jhankins

Some renew periods are up to the council, so be sure to talk to your council training chair.

I hearken you back to the speech JFK made regarding space travel, and how it was used in Wood Badge for the 21st Century. "We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard....We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all mankind....we shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall...made of new metal alloys, some

What I think would work? Bring the ASM of new Scouts from a Troop to a Pack and have him do double duty (voluntolding!). If he can help bridge that gap, get the boys ready for Boy Scouts, introduce them to the troops, and have them doing fun outdoor activities more than sit in front of a den leader who likes to talk in a room and not camp (Which is what I saw most often as a DE) -- I bet we'd have a lot more success.

Thanks for that.

The UC's shouldn't be doing FOS. They should be helping with recharter and being a friend to the unit. If they were to do FOS, it should be for another unit besides the one they are assigned to. As a former DE, finding presenters for FOS is difficult. I did most of the packs in my district, and my partner did the troops. Occasionally, we'd kill 3 birds with one stone with a pack troop and a crew for Blue and Golds. Eventually, when people get on board, know they have a hard working unit service team (DE, UC, Committee), then they usually are more open to the DE giving the speech.

Maybe this has been discussed before, but I was just wondering... Is the use of the OA Rep supposed to mirror a "patrol leader" of sorts to continue on the patrol method within the Order just as it is in Scouting? I guess my vision of the position is that it would serve that way, and actually serve as a reporting system to help with quality control from the unit to the chapter.

What a way to spend a day! I have a friend who has served as an escort for an honor flight. She said it was the most amazing experience of her life to accompany a man to the memorial. Thanks for YOUR service for those of us who couldn't be there!

Well, after tonight, suspension has 2 levels to me. 1 from the troop, and one from Scouting in general. Youth protection issues guarantee a one-way trip out the door of scouting.

If the offense was egregious enough, shouldn't you notify council? In the current situation I am facing, I'm leaving that up to the CR and SM, but I could see the boy being asked not to return.

Thanks for asking this today. I'm heading to a unit tonight that is torn between kicking a boy out for gross violations of the Scout Oath and Law, or allow the boy to stay in the unit. This might bring up a new line of discussion the parties are not seeing.

I think the "flock" might have to do with the program delivery and the buy-in of the parents. If the parents are participating themselves, learning, training, and always looking for a better way to better the boys, you'll have more success.

I think National is clear on this. The AOL requirement states: Repeat from memory and explain in your own words the Scout Oath or Promise and the 12 points of the Scout Law. Tell how you have practiced them in your everyday life. I believe the Eagle BOR requirement states "show knowledge of the Scout Oath and Law," it doesn't say "repeat from memory..."

I pass alot of the problem onto pros, too. My DFS told me the same thing: Don't visit the IHs, don't present charters (and all the while, PD-L1 training states that the DE presents the charter every year), don't worry about training your CORs... I still fail to see why it's wrong to ask the IH if you can take the assets, boys, leadership and number to another CO. If they're willing to let it go, what's the problem?

Lack of quality program, or too much program (weird, I know!) have been the most common things around here. Kids will bail if they're bored, and when you work the parents too hard with monthly big events for 100+ people, well -- kiss your volunteers goodbye. We have several mega-packs. What happens in the smaller packs see that a larger pack would be less work, so they fold into the larger one. They get so big it's difficult to run events (a PWDerby for 120 racers... a B&G for 300+!) that the volunteers who do work burn out too fast and want to move to a smaller pack.

Council has nothing to do with the pack accounts. You'd have to go to the CO, and it sounds like they don't really care? If there's nothing traceable, nothing can really be done.

M.C., Thank you for sharing your insights. A dear friend of mine is very nervous about her son bridging to Scouts this fall. He has Asperger's and while he can plow through requirements, the social skills just aren't there. His view of the world as black and white makes it difficult for him to work with his den, and she's worried that will carry over to his patrols and make life difficult. I've passed on your advice to her, and she seems much more confident now that she has a better idea what to ask for.

I guess that's where my chapter is lacking. At our camporee this weekend, every Arrowman refused to work events with the line "It's not our job." I've had better luck asking APO for help from 80 miles away than my local chapter in that respect.

Mandatory basic training for Direct Contact leaders is coming next year for all councils anyway -- that means SMs have to have This is Scouting, YP, SM Specific and the new IOLS for the charter to be approved. That means no rank advancement and no tour permits until it's done. Wood Badge would just be one more step, and a majority of committees in my district state in their bylaws that WB is mandatory for all DC leaders (just as NYLT is mandatory for ASPL and SPL).

Just a question... Is the role of advisor much like the role of Scoutmaster? Does mentoring and coaching come into play to equip the Chapter Chief and Vice-Chief on chapter issues?

I really have to chuckle at the opinion that committee members don't benefit from WB21C. Committees have to be high-performance teams too! The better the conflict management, communication, and leadership skills among the committee, the better off the entire troop is.

I think it's a grass-roots issue. Chapters are more likely to lose the vision of cheerful service first, then it carries to the lodge. Since the departure of our chapter chief and his father the chapter then lodge and now section advisor, I only hear and see information about ceremonies, and the boys whining about "having" to go to Ordeals. Yet, our lodge has been a quality lodge for three years in a row, and has received the Goodman camping award 7 times now. They pride themselves on having the largest contingent at AC5. Yet, at my chapter level, I see something totally different.

I didn't say the committee was involved, we were *informed* of what occurred since it happened in our district, and we were to help develop measures and training so it wouldn't happen again. It's not a rumor, it's a very real situation. The G2SS and its adherence is a very real part of keeping membership fees low, optional insurance fees low (and what a price reduction we got this year because of it!), and training goes a long way to support that. Optional insurance is no longer optional in our council. Have you seen the new tour permit form? It's a strong suggestion for optional cove

It's not just the WDL that needs support, it's the troop that needs a liaison that understands how to transition a Webelos into the program.

Having a son as Webelos right now (and he's almost done with 4th grade), sending him to a troop at this moment would be a bad idea. He even knows he's not ready after attending the day's events at Camporee this weekend. The 18 month guideline is a good one. It's not about the activity badge in itself, it's about having FUN earning the badge, and not even really noticing that you're establishing the building blocks for that first merit badge. Every district in our council has a rough time with the W2S transition. I think when I heard the statistic, we lose 70% of our cubs during this t

That's a great idea, having the Den Chief attend CS training if he can! Thanks for the note.