KoreaScouter

It has come up before, and as I understand it, BSA considers "active" to be synonymous with "registered". There doesn't seem to be any other official definition. That said, we all know that many units put minimum-attendance gates in place for various things, including leadership credit, advancement, outing eligibility, and so on. We don't do that. For one thing, showing up, while important, is only part of the equation...showing up and doing something is another. For me, that's where Scout Spirit kicks in, and since it's a subjective criteria, I judge it subjectively. Put another w

sctmom; In an earlier post on this thread, you asked if New Leader Essentials was different from the old basic training. It is, as part of the revamped leader training. NLE is for Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Venturing leaders -- everybody together just like in WB21. The old Basic Training courses were program specific. Now, you get the program specific stuff after NLE. I just finished teaching it here recently, and I also think it takes longer than the 90 minutes in the schedule if you do it justice, and allow for questions and feedback where the lesson plan calls for it.

This sounds like a tempest in a teapot to me. I can't think of one Scout in the troop I serve who would want his mom to go on campouts with us. After all, with the adolescence/hormone/ independence things going on, they generally want Scout outings to be peers, and sometimes seem to tolerate leader presence only grudgingly. That said, if one wanted his mom along, she wanted to go, and it didn't disrupt the program, what's the harm? You can "what if" these things to death. Basically, if a problem comes up you deal with it; if it doesn't come up, enjoy the outing. We tell our fam

Mike Walton has done a lot of research on this subject, and it appears in many threads, both here and in the US Scouting Service Project site. In fact, there are hyperlinks in some of the strings... In addition to Bob White's admonition, there are practical reasons for Scouts not to wear military uniform items. For one thing, they can introduce or encourage a militaristic overtone. Although BSA's roots are with the British Army and we are a uniformed movement, my impression is that we try very hard through policy and practice to not appear as a military auxiliary. Also, and I'll

I agree, let the instructions on the forms and the GTSS be your guide. Two things, though: 1). One is a bit of a legal point, and I'm not a lawyer; the parental signature on the physical forms gives permission to "medical personnel" to give treatment, not Scout leaders. I've long noticed that and casually wondered if I'm included in that language. I've been at Scout camps that required separate medical power of attorney, regardless of what was on the BSA physical form. 2). What constitutes an outing requiring a Class 3 physical is somewhat a grey area. Some, such as Philmont,

sst3rd; Thanks for the quick reply. I use the MB counselor worksheet along with the leader app. and our US Army-required background check consent form when I register MB counselors. I agree with you, there's no limit on the number of badges a Scout can work on simultaneously, although there is a practical upper limit that's determined by the Scout, the badges, and his ability to juggle it all. I think that was the purpose of the parents' meeting, although I don't live in their heads so I can't be sure. KS

I need some advice from you old heads out there. I recently began forming a Venture patrol, with a newly-registered ASM (Eagle and enthusiastic) heading it up. Still forming, he met with their parents during last week's troop meeting (I found out later it wasn't his idea, it was asked for by a couple parents). After the meeting, he asked me if he could also register as an MB counselor. I told him sure, gave him the paperwork, and told him we'd get it up to council after he completes it. Yesterday, I was at a troop bake sale, when our advancement chair, who is also a mom of one o

I understand jbroganjr's frustration with some of the standardized BSA instructional materials. I just finished teaching New Leader Essentials in my area, and found the following: 1). It's not a 90-minute program if you cover all the material and let attendees get involved like the lesson plan expects you to. I had to cut off discussions at times, and it still took a shade over two hours. Could have gone for 3 easily. And, I'm not talking about telling "war stories", but answering well-intentioned questions from new leaders about their responsibilities and BSA policies. 2). The

My DE got a new BSA bumper sticker that was given to DEs at the recent meeting in Las Vegas. It has the logo on it and says "America's returning to the values that Scouting never left." He was only given one, and I'd like to get my hands on 20 of these things. Do any of you know if your District/Council has these things? Are they free or for sale? Wanna make a deal? thanks in advance, KS

If a troop or CO has a policy that's not supported by BSA policy, a leader has several options, to include changing troops, appealing to District/Council, or legal action. Personal decision on whether it's worth it. Only BSA policy regarding females on outings I'm aware of is that they must have separate accomodations unless it's husband/wife. We had a female leader (since moved) who went on many of our outings with us...no problem. Now, she was an outdoorsman (outdoorswoman?...no, outdoorsperson?...ah, whatever!) so was very low maintenance, and did not have a son in the troop so was

My $.02: As a former Cubmaster and current Scoutmaster (with some other leader positions mixed in), I'd like to see BSA include something as part of the Webelos program, to facilitate the transition at the other end. How about introducing note-taking and parental notification of events/activities, by the Scout, as an integral part of the Webelos program? That probably ties in with an introduction to planning and leadership, which I think is fine and should be done also. Here's my rationale. One of my challenges as SM is with newly bridged Scouts and their families, who in t

Respectfully to Yarrow; There are probably as many circumstances that would require more than a year as there are Scouts. Here's a couple: where we live, private ownership of weapons such as rifles and bows/arrows is prohibited. Consequently, the only time our Scouts can earn Rifle Shooting & Archery is at Summer Camp. If there's more than a year between Summer Camps due to scheduling, and a Scout got a partial the first year, a one-year rule would force him to start over. I have a Scout who started Forestry early this year, and will finish it next year when we're scheduled to vis

In our troop, we do it this way: MBs: We actively recruit counselors, some of whom are already registered leaders, some of whom are not (e.g., we have a school assistant principal for Scholarship, an exercise physiologist for Personal Fitness, Sports, and Athletics, and so on). We have more than one counselor on the list for many badges, and when a Scout wants a blue card for one, I steer him to the counselor I think will do the best job with him. Once the counselor's assigned, my input as SM into the process is essentially complete until I get the blue card back when the requirements

The skill instruction portion of the troop meeting can and often will include skills required for various Merit Badges. However, if you're using bona fide program planning and following troop meeting plans, that skill instruction will be "tiered" for new, experienced, and venture-aged Scouts. If you're consistently herding all of them in one room for group MB instruction, it tends to shoot the program in the foot. One notable exception in our case is when we were preparing for a week-long "medium adventure" trip to an island 60 miles off the coast, during which our Scouts were cooking a

I'm the SM, and my son's a PL and a 1C Scout. I've been his Cubmaster and committee chair, too, so his Scouting's always had me involved somehow. I like to think that at a troop activity, unless you notice the family resemblance, a casual observer wouldn't know he's mine (unless you hear him call me "Dad"). I expect the SPL to treat him like any other PL (info, deliverables, correction) and not as the SM's son. He has never used the fact that I'm the SM as leverage with any other Scout or adult leader -- that etiquette comes from mom's side, I'm sure. I try desperately to ensure

The original question was does the Webelos program prepare them. As with any other aspect of Scouting, the policies and plans are great as written, but the execution is often lacking. Den leaders in CS are the key -- if they're untrained, lazy, or don't get it, it's not going to work. The most animated Cubmaster at a monthly pack meeting is not going to make up for it. There's definite techniques that make this better. Following BSA "Webelos to Scout transition" literature is optimal. KS

We routinely clip ziploc sandwich bags on the outside of our troop tent rain flies with the names of the Scouts, patrol, etc., for accountability purposes. Maybe that's what they have in mind. My WB staff didn't grade us on any "embellishments"... Hey Buffalo2, I think I knew Fred; about 5'10", little chubby, glasses, thinning brown hair? Is Gumdrop near Plattsburgh? I used to be a buffalo... KS

Very timely thread, since I have several new ASMs and now have the luxury of assigning specific duties/patrols rather than the "firefighting" I had to do previously. I plan to have one monitor FCFY, one with the venturers, one with each experienced patrol. Also, I plan to give each of them the Troop "lead" on projects/events such as MB roundup, camporee planning, outings, etc., as time permits. I agree with other posters that permits, equipment accountability, and other admin/support functions are best left to the committee, if you're fortunate enough to have that level of support

My daughter has moved up to Junior Girl Scouts from Brownies, and of course, we have to replace all the uniform stuff (not complaining, she's outgrown it anyway). Well, our nearest GSUSA store is at Camp Zama, Japan. Just popping over while out for a paper and some milk is out of the question. Her troop leader pointed me to the GS web page, and guess what? Yep, online catalog that you can really order from, not just a thing that tells you where your nearest service center is like ours. Now, we were spoiled in Virginia, where the Scout Store was 15 minutes away, fully stocked, an

Amen to training. It's appalling how many well-meaning volunteers will spend way more than their hour a week on Scouting, but won't invest 90 minutes in New Leader Essentials training. Keeping Scouting Safe is one of the presentations, and while it doesn't result in memorization of the GTSS, one should leave NLE knowing that any activity warrants a GTSS review. In addition to the .pdf version from BSA, the U.S. Scouting Service Project has one that's downloadable to a Palm OS PDA. No excuse for not knowing the rules. A personal annoyance for me, who carries the GTSS all the time,

We call ourselves the "Old Goat Patrol", although it's more to poke fun at ourselves (Scouts find it very amusing that we acknowledge our alleged collective decrepit-ness)than to model ideal patrol operation. I agree with rlculver415 that leader training, with particular emphasis on the aims/methods, should minimize "unwanted hands-on" by leaders. Most mean well, just need to be taught & occasionally reminded that it's "Boy" Scouts, not "Adult" Scouts. Frankly, the most common violators are those who recently bridged from a Webelos den -- still accustomed to adults calling a

1. Watch Youth Protection & Fast Start tapes today. 2. Get to a New Leader's Essentials 90-minute course ASAP. 3. Attend Cub Leader Training when your District schedules it. 4. Get a "Guide to Safe Scouting", and read it cover to cover. 5. Recruit 2 leaders for every den (enthusiasm, not experience, is the main prerequisite). 6. Husband/Wife teams should not count as 2 leaders; if one can't make a meeting/activity, the other usually can't as well. If you have a husband/wife team, get a third leader. 7. Hire a good assistant Cubmaster whose strengt

Check your charter itself. We presented ours to our CO for display, but I did read it first, and I swear there was language on it about following BSA policies, etc... KS

Leaders/committee members who will not attend training beyond YP, don't understand how the program works, and causes those of us who are trained to run a continuous "ding-dong school" whenever we're doing an activity, having a meeting, etc... KS

Moreover, your elected leaders are being robbed of many great opportunities to exercise their leadership, communications, and organizational skills. BTW, how do you do Courts of Honor if you don't meet as a troop? KS