Terasec

most public schools have similar policy, whether its promoting scouts or any other similar after school activity its not just your school, also such policy is generally set by the district not the school,

disagree BSA programming is based on age and gender appropriate activities mixing dens whether by age or sex, contradicts the basis of the programming whats best for the kids is instructing them based on individual sex and age, I have taught both male and female from toddlers to teens, to be effective they each require a different teaching method, what works for boys doesn't work for girls, and vice/versa boys require a more hands on experience, more trial by error, with guidance girls require more instruction verbal and visually

i agree, BSA generally tend to only follow rules when its convenient for them I asked council and BSA TX about clarifying policy on mixed gender dens, it was like pulling teeth, they didn't want to acknowledge the issue, just referred me to bsa FAQ website finally they acknowledged that mixed gender dens is against the rules, yet they are not enforcing it. looking the other way on violations is how they handled decades of abuse, I have lost all respect for BSA as an entity,

does say "or other navigation system" doesn't say anything about creating your own route, just following the route, Demonstrate how to use a handheld GPS unit, GPS app on a smartphone or other electronic navigation system. Use a GPS to find your current location, a destination of your choice, and the route you will take to get there. Follow that route to arrive at your destination.

no, no parental assistance scout should do it on his own, if he cant drive, he can bike, walk, or find some other method

not so, Pack are youngsters more geared to family scouting, pack leaders more responsible for the meals, for the scouts and for the parents. many times theres cabin and whole lot more gear, leaders planning meals for 10-40 people, pack outing utilize cabins, refrigerators, coolers, etc troop, they are on their own, older scouts should be teaching the younger scouts about camp meals, food and equipment should comfortably fit in their packs to hike to the site. patrol really shouldn't be more than 10 or so scouts,

maga hat would be allowed as its a general patriotic theme, trump 2020 would not be allowed as scouts are not allowed to endorse any 1 party or candidate if it was in jest to taunt the SM, that's funny but still not allowed, myself and another leader do joke among ourselves over issues, but any such political chat is outside of scouting,

I would tell the parents if that's how they feel then our pack/troop is not for them, find another pack/troop

have your son go for detailed allergy test, he might be allergic to Pine or some other species common around there, pine and such are not part of routine allergy test, and has to be specifically requested allergy to pine while rare can cause fevers,

yes the oils preserve the bark, that's why can sometimes find a down birch tree that looks whole yet when you pick it up it falls apart as the trunk wood has already rotted out also look for paper birch, bark peels off in flakes that's paper thin, makes great flash tinder, harder to find, but some parks plant paper birch as ornamental trees, can peel some off without harming the tree

If you look up kinds of plants most botanical reference sites equate kinds with types which is just general category open to interpretation scout requirements are usually quite general

You may be over thinking “kinds” of plants i equate “kinds” with types more general than species evergreens conifors btoadleaf flowering moss algae fern etc even veteran outdoor folks generally dont learn 10 species at a time 1-3 new species per year would be more like it

disagree with the skills mastery aspect for leaders, first what exactly is mastery, to me mastery of a skill set takes many years, decades of practice, a good leader can learn and lead, without being a master of such task, if we relied on those who mastered a task, there would be a very limited group of people to turn to for guidance. to me a master of a skill set is one that lives by the skill set on a daily basis not a weekend recreational warrior as most of us are. I have spent decades in the woods, +10 years as almost a minimalist, wouldn't consider myself a master of any skill set, experienced yes, master? heck no. yet 4 years in scouts I am learning the scout ways which is different, much different than my solo experiences in the woods

then they should promote it as such and leave the kids out of it, instead its just another pat yourself on the back promo

such marketing should be left up to the org and leadership to coordinate behind the scenes not for the scouts to feed their ego, look what I do. task should be performed for its own merit not for acknowledgement.

let them be kids, its natural, monitor them from a distance, when it reaches a certain point, then break it up and say that's enough, I generally give them a warning, when they ignore the warning and continue that's when I take sticks away, and 99% of the time after I take the stick away they are out on the hunt for replacement sticks

for youth not enough practice time at skills, spending 1 meeting on a skill then waiting months, or year for next step is way too long between skill sets, too many variances in kids, skill set can be introduced as a group, but needs to be worked on continuously on a more personal level, for the adults, interest, I don't mind lack of knowledge, we are all learning, I do mind lack of interest in the subject at hand, many parents see scouts as just another after school activity, just more arts and crafts projects to do. love for the outdoors and outdoors skill sets starts at home.

disagree with such a tactic scouts and everyone should be doing such tasks because its the right thing to do, not for additional attention or recognition its ok for orgs to promote such programs, but leave such marketing out of the kids such things will just give the impression that things are not worth doing if they don't get enough likes, responses

if your pack has a brand name, search online and send them an email concerning repair of the bag, even if a manufacturer does not have a lifetime warranty many times they will try to repair it or give you credit on a replacement, also if your frame is a common size they sell replacement bags without the frame,

also if your pack does pinewood derby, the wheels come in little tubes that make great first aid kit containers

first aid kits for cubs are pretty basic, we discuss first aid, and provide 2 bandaids and 2 alchohol wipes in a small ziplock bags for our den of 15 I basically pulled the bandaids and wipes from my current kits, at dollar store 1 box of bandaids and 1 box of wipes should be enough for most dens, also as others mentioned can have someone come in and discuss it, many police/fire departments will send someone out for such, also some hospitals have such programs, and red cross has numerous programs like that you can also reach out to parents see if any parents are involved in such, or know someone willing to come in for a lesson

depending on how large your den is, difficult to get most to attend an all day Saturday event most likely you will have to repeat the activities for those that couldn't make it all day outdoor activities are great but shouldn't be the method for requirements, as for monthly meetings, that would actually make it difficult for those with busy schedules, if someone misses 1 meetings its then 2 months between meetings more frequent meetings is more opportunities, easy to make up a missed weekly meeting, not so easy to make up a missed monthly meeting

parents are always encouraged to pursue the requirements with their kids, that is different than lone scout program there are technicalities BSA has not worked through, as you mentioned no gender mixing of dens, also 2 scout leaders in attendance, 1 has to be a female leader for female scouts, as idiotic as it sounds bsa has not included a provision in YPT for when that leader is a father of the female scout, for your discretion, in my communication with council and bsa texas, while technicalities are against written rules, bsa does not care, and is leaving it up to individuals discretion on how to handle such scenarios.

a good alternative to candles and flashlights is solar powered lights, I use a luci solar light all the time, full charge lasts me for a week of camping, only time it ran low is when I left it on during the day, still wasn't a problem just left it out in the sun and was charged when I got back. on a rainy trip once we also used the lantern as a makeshift campfire, where scouts did skits around the lantern, worked great. also works better than a flashlight when out doing tasks as it lights up an area, not just spot its pointed to. solar light should be part of everyones gear kit

Problem i see with bsa marketing is for decades bsa had a monopoly on scouting so they didnt need to market the program national campaigns are geared toward existing members selling activities and such local councils rely on the individual units to do the marketing councl strategies will vary see alot more emphasys on stem activities, all the posters and flyers we receive stress stemm programs even in vision and mission statements national and councils have removed word outdoors in their statements ficusint solely on youth developement i am leaving scoutint for this reason too much arts and crafts lack of emphasys on outdoors my son learns more about the outdoors without scouting scoutint has actually diminished his outdoor knowledge/experiences