Jump to content

gcnphkr

Members
  • Content Count

    770
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by gcnphkr

  1. Our PLC has their planning weekend coming up in 2 weeks. Here's how that weekend works for us.

     

    The 2 Troop Meetings prior to the weekend, the patrols make wish lists for activities, changes, etc. that their PL will bring to the weekend.

     

    The adults do the cooking so the PLC can focus on planning.

    Friday night:

    Upon arrival we get a few things set up, but within 30 minutes the PLC starts planning

    The first thing they do is determine what our High Adventure trip will be, when it will be held, training and advancement requirements.

    While they do this, at least one adult is online researching the location and we start to determine what we as leaders will need to do and recommendations to the committee.

    We also provide guidance and suggestions. The Scouts usually have a short list of what they want to do, so this simplifies things, but it usually takes a while to come to a consensus.

    This usually goes for a few hours and is all they get done Friday night, however this trip sets the tone for our yearly program, so it's vital that it be the first thing planned out.

     

    Saturday:

    First thing after breakfast is to plan out campouts & other activities. This usually does not take too long as they have favorites and some things like camporees, summer camp, etc are already scheduled.

    Take a short break

    After the break, we go into the first part of training that we conduct. Seeing as many of the youth are in new positions (we run our year Aug 1 to Jul 31 with elections in June)we use this time to conduct leadership training.

    Lunch

    After lunch they go into the Troop meetings. This takes a while as they plan each meeting as far as topic, service Patrol, skill Patrol & game Patrol. Usually the meetings leading up to a campout relate to what we will be doing, so agian it's important for the campouts to be planned before the Troop meetings

    We break this up, as it usually takes several hours, with a training session in between

    Dinner

    After dinner we do one more training session

    Once they are done, we break out the popcorn and put on a movie

     

    Sunday

    After breakfast they review the program plan to make sure nothing was missed

    Pack up and head home

     

    The Adult Leaders in attendance are at no time directing what is to be scheduled, but we do stay involved to offer advice, ensure they think through everything and that what they plan to do is safe, feasable and affordable.

     

    The Committee's responsibility is to review and approve or disapprove the plan, but they should not be the ones making the plan. If they do not approve it, they need to explain why it's not approved and it goes back to the PLC ot make adjustments.

     

    I find having the SPL present the program to the Committee is a great way for them to learn how to make presentations, talk to adults and the Committee is less likely to argue items with a Scout present, thus a meaningful conversation can usually be had.

     

    lastly, the PLC meets monthly and part of these meetings is to review the program and adjust it if new opportunities arise or cituations change. The yearly program is not somethign set in stone and can be changed, but this change should come form the Scouts.

  2. Now and then we serve things like crayfish, rattle snake, octopus, silk worm pupae (very nasty indeed), grass jelly. Once a boy eats a grasshopper they get over being picky.

     

    Regarding real restrictions. Each patrol works it out. If one scout can't have something the patrol either does something else or the scout provides an alternative for that meal.

     

    We've one scout that carries an epi-pen, but has never had to use it.

  3. Some people are jerks and no rules will ever change that.

     

    Seems like they already made a decision to ignore Helpful, Friendly, Courteous and Kind. They would also ignore your three rules.

     

    As for your rules. Ten is generally a good maximum size, it may even be on the large size. There have been times that we will exceed that, especially on a day hike. I would be reluctant to tell scout number 11 that he could not go unless there was a hard limit on a permit. Even then we tend to break up into smaller groups.

     

    Unless there is a way to reserve a site or shelter then a person should realize that they cannot count on it being available for exclusive use and an alternative plan is a good idea. But why should a scout group not use it at all? That is, why should a scout group be penalized? How is that an ethical choice? It seems that it is perfectly ethical to use a shelter that is available. You had no issue with making use of the table. How does this change for a group of scouts?

     

    No, a group should not be so large that they overwhelm the resources.

  4. Make sure you register your unit with Google Places http://www.google.com/places/

    Get your contact information current on BeAScout.org

     

    Registration is free and puts you on Google Maps. That will often put you near the top of searches in your area.

     

    If you want even better placements then be willing to pay for adds. Bidding for placement is not that expensive on a low volume search term like "boy scouts City, ST" I suspect that a couple of bucks a month would give you all the traffic you want.

     

    We use Scoutlander. Overall it works but it is slow.

  5. In the past there was no requirement that the scout involve any other scouts or scouters. If they wanted to just recruit help from the benefiting organization they could, including adults. If they wanted to use no adults at all, that was acceptable as long as the safety requirements where met. This is no longer the case. Now at least two adults will be required and at least one must be registered.

     

    Now in 99.9% of the projects out there this is moot. But there are exceptions and it is a shame that they are no longer possible.

  6. Thanks for the work. I do have a few issues to grumble about.

     

    I can see that this provides the scout a great deal more structure that then old, I assume to prevent the excessive planning that can be required to just get the approval. But I don't see how this is less project planning that the old version. If anything it makes much of the planning more formalized and places far too much emphasis on fundraising. Now, I will grant that fundraising can be am major part of a project and certain aspects needed to be clarified, but did we need to add 2.5 pages on the subject including the fundraising application, something that likely few scouts ever had to do before.

     

    I not happy about this part at all (Page 22):

    Risk Management and Eagle Scout Service Projects

    All Eagle Scout service projects constitute official Scouting activity and thus are subject to Boy Scouts of America policies and procedures. Projects are considered part of a units program and are treated as such with regard to policies, procedures, and requirements regarding Youth Protection, two-deep leadership, etc. The health and safety of those working on Eagle projects

    must be integrated with project execution. As with any Scouting activity, the Guide to Safe Scouting applies. The Sweet 16 of BSA Safety must also be consulted as an appropriate planning tool. It can be found online at Scouting Safely, www.scouting. org/scoutsource/healthandsafety/sweet16.aspx.

     

    At the time of publication of this workbook, changes were being made to the Guide to Safe Scouting that will affect how service projects are conducted. The changes limit the use of hazardous power tools, machinery, and equipment, and also such activities as working at heights or on ladders, and driving motor vehicles.

     

    Can RISK MANAGEMENT not leave anything well enough alone?

     

    And why make the scout file a tour plan (page 9 & 13)? I have a hard enough time figuring out when we need to file one, why make a scout do this? The scout will not have most the the information required and it seems to me to be just added busy work to make him get it but teaches nothing other than the BSA is now run by a bunch of nannies.

  7. For our troop it would be a Magic: The Gathering MB. If they have 20 free minutes the decks are out and they are playing.

     

    Chess is a good choice, although maybe a more generalized table game merit badge that included chess, Go, checkers, oware or other mancala variant. They should be two player games in public domain that require strategic planning.

  8. We have a "troop hoodie" that I put mine on. It includes patches from my youth and today. I do have to be a bit selective as there is not enough room for all the patches I've gathered in 20 years.

  9. The zinc on the surface of the pan oxidizes quickly. This ZnO has a decomposition point of 1975C which you are very unlikely to get to with a campfire. Carbon does reduce this so it might be possible to melt it using it as a fire pan.

     

    ZnO is relatively insoluble in water and has a low toxicity when consumed, you would need to eat large quantities to have any risk. You expose yourself much more with ZnO based sunblocks. Breathing it could be an issue, which is why your should wear a respirator when working where dust is potential. Getting zinc poisoning from cooking a turkey in a garbage can or boiling water in a tub is very unlikely.

  10. Hard to make a circle with 3 patrols, but a triangle works.

     

    The new scout patrol was only about 100 ft. out, not unreasonable for their skills. But the older scouts where a little over 300 ft away for the first couple of days. They got tired of carrying food out to their patrol site so about mid-week they moved in to about 150 ft. from the center (and 400 ft. closer to the rifle range). Still, it was far enough that they were as autonomous as they had been.

     

    Before Memorial Day my son came in and told me he and his friends (who all happen to be in the same patrol) were going camping. It was his last chance to camp with them before he turned 18. He knew they couldn't do it as "scouts" anymore, but it didn't matter. I think they all wore camouflage just because. I don't think they took the air-soft guns.

  11. There are times with dispersed camping with a large number creates issues. Mostly sanitation-the idea of scores of cat-holes is unappealing at best, and fires. But they can be dealt with. Not so much for an overnight, but longer camps.

     

    I'm finding that the easiest solution for camps over 48 hours is to use council camp facilities. Relatively cheap, everything you need for infrastructure and lots of room.

  12. Chances are it is moot. In my experience scouts working on a merit badge like you describe will not do anything until an adult initiates with the scout about finishing the requirements. They will not care who that adult is.

     

    If they still have the blue card and if it has the counselor's contact information on it they might call her to finish. But it has been almost three months for a merit badge that, other than catching the fish, takes 2-3 hours to compete. In other words, if they haven't completed it by now they will not be competing it until you have another fishing campout with another MBC.

     

    Do you have any idea if they have their completed requirements noted on their blue cards?

  13. "What is wrong with the traditional plaque in the scout hut or church lobby?"

     

    We rent a school so we don't have a place to put the plaque. So yes, we put the names on the trailer. What is the problem with putting them on the trailer? We may have a lot of Eagles, but we don't gear the program around making Eagles.

     

    "Has anyone seen the growing emphasis on Eagle Palms in their Troop?"

     

    We have had more in the last few years as those that have earned their Eagle prior to being 18 (about half) have stuck around and picked up the palms along the way. We don't emphasize them, they just happen.

  14. I put them in the washing machine and drier with everything else. Never need to iron the pants, occasional touch-up on the shirts. It is true that the synthetic fabric does not like heat. I guess like most laundry, the key is not letting them sit in the washer for a long time before drying.

     

    Collar stays should be removed for ironing. Shirts with non-removable collar stays are the work of Satan.

  15. I've been following the lightning incident since last week. It is interesting as the family works through the grief. This weekend they were blaming the Boy Scouts but they seem to have backed off some on that. From http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52213673-78/david-sean-rayborn-connie.html.csp

     

    David was among a group of Scouts returning to shelter when the storm moved in. He and fellow Scout friend and neighbor Sean Smith, also 12, were at the back of the group when the lightning struck. Sean told his parents that he and David were standing and looking at the lighting and started running up the hill to their campsite once hail started falling.

     

    Supposedly, the boys where not told what to do when in a lightning storm. I'm a bit skeptical as I've yet to be at a camp orientation that it was not covered.

×
×
  • Create New...