ASM59

Hello, In the thread Very Frustrated (http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=200534) there seemed to be much criticism of the paperwork not being properly handled. The CC was not doing their job either due to neglect or lack of training according to some. While this may be true, the question is, If the CC is not doing the job and the Cub Master is willing, why not let the Cub Master take the paperwork to council? I had a similar case in the Troop a couple of years back where I, as an ASM, was doing committee jobs such as fundraiser organization and outings organizat

Good Day, We just returned yesterday from our week of summer camp at Camp Lowden. Just as predicted, Bruce and his fine staff pulled it off. Everything was in order as far as staff and they did an excellent job! Another great week at Camp Lowden. We have attended Camp Lowden two summers in a row, and the staff at Camp Lowden exudes Scout Spirit like no other staff from any other camp that Ive attended. When you ask the staff about it, theyll only say that its because of Bruce. Its the way Bruce lives his life with integrity and in a Scout-like manner that makes us want to be lik

Gcan, I think you'll see that there can be a significant difference between your boys at 10 and when they are 12. They'll get along fine. I've taken our Troop, with the whole age range of Scouts, to many large Scout gatherings and have alway been impressed with the younger Scouts' ability to get along. Using the Buddy system gives them confidence that they can find their way around and back to camp. But in my experience, even if separated from their buddy, they always do well by finding an adult from the Troop or a staff member. By the way, I say this even though I have had the "p

Since we are bound for Camp Lowden on June 22nd (first week), I can't help but wonder how this will affect the program this year. Oh what am I saying? Even though a staffing shortfall is no Small matter, I'm sure Bruce will pull off a great program again this year! ASM59

It really depends on what you are intending to do with this instruction. Do you intend to have the Scouts and adults come out of the session as "certified"? Or, do you simply want to fulfill the requirement for the First Aid MB (Identify the conditions that must exist before performing CPR on a person. Then demonstrate proper technique in performing CPR using a training device approved by your counselor)? If you only intend to fulfill MB requirement #3b, then you should be OK. If you intend to come out of the class certified in CPR, then at least one of your CPR instructors needs

Good Day, I've had a couple of PM's wondering where in Missouri my son will be going to college: he'll be going to Central Christian College in Moberly. Thanks for the contacts... ASM59

Like SR540... said, not many Venture Crews around (closest is about 17 miles away) and my son is taking off at the end of July for Missouri to get College life started. He wants to join a local Troop (as an ASM) near his college and wants to be the BSA Poster Child for "Don't wait till the last minute". My Daughter is staying at home and will be attending a local Junior College for the next 2 years. She is very excited to help with the Troop as she plans to be a teacher. She works very well with kids and already knows half of the boys in the Troop. She completed all of the online trai

Hello, My son turns 18 in two days and will do so as a Life Scout. He did try to get his Eagle, but the ever dreaded Service Project stood in his way. He tried twice in the past to get projects approved, but there always seemed to be confusion regarding the approval process in our old district. Now that we are in a new Troop and new District, he did try again, but only 2 months before his 18th birthday. He submitted his write-up to the District Advancement Chair Person only to have his submission rejected (not the project, but the write-up). At that point, he decided it wasnt worth t

Anonymous, Welcome to the forums and sorry to hear of the difficulties. You've received lots of good advise so far, but my question is where is the Charter Organization (CO) and their representative (COR) on this whole matter? I'd be tempted to take the COR out for a cup of coffee and find out where they stand on this. Could it be that they don't even know what's going on? They might be shocked and totally back you up. If that's the case, there will be much hard work to recover from where the Troop finds itself now. However, if the CO/COR approves of what's happening, then like state

"If you are absolutely sure that 100% of the families are Judeo-Christian, then some selections of readings from the Old Testament might be appropriate," First, I am a Christian and I don't necessarily like "interfaith" messages. Some of them that I've been to were... well, korny. I would prefer to go to listen to a message where I can hear and respond as I'd like. However, as quoted, if all are Jewish & Christian, you could take a look at the life of Joseph and talk about his integrity and faith and how he was rewarded for staying true. You could even work that into the points of the

OGE, No, and I'm sorry if it sounded like I was saying that Eagles from families who have parents) active and involved are any lesser Eagles. I guess that I have a sour taste left over from watching two boys get Eagle that I know didn't deserve it. Unfortunately, the only Eagles that I saw in a 7 year period (in our former Troop) were these two. In our present Troop, I witnessed a boy get his Eagle whose father is serving in Iraq and whose mother has no interest in Scouts and works two jobs. All I meant by my statement was that I know this boy did all the work himself, he had no one t

OK, it seems that there is a mix of opinions on this. It still seems that the BSA program is set-up to utilize adults in certain roles. To expect the boys to take on those roles seems to me to be diverting from the program as set-up by the BSA. I understand that there are different circumstances in different Troops and different maturity levels in different Troops. I am all in favor of using such a method if it works for a given Troop and it's what it takes to keep the Troop alive. As far as the Eagle issue and involved parents... I've seen Scouts get Eagle who have no active involv

I decided to spin this off, because it seemed that the thread was beginning to take a new direction. To clarify, I have said that the Boy Scout program is designed to use certain Adults to support the program that the boys want. I have stated that in an ideal world, I'd be OK with very little or no adult involvement, but that's not the way the BSA program is set up, nor would the world around us view this as acceptable. It seems that there are some who advocate little or no Adult involvement. So my question to those advocating little to no involvement by adults: Wher

Beavah, Yes, I was coming from the perspective of mostly a younger Troop; mostly Jr. High aged boys with a couple of younger High School aged boys. Still, I've seen many cases where a credit card was required for reservations, and if you don't have a driver's license and need to get an adult; well there you go, you've got an adult volunteer... :-) Fundraisers; In our community, you need permits for almost anything and the city offices will not accept forms from a minor. Not to mention, that most adults don't have enough trust in youth operating without adult supervision. An

Don't forget that you also need at least two adults at each meeting. You also need more than two adults for outings if you count the number of adults needed to drive. Most vehicles hold 5 or 6, so if you have 35 boys going on an outing, you need at least 6 vehicles and drivers. Also, you cannot turn over all adult functions to the boys. For example, you'll not be able to have a boy make reservations at campgrounds or set-up fundraisers. You may even be able to make a case that your youth QM may have a difficult time doing the job by himself without the help of an adult. Unless your

Hello, Like FScouter and Venividi pointed out; as long as you are doing it, you're not likely to get someone to do it if you are doing it yourself. This is very hard, because I'm sure you care about the boys and helping to deliver the program that they have put together to them. I was in a similar situation a couple of years back. I was having to do just about everything, up to and including having my wife come with us on campouts when we didn't have adequate leadership (wife was not a registered leader). I was an ASM with an inactive SM and only two part-time ASM's helping. I

OGE, One other thing to consider in how fast a boy could earn First Class, is the requirement for 10 Patrol/Troop activities & campouts. It might be difficult to participate in 10 activities very quickly. In our Troop, there is usually one Troop outing per month (sometimes two). So I'd be inclined to say that it is possible to earn First Class in 8 to 10 months. This would still allow Eagle in about 2 years. So unless the lad is over 16 years old, it would still be possible as you noted. One side note; the Baptist church that I grew up in had a "Royal Ambasador" program. As

I gave out a "Mr. Somebody" award in the past to a Scout that always got up when a leader would say, "Somebody needs to pick up the Garbage" or "Somebody needs to tidy up under the dining fly" or Somebody needs to ... " This Scout always, without fail would get up and do what needed to get done. So, he became "Mr. Somebody" He was honored with a special award at a COH. Other Scouts began jumping up to try to be the new "Mr. Somebody" after that award, and we had several "Mr. Somebody's" in the following years. ASM59

I think it depends on the individual. For me there is a clear winner: "A Scout is reverent". At least for me all the other points of the law can be thought of as resting on this one. If I am living my life with reverence, the rest of the 11 points will come naturally. During Scoutmaster conferences, I like to ask Scouts what part of the Scout Law they think is most important. I also like to ask which part is hardest for them to live and what part has been easy to live lately. These questions can really spark some interesting conversation and give some real insight into how a Scout is

I heard that e-bay didn't allow the sale of the corn flake because it was a violation of policy --- no food sales on E-bay. So, even though the individual's auction did get up there, the sale was not allowed. So don't try the Cherios idea. :-) ASM59

Welcome to the forums... Do you hang your hat in one place most of the time? Or are you on the road all the time? I know many a Scout Troop that would love to have you on their committee or even as an Assistant Scoutmaster. What do you think? You wouldn't have to just remember the good old times, you could re-live them. ASM59

Good Day, HotDesk - I like your break down of the POR's. It really does show that if properly assigned and overseen, these positions, as Bob White points out, do not overlap and each boy can have an important part of helping to run the Troop. Of course, if you do not have a Troop trailer or equipment, it would not make sense to have a QM, but you could have a Librarian to begin compiling a list of MB books needed for Summer Camp even if you don't have any books currently. And so on for the other positions. I have worked with Troop size from 10 Scouts to 27 Scouts. We have a

OneHour, My son and I moved to another Troop about one and a half year ago. I went through a lot of the same feelings when I quit our old Troop. Quiting the old Troop was something that was not something that I wanted to do, but felt pressed back into a corner. As a result of being let down by many adults, my passion for being involved and active in Scouting was nearly lost. I only joined the new Troop as a leader, so I could be active with my son in his last year of Scouting. I had no intention of staying involved and I sure didn't intend to do anything if my son wasn't going to be

dScouter, Well put, well thought out response. I'm just enjoying reading all the responses regarding movies and how they can be applied. Keep the responses coming... ASM59

Bob, To answer your questions: Since the Troop in question liked the boys to use Troop Tents he would share a tent with another Scout or two due to a lack of tents. As we were given a hard time about this, he began sleeping under the stars when possible or bringing his own tent. The dining fly is a big job to put up and take down and they could have used my height and my son's height to help with this task. Taking it down the night before was not an option for the rest of the leaders. So the bottom line is that when applicable he does take down his own tent. He cleans up and takes