Eamonn

Sad to say I didn't get to summer camp this year. Still life was as hectic as ever. As a Wood Badge course director I learned that E-mail is a great method of communication and it works. I found out that people don't check the messages on their cell phones. It is safe to have two ministers on staff even if they are of different faiths. Never Ever allow the Assistant Scout Exec. Order the T- Shirts!! Even people that you have thought of for years as "Stuffed Shirts" can surprize you and be the life and soul of a course. The 2X3 Day course is a lot harder on the Staff then the 6 Day course. People have a lot of hidden talents and will rise to the challenge. Then there was JLTC. While I was not a staff member it is part of the Council Training and I was in and out making sure that they had what they needed. It rained and rained a lot. While I feel sure that all the youth staff members were prepared and had gone over the Syllabus. There were times when I wasn't so sure about the Scoutmaster. I spend a super night eating pizza with the youth staff and found out more about what they think about Scouts, their troop, their district and council then I have at all the meetings that the council has. At the feast I looked at the tables filled with a bunch of really great Lads. The uniforms were none too clean, they were tired but they were smiling. I thought how lucky we are to have such a fine group of lads in our council and that as long as we have Scouts like this Scouting is alive and well. Eamonn

Ten years as a youth. Thirty years as an adult. Eamonn

Let me start by saying that while Bob and I may agree on a lot of things. I in no way go out of my way to be agreeable. Now that I have that out of the way. For a very long time Scouting has been teaching Leadership. Along with Leadership Skills. I would hope that we all can agree that Leadership can be taught. Those of us who have been around for a while may remember the old Wood Badge course where at the end of each session we wrote "I will use the skill of whatever to better my troop by...." In the new course we have Team development models and other sessions that help drive home what Leadership is all about. While it is possible that we can use past experiance and our own history to help make us/me a better Leader. I don't think that it is a prerequisite. When we look at our youth leaders. Again we have to agree that Leadership can be taught. As Scout Leaders we pass on the training that we have had to our youth leaders. As with most skills some people will take to it like a duck to water. Some will have a hard time. We as adults are there to pass on skills such as planning, representing the group and so on. I suppose that there are a few Scout Leaders who have never given Leadership skills a second thought. They are busy running and planning the activities. But is this really Scouting? If we look at the job of a Leader as someone who leads the group till they are empowered team members. It might be safe to say that when it becomes their turn to be the team leader, that they are better prepared. It might be said that these team members are not "Followers" But are team members who are participating. Yes there will be times when something will come along that will challenge their willingness to participate. This is when the Leader will use some of the skills that have been learnt. I'm thinking of the "Dealing with conflict" session in the new course. Of course not everything will always work out or go as may have been wished. But even when this happens we use this as a learning opportunity. Will the young Patrol Leader need more help then the older one? Yes sure he will. But isn't that help being available part of the real leadership that is the role of the Scoutmaster? As is knowing when to step in and when not to? One good thing about this thread is that it is making us take a closer look at how we do things. As we do whatever we do in Scouting, most of us will never be "By The Book" Leaders, in fact most of the leaders that I know are about half way. Most are doing their best to become better leaders. I'm not sure who they might follow. I do know that the BSA has a lot of good stuff out there. If you read it and give it some thought. Eamonn

Reading about the cemetery in Bethlehem reminded me of the church in Rossin near Slane in Ireland that I used to attend as a child and do still visit when I'm over there. Sunday mornings were chaotic. The entire house at my Grandparents would be trying to get ready for church. This was at a time when men wore suits to church and the women wore their Sunday hat. There had been a lot of activity before this. Cows needed milked, hens had to be let out of the hen house and eggs collected. All the stuff that goes on at a small farm. It was also a time when being late was totally wrong. I had the misfortune of having "Sticky-upey-hair. While the ads on this side of the pond said that a little dab will do you.My uncles were more in the big glob will do better. We would arrive at the church a few minutes early. The women would all go to one side of the church and us "Men" would all go to the other. It was never that way in the church where I went in England. After the service the women would rush home to prepare lunch and us men would stop at the local bar. I would be treated to a glass of orange pop and a bag of crisps.(Chips.) And the men would talk about farming, the cost of feed and cattle. Then it was off home for lunch. Still back to the topic. I think that most of us have to agree that the females in Scouting have done and do a wonderful job. If we look at the mission of Scouting we really need to ensure that everyone is working at learning respect for each other. Coed Crews can and do go a long way to promote this. I have a 15 year old and all his best friends are of the female variety. So I would hope that as an organization we can help provide all our youth with a meaningful and worthwhile program. Eamonn

We have one troop in the district that recharters with a list of adults that is as long as your arm. Which is good news for the guys in Texas. Sad to say they don't even bother to ask those people that they are rechartering. They have all sorts of people on the charter. People that are located all over the country. People who have not done anything for years and more then lightly never will. Last year they even had one chap on the list who was no longer with us - He was dead!! All the people on the district committee are expected to pay their own membership fee. The Scout Exec. has a expectation of a minimum donation for all Board Members and we have a District FOS goal. The expected donation was at $500.00 a year, however at the last meeting the FOS cards were passed out and a sugguested $100.00 a month was brought up. While some of us can afford this. I think that we have to be careful that we don't push too hard. While $25.00 a week is ok. Add in a few of the other events that are expected and we are in danger of out pricing ourselves. Eamonn.

Hi Mike I thought that I would do a "Letterman" and come up with the top ten list. Here goes: Ten Reasons Why Mike Should Attend Wood Badge 1/ You get to join the Happy Land Choir. 2/ Six days without having to mow the grass. 3/ You get to look down on all the other critters.Unless they are Bears or a Cuckoo, in which case you have to look up. 4/The Food. 5/No little fellows. 6/You get to play the "Wood Badge Game" 7/ Six relaxing days at the spa or is it spar? 8/ Gilwell Field is at its' best that time of the year. 9/ All the Course Directors are such nice people. Even those who talk funny. 10/ Many years after you will have really long and very boring tales to tell your Grandkids about the way it was as you drive them to their pack meeting. Mike you will enjoy the course. Fun is a very important part of the course. But most of all you will be more and better equipped to be a better leader. Go For It. Eamonn I used to be a cuckcoo, I used to be a Bear. While I'll always be a Queens Scout I'll never be a .....(We won't go there.)

Last time I was at Philmont there was someone who had put their car on the train. I know that this is common in Europe but I'm light on the details of how it works on this side of the pond. Eamonn

Hey K.S Would that be Salad and Pizza ?? Eamonn

Ed I don't have the real answer and maybe I ought to hold back until the wise and informed members of the forum speak. But I have got this far. I think that a Commissioner is commissioned by the Council to provide Commissioner service. A Scoutmaster is selected by the charter organization to deliver the program. The other positions are there to support the unit. As I say this is just my thoughts and I await the right answer from the wise. Eamonn

I have been talking to some of the Scoutmasters in the District. It seems that about half do allow Gameboys on campouts and Summer camp. A little more then half allow Walkman. I asked about playing cards at camp and most said that while they don't have a rule one way or the other on card games. Many have had problems with card games. The big problem was that most of the games were played by the older Scouts who would play until the small hours of the morning and be over tired for the next day. A few said that some of the card games got out of control and led to gambling and un-Scout like activities. It really didn't do much for interaction as the card players were the older Scouts who did not allow the younger Scouts into the game. Many of the Scoutmasters said that at summer camp they ended up having a hard time getting the older scouts out of the tent to do anything. The Scouts were too busy playing cards. It would seem to me that Card Games can cause as many problems as a Gameboy or Walkman. I don't think that there needs to be a rule about banning card games. Eamonn

It seems that we have he answers to all the technical parts of the question. I seem to have lost a few friends in our district as I went out of my way to knock a few hats off. I know that at times we all take too much on. You only have to look at my profile to see that I'm wearing one hat too many. However I think that the most important role or job in Scouting is that of a Unit Leader. The job or role of both the District and the Council is to support the unit. When we have unit leaders serving on the District and Council are they serving and supporting themselves? Some Scouters seem to take great pride in telling me how many "Hats" that they "Have" to wear. Sad to say some have got a little upset when I asked them to step down from the District. Some have got mad when I have asked people with no or very little Scouting background to step into District positions. One even asked me if I had landed from Mars. He didn't laugh when I said "No - England." We also have to look at what happens when the person who is wearing all the hats is no longer active? When my finance chair steps down. I will be looking for one person to fill one position. Not ten people to fill ten positions. There are those who will say that if it's not broke don't fix it. I will say that as long as we are doing too many jobs or filling too many positions that we are preventing someone else from coming on board. Just the thoughts of someone who needs to practice what he is preaching. I will step down from the Training Chair. At the end of this year. But will be joining the Region. I did try !! Eamonn

I had thought about starting a thread titled: Less Rules. I do think that there is a need for order and discipline. I am in no way suggesting that we have that we allow anything that can be looked upon as being anarchy. My "Thing " Is how we get there. I am not saying that this is easy. First we need to start with the ideal that we are aiming for is that each Scout is responsible for his own actions. This ideal will led Scouts to act in accordance with what they believe is right. We use the Scout Oath and Law as our model of behavior. Ideals are one of the methods of Scouting. If a Scout betrays these ideals in a significant way then is the time to do something. We need to remember that every situation is unique. Also every Scout is unique. With this in mind can we expect a formula approach to work. The "Something" that has to be done would be a Scoutmaster Conference. We need to be fair in our dealings with every Scout. In fact we need to look upon being fair as a solemn obligation. I know that I as a leader do not want to hide behind some piece of paper and pass my responsibility as a leader over to what it states. I am not happy saying that I have to react in such and such a way just because the "By-laws" Say that I must. Maybe I'm too hard on myself, but I firmly believe that I am responsible for what happens in the unit. Things happen because I make them happen or because I allow them to happen positive or negative. We need to look at each and every problem as a learning experiance or opportunity for growth. The Scoutmaster Conference is the appropriate tool or vehicle for managing or implementing this opportunity. Based on the merits of the situation and the intricate relationship between the Scoutmaster and the Scout along with the individual traits of the Scout. I would hope that at the end of the day the Scout and his parents would have more trust in me and my ability to lead then they would have in a piece of paper. If they lack that trust in me, either they or I am in the wrong troop. As stated this is not easy. In order to get there we need to look at the methods of Scouting and our leadership skills along with the material that is available. It might help if we can remember that we really are there to serve the Scouts and that the program is what is on the menu. I'm not sure if this helps OGE? Eamonn

Seems to me that while the title of this thread is "More rules" That there has been very few rules. I for one am sick to the hind teeth with the "Gay Debate." I think that there are things that we as adults would like to see. Such as full uniforming and when and where to wear it. We might like each Scout to put being a member of the troop above everything else and not want to take time to just hang out at the mall or where ever it is that the young people in your area hang. Or do the other stuff that Lads of Scout age want to do. While there are a few Lads that do put membership of the BSA above everything else, my thinking is that these are the exception rather then the rule. It could be that most Scouts see this as a game. While we see things in a different light. We need to ask why does a boy join a troop? Then we need to ask what keeps him coming back? Or maybe we need to ask what made him leave? I would hope that we are all upset and saddened when a boy quits the troop. I for one take it that we have failed. All the rules and regulations then are a waste of time. We will never have any sort of an impact on a boy who isn't there. We have a program that if we follow the darn thing can and does work. Why the heck can't we just deliver it and stop trying to add what we think it needs. Eamonn

We loaded up the car and drove from PA. To Philmont. Taking turns driving. That way we had the car as and when it was needed. We also took a week after to play tourist. The trip out was about 30 hours driving. You could of course fly in and rent a car. Eamonn

Having tea and crumpets served at tea time by the pros. Might be looked upon as going the extra mile. Then again it might be viewed as brown nosing. Eamonn

I must have missed poker 101. As a Scouting activity. Strange, very strange. Eamonn

The little gray cells are working!! This would be a great pre-opening or gathering activity for Roundtable. Who knows it might keep them coming back for more. We could sell them the rope and have some sort of a recognition. Make a few bucks for the District FOS. Fifty Scouters at ten dollars. Seven dollars profit = 50 X 7 =$350.00. Who needs the United Way? Eamonn

blade1158 Well Done Sir. I looked at re-grouping these and you have done a much better job then I would have. Eamonn

Sometime back I sat in on a meeting at which we looked at "How to make Scouting Cool." We can if we want rant and rave about things like Gameboys, Walkman, and baggy pants. We may or may not like or understand them. However at the end of the day it is the stuff that the youth are into today. It may well be something different tomorrow. We will never accomplish the mission of Scouting unless we try to understand what the youth of today looks at as being "Cool." "If music be the food of love, play on.." I think the idea that the Scouts or Crew members have these "toys" is ok. Better still if they have them and don't feel the need to use them. I think that I would as a parent sooner my son use his walkman then learn how to play games of chance such as poker. Eamonn

In another thread the SPL of troop 15 informs us that his troop is dying. It has only 7 Scouts. The SM is up there in years. They are financially challenged. All in all things don't look that great. What wise words of wisdom do we have for this SPL so that troop 15 does not bite the dust? He sounds like a real nice lad who doesn't want to see his troop fail. Eamonn

I did an inventory of trained leaders as a ticket item for the old Cub Scout Trainer Wood Badge. I tried asking everyone. However as is well known I'm a little bit lazy. I found that the easy way to get the job done was to include a Training Sheet in the Rechartering Pack. There are codes for all Training taken in the Training Handbook. In order ro keep the records up to date we now send a copy of the attendance report to the resistrar who enters it into scoutnet. We also keep copies at both the District and Council level. Eamonn

SPL-T15 The 17th went down the tubes because there was no one left to fight for it. I would hope that is never the case here on this side of the pond. While I as a District Chairman,do not stick my nose into the day to day running of a unit. As soon as the word gets out that a unit is in danger. We send in the "Troops." While I strongly believe that the program is the driving force and at times have to sit back and look at the unit leadership in some units knowing that some adult leaders just don't and never will get "It". There is no way I will allow our District to sit by and watch a unit die. We have EMT Commissioners. That will work with the leadership or help recruit new leadership. We have a DE. and little old me who will work with the charter organization. If you look back at my posting you will see that the 17th was down and almost out. No Scouts. No Program. It would have been easy to just throw in the towel. But no. The Committee thought enough about the Troop to send a party if its' members to plead with me. Maybe if they had just send one rep. I would not have gone back. They really wanted this troop to live. Still at the end of the day or the srart of the day it was the youth that saved the troop. Those two kids kicking a ball brought their pals and the mushroom was planted. I at that time was young, headstrong and other then having been a Scout,untrained. I wasn't that good a leader. I screwed up and screwed up a lot. I had an ego the size of the great outdoors. At times I used the Troop to stroke my own ego. At times I mis-used and abused the PLC. I was lucky. There were other leaders in the district who took me under their wing. They cared. Not just for me but for Scouting in that area. Ok so the area changed. I still in my heart of hearts know that if there had been someone and it only takes one, person to fight for that troop. It would still be there. You are still with troop 15. You can make things happen. It is Your troop. You can and do make a difference. I feel sure that there is an entire army of willing people who will do everything that they can to help you. As the SPL you are very powerful. You help make the program. Sit down with the other Patrol Leaders brain storm, do stuff do anything to get more members. Soon there will be a whole bunch of Webelos Scouts crossing over. Make a plan to do everything that can be done to recruit these little guys into your troop. Look at what you are doing now. What can be done better? What carrot can be dangled to get these new Scouts into troop 15? Is your best friend a Scout? If he is what about his other friends? What plans do you have for the future? When is troop 15 going to Philmont or one of the other High Adventure bases? Will a plan like that keep the members that you have and bring in new members? Challenge the troop down the road to a soccer match. If you don't have enough members ask your non- Scout friends to play. Do stuff that will get the troop in the local newspaper. Offer to wash the local firetruck and send photos to the paper. Do something. And do it ASAP. Eamonn

Mentally: While some would disagree I like to think that this encompasses Spiritually.Emotionnally and Psychologically. Awake: Would have to be taken as not asleep. I don't for a minute think that this has anything to do with sleeping. More to do with being alert and aware. Eamonn

It's late and I sure as heck am not Mentally Awake enough to do this now. Eamonn

While I have never tried this program. I kind of like to think that Knots is one of my strong points. Still 50 knots in a day ?? I think that you must first think about the people that you hope to train. As I say I think that I'm a little above average. I really don't want to "Re-learn" the basic knots. (I am trying to think of how many knots I do know, but am having a hard time counting) Then again I have been playing with rope for a very long time. I have found that knoting is something that you can pick up in a heart beat or really have a hard time with. To try and get a person who is having a hard time to learn anymore then six or seven is pushing it. Still I wish you all the very best and welcome to the forums. Eamonn