Eagledad

>>This may not be a technical violation of the YPT, but I for one wouldn't want to put myself in that position.

This is an exciting question for me. I started using a scouter Forum back in the early 90s and I can honestly say that probably 40% of the program that I left when I retired as a SM was based from those Forums. Not so much this forum because I came here late, but from ScoutsL. My job requires me to constantly evaluate performance, so I naturally did that in my scouting experiences and I was always seeking advice to improve our program. I found that while each troop may look different locally, they are very much the same when you look at it from a national scale because of district guidance and

>>I have had some of the best scouts, adults and youth from a variety of different program try their best and it doesn't work.

>>I hadn't thought of it in terms of working as a team, but that's basically what we do (and in the future I'm going to emphasize the team aspect

>>but it still isn't going to do much to get the car started if it's out of gas.

>>Boys will be boys, but we are not responsible for perpetuating boys, we are to assist them into mature manhood and appropriate choices in their lives.

>>I gather that some councils are now imposing a minimum hour requirement with National's consent.

Day 2 from Foxnews A 17-year-old Eagle Scout in upstate New York has been barred from stepping foot on school grounds for 20 days for keeping a 2-inch pocketknife locked in a survival kit in his car. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,565520,00.html Matthew Whalen, a senior at Lansingburgh Senior High School, says he follows the Boy Scout motto and is always prepared, stocking his car with a sleeping bag, water, a ready-to-eat meal and the knife, which was given to him by his grandfather, a police chief in a nearby town. But Lansingburgh High has a zero-tolerance and

Hi Buffalo Skipper I try and teach that discipline of behavior is everyones responsibility. In other words, we work as a team. In this case, I ask that the group leader first ask the disrupter to stop with a clear warning they will need to leave the room if they dont stop. No second chances, just get the interference out of the room if they act up again so the activity isnt interrupted. Typically these guys are just seeking some kind attention. If the disruption does continue, the group leader ask the scout to leave and find the SM to explain what happen, resulting in a SM conferenc

>>I wonder what the tone of this thread would be if little Annie had taken the knife to school to cut the cake that Grandma had baked and Nasty little Lad had taken it and killed another student with it? Would we all be asking why she was allowed to take a knife to school? Eamonn

>>I have seen some kids grudgingly do more work when their parents push them, but I don't think I've yet seen one where the parent had a talk with them and they came to the next meeting a changed teenager.

>>I don't think so. To do that would be a travesty. If you want to jade this young man forever, then by all means continue on that path.

>>Our scouts put the annual calendar together from suggestions made by scouts and adults during the course of the year. We also encourage scouts, particulalry older ones to add events to the calendar that they plan and run entirely on thier own to develop planning and leadership (Skiing, skating, caving, biking hikes and other one day activities). To date no one has followed through, but I have one scout now who with a lot of prodding is setting up an additional activity.

>>We never had a no pop rule, we were a backpacking troop, with pack it in, pack it out put a little damper on that.

Thanks

>>Carter arguably merited da prize for the Camp David accords, eh? He successfully concluded a peace between Egypt and Israel which has held for 30 years, something those of us who were around in da 60s and 70s would never have bet on.

The only rule I can think of off hand was requiring uniforms while traveling. Our Troop got rather large and I was told a large group of boys running around a Quick Stop can be quite intimidating for a store clerk. A uniform shows adults are responsibile for which boys. The way we solved the soda pop problem was the PLC restricted pop to only one meal and only from two liter bottles. Strangely, and I don't know why, but patrols almost quit bringing soda pop altogether. Barry

>>Why don't we stop debating if NSPs work or not and just deliver the program we promised to deliver?

Well I just read this subject and I think I'm the guilty party. Hard to tell since that discussion was a few days ago. Still, my apologies to skpetic and all for the tone of my post. I will try and do better. I do think tones and attitudes have changed on how folks carry discussions on forums. Part of it is I kind of feel like we are bit of family, so forgetting many folks may be reading on the forum for the first time, we develop bad habits. I also find that I'm trying to write 10 minutes worth of a response in two minutes because I in the middle of something else and I don't take the ti

>>Even with that, however, we would still be realigning the patrols by about 40% after 6 months, so in a way, it is only delaying the inevitable. It suggests a now or later scenario.

This is a tough spot. You know I am a big proponent of mixed age patrols and not fond of NSPs. But experience has proven that existing patrols more than two to three new scouts tend to loose the cohesion that has been developed in the patrol. So this is a situation where I would consider a NSP. But you already mention that is not a very good option this year. Here is the thing, the BSA looses more boys in their first six month of a troop experience than any other time and any other age group. The reason is the scouts loose the trust that the boys near their age can safely lead them in sc

>>To be honest, most kids will somewhat instintually know EDGE, even if they never heard of it. Why? Because the same concept, usually labeled "scaffolding", has been standard in the education field for forty bazillion years.

>>Not to hijack the thread......but mentioning longer school day.....who would be willing to work four 10 hour days in return for a three day weekend? I would.

>>The best change that I like is that rank advancement sign offs are just in one place

>>The pack is still functional, but the bars have a tendancy to start to pop out.