The Latin Scot

All I know is that when I tried to renew my membership with the OA, it took me no less than 6 MONTHS of e-mails and phone calls and pushing and shoving just to find somebody to accept my dues. I was trying to give them money, and it took me 6 months?! And now I have been submitting one request after another for an OA Arrow of Light Ceremony to be done at a future pack meeting, which they advertise with bells and whistles on their webpage, to no avail. I have great respect for the purpose, history, and traditions of the OA. I have been an Arrowman for almost 20 years. But I am sadly frustrated by the slothfulness of my local chapter; I pray we are an exception still and not yet the general rule.

If a little example like rolling the neckerchief becomes symbolism, then I can see how it could become a little too arcane for comfort, especially for Cub Scouts. But I do think it is wise teaching to make connections between ideas and the more tangible world around them. I like the idea of using the neckerchief as a tool to help them comprehend concepts such as duty and honor. Those can be hard for young boys to conceptualize, but they respond to concrete examples that draw what they see toward what they can then understand. I did a simplified version of it with my Webelos Scouts when I first started as Den Leader, and a mother recently related to me that I have one boy who, bless his heart, washes and irons his neckerchief all by himself every week so that it will fold neatly and fit nicely around his neck every week. He asked me to go over the folding a few times with him just so he could watch how I do it, and his mom tells me he now folds it carefully before putting it on every week, and then folds it nicely when he puts it away after the meeting. I did the same thing when I was a Scout his age. It's a small behavior, but it shows me that he really thinks about what it all means, and what Scouting is meant to do for him. All of my boys in fact fold them neatly now, and they really take pride in how nice they look and how many people compliment them. They look unified, but what's more, they feel unified. It's absolutely heartwarming to see the Scouting program guiding these boys to grow into good, kind, and strong men.

OCTOBER - all of my Webelos Scouts are earning their Arrow of Light at our monthly Pack Meeting! Plus to earn the Maestro Adventure pin, they are putting on a Den Talent Show for their parents and families NOVEMBER - the SPACE DERBY! I am in charge of running it too, so expect me to be asking for advice about it in a new thread sometime soon. Also Scouting for Food DECEMBER - our annual Pack Caroling Activity to elderly and sick friends of our pack in our community :-)

Yeah I wish they were bigger now too. My father could easily sew a big one for me but as a Webelos Leader I feel the boys like seeing me wear the same plaid they are wearing. But if I ever move on the the older programs ...

Ah that's way cool; my Sindarin is better than my Quenya, lol.

I am halfway towards my goal of saving up enough for a campaign hat ... I think they are so cool! And fortunately my local Scout Shop has a big enough stock of them for me to find the right size without having to guess. :-)

Has anybody heard of this? Some time ago I read somewhere of a wonderful way to teach the Scout Law using the neckerchief. More or less, it connected the long edge of the necker to our duty to God since it is the longest side just as it is our lifelong duty; the other sides represent our duty to others and ourselves; the folds as you prepare it for wear represented the many layers of our responsibilities, and then we wrap it around our shoulders just like the responsibilities we wear throughout our lives as scouts ... ... or something like that? If anybody has a more complete version of this that they are willing to share, please post it here. I want to use it in full for an upcoming Pack Meeting that will have a few new boys and leaders, and I remember it being much better explained than I can now remember. I would appreciate some help. Thanks guys!

I was reading through old thread (so I apologive for diggin this up), but official BSA policy states that 3 is the maximum number. I wear Spanish and French, though I admit I wish I could add an Elvish patch, lol.

Two were in the same troop, the others in different units. The ones I attended were basically glorified Courts of Honor featuring only one or two Scouts. The basic format was almost always: - Opening ceremonies (Flag Ceremony, Invocation, Scout Oath and Law) - Invitation to the "Eagle's Nest" (where they invite anybody in the audience who has earned the rank of Eagle to sit in some chairs that have been put in a front corner of the hall (does anybody else do this?)) - A brief and often diluted review of the Eagle Requirements - "An "introduction" of the Eagle Scout (he's not a candidate anymore, is he? once he has passed his Eagle Board of review, from that moment he is an Eagle Scout - isn't that right?) that basically goes "Filiberto, come up here. Filiberto is a great kid; I've known him a long time and ... we're real proud of him." And that's about it. - A long and drawn out powerpoint slide show with loud and cheesy music telling his entire life story which takes around 15 - 20 minutes - A "guest speaker" (usually just somebody from the chartered Organization assigned to offer some words) - Another sappy powerpoint with various pictures of eagles and flags and random 'inspiring images' of ... well, of anything really, from Boy Scouts to firemen to teachers to puppies ... I am never sure what their purpose is - The presentation of the award (as in, they call up the Scout and his parents to more or less say "congratulations Billy!" He then gives his parents their pins, pictures are taken, and that's basically it) - A closing Scoutmaster's Minute (if that) - The colors are retrieved, there is a benediction, and then lots of refreshments I will be honest, they can be pretty dry affairs. I know mine was not very fancy either, although I must also add that as a kid I was never eager for undue attention, so I preferred something more understated, although it was certainly more dignified that these long multi-media powerpoint selfie-festivals we get nowadays. I don't know; I feel they shouldn't be overdone either, but at the same time they should feel ... special. It's a hard balance to find I imagine. I agree that simplicity has more gravitas and dignity than the birthday party/wedding reception type events I have sometimes encountered, but we still want them to feel like they have earned something to remember. I would love to attend one that is really well-done someday. I know I make sure my Webelos Scouts get a really nice Arrow of Light Ceremony; I wish I could give the Eagle Scouts something similar, but for now they are not under my stewardship.

Until I read this thread today I had never so much as heard of and "Eagle Pledge/Charge/Oath/Monologue" or whatever. Of the five Courts of Honor I have attended this year, none have had anything like this, nor did I at my own. Is this an official BSA element that I missed? I would have thought such a thing would be included in the Official BSA Handbook ...

Well, we are way down in Southern California just a mile or so from the water, so ... yeah. Last year our Troop had to drive for 5 hours to get to a mountain far enough inland + tall enough to get snowfall so they could actually do a "winter camp-out." And even then, there was only an inch or so of snow. The pitfalls of paradise I guess, lol. We get to do a lot of beach camping though!

With my Den, I simply had them read the requirements from the book, then asked "what are some easy service projects you have been a part of that we could do together?" One of them had been part of a clothing drive recently, so I just asked leading questions to help them put it together. "When could we do this?" "How will we let families know?" "Where will we take the clothes?" After a few questions THEY were the ones figuring out the logistics and I could just sit back and catch up on signing their books. They had it all organized really quickly, and at the Pack Meeting where they ran the drive, we didn't get many donations, but the boys were proud that they had put together the whole activity themselves, and were thrilled by how grateful the people at Salvation Army were when we brought in the clothing. All I had to do was ask a few logistical questions to get it going, and the boys took care of the rest.

I think I got it! Here is the Boy Scout Troop with the flag I designed, completed by my father. It's done with black and white denim, is machine-washable, and on the back it has one of the jumbo patches from the scout store sewn in (the Eagle scout rank patch). It also has their Patrol Call embroidered into the back - "Knights of Light - We Do What's Right!" The image of the knight on the front is an exact copy of the image on their patrol patch. Now all the boys have to do it create a flagpole for it and start winning award ribbons to attach to it! Forgive the blur; I figured I should avoid putting pictures of others without permission, and besides, it's the flag I want to show (though even that turned out blurry, haha). You can, however, see the state our uniforms are in right now. As in, not good. Much to do! Sadly my young friend from the story I shared didn't use enough sunscreen at camp (I live in South Orange County, CA; they spent the week on Catalina Island) so the poor guy was in bed with heat exhaustion for a few days during camp, but he says he is still excited to display the flag and add awards to it from now on. Lucky for him I am the Merit Badge Counselor for a few of the badges he didn't finish, but still, you win some, you lose some!

Well, I am TRYING to post a picture, but it's turning out to be very difficult! Once I figure out how it works, I will post it here!

I try to make sure my Denners actually have a share in the running of our meetings, so wearing the cords actually indicates a legitimate role in our group. We have a full flag ceremony and uniform inspection every week, both of which the chosen young Denner leads and conducts. He also chooses who will give our opening and closing prayers, administers the Scout Law and Oath, and makes any announcements. When I do have to make last minute changes to our plans, I clear it with both the Denner and the boys to make sure it meets their approval. The Denner also helps me decide what adventures to work on next. I figure it's a good way to teach them how to run a meeting so that someday, when they are in Boy Scouts, they will feel comfortable leading meetings and conducting business in their own patrols. Since they are still Cub Scouts, I will occasionally point out ways they can lead more effectively, but I NEVER usurp the role of the Denner in conducting the basic activities of our Den. That would be depriving them of their chance to lead and learn.

I ended up just paying for the cords myself; they and the tabs are pretty inexpensive, and since they rotate them throughout the year, its easier for me to keep track of them if they are my own personal set than if I had to keep track of such a small piece of "den property."

First of all, a warning: This is a long story! It's important I think, but maybe take a nap and eat something before diving in, tee hee. I wanted to share an experience I have had over the past few months that has proven to me the tremendous power of Baden-Powell's vision when he formulated for boys what we now call the Patrol Method. It has helped me as a leader, and it has recently saved scouting for a young friend of mine in a way that has touched his family profoundly. I hope it helps somebody else to capture the spirit of what the Patrol Method can do for young men. As a Webelos leader, I worked with my boys on the Scouting Adventure adventure (haha) where it has them use the Patrol Method for a month to prepare them for being Boy Scouts themselves. So I set to work on it with gusto, beginning with the story of Baden-Powell on Brownsea Island. I told the boys how the first thing they did, before camping, starting a fire, learning lore, or whatever - was to be put into groups and given their names - the Curlews, the Bulls, the Ravens, and the Wolves. They each came up with a flag and a call, and that was their identity for the duration of the camp - the first patrol names. I read them the oart of the original handbook where he describes how important it is to find an animal or totem that represents their groups' character and identity, and then showed them every patrol patch available from Scoutstuff and ClassB. They picked a really sharp-looking archer patch, called themselves the Merry Archers, made up their call, and ran with it - everything we do now is archer themed, they have all bought books on Robin Hood that they read constantly, and the Arrow of Light has become the Holy Grail for them - all of them will receive it before they have been in the program more than 7 months. The success has been tremendous. But, that's not the end of this story. We meet in the same building as the Boy Scouts, and at the same time. While our Webelos Den is having all kinds of success, the Scout Troop has been ... well, lacking. They camp pretty often, but don't DO anything, and advancement is not really emphasized, so we haven't turned out many eagles in the past few years. The boys haven't had much excitement, and they lose a lot of their members after a couple of years. One boy in particular has been struggling; he has a rough family life, is a relatively new scout, and has NOT enjoyed camping at all. He is a suburban kid who just hasn't be taught the skills needed to make camping fun, and as Scout Camp approached, he was starting to dread it. I am a friend of all the boys in the Troop, so I had a lot of them coming to me to tell me of their frustrations or what few successes they have had. Meanwhile, my struggling friend has seen my den, with our Flag and patrol emblems and den cheer, and has often asked me "why don't Boy Scouts get to have all that cool stuff?" See, their Scoutmaster has explained to me that those things "don't matter" and that they just "get in the way of getting out in the mud." Hmm, I thought, how can I help this Troop? I have a vested interest in it, since it happens to be the same troop I was in as a Boy Scout. SO. I told my young troubled friend, "you know, you CAN and SHOULD have all this stuff, and more! YOU BOYS lead the Patrol, not the Scoutmaster. If you want a Patrol Name, CHOOSE ONE! I will help." I have never seen such magic in a boy before .He got so excited that he, on his own time, went online and went through all the different patches he could find. He asked me to send him pictures of patrol flags and samples of patrol yells, He asked me questions about the history of the Patrol Method and of Scouting in general. And he begged his Scoutmaster to let them spend time on their emblem For THREE MONTHS this kid begged and whined and cajoled, until two weeks ago, the Scoutmaster finally said "FINE! If you go to the Scout Store and buy them yourself, you can pick the name and get some patches." While the boy's grandparents took him to buy the patches the next day, I went to the Scout Committee and explained how wonderful it would be if they could put some money towards reimbursing him and paying just a bit for materials for the flag. And then I found out that NONE OF THEM had so much as HEARD of patrol names or flags or anything, and they went WILD over the idea! (much to our good Scoutmaster's consternation) So the boy was repaid and came back with patches of a knight in shining armor, and then asked my father (a professional tailor) if he could possibly make them a Patrol Flag before Scout Camp - the next week. I was asked to design it, which I happily agreed to. This kid was THRILLED. Suddenly, Scouting was an adventure for him! He wasn't just a Scout, he was one of what he named the KNIGHTS OF LIGHT and came up with a cute (okay, not cute, COOL) patrol yell and everything. Well, two days ago, the night before he left for Scout Camp out on Catalina Island, he came by to pick up with flag my Dad and I created after working on it night and day to finish it in time. A grand, black and white shield tapestry with the Knight emblem emblazoned on the front, with their motto and a giant Eagle Scout patch on the back. When he saw it, this kid was so excited for Scout Camp he couldn't contain himself. I made him Keeper and Herald of the Flag, and told him to guard it with honor during his week at camp. He was so proud. And his grandparents were thrilled. They told he how his whole attitude had changed, and how much he now looked forward to going to camp as part of the great Knights of Light patrol, and how excited he was to see other patrols too. And I was shown a picture of him, with his Patrol, holding up his patrol flag and smiling ear to ear. All of them were amazed at their new ensign fluttering in the wind, and they have eaten up their new identity with zeal and gusto. IF you have yet to witness the effect these little things can have on your Scouts, TRY IT. This friend of mine went from hating scouts to loving it, because the Patrol Method gave him IDENTITY, RESPONSABILITY, and MOTIVATION. It empowered him to take ownership of his scouting experience, and helped him find new meaning in the program. The Patrol Method WORKS. Let your boys use it! Post Script: Would it be inappropriate for him to wear the Honor Guard patch as the keeper of the sacred Patrol Flag? I guess it would be, but I wish there was an official position the specifically related to the keeping of the flag's honor. Quartermaster just doesn't fit, lol.

If you have good enough den leaders, you could do what my pack does and divide the responsibilities. Every month we split the gathering, flag ceremony, activity, and refreshments amongst the various dens, and for special activities and Derbies the Cubmaster takes charge personally. It helps the dens feel involved in the larger meetings and gives the Cubmaster a chance to focus on more than just planning activities. With a pack as big as yours, that might be helpful!

These are some great ideas! I think if we were to pit the kids against the leaders, the leaders would lose pretty badly, lol. I have been having uniform inspections with my Webelos for the past two months now; they all earned their Webelos rank at the same time, and they wanted to all rise together at Pack Meeting to receive their awards as one body. I thought that was very mature of them. So, I required them to have their uniforms all up to par, and inspected them for the few weeks before the Pack Meeting, and wow - they rose to the challenge! I have NEVER seen them look so good, and many parents confessed they were amazed at how sharp they looked - we are a very California area of sandals and basketball shorts with MAYBE a scout shirt if we are lucky. Now that my boys have their uniforms so finely put together, I make sure to keep it up at every den meeting with the promise that if they all come perfectly uniformed for 8 weeks straight, I will add a specially-made doodle to the den flag AND I will bring a healthy treat for them to that 9th den meeting. So maybe I should do the same for the leaders! haha. I do like the idea of having an inspection like that at a Pack Meeting: that way the leaders are put on the spot (a good thing at this age) AND the parents see some accountability on the leadership's part as well. I like transparency in an organization, and I think the boys would love the chance for an easy win against their leaders. It's high time WE learned something from THEM. If we as leaders can't even get the right shoulder loops, what exactly are we modelling to the boys in the first place?

Thanks for the advice! I know already none of the other cub leaders serve in other positions; in fact the ADL for the Bears is the only one who has ever been in Scouting before, which I imagine is why he is the leader with red epaulets. He was actually the assistant Scoutmaster over my New Scout Patrol as a kid and hasn't done scouting since. The other leaders are nice guys but none of them have done much Scouting before, despite the fact that they are all at least 20 years older than I am. I just feel awkward offering advice at all to a bunch of gentlemen who are my senior.

Question! The Bears Den Leader in my pack was just called recently and, bless his heart, has little idea what's going on. He got a uniform shirt and just happened to get the bright green Venturing epaulets, not knowing the colors had any significance. Should I take a moment to help point out to him the meanings of the colors, or do I risk being regarded as the Fashion Police? Should I just buy the blue ones and give them to him? Do I ignore it all together and mind my own business? I appreciate any thoughts on how to handle this; I notice other leaders in our cub pack, including his ADL, are wearing the wrong colors too, including orange and red. What would be a tactful way to address this matter, if at all?

I discovered this site recently as I was learning all I could about the Scouting program. The person running it has WONDERFUL insights and resources, and I have referenced his site to many leaders who are trying to run the program in our area. I highly recommend it.

So, when I was first asked to be the Webelos leader, I had a fun contest of wits with my Webelos over our Den Flag as we worked on the Scouting Adventure adventure (I laugh every time I write or say that). It was a fun process though, and it taught me a lot about working with Webelos-aged boys AND about why this little item, the Den (or Patrol) Flag, is such a valuable resource in creating that elusive entity known as Patrol Spirit. We had just started the Scouting Adventure adventure (haha!). I told the boys that after they chose a patrol name and yell, they would need to create a Patrol Flag, and that THEY were in charge of making it. Knowing I have a passion for crafts and design, they retaliated by voting for me to come up with the design and general look of the flag for them. So I struck back by making them choose the design and colors based on a huge collection of drawings and photos I have accumulated of patrol flags through the decades of Scouting, and some books of heraldry I own. I thought my work was done, until they countered my little scheme by ELECTING (by unanimous vote!) that my father (a professional tailor and seamster) and I create the flag. Mind you, this was all in good spirits, and these little battles of wits define much of how we accomplish things in our Den. SO as a final check to their sinister plot, I added an element to our final flag design - every boy has to create a streamer or pennant with their name on it that will hang off one side of the banner - this item MUST be completed by the boy alone, with minimal parental assistance. And as each boy earns his Webelos and Arrow of Light, I pin an embroidered Webelos/AofL pin to their streamer to symbolize their accomplishment, to which the boys now eagerly look forward. On the other side I add doodles they earned in day camp, or feathers/trinkets/small crafts that represent their accomplishments at the Den level, such as having perfect uniforms every meeting for two months, or all the boys completing a certain number of adventures at home by a certain date. The Webelos work really hard to earn them! Now that it is complete, our flag is something we are all really proud of. My dad was happy to be involved, the boys are proud to have an amazing looking flag, I am happy to add awards to their Den symbol, and the parents are grateful to see a visible sign of a good program. If you haven't gotten around to making a Den Flag, I HIGHLY recommend it! When used right, it unites and motivates the boys as few other tangible things can. When I figure out how to do so, I will post pictures of it!

Thanks for the welcome everybody! I look forward to joining the discussions here!

I am saving my nickles because I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to get myself the traditional campaign hat. It's such a wonderful article .... but also a pricey one. $99 on Scoutstuff! So I am just saving up slowly but surely. Hopefully someday I can have enough saved so that I can get what I feel is the most iconic piece of uniform wear money can buy