David CO

I think all businesses would like to have some degree of "customer loyalty" or "brand loyalty" in their customers. This is to be expected. Most businesses understand, however, that the customers' loyalty will often change if they raise the price or alter the product. We teach our boys to be educated and thrifty consumers in regard to all of their other purchases. Why shouldn't we encourage them, and ourselves, to exercise good judgement when purchasing goods and services from BSA? Of course I am a conditional scouter. Being a careful and thrifty consumer is good thing.

Yes, parents are getting a little bit goofy about graduation ceremonies. They want a graduation ceremony (photo op?) for just about everything now days. We have school graduations at the end of 8th grade and high school. Some other schools systems also have pre-school, kindergarten, and elementary school graduations, with all the pomp and circumstance. This attitude is carrying over into scouting and sports programs as well. It is a bit much, I think. If we have too many of these graduation and crossover ceremonies, they stop being special to the kids. Then the really important transitions seem less meaningful.

Family scouting?

This is a common mistake made by people who take the boy led argument too far. Boy led does not mean that the boys get to make each and every decision. Boys do not make membership policy. A scout can choose to join or not to join a unit. He does not get to choose who else can join or cannot join the unit.

One of the grandkids explained it to me tonight. She always has dinner with us before going to Religious Education on Wednesday evenings. She doesn't play with "Magic" cards, but she knows about them. She has a completely different take on the issue. She thinks that those of us who are opposed to having girls in boy scouting should embrace the idea of boys playing nerdy fantasy card games at scout campouts. Nothing could be more effective at keeping the girls out.

I wouldn't have allowed that at a scout activity. I guess it all depends on whether or not you have the authority to stop it. If you do, go ahead and stop it. You have plenty of justification. If you don't have the authority, then all you can do is tell your kid not to participate.

I don't know what a "Magic Draft" is either, but I don't like the sound of it. Is this a fantasy sports thing? Is it gambling? We don't allow any commercial activity or fund raising of any kind to take place on our property or during our programs without the prior approval of the Chartered Organization. If the CO hasn't approved it, I would forbid it.

...or BSA wants to collect a second chartering fee?

Have I got this right? Your son tells you that he wishes boy scouts was more like cub scouts, so you concluded that cub scouts should be more like boy scouts. My nephew felt the same way as your son. He loved cub scouts. He crossed over to boy scouts, but dropped out of scouting during his first year. He wished boy scouts was more like cub scouts. I don't think it would have "prepared" him better if cub scouts had been more like boy scouts. He would have dropped out sooner, as a webelos, instead of dropping out later, as a boy scout. The problem wasn't with preparation. He just doesn't like scouting.

A lot of scouts (and former scouts) feel this way.

I don't know. I would be more impressed by a scout who was selected by his peers to fill an elected POR. A lot of times, appointed POR's are given to scouts who couldn't possibly get elected to a POR by the other boys. The boys know them too well. This thread is a case in point. Do you think this scout could get elected to a POR?

I have to applaud his openness and honesty. On the other hand, I'm not at all sure that TG of a NSP is the best POR for him. My concern is that he will continue to be open and honest (with the new scouts) about his motivation for taking the position. If I were the parent of a new scout, I don't think I would be thrilled about having him mentoring my son.

I agree. SammyT should let the CC handle it.

I took my A&P courses in a class loaded with pre-med students. They were hardest grades I ever earned. There's one thing I came away with. The dumbest medical student in the school is still a lot smarter than me. I later had a similar experience once while having a catch with a Major League baseball player. Until then, I had no idea how hard they throw. Wow!

What do you call the Law School graduate with the lowest GPA? Your Honor.

Yes, CEU's are a joke. Talk about minimal effort! Most of my teacher CEU's included neither participation nor testing. You just needed to attend. Many teachers brought books, magazines, or crossword puzzles with them so they could amuse themselves while ignoring the speakers.

Are you guys trying to tell me that you have never taken a college course, attended a professional seminar, or done boy scout leadership training/YPT just to fulfill a requirement? I've done lots of that stuff. I have wasted thousands of hours of my time and spent many thousands of dollars of my money on things that meant nothing to me. As a matter of fact, I have another one coming up this summer. Paper chasing is a normal part of college and professional life. It is an absolute requirement for being a scouter. We all do it. I would be a hypocrite if I criticized a boy for paper chasing. That said, I do think it is kinda sad that young people are being coached to become so jaded and cynical at such an early age. I would rather that scouting be a time of childhood innocence and fun. The adult stuff should come later.

If your unit has been keeping him on the rolls for 3 years, then I would say yes. A scout unit doesn't have to keep registering an inactive scout any more that a sports team has to keep an inactive player on the team roster. If a scout isn't active, the unit can drop him. There is no rule against a unit dropping an inactive scout. But if a unit chooses to keep an inactive scout registered with the unit, I think they need to treat him like an active scout. It would be unfair to treat a currently registered scout any other way.

The Bill of Rights was enacted to limit the power of government, not to expand it. The framers did not intend for the Second Amendment to be misinterpreted and misused to expand the scope of governmental interference on the private citizen. It amazes me that anyone would argue that the Bill of Rights calls for an expansion of the power of government.

I totally disagree with you. The vast majority of the comments on this forum are favorable to your point of view. The opposing voices are relatively few.

The constitution does talk about the duties and responsibilities of elected officials. The Constitution is a blueprint for the federal government. It is not a blueprint for society in general. It does not instruct private citizens in how they should conduct their lives.

No, you didn't. You started this thread so you could rant at and insult those who disagree with you. Mission accomplished.

Are you sure you're not trolling? Judging from the responses (and your up arrow) it sounds like you are raising the question just to give yourself, and like minded members, an opportunity to attack it.

Not one bit.

Because merit badges and rank advancement are so strongly associated with boy scouting, I think it would be a mistake to eliminate them entirely. Let boys participate in the advancement program, if they wish to do so, but take all the patches (and other bling) off the uniform. Eliminate the COH. They are a boring waste of time.