The Bloggers
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________________________________________ Dear Andy, This isn't a question; I just want to comment on that letter about the Scout who was denied his Eagle rank (he'd completed all requirements as stated) by a dubious board because of his supposed "lack of Scout spirit."
________________________________________ Hi Andy, You do a great job with those merit badge worksheets! But while I was downloading the ones for Rifle Shooting I noticed that the last requirement changes were shown as 2002. This should be 2012. The requirements are correct, but the year isn't.
________________________________________ CHICAGOLAND SUCCESS! The Chicago Area Council’s annual University of Scouting was tops! Broke past attendance records, great Scouters, and a fine group of Scouts to boot. Thanks to all, and especially Rich Carroll for inviting me! ========== Dear Andy, I have a Scout in the troop who’s being held back in advancement, or being forced to…
________________________________________ CHICAGOLAND ALERT! The Chicago Area Council’s annual University of Scouting is coming up on Saturday, November 15th. It’s going to be held at the Veterans Memorial Campus, 4248 West 47th Street, Chicago. Registration opens at 7:30 a.m., and the program kicks off at 8 a.m.
________________________________________ *** CHICAGOLAND ALERT *** The Chicago Area Council’s annual University of Scouting is coming up on Saturday, November 15th. It’s going to be held at the Veterans Memorial Campus, 4248 West 47th Street, Chicago. Registration opens at 7:30 a.m., and the program kicks off at 8 a.m.
________________________________________ *** CHICAGOLAND ALERT *** The Chicago Area Council’s annual University of Scouting is coming up on Saturday, November 15th. It’s going to be held at the Veterans Memorial Campus, 4248 West 47th Street, Chicago. Registration opens at 7:30 a.m., and the program kicks off at 8 a.m.
________________________________________ Dear Andy, I’m a pretty new Scoutmaster. About a week ago I met an “old” Scout in our troop for the first time in a very long while. He hasn’t been to a troop meeting, he told me, in probably two years, and hasn’t been to more than maybe five meetings over the last four…
________________________________________ Dear Andy, Looking at the Cooking merit badge requirements, I’m wondering how to handle the requirements on planning and preparing meals, for instance as sole individual tasks or as patrol member and patrol cooking tasks, for example requirement 4(a): “Prepare and serve for yourself and two others, the two dinners, one lunch, and one breakfast.
________________________________________ Dear Andy, We’re in a pickle… We have two early high school-age Scouts: “Zack” and “Zeke.” Recently, one of their classmates at school posted a Facebook photo of Zack and, seeing it, Zeke posted a comment that Zack “looked like a faggot.”
________________________________________ YUP, YOU’RE RIGHT! I MISSED LAST WEEK. I WAS FINALLY STATE-SIDE AGAIN, BUT THE MOUNTAIN OF ENVELOPES-WITH-WINDOWS (AND I DON’T MEAN MICROSOFT!) AND RIVER OF EMAILS THAT DECIDED TO ACCUMULATE AT OUR DOORSTEP WHILE WE WERE ON THE HIGH SEAS JUST ABOUT BURIED AND DROWNED US, SIMULTANEOUSLY.
________________________________________ Dear Andy, I’m a Senior Patrol Leader with a “problem Scout” in our troop, and I could use some help in deciding what to do. On our troop’s most recent camp-out, this Scout put several others in danger while he was cooking, by igniting bacon grease.
Issue 413 – September 9, 2014 ________________________________________ Hi Andy, You’ve told us many times how to remove a volunteer, but how do you remove a Scout Executive and a Council President? Without going into all the gory details, our council has these two guys who subscribe to the “My Way or Highway” school of management.
Issue 412 – September 3, 2014 ________________________________________ Dear Andy, A while back, you published a letter about a Scout who had been denied his Eagle rank at his board of review for the dubious claim that he “lacked Scout spirit.” I nearly cried when I read that letter.
________________________________________ Hi Andy, Does the BSA have any sort of instructional film or video (a “reality show” would be even better!) that shows a troop being run as it’s supposed to be run, including what meetings look like (the SPL’s in charge), how PLC meetings are run (chaired by the SPL), how troops go camping and…
________________________________________ Hi Andy, We have a three-way mini-controversy going on here that maybe you can help with. It’s about Commissioners-as-unit leaders. One of us is saying that A Unit Commissioner can also be a unit leader (i.e., direct leader), just not for his or her own unit.
________________________________________ Last week, I answered a question from Doug Niebch about the Chartered Organization Representative (“CR”) position and searched for the CR position patch. I was pretty sure there was one, but when I checked the Index in the GUIDE TO AWARDS & INSIGNIA, I came up with nada.
________________________________________ Dear Andy, We have a serious situation brewing at our troop. Our Committee Chair, who took over at the beginning of the year, is verbally abusive toward other committee members, the Scoutmaster, Assistant Scoutmasters, and—worst of all—Scouts. He has numerous medical issues, yet insists on going on troop outings.
________________________________________ These 407 (and counting) columns offer advice to Scouts and Scouters, parents and professional staffers, but sometimes—like now—I defer to others. This is one of those situations where, in response to carious questions about the American flag for which answers can’t be found in the handbook or U.S.
________________________________________ Dear Andy, Why is it that the Boy Scouts doesn’t have a “square knot” for our American military veterans? In thinking about the “do my duty…to my country” part of the Scout Oath, it just seems so natural, especially since the Scouts’ founder, Lt.
________________________________________ Dear Andy, During our troop’s recent week-long summer camp in the Adirondack Forest Preserve, our Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmaster did something leaving me seeking advice. I’ll admit that the senior patrol, which I’m a member of, had been slacking a little in performance.
________________________________________ Hi Andy, About those patriotic veterans who found fault with Cub Scouts carrying the American flag horizontally, yes, the US Flag Code does say it shouldn’t be carried flat. But it goes on to say that “This code is the guide for all handling and display of the Stars and Stripes.
________________________________________ Independence Day is just three days away so let's consider what Benjamin Franklin had to say about democracy and liberty… "DEMOCRACY is two wolves and a lamb deciding the lunch menu; LIBERTY is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." ========== Dear Andy, Can an Assistant Scoutmaster sign off on a merit badge requirement if he is…
________________________________________ Dear Andy, Does a Boy Scout troop have to accept all boys who want to join? I'm asking because we're a troop in a small town. There were a couple of parents who didn't like the way the troop was being run, even though two Unit Commissioners and a council professional say we're doing just…
________________________________________ Hello Andy, I'm the camping coordinator for a BSA troop based in England. We'd planned on attending British camp this summer, but the camp isn't going to open this year due to low sign-ups and funding problems. Consequently, we and a neighboring troop have decided to put together a program for our Scouts as our…
________________________________________ The universe is composed of three things: matter, emptiness, and opinions. Unfortunately, the latter two are often confused with one another. ================================================================ Hi Andy, Our troop and district have always told Scouts that they can't use pressure treated lumber for Eagle service projects and such.
________________________________________ Dear Andy, For the National Outdoor Badge-Camping Segment, if a Scout spends the summer as a camp counselor at his local Scout camp, and stays in the same kind of tent that he would have were he a camper at summer camp, do all those days/nights of camping count toward this badge/segment?
________________________________________ Have you ever noticed that, when somebody misreads or misinterprets an advancement requirement, it somehow never favors the Scout? Here's yet another case in point… Hi Andy, My son's a First Class Scout. He's just completed all requirements for Star including a total of eight merit badges to date.
________________________________________ Dear Andy, We have an 11 year-old Scout who just recently crossed over into our troop. While starting work on his Tenderfoot fitness requirement (10a), he couldn't do a single pull-up. After 30 days (for 10b) he still couldn't do a single one.
________________________________________ Here's something different… a bona fide SUCCESS STORY! If you're a regular reader, you already know that I advocate having the Scouts themselves decide what patrols they want to be in (meaning: which friends in the troop they want to hang with).
________________________________________ Dear Andy, In the BSA's JTE ("Journey to Excellence") program, the color order is Bronze-Silver-Gold. This looks weird. I thought it was supposed to be Bronze-Gold-Silver. What's the deal here? (H. Sprockette, SM) Yup, that's the order for JTE: Bronze-Silver-Gold.
________________________________________ Dear Andy, Our troop committee members, together with a district advancement representative, recently conducted an Eagle Scout board of review. We declined the candidate. The vote was unanimous. In the course of the conversation, we touched on the Scout Oath and Law.
________________________________________ Hi Andy, My son just crossed over into a pretty good troop. Based on my own experience as a Scout (my two highlights were being elected Senior Patrol Leader and making it to Eagle along with my two best friends) the troop seems to be getting lots of stuff right, like using The Patrol Method…
________________________________________ Hello Andy, I'm confused. In your column No. 390 (March 25th), a reader raised a question about Scouts not being able to repeat the Scout Oath, Law, etc., at their boards of review. Part of your answer was: "To put this in further perspective, although it's fairly standard practice to ask Scouts to repeat the…
________________________________________ The requirement with the fewest words and greatest clarity will be the one most subject to "interpretation." The volunteer who takes all available training for the position, and the one who takes none, are both called Scoutmaster. All volunteer meetings start late…except the one you're running late for.
________________________________________ Dear Andy, Our troop that is advancing Scouts that haven't met the requirements. During a recent board of review, it was evident that a Scout advancing to the rank of Star did not even know the basics: the Scout Law, Oath, Motto, or Slogan.
________________________________________ Hello Andy, I've been reading your archive issues as well as your current ones. Looking back at your Issue 87 (October 2006), may I gently chastise you for your response about the "World Brotherhood" crest? At that time, you said, "Yup…The World Crest isn't mandatory.
________________________________________ Serving over 30,000 youth across 22 counties, the GREATER ALABAMA COUNCIL is one of the largest in the U.S. Their UNIVERSITY OF SCOUTING this past Saturday, with some 300 wonderful Scouters and youth members participating on a delightful sunny and warm day, was a highlight for all…especially me!
________________________________________ Dear Andy, Our troop will be going in a high-adventure kayaking trip on the Colorado River. One of the parents in our troop would like to bring his ten year-old daughter along. What's the BSA policy on siblings attending high-adventure trips like this?
________________________________________ Dear Andy, Why does the BSA want the Scoutmaster to be the "messenger" between the PLC and the troop committee? The BSA Troop Organization Chart clearly shows this relationship. Moreover, the Senior Patrol Leader Handbook does not include as one of his duties contact or communication with the committee.
________________________________________ SAVE THE DATE! SATURDAY – MARCH 8th. If you're in the area, consider signing up for the Greater Alabama Council's UNIVERSITY OF SCOUTING! It'll be held on the campus of Jefferson State Community College, 2601 Carson Road in Birmingham. I'm honored to have been asked to be their keynote speaker that day, and I'll also be…
________________________________________ SAVE THE DATE! SATURDAY – MARCH 8th. If you're in the area, consider signing up for the Greater Alabama Council's UNIVERSITY OF SCOUTING! It'll be held on the campus of Jefferson State Community College, 2601 Carson Road in Birmingham. I'm honored to have been asked to be their keynote speaker that day, and I'll also be…
________________________________________ Hi Andy, What kind of training is available for new troop committee members, especially as it relates to how to conduct boards of review? (Name & Council Withheld) For general training, the BSA offers "The Troop Committee Challenge" as a training course all members of the committee would benefit by signing up for.
________________________________________ Hi Andy, I enjoy reading your column-it's extremely helpful. Now, I have a question… We're a troop of 17 Scouts. Seven of these are Life rank, two are Eagles, and only one is under age 13. We have two patrols.
________________________________________ Dear Andy, It seems, of late, that boards of review are being treated more like job interviews-a discovery process that's very difficult to keep from devolving into re-testing-rather than what I think the BSA intends for them to be: more like job "performance" reviews where, in conclusion, Scouts are given, in effect, merit promotions.
________________________________________ Dear Andy, I'm a Scoutmaster and find myself with a bit of a dilemma between a Scout and a small group of irate parents. This Scout is presently Life rank. He's just about completed all requirements for the Eagle Scout rank.
________________________________________ IMAGINE… It's 1936. Berlin. Jesse Owens is running away-quite literally-with a bunch of Gold Medals. But he's not the only American to do this. Marjorie Gestring has just taken Gold in the 3-meter springboard. And-get this-she's just 13 years old!
________________________________________ Hi Andy, I read with interest your latest column about the Scout needing to reschedule his appointment time because his mom decided to change the time she could drive him. Unfortunately, this sort of parental dysfunction is all too common.
________________________________________ It's 9:15 Saturday morning. The Scout should be arriving momentarily; he's earned Communications merit badge, so I'm hoping his counselor added to his knowledge-but not the requirements-by letting him know the best way to show respect when you make an appointment with anyone is to arrive ten minutes early-especially since this also gives you nine…
________________________________________ Two years ago, instead of my usual column, my Christmas gift to you was a short story titled "A Winter Tale." It was based on a story I'd read as a boy, in a 1921 Boy Scout Yearbook passed down to me by my father, who had also been a Scout.
________________________________________ Dear Andy, I recently attended our council's annual Eagle Scout recognition dinner-a very nice, semi-formal event to recognize this year's "class" of Eagle Scouts, their parents and Scoutmasters. It's also a big fund-raiser for the council. As an Eagle Scout from this council, I attend most every year to connect with Scouting friends and help…
