Eagledad

Well after reading your post a couple of times, I think it is very do-able. I have a bit of experience in this stuff and your view of it it sounds pretty good. Im not sure of your motivation however. Are you trying to get a bit more of the skills and badges part of the program you missed at camp? Motivation is important because this is going to requires a few months of dedicated planning by EVERYONE. To make it more difficult for you, you wont have the older scouts to help. We ran our own Webelos Summer camp, so I have a bit of a feel for not having older scouts around. It won't be a big deal once everyone gets into a routine. Your biggest logistic challenge will be food. We rented a large U-Haul trailer to store our many ice chest of food, and we still made daily trips to a nearby town for fresh meats, vegetables and ICE. You will need a Quartermaster and adult assistant just for the food alone. I will say this, you are looking at the short term benefits of this activity, but my experience is our program maturity accelerated four times faster than a normal troop program. You are condensing and forcing a coouple years of program into a few months. Both the adults and scouts will grow in this one activity. It is rewarding and very bonding for the whole group, but you will earn it with hard work and stress. It will be a long week, so plan plenty of fun time for everyone to decompress. Beating the adults in Whiffleball followed with watermelon seems very popular for some reason. Once you do this, you and your adults will not be able to keep up with the scouts because they will have learned that if you can dream it, it can happen. They will dream up a lot things. That is when you will really love this scouting stuff. Barry

Sounds like the outdoors shirts I use camping and backpacking. Would be a great field shirt for the Troops if they can get a different color. Barry

I like the idea of one year terms for the ASPL and SPL, but it does require a program scouts like to hang around. I know of a few troops that only elect the ASPL because they knowing they automatically step into the SPL position in the next year or term. Troops that use that method are typically very mature because any Scout running for ASPL is planning the next two years of his life in the troop. The ASPL and SPL are typically 16 or older in those troops. Their programs are typically very active and have an active outdoors adventure program. Barry

>>People constantly say I'm wrong, but hardly ever quote me and point out exactly what I said that was wrong>Ah, you were only accusing me, personally, of dishonesty when you wrote: I have hope that some day his brain will get around to recognizing what clearly his heart knows

Even a dozen teens from the chess club sitting in a tight close confined area (bus, train, plane or Chevy Suburban in their best behavior are going to be roudy by someone's definition. That's a lot of youthful energy condensed in a small space for a long time. Barry

>>Kahuna gave the answer...no need to read further.

>>Anyone else notice the contradiction in this?

National Eagle Scout Association

How old are your scouts?

If I remember right, the Eagle is not a Rank, it is an award. So it is not the same as wearing rank patches even though it does replace the Life patch. I'm struggling with the idea that the Eagle is a youth thing. I'm not an Eagle, but I don't see the honor that way. Its a life thing to me. Barry

>>I thought of this thread and thought about past EBOR I have attended, Camping and Adventure rarely come up any more, the boys talk about leadership. Gien the boys will only talk about what they have heard, I wonder how to turn things around

>>As for Scouts Canada - again, we're quick to point to external policies such as going co-ed and then trying to use the data we know to bolster our case, yet there is no definitive proof that Scouts Canada membership numbers dropped because of going co-ed.

We arent supposed to be invested in their goals, but we are supposed to teach them the skills of the process to reach their goals. Teach them to dream, set goals, plan and then how to methodically execute the plan. Those who practice those traits usually reach their goals. I think where most Scoutmasters fail is teaching planning and execution. Adults know in their mind how to complete a plan, but they dont know how to teach boys those skills. A SM should find those actions written somewhere. Even a new scout learning his knots should be encouraged set a new goal to learn more scout skills and to write that goal down. I really dont have a problem with asking a scout where he is at in his plan, whether that is the next campfire of his Eagle, because that is a discussion of how well he doing in his personal management skills (process). While I understand being concerned about their goals, our power is teaching the skills of the process that they will use for the rest of their life. I love this scouting stuff. Barry

>>It's almost as if they're actual eagles, sitting on the high branch observing the proceedings below, occasionally participating but generally staying "above the fray."

>>the primary concern for ALL leaders is this: what's best for the boys.

>>NO NO NO NO! Uniforms are NOT required for travel. They are a way to identify you and your scouts from others.

I'm not a patch kind of guy, since I have to sew them on, I only put on what is absoluty nessesary. I think I went a year before I switched my ASM patch to the SM patch. Call me lazy, but you won't find knots and such on my uniform. However I like the idea of adults wearing the Eagle Patch. It doesn't make sense that such a big deal is made of the honor, and yet it becomes just another knot? How many folks can identify each knot anyway? That Eagle patch is pretty obvious even to non scouters. From the perspective of the scouts, the Eagle patch makes a lot more sense than Wood Badge beads. And I have seen a lot more adults flashing their beads around to get authority than their Eagle knots. Barry

>>We don't know if those Nay Sayers are LDS, old fashioned traditionalist of the BSA program, or just don't like girls..

>>Leadership cannot be taught - whether at NYLT or at a Scoutmaster's knee.

>>I also think it's in the implementation of the program, how closely the staff sticks to the syllabus, and how prepared and how much fun the staff has.

I can't disagree with you on how National uses their data BadenP because I don't know, I just know that they do ask. I also know that they poll parents, or use too, because I've seen that data. I just don't know how they pick the parents or how the polling is done. Barry

>>Case in point, the guy who was originally put tin charge of SCOUTNET in '97 or '98 had NO IT expereince. non, zip, nil.

>>The results? Well its hard to say. In 1998 number of scouts (tens of thousands I presume) left the program and formed a parallel program affiliated with the Baden-Powell Scouting association. Their numbers continue to free-fall but many of those scouts may have joined the BP scouts so raw numbers are kind of an apple-to-oranges comparison.

HI All First off, National does try to stay in touch with the workers in the trenches through polling the professionals at their conferences and training, and scout leaders in some more local areas. If you attend Training at Philmont, you will likely get polled about the program. I was polled heavily when I was the Council Chairman for Junior Leader Training. Seems they didn't listen. Some of you may in fact be part of a test Council for some perspective program changes. They arent out of touch by any means, but Im not sure they analyze the data well either. >>If the number of NEW members is the reason for decline...meaning that the number of new people joining up is dropping. well,it can't be due to the change in this program or that program.

>>Isn't it ironic that an organization who universally agrees there's a membership decline problem, work so hard defending their right to keep people from joining?