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Quality Work As Zero Salaried Employee

'If you are paid to do Scouting, you are a professional. If you don't get paid to do Scouting, you are a volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, You are a Scouter."

Metaphorically taking off the uniform and putting on the "dad hat" my hoodlums made me a number of years ago. Oldest is 95% completed with his Eagle Project. All that remains is to do is get it inspected and approved, present it to the hospital, and the give a presentation on the project to the foundation that is giving him the grant. Basically stuff he needs to do himself. Project was building 2 mobile gaming stations and a mobile gaming library cart with storage for some of the accessories. While not as major as some projects of late, with the exception of dealing with beuracracy,

In my neck of the woods, we call those individuals suckers..

Unfortunately, the BSA has been actively engaged in destroying this kind of scouting adventure. It was only 4 years ago, give or take, that National forbid the adult-free solo patrol activity. We are in retreat in the name of safety. We'll regret that decision.

What !!! When did BSA ditch the aluminum trail cook pots/pans set? Wow ... I never noticed. It's like losing a long lost relative that you never really liked that much but that you were sure would live on forever. We use plastic totes. Each patrol has one assigned (or did). Each kit has a hard plastic covered packing instruction sheet. That sheet has lasted 10+ years now. Very rigid ... as long as no one uses it as a cutting board. ... We are down now to six cook kits and one bin of extra supplies. We had two more bins of spare parts but we recently "purged" junk from the tra

Barry, I took your advice and talked with the SPL. We reduced our total number of patrols in order to have a higher number of scouts in the patrols. All of our scouts in the NSP decided to stay together and absorb some of scouts from the other patrols. We will keep this format for as long as it works. Thank you, Mike

We have totes with random old pots and pans. Each patrol has a mixture of cooking gear. Nothing fancy. Mike

Thank you all for the feedback. Teamwork, naturally formed patrols and gentle encouragement are the things I am taking from all of you as the base of a successful patrol-centric troop. We we are at camp this week enjoying the cool summer air... wait, it’s not actually cool this week. Except maybe in the lake. Mike

Actually, it can be done in 2019, just not under the auspices of the BSA. The FRK movement is figuring it out. Our elected officials, and the nanny state nonsense they've created, are the cause of the problem. They certainly won't be the solution. Brave folks like Lenore Skenazy and these parents are the solution. The BSA could be part of the solution as well if developing kids were more important to the organization than the organization is to itself. I think Mike Rowe summarized it nicely in his blog: If @qwazse will forgive the paraphrase, if we don't pr

BSA has made a brief, but useful effort to address just that issue: Bullying What Is Bullying? Bullying is a widespread and serious societal problem that has a negative impact on the “target.” (We do not use the term “victim.” [except when they do.] Additionally, never label a person who engages in bullying behavior as a “bully.” [except when they do]) It is not a “phase” that youth have to go through. It is not “just messing around,” and is not something that a youth—the one doing the bullying or the target—will “grow out of.” All forms of bullying are prohibited in Scouting.

Living in fear of litigation and the "what if" is no way TO live life. I choose to run a good program, with exciting opportunities. I'll continue to do my best to mitigate risks, but they won't stop me from doing things. Whatever comes, will come.

Don't be ashamed. Be proud. Each scout has his own journey. Own yours. ... From what I've read above, I'd be proud to have a scout like you in my troop and I'd be glad to support you in your advancement. If you want Eagle, go for it. ... BUT ... don't stress over Eagle. It's just a rank. The journey is much more important. Building friendships and memories. Having adventures. Learning new things. Also, you have time. My recommendation ... Talk with your scoutmaster or another adult. Get a scout leader on your side who will support your journey. Let them know you nee

On the occasions when I've had to address these kinds of situations, I do my best to steer the conversation away from the semantics of whether or not the behavior should be labeled as "bullying" or "hazing" or similar. Instead, I try to focus on identifying that the actual behavior that occurred is not acceptable in Scouting, and focus on tangible actions that need to take place to discourage the behavior from happening again. How we label the behavior is less important than recognizing that it is inappropriate and that action needs to be taken to correct it.

I think the key here is to develop a program that is rewarding to Scouts regardless of the level of involvement. From occasionally active Scouts to the super committed ones, they all need to find challenge and reward. I like to think about how to increase participation through challenge to and involvement of the Scouts - not structural things like patrols or meetings. For exmple - grouping Scouts into patrols and giving them a name isn't important. Patrols are a way for Scouts to share experiences together. It leads to friendships and camaraderie. It is also a way to increase the chal

DavidCO, The word "empowered" may be over used elsewhere, but it's the word I wanted to use in this response. The SPL knows that his circumstances currently makes him the boss. He likes it and isn't going to change. Sure, he will grow up and be able (hopefully) to control his "empowerment", but in this situation, he knows he's in the "catbird's seat." Unless adult leaders figure it out and present a unified answer and solution to this conflict, the ASPL needs to find another troop. EMPOWERED, EMPOWERED, EMPOWERED. Just what I wanted to say. Take a chill pill. They still make t