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What a roller-coaster ride these last two days were. We went from my son quitting scouts on Sunday night to him "having fun at a meeting" during a troop visit last night, and him committing to join the new troop before we even got home - all in a 48 hour period. I am an emotional wreck! Rather than continue this story in the previous thread: I thought, in light of what is in all reality a positive end result, to start a new thread that isn't burdened by all the heartache of the old thread. While we will miss the scouts of the old troop, as well as some of the scouters, I am sure we

FUN is the main thing, actually the only thing. We as leaders need to do what we can to make the GAME of Scouting easier. They lead it and we need to enable and be flexible in our part of it. Scouts competes with many things for attention in the youth's lives. Just this week we had a Scout, went to summer camp, but plays football in the fall, he was back at meetings this week. Let them be part of the Scouts as much as they can Great results and hope it continues to be positive.

it's a new one on me as well. I like the idea of having the tools in one place, but I'm not going to lay any of my axes, hatchets, knives, or saws on the ground. d

FWIW I attended and staffed WB in one council and now live and scout in another council. I’ve not experienced any hazing, fighting, belittling or bullying. In my experience those who get the least out of Wood Badge are those who go into it because someone is coercing them into it and those who think they have nothing to learn. I wouldn’t recommend taking WB if the course dates were scheduled close to college due dates and or exams. I also wouldn’t recommend taking WB until it is something you want to do. Spending 6 days outdoors with like minded adults can be some of the most fun and

The Eagle candidate determines the manpower needed. I have seen many project where too many came to help and the Scout spent way too much time trying to find stuff for them to do. When I work with the Scout our conversation is how many do you need and for what timeframe. The better learning experience is for them to plan and manage the labor needed.

In your case, I would shout from the roof tops what the problem is......

Feeling hopeful for you both Hawkwin and Eagle94-1. My son had some experiences that were similar to yours, and discussions with the SM would become what I would term as "bullish". My son hates confrontation, and at the first sign that the conversation is turning to being heated, he will bow out. Personally, I would have been right there giving it back to the SM, but I appreciate my son didn't. My son stuck it out to finish off his Eagle rank in that troop, and then even ran for a term as SPL- that was his attempt to "be the guy" to try and turn things around as the senior leader. I was n

My degrees of separation from the news dropped to one this weekend, and I went to my doctor's funeral today. There was an unusually large number of finely dressed passengers on the bus. Anyway, the impromptu banner under which the city united in response to this evil was designed by an Eagle scout and former staff. From our council's FB Page: News story here: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2018/10/28/Stronger-Than-Hate-logo-creator-Tim-Hindes-Tree-of-Life-Pittsburgh/stories/201810280204 I'm really hoping that the Flag Foundation will add this to the collec

Now is the part of the transfer I am dreading, why we are leaving and having folks follow us over. As I mentioned, word is out, and I already had one Scout call my oldest about the matter. he plans on transferring. And I can see 2 to 3 others doing the same. Had the SM message me last nite about what could the troop do to keep us. This was after my boys visited the troop. The positivity and happiness was a 180 turnaround of late. So I told the SM it is too late. But I want to meet with him, and go into specifics without having to worry about eavesdroppers or dealing with the challenging

EXCELLENT! My boys have also been frustrated with their troop, and are switching. Monday will be their last with the current troop. Tuesday they are turning in the transfer paperwork to the new troop.

When I was getting long in the tooth as a Boy Scout our Troop Committee suggested forming a Venture Patrol for the older Scouts. We still came to Troop meetings (occasionally) but we were more focused on doing more "grown-up" things. At this time Venturing wasn't around yet as a stand-alone program. The benefit of having a Venture Patrol in a Troop is the older Scouts still have skin in the game and can be steered toward giving back--to the younger Scouts---what they received at that age. One of the major issues I see nationally, is that very few people actually understand what Venturing

As the Eagle Coach for my troop I'd encourage him to round out his ideas more. I think it is a wonderful idea and it would be approved in my district provided the scout could articulate how it meets the goals of an Eagle project. ASMmom1976 has your son started filling out his Eagle Project Workbook yet? Or did he just try winging it in his discussion the the advancement person? I have found that when a scout uses the workbook with lots of pictures added to the text that they become more focused and the project starts to fall into place better. If he can't answer a particular question in the p

I think this is the real issue, only because I've been there before. They just went with the normal program and older scouts don't really do much strongly suggests to me that starting a crew won't solve the problem. The scouts of a crew should be able to lead the crew by themselves but it appears that these scouts can't. Otherwise they wouldn't have gone with the normal program and they would be helping out at meetings. So, one solution is to develop leadership in this age group. This might require the adults to learn some new things as well.

Well the boys and I came back from visiting the troop. Meeting was atypical, only uniforms worn were by my sons and the adults. It was their annual Halloween party with a costume contest. Orsin Krennic won best costume. Overall it went very well. My guys were a little nervous and standoffish at first, but once the food was served, it went well. They had a good time. The word is out, and one of the folks I thought would transferred called to find out and said he's thinking of it.

I can understand how the parents could have been unaware of the bullying while it was taking place, since the incident took place in another part of the house. How did they react when they learned about what had transpired under their roof?

I sincerely hope her idea involves paint ball, laser tag, or catapults.

Thank you! That’s it. Guess I just have to do some wrangling. The ScoutShop website seems to have a lot of items that show up on search results pages but then deliver a 404 error when you actually click on them. Seems like they should try to clean up their catalog.

Oh yah, forgot the OP was about wood badge. I'll echo what other's have been saying. Don't bother with it until you feel like you want to take it. It does help with some of the folks who feel like non-beaded folk aren't worth listening too, but the true test is how you work with the scouts and scouters. Those who aren't full of the beads can tell those who have a good head on their shoulders and who are trying to improve.

Regardless of age, no one should do Wood Badge because someone else thinks they should. I took the course at 18, although it was a much different animal (pun intended) 46 years ago. As for SM specific and IOLS, if you want to be officially position trained, those are required. If JTE is important to your troop, having leaders position trained is important as well. As @Sentinel947 said, you may find yourself helping others who do not have your experience during IOLS. I came back into the program after a hiatus when my nephew was in Cubs, and moved into the troop with him. IOLS was not

Useless or not, unless you're registered as one of the "student" roles (92U or 91U) it needs to be done so it doesn't count against the unit's training record. It's pretty important for units trying for the JTE and other such things. The standard BSA online training held some items I didn't know and a lot I did. IOLS was similar. The best thing the latter did was meeting folks in my area. But the biggest thing about the training and reading up on the Guide to Advancement etc, is that you'll spot all those pesky things that a unit does that aren't correct. I was slightly amused/horr

Age is too often used as a discriminating factor. My son was 14, and yes he needed some coaching from me on being more clear on what he means or intends. All I can say is, I have had to do the same with 17 year olds as well. While you can’t do the presentation for him, you can certainly role play with him and give him guidance through that which would probably be the most invaluable help he will receive throughout this whole project 😀.

Interesting little update on this. We made this girl a PL in the end. She’s needed a bit of mentoring, has had the odd hiccup, but generally has grown into the job. Worth remembering that the scout section here is 10-14 so a bit different to you. Anyway this morning I was able to see why she was the right choice and how far she’s come. She’s been planning a night for the whole troop for later in November which, through no fault of her own, has all fallen through. A case of life happening. With an evening to replan from scratch I’d emailed her a few ideas, just a few ideas to g

lol, yeah storming in to strong arm something will end badly. I think it's so sad when someone is forced into a role they no longer want to have and it trickles down onto the boys. If a scout is cheerful, then their leader ought to be cheerful too. Boys learn WAY more by observing the behavior of others than they do from memorizing words in their scout book.

SM training would be good, if nothing else, it would reassure you that you know what is needed--I took it after being an ASM for two years, and didn't learn anything but it reassured me that what we were doing was correct. I do agree IOLS training would probably be useless, but the SM training would probably help you see things as an adult. Also, as a 19 year old, you need to make sure that you understand YPT better than anybody else in the room.

I totally agree that there has been a bunch of great advice, and I really appreciate your idea of using pictures. My son get very overwhelmed by the concept of speaking and defensing, but I now think that if he can story board the project using photos and art and catch phrases, it will help him navigate his anxiety. one thing I should have made more clear when I wrote what I wrote last night was that the eagle project coordinator did not make it clear that my son needed to have all the details completed cemented to begin the coaching or planning process. He came with an idea, and a benefici

There has been a bunch of great advice so far my two cents would be that most ideas get shot down because the scout's idea wasn't reflected in the workbook. If the scout needs to explain the project after the coordinator looks at his workbook he needs to go back expand on his idea in the workbook. I always tell scouts that pictures are great to get your idea across{they are worth 1000 words} since most people won't read thru a workbook completely when they can just look a few pictures to get the premise. Maybe bring an example kit with or at least the instruction so the coordinator can see t

I don't think you need Wood Badge. I just became SM and it's really not something I feel the need to do. If you plan on doing a high adventure trip in the next 2 years, get WFA certified. Even if you're not sure, it's a good course to take. Decide later if Wood Badge is for you. Most important, thank you for giving back to scouting. I hope you enjoy it and make scouting enjoyable for your troop.

Thanks in advance for all of your service to the youth! Courses an ASM your age should take: Powderhorn Kodiak and/or Kodiak course directors course Crew officer training and the specialty award of your choice Seascout quartermaster BSA Guard Any young adult instruction your religion offers. Any volunteer first responder/search and rescue training that your community offers Range safety officer training Next-level training on whatever your favorite merit badge was So the next time your fellow adults harp on Woodbadge, tell them tha

@CodyMiller351, thank you for serving in the role of Assistant Scoutmaster. You have chosen to give back to a younger ones what Scouting gave you. I think you are a rare breed, a fresh ASM who just came out of the youth end of things. @Eagle94-A1 and @Sentinel947 are two of the ones I know best on these forums. They have loads to tell you about serving a Troop as a young ASM and seeing what their Troop was doing incorrectly, from the point of view of Scouters interfering with the Patrol Method, for example. @MattR hits the nail on the head when he recommends reading anything by William "

@CodyMiller351, welcome to the forum. Woodbadge at 19? I'd say no. There are better ways to spend your time. At least for now. One of my concerns with eagle scouts that come on as ASM's is that they don't always understand the difference between being an adult and being a scout. The adult's job is very different from being a scout. There's no doubt you have all the outdoor skills nailed down but there's a lot more going on than that. Another thing you likely have is a ton of enthusiasm and that's great. My suggestion would be to study up on how a great troop runs (something wood badg

I really want to take, Wilderness First Aid, I plan on taking it this year if possible. As for Wood Badge, two weekends at camp taking wood badge would be fun for me, being around other scouters and learning from them would be fun. It is all the hazing, fighting, belittling and bulling between Wood Badge folks that follows for years to come that I do not want to be a part of. I do not want to ever be a part of any 45 minute beading ceremony that disrupts a camp fire program for the scouts. If I were one of the ones getting the beads I would feel like garbage. Do I want to spend 18 mon

Nope. I'm saying you should be clever and come up with solutions to get every boy into the best uniform possible! Collect old uniforms, do more fundraising, start a uniform exchange - be creative! I have many economically-challenged families in my Den, so we have to think of all kinds of innovative solutions to get every boy into a complete uniform - but we do it, and the boys look AND FEEL great! A Scout is thrifty, so think of solutions! But don't accept mediocrity. And I have NEVER heard of any boy, girl or leader complaining that the uniform pants are ANY less comfortable than jeans. How a

Most Scout Shops will ship them to your local Scout Shop or sometimes even to your house. It looks like the SKU is: 320

I think it's time to put a end to this "family-friendly" stuff. It has it's place but they should not be allowed to go on the camping trips if they are causing problems. If they want to become official leaders and learn what they need to, then fine. This is sounding less like Boy Scouts and more like a couple parents taking advantage of y'all and just tagging alone, doing things their way. The best thing to do would be to sit everyone down and explain the problems. Try to get the parents to become actual leaders. Those who agree, great; those who don't, bye! They can find a different tr

Its the Scout doing the Eagle Project responsibility to find and provide the workforce. No where does it say it has to be fellow Scouts to volunteer. Personally I would encourage an open invitation because more hands could me quicker work. But if they feel they can get it done with a select group, then that's their decision. As a Eagle scout mentor, they should remind the Scout that in a work place in the future, they will have to work with people not of their own choosing, and this would be a great opportunity to get experience in working with a vast group of people.

I must respectfully disagree. I find that most people who defend wearing jeans with the uniform are those who insist that we mainstream what is an inherently casual garment, and I don't believe that supporting, or worse, endorsing, the slow slide towards 'casual Scouting' is a move worthy of our consideration. There is a legitimate psychological effect underlying the reason we wear official Scout pants or shorts in place of jeans, an effect that comes from (among other things) color, fabric, and our vision. See, the eye automatically makes connections through color - red lights mean stop