ScoutNut

First of all, there is no such organization as GSA. The name of the organization is Girl Scouts of the United States of America - GSUSA. Second, BSA, and GSUSA, are DIFFERENT. Not better, or worse, just DIFFERENT. They are organized, and run, completely differently. It is unfair to BOTH organizations to try to compare them. While this current incarnation of the Girl Scout Program is supposed to be focused on being the best leadership program in the country, I do not think it will make that goal. Their program 8-10 years, and 2 programs, back, in my opinion, did a much better job of encouraging service, and leadership, in the girls. Many girls find the Journeys not well written, at the best, and downright boring at the worst. The Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards have had their teeth pulled, repeatedly, as they have been re-written for each new incarnation of the program. Girl Scouts, like Boy Scouts, is what you make of it, and how good, or bad, the experience is based largely on the quality of the Troop leaders. If your daughter is interested in awards, there are some she can earn, the Girl Scout Silver is only one. As a 6th grade Cadette, she is old enough to do her own research into awards, and activities, that interest her. I suggest she talk to her Troop Leader, and the other girls in her Troop. (This message has been edited by Scoutnut)

The numerals on Cub Scouts, and their leaders, should be red/white. These can be purchased by anyone at the local Scout Shop. The color of the trained strip is what ever color is given you. Some councils are very diligent about only giving red/white trained strips to Cub leaders. Some councils stopped ordering the red/white trained strips. Some give out what ever they have handy. I am not about to argue about it, or try to trade in a trained strip for a different color. Personally I have a number of them in both red, and green, so I just put the correct color on the correct uniform.

While one of the responsibilities of the CO is to provide meeting space, there is nothing in BSA literature that states that a den MUST meet in any particular place. As a matter of fact, the den leaders home is one of the den meeting spots that BSA recommends. Dens generally meet at the place/time that is first, most convenient for the den leaders, then second, most convenient for the den families. Some Packs like all dens to meet at the same place/time (although usually in different rooms) because it makes it easier to do Pack wide administrative stuff.

>>"For Catholics, God is not a personal relationship in the manner of Protestants. We don't base our Faith on our own understanding of what God is or how God relates to our own personal situation. God is objective, not subjective. As Catholics, we know that God is a loving and just God and that he is there to guide and help us to understand Him. But that understanding is guided by the Church, not by a flawed individual understanding."

The programs for older Scouts (Ad Altare Dei, Light is Life, Pope Pius XII) are supposed to be completed through a trained counselor. The programs for Cub Scouts are not. Like Cub Scouting itself, these emblems (Light of Christ, Parvuli Dei) are family oriented. The purpose is to help bring the family closer together in their faith. I can, sort of, see doing the church/parish portion of Parvuli Dei in conjunction with a priest, deacon, or a counselor who is a knowledgeable member of the parish, but that is about it. This is not, and should not, be a school type lesson. You are not studying for a test (or a BOR as the older programs are). There are no right, or wrong, answers. It is more of a personal discovery for the boy about how his faith is an intimate part of his everyday life, and not something that is only contained in a church, or a classroom, or something that needs a degree in Philosophy, or Theology, to understand. Both my son, and daughter, earned all of their Religious Emblems. I enjoyed working with my son on both Light of Christ, and Parvuli Dei. I think my sons favorite part was making the banner at the end of Parvuli Dei that incorporated everything he had learned, discovered, and done. It was quite large! The only time the Scouts met together was when our Pastor went over their books and banners with them. Again, no right, or wrong answers, just a good discussion between him and the boys.

>>"The Parvuli Dei award is intended for work with the parent or guardian, but there are also parts which can be molded into a group setting with the Scouts so that they are getting consistent teaching from a Catholic perspective. It is both family and parish oriented. Some choose to allow for it to be done strictly with the family, then meeting one on one with the priest or his representative who is the facilitator. Some choose to allow for it to be done in a mixture of class and home work so that the teaching is consistent with Catholic teaching."

>>"He will NOT be awarded AOL in 4th grade even he does complete all the requirements because that's not the way our pack does it. So in other words, he CANNOT cross over "formally" until the web 2 year (5th grade)."

I also found this on the Learning For Life site - http://www.learningforlife.org/lfl/resources/99-349.pdf There is an extensive list of resources, and a section on activities to do with the youth. It would be nice if BSA put this over on their BSA site too.

Ummmm, just to clarify (probably unnecessarily, but you never know) - The rope making they did as Tigers will not count toward a Bear requirement. They will have to make rope again as a Bear Cub Scout in order for it to count for a Bear achievement.

Keep that site handy. Making your own rope is one of the requirements for the Bear "Tying It All Up" Achievement.

Are you thinking about "Stay On The Sunny Side"? You tell knock-knock jokes between singing the chorus. It is best known for the Ether Bunny knock-knocks, but you can do any. Here are some lyrics - http://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/song/song-1130.asp

Maybe these will help - http://www.drugfreeworld.org/#/interactive http://www.cadca.org/ http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/ http://www.theantidrug.com/

Welcome! Looking at the Piedmont Council web site, it seems their summer camp packet comes out in January. The 2010 Leaders Guide, and Appendix, for Camp Bud Schiele can be found here - http://www.piedmontcouncilbsa.org/openrosters/view_homepage.asp?orgkey=2097 They might give you an idea of what to expect in January.

My son missed summer camp the year he got elected into OA. He never had a call out ceremony, in fact, his SM never even told him he had been elected. He received a mailing from the Lodge in late Fall asking if he was going to attend the Fall Ordeal. Surprise! He had one year from the date of his election to undergo his Ordeal, or he would be out of luck, and have to be elected again. He had to scramble to get his Ordeal in before he timed out.

Basically it comes down to what your Troop can afford. If your Troop can afford to subsidize dome of the volunteers costs that would be a great way to thank them for their time (and money!). For camping trip costs, I would include the cost of transportation (gas), and the adult food costs in with the overall trip expenses, and then divvy them up to everyone.

It is entirely possible, and well within BSA rules, for a Scout to have 2 BOR's in one evening for T-2-1 ranks. The requirements for these ranks can all be done together, and often are completed together. There is no reason,or BSA policy, that states there MUST be any kind of wait between the T-2-1 ranks. For Star, Life, and Eagle, there are tenure requirements that must be met.

OK, so you have parents signing off for any, and all merit badges. The pertinent question is are these parents REGISTERED MERIT BADGE COUNSELORS? Are they REGISTERED MBC's for the badges they are signing off on (orienteering)? If there is a question about the qualifications of these parents to be MBC's it should be addressed to the District Advancement Chair. If they are actually registered, council approved them, and council can un-approve them. If they are NOT registered Merit Badge Counselors for the badges they are signing off on, then simply ignore them.

It's not a line in the sand issue? Kind of sounds that way to me. So, it's not just the video games belt loops you want to ban, it's reading, and manners, as well. Where does it end? Art is not outdoorsy, and is done in school, as is mathematics, music, and science. Communicating is right up there with reading. Pet care is something that should be taught at home. Most of the sports belt loops are taught at school, or in the park district. Then there is badminton. Is it even a "real" sport? Surely it is nothing that Cub Scouts should be wasting time learning. Your Pack needs to get over themselves. The whole point of the belt loop/pin program is to get the boys to have fun with something they are ALREADY interested in, and maybe discover something new along the way. It is not rocket science. But then isn't rocket science taught in school too? Sheesh!

There is no way that Orienteering can be earned in one hour. Did the boys do any prep work before the class (like do the 3 orienteering events)? You stated that you teach at the merit badge colleges. How was this class set up? Can the MBC be contacted to find out if he/she actually did sign off on the entire badge?

Welcome jcb7265. As others have stated, BSA does NOT require that a SM handle all medications. If you are unclear of MO rules on this, I suggest you contact your Council Service Center. I am sure they have been asked this question a time or two! Hopefully this dispute was not brought about because a Scout was injured/sick from a medication problem.

Your Troop's policies are well within BSA rules, and policies. Have you taken on a leadership role in the Troop now? Is your husband still SM of the Troop? I thought you were set on moving to another Troop?

The Academic and Sports pins have been around since the start of the program I believe. My son earned a few academic and sports pins 13 years ago. The way the pins are earned (they are significantly easier now), and who can earn them (adult mentors could at one time earn them also), have changed. The "C" is also relatively new. It used to be that you put the academic pins on a "A", and the sports pins on a "S". The separate patches were eliminated when the program was re-vamped a few years back in favor of the single "C" for both academic, and sports, pins. The "C" is to be worn where ever you put extra, non-uniform, patches (red brag patch vest). Generally speaking, the Unit Advancement Report is used only for restricted, advancement, items. However, not every unit does things the same. Some will include anything connected with advancement. This could include belt loops that were used toward Webelos Activity Pin requirements, Webelos Tri-Colors, boxes of Instant Recognition totems, extra instant recognition beads, etc. Some units will use the Advancement Report as a general shopping list, and include anything, and everything that needs to be purchased that month. The point is, if your paperwork from district is based on the advancement reports there is no way that it will be consistent from one unit to another, or from one month to the next. Your best bet is to separate out the basic, restricted advancement items - rank badges, Webelos Activity Award pins, and arrow points. I believe the Webelos compass emblem, and compass points are also restricted (would be considered Webelos electives), and should be included. These should all be consistently recorded on reports from all units. However, I know that some Scout Shops allow units to purchase rank awards with no documentation at all. This allows units to stockpile them so they have extras on hand.

Electives are additional projects/activities, that are included in the individual Cub Scout's Handbook which are beyond, those used for earning the Cub Scout's rank award for their level. From the Cub Scout Academics and Sports Program Guide - "The Cub Scout Academics and Sports program is a supplemental enrichment program that complements the existing Cub Scout program. The Academics subjects and Sports activities allow boys to learn new techniques, increase scholarship skills, develop sportsmanship and have fun." The Academic/Sports loops/pins are additional awards similar to the Cub Scout Family awards, LNT, Outdoor, etc. I would separate out the advancement related stuff (rank awards, Webelos activity pins, & arrow points). For the rest I would just do lump totals (10 belt loops, 5 outdoor, 2 Cub family, etc). (This message has been edited by Scoutnut)

>>"Ahhh.. missing info.. You were getting a new COR!!"

My only problem would be that this was inside a school gym, and I am sure, got REALLY messy. I hope that these boys mopped up the gym really well when they were done. A sloppy, sticky, mess that attracts bugs, and can ruin a floor is not a surprise the Scouts need to leave for the school. This seems to me to be better done outside, with a shower/hose handy. I don't find this particularly funny, but it is not offensive either. On the whole, if done outside, I would pick this over a skit like the motorcycle gang one.