scoutldr

The best way to learn a topic or skill is to have to teach it! Tell the older scouts that, by virtue of being First Class or above, their obligation is to become a teacher, not a learner. (By having to teach, they will have to learn it themselves, but don't tell them that!) That's the way they train surgeons...watch one, do one, teach one.

What you have are the library editions with the hard covers. These will be of interest to Scout memorabilia collectors, and as with everything, value depends on condition, age (copyright date) and the rarity of the pamphlet. For example, the pamphlet for "Pathfinding" may be more valuable than "Camping". "The "negroe library" stamps may, in addition, make them attractive to collectors of black history memorabilia. From what I have seen on eBAY, a starting price of, say, 9.99 each would not be out of line. Just make sure and describe them thoroughly and honestly, and a picture is worth a thousand words! Good luck, LeV.

Put it into perspective...my boss is burying his 20 year old son this week...died after a year of chemo battling an inoperable brain cancer. He was a Life Scout. Focus on what's important in life and let the rest go.

I have a 100% cotton shirt that I got quite by accident off of eBay...it is definitely NOT wash and wear, but when it's starched and pressed, it's sharp. I have a question ... how much "hands on" involvement should a DE have in things like District Committee meetings and sub-committee functions...I have gotten the impression from my training and this forum that they are just supposed to be there for "advice and policy guidance", not to do things like prepare and deliver committee reports, schedule training, dominate the meeting, etc. As a newbie to the district level, it appears that the Dist Chairman is just a figurehead, and the DE is the one running the show, since a)he seems to have the time and energy to do it, and b) he's impatient with us vols who have to relegate scouting issues to a lower priority than our real jobs and can't devote 8 hrs a day. I also get the impression that his job or at least his annual appraisal may be in jeopardy if certain things don't get done (like Quality District, popcorn, FOS, etc), so in desperation, he's decided to micromanage and do it himself. At one time I had actually considered changing careers and becoming a pro Scouter, but not now...it looks way too stressful for the money.

Even within our Council, the DEs and DDs play "musical chairs" every year or two...once you develop a relationship with one, he/she gets "transferred" to another district and you have to start over. Of course, that can be a good thing, too, depending on who you get. As I said in a different forum, "you can sit around my campfire any time...even if you are a professional." ;-)

It seems strange that the words "cabin" and "camping" are used in the same sentence. Our forefathers would laugh their fool heads off! (not that I like to be cold any more than the next guy...I just don't call it "camping"!)

I don't want to see you leave the program, Eamonn...but I, too, pray that "you get the help you need" to modify your behavior so you can be a better role model and so your kids don't have to watch you die a slow, painful death, as I had to. I realize tobacco is an addictive drug...what I don't understand is why you keep buying them if you want to quit. Does someone handcuff you and drag you to the store? I also don't understand (and I'm really trying), why smokers think the world needs to adapt to their addiction, but they don't want the same consideration shown to alcoholics or cocaine addicts (legal arguments aside). I am incensed, as a supervisor, that I have to allow employees to leave their jobs several times a day for "smoke breaks" of 15-20 minutes every 2 hours, but I don't get the same consideration if I am late for work. I don't understand why camps need to have "smoking rules" other than "this addictive drug is not allowed on Council property, either."

Just curious, Eamonn, why do you apply different rules to alcohol than you do tobacco? I have to wonder, if beer-drinking volunteers got up in arms and threatened to quit and withdraw financial support unless they were provided the same dispensation as smokers (special "drinking areas" out of the line of sight), what would the response be.

Some troops will provide a life membership in NESA...the National Eagle Scout Association.

Online training is a reality! YP training is now up and running at the National web site. It MUST be accessed via a link from a local council web site. At the conclusion of the training, the trainee takes a test, and then his/her information is sent to the council for update of training records. The link in the previous post will get you one council's link. Another is http://www.cvcboyscouts.org and then select "training". If your council doesn't have this capability, start bugging them!

Well, potlatch, IMHO, the positions now known as "direct contact" leaders is the point at which the program gets delivered to the boys. Den Leaders, Scoutmasters, etc. All the rest are just support staff. To paraphrase a current popular commercial: "We don't lead the Scouts...we help the leaders lead better."

Yes, the "rainbow motif" is a symbol of the gay community. So is the purple Teletubby with the triangle antenna...I know that to be true, because the Rev. Falwell said so.

Obesity and alcoholism are diseases with complex etiologies. Genetics play a big role. So I would say people who choose to ABUSE food and alcohol (having a glass of wine (Merlot, not Chablis) with your Whopper is ok...once in awhile), but getting sloppy drunk 3 times a week and eating NOTHING but fries and burgers is a bad role model. I am overweight, as were my parents and grandparents, and there's not much I can do about it...Lord knows I've tried. But I can still do the mile swim at Camp...every morning, while the smokers can't make 1 length. I don't drink because 3 of my uncles were alcoholics and died in their 40s of liver disease. Genetics and disease play NO role in CAUSING people to smoke...role modeling does. They CHOOSE to buy cigarettes (at about the age most of our Scouts are) and inhale carcinogens and expose those around them. It's not LOYAL, COURTEOUS, KIND, THRIFTY, CLEAN, HELPFUL, BRAVE or REVERENT. It's your OWN life, you say? Right...until you become disabled at too young an age and your children have their lives disrupted making sure you get to the Dr, get your medications, wait for what seems like an eternity in the hospital waiting room for the Dr to tell you "it's spread too far and there's nothing else we can do", holding your hand while you retch from your chemo and gasp for air and writhe in pain praying for God to take you soon, standing in a freezing rain at your graveside cursing you and God and R.J. Reynolds. Yep, it's your decision...no one else will be affected. Been there, done that...3 times and about to make it 4. Those who continue to defend their selfish behavior are heartless and cruel and I won't have my scouts around them.

My DE submitted my name to Philmont and I got a formal invitation in the mail...when I looked at the cost (not to mention the cost of flying to NM from the east coast, renting a car to get the rest of the way, and a week of vacation time), the invitation went in the trash. After supporting my Troop, FOS, popcorn, and paying for my own xerox copying for training sessions, I have to draw the line (actually, my wife draws that line for me) at spending another $1000 or more. I know it's considered a "family vacation" for some, but my family's not interested and we don't take vacations anyway. I'm happy that those who can afford it have a wonderful time. Since it's not "required" to punch a ticket for the Council, they will not pay for it, like they will to send someone to National Camp School so they can work at summer camp for 4 weeks, never to be heard from again. Sorry if this sounds negative, but that's the way it is on the other side of the coin. Maybe when my kids are out of college and I have more money than I know what to do with...maybe I'm just having a bad day...

OK, fair question, kwc. Apart from smokers being a questionable role model (the same could be said of those of us with ample girth!) the bottom line is, if you have a scout thats THAT asthmatic, you need to have a serious discussion with the parents to get a mutual understanding of what activities the scout can be involved in, the medications required, likelihood of prompt 911 response to your location, etc. Then let the parents make an informed decision whether that particular activity is one in which their child should participate. It could be that the Troop could forego the campfire if it means that the scout can join in. Thats what reasonable accommodation is all about. ALWAYS have a parental permission slip (specifying what activities are or are not acceptable) for EACH trip with a medical power of attorney to authorize emergency medical treatment. In the case of inhaler medication, the scout should have one on his person at all times (he will usually know when and how to use it) and an adult should have an inhaler and a peak flow meter (with written instructions) as a back-up (they are just kids, after all). And always have a means of communication (cell phone, radios, etc.). Location and access to emergency care will be a big part of the decisionwe have a scout camp that is literally in walking distance to a shopping center.contrast this to the back country at Philmont or the Appalachian Trail. Many people dont realize that a severe asthma attack is a life-threatening situation and sometimes fatal. The mechanism is that the doughnut-shaped muscles which surround the bronchi (airways) spasm and constrict, restricting and sometimes cutting off the air supply. (to get an idea, try running a few laps breathing through a drinking straw) . And asthma cases are increasing among our young people at an alarming ratefor reasons we still dont understand. Asthma triggers can differ with the individual, including smoke, pollen, molds, animal dander, even exercise (most of which you will find in the woods). In an effort to not be different, a kid will probably say as little as possible and try to do things that he probably should not be doing (like sit around the campfire), so that meeting with the parents is vitalget the accommodations ironed out before hand so the scout is not embarrassed in front of his peers. It also wouldnt hurt to have a nurse or Doc come in and do an educational session with at least the leaders and senior scouts, so that they will be able to recognize early signs of respiratory distress and help administer the proper care. Contact your local school nursethey are experts in asthma. SAFE SCOUTING!

At the risk of confusing those in Irving with more facts, the following is from www.heartcenteronline.com: "My mother had coronary atherosclerosis. Was she at greater risk living with a smoker, although she herself did not smoke? Your question revisits one of the most important public health issues in recent years. While it is not feasible in this space to attribute your mother's atherosclerosis to having lived with a smoker, ongoing research continues to show that cigarette smoke is not just a danger to individual smokers, but also to those around them. Indeed, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in 1993, classified "environmental tobacco smoke" (ETS) as a cancer-causing (carcinogenic) toxin to humans. It is estimated that 53,000 of the 480,000 smoking-related deaths annually in the U.S. are due to ETS. Studies have also confirmed ETS as a significant factor in increasing the risk for coronary artery disease, including the progression of atherosclerosis. Evidence has shown that ETS exposure increases damage to the cells lining blood vessels and arteries, an event that initiates the process of atherosclerotic plaque. ETS is an even greater threat to nonsmokers already having high blood pressure or high cholesterol. The tobacco industry has put forth great effort (and expense) to downplay, and try to debunk, the science and findings of ETS. Data suggest, however, that adverse cardiovascular health effects due to chronic ETS exposure (in other words, involuntary smoking) are both cumulative and irreversible. " So, let's rewrite the G2SS and make it unequivocal...us adults need protection, too.

Does anyone still do Scout Shows or Scout-O-Rama? Our Council hasn't done one in about 10 or more years. I thought this was an excellent way to display Scouting to the public.

We have laws that prevent adult workers from being exposed to known human carcinogens in the workplace. Yet we allow adults to expose children to carcinogens. Another symptom of what's wrong with society today. Adults who expose children to carcinogenic smoke should be charged with child endangerment. Period. And yes, I'm from Virginia, a state still ruled by the Big Tobacco lobby.

Unfortunately, I have a hard time sorting out what's "policy" versus opinion or hearsay. Where are these "policies" written and how do we get copies of them?

While this forum is an excellent resource for getting advice and venting frustrations, what's with all of the broken links on the NetCompass side of the site? Is there someone who monitors these? There are lots of "teasers" there, but when I click on them, there's nothing, or I get some website that doesn't even relate to the topic. I really appreciate the effort it must take to maintain a site like this...especially for free...but it really is frustrating.

Thanks for being precise, but I actually meant "ranks" as in "among the ranks of the professionals" not as in "military ranks". I was just asking for clarification, as I have come to my own conclusions.

I just taught Youth Protection and NLE yesterday...the policy presented in the videos is clear, "the use of alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs is not permitted at any Scouting activity", and that "smoking areas must be out of sight of any program area."

I attended our first "University of Scouting" yesterday...in the "Life to Eagle" session, which was otherwise excellent, the instructor suggested that parents should withhold a boy's driver's license until he makes Eagle. One of the hardest things I did as a Scout parent was NOT force my sons to make Eagle...I allowed them to make their own choices and set their own priorities. The result...they both grew up to be fine young men with solid values and problem solving skills. They can cook, wash clothes, make a bed, change their oil, play baseball, survive in the woods, direct a play, play an instrument, have healthy relationships, read and write intelligible English, speak in public, and perform CPR. Were their scouting days for naught because they don't have an Eagle badge in their sock drawer? My younger son, when he was 17 and a Life Scout, said, "you need to make a schedule for me and hold me to some deadlines" (for merit badges and project)...I looked him square in the eye and said, "if that's what it takes for you to make Eagle, then maybe you're not Eagle material." Looking back, I think it hurt his feelings (heaven forbid we should hurt a youth's feelings by letting them have a glimpse of the truth!!!), but he got the message loud and clear that Eagle Scout was not going to be another ticket punch that one gets just for showing up. Before everyone asks, No, he didn't make Eagle...but he chose his OWN path and is living with the results. THAT'S what scouting is all about, in my opinion. When I hear of a young 13 year old Eagle with 50 merit badges, I am not impressed...my heart is filled with sadness that the Movement to which I have dedicated so many years of my life has failed him.

Can anyone explain the difference between the following paid professional positions? Who does the Scout Executive report to? Scout Executive, District Executive, District Director, Field Director. Also, where can I find information on pay scales of these positions?

Man...what an eye-opener this forum is!!!! I never realized there were so many troops/Councils operating in Bizarro world! My advice...find another troop...and council if you can! There is nothing I can see about this troop's operation that upholds the Scout Oath and Law, not to mention those "Rules and Regulations" that no one has seen. My only hope is that with over 400 "active participants" logged on at a given time, some of those lurkers are from the Council/Regional/National level.