ScoutNut

From JeffD''s post, this man is not a Pack Leader and is not applying to be a Pack Leader. This man simply wants to take his son on a Pack Family Camping trip. According to BSA, Scouting is not a closed organization. Parents are allowed to attend Scout events with their children. If you do not let this man attend your Pack camping trip, will his son still be able to attend? Will the boys family allow him to go with a different family? Are there sufficient tents to accomadate this? Talk to your CO about this, especially in regard to any FL specific laws. If you all see your way clear to allowing this dad to accompany his son on the camping trip, it might help both dad & son. However, I would have a little heart to heart talk to him before the trip on expected behavior and BSA policies.

My council holds Den Chief training one or two times per year. We have 4 Den Chiefs and all of them are trained. Talk to your District or Council Training Chair about putting together a training. National''s Den Chief Training Pamphlet is #34450C, and sells for $4.99.

Also from the National site - Scouting: A Profession With a Purpose Who Are We? The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is one of the nation''s largest and most prominent values-based youth development organizations. The BSA provides a program for young people that builds character, trains them in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and develops personal fitness. Scouting serves more than 4 million young men and women in every part of the country through more than 300 local council offices. Scouting is a part of America and has been since 1910. The BSA recognizes the need for strong role models, mentors, and leaders. Young people lacking direction and focus often feel isolated from their parents and community and disconnected from the guideposts designed to help them through the difficult years of adolescence. As the nation''s foremost youth program, the Boy Scouts of America is committed to focusing on the challenges of our nation''s youth. Since 1910, the BSA has helped build the future leaders of this country by combining educational activities and lifelong values with fun. The Boy Scouts of America believes and through nearly a century of experience, knows that helping youth is a key to building a more conscientious, responsible, and productive society. Think About It A career has an enormous impact on your life. Often, your career determines where you live and how you feel about yourself. Making that career choice is a vitally important decision. The Boy Scouts of America offers one of the most fulfilling career opportunities for college graduates and professionals who are searching for a career that will have a significant impact on communities. A Day in the Life Scouting is looking for dedicated and committed executives who want to inspire, encourage, and guide the youth of America. You begin your executive employment in Scouting as a manager of a specific geographic area. As an executive Scouter, you follow in the footsteps of many of America''s great leaders who, through Scouting, laid the foundation to support traditional values. Executive Scouters develop the management and leadership skills that can lead to professional success and personal growth. They develop problem-solving skills that prepare them for many of life''s challenges. Careers in executive Scouting can have a major impact on the lives of America''s youth and local communities. Our executives are frequently called upon to multitask and combine many of these skills to get the job done. If you have skills in some of these areas, Scouting may be the career for you: Public relations Marketing Fund-raising Finance and accounting Sales Business management Human relations Training and Development The Boy Scouts of America realizes that in order for people to grow and be productive, people need opportunities to learn. The fact that more than 75 percent of the BSA''s executives receive training each year is a testimony to the commitment of local councils and the national organization. Training courses, with set periods of time to acquire specific information, are part of our overall plan of development. Professional Scouters receive continuous instruction through formal as well as informal training. The BSA fosters an environment of continuous learning to nurture the collective creativity that will benefit both professionals and the organization. We share knowledge, ideas, and experience, creating both a workforce that is involved in decision making and an inclusive work environment that ensures the success of Scouting in the local area. The BSA is committed to the training and development of individuals because we fully recognize the benefits of mutual growth and development. Qualifications Do you have the background needed for a career as a Scouting executive? - Bachelor''s degree from an accredited college or university - United States citizenship or declared intention to become a U.S. citizen - Adultmust have attained age 21 unless prohibited by any applicable law - People-oriented with the ability to work with adult volunteers, community and business leaders, and other organizations - Ability to work varied hours to achieve positive objectives - Belief in the BSA and its principles and standards - Successful completion of SRI The Benefits of Scouting The Boy Scouts of America recognizes the importance of healthy, productive employees by offering a comprehensive benefits package and competitive salaries. Employees of a local council can choose from medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans as well as accidental death and dismemberment insurance and long-term disability coverage. They can also participate in retirement plans, and the Scout Executives'' Alliance, a fellowship fund designed to assist member families at a difficult time. Each local council also provides other benefits such as paid holidays and vacation time. Learn More To learn more about the Boy Scouts of America, visit the employment page on our Web site at www.scouting.org or write to the Executive Career Administration (SUM 416) at 1325 West Walnut Hill Lane, P.O. Box 152079, Irving, TX 75015-2079. This site is a good overview which includes stories from professionals, "A Day in The Life", and an overview of compensation and benefits - http://www.scouting.org/hr/careers.html BTW - It states starting pay is $35,500+ and there are performance increases. I know that a good professional works long, hard, days. Also, if you are good, the only way to move up is to move on. Professional Scouters in the lower ranks move around a lot. Although I applaud our councils professionals and the work they do, it seems like as soon as we get settled in with a really good one, one who is great to work with, they go and get themselves promoted and move to another council! Good for them! Not so good for us. So if you are settled in one area and do not want to move your family that could be a concern for you.

From the National Web site - The Professional in Scouting The Boy Scouts of America provides a program for young people that builds desirable qualities of character, trains in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and develops their personal fitness. Scouting serves more than 4 million young men and women in every part of the country through more than 300 local council service centers. Nearly 4,000 professional Scouters lead, guide, and train more than a million volunteers. Scouting is a volunteer organization. The professional staff has the responsibility for working with volunteer committees and community leaders to recruit, train, guide, and inspire them to become involved in the program of Scouting. RESPONSIBILITIES The professional Scouter in an entry-level position is assigned to a district or service area within a local council. The job responsibilities are broad and varied. Duties include promoting, supervising, and working in the district or service area through volunteers. Different aspects of the professional Scouter''s job include: -Sales. The professional Scouter is responsible, through volunteers, for extending Scouting to religious, civic, fraternal, educational, or other community-based organizations. - Service. Major emphasis is placed on service. The professional staff ensures that all Scouting units are served through volunteer commissioners, regular roundtable meetings, training events, and activities. - Finance. The professional Scouter has responsibility for securing adequate financial support for Scouting in the assigned area. Working with volunteers, professionals recruit leadership for the Friends of Scouting and finance campaign efforts to meet the financial needs of the council. - Administration. The professional Scouter administers the Scouting program in the assigned district or service area. - Public Relations. Professional Scouters must recognize the importance of good working relationships with other professionals and with volunteers. Scouting depends on community support and acceptance. Professional leaders must have good communication skills and be able to tell Scouting''s story to the public. If you are an adult and a college graduate, you may qualify to become a BSA professional. For more information call or visit a local council service center of the Boy Scouts of America

"Call the Scribe and find out why he isn''t coming to meetings. When you find out that he''''s having difficulty with homework and has had to miss meetings to get some extra tutoring you say okay and invite him back when he has some free time. Meanwhile, your Assistant Senior Patrol Leader continues to track attendance and perhaps even take the official notes during the Patrol Leader''''s Council meeting. Even though the ASPL has been performing the tasks the Scribe stays in his position (and therefore getting credit) simply because you have no procedures for removing him." I don''t know about where you live, but in my area the world is not simply black and white. There is a lot going on out there that our boys are into. BSA gives YOU leeway and does not say My Way or The Highway, why would you do that to boys? When he is there, does the Scribe perform his duties to the best of his abilities? During the SM conference to find out why the Scribe has not been to meetings, the scout could be asked if scheduling for the tutoring could possibly be changed to accommodate Troop meetings. Find out if there is a time frame for the tutoring and an estimate of how many Troop meetings will be missed. Find out if the Scout is still committed to the Troop and his position as Scribe. If he will only be missing a few meetings, I have no problem with the ASPL filling in. If he will be missing a lot of meetings then, and this is where the SM gets to practice actually mentoring, the SM asks the SCOUT what the SCOUT thinks should be done to make sure the duties of the Scribe are covered. The SM and the Scout DISCUSS the situation and come to a MUTUALLY acceptable solution. This could very well be that he will get credit for time served, his position will be taken over by another Scout, and when the Scout can again attend he will get a new POR. Whatever it is, the solution should be one that is worked out between the SM and the Scout. This is a GAME (hence fun) with a purpose. The boys should not be made to feel that if they do not keep some (possibly power hungry) ASPL happy they they will be ridiculed in front of the entire Troop (lists to adults and youth) and possibly kicked out. "What are your views and suggestions?" Although you clearly only want to hear "views and suggestions" that agree with your own, feedback, as they say, is a gift. My suggestion is to dump the evaluation form/process and for the SM to actually do his job and mentor the boys in the Troop. To talk to them all OFTEN on a one-to-one basis. SM should NOT be ONLY talking to their Scouts for advancement purposes. They are allowed to, and even encouraged by BSA, to talk to, and get to know them at other times too. As often as possible (during these conversations) let the SCOUT make the decision on how well he is doing in his position and let the SCOUT come up with ways to improve. Will every Scout preform their POR perfectly? Of course not, they are LEARNING after all. Should every Scout be REQUIRED to be preforming perfectly by the end of their time in their POR? Required to be perfect? NO. However, IF he has received proper training and mentoring, his skills in that particular POR should be IMPROVED by the time he leaves the position. The Scout should have learned something. That is the whole point after all. If you have a scout in a POR who absolutely refuses to do any kind of decent job or to even try, regardless of mentoring and training, then during one of those nice conversations with the SM, the SCOUT should come to the conclusion (with some help from the SM) that he needs to step down. BTW - Who is policing your SPL and ASPL?

"Once a boy turns nine years old, if he has not completed the Wolf Badge he can no longer work on the requirements for the Wolf Badge... only the Bear Badge" "Once a boy turns ten years old, if he has not completed the requirements for the Bear Badge or Wolf Badge he can no longer earn these awards" Absolutely NOT!! The ONLY time a boy moves to another level on his birthday is if he is a member of an LDS Pack. Their program is STRICTLY age driven. The only time the grade or age thing comes into play (aside from LDS Units) is when a boy is INITIALLY joining a Pack/Troop. Since 1977, for the rest of the non-LDS BSA Cub Scout world, Cubs move on to their next level at the end of their school year. BSA''s computer system, ScoutNet, automatically moves every Cub Scout in it''s database up as of June 1st of every year. A Cub Scout can only earn the rank award of the level he is currently in. Boys can only work on/in ONE level at a time. Earning their rank level award has nothing to do with what level a Cub is in. ScoutNet will move them up to their next one on June 1st weather or not they have earned their rank award. BSA does make an allowance for boys who do not earn their rank award (NOT electives) by 06/01. They are allowed to take a few weeks more to work on it during the summer months (some Packs will give them the entire Summer). However, while they are working to complete their rank award they may NOT do any work in their next level at all (can only work in one level at a time). All that said, about the Outdoor Award - If a Tiger joins in June, any work he does toward the Outdoor Activity Award, including summer camp, will count toward his earning the award at the Tiger level. If a Tiger joins in September, unless his district/council has a non-summer day camp/overnight camp during the year, he can not earn the award as a Tiger. For all other levels, as of June 1st they are in their new level so any and all work done during the summer and the following school year would count toward the award for that level. For instance - Last year''s Tigers became Wolf Scouts as of 06/01/07. All work done by these Wolf Scouts toward the Outdoor Activity Award from 06/01/07 to 05/31/08 should be the Wolf requirements for the award. "Would activities that a boy does in the spring as a Wolf count toward the award as a Bear, for example?" NO - They would not count toward the Bear requirements because they were Wolves not Bears. Remember - They can only work in ONE level at a time. If none of your boys attended day camp or summer camp this past summer, unless your council runs some kind of Cub Scout overnight during the year they are out of luck until next year. Attending a council camp is the one requirement that all levels must fulfill and (IMO) the main reason this award was put together.

This is great, but I don''t think this will really change much of anything. This has been on the National Web site for a while now and has been pointed out to those who do their own thing. They still did their own thing. The folks who do their own thing don''t read the Advancement Committee Policies and Procedures, or if they do read it, they don''t really care what it says because they will always find a way (any way) to justify doing things their way. If they don''t use the % attendance thing for active, they will pull it out for Scout Spirit. The folks who do their own thing will continue to do their own thing no matter what BSA National has to say on the subject. However, I for one am glad it has been formally included in the Advancement Procedure Guide. Maybe newbies will read it there and do things the BSA way from the get-go.

I am close friends with a number of folks in our Council office too. What does that have to do with an honest critique of the training you received? As Eamon stated, a course evaluation sheet is given to EVERY participant at the end of EVERY training course. The whole point of doing this is to get feedback on the training. By not filling out, and handing in, your course evaluation at the end of your training, you are not helping to improve the training. You state - "Everybody already ''''knows better'''' then to do what was done." Everybody who? How do YOU know that? How do THEY know that? From the course evaluation they got from you (nothing at all) all they can conclude is that you were satisfied with the training you received. Your evaluation of a Council training course you have taken has NOTHING to do with your current Troop at all. No questions are asked about your Troop on the evaluation, other than what number it is. Nothing to "boomerang". No need to worry about a "disaster" in the making. If, by some chance, you still have the course evaluation, fill it out and send it to the Course Director. Or simply write a note stating the course name & date and any positive AND negative comments about the course and the training you received. If you do not know who the CD is, or do not know how to contact him, send it to your Council in care of District AYZ''s Training Chairman. If you STILL fear repercussions, then simply do not put your name or Troop number on the evaluation. The Course Director really does not care who you are, or what Troop you are with, only how you felt the training you received was. As for visiting other Troops - You do not have to take out an add in the paper on everything you dislike about your current Troop. You also do not need their permission in order to investigate other Troops. You can get a listing of Troops in your area, along with SM contact info, from your DE. If you are not comfortable asking your DE (for whatever reason), go to the Troop Locater area on the Scout Zone web site - http://www.thescoutzone.org/locator.html Put in your zip code and it will give you a list of Troops, by town and Charter Organization, in your area. You can then look the Charter Orgs up in your local yellow pages and get contact info from them. Contact each SM and find out when they meet (the odds that every Troop in your area meets on the same day and time is extremely small). Make an appointment to visit each Troop meeting. Or, you and your son could just drop in. Sometimes that gives you a better look at how a Troop really operates when they are not on their "best" behavior knowing visitors are coming. Once again, there is no need to bad mouth, or even comment on, your current Troop at all. Simply tell the SMs that you and your son are looking at what other Troops in your area are like. Period.

Your DE is not the person who you should get involved. Your CM, CC and COR are the folks to speak to. If you feel you might need an outside resource then contact your UC. Being a mentor to the unit is his job.

According to BSA National Supply, the Tiger Totem is NOT involved. The ONLY item being recalled is the Wolf/Bear Progress Toward Ranks Totem.

"if you volunteer to help teach you get credit for teaching and taking" Not around here. You have to have first gone thru the course in order to be a staff member on the course. How can you teach what you do not know yet?

" Last year as a Tiger Cub, my son got his Tiger Cub totem, beads, and Tiger Cub badge all at once at the end of the school year, so he never got a chance to wear the totem and beads at all before he became a Wolf Cub." That explains somewhat. I take it you were not Tiger Den Leader last year or you would have asked these questions then. What happened with their Bobcat rank? The Tigers should have received their Bobcat before their Tiger rank. Did they receive that last Feb at B&G and then have to wait until the end of the school year to receive their Tiger stuff? I must say, this sounds like a rather dysfunctional Pack to me. I sure hope the rest of their program makes up for their idiocy with achievements! My advice to you is - Just say NO! Whenever you have a boy complete his rank award, let your Advancement Chair, or whoever it is that purchases awards, know that you will need the rank award itself not just the pocket card for the next Pack meeting. At the Committee meeting prior to the Pack meeting let your Cubmaster know that you will be doing a rank award ceremony for XYZ Scouts. Insist on it. Remind them of BSA''s policy on receiving recognition ASAP. I am sure their viewpoint is to save the big pomp and ceremony for the big celebration Pack meeting when all of the families are present and they can do it up big. That is all fine and nice, however the boys deserve to be able to wear their awards when they complete them and not have to wait until it is convenient for the adults. If the Pack refuses to do this for the boys, you might consider moving to a different Pack.

"In your experience, who leads the planning of family camping outings in Cub Scout Packs?" In our Pack it is some/all of the 3 BALOO trained leaders.

If the boys are getting recognized for their accomplishment, with a proper ceremony, at the next Pack meeting, that seems to satisfy the immediate recognition policy. However, to me, it is real silly to do a ceremony 2x for the same thing and to have the boys wait for their actual patch. Even if you have a very small Pack and can afford the time at your Pack meetings, it is still a waste of time. What do they do if a boy does not complete his rank requirements until after Blue & Gold? Do they give him his pocket card and then wait until the following February to give him the patch? What level are you a Den Leader for? Will any of your Scouts be finished with all of their rank requirements before February? Is this the way you have handled rank awards in past years or is this something new from a new Advancement Chair or Cub Master?

While the century plant (which actually lives about 25 years) and the yucca are related, they are not the dame. Century plants are succulents while yuccas are not. Their leaves are more palm like. There is a varity of yucca that grows in a tree form (Joshua Tree) that may be what was used. You can also find yucca plants at most garden stores, but be warned, if you decide to plant one they have VERY deep, spreading roots and can be almost impossible to remove completely. Could this have been something in the loofa family?

This award is from 2002. Perhaps your council never had anyone do this award. The requirements state that "a merit badge counselor in any physical activity-oriented merit badge may serve as a mentor for this award". Get a MBC list from your council and contact one of the counselors. I would try the Personal Fitness counselors first. Another problem I see from looking at the award requirements is that although it states Cub Scouts can earn it, the award seems to be focused more on Boy Scouts and adults.

As far as I know there have been no revisions. The problem is that many councils are handling this rather sloppily. They are not communicating to their UCs clearly and as a result the UCs are not communicating to the units clearly. Then you have councils like mine who seem to have lost much of the paperwork from the units. This forces the UCs to go back and recreate everything at the 11th hour. There are no real set requirements for this award other than set doable goals in all areas that give you an increase over last year and then accomplish them.

I would say whenever you can get the meeting space allocated. Since your CO is a PTO, I will assume your Pack meeting will be in the school. You will have to be put on the calendar and since the year has started there is a good chance your first choice will be booked up already. My Pack generally has their Pack meeting the 3rd or 4th Tuesday of the month. However, there are times when we hold it on a Friday or Saturday depending on what we are doing. Sometimes we have to hold it earlier in the month too if the school/parish hall is being used by others.

BSA National site also has a notice up - http://www.scoutstuff.org/bsasupply/info.aspx?page=cskit From what I have heard there does not seem to be a start date on this. I would reccommend that ALL families (even those families whose Scouts are no longer Wolf or Bear) find these and put them away somewhere. I do not believe that, aside from publishing the info, most councils have made a decision on what to do with the totems that have already been sold. It sounds like they are waiting on Kahoot to see what they will be doing. All product has been pulled off of all shops shelves. What a mess.

October 2,2007 National Supply Group Boy Scouts of America P.O. Box 7143 Charlotte, NC 28247 Dear Sirs: We have been advised that product safety testing for the Cub Scout Immediate Recognition Kit, Item 01804, that we supply to the Boy Scouts of America may contain lead levels in excess of U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission standards in the paint on one component of the kit, the totem badge. In light of this development, we have decided to initiate a voluntary recall of the product and have instructed our counsel to move forward with the voluntary recall without delay. Pending formalization of the details of the recall, we urge all consumers to remove the Cub Scout Recognition totem badge from the children''s possession and be kept in a safe place where only adults will have access to them. Detailed instructions for returning the product for replacement will be provided when the recall is announced. We have received no reports of any injuries resulting from use of the kits. Nevertheless, we urge that this action be taken as a precautionary measure, and as a reflection of our commitment - shared by Boy Scouts of America - to sell only products of the highest quality. Yours truly, Chuck Kelderhouse President Kahoot Products. Inc.

Maybe I missed something in the myriad pieces of BSA literature. Could someone point me to where it states that the purpose of the BSA is to "teach boys to be men"?

Has your daughter looked at the "Digging Through The Past"? If geology interests her, she might like this geology based IPA.

As for the $ each Pack has, since there will be no CO contesting it, the money and equipment should all get merged too.

I would think that transfering all registered Scouts and Scouters to one of the Packs would be the easiest way. However - Since the PTA''s will be merging I am assuming that the name of the new PTA will be different from that of the other two. That might have an impact on the 2 charters. Since the name has changed it might require a brand new (3rd) charter. Your DE should be more helpful and get you some solid answers. Good luck!

So what you have is, as I described, a Pack that is specially targeted at a specific group of Scouts. And, you state it is going over great. That is wonderful, and with a targeted unit I can see aggressively going after a specific group of boys. However in our Pack, and in many others across the country, we are not targeted to a specific group of scouts, so to aggressively go after ANY specific group will leave out some boys. It will also tend to skew our unit toward a specialty unit, which we are not. As I said, we target ALL of the boys in our area in our recruiting drives. If a special needs boy, or his family, is interested all they need to do is contact us, just like any other interested boy. We will at that time try to answer all of their questions and convince them to join our Pack if the family is comfortable with us. We have some boys, some siblings, and some leaders, who are special needs. We have some families who are Catholic and some who are not. We have some boys who attend our Catholic school and some who do not. We have some families who home school. We have some single mothers, some single fathers, some divorced parents, some blended families, and some "normal" families. We even have some families whose children are adopted. Our families cover a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. All in all, I feel we have quite a diverse Pack. And all without targeting any specific group.