Hey You! What's Next?
"So," the questioner asked me while I was sitting at the Starbucks. I had stopped by after attending a Troop's Court of Honor -- a quarterly awards ceremony and celebration event -- and I was "Jonesing" for a cup of coffee. At this Court of Honor, beverages were not served afterward, so after I spent some time talking with some Scouts, their families, and some Scouters who wondered why was I there (because, I said,... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2020-09-28A new, old coffee table
My name is Amber, and I have always been creative and enjoyed little projects around the house. One day my husband found a coffee table on Facebook for $10! It was a little scuffed and used, but he didn’t care. He saw potential! Besides, we have had our coffee table for almost 15 years, it’s old, torn up, and looks like something out of a college dorm, but hey, it’s a good table! Anyway, he... [More]
By: InsaneScouter On: 2020-09-24
For my Parents...or for Me?
Boy Scouts of America media photo used with permission (From "Patches and Pins..." (c) 1987 Settummanque)In the quietness of my classroom, I am asking myself why 12 years ago, I entered into a conference room at the University of Kentucky's Elizabethtown Community College and for 45 minutes subjected myself to one hell of a thesis defense.I had dreams after that event for a solid two weeks afterward, the three men asking me questions which I... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2020-09-21
Common Scouting Abbreviations
Image by Joshua Miranda from Pixabay Several of our readers have mentioned that they wished that someone would post a list of the abbreviations and acronyms that are regularly used in Scouting… So we got to thinking that this would be an excellent place to do just that. Also, it may be that as your kids who gotten involved in Scouting, you have already discovered that Scouting is full of abbreviations. If you like abbreviations,... [More]
By: InsaneScouter On: 2020-09-14
I Really Can't Swim
Image provided and used by permission of Elizabeth Reid Here's a good illustration of why *meeting the requirements as written* and not shortcutting them for any reason is important. This is a good example also to those of you NOT in Scouting as to why you need to assess your team members periodically and ensure not only that they *say* they have the skill sets you need but ask them or review their *application* of... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2020-09-10
Scout Magician
(From "Prompt Me!" (c) 2014 Mike Walton)I was bored, hungry and in no mood to hear hungry children -- in any language. There were other things going on with me too, but we won't go down that trail, okay?Eating dinner by myself has always been something I have tried to avoid as much as possible. I love having a dinner companion, someone who shared some bit of interest in what I do, why I... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2020-09-07
Circus Games
Have you ever thought about running your Pack Meeting like a world-class circus? The Cubmaster is attired as Ringmaster, and all Cub Scouts are in costumes. You could try this and see how to set up competitions between Cub Scouts in carnival circus games and contests. It might begin something like this: Ringmaster: Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to our show "Under the Big Top!" Let's greet our circus performers as they make... [More]
By: InsaneScouter On: 2020-09-03
Eagle, Smegal: Give me a First Class Scout!
(In the American Boy Scouting program, First Class is the rank after Boy Scout, Tenderfoot and Second Class; but before Star, Life and Eagle. The BSA estimates that more than a half-million boys earn First Class each year; unfortunately, we lose a significant number of those Scouts soon afterward mainly because their units do not recognize that important "fully trained Scout" in a lot of cases. A friend of mine explained it this way:... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2020-08-31
Snot Rags
She calls them that so as to get a reaction from me - it never fails. She knows full well what they are and how they are worn; she used to be a Girl Scout. But then, Girl Scouts don't wear a NECKERCHIEF! Wikipedia defines a neckerchief in the following manner: "A neckerchief (necko, necker, kerchief or less commonly scarf ) is a type of neckwear associated with Scouts, cowboys, and sailors. It consists of... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2020-08-24
Scoutmaster-assigned position or project
Screen capture from BSA advancement website Jim wrote to me a while back and asked: "I understand that there are certain positions Boy Scouts must hold in order to earn the higher ranks. In a large Troop like ours, we run out of those positions rather quickly. I see in the book whereby the Scoutmaster can assign a project to a kid to do instead of holding a position. Isn't that against the "service project"... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2020-08-17