infoscouter

Some of the material in NLE is touched on in the new Cub Scout PST, but it is not covered in the depth it is in NLE. For instance, while the PST talks about advancement being age and grade based, it doesn't explore the state of development, as in the Ages and Stages section of NLE. I would say new Leader Essentials is still necessary, since it does explore those topics more fully.

Oh, and to answer your final question, as far as I know, you don't have to go through the whole thing and be "retrained", although I'm going to suggest that people come and check it out. As in the past, if you change positions, you have to go through the new 1.5 hour position specific session.

The syllabus does not mention New Leader Essentials. However, per an item in Scouting Magazine this spring, NLE is still part of the Cub Scout leader training scheme. In fact, the article says that as of Jan 1, 2008, in order to be considered "trained", a Cub Scout leader must have completed all four of these courses: Fast Start, Position Specific training, New Leader Essential AND Youth Protection. http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0805/d-news.html (Scroll down to the bottom) As for the new course - it looks very good. There are no longer any video segments. Everything is instruct

It seems logical to think that the camp/council instituted sort of a "dress code" policy for activity shirts, so that the camp commissioners/counselors weren't placed in the continual position of choosing which shirts are appropriate or not. If the camp has had a rash of kids (or adults) wearing shirts that were problematic, and were spending staff time on making kids change, or turn the shirts inside out; they may have thrown up their hands and 'made a rule', so as not to expend resources on the issue. I'd think that the unit leaders would have dealt with the issue, but as we know, we do

The best advice we can give you is to encourage you to go to training, and to read and follow the publications of the BSA. If you follow the program as it is laid out, you will do fine. As for the mom complainng about cost - is she low income? Perhaps $25 really is too much for her. When you recruited your Scouts did you have a parents meeting (as described in teh Cub Scout Leader Book), and explain how the program works, and what it would cost? If not, the $25 may have been a surprise to her. Pack policies are important. Before each fundraiser, we publish a document that states what

If you're already using one of the commercial programs to track your Scouts, most of them have a module for tracking trainng. Both of the online systems, ScoutTrack and ScoutManage have sections devoted to training (they have affordable yearly fees)

I'm not always a big fan of guest speakers if all the guest does is speak. If they bring in an activity that the boys can participate in, that's great, but if they have to sit through a 1/2 hour presentation - yuck. Some of our best meetings have been things like our Emergency Preparedness fair, where we had stations that fulfilled the requirements for the Emergency Preparedness Award. We also did Leave No Trace night, and a conservation oriented meeting. Our Cubmobile races are a big hit. We've had the boys make snowmobiles and Santa sleighs (and cars). These are great because th

I'm disappointed it's only Boy Scout patterns. When the BSA licensed some fleece a few years ago, they included Cub Scout patterns, which were very popular around here. I would have rushed right out to buy Blue & Gold type fabrics if they were available.

What you're describing is a pack outing, not a pack meeting. Pack outings are great and are an important part of the pack program, but they shouldn't be a substitute for the pack meeting. The purpose of the pack meeting is to recognize the boys for their achievements as well as to bring the whole pack together to show off what the boys have been doing during the month. The award ceremony is 15-20 minutes out of a 90 minute meeting. The rest of the time is full of games, skits, songs and den demonstrations. It is how the boys show their parents and each other what they've done at th

I think if you look closely, you'll see that the models were dressed in costumes intended to resemble Scout uniforms, not actual uniform parts. The shorts definitely weren't BSA issue - they were made fabric the same color as uniform pants, but they were tailored very differently, and even had some gold trim between the "waistband" and the legs, and at the bottom of the legs. The shirts had numerals, but above the numerals were some sort of strip that isn't a CSP, and the buttons on their shirts don't look official either. I would bet the producers were very careful not to infringe the BS

For paper records, I would start with the Council camping committee minutes, board minutes, etc. and look for references to camp operations, authorizations for expenditures, hiring of staff, etc. Does your council have a newsletter? Go through the back issues (hopefully they kep them), and copy the articles about the camp. We are in the process of doing a council history book for the 100th anniversary - our techniques are just what you describe. Oral histories are a big deal. Our two biggest camps have staff alumni associations - if yours do as well, then that would be a good place t

Our council allows siblings to participate at our fall day camps, but not the winter ones. The winter camps are very popular, and don't have room for siblings. We do not have day camp in the summer, only resident camp. Siblings do not attend resident camp. I don't know when this crept in, but in today's environment of dual income families, day care challenges, I can understand why it has become a reality Your volunteer committee had to prepare a budget (believe me I've done my share of those). They are probably paying rent and perhaps janitorial fees for the building. I would bet that's w

In the early chapters of the Cub Scout leader book. In the chapter on parent involvement, there is a list of over 100 things parents can do to help the Cub Scout pack. There should be some ideas in there for this willing parent.

No, the BSA rules are very precise about the fact that no leader or unit can add to, subtract from or change any requirements. That said, they don't have to do that achievement to earn the Bear badge, so you could skip it. Or, since they're Bear's now, they can be expected to do a higher level of work, so plan a more ambitious tool box,that requires them to make a more advanced finished product.

Sorry this is long. Here's a quote from the Guide to Safe Scouting, which addresses in part your concerns. "Youth Member Behavior Guidelines The Boy Scouts of America is a values-based youth development organization that helps young people learn positive attributes of character, citizenship, and personal fitness. The BSA has the expectation that all participants in the Scouting program will relate to each other in accord with the principles embodied in the Scout Oath and Law. One of the developmental tasks of childhood is to learn appropriate behavior. Children are not born with an

I just re-read your original post. Are you these boys regular den leader, or are you a parent coming along to help? You speak of one boy as being notorious. How can a 7 year old have a repuatation? He's only been in school for two years. I would urge you to go into this with no preconceptions about any boy, including your own son. You may find they behave very differently at camp than they do at school or at den meetings. I *try* not to pre-judge any boy - you will interact with each of them differently than their parents, teachers and any other individual. Be positive about the experien

Is there a possibility of having a den meeting before camp? If so, have them work with you on a Den Code of Conduct. They should suggest items to include, but you can guide. In the end, you should wind up with: Keep hands, feet and objects to themselves Stay with their buddy at all times No name calling, put downs or teasing Everything they find at camp (sticks, leaves, etc.) stays at camp If you can't have a meeting, you'll have to impose the rules, but it's better if they 'buy-in' by helping write them. They can also help you with consequences - time outs, etc. You can

The name of the award is the Attendance Award, not the *perfect attendance* award. If you awarded it on the basis of showing up at every unit meeting/event, almost no one would receive it. Each unit sets its own criteria for the award - it could be 80%, 90%, or only 'excused' absences (but then you'd have to make a list of valid excuses, and require phone calls and there would always be some sort of exception - more hassle than it's worth to administer). Just be good about taking attendance, set a standard, and award the pin & bars on that basis. Remember to budget for this - we don't use

Ceremonies like this are a good time to do leader appreciation. Make sure everyone gets a big thanks for their work this year. Just a question - why are your Webelos crossing so late? Ours were gone in February, and have already been to Spring Camporee, and a couple other campouts.

We made a point, at our new parent orientation, to teach the parents the following phrase: "Ask your patrol leader". We have all new parents and leaders. The previous membership of the troop completely turned over in the last 6 months, so we are all starting from scratch. However, I knew enough from hanging around on forums and lists like this, and from my previous troop experience with my sons, what some of the issues would be. We are trying hard to teach the parents that the boys need to rely on other boys for their answers. If they want to come to the adult area and say Hi!, that's fin

"Our promise to you You are the final judge of our products. If, for any reason, you are dissatisfied with any item purchased from the Boy Scouts of America, you can either exchange the item for a replacement or receive a full and complete refund. No questions asked. You can be assured that the Scouting seal and the BSA Best and Black Bull labels are your guarantee of quality, excellence and performance. So look for these official Scouting merchandise symbols and buy with confidence." From: www.scoutstuff.org - click on "Customer Service". It's also in the printed catalogs.

Lisabob - part of the phenomenon you encountered comes from those who do the paperwork not putting in the right codes when registering new folks or re-chartering. It's easy to recruit a Tiger leader and put DL on the form instead of TL. Some people truly don't realize there's a difference. So the pack ends up with Tigers, but no TL. And what do you do when you recharter in February? The TL is still a TL, so you don't change the code to DL. When June rolls around, and they become the Wolf DL, no one goes back and updates the records. That may happen when the unit recharters, but often when

Our district derby is held in one of the atrium areas at a local shopping mall. http://threerivers.nsbsa.org/distderby.htm (Scoll down for pictures). I don't believe they charge us, so our costs are the trophies, participation patches and some av equipment. While I'm a member of the District Cub Activities committee which oversees this event, I've never gotten heavily involved. The only difference in planning is going to be scale, and a registration process. We typically do a Saturday race, with a Friday evening set up and check in. As you can see from the reports, there were close

Many Point is one of our two long term Boy Scout camps. It is indeed about that distance from Ely. If you travel to Minneapolis-St. Paul as one group and then split up, it will take the Ely bound group about 3.5-4 hours and the Many Point group will have 5-6 hours of driving ahead of them. Many Point is a great camp. My boys went for several years, and one year we went up with our youngest and camped in the Family camp, while the older two were camping with the troop. It's a large camp, so there are many program opportunitines. There are three camping styles offered - full dining hall, fu

Oh, and to answer your other questions. Sommers Canoe base is one of the facilities with make up the Northern Tier High Adventure Bases. Sommers is the only one in the U.S. The other two facilities are in Canada. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness - BACAW adjoins Quetico Provincial Park, a Province of Ontario park. The BACAW is a federally protected wilderness area, administered by the National Forest Service: "The Boundary Waters was recognized for recreational opportunities in 1926, named the Superior Roadless Area in 1938, the BWCA in 1958, and federally designated un