Eagledad

>>* A big chunk of attrition is due to middle school competitive sports programs. Those are a financial and "required participation" commitment, scouting is not. Unless dad was a scout and valued the program, the middle school sports kids leave. Part of dat is yeh still have to participate in scouts to feel "part of the team" and not fall behind your peers. * Another chunk is "parent exhaustion." Most of these just don't cross over. They've been burned out by all the parent stuff in cub scouting, and are relieved that "it's finally over." * Another chunk is "camping shock" on

Well I understand how you feel. We make a joke of it, but in reality their pain really does hurt us as much as it does them. Just wait until the move out, it only seems to hurt more. Anyways, looking at it from my computer in Oklahoma, you may have taken action too quickly and let emotions dominate the discussion. Do to lack of details, I'm not sure who should lead in resolving the problem, but the two parents probably are the least likely because they have the most emotion invested. Instead I would suggest you call the SM who will be more diplomatic in his approach to find out what is g

>>but if you have district or even council events, it's still probably giving an unfair advantage.

Hi All Announce that do to some folks confused about rules, the pack will purchase nickel plated axles for every scout. Great time for a Cub Master minute. Barry

HI lisabob. I have a pretty good handle on the subject, but Im not sure what youre asking. I believe must of the problem of first year scouts quitting in the first year is more of a troop problem. Oh there are a few things a Webelos leader can do (or not do) to help a boy stay in a troop longer, but the burden is really on the Troop. On the other hand, are you looking for ideas to help Webelos leaders just get their boys into the Troop program? Then there is the different but related problem Im sure you are seeing at a district level of boys who are in Webelos, but not enjoying it b

My only experience with something similar while I was District Membership Chairman was that the unit suffered greatly from the rumors that got out. And other problems arose for the unit because it was evident that morality wasnt big on the list of one of the adults. After watching all that, I would suggest both adults leave the unit to kill the drama and lingering memories as fast as possible. Im betting their recruiting will struggle next year. Barry

Hi All >>Other than just sowing seed and hoping for but not expecting a return should I approach this?

>>The disaster was complete. My fault for not watching out.

Hi All Lots of great answers. OGE gave the style our troop uses. I think it was well said that boy run is a goal more then a technique. We have to understand that we are developing skills and maturity through the experiences of activities in our troops. That means lots and lots of activities are required. If the skills required of the activity are to complicated, scale back the activity and or bring in more experienced guidance. This is the lesson I teach to new units with young scouts.Dont scale back the program for eleven year olds, instead fill in as much experienced counse

>>If he does not answer "becoming an Eagle Scout" don't be offended.

Hi All I guess I'm disappointed in the subject. It to me is about same as discussing how many of our kids will be president. Life is not about getting our kids to be president and scouting is not about getting scouts to Eagle. That our discussions have got to this place is a concern because it implies that it really is all about reaching the gaol and not about the experience. No wonder so many adults ask how to make the program more fun. What they seem to really want is ideas to keeps boys interest until they reach eagle. We don't have discussions about the honor of first class or patrol

>>The CC has called an emergency committee meeting for this Sunday to discuss how to proceed

>>The thing I think is important about this is that the SM conferences should be utilized to also educate the young lad on what he needs to do to get to Eagle - while recognizing that it has to be his goal.

I like the idea and reasoning behind it Calico. How much shift-of-mind is there outside the troop environment like OA or JLTC? Barry

>>The requirements for both the Scoutmaster's Key and the Scoutmaster's Award of Merit include rank advancement. They also include earning the Quality Unit Award, which includes rank advancement. We are setting up the leaders to consider advancement.

Hi All The only wisdom I gave about the sign was to our PLC. I told them group respect is a team accomplishment. When one member of the PLC puts their sign up, the rest of the PLC follows in support of the team and encourages those around them as well. I also agree with Beavah that consequences of performance change behavior. Our PLC improved a lot things (including starting on time) when the meetings were running long and all the complaints were sent to the SPL. Most of the complaints came from the parents tired of waiting outside in their car. In our troop, the adult never pu

Hi Lisabob Everyone has given good information. My perspective from the District point of view is training can help you get the middle of the road you are thinking about. Of course there are the obvious differences between packs and troops. The big one being that an adult can completely change the mood, direction and dynamics of a pack without really affecting the dens because the den programs are basically mini programs that run independent of the pack leadership. Troops are called boy run, but just about all parts of the troop program are intertwined together, so you cant just cha

>>For all we know, the troop's position may have been stated clearly at the pre-camp meeting (but the dad didn't attend) and in writing in the pre-camp mailing (but the dad didn't read it), and to the scout at camp (but he really wanted to try riflery for fun and the counselor generated a printout because that's his job, even though there was no SM-signed blue card).

>>Makes it hard to do the right thing, doesnt it?

Hi All In my business, I learned to constantly re-evaluate my work and performance so that the product improves. I took that habit with me into scouting and I quickly learned to evaluate the reactions and comments of our customers, or families. I find that 90% of the time their questions or comments are directing our attention to some part of the program that needs some kind of tweaking. Most of the time the tweaking is something simple like educating the families better about our program. We have discussed here that something as simple as "boy run" is not very simple. So I learned to exp

>>How is a kid harmed by gettin' an extra dose of safe handling checkout that isn't done immediately after the original instruction - so that it actually has to be remembered for somethin' longer than 10 minutes?

Hi All I'm just glad folks here agree the SM signature comes before the scout starts work on the badge. That used to be a challenge for many. Of the many thousands of cards I signed, I can't recall a scout every really caring about the MBC. Now I had scouts with neighbors or family friends wanting to be a counselor, so we had them come in and do the paperwork and also get to know a little more about them and their MB skills. The only issue we ever had was the dad who wanted to do all his sons badges. There is know restriction against that, but we had a lot of heavy discussions to why

>>I'm no big fan of Dr. Laura, however, she ends each radio show with "Now go do the right thing."

>>Are you certain about that? The signature by the SM is permission to start work, and he's to give the name of a registered MBC, but I don't know anywhere where it is stated that the SM has to approve the selection of the MBC.

>>" The real Scouting is dying, a slow death "...it refurbished into tigering, cubbing, and weblows. As I said before ,soon we we will have " diaper Scouts, and girls scouts will be the baby sitters ".