TAHAWK

Alcohol not allowed on Scout property or activities.

Seems to be the rule locally, if not a BSA rule. http://www.kenston.k12.oh.us/khs/athletics/print-forms/Tobacco-Alcohol-Drug-Policy.pdf

David, I fall more on the "follow the rules" while trying to fix them side of the Scouter.com divide. Having said that, joining a Scout troop does not result in total control of the personal lives of Scouts by the troop's adults or the CO. Ultimately, It's up to kids' parents whether they go camping in a particular place, not the CO. All that can be said is that the campout at the troop-prohibited location was not a BSA activity Sure the troop can toss them out, just as they can walk away at any time. Its a voluntary relationship.

The consensus was that his prophesies were very much self-fulfilling. I know of at least four Scouts who went elsewhere and, wonder of wonders, were strong leaders in their new troops who earned Eagle. I sat on BORs for two of them. One was a Course SPL for NYLT. Two were selected by their peers to be district event SPLs. Just not "Eagle material."

Until five years ago, there was a SM in a nearby town who maintained that he could tell when a Scout was 12 years old whether or not he was "Eagle material." And in fourteen years, he was "never wrong."

The Scoutmaster's signature represents a judgement that the candidate is ready for a BOR. Different functions often call for different actors. Sadly, from sitting on Council appeal boards, I believe not all things Scoutly are fair, much less perfect. But the process is in place to correct unfairness. It ought to be used under circumstances as described by the OP after the meeting withing the troop called for by the G2A

I knew that.

Leaving who to staff? Bore from within, bro.

Solomon Grundy, Born on a Monday, Christened on Tuesday, Married on Wednesday, Took ill on Thursday, Grew worse on Friday, Died on Saturday, Buried on Sunday, That was the end, Of Solomon Grundy.

Ah. The punishment will continue until morale improves. Can you go to a neighboring council? I have five within fifty miles

CAN A TROOP SET A STANDARD SUCH AS ATTENDANCE AT 50 PERCENT OF MEETINGS AND OUTINGS? Yes, so long as the standard is reasonable and recognizes the many worthwhile opportunities beyond Scouting. A Scout who falls short of the unit’s expectations must be given the chance to offer an acceptable explanation. Certainly there are medical, educational, family, and other issues that may prevent higher levels of participation. If the Scout would have been more active if he could have been, then he is deemed active. A board of review must also provide the Scout an opportunity to demonstrate how non-Scouting activities have contributed to his growth. (However, this option is only available if the board of review members can agree that the young man has already exhibited Scouting values.) For example, he might have missed a campout to attend a church youth retreat. Remember, the advancement program isn’t about what a Scout has done; it’s about what he’s able to do and how he has grown. DO MONTHS OF ACTIVE PARTICIPATION HAVE TO BE CONTINUOUS? No. A Scout may piece together any periods he has been active and still qualify. And his active months don’t expire if they are followed by inactive months. “Good question. As the writer states, it is true and stated several times in the Advancement Policies and Procedures Guide that neither, councils, districts, nor units may add to, modify, or delete BSA advancement policies. This rule is highlighted, bold, and in a box so people won’t miss it. If a unit does modify the active requirement as the writer suggests, it could come back to haunt them if the youth appeals a negative decision based on that modification. The national advancement taskforce just revisited the definition of ‘active’ and, after great discussion, decided to leave it as it is. Units may not add a percentage of meetings to attend.†Rank advancement requires a Scout to demonstrate Scout spirit. How is Scout spirit defined and determined? Answer: Scout spirit applies to how a Scout lives and conducts his daily life. He shows Scout spirit by being a role model to his peers, living by the Scout Oath and Law. The concept of Scout spirit is not based on how many Scouting events or outings a Scout attends, but rather by how he helps bring out the best in others as a reflection of his own character and attitude in his daily life. Question: For the Star, Life, and Eagle Scout ranks, how is "Be active in your troop and patrol" defined? Answer: A Scout is considered to be active in his unit if: 1. He is registered in his unit (registration fees are current). 2. He has not been dismissed from his unit for disciplinary reasons. 3. He is engaged by his unit leadership on a regular basis (Scoutmaster conference, informs the Scout of upcoming unit activities, through personal contact, and so on). The unit leaders are responsible for maintaining contact with the Scout on a regular basis. The Scout is not required to attend any certain percentage of activities or outings. However, unit leaders must ensure that he is fulfilling the obligations of his assigned leadership position. If he is not, then they should remove the Scout from that position.

In the three councils around here, two schedule F2F YPT for one hour and one schedules it for 1.5 hrs. Yours is eight hours?

For several days, each paragraph is a single line that pushed the right margin of the posting window to the right as the initial words of the paragraph disappear to the left. Also, the ability to bold or otherwise change text has disappeared. The tabs are there, but do not work.

My first SM required a half-day "coffee" for new parents before they could go camping beside the troop or beside a patrol or backpacking on the trail with the troop or a partiol. Since he was the "Council Training Chairman for Life," and had been a major in the Army, he spoke with some authority. Also he explained why things had to be as he described. Any adult who did not get the lesson, had a second shot at the "coffee." I that failed, the adult was excluded from camping. There were no commissioned Scouters who strayed. Passionately buying into Boy Scouting was an absolute requirement for being a uniformed Scouter in Troop 43.

sal·ma·gun·di ˌsalməˈɡəndē/ noun a dish of chopped meat, anchovies, eggs, onions, and seasoning. a general mixture; a miscellaneous collection. a heterogeneous mixture : potpourri

One lesson is that those who create "zero tolerance" rules are typically not very knowledgeable. That got us "Flash suppressors EVIL. Compensators OK." and "Telescoping stock EVIL. Folding stocks OK." Remember, HH, a khukuri is a sword in a scabbard, not a knife in a sheath. "Show me the rule about swords." (^___^)

"Everybody believes they're youth led, eh?" "SPL, have the troop form up." I suggest that the rallying cry "Youth led" needs to be put back in the box and replaced by "Patrol Method." We have a "youth-led troop" nearby, but it has no patrols.

In the water near the woods?

One camp said "No fixed-blade knives are allowed anywhere on the Reservation property." Their "Trading Post," of course sold all manner of fixed-blade "cooking" knives - some in sheaths.

All is well. Da' Beav is back. ^___^

Right on topic: inconsistent messages. The "large sheath knives" language went away from G2Ss in 2015 and the Handbook in 2016 - but remains in the Outdoor Leader Skills for Webelos Leaders syllabus at Scouting.Org IN 2008 BSA said in Boys' Life that The best type of knife for camping trips — and most any other outdoor activity, for that matter — is a short, fixed-blade knife with a beefy handle." In 2011 BSA added these words to the G2SS: "We believe we have a duty to instill in our members, youth and adult, the knowledge of how to use, handle, and store legally owned knives with the highest concern for safety and responsibility. But where are the training materials on how to use, handle, and store a sheath knife? Not in the Handbook. Not in adult training materials. So we have an important safety-related "duty" but BSA gives no guidance on how to address that duty. The implicit message is inconsistent with the explicit message. Meanwhile, we have an official BSA publication encouraging the use of khukuris. Is it the END OF THE WORLD? No. But it's an issue I regularly see in training Scouters. Clearer messages are more easily communicated and more credible.

It takes a constant effort to insure that a large organization speaks with one voice. The story goes that Bill was wont to read everything Scoutly and had no reluctance to point out internal conflicts (or errors) in BSA publications. That is one more reason that his Silver Buffalo Citation calls him the "Voice of Scouting." In Bill's memory, I (again) point out that the BSA Complete Wilderness Training Manual by Hugh McManners, Metro Books, 2015, advocates on p. 32 use of the khukuri (more commonly and incorrectly the "kukri"). This is the short sword famously used by the Gurkhas as a weapon and chopping tool. It runs about two pounds and almost 1/2" think and can remove body parts even more readily than the axe. I have rationalized that the khukuri escapes the G2SS discouragement of "large sheath knives" as it is a sword carried in a scabbard.

Soon the kids are just bat boys in an adult league.

Does it "do harm" for a Little League coach to take over pitching in a game when the kid pitchers can't find the plate? The adult is less likely to hit a batter. The game will go quicker. If it's unfair, the other team's adults can also pitch. It's just that it's not the same game, and the kid pitchers are unlikely to improve when the adults get the game experience. What if the goal is for the kid pitchers to get better?

Of course, you need rope that cannot jump the groove and get wedged between the pulley and it's frame. (One of those learning by bad experience things.)