Bob White

boleta, You might re-examine the merit badge process and the blue card. The scoutmasters signature is required prior to beginning the merit badge, not after the counselor has signed. The signature for afterwards is simply for a unit leader, it is on the scout's personal record portion of the card and acts as his receipt to prove that he turned the card in after completion. As far as "in principle" and "real world" goes...in principle the adult leaders are expected to follow the real world advancement policies of the BSA. Also in the real world some adults do not live up to those principles. That is still not the scout's problem and the BSA does not allow you to penalize the scout for adult errors. Hunt was right on the money. Instead of witholding the merit basge, follow the rules, show leadership and counsel the scout to complete the requirements, outside of the merit badge issue, if for no other reason than his own personal satisfaction that he met the challenge of the merit badge and now has the knowledge and skills that the requirements intended him to receive in the process. The real world of scouting is what you make it. If you follow the program then that is your real world. If you don't follow the program then that is not really scouting.

It's their gear. You can ask if you can take the gear with, but it is their decision and can choose to keep the gear for their own future use with youth.

That was a part of the Troop Program Planning Workshop kit. The other piece to it was a three ring notebook that had the various timelines and meeting agends for program planning. You might check at Roundtable to see if any troops in your area have a copy.

Sorry Jason but you can't start "your own" troop. Scout units are youth activities sponsored by community organizations or in some cases commercial businesses that basically contract with the BSA to use its program. What you need to do is talk to your church, your school (perhaps a service organization that you belong to like the Ammerican Legion or Kiwanis Club), about the benfits that a scouting program can bring to the youth in the community. Your local Scout Professional can help them with the paperwork. You can offer to help in some way, fill out a membership application and the organization can choose to accept your application and offer you a position in the unit. But the unit and all its assets will belong to the Chartering organization not to any individual. I hope this helps to explain the process. BW

If you know that all the requirements were completed but the counselor signed the blue card, then your beef is with the counselor not the scout. Punishing the scout by disregarding the counselors signature does nothing to correct the errors made by the counselor and you are prohibited from doing that to the boy. Once the card is signed the merit badge is earned. If you have a complaint with the counselor notify you district or council advancement committee, it is their responsibility to approve or remove counselors.(This message has been edited by Bob White)

We joust. A small circular plywood platform covers the top of a floating innertube attached to it by bungee cords. A scout is able to stand (barely) and balance himself as he does battle with another scout atop another floating platform. Each is armed with a 6 ft long pole that has a thickly padded boxing glove on the end. The first to fall of his platform twice loses and another scout gets to try. Rarely do the scouts actually make contact. More often then not they spin and bobble out of control and fall laughing hysterically into the lake. A great time is had by all.

The equipment belongs to the chartering organization so long as it is used to benefit youth. Since they were gained under the scouting program the local councils has a claim as well but will not interfere as long as they are used by the CO for youth service. Just because the scouts and leaders are leaving scouting it does not end the COs service to youth. that equipent which was used for their scouting program has always been and continues to be their property.

Scout Units do not qualify as a 501c. Your are a youth activity of your Charter organization. You are not and cannot become a corporation. Counicl cannot forward the money to you as that would be illegal for them to do as a 501c. So their hands are tied. You as a unit should not be seeking corporate donations, that is inappropriate for a scout unit and is addressed in the fundraising guidelines of the BSA found on the Unit Money Earning Application that you are required to file with the council any time you attempt to raise funds. Units are required to offer a service or product in exchange for money. There are appropriate ways for your unit to earn money. Visit your District Roundtable or contact your local District commissioner for information and suggestions.

My guess is that mom is not a loon, she is just trying to make the best decision she can based on her perception of what the activity is. But it sounds like you have done your homework. You know this is a sanctioned activity. It has a lesson to teach in the theme of your leadership training which I hope will be shared with the participants. You have a trained certified COPE instructor leading the activity so we will presume that he will follow the correct procedures. I say go for it, but arrange for the scout to be able to observe with his father and decide after they see it if they want to proceed.

Sorry, that was suppossed to be "Wood Badge is a 6-day course".

What do the people who own the field want done? The test of the Eagle project is not what gets accomplished, but what leadership did you provide to plan and carry out a project. Since the criteria of the project is that it benefits others, it becomes important for you to learn as part of the planning "what do they want" rather than "what I want to do". Good luck as you continue toward Eagle. BW

Am I cool enough for scouts? HMMMMM, I can honestly say that I couldn't care less. Choosing an adult leader based on coolness is probably more dangerous than choosing a sheath knife for the same reason. Being able to deliver a good, safe, fun and adventurous scouting program is more important to me and to the families I serve than whether or not I am perceived as "cool". Allow scouts to decide safety issues? Absolutely. Train scouts to base those decisions on what is cool? NEVER! Train them to teach others to base their decisions on "cool". NEVER! Allow a scout to risk his safety or the safety of others to be "cool"? NEVER! But thats my personal preference and I believe it follows the scouting program. The PLC by the way are the ones that should be practicing and applying leadership skills. The adult leaders are the ones responsible for guiding and teaching. "Wisdom has to have the appearance of experience. Otherwise it only comes off as self-serving, not wisdom." I was aware the experience can develop wisdom and that wisdom helps shape your experiences, but please share what the "appearance of experience" means, and how it (whatever it is) can effect wisdom in any way.

Hi zippie, New Leader Essentials is a one time course, as is BALOO. However I would send a new person from the pack to BALOO each year, and I would recommend revisiting the course at least once in a three year period. You take leader specific as you specific program position changes. When you become a Den Leader after Tigers you would take Wolf/Bear training and that would take you through two program years of your BASIC training. Then as a Webelos leader you would take Webelos Den Leader Specific training that would support you through your 18 months to 2-years as a Webelos Leader. If you were to change from a den Leader to a Cubmaster or Asst. Cubmaster there is a specific course for that, and another if you switched to the pack committee. Wood Badge is a 6-day fees include meals housing camping fees, camp equipment, participant notebook, lots of paper and stuff. 2 different kneckerchiefs, a woggle (neckerchief slide) beads, certificate, usually a patrol and troop photo. Prices vary from course to course depending on local cost of resources. PS You didn't mention Youth Protection! If you haven't done that yet you really should. It is available on-line at your local councils website.(This message has been edited by Bob White)

Dana, What a great opportunity you have discovered to do service to the crews in the District you serve. As a UC for a crew and a Venturing Roundtable Commissioner, why not send press releases to the local media keeping them informed of the community service being done by the crew(s) and the advancement being achieved by the local Venturing units. It's a shame that packs are sending in information on packs, and troops are keeping your local papers informed, but no one is sending in news on Venturing even though it is a recognized need. What a great oppportunity for you now that you have identified a specific job that would help bring more youth to the program as well as inform the public of the quality scouting being offered through your local Venturing program. It seems custom made for a commissioner.

Perhaps, but that is not quite correct. The core material was developed by Blanchard and the surrounding material was developed by 50 BSA volunteers from across the country with a variety of professional backgrounds, all experienced unit leaders and trainers.

Zahnada your concern over my reading comprehension is touching though unwarranted. I understood 2Eagle's post just fine thank you. He advocates allowing the scouts to carry sheath knives even though there is seldom a need for them simply because the scouts think they are cool. I maintain that there are a lot of things that scouts need to learn about selection and use of tools, and that their "coolness" is not one that reflects good decision making on the part of youth or adults. That's just my opinion. Eagle 2 shared one opinion, I shared another. You are free to choose which one you agree with but I have as much right to my viewpoint as he has to his, without need for your offer of intercession.

Dan, just curious, do you suddenly have black helicopters circling your house too?

With pleasure. For more information visit www.woodbadge.org or attend a Wood Badge for the 21st Century course. This outline does not include any of the excercises or application experiences but does outline the presentation topics Wood Badge has five Central Themes: The themes that follow encapsulate the course content of Wood Badge for the Twenty-First Century. 1) Living the Values Values, mission, and vision Aims and methods 2) Bringing the Vision to Life Listening to learn Communicating Giving and receiving feedback Valuing people and leveraging diversity Coaching and mentoring 3) Models for Success Team development model Situational Leadership 4) Tools of the Trade Project planning and problem solving Managing conflict Assessing team performance Managing change Celebrating team success 5) Leading to Make a Difference Leaving a legacy Learning the greatest leadership secret (This message has been edited by Bob White)

Good catch Acco. While the answer for our poster is still the same, you are correct that a non national living outside the USA cannot join the BSA. It never occurred to me that such a provision would be needed. BW

Sorry but that is not possible. The Wood Badge syllabus is a copy-written publication and to reproduce it in on the Internet or anywhere else for that matter would be illegal. Just as reproducing other BSA handbooks is illegal. I am not discounting other life experiences at all. I think they will be a useful factor in evaluating a training program once you have knowledge of the specific course. Do not expect anyone to take complaints seriously if the writer has no actual knowledge of the course content. Also you need to be able to separate the various elements that constructs a course and be able to discuss them separately. To determine for instance that a course is bad based on the performance of the presenter, without any knowledge of the intended course content, is hardly a sound analysis.

Allow me to play devil's advocate Eagle1973. What bsae of reference would an untrained leader have to draw on to add to the conversation? If they havn't attended the training then they have no first hand knowledge of any kind about the courses, their contents or objectives. If they are untrainable (and that would be by their decision not ours) then what positive information could they possibly offer? Why waste the bandwidth or the time to read and respond to someone with nothing positive to offer? (Hence the value of the squelch feature on this site.) Now if you want the board left unprotected so that interested leaders could ask questions concerning the syllabi, the training methods, or for clarification on things they learned. That is available to them now on the existing boards. Isn't it? I can see lots of reasons to not need to password protect the topic, but none of them have to do with secrecy, or the untrained or untrainable.

If you mean like a Merit Badge University or that sort of thing you wold do best to contact your District professional or District Advancement or Activities Chairperson. Otherwise all the scout needs to do is go to his Scoutmaster and ask for a bluecard and the contact information for a registered and approved counselor for that topic. Good luck BW

With the communication tools available today it shouldn't be a problem. Scheduling PLCs and committee meetings may be a factor but now days there are scheduling conflicts no matter when you try to have those meetings. Best of luck on your new adventure! BW

US citizenship is not a requirement to be a member of the BSA.

Barry, you and I both know that the there are far more important reasons to choose a knife then what is "cool". Tools should be chosen based on need and ability to do the job safely. I took nothing out of context. The recommendation was to allow scouts to carry knives based on their "coolness". I would hope that as adult leaders we are teaching better criteria than that, especially where safety is concerned. I don't know any scout, who thinks wearing a PFD is cool. Is anyone suggesting that he be allowed to decide not to wear one based on the "coolness" factor? I would hope not, but why should cool only count for one tool and not another? I have nothing against sheath knives if they are the right tool for the right job. What I have a big problem with is the suggestion that scout leaders should use "cool" as the deciding factor in determining the appropriateness of this kind of tool.