fred8033

Scouts get flustered all the time. And, scout oath and law were requirements for a specific rank. It's troop program that keeps the skills up and not the advancement program. A good way for a troop to keep that skill current is to have the scouts say the oath and law before every meeting. Your example about camping nights seems slightly different. The scout said he didn't, but it's signed off. As such, the scout said he had not met the requirement. IMHO, you can ask the scout to recite oath and law at BOR, but you really can't suspend the BOR because he flobbed it.

That's different. A scout is answerable to having the requirements reviewed and tested. The signature in the book indicates it's been tested and judged worthy. It's not the BORs place to re-evaluate or retest or rejudge if a scout met the requirement.

Hmmm .... Good quote, but not a motto. A motto is something Trump could easily twitter.

Scouts do not fail BORs. BORs are suspended and reconvened. Only aging out stops a BOR after a missing requirement is found. Reasons to suspend a BOR ? Unsigned requirements. A scout had everything signed off except the service hours. It was never approved by anyone. And in this case, the scout was short hours. Truly exceptional circumstances. Being arrested. Bringing drugs to scouting events.

I wish I could edit more as I bet I could come up with many or refine my thoughts. Here are a few that I like. "Keep the outing in scouting" ... My interpretation --> Focus on doing. In doing, we create opportunities to teach and make a difference. "Teach at all times. Use words if necessary." ... My interpretation --> Our actions are our greatest teacher. Flip side, too many "teaching" words kills the scout spirit. ... Quote is often attributed to Francis of Assisi, but it may be a pairing down of their religious rules and not a real quote.

I like that Socrates quote. IMHO, that's a good match for how scoutmasters should work.

Just finished a week of summer camp. It was a non-issue. Yes there are some challenges due to the transition. But program and the experience of summer camp had no change.

I should qualify my answer. I think you could technically do it. There is no rule preventing. It's just not a good idea at all.

Wonderful CBS news story.

Looks like a typical summer camp tent setup. I can only imagine the mom was thinking the old rule with tarps under tents. A tarp that is exposed beyond the edge of the tent collects water and can draw water under the tent. IMHO, that does not fit this case. Side comment ... guy on the right got a better deal. Less gap for bugs. Cot solidly on platform. Opportunity for middle of the night laugh when his friend on the left falls out of the tent because the cot not solidly on the platform.

I would absolutely not put that in place. A special camp out for those that sold seems wrong. Pack program should be for everyone. Packs have a hard time doing one or two pack camp outs a year. I fear an invite only campout would not be an "addition" but rather a limit that reduces opportunity. Most importantly, those-that-camp may not always be good fundraisers. And, those-that-fundraise may not always want to camp. Incentives are important. Boys (and parents) compete for incentives, but this is a badly matched incentive.

I'm not surprised. Long-term quality is hit and miss with Eagle projects. Often an Eagle project is fixing short comings with an Eagle project from previous years. IMHO, it should have been anticipated that wet, shady areas can cause the boards to get slick. They can become a falling hazard.

A few other key points ... Involving others can trigger things beyond your control. You may or may not need to do this, but be warned. Things can take a life of their own. Does the kid want to be a scout? Parents often push scouts to try to offset other behavior issues. Sometimes youth are interested in exploring the darker side of life (drugs, alcohol, theft, etc). If so, their interests are not compatible with scouting. Period. Suspending does not have to have a time limit. In this case, a time limit serves no purpose. The real need is for the youth to los

It can happen and has a special patch that says ... "Proud son of a super mom!"

@Sentinel947 Well done.

I agree and disagree. IMHO, the RSO handled it poorly. ... but we need to separate that from the fundamental of his need to teach the scouts and to keep them safe. A RSO absolutely needs the prerogative to remove scouts who can't listen, can't focus or are screwing around. From the RSO point of view, it doesn't matter if it's just bad behavior or a disability. But the RSO should have handled it better.

Sad that parents or whoever had to escalate this to the broadcast news. Hasn't scouts been dragged through enough already? Doesn't the parent want his kid to stay in scouts? Now, their kid will be eternally known in their troop, in their district and in the local schools as the kid who dragged his own organization into the public opinion space. I trust the adults to treat the kid fairly, but the other scouts might not as much. I assume if a family does this, the family is planning to leave scouts. BSA and scouting and local volunteers bend over backwards to help kids with special n

Well said ... here is what I heard ... Older scouts ... have already learned how scouting works, right or wrong. Dual path ... If you want to change how the troop works, create a dual path for new and older scouts. New scout learn the better practices. Older scouts are not pushed out, frustrated and can benefit from the adventures and participation. Adventure ... Younger scouts learn by example. Create situations where they can observe and let them observe and mimic. IMHO, leadership sessions rarely teach good leadership. I remember some high performance team trai

The difference is that sports will bench you if you can't make the previous X number of practices. Sports also hold competitions for who can make the team. I've almost never seen a scout denied a campout or activity because they could not make a meeting. Scouting is to use positive encouragement, not negative restrictions.

Scoutmaster "type" sounds like it may play second fiddle to a smooth "transition" ... I've seen many scoutmasters and different styles now. IMHO, the best scoutmaster I've ever seen was the first. He was very laid back and very natural with the kids. The scouts liked him and did not hide things from him. He was open and they were too. He would do very little direction. Almost everything was a relaxed question and it was so relaxed the scouts didn't know he was coaching them. They thought it was just a relaxed conversation. "So what's the plan?" ... or "who's going?" ... or "how di

We use BSA ScoutBook. Plugs into the official BSA records. Provides standard reports and custom tools to report in many different ways. Auto-fills individual reports for purchasing, advancement and EBORs. @RainShine My question to you is why are you asking? Advancement is not a group activity. It's an individual activity. Though PLCs and patrols can create opportunities for advancement, PLCs and patrols should focus on creating an interesting / fun / character building program. The key is to keep PLCs, patrol leaders and adult leaders away from planning advanc

Glad they are ok. Florida freeways have always scared me. Too fast and too much traffic. And, that's from someone who never worried about driving in NY, CA or Boston.

@The Latin Scot Your comments are well said. I and most everyone I know appreciate a well uniformed scout. Clean and cut looks sharp. Good uniforming helps in many ways. Sadly, my uniforming views are jaded. Burned by the poor poor quality centennial uniform and the hundreds I spent to properly uniform my family (two for me, plus multiple for my jamboree son, plus other kids ...) Tried to follow BSA insignia guide, but my scouts were criticized for putting temporary patches on back of sash ... which is per the insignia guide ... by adults who's own uniforms violated

@Eagle94-A1 Post a link to Green Bar Bill's ideas on how to start a new troop. One challenge always is for the kids to figure out who would be a good leader and getting to know each other so they can vote on who would be a good PL (or SPL). I'd suggest the first meeting include one or two get to know you games. And, run the games so that the girls start asserting their personality. You will quickly know who would do well standing up in front of others and helping keep things moving. I'd also start PL (SPL) early, but keep it simple. Then continually grow their role as

First scout meeting? or first adult / parent meeting ? Infrastructure early and continually ... You need to collect and share infrastructure information early and continually. Get contact information of new members (youth, both parents, etc). Give contact information of existing leaders. Communicate initial dates. Build excitement and vision ... for both scouts and parents ... you need to build excitement. convince them to come back and keep coming back. Build friendships and fellowship ... continually Lock down a first moderate sized event. Do NOT start