ScoutNut

Promote the earning of the Religious Emblems of their faith. You can get a pamphlet titled "Duty to God", from your local Scout Shop, which explains this. It is also available online at BSA National - http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/512-879_WB.pdf Utilize the Position of Responsibility of Chaplain Aide. Here is some information on that position, and it's responsibilities - http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Media/Relationships/ChaplainRole.aspx

Why would an atheist club be banned? I think this was an interesting article. I like the attitudes of the students, and the faculty. Sad that some of the students were unable to talk to their parents.

A burn ban is part of life, and something your Cubs should get familiar with. There is no reason why a campfire program HAS to be around an actual fire. Get everyone settled around a central area. Use a few lanterns on the edges for a bit of light. It doesn't have to be lit up like it's noon, so 1 or 2 on low should do. Then use the open center as your "stage" for the skits and songs. Have FUN!

Just wondering, you were planning on using 2 cans of soda to make 2 DO dump cakes. Yet you brought 5 cans of soda. What were the 3 other cans for? Were they special treats for the adult leaders? Did you tell the Scouts that the soda was only for the dump cakes, and consumption by the leaders, not for the boys? Are boys allowed to bring "special" food for themselves only on a backpacking trip? You believed the adults when they told you they had not taken the sodas, but not the Scouts? Why? It seems to me that while taking the sodas without at least asking was not the most polite thing to do, there could be more here than just stealing and lying. If all food on the trip was considered to be group, Troop, food, and not just belonging to an individual, and if you did not tell anyone in advance that the sodas were only for adults, a few of the Scouts might have decided to drink the leftovers. They might even have all shared them. Then when you went ballistic on them there was no way in heaven, or the other place, that they would have admitted it. Or - if it was clear that the sodas belonged only to the adults, some of the adults might have drank, what they knew to be extras. Then, when you started questioning everyone, there was no way that they, as a adult, would want to be called out on drinking extra sodas. Or - You brought the extra sodas for yourself alone, did not tell anyone, and when the culprits (adults or youth) saw how mad you were they were way to embarrassed to speak up. I would consider the issue closed, and not peruse any other Troop wide punishment or recriminations. I would also make sure to not bring extra goodies on camping trips that were not for general use, unless everyone had the same option to bring their own extra goodies along. Then make sure everyone knows that extra goodies are the personal property of the person who brought them, and not available to the Patrol, or Troop in general.

My council is not actively working with the AHG. Of course, according to the AHG web site, there are no AHG Troops in our council, and only seven in the entire state of Illinois.

"You do not have to use "only the most current requirements", you may use the requirements that were current when you first started working on the merit badge." True, but somehow I really doubt that any of these Scouts could have started the Camping Merit Badge prior to January 1, 2000, when requirement 9 was revised to include the "do 2 of the following".

You have a Troop that, when they do camp, does not do anything but sit around the campsite? You have a Troop that keeps no records on it's Scouts? You have Scouts who do not know the requirements for a Merit Badge, yet claim to have earned it? You have a Troop that thinks that Merit Badge requirements have not changed in 40 years? You have Eagle Scout adults that do not know that only the most current Merit Badge requirements can be used? Wow. Interesting Troop. Will a Merit Badge Counselor sign off on requirements that have not been met? Possibly. There are all kinds of people out there that are registered as MB Counselors. Some people are not all that truthful, or have their own agendas.

If you are looking for ways to handle your son's situation, here are some suggestions, and some questions - If my son was beat up by someone, badly enough to be hospitalized, I would definitely make sure that the police were called to the hospital, and a complaint made as soon as possible. Was this done by you? You stated you spoke to your son's SM, but that the SM did nothing. Yet you also stated that the Troop leaders want to get together with you to "get to the bottom of it" but you refused. Have you contacted the head of the Troop's Charter Organization? Since you stated that your son was in Cub Scouts, you should have an idea of how a BSA unit is set up. The Charter Organization owns the Troop. They are ultimately responsible for the Troop. If you have not contacted the Charter Org yet, I recommend doing so as soon as possible. Big, bad, "male role models" or not, they should be informed of what happened. They might actually be able to help. According to BSA's Guide to Safe Scouting, all incidents involving serious injury should be reported to the council Scout Executive. Do you know if this was done? I would suggest to you that you make an effort to see that the Troop does something to ensure that this kind of thing does not happen again. It will not only be closure for you and your son, but will help other young Scouts. And in response to a few of your comments - You stated "I have never said all scouting is bad". Well, actually, you kind of did. You stated "I am sickened that I encouraged my son so much towards scouting. From what I see and hear now in most places I read about scouting this is more of a men's club then a boys club. My son means nothing to his scout troop and yours probably will not either." You have had experience with one Boy Scout Troop. Per BSA figures, as of Dec 31, 2010, there were 40,146 Boy Scout Troops chartered with BSA. Not all 40,146 are alike. I realize you were/are hurting, but bad mouthing like this will not solve anything. You stated "Stick with sports. The men there don't need to exclude women from their activities to feel like men." I must admit to laughing out loud when I read this. You must not be very familiar with sports at all. How many boys sports teams do you know of with female coaches? Have you ever heard of Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, and how it impacted, and is STILL impacting, females in sports? Sports has more than it's fair share of Neanderthals too.

bt01, I have to ask, are you a registered member of BSA? Have you taken any of the training? From your various posts, you don't seem to know a whole heck of a lot about BSA, or any of it's policies. I do not care how many adults you know who "hike, backpack & camp solo". You NEVER encourage a Boy Scout to go on a 10-20 mile hike on his OWN!!

Usually if your OA Lodge has a ceremony team that does WEBELOS cross-overs they have their own ceremonies. They have practiced them, and have all of the supplies/props for them. Have you spoken to your OA yet? No need to recreate a wheel that they usually have already perfected.

The current Insignia Guide simply states - "The unit has a choice of wearing the neckerchief over the collar or under the collar." It does not specify the choice is limited to only one type of unit.

BALOO, as plainly stated on the new Tour Plan, has NO EXPIRATION.

We don't wait around for someone to volunteer. Tigers might be graduating from college before someone stepped up. The Pack's leadership decides who we feel will do the best job. Then we ask them one on one. If the first one says no thanks, we go on to the next best on the list. This has never failed us yet.

From the BSA October 2010 Training Updates - http://scouting.org/Training/TrainingUpdates/Archives/201010.aspx Training Courses Requiring Recertification Most BSA training courses do not require recertification with the obvious exception for Youth Protection Training (YPT) which is required every two years. The following is a list of courses requiring recertification and the timeframe for each: * Trainers EDGE Three years * Paddle Craft Safety Three years * Swimming and Water Rescue Two years * Safety Afloat Two years * Chain Saw Safety Two years * Note: National Camping School certification is good for five camping seasons.

Yep, completing 12 out of the 24 Bear achievements earns your Bears the Bear rank AWARD. However, earning that award has nothing to do with becoming a Webelos. It is simply an age-appropriate award for the Bear Cub Scout level. There are other awards a Bear can earn also. Some of the things your Bears can work on from now until the end of 3rd grade (when they become Webelos) are - Bear Electives Academic and Sports Belt Loops/Pins (be careful here as there are some that MUST be earned WHILE a Webelos Scout in order to be able to use them toward the requirements of Webelos Activity Badges, so it would take some of the fun out to have to re-do a belt loop next year) Outdoor Activity Award World Conservation Award Leave No Trace Award Emergency Preparedness Award BSA Family Awards

>>"as far as the boys crossing over in april they have done the requirements to do so"

Turn over your Unit Money-Earning Application, to the Guides to Money-Earning Projects on the back. Checkpoint #1 - Do you really need a fund-raising project? There should be a real need for raising money based on your units program. Units should not engage in money-earning projects merely because someone has offered an attractive plan. Remember that individual youth members are expected to earn their own way. The need should be beyond normal budget items covered by dues. THAT is why the questions are on the front about the units budget, and treasury. And at the bottom, in large, bold, underlined, typeface - The local council is responsible for upholding the Charter and By-laws and the Rules and Regulations of the BSA. To ensure compliance, all unit fund-raisers MUST OBTAIN WRITTEN APPROVAL from the local council NO LESS THAN 14 DAYS before the fund-raising activity. If the approval is not received from your council before the date of your money-earning activity, you are NOT supposed to hold it.

If your Pack will not purchase the Whittling Chip card for your boys, then there is no reason why you can not. The pocket certificate is only $0.12, so it should not be a hardship on your pocketbook. If you want to, and can afford it, there is a Whittling Chip patch for $1.49 that the boys can wear on their red "brag" vest (or where ever you put your misc patches). Both of these items can be purchased at your local Council Scout Shop. As for when your Bears become Webelos, all Cub Scouting programs are age-appropriate, with Cub Scout levels generally tied to the school year. Bears are in 3rd grade. When they finish 3rd grade, and enter 4th, they become Webelos. Most Packs hold a graduation Pack meeting at the end of the school year (late May, early June) to move their Cubs up to their next Cub level. Because of the differences across the country in how school systems are run, and when the school year ends, BSA uses the date of June 1, to automatically move every Cub in their computer system up to the next level. Does your Pack close down in April? Is that your final Pack meeting of the school year? Why would your Bears be moving up to Webelos then? Because of BSA's June 1, level up date, your den would still be considered to be Bears in May. If your council requires you to register for the camporee, especially if they have Webelos programing, and Webelos camping, included, then I would guess that your den would not be allowed to attend as the council would not have them in their system as Webelos yet. Your best bet would be to contact your council, and talk to the person in charge of registering the Spring Camporee participants.

We work popcorn booth sales the same as Lisabob's unit. We take the total of all booth sales (to even out good and bad days/spots, divided by the total number of shift spots worked. This gives you an overall $ per shift spot. The boys then got sales credit depending on how many shifts they worked over the entire sale. We had some families with multiple boys who made their per Scout goals mainly working booth sales, plus a bit of take-order for family consumption.

>>"Packs need the above plus: 1 Tiger DL if there are any Tigers 1 DL if there are any Wolves and Bears and 1 WDL if there are any Webelos."

>>"The council would see who counseled what when they see the blue cards come across the desk of the advancement clerk -- but it's not necessarily recorded. Our council returns the blue cards and advancement forms after 3 months."

steppedonalego - First of all, BSA requires that your son talk to his SM about the Merit Badges he wants to work on. It is the responsibility of the SM to provide your son with a Merit Badge application (blue card), and the name/contact info, of a MB Counselor. You son should discuss with his SM his desire to use his aunt, and grandfather as MB Counselors. My question are the aunt, and grandfather, available often enough to be your son's Counselors for these badges? You stated that neither live in your council. Do they still live nearby? Does your son see them regularly? Or would he be working with them only occasionally when he was visiting? If he would only be working with them sporadically, when ever he was able to visit them, then I suggest he use a local MB Counselor. He can still work with both his aunt, and his grandfather while visiting them. If his local Counselor approves (and I would see no reason for them not to), what he does with them can also "count" toward the Merit Badges.

GSUSA is not set up the same way as BSA. There are no Chartered Organizations that own Scout units. The local council owns all of the Troops/Groups. Generally, each Troop is a specific school grade, or Girl Scout level. There are very few Troops that would include girls from different Scout levels. Yep, not a fan of the big mega-councils, but I can understand the finances behind the move. I also would not be surprised to see BSA go that route eventually. While the mega-councils are more spread out, and more impersonal, they are still broken down into much smaller Service Units (similar to BSA Districts). These Service Units should be providing support and training for it's Troops. Also, a Service Unit might be broken down even further into the area schools, with each school having it's own School Coordinator to help the GSUSA Troops in that school. Like BSA, Frontier Girls, AHG, or any other group, the specific recruiting event for GSUSA is only as good as the person running it. While creating new Troops is always the push, it is usually not the FIRST thing done unless the area Troops for a specific level are all full and not accepting new members.

>>"It needs to be on the Council approved list... they don't have time to approve new places just because that's where you want to go."

>>"some people who wanted to try to express interesting albeit inexperienced opinions">"Opinions and suggestions are also welcome."