tdfoxsr736

Does anyone know the 1st Class Scout requirements from the 3rd ed. of Handbook for Boys (1927)?

It was just as I thought. After working hard at home doing exercises to stregthen his arms, the Scout succeeded. He got his pull-up, and earned his Tenderfoot rank. Hard work pays off after all. It is up to us as adult leaders to make sure that the requirements for rank and merit badges challenge the boys, and don''t soften as people get overly concerned with political correctness. B-P had great ideas, let''s preserve them. Events may change society, but people remain the same throughout time. B-P''s ideas are just as relevant now as they were then. Maybe we need to go back to the original ideas and see where we have gone astray.

I'm from south Louisiana. Everyone knows a Cajun will eat anything that won't eat them first, but the secret is we cook it so good that everyone loves it. The boys in my troop have made seafood jambalaya in dutch ovens, we have grilled redfish on an open fire, made bread pudding from cherished family recipes, and cooked chicken and sausage gumbo for the staff at summer camp in northern Wisconsin (L.E. Phillips). We always try to promote our culture wherever we travel, and we do this through the best known way, our food.

This matter was handled at an astounding level of incompetance at all levels. The moment it was reported by the scouts, it should have been handled by the proper authorities, not the council. Hell, even the judge was incompetent by giving such a light sentence. I'm from Louisiana, and I know that by many we are considered a backwards state, but here, if you molest anyone under the age of 11, then you can be given the death penalty. Also, inmates will tolerate a thief or a murderer, but a child molester... Let's just say they have a SPECIAL kind of justice for people like this. With all the legal problems BSA is having, why make matters more complicated by promoting Brad Allen?

Acco stated, "Also, one must practice, not just show improvement. I can't believe that anyone, regardless of shape, can't improve with one month of practice (barring injury). The Scoutmaster is in charge of the advancement program (not the committee) and my hunch is if the Scout were to record his best (10a) and then inform the Scoutmaster daily of his practice efforts and then try again after 30 days he would improve and impress the Scoutmaster to boot! As for myself (a SM) I allow the boys to record their initial attempts and their attempts after practicing with their parents. They can show me the results and discussthem with me and then I sign off. It works well for us." Well said. I am going through this same problem in my troop. One of our ASM's is arguing that we shouldn't hold a boy back because of the pull-up issue. I have told the scout that he needs to excercise with light dumb bells, do push-ups, and continue trying pull-ups. He was dissappointed, but I believe he will eventually succeed. When my oldest son attempted to satisfy this requirement and failed, I at first thought it was a bit harsh to hold him back because of one pull-up., but I saw determination in his eyes after dissappointment. He excercised, tried everyday for a month, and in the end succeeded. It shaped his character, and his realization that nothing worthwhile comes easy. I don't understand this ASM's reason to all of a sudden go easy on this requirement, since it was he who refused to sign off on my son at the time. It was the right decision then, and I believe it is still the right decision.

What requirements does BSA have to become certifed as an archery rangemaster?

When I was a scout, a freind and fellow scout was killed when he was struck by a car while on his bicycle. He was buried in uniform, and the troop acted as pall bearers, all in uniform.

Nice to see a fellow fox. I too am new here.

Hi All, My name is Tommy Doran. I am an ASM in troop 888 from the Istrouma Area Council located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I am very fortunate to have both of my son's in this troop. Troop 888 has won the Sewell-Eagle District's President's award for "Most Outstanding Troop" at our district camporee 3 of the last 4 years. I have attended Wood Badge Course No. SR-736, and I used to be a fox. I received my beads back in April of this year. Even though I am the only leader presently in my troop to get his beads, I still have a long way to go to measure up to the quality of leadership I have seen from my fellow adult leaders. This is really a top-notch Troop.

Hey Ron, Keep up the good work. I hope to see you finish your ticket and get your beads in the near future. Tommy PS I may see you at the Council-wide camporee in October

Nice to see I'm not the only one with this song stuck in my head for all eternity

Try putting grape Kool-Aid mix (unsweetened)in someone's hiking boots. When they start to sweat it'll turn their feet purple.

Is it me, or have you noticed that Leave No Trace is getting more extreme? I have been to many Leave-No-Trace lectures, and talked to many others who have also. I seems to me that everytime I talk to someone about LNT, it just gets more and more extreme. Some of my boys attended a LNT session at summer camp in Wisconsin last week, and the scout staffer teaching the class suggested that the boys take a PVC pipe with a sealable cap hiking with them. It's called a poop tube, and you guessed it the purpose of this was to contain your own excrement to pack it out rather than bury it in the woods. Are we as Scouts and Scouters forsaking the art of woodcraft for LNT? Can we truly go into the wilderness and leave no trace? LNT assumes that man is not a part of his environment; that he is an outsider. We are just as much a part of our environment as the animals and plants. I agree with the conservation principles of LNT, but the application in some instances is in my opinion is going too extremes. LNT disourages the use of campfires in favor of fuel burning stoves. This seems to be more harmful to the environment when you consider the process of refining crude oil into fuel, or the extraction of natural gas. LNT encourages others to disperse in pristine areas to avoid making trails. I assure you there will be less damage if you have one trail rather than multiple trails. Wildlife establish and reuse their own trails. It takes very little time for grass to grow over a trail. Take a look at you own yard. If you fail to edge along the concrete sidewalks they will soon be covered over. I feel that woodcraft skills which were once the crowning jewel of Scouting have been pushed to the back burner. They are taught as "Survival Skills" meaning they are only to be used in emergency situations. When we learn to live off of the land, we better appreciate our environment... how to master fire, how food chains work, how our ancestors lived. Again, I agree with the princples of LNT, but we must not lose sight of the fact that we too are of this planet, and we must not lose the skills that allow us to become one with nature. If you truly want to leave no trace, then stay home. As for me and mine, we'll see you in the woods communing with nature and practicing conservation as we should. Check out these links: http://lnt.org/ http://www.foresthistory.org/Publications/EH/July2002/Turner.pdf http://www.ncstaff.net/oed/TheImportanceOfTraditionalWoodcraftSkillsPage.htm