Horizon

My cell phone rings.

"Dad, can I bring a friend on the Troop ski trip next weekend?"

"No. The Troop has a couple of awesome trips with the ski trip and the shooting campout with shotguns and rifles. If they want to come on a regular campout, they are welcome. If they want to come on one of our premier treks - they can come on Monday night and fill out a form."

"OK."

My cell phone rings.

"X and Y will be there on Monday to sign up."

Those two brought in two more. All 4 made it to Camporee, are going to summer camp, and I expect all 4 to be at First Class before the end of the year at their current rate.

So what worked was having a couple of "cool" treks planned (shooting and skiing), and word of mouth about the fun of it all.

I just picked up 4 boys in the 8th grade. My older Scouts convinced their buddies to join up due to the shooting sports and ski trips that we offer - that was something different to them. I think that we can find some great Scouts if we look beyond the local Packs.

I am thinking of a having a "bring a buddy" campout this year, with some Scout skills in evidence and a lot of fun as well.

I have no issue with extra parents on campouts. They are simply told that once they arrive at the campout, they are not longer a parent but are instead a Scouter. Their role is to support the Troop in its activities, and if their son has a question - their son should follow the following flow chart:

Do you already know the answer?

Is the answer in your Handbook?

Did you ask your Patrol Leader?

Did you ask one of the Guides?

Did you ask your Senior Patrol Leader?

Did you ask one of the Venture Crew Scouts?

NOW you can check with the Scoutmaster.

Now, we don't allow parents on campouts until they have registered and passed YPT, plus they are heavily encouraged to get some of the online training done as well. This helps ensure that they have a basic understanding of Scouting.

We don't do the Adult patrol, but we DO camp in a separate adult compound and not with the Patrols. We don't have Kudu's 300 feet (difficult in Southern California given the size of my Troop), but I do insist on Patrol separation as much as possible.

I might do an adult patrol setup for a future campout to help teach the new parents - that could be fun!

The GREAT thing about having extra adults along is holding BORs. For example, when the Troop is at Summer Camp we will have enough members of the Committee to hold BORs in the evening for those Scouts who have hit Advancement points during the camp. Nothing beats an SMC at camp, followed by a BOR and instant recognition. This is possible thanks to having enough adults along. The extra adults also lets us get all Scouts and gear to camp without parents going back and forth.

Extra bodies means a little more work for the Scoutmaster the first time, but it turns into a great benefit over time. I find myself having to be a little firm on a parent's first campout, reminding them that their son needs to learn to turn to his fellow Scouts first - but once over that hurdle they start to see the benefits of the program.

I earned them as a Scout, and I miss them now as a Scoutmaster. My instructors were the Leadership Corps (in my Troop - all Eagles). It gave me a great focus on specific skill sets, instead of them being scattered.

I also like the natural progression from T - 2 - 1 that I think is missing now. I regularly have Scouts who ask for a Scoutmaster's Conference after finishing all requirements for both 2nd and 1st class over a weekend.

I still have a few in a box somewhere.

If your Troop is providing a good program, than a fully committed boy has every right to earn ranks as fast as the BSA allows.

Our typical schedule for February cross-overs.

First meeting - Patrol Leader checks the Scouts physical abilities for Tenderfoot tracking. Talks to the boys about starting to work on physical fitness, and the need to improve.

First month - Scout skills, focused on the upcoming Camporee at end of March. My Patrols try to get together every weekend leading up to camporee to practice the necessary skills of knots, fire starting, first aid knowledge, lashings, etc. At Camporee, the new Scouts demonstrate their skills to their Patrol Leader during the competition (if not before). Suddenly, I can see a lot of signatures in their handbook.

I have the police come by every Spring for a meeting to talk about various subjects depending on what is happening in the Handbook. The latest is the cyber bullying and cyber safety - my younger Scouts will sit through that. My older ones will be in another meeting to hear about sexting, alcohol and drug laws, and other appropriate topics for high schoolers.

We encourage all new Scouts to earn First Aid Merit Badge when they join the Troop, introducing them to one of our 4 physicians and one nurse who are all registered counselors.

We have a large Troop service project for Memorial Day.

We then hit Summer Camp. I will admit that all of our local Council camps are merit badge locations. We discourage Scouts from classroom badges, and instead encourage them to take outdoors badges. Swimming & Pioneering are the first two, with other sign ups based on desire. The youngs ones LOVE Wilderness Survival as well.

From bridging to the end of Summer Camp an engaged Scout in my Troop will typically have 5-6 Merit Badges earned. They will have had one car campout, one backpacking trip, Camporee, Summer Camp and several service opportunities. Tenderfoot before Summer Camp is pretty regular, and Second Class by the end of Summer Camp / Summer is common. That leaves them the rest of the year to finish up learning and demonstrating the skills for First Class.

After that, it is Merit Badges, Leadership, and passing on the skills to the next generation.

So this is what a fully-engaged Scout can do if they choose in my Troop thanks to great support from my Committee and ASMs, and the full buy-in from my PLC. My current SPL wants every Patrol to earn National Honor Patrol, so he is calling Patrol Leaders weekly to follow-up on their Patrol based activities so that they can earn the distinction.

I have a FB Account.

I accept Friend requests from my Scouts. I tell them that I will never post directly to their wall. I also tell them I reserve the right to ask them about anything they post during a Scoutmaster's Conference.

I have fraternity brothers from college who have scanned old photos and tagged me. My past is certainly public.

I have been friended by many members of the Troop leadership, and several folks from Council.

I share campout photos, service photos, and other activities on my page. It helps me remember to follow the 12 points of the law knowing that others can see.

Finally - if an employer ever does not want me due to something there, I probably do not want to work for them either.

My Troop will be out on Saturday planting flags, and back again on Monday for a ceremony. It is a great experience for the boys, and it helps start a lot of great conversations. I usually do 2-3 Scoutmaster's Conferences while there as well - it brings things into perspective.

We use the ceremony on Monday to work on American Heritage Merit Badge where the boys need to interview Veterans. Nothing like having a young Scout interview someone in a VFW cap to give both sides something to talk about.

I hope that those of you who are so strict on following the Uniform Method also clamp down on boys who are failing to be 100% behind the Advancement Method (sorry Timmy, you didn't make First Class in First Year), or the Patrol Method (Johnny, I am going to send you home if you don't stay in your Patrol site), Adult Association (I know that Mr. Smith is mean, but you need to interact with all adults)...

It is 12.5% of the program methods. We do our best to get everyone to be fully invested in each of the methods - but the uniform does not make the Scout, the Scout makes the uniform. I wear 100% (assuming my son hasn't grabbed my socks again). We bought complete new shirts for him to go to Jambo. Interesting that his Sea Scout unit just uses t-shirts, blue jeans and blue Vans shows for meetings and only uses the Whites for competition events.

I always try to remember that no matter WHAT you do, you will make 5% of the people mad at you.

"Boy Scouts of America believes that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the obligations in the Scout Oath and Scout Law to be morally straight and clean in thought, word, and deed. The conduct of youth members must be in compliance with the Scout Oath and Law, and membership in Boy Scouts of America is contingent upon the willingness to accept Scouting's values and beliefs. Most boys join Scouting when they are 10 or 11 years old. As they continue in the program, all Scouts are expected to take leadership positions. In the unlikely event that an older boy were to hold himself out as homosexual, he would not be able to continue in a youth leadership position."

This is the policy statement I have seen before. So our Eagle Scout can remain in Scouting, but he can not hold a POR!

I will stick to Scouting first.

I think that part of the problem is not knowing WHY some rules exist.

Let us take the sheath knife issue. From the BSA: "Avoid large sheath knives. They are heavy and awkward to carry, and unnecessary for most camp chores except for cleaning fish." With this we know that a sheath knife is NOT prohibited. We also do not have a definition of "large." When I talk to my Scouts, I discuss the Rambo knives of the 80s that everyone wanted but that were typically made of cheap materials and could not hold an edge. However, a true Bowie knife is a great blade, and can be used as a wood chopping device as well. So in reading the BSA guidelines, I find that they are not specific, the justification is arguable, and that the application in the field is full of urban myth moments. Once a rule is found to be questionable, that can lead to people questioning other rules as well.

Questioning the rules is a form of being Mentally Awake, IMHO.

With the web, I think that the BSA is doing a good job of slowly filling in the blanks on WHY we have certain rules. The more people understand why we have a rule, I think we will have more people follow that particular rule. Even better, they will apply that rule to all situations, instead of just to the narrow definition.

When we teach Scoutcraft, we try to explain the WHY. The boys appreciate it, and are more likely to follow the rules, guidelines, suggestions, etc.

Hmm - we need the number 5 now.

5 words: Do A Good Turn Daily

Good luck - bullying behavior is something that I think ALL of us deal with in our Troops. It comes with the age of the boys.

It sounds like your Troop has the situation in hand. A good Patrol Leader, and a Scoutmaster who will take this off of your hands. That is a perfect place to be - support from your SM and other ASMs, so that you can be your son's dad instead of the ASM at times.

I am the SM, and my son was recently elected SPL. We have a game we play - when he addresses me as Scoutmaster, he is talking to me as the SPL. When I call for the SPL, I am NOT talking to my son. It helps.

A Scout can't go camping without a tour permit and a driver (our District is not sure about Patrol Camping, admittedly).

A Scout can't earn a merit badge without my permission (as SM) and a Counselor who responds to requests for meetings.

A Scout can't advance without an SMC from me (or one of my ASMs so designated).

A Scout can't advance without a BOR from the Comittee and the appropriate paperwork filed with the Council.

A Scout can't advance without parental support.

So I consider it a bit disingenuous to claim that the Trail to Eagle is 100% the domain of the Scout.

A Scout can only go so far unless we (as Scouters) and parents (as a support structure) are providing the opportunity.

MattR - it sounds like you are doing a great job, and I feel your pain. Of my Tigers:

- One just about ready for his Eagle COH

- 3 more Life Scouts thinking about their projects - possibly for this summer

- 3 more Star Scouts who should hit Life by December at their current pace

- 1 who just made First Class after ebbs and flows of participation

- 1 who is 2nd Class due to low participation and self-motivation

- 2 who went to a different Troop

- 2 who dropped out of Scouting

With this, I know that we are offering a good program. I keep in contact with as many Scouts as possible (and have invited the drop outs to return someday if they like). There IS only so much we can do - but keeping positive encouragement is great. I bring up next steps at every SMC, and I like to show them what is possible IF THEY CHOOSE.

Good luck.

Our Committee is great (thanks to our CC). The SPL delivers a report, makes a few requests (we need new lantern globes - the windstorm took out two of them), and asks for any comments. Our CC ALWAYS ends his bit with "is there anything the Committee can do for you?"

It works well for my SPLs - they get adult association, and the Committee functions to support him.

For your CC that wants a report one month in advance, I would be tempted to request information FROM the Committee 6 weeks in advance so that the SPL could make their report! That would be a passive-aggressive power play, of course - but could be fun to do.

Our SPL makes a verbal presentation to the Committee, usually followed by the Scoutmaster. It is a great experience for the Scout, and as Scoutmaster I am right beside him giving him support. It lets the SPL ask for resources, comment on activities, etc.

If my Committee ever started grilling my SPL inappropriately, I would step in. However, in a boy led Troop I think having the SPL report can be a good thing.

I happily host OA elections, recommend adults, and help with Tap Out at Camporee.

That said, our local Lodge does not appear to do a lot. They APPEAR to have the following activities: Elections, Tap Out, and Ordeal. I hear from them every now and then (I pay my dues, and have updated my contact information several times). I have never seen them at a bridging ceremony (I go to 4-5 every year).

So what could improve? Something that attracts my Scouts to want to participate that the OA offers that other Scout activities (The Troop, Venture Scouting, Sea Scouting) can not offer.

Engineer61: I think you are catching (or perceiving) some heat from those of us who consider the US homework assignment load in some districts to be counter to what we want to put our youth through. I will note, however, that you tossed out the "village idiot" comment well before the "be a man" aside was made.

Your Scout sounds like a typical middle school boy with a lot to do, and who is still learning how to balance it all. My Scout is on a club sports team, A Scout Troop, A Jambo Troop, A Sea Scout Ship and a Venture Crew. He fights to maintain an A/B average, and regularly has to review his homework load. He has been known to take his books on campouts to catch up. He also will pull late-nighters to be able to keep up with the school load.

The level of homework in the US is not the cause of our relative decline in science and math against some nations. Those comparisons are full of problems, when the US encourages all to strive for a University level education, while other nations push students into tracks by middle school. When you compare our top 10% vs. others top 10%, we do not look nearly as bad.

The value of homework is regularly debated in academic circles, and a short summary of the research is here: http://www.jstor.org/pss/999298

Finally, having sat on University and Graduate level admissions committees - I will tell you that we look closely at extra curricular activities. A student with none goes into one pile, while a student who has led and achieved in addition to a satisfactory academic record has a much better chance at admission. Eagle plus Senior Patrol Leader, for example, counts towards admissions more than just being in a Scout Troop.

Lots of good systems out there, success dependent on the Troop, its Scouters and its Scouts in key PORs.

My Troop:

We have boys from many Packs coming in. Each Pack effectively feeds an existing Patrol. These keeps the Webelos together, and many look forward to following the older boys from their Pack who are now Patrol Leader. These same Patrols often furnish a Den Chief as well, and host their old Pack on a joint campout.

The Patrol Leader has a Guide from his Patrol who manages the Trail to First Class for the new Scouts, under the guidance of an ASPL.

We have Patrols with 10+ years of history now, and Scouts are eager to carry on their Patrol's traditions.

It works for us, though other systems may work better for others.

I am the SM, and I don't sign my son's book.

Trail to First Class - 90% done by Scouts. SMC done by one of my ASMs. I obviously have nothing to do with the BOR.

Merit Badges. I counsel Cooking, Camping, Personal Management. However, I have my son get the Counselor sign-off from someone else even if he works with me. This is more for ME to show the Troop that there is no favoritism going on, or any paper badges.

Now - his plastic sheets of blue cards will be full of my signature as the Unit Leader, but the Counselor names will be a variety of folks.

Canon PowerShot for a pocket camera. The pocket cameras let you take a lot of nice pictures, but there are limitations in speed and quality.

Canon Rebel for quality shots. The high quality DSLR cameras give you a faster FPS (frames per second), so that you can capture that quality shot of the Scout's face when something ... happens.

Challenge Coins are just that - the Eagle calls a younger Scout up to the stage and gives him a coin. The Scout is then to earn HIS Eagle and pass it on someday.

At my Troop growing up, there were coins that had gone through several generations. There were others that were orphaned as well.

Our Troop has around 5 Eagles per year. This year will be a bumper crop of 10+ it appears (including my son once he finishes Personal Management and Family Life - finished his project just recently).

The Troop provides and hosts the COH at our Charter, with food and cake.

The script is a standard one (Google "Voice of the of the Eagle COH" and you should be able to find it online)

The Troop invites the Mayor and City Council. We get one of them usually.

The Troop has a plaque that needs updating badly so that I can talk to our newish COR about having it in the meeting hall.

Our Troop photographer puts together a slide show of photos going as far back as possible.

For the future:

I want to encourage Eagles to have Challenge coins.

We just do a continuance of the BOR, and the Scout gets his book signed once the paperwork is completed, the date is correct, etc. Usually one member of the BOR is given signature authority to sign off for everyone else after the Scout shows, say, the completed blue card for a specific merit badge.

We use landscaping poles used when trees are planted. They are, admittedly, big and heavy - but they work for our needs. A regular Troop activity prior to the campout is tying them together in bundles of 10 or so for the Troop to be able to put on tops of trucks on the way to the campsite.

No sticks, cutting, etc. where we camp.