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LATEST POSTS
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Yes. It is really expensive. So our Pack follows less strict uniform rules. The only required uniform parts to buy are the shirt and belt. Webelos have to buy the colors or cap for the pins. Otherwise the official pants, cap, socks, etc. are optional. We have also made handbooks optional. The Pack purchased 10 or so of each neckerchief so we can reuse them. When AOLs bridge out, we give their neckerchiefs to the Bears moving up to Webelos. The Bears give their neckerchiefs to the Wolves, etc. The official slide is optional. Tie it in a knot, make a woggle in a den meeting, or find one somewhere else (Day camp? Does grandpa have an old one he whittled at camp in the attic?). The Pack keeps a uniform donation bin. When your scout outgrows their uniform, consider donating it back to the Pack for another scout to wear. Check goodwill stores and Ebay for used uniforms. -
One trick with PLC: instead of one lengthy meeting a month, consider reserving 15 minutes after the regular troop meetings. This basically gives boys just enough time for after action review and time to plan the next event. Not great, but if it increases attendance you’ll have double your time in terms of man-hours attendance. -
Ahhh... That's a logical fallacy to change scope when the judgement shifts. I was referring to the earlier use of a specific person that where the poster used that person to argue the system failed. From my reading that specific case file, the system worked. ... Similarly, an earlier poster says many of the files refer to incidents in the vaguest terms is yet another logical fallacy. The same files that contain vague references often also contains very specific details and interview notes. It's an ugly topic that indites society; not just scouting. @skeptic ... I really appreciate the NY Times 1935 article about the IVF files. Amazing how misrepresented details can be. -
The BSA doesn’t think so: "There have been instances where people misused their positions in Scouting to abuse children, and in certain cases, our response to these incidents and our efforts to protect youth were plainly insufficient, inappropriate, or wrong," https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2012/10/boy_scout_perversion_files_off.html -
Welcome to the forum, @Eloisefig. That's certainly no fun. It sounds like you've already made up your mind and I can't blame you. Good luck. But I'm not sure how much better luck you're going to have elsewhere. It seems to me that every troop I know of is struggling. Anyway, I few observations: In your meeting with the SPL and ASPL you dumped a whole lot of new ideas on them that they likely don't understand if they've never seen it before. Babies don't take smaller steps then older children, they stumble around and crash a lot. Sometimes they need to be caught before they crack their head. Keep that in mind. Hint: "baby steps" are smaller than you might think and you need to help them learn. Next, you can't get PLs to show up. What's their incentive? I hate to say this but you expecting them to show up won't work. A bigger issue, and the reason I just left my troop, might be that there are no expectations about scouts that everyone in the troop understands. If you have a POR, you're expected to try and that means show up. If you're an older scout then you're expected to help out. Every scout in the troop is expected to go on a certain percentage of the campouts. Whatever, just decide and let everyone know. If the parents aren't in on this then you're out of luck. Next, everything is planned by adults. Of course it is. That's because nobody can agree on what the scouts own and what the adults own. The easiest thing for the adults is to just plan it. Next, SM isn't showing up. My guess is he's afraid of losing his job. Just a hunch, I've seen it a lot lately. Anyway, there may be a reason. Next, MB's aren't up to par. Pick your battles. That one is not nearly as important as the others. Scouts enjoy a good program, they really don't care for the MBs unless they're well done. If you can work the MBs into the program then great, otherwise that's just a bridge too far. If you can find a better run troop, that's fine. But what does your son think? If he has friends in the troop and you yank him out then you might win the battle and lose the war. Scouts that don't have friends in the troop when they're 14 just quit. Finally, a caveat to all I've written. There are different ways to run a troop. Different people have different ideas on how best to do it. Different people get different results. Some people are sure they know the right way. I'm not. That said, here are some other observations. YMMV Scouting is a drop in program when it should be a team (patrol) based program. If you don't show up someone else will deal with it. Besides, the only thing important is advancement and that's about as self serving as it gets. So, how to make the patrols more of a team and less a mob? Projects? Like 4H or robotics? Going on a hike or a campout just isn't enough anymore. Scouting has so many little moving parts that it's really hard to keep track.. Advancement, OA, PLCs, camporees, high adventure, MBs, roundtables, recruitment, popcorn, uniforms, safety training, some excellence program, Courts of honor, patches, pins, the guide to advancement, and on and on and on. Can you deal with all of this, by yourself, in an hour or so a week? Of course not. But that's where this program needs to go. Two or three adults should be able to run a troop of 30 to 40 scouts. There is only one aim of scouting - get better at living the scout law. There's always room for improvement. There's one place to do that - the outdoors. Everything else is a distraction.
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