TAHAWK

You want us to believe he was surprised You, of all people, should not be asking us to take things on faith. I believe the child was surprised, as claimed in Trib. He was set up by his dad who knew perfectly well about the B.S.A. position. Have there been atheists in Scouting? Darn tottin' And gays as well. The ones who want to make a public point about it were after something other than membership. And so are you.

For what it's worth, the first Wood Badge Course (all Scoutcraft 1948-72) was replaced by the second Wood Badge Course (Leadership Skills and more or less Scoutcraft 1972-2002) which was replaced by the third Wood Badge Course (formerly "21st Century). "Displaced" is probably more accurate, given the tremendous differences. In our area (three councils) we have very few women as commissioned Scouters in troops - fewer than when women were first allowed in over twenty years ago. My district had seven female SM's in 1990 and none today. Female adults are more common in Venturing as a %, but Venturing is barely alive here. There is less and less interest in many traditional Scoutcraft skills. Yet, more people than ever before go backpacking and canoeing in the wilderness. Is their outdoor knowledge less or different? "Survival" books, articles, websites, and TV programs abound, although often disseminating inaccurate or even dangerous information. I have experienced the whole range with Eagles, from zero help to Scouters-for-life. Even Eagle mills have produced dedicated and active Scouters. Our most famous Knot Collector (custom shirts with lowered pockets for more rows) is an "Eagle," but the runner-up in that contest is not.

Repeat. He was a Cub, Scout, and Explorer, and you want us to believe he was genuinely surprised to find "Reverent." Please persist. It's funny.

It seems the boy's skull was crushed. ​Shows the point someone else made: adults present means adults present, not necessarily safety. Rolling logs is dangerous business.

And bowling And garden clubs And PTA

So they sued. It's America. Satan was sued here as well - in U.S. District Court. The case was dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction over Satan, the District Court holding that the Roman Catholic Church had not been named by Satan as his agent for receipt of service of process. So anyone can, and has sued over about anything. Mr. Welsh had been a Cub, Scout, and Explorer, and someone wants you to believe he had not noticed that "Duty to God" thing and was "Shocked! Shocked!" to discover B.S.A. wants you to agree to its policy. And Dad convinced an eight-year-old that he was an agnostic. The kid was a stalking horse. Dad was something else.

How does Scouting in the land of its birth compare to BSA Scouting, especially as regards youth leadership? Australia seems to be where we are, at least in theory. UK? I came across a "Group Chairman," and from her (Yes "Chairman") I know they have "groups" with "sections" equivalent to our packs, troops and [sometimes] Explorers. Members of these sections are "Beavers," "Cubs," "Scouts," and "Explorers." The Scout Section is also, thanks be to Baden-Powell, called a "Troop." Beavers are "Colonies" and Cubs are "Packs." And Explorers are "Units" (So why call them "sections" too?). As she is on what amounts to the pack/troop/crew "committee" side of things ("Group Scout Council"), she does not know tons about such issues as who plans and leads the program as between the Scout Leader (who reports to the Group Scout Leader) and the patrol leaders. She thinks the Scout section has a "senior Patrol leader," at least sometimes. I find: "A Scout called a Patrol Leader leads the Patrol. The Patrol Leaders work with the Leadership Team in setting the programme and in decisions affecting the Troop." But what does this really mean? "Work with"? I think I really need to reach a Group Scout Leader or Scout Leader Have not found a link to one yet. Is their literature on line? If so, where? I only find summary-level stuff.

Before trying to post, I copy and paste in Word just in case it all goes POOF!

Paper is also used to "patch" a bullet. CHICAGO ILLINOIS A Scout is brave, but what Lawrence D. Sellers did on Jan. 29, 2013, was something beyond bravery. The Chicago Area Council Eagle Scout was shot in the leg while shielding a friend from gunfire during the Harsh Park attack that killed Hadiya Pendleton. Pendleton’s death, which happened a mile from President Barack Obama’s South Side home, has become a national symbol of Chicago’s gang violence, which has spiked in recent years. On Sunday, the Chicago Area Council will present Lawrence with the Honor Medal, given for “unusual heroism and skill in saving or attempting to save a life at considerable risk to self.†SOUTH BERWICK, Maine  The Boy Scouts of America conferred its highest honor on local resident David Hopkins, naming him an Eagle Scout during a ceremony Sunday afternoon at the South Berwick Town Hall. The son of Ed and Barbara Hopkins, David is a freshman engineering student at the University of New Hampshire. Hopkins spent two years on his Eagle Scout project to build a skateboard park for the town’s new Teen Center. Hopkins’ community service will continue, as he enlisted May 7 into the New Hampshire Air National Guard. Tim Shea, a committee chairman for South Berwick’s Troop 338, said only 2 percent of the boys who enter scouting will ever reach the rank of Eagle. "By his actions this past Easter morning, he takes seriously his devotion to the welfare of others," Shea said. Shea was referring to Hopkins’ efforts to save two women and a toddler when their Somersworth apartment caught fire in the early morning hours of Easter Sunday. Firefighter’s nicknamed him "Spider-Man" because he climbed out of a third-story window to summon help and then climbed back up to assist the help the occupants of the apartment. Somersworth Fire Chief Paul Vallee called Hopkins a hero. David Webster, chairman of the South Berwick Town Council, thanked Hopkins for his work on the skateboard park. Hopkins organized and planned the project, which involved 22 scouts and volunteers who gave 675 hours of service. Hopkins also received a letter of congratulations from the Air National Guard. Senior Master Sgt. David Caswell attended the ceremony and said Hopkins has been assigned to work in his squadron after he completes basic training.

I could only guess what the "official" response would be. Many of the lessons are applicable to adults leading adults if mostly, but not entirely in the team context. (Communication; conflict management, 'planning, and others apply outside the strictly "team development" context.) Are you going to discuss Scouting as to the "leadership" team development point that you raised? It was "group" in the 60's - 80's. Is that so very different from "teams" so that talking of teams means it's not leadership training? As addressed to management employees, Blanchard seemed to think he was, in pertinent part, teaching leaders how to adjust their leadership style to the needs of the team they were leading - "situational leadership." - more or less control and input as the team needs more of less to succeed. That was different in detail from the discussions in the 60's and 70's about leadership "style: but not different in kind.

Thank you. Will do.

E-D, I know I have seen leaders grow when they stepped up to higher levels of responsibility. It was, of course, on the adults to be sure they were trained to leave the PL's alone in their realms when the troop was meeting, hiking, or camping. If they have been made intensely aware of the PL role (I can't recall and SPL who had not been a PL for at least a year.), they have an easier time of remembering that "SPL" does not stand for "Super Patrol Leader." One of our former SPL's organized thousands of students at Columbia to supply food, beverages, and wet towels to the responders at Ground Zero in the aftermath of 9/11. Asked "how" he had learned enough to do such a thing, he told the reporter he had been a Senior Patrol Leader of a Boy Scout troop. Just a problem of more "patrols" and leaders for those "patrols." I really was not surprised. Pleased, but not surprised. [in good times and bad, with a six month gap when all the commissioned Scouters were nationalized into the Army for WWII, Troop 22 has been in business since 1908 (four years before B.S.A. got to Cleveland).]

I'll defend the program - if the participants have competed at least basic training and the staff is good. The course assumes they have completed basic training. Without that basic information, the participants have a harder time understanding what is going on, and it is even harder to cover the syllabus. The good staff knows how to deal with the inconsistencies and jumble built into the syllabus by the B.S.A. rewrite. As for leader vs. team, the course is addressed to adults. The youth are the team. The end is the team leading themselves while the adult is a mentor and resource. In adult training, is that a problem in your view and, if so, why? Tell me more.

As for "degrees" and patches, why recognition, are they not to encourage? If so, why do we not wish to encourage these as opposed to those? ​Will "those" discover our secrets? Are we afraid "they" will allow students in real universities when they are under 21 - or, God forbid, under 18? Too late. A Scout in the troop I work with will graduate from high school into being nearly a junior at university. The best participants in one of my sessions at a Baden-Powell Institute last year (Wilderness Survival and Troop Program) were fifteen. I don't think any of their fellow participants would have begrudged them a scrap of paper, however fancy.

Before 2001, and especially before 1971, Wood Badge was by invitation and the learners, as they were then, tended to be very experienced Scouters. Now, the aim I have heard is to have every commissioned Scouter take Wood Badge. You have identified one consequence. I taught at a state land grant university and saw the consequence of "open enrollment" - good and bad. A troubling factor is the imperative to "fill the course." This drive can result in "participants" who are not "trained" for their position and, indeed, have had no prior formal training - not a minute. So they were not supposed to be taking the course, but there they were looking at me. A couple of them have nevertheless done fine work with kids, even if they might not "impress" you. They probably would have gotten more out of the course if they had been "trained" first. Working against the better results, every completed course eliminates someone supposedly special from ever serving again (the Course Director) - a "solution" akin to blowing up a car just because it might get a flat tire.

In registering as a MBC, you have the option of controlling with which Scouts you will work. "I agree to work with: All Scouts All Scouts in these districts: _________________________________ Only with Scouts in these units (indicate whether troop, team, or crew): _____________________________________________ Counselors are encouraged to be available to work with any Scout in any unit. I plan to serve as a merit badge counselor for this event or outside organization: ______________________________________" You are still approved and removed solely by the council, usually acting through a district advancement committee member by delegated authority. You are still a Council-registered Merit Badge Counselor. I have watched. Some unit-only MBC are fine. Some are not. I have no feel for whether a Scout necessarily has a better experience outside his troop, but he has a different experience - one he is supposed to have: calling up a stranger for an appointment. The Scoutmaster can judge which is better or best if he has actually been present during the work and can compare. Few Scoutmasters have that information, but they like the ones they have set up. That is how it goes. Like many Merit Badge Counselors, I would prefer that initial contact come from the Scout candidate. It is not always thus. 1. Many Merit Badges are handed out, and some earned, at Summer Camp. Many of the "counselors" there are not registered as required by B.S.A. (and many cannot be since under 18 years of age), and the "merit badges" the non-MBC's approve have not been earned for any purpose. (Will that matter somewhere down the road? It's the Scout's risk.) Try First Aid for 47 candidates in 250 total minutes with no testing whatsoever. 2. Many troops, believing that "advancement is what it's all about," organize mass-MB events, including arrange for MBC.s. Scouts may pass requirements at such events. 3. Many districts, believing advancement is what it's all about, arrange mass-MB events., including MBC's. Scouts may pass requirements at such events. Advancement is the Scout's responsibility --- like school "homework" Advancement of patrol member's is also the Patrol Leader's responsibility. Some merit badge pamphlets are good. Some are OK. Some are weak. Some are an embarrassment to B.S.A. and have been for years. None of this can be determined by the pretty covers. A good MBC will direct the candidate to reliable sources of information for a Scout. If all the MBC has is familiarity with the pamphlet, the odds are strongly against his or her being remotely competent.

A Scout is Friendly. A Scout is a friend to all. He is a brother to other Scouts. He offers his friendship to people of all races and nations, and respects them even if their beliefs and customs are different from his own.

Some seem to suggest that "paper Eagle" means the Scout is not doing what the requirements call for - for example not being an "active" member as expectations have been set by the troop. http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2012/04/30/active/ Others seem to feel it means that the SM wants something(s) beyond the requirements. In the first instance, the Scout is not an Eagle of any kind. In the second instance the SM seems to be wanting to change the requirements, which neither he nor even a Council may do. But I can see the Scout erring in thinking it's the second when it's the first. In the search to do the least, some do not want to do even the minimum. "Paper Eagle" seems like an unfortunate turn of phrase at best.

Consider desserts. Do you have access to a cold stream? If so, pudding'Jello [with fruit] becomes possible. Rehydrated dried apricots/apples/pineapple can provide a base for dumplings (JUst enough water to rehydrate the fruit and provide bubbling up to steam the dumplings) http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moms-simple-dumplings/ (Replace liquid milk with powdered milk.) Beyond mixing the dough, it comes down to simmering water and a pot with a decent lid. Practicing eating desserts is tough work, but someone has to do it. But, since Scouts hate desserts . . . . ^___^

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/boyscouts/patrolleader.aspx April 15, 2014 http://www.scouting.org/Training/Adult/Supplemental/OrientationforNewBoyScoutParents.aspx April 15, 2014 http://www.bsahandbook.org/PDFs/troop.pdf'>http://www.bsahandbook.org/PDFs/troop.pdf April 15, 2014 accord: Scoutmaster . . . Specific Training at p. 35 http://www.bsahandbook.org/PDFs/troop.pdf April 15, 2014

The degrees went away in this area years ago. One council still calls it University of Scouting, but sans degrees. It's neighbor council dropped the degrees and started calling it the Baden-Powell Institute. It was interesting to see who got all upset about the degrees going away.

There is something I am missing as B.S.A. has not most dropped most of those terms. A small sample of the continued general use by B.S.A. of "uniform," "salute," "rank," "troop," patrol," and "quartermaster." http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34283.pdf http://www.scoutstuff.org/bsa/uniforms-insignia.html "Demonstrate the Scout sign, salute, and handshake." "Additionally, the newly adopted resolution replaces the full-hand Venturing sign and salute with the three-finger Boy Scout sign and salute." "Venturing: * Retire the Venturing Oath, Code, sign and salute • Adopt the Scout Oath, Scout Law, Scout sign, and Scout salute." "Tenderfoot Rank Requirements" "Second Class Rank requirements" "First Class Rank Requirements" "Star Rank Requirements" "Life Rank requirements" "Eagle rank requirements" "Troop" appears so many times in 2014 BSA literature that it's boring to make a list Ditto for "patrol" "Quartermaster The quartermaster is the troop’s supply boss. He keeps an inventory of troop equipment and sees that the gear is in good condition. He works with patrol quartermasters as they check out equipment and return it, and at meetings of the patrol leaders’ council he reports on the status of equipment in need of replacement or repair. In carrying out his responsibilities, he may have the guidance of a member of the troop committee. " And, of course, since we have become too dense to recognize a symbol, the patch still says "QUARTERMASTER." CAPSLOCK "Etc" is proving more difficult. ^___^ I thought no one thought my troop was paramilitary because they saw us trying to march in last year's July 4th parade.

Peeper Sushi?