ScoutNut

We have used craft sticks and paint stirrers. Paint stirrers are bigger, and easier for the boys to work with, and can usually be gotten for free from the paint dept of your local home improvement or hardware store. The story is done with washable markers. You can have some sample Indian images, or simply allow the boys to create their own. Then, when completed, have each boy tell (& show) his story to the den, and/or Pack.

"But the requirement specifically states that it must be done "during a 6 month period"." Where, exactly, is the requirement found that states this? From the 2008 Boy Scout Requirements Book - "While a Life Scout, serve actively for a period of six months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility" From the 2008 Eagle Scout Rank Application - "REQUIREMENT 4. While a Life Scout, serve actively for a period of six months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility. List only those positions served after Life board of review date." Neither of these current references state the POR MUST be done "within a six month period". Edited to add - BW, if you have an update to requirement #4 for the Eagle Rank, from what I understand, it would not officialy go into effect until January, 2009. Until that time the Eagle requirements found in the 2008 Boy Scout Requirements Book are the ones that are to be followed.(This message has been edited by ScoutNut)

Yes, it is possible to be a professional Scouter and have a family. It is not easy, but it is possible. It definately helps if you are a natural salesman, with lots of energy and enthusium. Also, like any other job, it makes a world of difference if you love what you do. We had a young man in our council start as the DE for Venturing/Learning for Life. After a few years, he became our District's DE. He had a great love for what he was doing. It showed, and it was contagious. He met his wife in our Council Service Center. She was one of the Council's admin staff. After about 7-8 years total in our Council, he was promoted and moved to another Council in our state, about 2hrs away. He came back to visit at the following year's Kick-off with wife and new son in tow. They were happy and he was looking forward to having another Scout in the family. It has been a few years now. I just heard that he has been promoted again (same council), and that he and his family are doing fine. So, to that Scout asking about a BSA career, I would tell him to get a college degree and to read this - http://www.scouting.org/Careers.aspx

Perhaps what is needed is for the Troop to actually help their boys retain their skills. As the saying goes - use it or lose it. Heck, I could roller skate rings around folks back in the day. After 35 years without a skate of any kind on my feet I would probably end up with multiple broken body parts if I tried it today. It seems your Scouts have lost whatever skills they might have had because your Troop is not having them use them. One thing to keep in mind - RETAINING skills is not a requirement for advancement. If they learned the skill well enough to be signed off on a requirement, that is what is required by BSA. If they never use that skill again, of course they will loose it. To complain that Scouts have not retained their skills, and to hold back advancement because of that, is unfair to the Scout. Especially if the Troop's program does not include reinforcement of those skills. As somone mentioned, start using the Patrol Method. Patrol competitions are a great - fun way - to refresh skills. You complain about boys who want to be Troop Guides or Instructors and say you will fight against it. One of the BEST ways to retain a skill is to teach it to someone else. Require that all Guides and Instructors go thru a refresher course on the skills they are going to be teaching. Do you want to help these older boys regain and retain lost skills? To me, it sounds like you are ready and willing to write them all off in favor of the more adventurous, "teachable", younger Scouts. However, one thing you do not seem to have considered, if you do not change your Troop's program, in a few years you will be going thru this all over again. Your current crop of "unteachable", "unskilled" Scouts will be gone, but your now "adventurous", "teachable" young Scouts will have turned into "unskilled" older Scouts if the Troop does nothing to help them retain their skills. Use it, or loose it. And loose them.

A few things to consider about this trip. Will this be a day trip only, or an overnighter? If it will be an overnight trip, it must be planned and run by your Pack's BALOO trained person. 17 miles, no matter what the people you talked to say, is a long way for the younger boys to bike. What happens when 3-4 miles into the ride some of the boys want to drop out? What happens if there is an injury along the way? Will there be an easy/quick way to transport to a medical facility if needed? Ask at your District Roundtable to find out if any other Packs have done this and what their recommendations are. Make sure to have an approved Tour Permit before the Pack goes.

Try one of these - http://www.dyetub.com/certificates/scouting http://www.certificatemaker.com/html/create_award.cfm

Yes, it is possible, in certain situations. I specificaly mentioned equipment and lunch. However I also stated I would only do that if I had no other choice. Actually, scottteng, if I had to choose someone who had never taken BALOO to be on BALOO staff, and the choice was between using you, or Eagle92, I would go with you. Having been a Webelos den leader, and taken an outdoor course aimed at Cub Scouts, you would definately have better Cub Scout experience than someone who had never been a Cub Scout leader or taken a Cub Scout oudoor training. BTW - I am on the District Training team, and a BALOO Course Director.

Here is BSA's advice for personal and unit Web sites - http://old.scouting.org/webmasters/units.html Here is BSA's suggested form for obtaining permission to display photos and any personal information - http://old.scouting.org/webmasters/units-release.html

The Tiger Cub rank (yes, an actual rank, not just a badge for show) started in 2001. Earning Bobcat before Tiger became effective June 1, 2006.

So, your council has not held an outdoor training for ANY of the levels for a number of years? Wow. While technically, the Webelos and SM trainings are not required to take their respective groups camping, BALOO is required. How do the Packs get their Tour Permits approved for Pack Overnighters when no one will take the training? Or is it that no one in your council bothers with Tour Permits? We do not run District level outdoor trainings. There would not be enough bodies to make it cost effective. We do 2 council wide trainings for each outdoor course every year. One in the Fall, and one in the Spring. These dates, along with every other training date for all districts, are listed on our yearly Training calendar, which has been out for a few weeks now. Your question - "does IOLS cover enough of the BALOO and OWL information that can I help out on the courses as a staff member or do I need go through them as a participant before helping out?" As a former District Training Chair, I am really surprised you asked this question. Cub Scout camping is way different from Boy Scout camping. Just because you have taken IOLS does not mean you know anything about how Cub Scouts camp. Also, as a rule, BSA wants their trainers to have gone thru the training as a participant before letting them teach others. If I was the BALOO Course Director, I MIGHT let you staff the equipment section, or the lunch prep. With no prior Cub Scout experience or training, I would ONLY use you if I was in a REAL bind, and had no other choices.

A Class 1 health form should now accompany every Youth Application. Your Troop should have the new boy's Class 1 in file. There is a big difference between a regular camping trip and a whitewater trip in a remote area. From the BSA Class 1 & 2 health forms - Class 1 (update annually for all participants). Activity: Day camp, overnight hike, or other programs not exceeding 72 hours, with LEVEL OF ACTIVITY SIMILAR TO THAT AT HOME OR SCHOOL. MEDICAL CARE IS READILY AVAILABLE. Current personal health and medical summary (history) is attested by parents to be accurate. This form is filled out by all participants and is on file for easy reference. Class 2 (required once every 36 months for all participants under 40 years of age). Activity: Resident camp or any other activity such as backpacking, tour camping, or recreational sports involving events lasting longer than 72 consecutive hours, with LEVEL OF ACTIVITY SIMILAR TO THAT AT HOME OR SCHOOL. MEDICAL CARE IS READILY AVAILABLE. From the BSA Class 3 health form - All Class 3 activities require a health examination within the past 12 months by a licensed health-care practitioner. This includes youth and adult members participating in HIGH-ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES, athletic competition, and world jamborees. I don't see any "urban ledgends" here. For a weekend of car camping a Class 1 would be fine. This is clearly a High-Adventure type of activity that would require a Class 3 medical form.

"Similar to discussion about Trails End Popcorn, which is an associate company, but not a division of the BSA." The ONLY way Trails End Popcorn is "associated" with the BSA, is that Weaver Popcorn Co. sells it's popcorn to a number of BSA councils.

Tigers DO have to earn their Bobcat FIRST, before they can be AWARDED their Tiger RANK AWARD BADGE. However, a Tiger (or any other brand new Cub Scout) CAN work on Rank badge requirements BEFORE he has earned his Bobcat. He can also be awarded his Instant Recognition Beads before earning Bobcat. The requirements only state he can not receive his RANK AWARD BADGE. He can not be awarded his Rank badge until AFTER he has been awarded his Bobcat badge. Similarly, he can work on Elective activities, but he can not be awarded his Elective beads (arrow points) until AFTER he has been awarded his Rank badge. Actually, the very first thing a Tiger can earn, and be awarded at his very first Pack meeting, is his Tiger Totem. To earn his Tiger Totem he must complete 3 Bobcat requirements - the Cub Scout Motto, Sign, and Salute. They can finish those in their very first Tiger den meeting! Earning the Bobcat is really not that hard, even for a beginning Tiger. They do NOT have to memorize everything. That is not how the requirements are written, and we are NOT to add to the requirements in any way. The only Bobcat requirement that could involve memorizing is in #1 - LEARN and say the Cub Scout Promise. The rest of the requirements specifically state SAY, SHOW, or GIVE, and then go on to state TELL what it means. For SAY, the boys can simply repeat it after Akela. Start your first Tiger den meeting with the Cub Scout Salute and repeating the Law of the Pack. Go on to the Cub Scout Sign and what it means. You will be using that one a LOT! Discuss what the various Bobcat requirements are, and what they mean to the Tigers. End your meeting with the Cub Scout Sign, a Living Circle, and the Cub Scout Motto and you are well on your way to Bobcat. I give each Tiger, and each Tiger Partner, an index card with the Promise and the Law on it. I laminate them with clear packing tape so they can stand up to use. This way they can practice them at home and they will also be handy to use in the den. Games help too. You can cut up two copies of the CS Promise and then have a relay race between two teams (Tigers vs Partners is fun) to see who can put it together correctly first. As others have said, repetition is the best thing. Incorporate parts in every opening and closing den ceremony. Every now and then ask them if they remember what something means. Use the Handshake every time you give them an award. There is no reason why (besides parents being slow to sign off on YP) that all new Scouts can not have earned Bobcat by the Oct Pack meeting. By the end of their first year, they should be old hands at all of it!

I'm betting that "leader of the 11-year-old Scouts", has to do with LDS programs, which are run a bit differently from a traditional BSA Troop.

This is not school or work. This is Scouts where we are competing for a boys time against every other thing under the sun. Your percentage is indeed arbitrary because the BSA requirement states "good", not 75%.

If 50% attendence is not good enough for you, what percentage will be good enough? 75% 100% What happens when a boy shows you his work, but it is not up to your standards? What happens when a boy manages to complete all of the requirements for his Rank Award, but does not meet your arbitrary attendence requirement? What happens if a boy completes requirements for a Belt Loop that their parent signs off on, but that you can not verify?

Puppeteer Children's Zoo Police K-9 Unit Reenactors (Society for Creative Anachronism) Nature Center Fishing Demo with casting ponds PEAK Presentation from REI (Marlton)

We have something similar we use at our Haunted House. It can be used as a cauldren or hung on a wall. This would work too. Try your local costume/party store. Believe it or not, they are starting to stock up for Halloween already!

Those battery powered tea lights seem to be popular and readily available. They would give you the flicker effect. Add to that the colored cellophane and a battery powered tent fan under it all and you should be good to go! I would ditch the dry ice.

Unlike the Girl Scout Cookie program, popcorn sales are not a BSA National program, and the popcorn vendor(s) that are used are not hand picked and approved by BSA National. Each individual council decides if they want a popcorn sale, who they will purchase their popcorn from, and what their products, prices and profits will be. There are more than 3 popcorn companies selling to BSA councils. Some use small, local companies that they can get a good deal with. We switched from Trail's End to Campmasters mainly because of customer service issues. After 2 years of complaints about Campmaster's quality, we switched back to Trail's End and a new TE Sales Rep. As of last year, Trail's End was licensed to use BSA images and trademarks.

Citizenship exams??? I don't recall an exam as a requirement in any of the Citizenship Merit Badges. Perhaps you are refering to some school subjects?

Contact your District Training Chair. They can give you your Council info and let you know what you need to do to volunteer in that area.

"The board of review does not re-test the Scout, but the Scoutmaster can." Ummm, Where exactly does BSA literature state this?

The original poster, Daycamper, is an ASM who does not like his SM, thinks the SM is doing a bad job, and wants to know how to get rid of the SM. The reality is that a ASM can NOT remove a SM. What an ASM can, and SHOULD DO, is talk to the unit's CC and COR to tell them of his problems with the SM. It is then up to the CC and/or the COR (NOT the ASM) to decide if THEY want to ask their UC and/or their DE for input on the situation. Do I think that it is a good idea to ask the UC and DE for help and advise - Yes, I do. However the request has to come from the CC and/or COR. It is not the job of the ASM to do so. The bottom line is, if there is no YP issue that is mandated to be reported to the SE, a council will not, on the say so of a single ASM, terminate a SM's membership in a particular unit - or the BSA. Also, if the COR (and the CO the COR represents) decides that they feel it is simply a personality conflict between the ASM and the SM, and that they are backing the SM 100%, there is really NOTHING more that the ASM can do. Except of course, to find another Troop that follows BSA policies and rules better than the current Troop does.

We purchased ours from - http://www.pinewoodderbytrack.com/ It is a wooden, 40', 4-lane track. We omit 1 or 2 sections when we use it so that we are not running out the door. We are very pleased with it.