Eagledad

Hi Allangr Im in the beautiful town of Edmond. I think you are going to have to feel your way through this question. Probably 95% of troops do six months as does mine. However, the best run boy run programs I have ever witnessed do 1 year terms. Saying that, some do a 1 year SPL while the other offices are six months and the ASPL is the elected knowing he will step into the SPL job in six months . The advantage of 1 year is that it really takes about 6 months to learn a job well, so the other six months give the scout a chance to really lead and make a difference. ! year coud be a l

>>Since EagleSon has been in the marching band, I''''ve known no fewer than 4 HS students who do exactly that: Play ball, at halftime, they march with the band! Thankfully EagleSon is not one of these.

>>Second, mentor the SPL and teach him the leadership skills he needs to be an effective leader and get back in the good graces of his peers.

Oh for pete sakes Brent, he was talking in the third person of scouts in the general term talking about their SM in the general term. Adios Amgio? That is not your style. Barry

Holy cow, how does your son play football and march at the same time? Im sure you have a logical answer, but I''m imagining your son making a fine tackle on the quarterback then throwing his helmet on the sideline and grabbing his instrument to run and join the band for halftime. The answer to your question is where there is a will, there is a way. Typically our SPLs are also involved in other activities like band, drama and sports. Our SPLs are very busy, if they can do it, anyone can. But they have to have the will. But Im trying to understand if 15 minutes of scouting is worth a

>>At the camporee opening ceremony formation, I pulled the SPL and a couple of older boys over to view a Troop that was in full uniform, with custom Troop neckerchiefs, and pointed out how they looked like a really united team and Troop. I asked what they thought about it, and if they thought our Troop could ever get there. They just shook their heads and said "No way!" I''''m curious to hear what you think an adult leader should do in those situations.

>>Y''''all seem to think the uniform is only to be decided upon by the boys.>Tell me, what do you think B-P was saying when he stated "Show me a poorly uniformed Troop, and I will show you a poorly uniformed Scoutmaster"?>If the Uniform Method was left totally up to the boys, why would B-P say that? What would it matter what the SM wore?

>>Character is doing the right thing, and wearing the uniform is the right thing to do.

>>How hard is it to be in "perfect" uniform?

>>Pack, the post wasn''''t just about the uniform, but also about how some are fanatics about 7 of the methods, and very cavalier about the Uniform Method.

>>I do think it''''s very important that the Scouts know who the leader of the adults is. There can only be one leader. Any more than one clouds and confuses everyone. Eamonn.

Hi All, I hope your fall days are as beautiful as Oklahoma''s right now. Jambo first; I''m having a hard time understanding your post. Are you saying boy run promotes boys only stay in one year, or that they stay in longer? Doesn''t matter really I guess. Our Troop in seven years went from 14 scouts to 95 scouts. 40 of those scouts were 14 and older. We average 1 Eagle every two months and their average was 16. The average of our SPL was 16 and typically two of the top three youth leaders in our local OA came from our troop. If you asked any of the adults in our District and the one

>>From GernBlansten Ok, I can/will wear the shirt and the switch backs into a restaurant when I''m traveling with the boys, but no way are you gonna get me to wear the shorts with the dorky socks. In my council, we rarely/never see adults wearing the shorts/socks combo. There are limits to my fashion tolerance.>Bob T I had picked up my son after his annual 10-day Sierra trip. He was in uniform, taking his pack out of my truck in our driveway when "the new kid" across the street (whom he had never met) shouted "Gay Scouts" at my son. My son faced him, paused, and said "I just sp

I am excited to see this. Free market is a better solution then forced intervention. Besides the obvious differences, there also might some new ideas everyone can gain the opportunity. I wish them God speed. Barry

Yes, that is pretty close to us except our transportation cost are a little less then half yours. That extra $500 is a big difference. Another thing we do is give a budget that figures the $5 for breakfast and lunches, but we tell the families the scouts can add more if they need. That way we can set the baseline lower for those scouts who don''t need three burgers for lunch. There should also be another discussion along with this one of how to get equipped on a budget. Boots, pack and sleeping bag can really add up too just looking at it from the outside. Barry

We only live about 10 hours from Philmont, so please excuse my ignorance, but may I ask what cost so much? We do travel to treks that require an over night stop and we usually find a place to stay for free. If you look, there are churches, military installations, BSA hostels and BSA camps who will take you in. $5 is usually plenty for breakfast and lunch each and $10 to $15 for a dinner. I understand you have to fly from as far as NJ, but Ill bet a troop could work out some reasonable transportation from Albuquerque to Philmont during the same day. So Im trying to understand the $1500 cost. Th

>>Beavah, around here the opposite is true. The troops that are well uniformed are much more boy run than the one that isn''''t.

I''m not in favor of a Co-Scoutmaster thing because there will be times that you agree to disagree. I think you can still do everything as you explained, but everyone in the troop needs to know who is responsible for the boys side of the troop program and vision. My best friend and I built our troop together. He was SM first then I took over after four years. We were of the same mind and you would have thought that we had a mental connection when it came boy scouting. But people are different and there were times when we did disagree on things. That is when the the SM at the time had the

Hi tcherven How much experience and knowledge do you have about scouting? What was your experience as a youth? I also was involved with my younger sons pack while I was a SM. It worked out OK one my wife set the ground rules. Personally, I dont feel Wood Badge is that big of an advantage. Understand I was on several WB staffs, so I understand the course. WB to me is excellent at understanding how to build a team and seeing your goals, but other then that I would get your CC to take the course and you guys would be a great team. For a first time SM, it takes even the best

>>I find that if a boy is trained in servant/lead by example leadership they have no need to lead by intimidation/direct command. While it may work once or twice, as soon as a boy gains the reputation of bossing or bullying, they have to start over earning the follower''''s trust.

I always get excited when the PLC changes a part of program to improve performance. I agree with Fscout about guarding the principles of the program, but I also want to see if they have a good idea. I dont see this becoming a bad it, I wouldn''t hesitate explaining my concern to the PLC and having a discussion that might lead to an even better idea. That has happened several times. I love it when scouts think out of the box. Barry

Excellent post Jblake. I applaud everything you said and wish we talked about servant leadership more, even in our training. I disagree on one point. After working with our older scouts in our troop, the council JLTC and the OA, I believe the ages these young men are mature enough for direct commands is closer to 16 and 17. The problem I found is that even at those ages, most adults still don''t see them or trust them as adults. WE just don''t give them enough opportunites to allow them to show their abilities. But give them the environment, they prove themselves very well. Barry

>>What''''s the purpose of a tour permit? Probably to let you council know where you are taking your unit & supposedly to ensure the proper traveling procedures are followed.

Beavah and EagleInKy just gave two excellent replies. Your scouts have been raised all their life to do what adults ask of them. They dont have experience with doing what the other boys tell them to do. That is new and it has to developed. As Beavah points out, they need to be motivated to respect their SPL. You cant just tell them to respect the SPL. EagleInKy makes an excellent point to always support your SPL. This is very important. He is the boss, you are only his advisor. The other scouts have to see that you also respect his authority. When you need to talk and advice, do it in p

>>This Troop is large (~80 scouts). PLC decides the menu for the whole troop. The Troop has a Gubmaster that is in charge of buying the food for the whole Troop. Duty roster is done by the PLC, on a patrol basis, with things like cooking assigned to a whole patrol or multiple patrols, same with other duties on Troop activities.