Leaderboard

I earned Eagle 35 years ago and was a brotherhood OA member. I have not been involved in scouting for 35 years but have missed it and reflected on my time in the scouts very often. My girlfriend's 12 year old son just joined a troop and I'm as excited as he is to get involved. I'm here to share my experiences and ask questions about how things have changed in the past 35 years and what to expect as a scouter.

I was talking to a friend recently who got as far as Star and even though he loved being in scouts he lamented how much he regretted not making a greater effort to go after Eagle. Not to be facetious...but seriously, what would scouting be without advancement...a group of boys just hanging out, occasionally going camping, hiking, fishing, etc., playing dodgeball...where and when would they learn first aid, ecology, pioneering, orienteering, swimming, civics, lifesaving, emergency preparedness, develop personal fitness, healthy family dynamics...the list goes on There are actually sco

LOL. I've written about this episode before, but it's worth repeating. But I once did a Tenderfoot or Second Class (can't remember all the particulars) BOR for a 16-year-old who had been in the troop for about 4 years and who also had like over 50 nights camping and 150 miles hiking. He also was excellent hunter and fisherman. The BOR thought it was a mistake, but the kid confirmed, yes he indeed was just a Scout (or whatever that preceding rank was). Naturally we were a little curious and started asking questions. He just replied he didn't like "all that advancement stuff" and that he ju

Kill things! Is that like saying knives are designed to kill things? Or the SUV that kills drivers of other cars. Go visit a shooting range and count how many things are killed. I don't know, but I feel safe in saying that 99.999 percent of the bullets shot from these guns were not intended to kill anything. And it's probably just as safe to say that 99.9999 of gun owners have never killed anything either. That includes hunters. Guns are tools for sport, just like the killer baseball bat. In fact, there is actually a number of golfers killed each years by impelling themselves with a

Perhaps not surprisingly, my son's favorite merit badges have been ... Horsemanship, Small Boat Sailing, Motorboating. And surprisingly ... Railroading. His instructor for Railroading was a train buff who sets up a huge train display in his front year every Christmas season. My son has no particular interest in trains, but the instructor's expertise and enthusiasm made the merit badge interesting.

As an LDS Webelos Leader myself, I confess I have indeed seen a few leaders who seem to shrug Boy Scout training off on to the shoulders of the 11 year-old leaders, but I don't subscribe to that kind of lazy mentality. I firmly believe that it is my duty as a Webelos Leader to ensure that every last one of my boys enters the Boy Scout Troop fully prepared with the knowledge and skills they need to start off successfully. As I have mentioned in other threads, my success is measured by each boy's ability to earn the Scout rank within 1 - 3 weeks of crossing over. If it takes him longer tha

I agree with everyone's comments that it's not the MBs and ranks, it's how they are run. That is coming from the expectations of everyone involved. The expectations from national down through the districts, the scouters, and the parents is that advancement is school work with a little bit of outdoors thrown in. I think there's an easy solution to that. Remove all the describe and discuss stuff. Assume that if the scout is interested then some day he'll go and read about the describe and discuss stuff on his own when he's mature enough. In the meantime just do more. Rather than talk abo

As Tolkien wisely wrote, "he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." The reason the advancement program is so vital to what Scouting is comes from the fact that, at it's core, it teaches boys how to make, and accomplish, worthwhile goals, in a manner which boys can understand. They learn planning, work, and preparation. When they fail or don't quite meet the requirements, they look back and learn from their initial attempt and keep trying till they succeed. It gives focus to their inborn energies and desires to achieve by giving healthy, stimulating and

Our Scoutmaster came up with a good way to get in some leg training and backpacking treks for us flatlanders who may not have many weekends to devote to skakedown hikes in preparations for Philmont and the AT. He did this weekend's 15K with a full pack. And we have a slew of 15K and 5K race/walks coming up between now and summer sponsored by various nonprofits. Excellent way for the Scouts - and the adults - to break in boots, get used to carrying weight, etc. - without having to devote a full weekend to shakedown treks (although there is no substitute for that). Plus, if the troop is

Today was pretty much the first sunny day in many many days. May have something to do with it. The boys were all over the place today. I think each boy was also threatened by their parents that they were going home if the didn't settle down. One scout did get pulled out halfway through the meeting by a parent (another leader) then made the boy come apologize after. It was nice to see all the parents stepping up and trying to keep their boys in line.

I can't thumbs-up your entire post because I think this thread went a little off the rails on the subject of the OP's motivation for starting the thread (which should virtually never be a subject for discussion, in my opinion, and it always leads to trouble.) But I think the quote above captures the essence of the issue, and I agree with it. I think we can, and should, keep the advancement program itself separate from the issue of "local variations" on the program that sometimes make it too "easy," and less often make it more difficult. Quite often the discussions of advancement in this for

Pray. Sorry. We've seen a variety of these boys. And they will take a while to get better. Nothing we've done as scouters changed that course. Tell dad to make sure he get's professional help if it's more than just scouting. If it's only scouting, tell dad it's okay to lean in to the other activities the boy likes to do.

I’m still only a youth, and a lot has changed even in my short time. Welcome back!

Welcome to the virtual campfire! Glad you're here!

I don't have any connection to this seller, except I found their store today and ordered some frames for two of our retiring leaders. This Etsy store has some nice appreciation gift items. I ordered two custom frames and think they will turn out great! Just a resource if you are interested: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FireflyCustom/items?ref=l2-shopheader-name&section_id=21332934

Yep - my son has a good buddy who fits this description. They were tent-mates during their first year at summer camp, and they remain good friends now. His friend will never reach Eagle and that is just fine with everyone - nobody is bothered that advancement is not his priority. He still enjoys the campouts and friendships as much as anyone. This friend helped quite a bit with my son's Eagle project and was asked to be a presenter at my son's ECOH. From everything I can tell, both boys are having quality Scouting experiences (although obviously very different in some aspects).

@OldEagle83 welcome to scouter.com

Welcome Aboard! Glad to have you with us!!!!!

Hello all, I just got started this past August with my oldest son just about to be Tiger. I was recommended to be the new Cubmaster and I'm looking for any tips, tricks and other info. I've been coaching for a few years and work with kids. We have a Tiger Den of 24 boys so we divide and conquer and are looking to have more tigers next year with a new school coming online. So if anyone has advice, please share. I'm currently the Assistant Den Leader and on the Committee. Thanks, Kevin

Sadly as a JROTC, the shooter, I refuse to use his name, probably had training. BTW, I have used both the AR-15 and the M-1 carbine. That's a WW2 era weapon. Both use detachable magazines ( 5,10,15, or 30 rounds) and have similar rates of fire. When the army stopped using them after the Korean conflict the surplus ammo was so cheap a number of manufacturers began producing inexpensive clones by the thousands. You could mail order the things from Sears untill '68. So again where were all the mass shootings then? What changed? I suspect there is no one answer

Analyzing external vs internal motivations is interesting (and complex). I get what you are saying, but I try to reconcile that with my son's experience earning the Railroading merit badge. He took that class only because it was offered at a Merit Badge Midway. It was definitely externally driven. He had no prior interest in trains, but he gained an interest because of the excellent merit badge instructor. He's glad he didn't miss out on that experience, even though he never would have gone down that path from a purely internal motivation. Yes - he has had plenty of externally driven merit bad

Never have I seen or been aware of ANY council or district professional or volunteer actually going out and meeting with successful units. Success being either sustained growth or maintained membership. Also they can check within the council on regular advancements for a unit. Do some benchmarking. What is this or that unit doing. Not all situations are repeatable, but likely with enough data points there will be some commonalities that can be used Some of these may be: Strong outdoor program Regular high adventure Outings where scouts have fun Youth led

We have a current boy scout that wears a beret like this. It has sentimental value for him.

What about the cell phone vibration motor? I would expect that to be magnetic, just not sure how much. Note... be careful around any Lithium ion battery. Mechanical damage to that battery could cause a fire. Even when the cell phone is discharged there is a remaining charge in the battery ... so the potential exists.

I fully agree. Drop any of the describe and discuss stuff. The passive requirements add the "boring" and introduce advancement abuse. Plus, they were bored to tears when it was lecture, etc. The discuss and describe should happen naturally while the MBC works with or talks with the scout about how the omelet was cooked or why the soup needed chicken bullion stock. My sons enjoyed, learned from and wanted to do more. They enjoyed the "active" merit badges. Canoe trips. Camping. Photographing. Wood working. Golfing. IMHO, boys (and girls) scream to do things. To get

They always to seem to find something ... Hang out and give sage advice to younger scouts. Talk with adults around campfire after taps about how to solve the problems of the world. Master a specialty like BSA Guard, Medicine, Shooting Sports, Climbing, Snorkeling, ... Ask the camp director for a service project. Retake a favorite merit badge, helping out the counselor in the process. Walk around the lake (it's a 5 mile hike) with some younger scouts trying to master land navigation. Walk around the lake and chat up the girls running the trading post at

I actually had a bunch of Bears laugh at me when I told them they could not use their little red wagons any more to transport flags for our Memorial Day service project. They thought I was joking.

When is the last time though the program was thrown on its ear like it is by adding girls? The guys I am talking to care about fun, but they care about other stuff too. Make no mistake, guys are taking notice of more than just "are we having fun".

Our pack has simplified the PWD as much as humanly possible, and it has turned out GREAT for us. Here are some of the changes we made that have made things easier AND much more fun: 1. We don't have a 1st, 2nd or 3rd - instead, every boy received a participation medal, but then there are extra medals that encourage effort and success of all kinds. Our categories are Fastest Car, Slowest Car (what we call the "Marathon Winner"), Most Creative Car, Scout's Choice Award (the boys all vote on this one), and two other awards that change from year to year. This way, some cars are given prizes b

I saw that too with my son's troop. Making pancakes & hotdogs isn't all the hard for a scout to do. You can easily do it as a Webelos, if not a bear. But, when he got to Boy Scouts, the leaders took a step back and had him doing stuff he did two years earlier. I'd have been bored too. One of the things I saw in Cub Scouts was that den leaders tended to be parents. So they had a pretty good idea of what their son could do. Fast forward to Boy Scouts and the ASMs tended to be longer term volunteers who just liked Boy Scouting. They didn't know the kids that well, so they assumed

When you say "acting as patrols," do you mean in regards to camping only, or through the whole program in general? I will be frank - as a Webelos leader and an child educator I am not in favor of this idea. The patrol method is, specifically, allowing the boys to manage their own affairs, and leaving them to their own devices when it comes to activities, cooking, etc. Boys of Cub Scout age are too young for this practice to work. There is solid educational, pedagogical support for the leaders guiding activities for boys this young. They need to have solid, positive modeling for how activi

My sons took on new roles in their troop -- 11 y.o. is Assistant Patrol Leader and 13 y.o is Scribe.

No plaques for me please. On the other hand if, in my name, you create a $600 campership for scouts or scholarship for scouters' training or even a gas buy-down for parents who transport scouts, I would be truly honored.

Wow I thought this was a joke at first ... As a den leader, I would be appalled if I wasn't invited into the monthly committee meetings. In fact all parents, den leaders, and interested parties expected to be at our committee meetings, and we have a great program going. But I would hesitate to be part of any program where the den leaders, the very core of the Cub Program, are not welcome.

$600 is crazy. How about a $50 gift card to a local restaurant for him and his wife to go to dinner, and then get a Scouting book of some kind and have everybody sign it at a pack meeting or the B&G.

$600 does seem a might steep. We had a long term SM retire. We did not even entertain a gift card. We gave him a troop flag folded into one of the display boxes with the troop numbers showing, also we dedicated a portion of the scout area at the CO in his name. We did invite many of the scouts from his tenure to come to the meeting, then we passed the microphone around and they shared brief memories and thank you's. That was the best part.

$600 is obscene and most leaders I know would turn that down. A $50 plaque and a nice goodbye. A picture signed by all the scouts. Put the other $550 to use for the boys.

That’s ridiculous.

I have a simple, basic Singer machine. I have sewn on over 150 Girl Scout patches (2 active high seniors vests needed to be updated for an international jamboree) and 2 full new BSA shirts with in the last couple of months. Some tricks I have found. 1. Use a needle designed for denim/jeans/heavy duty. These needles tend to be stouter than a normal needle and stand up well to the demand of patches and badges. I broke 4 needles before my quilter Mom told me about jean needles. 2. I found that I wasn't very good at all the crazy angles of fun patches so I use the clear/invisible thread on

To: All members of Scouter.com: In various active and recent threads in Issue and Politics, members have posted links to a video produced by BSA National on the subject of Making Scouting Accessible to Today's Families (a/k/a increasing opportunities for girls in the BSA), as well as a survey on the same subject. The moderators have been asked to remove all links to the survey, on the grounds that it was intended that the survey link be provided by councils, only to persons who have first watched the video. The moderators have declined to remove these links. We do agree, howeve

We have a scout that has withdrawn more and more. The boys in the troop like him pretty much and respect him. He always tries to do the right thing but has withdrawn and is fighting doing anything with the troop anymore, Dad is pushing him to stay involved but it breaks my heart seeing him sit alone miserable away from the rest of the troop. Some of them try to involve him but most just leave him alone and he will sit alone for hours. I want to help him, but nothing we have said or done has seemed to help. Any suggestions? My heart breaks for him and I know I have shed tears think

No, you didn't. You started this thread so you could rant at and insult those who disagree with you. Mission accomplished.