jerryz

Mark Thanks for the input and encouragement. Our Council is tough on tour permits as well. Even though we have a scout who prepares them, we still have adults who review, sign and submit them to the Council office. The big key is that the scout is responsible for preparation. I agree with your comments that ASMs are technically not on the committee. Many of our ASMs attend the committee meeting each month. They are primarily involved in the troop program and do not have a vote on the committee. Fortunately, we have enough other adults to conduct BOR's. I'm considering havi

Bob Let me give some background as to why I'm inquiring about the job descriptions. Our troop has come to the conclusion that there are really only two jobs we as adults must perform: Signing forms & checks as required by BSA policy Driving to and from activities Everything else can be delegated to the scouts, as their skills and desires dictate. In our troop, we have really been striving for this to happen. We have scouts who prepare tour permits, permission slips, keep and post records to Troopmaster software, track troop equipment, maintain our web site, etc. Many t

I'm in the process of delegating specific duties to my assistant scoutmasters. I plan to have positions such as: ASM - New Scouts ASM - Patrol Advisor ASM - High Adventure ASM - Equipment ASM - Records ASM - Camping etc. Does anyone currently have written job descriptions for positions like these that you could share? I'd be interested in how others have organized their assistants to support the youth scout leaders in leading the troop. Thanks

We have used the Eureka Timberline tents for all of our camping. This summer, we even took them to Philmont, sleeping 3 16-year olds in each tent. These tents put up with a lot of abuse and we have found them very reliable.

These are all great leads. I intend to follow up on all of them. I'd forgotten about some of the old training videos. Keep the ideas coming. JZ

In addition to the JLT kit put out by BSA, can anyone suggest other resources we can use in training our scouts. In a couple of weeks, we are going to conduct a Leadership Development Conference for our troop. We have sent formal invitations to all scouts 13 and over who are First Class. The event will be held at a conference center in town. Each scout will have a binder provided that is tabbed and organized with the agenda, troop handbook, organization chart, job descriptions and forms. In addition, at the end of the conference, I will ask each scout to complete a Personal Growth Agreeme

Jerryz, you are not doing this boy or his family a favor by sweeping it under the rug. My experience with this type behavior, which includes other scouts, 2 sons with ADD, and 1 son with ADHD tells me that this boy now sees no, or little, consequence for this type behavior, if both you, his SM, and his father can explain it away. Silver-shark In no way did this incident get swept under the rug. On the contrary, I was concerned that I could be making too much of a deal of it. None of the adult leaders, including myself and the boy's father attempted to explain anything away. In

This is what our troop is doing for older scouts. We realized two years ago that we needed to do something to hold the attraction of the older scouts. I've pasted below a copy of a writeup that describes what our committee approved and is now working. In reality, this has evolved into an annual high adventure trip. Last year we went to Sea Base, this year Philmont, next year Northern Tier, then to National Jamboree. It gives the scouts something to look forward to, to plan and prepare for, to give direction to. It has really re-kindled the interests of our older scouts. Purpose

Bob, I have had three of my sons attend JLT conducted by our council. In all cases, it was a turning point in their scouting career. Two went on to become Eagles and the other is nearly there. They all enjoyed the fact that the course was really run by the scouts, taught by the scouts, etc. They saw scouting as it was supposed to be done. JLT has motivated them out of the doldrums many 14-15 year olds in my experience fall into. After attending JLT, they wanted to go back and serve on staff. There's an old saying that you learn more when you teach than when you are a stud

Thanks for all of the input. Here is how I've handled the situation. First, some additional background: I met with my committee and received their input on how to address the situation. Several of you pointed out that our primary purpose as adult volunteers is to a) train the youth and b) to provide a safe place. This was the bottom line for our committee members. Since there was no actual threat to any scout, but just a stupid decision, they felt it did not warrant suspension or dismissal from the troop. They entrusted the final decision to me. Next I met with both sets of pa

I'm a CPA who specializes in financial planning and investment management. I was a scout as a youth and welcomed the opportunity to get back involved when my sons joined scouting. Currently serving as SM for a troop of 45 youth.

During summer camp last week, one of our new scouts jumped out from behind a tree at night flashing a knife at another new scout, who was understandably terrified. The scout with the knife, the son of one of our ASM's, had previously earned his totin' chip. After initially denying that he had a knife, he later admitted that he did, and that the whole incident was just a joke, intended to "scare" the other scout. This boy has attention deficit disorder and memory problems, but is not under medication. He has been seeing a qualified psychologist for several years for this problem, however. He sh

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