Eagledad

That is interesting. We once organized a Trooporee with three other troops. I could see that being interpreted as taking funds away from the District Camporee. I don't think the rule existed then, but if it did, we would likely have figured a way around it because our Trooporee was so much better than the Camporee. Barry

What about the dogs. Barry

I once did a Tim the Tool Man Taylor skit for a pinewood derby announcement. Tim tries to show Al how to make a pinewood derby but uses all the wrong tools (chainsaw) and makes a mess. The skit was just to make a boring announcement fun and was not a how-to of making a pinewood derby. We did that on a Saturday. That was 25 years ago, so I don't remember much of it, but you could do something like that with a clumsy character trying to show how to set up a tent with a straight person fixing the mess. Barry

Very cool. Have you done a camping trip with a pack? It's not like camping in a troop. 90% of the campers either have never camped or have very little experience. Most will have to borrow any gear they bring. And meals are easier done for the whole pack because finding gear and cooks for smaller groups is a challenge. I'm a big believer in freed time, but cub age families really need more planned activities, even for free time. Those Tigers are as cute as can be, but they are slippery little devils if they are busy. As for how to present it; the presentation needs to be fun, funny and entertaining. or you will find yourself spending more time trying to quiet down the scouts. I will work on some ideas. Barry

First off, in your 1000 or so posts, I can’t recall you saying one positive thing about the BSA. Second, if you don’t preach it, you don’t teach it. The BSA vision is building character. That’s what the organization preaches, and that is what they teach. Not everyone is in it for the vision, but most are. The moral standards of character is still noble. Barry

Actually its the urban areas with traffic lights that cause much of the problem because the following drivers will take risks to keep up with the lead driver when lights change between vehicles, or they quickly change lanes when traffic gets heavy. I've witnessed two near collisions in those scenarios. It's better that each driver gets the next stop on their own. That may still be only a few blocks apart, but the following driver isn't being motivated to catch up. As for the van without a 2nd driver, might consider a mature scout who can help navigate and attend with the passengers. I even did an Eagle BOR in that situation on the way to Philmont. Barry

A few lesson s learned from van trips. Two drivers per vehicle are a must. Switch out every two or three hours is recommended. Gas stops and snack/food stops take three times longer with scouts because they are painfully slow. We found Scouts and adults should wear uniforms so the store and restaurant employees know who all those kids running around wildly belong to. Travel is the only time our scouts are required to wear a uniform. Make sure all drivers have the lists of phone numbers and designated stops. We even include copies of health forms for each vehicle. Don't caravan or follow each other. The BSA suggest it, but travel is safer when the following vehicles aren't trying to keep up in traffic. Even with drivers driving at their personal comfortable speed, we were never more than 10 minutes apart after a 3 hour leg. Just a few thoughts off the top of my head. Have a great trip. Barry

A few thoughts; I seem to remember crews taking a train to Philmont from Denver. troops and churches might help get a crew to Philmont using their own vehicles. We did several backing trips through summer camp high adventure programs. That was 20 years ago and the economy may have stopped those programs, but they were all over the U.S. and basically just provide a guide and the rest is on your own. Barry

Ah the good ol days.

Yep, great post. I agree with most of it, not all. But, you didn't really address the question. Starting a National program from the bottom doesn't work. Been there done that several times. In fact, as a council JLT Chairman, I was part of a national group of other council training representatives communicating with National on their NYLT development. They didn't use one suggestion from our group. At this point in the chaos of all the other stuff going on in the BSA, overhauling the Cub program is likely a very low priority. But, that doesn't mean we can't talk about great ideas. Barry

My doctor told me that if I want to prevent replacing my knees with artificial knees, I had to give up running, backpacking and mountain biking. Road biking is how I get my exercise now.. Barry

This is the problem. Venturing Crews are generally started by adults with the passion for the activities. And more often than not, these are adults burned out with the troop program. But, once the sons and daughters of those passionate adults move on, so do the parents and they leave a void of adult leadership with the same passion. The average life of a Venturing Crew in our district is 3 to 5 years. Troops that create Venturing Crews for their older scout program do a little better, but even they struggle to keep the program active. Barry

So, how should we know? Barry

This describes the program our pack experimented with and it turned out very very successful as you expected. Sadly, the leaders who gained the knowledge from the experiment moved on and were replaced by leaders who didn’t grow from the experience. Not their fault, new leaders are expected to follow BSA published guidelines. I ran into the same problem with youth leadership development experiments. Without a supported published standard of guidelines or syllabus, different ideas fade with future generations. Big changes have to come from the top. So, how can we influence the top to make changes? Barry

How should we know? Is it in training? Is district sending leaders information? Do you have a source? Barry

I can’t say what is hurting scout membership today because there are to many new variables with adding girls, bankruptcy, and COVID. But, 10 years ago I could show the biggest membership killer in the BSA was the Cubscout program. Less than 30% of Tigers end up joining a troop. While I believe National has made some bad policy decisions on the troop program over the last 30 years, the program over all doesn’t have big membership drops after a scouts first year. While history does show some troop membership drops, the number is difficult to analysis because much of the drop is mostly reflective of Cub membership trends. If the Cub program were changed to where 50% of tigers made it to troops, it would be a huge increase for all the BSA programs. Barry

Quit right! I reread my post and saw my words differently. My apologies to all. I was looking at this as 2 friends at a campfire where the context would have been seen with a smile. But that’s where social media fails. Again, my apologies. have a great day. Barry

You’re doing it wrong. As qwazse is so eloquently saying, passion of scouting comes from doing scouting. Growth of being trustworthy, loyal, helpful comes from the experiences of scouting, not from quoting the Scout Law. If a scout is asking what does he get for that, he probably shouldn’t be doing that because he is not being rewarded with fun. Scouts will eventually learn to recite the Oath and Law after reciting them a hundreds times at a hundred scout activities. Your challenge is getting them to come to those hundred activities. Barry

Us to, but we found the 15 an older scouts are getting serious about Eagle and go more for the MBs. Not that they don't have fun, we plan a lot of troop activities within the summer camp program like our own campfire and shooting sports or something. And we usually do something fun on the way home like river rafting, Six Flags or something between camp and home. 90% of our 15 and older scouts keep going to summer camp. Barry

Yep, agree. I would say the majority of our Eagles don't get serious about it until at least 15. They are having too much fun. We have a lot of 17 year old ECOHs. Barry

😂

Things may have changed in the last 20 years with the technology, but inaccurate training records, as well as scout advancement records, was not unusual. Barry

Scouting is supposed to be a bucket list of activities. It was in our troop. The problem with that is the list is only as long as the adults allow. That has to be fixed. funny thing about the “Mission”, most people know what it is. Character building. The problem there is that they don’t understand how the process of scouting builds character. And that starts from the top. We knew National was lost when the added “Leadership” as a fourth Aim. Scouting is an outdoor program, but it is more than that. But how? Scouting needs to get back to making sense. Both in Cubs and Troops. Barry

It’s really about the motivation of the heart. If the act is selfless, it is pleasing to God. Barry

Don’t we already have this? Barry