Dear Andy, I’m a brand new reader of yours and, as I’ve been browsing through back issues, I’ve loved your responses. I’ve bookmarked your column as must-read. But I’m concerned about something. While responding about a Christian, home-schooled Troop, you said, “Finally, if the unit in question persists with its discriminatory practices, this must be […]

The first October column led off with a letter from a Cub Scout parent who considered their family’s language usage standards superior to those of Scouting because the word “heck”—a word tantamount to swearing, they said—is used in some songs Scouts sing: “In my home, it’s considered a curse word, and when my son’s Cub […]

Here’s a letter from concerned parents. But before I offer my own “two cents,” I’d love to hear what YOU, my READERS have to say… Please give me your “take” on this one: Andy: The Boy Scouts are designed to encourage morality, but many of the songs they sing contain the word “heck.” “Heck” is […]

Webmaster extraordinaire and equally terrific Scouter, Mike Bowman, responds to a question… Does your primary registered position need to be as a Commissioner (UC, ADC, or otherwise) in order to serve as a Commissioner? We maintain http://netcommish.com as one of our sites—It’s devoted to Commissioner service matters. Your primary registration should be that of Commissioner […]

The Webelos Den Leader’s letter that appeared in my Mid-August column sparked considerable interest, and letters! Here are some very interesting additional points-of-view… Dear Andy, About that Webelos Den Leader, one more item: Where was their Unit Commissioner in all of this? There are so many avenues of help for this leader, I have to […]

Just in case you’re a last-minute traveler, here’s a great letter just received, about Hawaii – Dear Andy, Just read the latest issue of your GREAT online publication, and thought I should provide some information for Scouts and families coming to visit Hawaii – Yes there are awards that Scouts can earn in Hawaii – […]

NEWS FLASH: SCOUTS DON’T “BOO”! I read in the newspaper the other day that, when it was announced that President Bush would be unable to attend the Scout National Jamboree on a predetermined day, due to storm and lightning activity in the area, Scouts were heard to “boo,” even though this was merely a postponement; […]

Hello Andy, I need help for with a merit badge for summer camp. For Oceanography, requirement 7b. I understand the series of models, but I don’t get how to show the growth of an atoll from a fringing reef through a barrier reef and how to describe the Darwinian theory of coral reef formation. I […]

Dear Andy, I’m a pretty new Scoutmaster, and striving to create structure in the Troop. But I have adult leaders putting their two-cents-worth in, without being willing to step up and ask what they can do to help me out. Secondly, I have one adult leader who’s been going against the grain—All he does is […]

I wasn’t five minutes into my first visit with a new Troop I had been asked to cover as a Commissioner when Ed, their Scoutmaster, started bragging… “Yep, Andy, this Troop’s advancement-focused. Why, we have merit badge classes right in our Troop meetings, and every time we go on a hike or campout, we tell […]