OldGreyEagle

I must have outdated sources which is why I came to you guys. Our Council appears to have a hard time grasping the concept of Venturing. But now I have the references I need to fight any "you cant do that" attitudes I find. Thanks to all

Just took a quick tour of my second most favorite web site in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD, meritbadge.com, and I couldnt find a line about having to have signed blue card before you can count any activity towards a merit badge. During our week of Summer Camp, the Camping merit is offered. The scouts plan duty rosters, menus, etc. Most complete the merit badge by the end of the week because the Scoutmaster sends in verification of the 20 nights of camping (in tents even). Camp Staff will have those "extra activities planned during the week for those who havent done them yet. Now, if those scouts cant count previous nights of camping before summer camp toward the merit badge, let me know becasue our council is doing it wrong, and has for many years (not that that isnt possible)And I think they wouldnt be the only camp who does it this way!

Does anybody know if a Wood Badge ticket solely focused on Venturing would be acceptable? I know Powder Horn exists, and I see that as one of the goals I would have. Everything I read about Wood Badge is Boy Scout oriented, but is that because it hasnt been updated to include Ventures or have they been excluded/not included for some reason?

DuPage Area Council no longer exists. I grew up in the area and that was my home council for many years. It was broken up a few years back. This is the inormation on the Council that I would belong to if I stilled lived back there: Three Fires Council 415 N Second St. St. Charles, IL 60174-9990 Phone: 630-584-9250 Web Site: http://www.threefirescouncil.org Depending on where in DuPage your scout is from, these people may be able to help you find your den leader. At the very least they should be able to put you in touch with the correct council. BTW, what suburb is the scout from?

I having been watching this discussion with interest. First, I agree with Bob White as to the composition and direction of the SMC. But I also agree the Scoutmaster should be the one who judges Scout Spirit and a whole lot of other things. I think at issue here is WHEN these things occur. I dont think the SMC is the time for a Scoutmaster to unload all the mistakes the scout has made, and what a lousy (!) scout the youth is. (OK, that may be an inflammatory statement, but I wanted to get your attention) The Scoutmaster should be communicating his thoughts to each scout as time goes along. I see the SMC similar to the Annual Review most companies have for employees. The Annual Review is not the time to tell someone they are not the perfect employee, that communication should be occurring throughout the year. This is not to tell the employee how rotten he is. One more example, A heretofore model scout becomes First Class, over the space of two months and a couple of events the scoutmaster notices a shift of attitude to the "dark side". Should the Scoutmaster wait until the Scout is ready for his Star SMC to tell him that he is not demonstrating Scout Spirit? Or does the Scoutmaster find a way to talk to the scout in an informal setting about the changes that have been observed and does the scout realize they have occured. Perhaps a personal problem is the root, illness in the family, etc. The Scoutmater is in charge of evaluating Scout spirit each and everytime he sees the scout, not just for advancement. And the opposite is true as well. If you catch a scout doing something good, be sure to tell him about it at the time. (somehow this isnt usually a problem) You usually dont store up your complements for the SMC, why store up constructive criticism? In the perfect troop, the scout should know just about everything the scoutmaster is going to say because the two have a close relationship where each knows what is expected. If a scout is a habitual problem, this shouldnt be the scoutmaster's sole problem. Perhaps another leader can be brought in to be sure the scoutmaster is correct in his assessment of the scout. The scout may repsond to another adult telling him the same thing in different words. If the disruptive behavior or poor attitude persists, it may become a committee matter. The key to me is that this occurs when the behavior or attitude is exhibited, not when advancement is at stake. The scout should never have to guess if his behavior is acceptable or not, because he has been told, frequently one way or the other.(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

The SMC is supposed to be about past accomplishments, future goals and areas of improvement. Its not the time for the third degree

I have always regarded myself as a "work in progress" and beleive people who know they have all the answers to be kidding only themselves. Scout on WoodBadgeEagle, the trail calls...

Mom, I hope I get this right, but the members of the Board of Review, should know the scout by more than just his name. In out troop most of the committee members know the scouts by name. This makes the "20 minute act" impossible to pull off. Our Commitee members attend meetings, are merit badge counselors and a few attend campouts. All these factors add up to knowing the scout before a BOR is done. Now, the important question, are we doing this right? OOps, almost forgot, the Scoutmasters opinion is very important concerning Scouting Spirt. He should address his concerns to the scout as soon as he sees an issue develop.(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

My son's Eagle Court of Honor was last sunday, April 21. Had a bagpiper (who is in the Venture Crew) do Scouting Thunder (Scotland the Brave) as an Intro and Amazing Grace as the recessional. She was dressed in traditional bagpier garb, except she wore her Venture Uniform shirt. One bagpipe certainly filled the chuch with sound (I hesitate to call it music) We did a combination of the "Light the Trail of the Eagle" and "The Challenge" ceremonies. The first "Challenger" was so effective a nearby ASM almost tackled him while he was speaking, thought the scout was disrupting things, he didnt realize it was part of the ceremony until later. My boy has overcome a lot, he is ADD, dyslexic, and has to cath a stoma to urinate and must sleep with a drainage bag attached to his stoma. He was SPL and now is a JASM, I am just so proud of him, he cant stand it. OK, I got it out and I will contain myself from here on out...

Ed, I thought I was doing exactly what you suggest. I made the rounds and thought I kept up on it. I didnt talk to the counselor before friday night because I didnt want to "interfere" in the process. Actually I thought walking him from site to site and class to class was more than I "should" have done. Believe me, I am a lot more inquistive now for other scouts with the counselors. (This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

Mom, You are right, have him do First year in the morning and aim for Basketry and Leatherwork in the afternoon. He should be able to come home with the badges. For his first summer camp having any degree of sucess is preferable to getting a partial. The first year my son and I went to camp was a near disaster. He was wildly (as opposed to mildly ADD). He is a little better now. I made sure he was at every class and asked him every night if he had any work to do. The only thing he ever said about the camping merit badge was he needed a letter from the scoutmaster that he had the required nights of camping. Our Scoutmaster gives the required documentation to the counselor on thursday to reduce the possibility of it being lost. When the blue cards were passed out on friday night, his was not in the completed pile, nor was it in the partial pile. When I asked the counselor, he said my son never turned in any of the written work (menu's, duty roster, etc). When he didnt get the blue card, he was devastated, after all, he made all the classes, something not everyone who completed the badge did. But then again, they turned in all the work. In my son's mind, he was so focused on the scoutmaster letter that everything else went right past him. The moral of the story is, know your kid (which I know you do) and have him work on badges you know he can finish.(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

WoodBadge, Have you ever heard of a "Dutch Uncle"? I am not sure what you will be able to do with your present scout or scouts for that matter as from what I have seen most Council Offices decide in favor of the scout more times than not especially in the upper ranks. Looking forward, I would ask how such poor examples of Scouting Spirit attained the rank of Star in the first place. You signed off on Scouting Spirit at Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class and Star and NOW you tell the scout he isnt doing as he should and hasnt "for a long time"? Did you ever tell him along the way his behavior was inconsistent with the scouting ideal? And not just your actions need to be re-thought. These scouts all passed boards of review for each rank as well, were the types of behavior you listed ever discussed with the scouts as something that needed to be improved? Do other members of the troop's adult leadership concur with your thoughts? Have any of them ever counseled the scouts regarding their behavior? Changing the behavior patterns of a Star or Life Scout is very difficult. Unwanted behavior should be addressed as soon as it appears, not years later.

So, Where and when ? I wanna be there!

I offer as my source this link: http://meritbadge.com/bsa/info/policy1.htm I concur that a scoutmaster should be sure a scout is ready to attempt a merit badge. It would be hard to imagine a 12 year old would have the same apprecation for Personal Management that a 15 year old would have, but exceptions exist. Then again, thats why a scout needs a signed by a leader blue card before he starts a merit badge.

I agree with the posters, there is no limit to the number of merit badges a scout may work on at a single time, and as an aside, any work done for a merit badge is valid until the scout is 18. At the Summer Camp we attend, they have a "handicraft" area that does basketry, leatherwork, wood carving, Indian Lore and Space Exploration (they make the rocket in this area). We encourage our first years to do 2-3 of these badges, although getting all 5 is not unheard, this qualifies the scout for a the HE-Man award and his name announced at the camps closing ceremonies. We would rather the scout come home with 2-3 completed badges than 5 partials and try to steer the scouts to completing one before going on to the other. The first emphasis is in the First Year Program however, First Year in the morning, Handicrafts in the afternoon, cant think of a better way to spend a week.... as an 11 year old.

Way to go Matt!!!

Seeing as how Merlyn is an avowed atheist, and will never change his/her views on God, and we who do beleive in God wont change our opinions I bid Merlyn and you all a good week...

Feathers, Thanks for your offer, but I would rather see the uniforms go to scouts in need. I have a few shirts already. All still have my Naitonal Jamboree troop numerals on here. I guess it may be time to adapt one for the district and one for my home troop. Thanks for all your comments. One thing I have learned on this forum is the depth of intensity some have for the program. I thought I was committed, but by some poster's standards, I am a mere hobbyist. I am glad I found this place.

I have a question, recently I was asked to be on the District Advancement Committee. I officiated my first Eagle Scout Board of Review a few months back. Recently I was informed the troop was disappointed in my appearance. That I was wearing a "troop" uniform, and not one that had a district committee patch on it. How big a faux pas is this? Should I get a new shirt or am I over reacting?

Ouch!!! Well, I guess I would rather know than not know, but I agree its disappointing...

I am not sure if this is still true, but there +was a time when having Eagle Scout in your college application was a huge plus, would like to know if that is still true. Seems many colleges are looking at the whole student not just grades. Would be a good idea for a student to check with his college of choice to determine if being Eagle would help him. Boys Life Magazine has published many articles over the past few years on Boy Scouts, usually Eagles, who are snow board champs, ranked nationally in water skiing, nationally ranked climbers, etc. Those scouts remain active in their troop, although I am sure they dont make all events and meetings, but they still are scouts. I would use these articles to show it can be done. And maybe all his friends left the troop, he was never able to make new ones?

Slont, I read your posting earlier this morning and was trying to think of a way to explain what I think you should do, then when I got a chance to get back, I see Bob White (IMHO) has written the definitive response. Do what Bob suggests and you will have one heck of a leader!

Two Deep Leadership is required by Scouting, thats a given. And I think parol outings are a great way to develop scout skills and patrol spirit, however.... That being said, if you are trying to develop patrol outings to mask a larger problem, then stop where you are. A troop of 32 scouts should not have any problems arranging transportaiton on its own without a bus. I come from a troop of 90 scouts and we dont have a bus. (we also dont have 90 scouts on an outing either. How many scouts go on an average outing? If you have 20 scouts for an event, you will need 5 cars (figure 4 scouts a car and a driver). The troop adult leadership requirement is 2, so three more drivers must be found. If your troop cant find 3 more drivers for a week end, you have problems patrol outings wont solve

As adult leaders we need to be as excited about being a Boy Scout leader as we want the boys to be about being a Boy Scout, perhaps even more so We have to hit the campsite running and having fun and helping, guiding and caring along the way. We have to resist the urge to "just get it done" and help the boys step through the patrol method to get things done. The more fun we have, and show we are having it, the more cool scouting will be. In our community there is a 7th grade teacher who is a Venturer leader, he is as Gung-Ho a scout as I have ever seen. The man is amazing, everybody in the school knows he is a Boy Scout and since he is "cool" then scouting is cool in that school. We all need to have the same spirit, or at least strive to it. We cant complain how tired we are, how hungry, how much we miss a shower etc ( all things I have observed from many troops), if we are to be the role models BSA expects, then we have to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent ourselves. We need to be the kind of adults kids feel comfortable around and want to "hang with" It takes energy, but as Sister Anthony Mary always said, "anything worth doing, is worth doing well" and we all know Scouting is worth doing...

So, how cool is that??????????????????