? They will have 5 unsupervised BOR's to your one. If they know you're going to force them to check the thumbscrews at the door on step number 6, you'd never see the "problem child". They'd make sure to do the job by step 3, 4, or 5. It is clear from what I am seeing here that this is not being done consistently on a nationwide basis Is our council being inconsistent if someone on our committee asks the kid how they apply the 12th point (or duty to God) in their own life? Without any micromanagement from the district, we have accepted all manner of responses from boys. Enough of us go to roundtable to know we're in no position to throw stones. We are also kind enough to not twist a boy's words. If he says "I no longer believe in God, religious life is a waste of time, I'm done with church/mosque/temple/shrine/statue/tree, and - no offence to you lot - I'm putting my faith in natural forces that humans can measure, control, and eventually dominate." We're going to forthrightly tell him that his beliefs are in starck contrast with our DRP. It would be an insult to him to require an oath that he cannot keep in good conscience, and there is no medal worth the lie. (Never had to do this myself, but the DAC told us it has happened.) A boy need not say the a- word to be shown the door. But, he does need our time and friendship to come to that conclusion in his own right.

Dinner by citronella candellight! Wildflower bouquet. The boys singing "Misty" in the background. Oh well, two out of three aint bad.

Oh, and when I was a committee member, I recall one or two boys bringing up the DRP as one of the things they liked about scouting. As ASM, I recall one SMC where a boy linked his rank advancement to his spiritual walk. (We encouraged him to tone it down a little for the EBOR. Religious though MC's may be, mid-week sermons can put them in an ill mood!)

Although 60 miles north of the Mason-Dixon line, our troops' EBORs are always hosted at our CO (a church) are moderated by a council volunteer representative (the district advancement chair or his assignee). are open to troop committee members, the COR, and possibly the crew committee members. Representatives of the CO are in the minority. are closed to SM's, ASM's, or crew advisors -- except for a brief moment when they introduce the candidate. include a hand-out of suggested open-ended questions, one of which is "how do you apply the 12th point to your daily life?" That question is ALWAYS asked. Therefore in SMC's we always ask it of the boys so that they are prepared to give an answer that represents their beliefs. We've spared committees a lot of ear-tickling because boys are really tempted to say what they think their audience wants to hear.

I'd peg the year at 1965 based on that blog of unvarnished truth, Wikepedia, under Eagle Scout Leadership Project ... History The merit badges required for Eagle have been a requirement since the inception of the award. A Scout's "record of satisfactory service" with his troop was first added to the Eagle requirements in 1927. This changed in 1952 to "do your best to help in your home, school, church or synagogue, and community." This vague statement was refined to "plan, develop, and carry out a service project" in 1965. In 1972 a leadership component "give leadership to others" was added. c.f. Peterson, Robert (November - December 2002). "The Way It Was: Evolution of the Eagle Scout Award". Scouting. http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0211/d-wwas.html.

b540mom, Bottom line: Ask detailed questions, including why the boy chose the team he did. Take the list of "did he's" in your original post and turn them into "how did you's". Did he do the work himself? ==> How did you divide up labor? Did adults do all the work? ==> How did you employ your adults?** Did he delegate well? ==> What tasks did you ask others to do, and what did you do yourself? Did he problem solve well? ==> How did you solve the biggest road block in your project? **(Note: not a problem if they provided lots of manual labor or expertise. We would not want to hear that they *supervised.*) And, for future EBORs, always ask these questions even if other members of the troop were present and are sitting on the board. Part of leadership is being able to reflect on and evaluate your performance. By the way - The project report should include service hours contributed by each person. That's often a great springboard into discussion.