RememberSchiff

Agreed, the word for this week seems to be TRANSITION. It would be better to have a transition period. Say, starting Jan 1, 2013, Cooking will be accepted as an Eagle Required MB for Star and Life ranks. On Jan 1, 2014, Cooking will be required for Eagle Rank. My $0.02

...find out from the CO what their stance is going to be. Good point. Just be aware and patient that some CO's do not have autonomy on such issues. Some Catholic CO's around here are waiting direction from the diocese and the diocese is waiting the decision from the National Executive Board and the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, etc. The hard part will be integration, i.e., inclusive and non-inclusive units participating at summer camp and other district activities. Will some units book separate, exclusive weeks like LDS or will councils say no to that. Back in the 60's, the most popular camp counselor at my camp was outed when his coal black sister arrived at the Friday night campfire. Who knew Mel was black? Saturday morning, he was not at the mess hall. He had been fired by those that could not stand that Mel was black. No deja vu please. My $0.02

I was referring to program restrictions to patrol activities and outdoor activities. But now that you mention updating Scout Law, I won't mind seeing Aware and Smart added

Another change, I think the upcoming Scout Sunday will be pretty interesting

For the dinosaurs and republicans maybe, for us no. Improvise, adapt, overcome.

One change from this that I predict, based on my own biased scientific observations, is the BSA will have a more manly, scout-like, correct, and functional neckerchief! Look at scout organizations around the world with inclusive policies and their neckers. Now look at the woman's scarf accessory, poor excuse for a necker that we have and tell me that Jon Stewart does not have a point.

IMO, a gas operated, semi-auto shotgun like a Remington 1100 is a great choice for young (smaller stature) beginner shooters as those shotguns generally have the least recoil. Start a new shooter with a big kick firearm and they develop bad habits like flinch and trigger jerk. My $0.02(This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

sorry double post(This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

I read the NY Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/us/boy-scouts-consider-lifting-ban-on-gay-leaders.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0 Mr. Smith, the Scouts spokesman, said that under the proposed policy, the B.S.A. would not require any chartered organization to act in ways inconsistent with that organizations mission, principles, or religious beliefs. He said that members and parents would be able to choose a local unit that best met the needs of their families. So will we need to re-charter a month after chartering to update the CO agreement? The Times article suggested that upcoming National Geographic Channel show called Are You Tougher Than a Boy Scout? may have been the last straw as a disclaimer was added to it denouncing the Boy Scouts for discriminating against gay candidates for membership. I asked earlier about Eagle candidates, still under eighteen, who admitted they were gay and subsequently got the boot from National/council. If this change goes through, I think a "kind" and "courteous" gesture would be for National to send them a letter welcoming those scouts back and encouraging scouts to resume the Eagle path. National would waive the joining fee. Another $0.02(This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

So will Eagle candidates who admitted they were gay and are still under 18, get another shot at Eagle?

Join a unit chartered by city hall. "Won't happen if atheists can't join." Merlyn Yes this has to be addressed as we REALLY need public schools as CO's, so we can be where the kids are and readily run after school scout programs on school/govt property. My $0.02,

Definitely sounds like local option is coming The chartered organizations that oversee and deliver scouting would accept membership and select leaders consistent with their organizations mission, principles or religious beliefs, according to Deron Smith, a spokesman for the Boy Scouts national organization. Individual sponsors and parents would be able to choose a local unit which best meets the needs of their families, Smith said. The discussion of a potential change in policy is nearing its final stages, according to outside scouting supporters. If approved, the change could be announced as early as next week, after the BSA's national board holds a regularly scheduled meeting. ... In a statement last July affirming the ban, its national executive board called it the best policy for the organization. But since then, a scouting official said, local chapters have been urging a reconsideration. "We're a grassroots organization. This is a response to what's happening at the local level," the official said. Two corporate CEOs on BSAs national board, Randall Stephenson of AT&T and James Turley of Ernst & Young, have also said they would work to end the ban. Stephenson is next in line to be the BSAs national chairman. During the 2012 presidential campaign, both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney said the BSA should admit gay scouts and scout leaders. ...

Exclusive: Boy Scouts close to ending ban on gay members, leaders Sounds like local option "The Boy Scouts of America, one of the nations largest private youth organizations, is actively considering an end to its decades-long policy of banning gay scouts or scout leaders, according to scouting officials and outsiders familiar with internal discussions." ... The chartered organizations that oversee and deliver scouting would accept membership and select leaders consistent with their organizations mission, principles or religious beliefs, according to Deron Smith, a spokesman for the Boy Scouts national organization. ... Individual sponsors and parents would be able to choose a local unit which best meets the needs of their families, Smith said. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/28/16739587-exclusive-boy-scouts-close-to-ending-ban-on-gay-members-leaders?lite(This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

No, he is suppose to be an Eagle Scout as in always an Eagle Scout.

I wonder if Council pressured Pack 442 only after the Presidential Inauguration in which 750 Council scouts participated? Pack 442's inclusion membership statement had been prominently displayed on their website for some time.

If you think that the Scoutmaster isn't testing your Scouts correctly, then you need to bring that up with the Scoutmaster, it isn't the Scout's fault and you don't punish the Scout by retesting them. This mindset is a by-product of advancement mills. I have to say it hurts our scouts and Scouting in the long run. I tell my scouts and students that THEY are responsible for learning and knowing the material. Have a question, ask. Have a bad merit badge counselor/teacher, find a better one. Don't understand the book, try another or an app or youtube video on the subject. LEARN! You take your own tests and you are RESPONSIBLE for learning the material. PRACTICE! If you dont use it, you lose it. And if you lost it, it costs you and others... on exams, SAT's, scholarships,...emergencies or do Scouts not do emergencies because they are retests? If you grandmother falls down some steps and needs help, the scout that comes to her aid should he know first aid or is having known it once good enough for you and Gramma? What kind of scout does your Gramma deserve? What kind of scout do you want to be? Be prepared. My $0.02,(This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

Schools around here are state required to cover the content of Citizen in Community/Nation/World in far greater detail, as well as requiring community service hours for graduation. A big plus is that their field trips are during government operation hours; they can see the state house in session or a trial in progress! It is frequently asked question on this forum if scouts can count (double dip) their school community services hours for Star and Life service hours. There are other aspects of citizenship via the Patrol and Leadership Methods that we should concentrate on. I see no loss in the citizenship aim with a Scoutcraft Eagle. Downsize to just 1 Citizenship MB is overdue. We might be able to merge with Personal Management with a focus on employment, budgeting, paying taxes, voting, ... Another $0.02

I wrote (Pell and federal) loans at questionable for profit colleges The past two companies that I worked would NOT approve tuition reimbursement for employees who enrolled in for-profit schools like Univ of Phoenix, Capella, Wossamotta U. and other internet-based colleges nor would they interview job applicants with online degrees from such schools. There are other issues of high cost and high drop-out rate with those schools very though they are supposedly accredited. Yeah, Univ of Phoenix got a sweetheart deal from Congress. Still seems a bad idea. Loans to students attending non-profit schools with a better graduation rate like UNH, Dartmouth no problem.(This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

Just some ideas... Maybe we need to be smarter with the dollars in our pocket or mend the holes in our pockets Maybe instead of spending billions each month and American lives to insure the security of Afghanistan school children, we did it first here with our own. Maybe instead of wasting $24 billion in student (Pell and federal) loans at questionable for profit colleges we spent it on school security and mental health institutions. Oh and we allow forcible institutionalization, the kind the CT ACLU killed in December which might have prevented the Newtown shooting. Maybe we can tax the Entertainment industry. Any tv program, film, game having violent content is taxed. More than an hour per night on X-box Live and you are taxed. Maybe Zuckerberg with all his billions can hire can professional investigators to watch over his Facebook and notify police of suspected criminal activity (Columbine). Ditto with every other social-media provider. My $0.02(This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

Great idea, I LIKE IT! Scouting is a journey with Eagle being the destination for my more ambitious scouts. My scouts viewed NOA as a side trip or a bunch of side trips? They can map their own. Focus on the outdoors and scoutcraft and leave the classroom stuff to schools or as electives. Maybe replace Wilderness First Aid MB with a real WFA course. In general, scout-up the requirements for these merit badges, in particular Wilderness Survival and SAR. Replace Eagle project with an Eagle trek. Eagle candidate plans and leads a patrol on a trek, no adults. Did I say I like it?

A database of incident reports ONLY has value to me, unit leaders, and my PLC in activity planning if we can search and view the original report indexed by incident report number, location, date, council, unit number, injury. The incident narrative and leader recommendation is what we want to read not data analysis pie charts or stats. This is really where the adults and scouts learn from the mistakes of others and this pays forward big time( AMC's or NOL's incident reports). I will ONLY comply if this learning value is preserved and accessible for leaders and scouts. So far, it just seems to be an insurance claim early warning system. In keeping with sharing information, understand that I will copy incident reports to all involved. I will, of course, copy Council and National directly. I want an e-mail notification from RiskConsole when Council completes online database entry along with the generated Incident Number. The Incident Information Report needs more work! Consider adding the following Number present at incident: Scouts ____ Adults ______ Others_____ Number injured at incident: Scouts ____ Adults ______ Others_____ Incident occurred Day____ Night____Inside ____, Outside ____, On Water_______, Car ____ , Other Transport ___ Incident type -- more info fields as needed for Council to code as Marginal, Critical, Catastrophe, whatever Lost scout situation: Yes or No 911/Rescue contacted_______ Length of time missing_________Missing overnight Did this occur on BSA/Council property? Yes or NO Weather Conditions and dress: Water Temperature/Conditions Reported (to Council) date:_______ Vendor/Outfitter Information Leader email address: _______ As stated, there should be more space for the narrative and a leader recommendation/lesson learned space, e.g., "Buddy system not followed. " This is just off the top of my head. Others also experienced in the field will likely have more and better suggestions. My $0.02,(This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

Well speaking for myself Do you consider the right to own a fire arm as important as the right to vote or the right to free speech? Yes. Maybe because I have been a crime victim more than once, I consider the right to self defense (life) most important. Second.... people keep saying a restriction is unconstitutional. If the majority of the population thought it needed changing couldn't you just change the constitution? Our constitution can be amended/ratified only by our elected federal and state legislatures. We the people cannot vote for a Constitutional Amendment. Our Founding Fathers had concerns about majority rule, in particular, an uneducated, emotional majority rule so they wanted the Constitutional to be rather difficult to amend at least without some heavy consideration. Finally. Folks talk about freedom from tyranny. Does anyone in the USA actually fear that the federal government would ever become tyranical? Really? You honestly think one day you might become an Orwellian nightmare? We're talking about a country that is the ultimate democracy. From what I can see you vote on pretty much everything from The President through to your local Fire Chief. That is the culture you live in, or it is the one that I see as an outsider. Maybe the reality is different. So do you really fear government power? Well we are not a democracy, we are a constitutional republic which elects its representatives and obeys its constitution. Some fifty years ago, I learned in Civics class, that we are a nation of laws, the same law applies to everyone and that the distinction between a right and a privilege is that you cannot forfeit your rights and government cannot take your rights away. I am less sure about that. In my lifetime, the US has been in many wars. None were declared by Congress as required by the Constitution. There were Congressional authorization of funds for these undeclared wars. Even the War Powers Act was not followed in our recent attack on Libya. Our Constitution also requires that treaties be approved by Congress but that occurs less and less. Checks and balances among our three government branches (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) is vanishing. If the IRS "thinks" you ran afoul with your federal taxes, you are presumed guilty until you prove yourself innocent. IRS now there is tyranny. Speaking of tyranny, there is the Patriot Act allowing indefinite detention if someone rightly or wrongly is labeled a terrorist. Whatever happened to due process? So that's just some points. Hope this helps. (This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

Might be useful to ask families why they chose those scouting programs over ours. Open response not canned multiple choice.

Maybe, but Hacker scouts appears targeted at upper elementary, middle school kids.

Yes, I would like steel shot used at the shotgun range and if the lead deposits at the rifle range are a threat to the ground water, excavate berms and either rebuild to trap the lead for recycling or use green ammo for short range target practice. The latter is more likely as the use of lead ammo is getting banned more. Do it sooner or the government will tell you to do it later? My $0.02,(This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)