zippyboro

In our town, scouts distribute the bags one Saturday to every house in town and the following week, the cubs pick everything up and take it directly to the local food pantry. We always do it the first 2 weeks of November so the timing is great for Thanksgiving. It is easily the biggest donation it gets all year. We have used post it notes on doors in the past, but this year are going back to bags as they seem to generate the best results. Kinda harder for people to toss an empty bag.(This message has been edited by zippyboro)

Our webelos den earned the money themselves to purchase a centennial tree and planted it in front of their school. We did this as part of earning the community service ribbon for the centennial patch, as well as earning the forestry pin. Being that it was just 9 boys, they all took part in the steps to planting the tree. Perhaps with a whole pack, you could divide the tasks and assign them to each den. Maybe one den gets to edge the circle, another gets to remove the sod, next gets to dig, next puts dirt back in and finally water and add mulch on top. Make sure to take pics and get them in the local paper!

Our pack provides the colors as well and there is no obligation for any family to purchase the hat.

Seems like an inappropriate name since you could always have a boy join in 5th who may not rever achieve AOL.

well, this is just about the most disturbing thread I've ever read around here. : | Way too much judgement about a scout that, like him or not, has earned his eagle... IMO, end of subject. I don't see how it is any business whatsoever, for adults in leadership positions to be looking at or hearing about what any minor child, (and yes, a 16 year old is a minor) has on his facebook. I don't care if he has made all his posts public, private, or otherwise... this does not fall under the domain of scouting leadership. Kids are naive and post way too much information for anyone and everyone to read, but that does not justify us as adults to be privy to that information. We should know better than to open that pandora's box or hear about its contents. The newspaper article was just fodder for others to talk about and speculate. I don't see that as a big deal at all. I long for the day that BSA joins the 21st century, and the determination and consequences of one's sexual orientation is no longer a point of discussion.

"Um, Zippy, your prejudice is showing, or maybe it's just snobbery. Where exactly is "around here"? Is it a particular part of the country or is it just the sand pile you have your head buried in? " ^^ummm... gee thanks, Twocubdad :| I fail to see how stating that fact that where I live, in New England, not allowing females to serve in troop leadership positions would not be accepted (and therefore being glad of that fact) makes me a snob. If it does, then I am proud to be one! Our troop has a few female ASMs in addition to the advancement chair. The boys have no problem with this... there is plenty of male role model leadership as well. My point was that most/many parents do not realize the supervisory role that the CO can have over the troop or pack. It has been my experience, that troops are selected by parents and scouts based on how they are run, who is in them and what they do... not who the CO is. I think the public perception is that BSA rules and guidelines are a national thing... not something to be altered by CO's as they see fit.

"Perhaps this thread can be moved to debate, as it appears to me to be just people complaining about others' beliefs now, and has nothing to do with BSA policy? " ^^It has everything to do with BSA policy and the fact that by all appearances, it is a welcoming, non-discriminatory public organization, but the reality, it is beholden to it's CO's beliefs and restrictions. All I can say is I'm glad I don't live in the south... this would never fly around here.

This thread has gone beyond obnoxious. It began as a one parent's vent over his son's recent behavior, and has turned into a way to question the OP's parenting skills, dedication to scouting, qualification to be a leader in said organization, not to mention accusations of trolling and general questioning and speculation about the relationship the father has with his son... it goes on and on. If someone wants to vent, then let them... there is way too much self-righteous judgement being passed along here and it does not speak well of scouting. If I were a mod, I'd lock this.

"Engineer, I don't think you're seeing past the "School is priority one" bit. Would it be acceptible for your son to get an A by cheating? Of course not. Not the same thing, you say. Okay, different question: If his classmate was struggling with the class and your son had agreed to help, then the Friday assignment landed, would you want your son to still take the time to help, or say "sorry, you're on your own bub. I gotta focus on my own grade first"? " ^^Just when I thought this thread couldn't get any more absurd... what does cheating and or choosing whether or not to help a friend have to do with this situation? Are you trying to say that by going on the camp out he'll learn to never cheat or if he chooses to finish the assignment and miss the camp out, he will become a completely self absorbed ass consumed by greed ambition and avarice? Now who's being cut and dried? If only everything was that black and white...

Clearly, there is never going to be a consensus here on this situation. Most of us feel that there should be a balance between academics and extra-curricular, but there are a surprising number of people that see scouting as a priority, and should take precedence over school. That's certainly not the way our troop is run and if it were, it would be a very small group. The need to dissect the assignment and the timeframe, whether or not it was reasonable is not the point. He got an assignment that was going to require him to work over the weekend... big deal. You really think that merits complaining to the principal and the teacher??!! Unless there is a pattern of the teacher repeatedly handing out extensive assignments, I don't think you have a case... it was described as an advanced language arts class anyway. More should be expected of the students. Sometimes the best laid plans go awry and you just have to accept it and deal with it. Sometimes that means you can't always do everything you want. As for those who have stated that the commitment to the troop comes first, the question is, did he go on the camp out because of a sense of obligation to the troop or because he wanted to go and have fun? My money is on the latter.

Beavah... there is honor in a students commitment to do their best in school as well. You can't just take the moral high ground here and say it's only a component of scouting. Your implication that by putting schoolwork ahead of scouting is in some way encouraging him to go down a path of greed and ambition is a bit far fetched. You feel that he was right to keep his commitment, but was he also right to hide the reality of his work situation to his dad? Dishonesty is not a part of the scout oath.

"I am more bothered by a good manners belt loop than a video game belt loop. We are awarding the boys for something that should be a natural thing." ^^ agree 100%

Scoutnut, regardless of the source, this seems inappropriate to bring up on your own in this thread... better stated in a DM.

I can't believe some of the comments here. His schoolwork is priority one... he is a student first, a scout second. Scouting is extra curricular. If he had committed to providing the food for his patrol, then he still needs to fulfill that commitment, but nothing more. As Lisabob said, what would bother me the most is that he was dishonest about the situation and subsequently neglected his work. Trying to discern whether he really needed the whole weekend to work on the assignment is immaterial. He should have been upfront about his situation and gone from there. Beavah, it's great that you have a job situation that would allow you to stand up to a client and just say you have prior commitments, but not everyone would be able to do that and it is certainly unrealistic to expect a student to say to their teacher that he can't do an assignment because he's going camping.

I guess my question is did he get the assignment done to your satisfaction? If so, I have no problem with it as it was his own form of time management. However, if he didn't have enough time, then I'm with you... he should not have gone on the camp out and yes, I would be saying the same thing if it were a family trip as well. Taking along homework on a camping trip is one thing, but a fairly major writing assignment is another. You are right in expecting him to be able to prioritize and scouting does not come before school work.