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Killingyouguy! posted:PYF campfire song Cool song  My favorite campfire song was an instrumental rendition of "House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals one of my assistant scoutmasters would play on guitar. Usually toward the end of a campfire. Always seemed to really capture the mood of a dying campfire, the end of the fellowship and revelry. As far as more traditional campfire songs, I always enjoyed Scouts Vespers: a little stuffy, but I always felt it and the very end of the bonfire. Similar vibe to "On My Honor," just a lot more somber. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpo9tDCspFU
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Jun 16, 2023 02:20
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Very excited to see a scouting thread! I grew up with scouting from cub scouts to Eagle and Vigil in OA. The biggest thing my scouting experience gave me was the opportunity to interact with a bigger group of kids my age. I went to a private school and was part of sports I wasn't good at which lead to me not fitting in. Having a bunch of shared experiences with other guys helped me grow socially and have a place among the group. For the eagle scouts in the thread: did/do you put your rank on your resume? Was it pointed out during your interview? When I was going through scouting, the adults made it seem like it was an "instant job offer" card. I keep mine on there because I want to, but don't feel like anyone knows what it is. Edit: Or to those who hire folks, if you saw it would it sway you to hire/offer an interview? Schrute Nation fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Jun 19, 2023 |
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Jun 19, 2023 01:10
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I keep mine on my resume, and I've hired at least 3 guys over the years who have Eagle, 2 of them are now permanent in my lab. It didn't sway my decision so much as give an opportunity during an interview to talk about relevant stuff, e.g., teamwork, camping experience, resourcefulness that you can theoretically learn in scouts. They all turned out to be really solid guys independently of that, but I'm really careful to not use that rank alone to give an edge to a candidate, especially since applicants for my crews are all from the time before women were allowed in. I've had at least one woman on my crew who earned the gold award in girl scouts.
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Jun 19, 2023 14:05
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Schrute Nation posted:
I absolutely used to put my Chief Scout Award on my resume, though I can't remember if/when I stopped
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Jun 22, 2023 11:09
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I'm an eagle scout and also have the arrow of light from cub scouts. I was deep in scouting the entire time I was eligible to be in as a youth, and still maintain a connection to it now as an adult. I love Philmont. I love Philmont. I went on two 12-day treks as a youth, then worked there for 5 summer seasons in (and after) college. I continue to return to volunteer and stuff. I'm a lifetime member of Philmont Staff Association - essentially an alumni association exactly like universities have, but for Philmont staff. I've been on three PSA treks - there's special treks just for PSA members! Literally tomorrow I head to New Mexico where I'll attend the PSA's annual reunion. And after that I am staying at the ranch to volunteer for just part of the summer. I am so excited. I'm bringing my fiddle and my banjo and a good attitude. The wind in whispering pines calls me. I'm goin' home. Anyway, AMA about being a Philmont staff member (the best job I've ever had) or just going to Philmont in general. I'll answer if I have internet access! Oh, and if you're interested there's a Philmont podcast. I've been interviewed for it, which was fun: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silver-on-the-sage/id1550520200
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Jun 28, 2023 07:27
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One of my big regrets is that I never made it to Philmont when I was in Scouts.
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Jun 28, 2023 07:46
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I'm going to Scout camp with my son's troop next week. I've been a cubmaster, but took a few years off of leadership when my son moved up. The current scoutmaster says he'd like me to take over as scoutmaster next year. I expect he'll spend the next week trying to convince me. Give me your reasons for/against being a scoutmaster. How does it compare to being a cubmaster? I'm a former Star scout in this council, 35 years ago.
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Jun 28, 2023 18:58
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Never did philmont. I did seabase twice. The old guys that captain those boats seem to have it made. On my list of retirement activities, should the stars alignJorath posted:Give me your reasons for/against being a scoutmaster. How does it compare to being a cubmaster? Do you have the inclination and time/energy to take it on? Can you be assistant or something for a bit, before committing? Sounds like it could be fun (I haven't done it).
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Jun 28, 2023 21:27
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How was seabase? Our troop is considering it.
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Jun 28, 2023 22:49
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Extremely good. Hanging out on a boat. Snorkeling, sailing, fishing, sunbathing. Taking turns trying to stay awake for anchor watch (hazing). We decided to be health nuts and not eat our junk food. We pulled up broad side to another boat and pelted them with hohos.
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Jun 28, 2023 23:08
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Epitope posted:We pulled up broad side to another boat and pelted them with hohos. lmao
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Jun 28, 2023 23:14
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Jorath posted:Give me your reasons for/against being a scoutmaster. How does it compare to being a cubmaster? I did short stints as assistant scoutmaster in my early 20s. Are you prepared to deal with some extremely difficult stuff? It's mostly a lot of babysitting and reminding kids about hygiene at camp, and keeping them on task at meetings and smaller events. Maybe busting them for cigarettes (or vapes nowadays?) and booze occasionally in an understanding manner. That said, in my troop a 13-year old showed up to camp with cocaine. Another year, one kid gave 2 or 3 other guys blowjobs in a tent. It wasn't clear if it was consensual or not (the story I got was that it was of course), but pretty shortly after camp it blew up into a very big thing involving the police and a lot of unhappy parents. I was not directly involved in any of that but I think it did a number on the scoutmaster. Boy Scouts are just old enough to be getting into some serious poo poo or revealing stuff at home that you'll have to carry with you and maybe contact authorities over. They're also still immature enough to be irritating or vulnerable children who need help a lot. This is probably no different from being a middle school or jr high teacher. I'm sure you know all this already, but learning those things was enough to steer me away from it at that time in life. Reasons for? Pretty much being a facilitator of all the fun stuff being talked about in this thread. It's an avenue for you to teach a bunch of kids values that are important to you. You get to go camping and revisit some fun skills and build stuff.
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Jun 30, 2023 18:43
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Good for you and I am glad you stepped up. I have been a Scoutmaster for close to 8 years now. Before that I helped "save" a cub scout pack from folding. Both my daughter and son are heavily involved in scouting. The troop I help with is fairly diverse and really nerdy. When COVID hit I asked the youth to step up and find a way for us to all stay connected. They started a Discord channel that is heavily monitored by the Webmaster (youth position for the troop) and has special rules for youth and adults (adults can't post on but a few channels, but can observe for bullying and safe scouting purposes). The discord channel is a hit and big part of how the troop communicates. As a youth I was involved from later cub scout days, earned my Webelos Award (arrow of light) and made my way up to doing everything but doing my final Eagle Board (never got phone calls back) of review because my troop folded and I was too stupid to go join the other troop to try it again. We just got back from a trip to Philmont (my second time to be an adult advisor.) Philmont is an experience I wish everyone could have during their life. The music, scenery and culture is just amazing. Scouting is what you make of it. It has gotten pricey and more expensive to register with Council, but with litigations and insurance going through the roof it only makes since. I hope they can figure out a way to get the price down or have easier fundraisers. BTW there is rumor of a 20-30 year old program in the works and being piloted that is supposed to attract that age demographic and help them get involved. IN Oklahoma.
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Jul 6, 2023 21:35
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OkieJokie posted:We just got back from a trip to Philmont (my second time to be an adult advisor.) Philmont is an experience I wish everyone could have during their life. The music, scenery and culture is just amazing. Tell me about the music you enjoyed. Any specific camps have a particularly good show in your opinion? Any standout songs, stories, jokes, or performances? I spent 3 of my 5 summers working at Philmont in music camps. I loved playing a nightly show for campers and to this day the music program is one of my very favorite things the ranch does. I would love to hear about your experience with the music program as a participant.
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Jul 7, 2023 06:22
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I'm an unexpected Akela for an English-speaking Cub Scout Pack in Hong Kong. When I joined my current school, they said that I would be put into an after-school program. Some options are table tennis, photography, robotics etc. Since on my CV it said I play bagpipes, they thought I was perfect for scouts. This very much pleased the person who had been running it for about 10 years before me, and after one year of horror I found I was being made the leader of the entire group. At that point, the Cub Scout Pack was very much a dumping ground for the school's badly behaved children. They showed up late, never in uniform, parents were unreachable etc. I found out that there were District meetings, and they were quite surprised when I turned up because nobody from our pack had turned up in a decade. I went from absolutely nothing to a well-organized cub pack that now has a waiting list, year plan, folders on a Google drive for activities (so that anyone can just double click on the slides and they'll have instructions ready to go). The way it structured in Hong Kong though is that a lot of the packs that are attached to schools follow the orders of the schools. So the leaders are not parent volunteers, they are teachers who are ordered to do it. So in many cases, the person appointed is only doing it because everybody else refuses. We even had a member of staff tell me point blank that if she ever gets appointed to a Scout position, she will resign, and the vice principal knows this so that's why she never has to do it. I'm trying to make the best of it. Most of the teachers and parents assume that I love Scouts and grew up as a scout, but I tell them no, I'm just trying to be responsible. All right, enough whining. Scouting is VERY big in Hong Kong, and the Association owns several properties across the territory, from campsites to hotels. BP even visited once. It's been independent from British Scouting since the 70s, and was one of the first in the world if not the first to accept both boys and girls. Almost all of it is done in Cantonese, but there are a few scattered English-speaking groups, again mostly attached to English-speaking schools. Oddly enough we are seeing more Mandarin speaking children joining the English groups because they can't survive in the Cantonese groups. They do just fine but it's a bugger to try and get their parents to help out! https://www.scout.org.hk/en/
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Jul 11, 2023 14:05
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Imperialist Dog posted:I'm an unexpected Akela for an English-speaking Cub Scout Pack in Hong Kong. This is incredibly fascinating. Had no idea Scouting was such an institution in Hong Kong. I'm no expert on Hong Kong or Chinese politics, but I am under the impression Beijing is exerting more influence on local HK politics recently. If so, has that had any effect on Scouting there as far as you can tell?
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Jul 11, 2023 14:39
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I guess it makes sense, scouting is Very British
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Jul 11, 2023 14:51
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Imperialist Dog posted:I'm an unexpected Akela for an English-speaking Cub Scout Pack in Hong Kong. Good on you, this is great. I bet what you've done really has made a positive impact on a bunch of kids.
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Jul 11, 2023 17:29
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There are big changes coming in the next academic year, I hear. There will be an overhaul of the progressive badge system - they used to be concurrent, with the Membership Badge being awarded at the same time as the Red scout family badge, the Cub Scout Award being awarded concurrently with the Yellow cub scout family badge, and so on. They may get rid of the membership badge too, because the highest level of loyalty should be to the PRC, and not an international organization. We'll see if that rumour comes true ... https://www.scout.org.hk/uploads/editor/member/CubScoutHandbook_Eng.pdf We finally got the English language version of the program, and now it's going to be changed again, which is kind of annoying. We are expecting the new programme to put much more emphasis on national pride and faith in the Party. The Cub Scout Oath might change too; we used to promise to do our duty to Hong Kong or the Territory, but that was replaced by "my country" to either try and foster a national identity with China or stay under the radar; Scouting was illegal in China until around 2005. Another thing that Scouts in Hong Kong do is marching and drill practice, probably because a lot of the English language Scouts were the children of the Gurkha regiment soldiers. So the Hong Kong leaders are quite surprised when they go to a jamboree and find that nobody knows how to march in formation, do smart right turns or about-face. I can sure get my clubs to line up very neatly very quickly though! But even this may change soon, because until now we've used the formalized walk style of British army marching. There's a lot of pressure to change to Soviet style goose step. If that happens the English language groups will probably ignore it, but the Cantonese ones will probably be forced to adopt it.
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Jul 12, 2023 05:48
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Imperialist Dog posted:There are big changes coming in the next academic year, I hear. There will be an overhaul of the progressive badge system - they used to be concurrent, with the Membership Badge being awarded at the same time as the Red scout family badge, the Cub Scout Award being awarded concurrently with the Yellow cub scout family badge, and so on. They may get rid of the membership badge too, because the highest level of loyalty should be to the PRC, and not an international organization. We'll see if that rumour comes true ... Is this the membership badge in HK? Interesting that Scouts earn it (and that the PRC may be taking it away), it comes already sewn on by default on all Scout uniforms in the U.S.--it and the American flag are the only two patches that come so. It's just a marker for being a part of the International Scouting Movement, and to be honest I bet most American Scouts couldn't tell you what it means. However, I see the logic in it being an introductory-level achievement since you're joining not just Scouting in HK but Scouting in the worldwide sense, too. And thanks for linking the handbook, that was really interesting to browse. And the drill practice stuff--that happens in American Scouting, though different units emphasize it more or less than others. Flag ceremonies are mandated to open and close meetings, but it's not usually a particularly regimented affair. And for the most part even units that do emphasize it aren't particularly good at it. The goosestepping is some  though
Judgy Fucker fucked around with this message at 12:28 on Jul 12, 2023 |
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Jul 12, 2023 12:24
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Chimp_On_Stilts posted:Tell me about the music you enjoyed. Any specific camps have a particularly good show in your opinion? Any standout songs, stories, jokes, or performances? I have been a couple times. The music at basecamp at a well run opening and closing ceremony can be a delight. Unfortunately this year it was a less than stellar. I chock that up to being an early crew, but Philmont Staff could be changing up what they do. A couple years ago I was at Beaubien and the performance there was amazing. And of course the after program concert was fantastic too. This year the performance at Metcalf was the best, with Ponil in close second. Ponil said they were missing staff members because they were either too sick or some were just tired, but it was still decent. Metcalf was fantastic as the staff there were fantastic musicians and the music was something that both my son and I had to find on AppleMusic just to hear some of the original songs. One of the songs made my son tear up as it was so sad. He was ready to stay and staff that camp. Jumping on YouTube and listening to all the various recordings the staff have made is amazing. Listening to a few of the Philmont staff albums has been rewarding as well.
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Jul 12, 2023 16:17
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Judgy Fucker posted:Is this the membership badge in HK? Yep, that's it! We give out your Group, District (e.g. Victoria City, Kowloon East etc), Region and the Hong Kong badge when you join, but everything after that needs to be earned, including the Membership badge, upon which the Cub demonstrates decent knowledge of Baden-Powell and that they are joining a worldwide movement. Some of the Scout groups here get very competitive when it comes to having drilling competitions. 
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Jul 13, 2023 07:41
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The big hike I had planned for Saturday is going to be cancelled due to a typhoon, booo
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Oct 5, 2023 14:37
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Boooooo It's fall cookie season in Canada! Girl Guides have two cookie selling seasons, they sell chocolate and vanilla sandwich cookies in the spring and chocolate mint cookies (like thicker thin mints - thick mints?) in the fall. Which means we'd always get people angry and confused and we weren't selling the variety they wanted lol. Anyway the fall mints are my favourite so I need to pick up a bunch of boxes
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Oct 5, 2023 14:53
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Bummer on the hike, and typhoon in general. Thursdays are our den meeting nights but I have to cancel ‘cause my son is sick (nothing major, he’ll be fine). We were gonna do some fall planting: onions, lettuce, carrots, and some flower bulbs. Next week it is! And now I’m thinking about cookies.
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Oct 5, 2023 15:00
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Wee posted:
Still had one of these belts in 1995-2000! My kids' Cub Scout troop got invited to a campfire night at another troop. These other guys seem to be really into campfires because they had singalongs and skits that they all knew, and none of us did. Oh well, I'll know for next time. (also, one of the songs was a hymn that simply replaced "jesus" with "scouting", which surprised my wife and I and is probably technically verboten) ~Coxy fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Oct 6, 2023 |
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Oct 6, 2023 05:02
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Glad I found this thread! I currently on year four of being Cubmaster, and year five of being Den Leader. My son is now an Arrow of Light Scout having started in Kindergarten as a Lion. I've ran 4 Pinewood Derbies and have planned and executed tons of other bigger events like bike rodeos, camp outs, hikes, and other fun stuff. We go camping at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Texas at the end of this month. I am also currently working on my Wood Badge ticket goals. Wood Badge 140 Eagle Patrol Circle Ten Council woop woop. I will be finished up with my goals by spring of next year. One of my goals is to run a Pinewood Derby for a Pack that does not have access to a track or the hardware/software. Wood Badge was amazing, and I highly recommend it to people who may be on the fence about it. It definitely boosted my Scout spirit and made me excited to continue being an Adult Leader. I love being a Scout leader. It can be confusing at times, mentally taxing, and can take up some time. But it is all for the greater good. I know I have had a positive influence, not just on my son, but many other kiddos. When I am at a big event that I planned, executed, and lead, I will step back to take a snapshot of all the kids having fun with their parents and making memories. It is all worth it to see that. Plus I like earning patches and poo poo for myself. Who am I kidding I am indeed in it only for the patches and fire. Once I get Journey to Excellence paperwork turned in, I'll be eligible for the Scouters Training and Cubmaster's Key knot awards. Our Pack committee's not so secret plan is for us to take over a local troop. It is a smaller one, and the leaders there have been doing it a long time. They want to step away from leadership, and focus more on being merit badge counselors and such. I can't wait to also add Scoutmaster to my Scouting resume. I'm happy to help any new Cub Scout Adult Leaders with any questions you may have. I love the uniform, and I love helping people learn proper patch placement, etc. I have also gotten pretty darn good at Pack meetings, Den meetings, and basically navigating the whole system to make things happen. I am still learning the Troop side of things though. So I may come here to ask any questions about that if I have them. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I earned my Arrow of Light from Cub Scouts, but I never earned Eagle. I don't think I ever got to First Class. My parents divorced when I was 12, so that put a stop to Scouting for me as a youth for quite a while. Once I turned 16 (and could drive myself) I realized how much I loved it, and decided to get back into it with the goal of making Eagle. In hind sight, the Troop I joined was terrible, and did little to help new Scouts to advance. I remember going to the meetings and thinking 'why the hell aren't we doing anything? All we have been doing is play basketball in the church gym...'. And then once I realized that Star and Life ranks have minimum time requirements, I figured out that I would not be able to Eagle before my 18th birthday. So my little angsty teenage self just said 'gently caress it' and I quit. It is one of my biggest regrets: not staying in the program even without the chance of Eagle, and also taking so much time off before that. I wish I could tell my 12 year old self 'make your parents realize how much you liked going to Scouts and insist you keep doing it!'. -------------------------------------------------------------------- And for the record I hate selling Popcorn as a fundraiser. That poo poo is over priced and honestly isn't even that good tasting. I look forward to talking Scout stuff with you goons!
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Oct 6, 2023 18:38
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~Coxy posted:(also, one of the songs was a hymn that simply replaced "jesus" with "scouting", which surprised my wife and I and is probably technically verboten) Sad thing is, is I really like the song, but it's not really 'non-denominational'. Also, selling popcorn sucks, we finally ditched it a few years ago. Pick something else to do that's way less headache. We sell mistletoe (hand harvested & bagged by us). Some units work at events like races, crab feeds, etc. Jorath fucked around with this message at 19:06 on Oct 6, 2023 |
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Oct 6, 2023 18:59
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My troop's church had a big parking lot that was prime real estate during our city's summer festival days. That was our largest source of income and we too, thankfully, didn't need to depend on the popcorn. Annually hit up the usual aunt, uncles, and family friends and didn't have to knock on doors.
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Oct 6, 2023 21:03
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Knocking on doors was the best part of cookie selling you got to meet so many dogs that way
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Oct 6, 2023 21:35
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~Coxy posted:Still had one of these belts in 1995-2000! Hehe. During one of my Wood Badge training programmes we were doing campfire songs, and we had to sing "I've got the BP spirit deep in my heart" and a Very Catholic Filipino got rather upset.
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Oct 7, 2023 02:13
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Jorath posted:Wait til you hear "scout vespers". Quite the mix of scouting and religion. I had scout vespers stuck in my head the other day and nobody to share it with. Never cared about scout songs at all but I liked that one. Those fuckin popcorn hustlers got me. I was going into the grocery store with my daughter the other day and a kid with his sales table says " hey mister, wanna help me get to summer camp?" I said no not today but while I was in the store I had a minute to think and got some on the way out. My daughter picked the big bag of cheddar popcorn, so I said I'd take 2. Kid says "that's $40," so I said I'd take 1. poo poo was nasty, too, but I hope he has a good time at camp next year. I chatted with him and his dad for a bit and and his dad was an Eagle.
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Oct 7, 2023 05:55
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Imperialist Dog posted:Hehe. During one of my Wood Badge training programmes we were doing campfire songs, and we had to sing "I've got the BP spirit deep in my heart" and a Very Catholic Filipino got rather upset. Yep, that was the one!
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Oct 7, 2023 10:06
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I just donate cash. $20 donation goes %100 to the unit. Buying a bag just gives a small amount, like %18.
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Oct 7, 2023 16:29
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Ok
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Oct 7, 2023 22:16
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Yeah, scouts aren't allowed to solicit straight donations while selling popcorn, but they're allowed to accept them.
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Oct 7, 2023 22:27
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Jorath posted:I just donate cash. $20 donation goes %100 to the unit. Buying a bag just gives a small amount, like %18. This.
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Oct 9, 2023 05:41
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TIL about Jamboree on the Internet , what a powerfully nineties idea but also I love it
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Nov 17, 2023 18:58
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Cool thread idea. I was a Cub Scout and enjoyed it quite a bit but my mom pulled me out of it before I moved on to the Boy Scouts because she had a lot of issues with how our den was run. It was very heavily Christian which didn't jive with my non-religious parents at all. I'm curious what that's like these days? I assume it varies a lot depending where you are and who is involved in it. I'm a couple years out from having kids but I think some sort of Outdoor focused program like the scouts is something I'd definitely like my kids to get the opportunity to do and would probably participate in heavily as a parent.
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Jan 26, 2024 17:08
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Each unit runs very differently depending on the charter org and leadership. I just took over as scoutmaster for a church - chartered org and have to square my non-religious beliefs with the fact that the church does a lot for the unit. To achieve eagle, Scouts need to believe in God, or at least tell that to their Eagle board. How much God is mentioned before that is up to the unit, but there are numerous requirements that require going to a faith or spiritual based meeting and discussing it.
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Jan 26, 2024 18:51
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