Dutchman

In a Troop I used to be affiliated with, before I left and started a new Troop, we used attendance as a carrot. At the weekly meetings a boy in uniform got 2 points, a boy in attendance but not in uniform got 1 point, and a scout not there got 0. At the end of the year, the boy with the most points earned 1/2 his summer camp fee as an award.

You could use other awards, but keep the attendance over a year and watch the uniform wearing increase...

Several years ago National Geographic published a map of the Northern Tier showing all of the upper tier of Canada and the Artic. An interesting feature was that they had marked the Magnetic North's location in 1891 and 1996. It makes explaining the angle of declination very understandable.

We have both patrol boxes listed above in use in our Troop. We have 3 of the ones with legs and found them to be too small and heavy (as well as hard for boys to hold them while attaching and removing the legs).

We have recently made 2 of the ones marked as "the small one" above, with 2 more under construction, and found them to be preferable. Ultimately we will replace all our legged boxes with this design. They are actually larger inside than the boxes with legs, plus easier for the Scouts to carry. Biggest drawback is they set on the ground so getting into them requires bending over, and they must be securely closed every night to keep the "critters" out.

We made our first one from 3/4" stock as the plan calls for, and it was heavy. So our latest version is made from 1/2" stock and is much lighter. We also added 4 metal carry handles, so 4 boys can get hold, and put window sash locks on each side instead of the hook & eyes. Try it, you'll like it...

You can also find several legged version of the patrol box in the USSSP site under "equipment and gear".

I recently posted a reply pertinint to this in the "Scout Oath" Forum. This might help.

A wise old scouter from our District, who is no longer with us, summarized the Scout Spirit definition as the "Three A's". Attendance, Appearance, and Attitude.

Attendance-the Scout comes to meetings, goes on campouts, and takes part in the Troop's community activities.

Appearance-The Scout wears his uniform correctly and with pride in all the above functions he attends.

Attitude-The Scout must show the proper attitude in dealing with the leaders and other Scouts when he is in attendance in any of the above functions.

I have adopted this guideline with the Scouts in my Troop and review the 3 points with each boy every time I have a Scoutmaster Conference with them. Any violation, in my mind, of any of those 3 points, are grounds for me to withhold signature of the "Scout Spirit" portion of the advancement.

I always cover "The 3 A's" every time I have a SM conference, so every boy knows up front where I stand. You can, on occasion, have a Scout that breezes thru the advancement requirements, but is a total pain to everyone involved in doing so. My withholding of my signature can stop his advancement, and I will explain why when I do it. (I will typically counsel a boy before if I see a problem such as this before he ever comes to me for a SM conference). I'm proud to say, I've never had to use this to stop any boys advancement.

When Scouts are in their 13-16 year old beligerant stage, I will put up with almost anything a boy does as long as he's coming to meetings and going on campouts, because he's still interested in what the program is offering. I know when he outgrows that stage, he'll turn around and I'll get my "payback" from him. Boys in that age range who are beligerant and not coming on campouts or attending meetings are not really interested in the program and will ultimately drop out of Scouting. I still try to work with these boys, when they're there, in an effort to turn then around. But it doesn't always work.

My advise to any SM who has a troublesome boy, be patient and stay the course. Time seems to have a way of working it out one way or the other.