skeptic

Having attended as a teen in 1960, as an ASM in 85, and this past year on staff, I would agree that the experience is worthwhile and can be a life memory. I also know that it is true, both from my personal experience, and observations as an adult, that those for whom there is no real "skin" tend to view it with far less exuberance, even negatively sometimes. When I told my parents that I wanted to attend in Colorado Springs, I was 14+, and it was late 58 or early 59. Cost from our area in San Bernardino County was $400, plus about $50 for uniforming, and spending money; so about $500 total. My parents said, well we will pay for your uniforms; if you want to go, earn the rest. And I did. It was definitely one of my most memorable experiences, even today. I only regret I did not take advantage of some opportunities that were there, though I did meet many people from all around the world, saw the president, Ike, met James Arness from "Gunsmoke", saw the Lennon Sisters and Brenda Lee (I know some do not even know who they are), and saw many cool places, Santa Fe, Guarden of the Gods, Great Salt Lake, Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo, Salt Lake City and the tabernacle, the huge mine outside the city, and San Francisco. We rode a train to and from, slept in pull down berths (two to a bed), and had the run of the train most of the time. We had 3 troops on the train, and when we went to SF, we stayed in the Grand Hotel and took up an entire floor. Then we went to dinner at a large China Town restaurant where I, along with about 30 or so others, scarfed up on more food than we thought possible, because many were too finicky. As an adult leader of a troop, I had different experiences, but still saw things I never would have most likely, especially having spent little personal time on the East coast. Then, as a staffer, I was able to see the other part of the huge undertaking, and I appreciate just how much we all owe the volunteers, like ourselves. Without them, nothing would happen. And the camaraderie of Scouting is unique. Hope I may be able to work out going again in 2013, but will be almost 70, so do not know. And the world is likely definitely out of reach.

While it is true the content is important, especially when writing for a class outside of language arts or lit; but ultimately, the spelling and grammar are on the same level. JMHO

Yes F-Scouter; I like your list. When I was in grad school in '74, I had to choose between taking a writing and grammar course, or taking the skill test to avoid it. If you flunked the test, you still had to take the class; so I just took the class to avoid wasting the $50 fee for the test. This was a required class for anyone in the credential program, and all the 30 or so students were upper division of grad, so you would think they would have slightly better English skills. I was in a twice weekly hour and a half class; and we wrote every day, as well as having regular assignments. The first day the professor gave a generic subject on which to write, due at the end of the period. The next session, the essays were given back, with the requisite corrections. There were only 5 passing papers, and the highest was a C+; I got a D, and was thrilled when I saw the overall results. The rule then was, write 3 A papers in a row, and you pass the class with an A; otherwise, you take a two part test at the end to include writing spontaneously, and a major grammar part. Fortunately, I was out by mid term, having polished up my basic skills to the needed levels. Point of course is that these were advanced students, most of whom were planning on becoming teachers. Today, as I sub, I have to hold my tongue when I read many teachers' instruction to me, or to the class. I have also had one or two tell me not to correct student's spelling and grammar if it is not language skills. When I was in school, especially junior high and above, you lost points for poor grammar and spelling, even in history or science. Today's messaging and other forms of short hand definitely are causing issues. But many of them could be solved with simple regular corrections by teachers as they review. Most kids seem to actually appreciate my pointing out errors to them, so I generally try to do it. Interesting discussion. By the way "sailingpj", you might wish to remember to capitalize English when you write the word. Minor problem I suppose, but certainly important, especially in this thread.

And, after hearing back from the district advancement chair, they are still allowing the letters to be given out by the scout. The problems were occasionally arising when some did not come in on a timely basis, and the Eagle chair asked the boy to follow up. So, now if some do not come in, they are to go ahead with the board anyway after the district attempts to get the missing letter(s); but must happen in about a week after the attempt to get them. As far as BOR goes, we hold district reviews, and the scout usually only knows the troop rep that sits on the board, and occasionally one or two others from OA or something. The letters are really helpful in that regard, as we seldom really have much background other than the app. Thanks all for the help. Think I am no longer completely confused; just the norm for an old guy.

The candidate should have contacted individuals listed as references before including their names on the application. "If desired by the council, the candidate may be asked to deliver a blank reference form and envelopes to the listed references." The candidates should not be involved personally in transmitting any correspondence between people listed as references and the council service center or advancement committee. The sentence with the quotes is where our problem appears to lie. If this is the current, most up to date reading, then I am even more confused as why this is suddenly an issue. We have for many years given the candidate the letter forms and cover, then told them to have them mailed to the district board chair or the council office. He has not been directly involved in the actual transmission of the letters, unless he somehow did not follow instructions. A few "have" been asked to follow up; and there is where the flack has apparently occurred. But our advancement committee's recent decision seems to fly in the face of the above statement, and pretty much discourages the letters.

So, while the scout themselves apparently should not be required to obtain letters, the council/district could arrange to have the troop send out the requests; or they could add additional burden to the actual board of review and ask them to do it, or call. I think National really needs to review this, and make sure that supporting references "are required in writing". If they feel that somehow this is overburdening the candidate, then they need to specify where the contacts should be made; but it seems to me they should be made by those closest to the candidate. Not sure why it is such a problem to have the candidate request the letters; they are simply mailed to the council or the district directly in some manner. Then the scout will not have them personally. But, as pointed out, this is one more opportunity for the scout to inter-relate with adults on an adult level; it is part of their growth. Totally agree that a reasonable time frame for the letter receipt should be expected, and no board should be held up due to a missing letter or two. They also need to clarify the "religious" reference, making sure that unchurched scouts understand they can have anyone that is deemed able to reflect on their adherence to the twelfth law. What I see happening here is that the contact is being thrown back on the review board; and it is not likely to happen consistently, nor be able to be reviewed easily by the whole board. That is why the letters are so important.

Very confusing info coming out of our roundtable this evening about the Eagle references, and the traditional letters. I am still trying to get the specific details on the council advancement decision regarding this, but if I understood the executive correctly, they have decided that the letters are no longer required to be requested by the candidate or his family. If the board wants letters, they themselves will need to contact the scout's references. Now this makes no sense to me, and seems to take another mode of showing responsibility and ability to communicate with adults away from the scout. It also is putting an unfair burden on board chairs. The executive said that the decision is based on the advancement committee's interpretation of the National guidelines; that nowhere are letters required to be obtained by candidates. They simply are told to list references; and contacting them is the board's responsibility. Tried to find written specifics on National site, but of course could not. Maybe someone can point me to the right link, if it exists on line. Will try to read anything in the council office, and also speak with the district advancement chair. Thanks for any clarification someone here might give me.

Matter of fact, most scout camping was more like car camping in the early days. Only they used horses or mules, along with carts or sleds. Equipment was bulky and heavy. Also, where they could go then had very few restrictions on cutting, fishing, and hunting, so they also did that. There were a lot of day hikes done back then, especially on weekends. Long term camp often had cabins, large group tents, lean-to's, or tarp shelters. When I was a scout and explorer, what the high adventure treks are today was very uncommon for troops; it was generally only done out of a summer camp or one of the National bases. Again, equipment was a huge issue; not so much cost, but simply weight. Trying to compare today with yesteryear is very often a very uneven comparison. The only real problem with car camping today is that you are usually accosted by idiots with loud music and parties, dogs, booze, and guns. Yet another reason to try to not lose more scout camps. In California now, it is really harder each year to do backpacking much of the year, as they are tending to close areas more often due to fire concern. So, we do what we can, and hopefully they still are able to do enough backpacking to spend quality time in more serene surroundings, and know whether they want to pursue it further, and make the investments necessary.

Last Sunday I was honored to be invited by my grand-nephew, who is 15, and working on his Eagle project, to participate in a fund raising recital he developed. He has what I would say is an above average project, and he "is in charge". The recital included about ten numbers done by about a dozen of his friends, both boys and girls. He also let his little 8 year old sister and a friend do GOD BLESS AMERICA at the start. What was most impressive was the way he calmly (especially compared to his mom) took charge setting things up and adjusting. His parents made a huge effort to not take over, though it was hard for "mom". There were only three adults involved directly in the actual program, and we were limited to very small parts. His father, my nephew, did an invocation; I was asked to say a "few" words about earning Eagle and the intent of the project in the process, as well as set up a Scouting display; and his mom's brother, a doctor at the children's hospital for whom the project is being done said a few words as to how and why he felt it was worthwhile. All the rest was choreographed and organized using only 14 to 17 year old teens. It seemed to be a huge success, though total donations were not yet tallied when I left. It was pretty much a full house. I am looking forward to seeing the end result, a video designed to walk a child and his parents through the process of an operation at the hospital. The hope is that by having this video available, they can ease the stress that is so common for the children and their families, as they will have a better understanding of what is going on. Besides making the video, with his uncle's help, he is buying the equipment to do it and present it, and donating it all to the hospital. Yes, I am already proud of him. And I am looking forward to being at his Eagle presentation in the near future.(This message has been edited by skeptic)

"E", don't feel bad. I just discovered this past weekend while participating in my grand-nephew's fund raiser for his Eagle project that the "loser sign" is only valid when done with the left hand. Who knew? And even the word "cool" seems to be cyclical. Being older, I never quite catch up with what is currently in, often embarrassing myself with already out of date comments. What is good about the youth, for the most part, they seem quite willing to accept me that way, and even occasionally try to improve my "coolness". But, I still have no idea how to knock knuckles, or whatever it is they do; they just smile and shake hands instead. Of course that even goes for OA handshakes, as I have yet to master the intricacies of the various levels; I just let the Brother arrange the fingers as needed. What is beginning to surprise me a bit, as I sub in the upper levels of elementary school is how often the kids actually want to hear stories about your past. I am as old or older than most of their grandparents, and they seem fascinated with how things were when I was their age, or younger. One of my most successful get control things is to occasionally slip a story in about growing up, if time allows. Even the attention mongers generally listen, often having the most serious questions. It is funny to see the looks on kids faces when you mention going to a Saturday matinee with a quarter, and not only getting in, but being able to buy popcorn, a drink, and candy; and there was always a serial, 10 or so cartoons, a drawing for free tickets and candy, and a main feature, usually a B western or early sci-fi. The longer I am involved with kids, the more I am encouraged by their resilience and good natures. Get past the shells on some, and you find such wonderful personalities. Get the clown to be serious and find a depth unseen normally. My biggest struggle, whether with scouts or the kids in the schools is to try to not overly react to the "difficult" ones, and to remember that the large majority are wonderful little buds of humanity just starting to bloom; and that pruning them too aggressively will not be good for them, but not pruning at all will ultimately be disastrous. (This message has been edited by skeptic)

IMHO this would work very well with shorts or pants, as you can get almost identical color material in a number of options. If a troop simply adopted a less costly, but rugged option for the scouts it would likely barely be noticed, if at all. For the shirt, as pointed out, there are a number of options for authentic uniforms. Cubs entering webloes 2 would likely be better off to buy a too large shirt then so it can be easily carried over to boy scouts. Then, when the time comes, again get one that needs a bit of growing in. It is far better they be a bit blousey or long, than they grow out of it in too short a time. Of course, hopefully you can also encourage parents to donate older shirts when they replace their own son's shirt, so you have lenders when needed. Our real problem with our closet is we have almost nothing for the older scouts, as those shirts do not get donated normally.

Ah, it makes sense, almost anyway, that a Scout forum would still not work with anything but IE; just like the on-line advancement and recharter. With effort I could "grok" the code; but it is too much trouble frankly.

Wonder if it works for me this time? Lets see. Nope, all I get is a pretty lavender box with no way to type or paste. Maybe I will figure it out someday.

In regard to Mike Rowe, here is a link to his special site for recognition. He set it up specifically for this, as he has so many requests. http://www.mikeroweworks.com/scrap-yard/eagle-scout-letter/

This reminds me of the thing I got from my brother that garbles all the words, but they all start and end with the right letter. It is supposedly a test to indicate your synapses are still working, as the brain, according to this anyway, will decode the word no matter what, as long as the first and last letters are correct. Interesting, though am not an expert in the area. I still have problems keeping my thoughts to myself about how bad the grammar, spelling, and so on tends to be on these boards, and others as well. To me, it is either a reflection of laziness or simply our poor school system. While I know I occasionally make minor errors of similar nature, I really do try to not do so. Most of my editing is related to rereading something and seeing an error of syntax or spelling. The one that continues to grate on me is the misuse of "lose" and "loose"; and I feel this is usually simply a matter of lack of attention, as the extra "O" can easily be typed. But, the meaning is drastically changed just the same. The other one that tends to annoy me is the almost totally lack of understanding of the difference between bring and take. The nuance is very specific; and people in everyday speech and writing almost universally misuse it. Of course there are the old standby's, "there, they're, and their", and "two, too, and to". But, I have come to just take a deep breath and read the intent of postings the best I can, as I cannot make people pay attention. It is just disappointing to see so few individuals, many supposedly with college degrees, who do not seem to understand basic English and its usage. And so, back to trying to simply accept and ignore as best I can.

Brent; The dropping of the two bombs occurred only then, and it was, from most documents now available a horrible decision by Truman, and also had very negative effects on many other individuals directly involved. Most importantly, it has NOT been done again, and hopefully the horror of it will continue to stop it, though today we have some very warped minds skewing the moral issue you put forward. But the discussion here is the "continued use" of torture, with some suggesting the end may justify the result. Certainly not nearly enough evidence to say with certainty that you will get enough viable info to offset the negative views in spawns. You are not making a valid comparison, as I see it.

Scouting can contribute hugely to a boy's spiritual growth through its outdoor program. It is very difficult to deny something greater than ones self after a few nights spent under a dark night sky, or sitting on a rock overlooking the majesty of mountains rolling down to the sea or towering above with snow capped peaks. Hopefully most scouts will have the opportunity to simply sit quietly in mostly unblemished outdoors and simply absorb the experience.

"The systematic use of terror to coerce. So tell me why someone who waterboards someone else is not a terrorist?" Because our reason is better than their reason. Isn't it obvious?

So, the quote is from a Service Library booklet, "Your Home, Your Boy and Scouting", copyright 1928. There is no specific author noted on the title, so must be a group effort. Interesting, just the same.

Acco gets the rubber chicken; good job. See other thread please.

"Obviously the home of today is not the home of yesterday. Times change and with them also our attitudes of mind and conditions of living. Perhaps we have lost something in the evolution from the old fashioned home to the modern one, but certainly we have also gained greatly in many respects." Perhaps someone will actually look at this now. Amazing how often things make sense even when they are old. "Certainly every boy deserves and should have, so far as is humanly possible, a happy home in which father and mother share his interests in comradeship and understanding. It is likewise the responsibility of the home to see to it that the boy's out-side-the home life is also happy, constructive and of the right sort. It is along this line that Scouting has a very real contribution to make. It aims to supplement and intensify the best influences of family life, to work with the home for the happiness and well being of the boy,......" "A boy does what he knows, is what he does, and what he is going to be, he is now becoming."

"Obviously the home of today is not the home of yesterday. Times change and with them also our attitudes of mind and conditions of living. Perhaps we have lost something in the evolution from the old fashioned home to the modern one, but certainly we have also gained greatly in many respects." "Certainly every boy deserves and should have, so far as is humanly possible, a happy home in which father and mother share his interests in comradeship and understanding. It is likewise the responsibility of the home to see to it that the boy's out-side-the home life is also happy, constructive and of the right sort. It is along this line that Scouting has a very real contribution to make. It aims to supplement and intensify the best influences of family life, to work with the home for the happiness and well being of the boy,......" "A boy does what he knows, is what he does, and what he is going to be, he is now becoming."

Another response for consideration. Much of what he says makes sense from my personal beliefs. Still, I realize this is a hard subject with which to deal. http://blog.sojo.net/2011/05/04/is-it-moral-to-celebrate-a-persons-death/

Can't we all just Grok each other?

Barry; Not building refineries is the decision of the oil companies, not a government one. They keep saying it is too expensive up front, and so they do not want to do it. Maybe, they could take a little of the obscene profits and do it, rather than continuing to say they cannot afford it. Heaven forbid they make a little less, while the rest of us perhaps have a bit of relief.