Eagledad

It's not that attention should be paid first to the struggling units, it's that those are bigger fires that need attention. I know that sounds the same, but typically struggling commission corps are the cause of struggling units and they in their unstructured mind only fix big problems. Units would likely see their UC in a well run corp. But, many folks feel they should see their UC every week, That is not the case. You contact the District commissior. Infact, all units should know the District commissioner. They are usually the one that handles the more challenging problems. UC's are

Wow! What a mess. First off, you claim your running one of the best programs, but not getting any feedback. What feedback do you want? My experience with a struggling Commissioner corp program is that the resources are applied to units that need help. Do you need help? You state that the commissioner is the liaison of units to the Council. Commissioners are the liaison the DISTRCT. The DE is your liaison to the council, if you need it. Whether the DE does their job through commissioner corp or personally is up in the air and dependent of their character of how they work. What do you

This is an interesting idea. The only issue I could see is if the leader and expert have a difference of opinion for completion. Happens with scoutmasters all the time. I'm not sure there is an easy answer. When learned that parents envision Sandy Hook possibilities in their unit, there is no way they are going to let a stranger work independently with the scouts, even under your idea. I see virtual meetings becoming a real path for these things, but I don't believe the scouts will get the same benefits as they would from a personal experience with the MBC Barry

First class requirements. Barry

Like the cooking MB, I don’t believe camping should be a required MB for what a Scout should be an expert at doing anyway by age 14. A Eagle Scout should be as much of an expert in the woods as a first class scout. I feel the rank badges should require the minimum number of Scout skills to qualify the scout to be a confident outdoorsman. The Eagle should be more skilled in public speaking, group management and leadership. i like that first-aid qualification idea. We did that as a troop. Barry

Which minorities? My high school teacher son has been teaching in higher risk schools for over ten years and he says that resistance to higher education (or even K-12 education) is a cultural issue, not an opportunity issue. Barry

That was 20 years ago on an old computer that has crashed since. But I can kind of give an outline. I first discussed how scout growth is the result of scouts learning from their decisions. Lots and lots of decisions. Then I led into the problem that many adults aren't willing to let scouts make the harder lesson-learning-decisions because they are afraid of what a wrong decision will do. Adult Fears. Then we led into how to identify exactly what causes the fear because surprisingly adults don't think through that far when they say no. Let's use the five mile hike for example,

I actually created an adult leadership course on how to get past fears that restrict scouts from doing their activities and making decisions. Motivation to create the course come from a new troop I was asked to help. The adults were all new and they wouldn't even let their scouts (all first year scouts) lead a flag ceremony because they believed the scouts didn't have the maturity to recite the Pledge of Elegance, Law, or oath without messing up. The steps to get past our fears are simple really, identify the fear and then train the adults or scouts how to deal with the situation of the

The discussion arose because posters were doing things so drastically different that their program can no longer achieve it's intended objectives. You even mentioned once your own sons enjoyed cubs more than the Troop. You certainly don't show respect for the program. I can only imagine you haven't observed scouts growing from their decisions because it is truly a wonderful feeling. Someone posted a video here a few months ago of a troop that in my area resembled more of a Webelos program than troop. The adults directed the cooking, kp, and other activities. The scouts appeared totally re

Still? That’s what it was 25 years ago. So, a troop could still send 40 scouts on a campout with 2 adults. The issue isn’t liability or higher risks, the issue is more acceptance of helicopter parenting. Scouts will develop only to the maturity that they are respected. i know the solution, but do parents want a solution? Barry

I’m not sure what you’re are saying. What are the minimum number of adults required for an activity? Barry

SPL called me every Sunday night to discuss the next meeting agenda. Now in our case, the PLC met before the troop meeting each week, but I think the SPL can still brief the SM on the troop meeting agenda. But, this is where we could have some good discussions. I don't think the NYLT does a good job either. Before NYLT, our council course created PLCs with the participants instead of Patrols. Each PLC planned two meeting agendas each day and took turns running the course program each day. The course was a basically PLC practices and methods instead of Patrol Method. I don't know o

I agree with you, and for a different reason than studies. My experience of raising boys and girls and working with boys and girls has proven to me that boys learn differently than girls. They have different motivations for when and how they learn. They have different speeds or maturity for learning the same subjects. I could even predict the outcome of gender groups. I remember the leaders who jumped on this forum to brag about their girls were more advanced at learning scout skills than boys. Yep, girls learn skills more by instruction than boys who do better by application. Girls are

I also come from the old JTE. At first we thought it annoying because we did most of the requirements anyway. But when I learned to respect when volunteered at the district and council because a lot of units need some guideline to even attempt a quality program. Most folks on this forum, or any scouting forum, likely come from a average to better than average program. But, there are a lot of units that barely operate with BSA guidance because they simply don't have the knowledge and or skills. Yes, they get through training, but they have busy personal lives and truly only give one hour a week

Actually, scouts shouldn't need any adults if the program is running correctly. National only recently change the policy where adults are required on campouts. Our program was built on a theme of putting the adults out of business. Of course adults are required for some functions like driving and BORs. But, if a patrol is willing to hike from town to a camp site, who needs adults? The crux of the problem is the modern fear that youth must be 35 years old to have the maturity for activities without adults like camping. Programs with those adults will never mature to wear their scouts