JerseyScout

The 15 days and nights must include one, but no more than one, long-term camp consisting of six consecutive days and five nights of resident camping, approved and under the auspices and standards of the Boy Scouts of America. I've never been one for OA, I was elected three times and never bothered to attend the ordeals. My troop always did more camping and service than our local chapter by a very healthy margin, so I just didn't see the point. Fast forward to today, a few of my Scouts volunteered at Cub Scout camp over the summer with adults and kids from other troops, and now are inter

Wow, what a gift. I'm very happy to hear its going towards the camps and to help out needy Scouts. Could money to council be used any better than that?

How is troop alumni participation in your troop? In what ways do they participate? At 28, I am my troop's Scoutmaster (I started as an Asst. Scoutmaster at 22). Our Committee Chairman is 24, and took over that position at age 22. I have an 18 year old Assistant Scoutmaster and two committee members under 30 (28 and 27). 11 of our Troop's 27 merit badge counselors are under the age of 30. Most of the alumni have returned to the troop in the last three years after hearing that the troop was being run into the ground after our Scoutmaster of 20 years retired (boy-led troop to adult

I feel that, especially with a new parent, they are fine to come on a trip or two to make sure they are comfortable with having their kid in the program. No training, no fuss, just pack your stuff and let's go. Sure, I'll fill them in on how patrols work and an adults role in the troop ("your mother isn't here, go ask your patrol leader) as we go along, but the official stuff can wait. Now if they want to keep coming after that trip or two, then they need to be YPT. Similarly if they want to camp out for more than a night or two with the troop. As for moms, where's the problem eve

Brain enhancing? Taking ritalin or adderol doesn't make you smarter, it keeps you awake. Its the same as truckers using "West Coast turnaround" to put in ridiculously long days on the road. There is a word for this- speed - and it has nothing to do with enhancing your brain. I was on adderol for three years after being diagnosed with ADD. It absolutely allowed me to focus, in ways that, according to science, my brain was chemically unable to do on its own. For the first time in my life I was able to sit down and actually focus on a task, something it had been almost impossible before

At the other end of the state, our numbers have been in free fall for decades. Our council was forced to merge in 1998 or so after being around since the '20s, merging another council that had already been formed out of a merger. A few years later, our district merged with another district, forming a new one with the boundries of the old council. Just in the last few months, our council went from four districts to three with another merger. Our district itself has fewer troops than it did ten years ago, and some of those troops themselves are in trouble (I've run into a few guys at ro

Our local Eagle board is ridiculously and insanely nitpicky. I've seen some absolutely top notch, beautifully written projects that they've shot down for some of the absolute worst reasons. For example, and I am not making this one up - one kid was sent back largely on the basis of not being able to answer satifactorily the question "Who will take care of your project if you end up in an accident and are in the hospital for three months?" Another time a kid was sent back because, again not making this up, he didn't know the lengths of the hammers that he was using (he did know they were car

Wall Drug is the greatest place on Earth. Of course, I've only been there once.

Apologies, computer went on the fritz there and posted three times.

I came back to Scouting at age 21 after hearing that "things weren't going well" with the old troop. I became an Assistant Scoutmaster because I figured that the Scouts needed help more than the adults. The fellow who trained me, another Assistant Scoutmaster, simplified my job to this: "Keep them (the adults) away from them (the Scouts)." I split time between the Scouts and adults (spending my Scout time at their invitation), but managed for the most part to keep from telling anyone what to do. You handle it situation by situation, use common sense and, when in doubt, ask. It works i

I came back to Scouting at age 21 after hearing that "things weren't going well" with the old troop. I became an Assistant Scoutmaster because I figured that the Scouts needed help more than the adults. The fellow who trained me, another Assistant Scoutmaster, simplified my job to this: "Keep them (the adults) away from them (the Scouts)." I split time between the Scouts and adults (spending my Scout time at their invitation), but managed for the most part to keep from telling anyone what to do. You handle it situation by situation, use common sense and, when in doubt, ask. It works i

I came back to Scouting at age 21 after hearing that "things weren't going well" with the old troop. I became an Assistant Scoutmaster because I figured that the Scouts needed help more than the adults. The fellow who trained me, another Assistant Scoutmaster, simplified my job to this: "Keep them (the adults) away from them (the Scouts)." I split time between the Scouts and adults (spending my Scout time at their invitation), but managed for the most part to keep from telling anyone what to do. You handle it situation by situation, use common sense and, when in doubt, ask. It works i

Definately. The good thing about this kid is that he wants to do what everyone else does, he's not looking for shortcuts.

My Scoutmaster was known to have, at least once, bailed a kid out of jail at 2 AM, scream at them for making a bad decision all the way home, then showed up at every hearing and court date to show that he was 100% behind them, even if not their decisions. That guy went on to straighten out and is doing quite well for himself now. Made a difference? The same man got me a job that I still hold ten years later, one that helped me pay my way through community college. Made a difference? There are kids out there in Scouts (I have at least two of them at the moment) who Scout leaders ar

Alright, this is definately doable, possibly without alteration to the requirement at all. At most, I'd think that the only change would be to maybe substitute the side stroke for a resting stroke. A big thank you to everyone.

Thanks OldGreyEagle. I have my contact at council for that committee who walked me through the various steps of getting alternate requirements approved (he is my favorite person at either district or council level, and he goes above and beyond the call of duty to help out). I haven't had to use the process yet, as the Scout made it through all of the Tenderfoot requirements without needing any alternate requirements, a big boost to his self-esteem (his real self-esteem, not the fake "feel-good" type). My issue is that I'm not sure what an appropriate alternate requirement would be if

Appreciate any help or suggestions I can get here. Background: I have a Scout who, due to a problem during very early childhood, is physically unable to use his right arm as more than an anchor (no grip with his fingers at all), and whose right leg also has control issues. These are both permanent conditions. The boy has been a Scout for a year and a half now and is slowly being allowed to take part in more activities (his parents are really, really protective of him). Not being allowed to participate has held him back more than any physical problems, and he made Tenderfoot just last

In my day in my troop ("the 90s"), almost everyone used tin foil meals for that requirement. All three of my current patrols have passed what we ever did, mastering the art of using a grilling grate to cook steak and chicken. Patrols in the past have also neglected to bring any propane (whoops) and had to make pasta over an open fire, which is a real pain in the butt, but they did it. I also think the emphasis on individual fire cooking has died down with the rise of "Leave No Trace".

I second this site: http://www.vftroop73.org/ We've camped there a few times. The most recent time (last April) someone had to fly an emergency chopper in during the middle of the night. The siren went off at the fire station and I think every kid in the troop hit the roof of their tent. Another great activity out that way is taking the Valley Forge Rail Trail, part of the larger Schuylkill River Trail (http://www.schuylkillriver.org/biking.aspx). If you can get dropped off in Philadelphia at the art museum, you can bike down Kelly Drive, down to the Manyunk Canal Towpath, then

Thanks for the heads up, $10 seems quite reasonable. We'll have to submit a form. We didn't submit our tour permit yet (waiting for First Aid re-training for the tour leader), but we do have our camping reservation at King's Dominion Campground (owned by the amusement park). They are offering a "discount" to troops doing day trips to the Jamboree, as well as a discount to Jamboree troops who want to go to an amusement park.

Thanks. I know that at the last one a) walk-ins just walked in and b) walk-ins could attend the arena show. No one seems to know what is going on for this one, and the website is pretty vague.

Due to the steep cost of Jamboree, only a few of my Scouts were able to sign up to go (the promised fundraising never really got off the ground, and local was asking for $1500 per Scout, the $800 fee for national and $700 "for everything else", which must include gold tent stakes and filet for every meal since we are only a six hour or so drive from Jamboree). Because this only happens once, the troop has planned a day trip to Jamboree. We've got our (nearby)campground reserved and our transportation ducks in a row. This is what I don't know (and the website is unclear) - do you registe

Seriously, that must have been a heck of a scanning job to take four months...

I second the April 1 date, got an e-mail about through Del-Mar-Va Council. The rate its going, this could be National's little April Fools joke.

Its a crapshoot. We've had some awesome Den Chiefs and some terrible ones. For a while the role of Den Chief in my troop was being used for the Eagle leadership requirements for a leadership role (perfectly acceptable) in place of ever doing anything with the troop (not acceptable). Unfortunately, I wasn't in much of a position to do anything about it at the time, as the Scoutmaster was happy to sign off on everything.