Stan Riddle

If we are to "Set The Example", as is mentioned in the Eleven Leadership Skills, them I believe we should wear the neckerchef whenever we require the Scouts to. As to the Wood Badge neckerchef, I worked too hard not to wear it, at least, once in awhile!

IMHO, a Leatherman is a GREAT tool, but a poor knife. The Gerber isn't quite a good of a tool, but has a better blade. I've been sharpening knives since I was a kid, and can make them shave, but I've never been able to get a Leatherman sharp. I can sharpen my Gerber blade. To be honest, I don't carry either one camping. I use one for work. I carry a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife.

Hey Bob, that's what I was trying to say. Sorry I didn't state myself more clearly.

If the "right" Troop is doing everything by the book, I'd love to find it myself! I'm sure this statement will ruffle some feathers, but I think the Patrol method is an unreachable goal. It IS a goal, and I think many Troop try hard to attain it. It's just that Troops are contantly in flux, losing experienced members, and gaining "green" recruits. As Scouters, we train, we assist, we fill in blanks, and ultimately, we teach. Find one that is closest to what you think is a good Troop, help if they'll let you, encourage your son to help as well. But I don't think you'll ever find a perfect Troop.

"a good ol antelope too"!

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent". Elanor Roosevelt

One of my favorites is a 35mm film canister containing 3 cotton balls that have been thoroughly rubbed in petroleum jelly. Half a cotton ball makes a good fire starter, chapped lip or wound therapy, chafing medication, and so on.

Dear Bob, With all due respect, building upon your analogy, I agree that the "pieces of the puzzle" must fit. But I do think we have some leeway as to how we assemble the puzzle. I certainly don't mean that we should tailor a syllabus to fit our own experiences or opinions, and agree that doing so might be why people are trained so differently. But in every course I've done, there have been questions that were important, but didn't fit the syllabus. Thank you for your comments on the board, Stan Riddle

My two cents worth... Get with the others who will be instructing, and make sure you aren't repeating too much of the same stuff over and over. Also, if you are handing out instructional materials, don't duplicate ( no pun intended ) the same stuff. In the first few courses I taught, we didn't communicate enough, and all of us had copied much of the smae materials. I think we used about 10 acres worth of good timber to make our copies. We also wasted too much time repeating each other. I'm not faulting anyone. Many of us had served on the old courses, and the new syllabus was a change. Oh yea, syllabus's, or sylabi, or whatever you would call them. Some think that a syllabus is sacred, and thou shalt not alter it. I look at a course syllabus like a road map. It tells me how to get from points A to B. It doesn't tell me when I can stop, nor prohibit me from taking a detour once in awhile. Good luck in your course. I believe that the most effective way to help the most Scouts is to do your part in instructing leaders. You may teach 10 Scouts, but if you instruct and help make good leaders, you may reach hundreds of Scouts.

Just some observations on why they drop out. Swimming- some are afraid of water, and WON'T learn to swim.. Immaturity - some just are afraid of all that outdoor stuff. Program structure - Cubs often do fun things like skits, games, playing, and just hanging out, that often don't fit into many Troop programs. Time - not just sports, but other activities. As boys get older, they do have more choices in activities. Ans we know that sports teams put more emphasis on being at practice and activites as they get older. Parental support - not just their time, but camping equipment is expensive. Some don't want to invest. Leadership - we often make the transition look like some great rite of passage, and we expect little boys to grow into young men while they are "walking over that bridge". Sometimes, we forget that they are still kids who likes doing the same things they did on the other side of the bridge. What do y'all think?

Fast Start / Cub Leader Basic / OWLS / Scoutmaster Fundamentals / Woodbadge ( antelope! ) / Trainer Development / Staffing for about two years now / Council Training Comm. / Council Exec. Board That 1 hour per week - that's all that is left!

Why not let THEM gather information on the dangers of aerosol cans and fire, and let THEM teach it a a meeting one night? Learn, do and teach! Make it conditional on getting their Fireman's Chit back?

"No Flames In Tents" - Ed, that's a good one! I'll use that one at Summer Camp! I'm going now, to get ready for a camping trip this weekend with Boy Scouts and Scouters. When y'all figure all this out to everyone's satisfaction, let me know. To be honest, some of you have ruined a wonderful web site with this endless spewing of opinions. I've used this site for good information in the past, but I can no longer stomach this other stuff. I'm going to use my "one hour a week" to help Boy Scouts, not give myself a headache. Best wishes to you all, and keep delivering the promise. Goodbye, Stan Riddle

This is best thing I've read on the board in some time, and hopefully brings us back to what Scouting is all about. Not the gay issue, or who's backpacking ideas are best, or how to deal with the challenging boy of the week, but doing a good turn daily.

Do 'em! Not to be smart mouthed, but the best way I've found is to keep practicing them. We have knot contests from time to time. We get them to use them camping. We let them cook. We have stretcher relays. We let the older boys teach the younger, and so in. I've seen lots of guys go to get their Eagle, who couldn't tie a bowline to save their life ( hey, that's not a bad pun! ). I was in the same boat when I got back into Scouting. I could remember very little Scoutcraft, but I did remember a lot of the First Aid. But most importantly, I remembered how to work as a team, how to accomplish goals, how to deal with adversity, and so on. THOSE are the most important Scouting skills.

We had a boy a couple of years ago - fine young man, for the most part. Excellent with younger Scouts, and pretty knowlegeable. Got out with some other boys one night, and got caught knocking off some mailboxes. His Eagle project was finished, and his application had passed Troop, District, and Council. His application was at Region, but was pulled. He even came in front of the Troop, and apologized for his actions - not a dry eye in the house. Will he make Eagle - no. But he learned a valuable lesson, and grew as much from that experience as he ever did in Scouting.

I think I heard Paul Harvey say - "The only way to learn humility is through humiliation." He may well be teased. That won't kill him. There is so much in place in Scouting to prevent serious hazing, that I hope it wouldn't be factor.

Not scientific, but just a thought. If homosexuality is genetic, and genetics are passed from parent to child, and homosexuals can not normally procreate, wouldn't the gene have "thinned itself out" by now?

Sorry, but when I'm told to take the flag of our country off my uniform, they can just keep the uniform. I won't need it any more.

I've been in Scouting since 1969, and at the risk of offending some, I'll state this - There are NO 12 year old Eagle Scouts!

Ironically, I just finished one last week. It's called a Capote. I ordered the pattern from Northwest Traders. My dog ate the first one they sent, so he mailed me another one for free. Patterns were $7.50. I don't sew, so I got my mother-in-law to help me. Wasn't very hard at all. I modified it a little. Instead of a wrap around belt, I used deer antelers to make buttons, and put in button holes. I put slits in the sides, soo I could access my pants pockets. I also used a midweight fleece instead of wool. This not only lightens it up by over half, it makes it machine washable. It can be rolled up nicely to make a pillow. Bought the fabric at a fabric store. Pattern and all was about $25. I wanted to do it to make the boys interested, but to be honest, I love it!

Wow, I was gone for a couple weeks, and things have gotten so SERIOUS here! How about some new recipes, or how to motivate boys and ASM's? Does anyone have a way to keep my sleeping bag from slipping off my self-inflating pad at night? How do you like the new JLT format? Will the new Wood Badge make it? There's got to be something else to talk about! Hazing is wrong - but I don't think we'll ever get boys to completely quit teasing each other. Do Troops really use push ups as punishment, or was someone overemphasising to make a point? And let's face it - this gays in Scouting thing won't get solved here. It hasn't been anywhere else. As we say here in the South - "Some of y'all need to lighten up a little bit" May you all have a wonderful ( fill in your holiday of chioce here )! I'm afraid to put one down!

As long as we continue to quarrel among ourselves, and create animosity about personal beliefs, we succeed in being our own foes, and willing assistants to those who would love to see Scouting collapse. Morally straight for me will continue to mean heterosexual, pro-family, patriotic, pro-children, and a host of other things. I can only influence youth in the way I beleive their parents would want me to. My personal beliefs on such persnoal matters as sexual orientation have no place in Scouts, unless I am asked specifically by the boys. Even then, it is a topic that I will always tell them is a matter best dealt with at home. I continue to believe that the topic of homosexuality is best left to Scout's families and religous organizations - not to Boy Scout troops. Please use your energies ( and key strokes ) for the betterment of Scouting. I have learned much from many of you, and I appreciate it.

Check with your DE. I don't know if the knot requirements have been changed over to the new training programs. I suspcet the new training program requirement would be "Introduction to OUtdoor Skills", but I'm not sure.

As a Scout in the late 60's- early 70's, I well remember the red berets. And I hated them! My Troop adopted them around 70 or 71. As an adult, I think, "Yea, they look cool", but they were a pain to wear. They are hot. It's hard to get a group of boys to wear them the same way. They are bulky. They would make a nice dress uniform accessory, but for anything else, give me a baseball cap style hat!