Kudu

stevo0880 writes: "The patrol leaders don't ask their members if they have any ideas to bring up to the PLC. I did this every week but it really never stuck and have basically given up on this. " Don't give up. Hold a demonstration "Public PLC Meeting" so the entire Troop (including the adults) can see how it is supposed to work: 1. Put a table in the center of your meeting room for the PLC. 2. Arrange the Patrols in chairs around the table so that each Patrol is close to the PLC table, but as far apart from any other Patrol as possible. 3. Because you are having problems with discipline, have the Scoutmaster place one or two adults near (BUT NOT IN!) each Patrol to keep the Scouts AND the adults from talking during your public PLC meeting. 4. Seat the PLC at the table, stand up and tell the Troop that this is how your PLC works: Their Patrol Leader is supposed to ask them for their ideas at a Patrol Meeting and then represent them at the PLC meeting. 5. Announce that this evening you will be planning an upcoming event, something the Scouts care about. If your Troop has a game period every week, then I suggest that you plan the games for the rest of the month. Or if you always play the same game and everybody likes it that way, then maybe you can use this PLC meeting just to plan the theme and the fun stuff for the next campout. This short PLC meeting should actually decide something for real, but pick a topic that can be discussed and voted on in less than ten (10) minutes. Do NOT let this get boring! 6. Then send the Patrol Leaders back to their Patrols for a Patrol Meeting with your usual reminder to ask their Patrol members for their ideas and to write them down. 7. Allow the Patrols to meet for maybe five to eight minutes. 8. Call the Patrol Leaders back to the PLC table and hold a real PLC meeting to plan the actual games for the rest of the month or the theme and fun stuff for the next campout. Make the meeting VERY SHORT, give each Patrol Leader no more than a minute to speak, then hold a vote, then announce the final plans. 9. The most important rule is NO WHISPERING. You must have absolute silence. The Patrols are NOT allowed to whisper reminders to their Patrol Leaders about the ideas they forgot. When this does happen (and it will), stop the meeting, make eye contact with the adult nearest to the whispering Patrol and remind everyone that NO whispering is allowed. 10. When the PLC meeting is over and plans have been made final, stand up and ask each Patrol in turn (with all of the other Scouts in the Troop remaining absolutely silent) how they well they think their Patrol Leader represented them. Did he remember all their ideas? If a Patrol is especially outraged at their Patrol Leader, ask them why they elected him. stevo0880 writes: "Recently the main issue that is concerning me is lack of respect." The correct tool is the Scout Sign: 1) It is natural for boys to make a lot of noise and to want to move around rather than sit still. 2) Make sure that your Scouts have plenty of activities in which they can make noise and move around. Do not turn a Scout Meeting into school. 3) But when they cross the respect line you must use the Scout Sign to quiet everyone down and restore order. 4) At home practice your "game face," a look that without saying anything, tells everyone that the group has crossed the line and you are now "serious as a heart attack" about discipline and respect. 5) When you do raise the Sign, hold your wristwatch up while you stand with the Scout Sign raised. When things finally get quiet announce how long it took everyone to get quiet and that much time will be taken from the game period that evening. 6) If your Troop is in the habit of yelling "Sign's UP!" Remind everyone that yelling anything, including "Sign's UP!" is totally BOGUS in a well disciplined Troop. 7) If you can talk your Scoutmaster into it, arrange to have the SPL and the Patrol Leaders as the sole "Keepers of the Sign." If an adult wants to address the Troop, he must ask you or the nearest Patrol Leader to raise the Sign. Adults should have learned at training that the SPL and Patrol Leaders run the Troop. stevo0880 writes: "I only have 3 months left in my term and if I am not able to inspire others to take an interest then not only will i not be reelected but it will turn into a popularity contest for underqualifyed persons. " If you are serious about the Scout Sign, you can radically change your Troop Culture in a single week if you also have FUN stuff planned, but you MUST stick to your guns, BE FAIR, and be in constant conversation with the Scoutmaster. By the way, do NOT let anyone tell you that you should ever step down and not run for reelection. Scouting was invented by a general named Lord Baden-Powell, and he believed that the most qualified boy-leaders should run the Troop, not step down for popularity contests and to give less qualified Scouts "their turn to learn how to be a leader." There is no official BSA rule that says you must step down after a year. If your Troop has such a rule but you succeed at turning your unit into a model Troop, then use your wits and popularity to get that rule changed. Yours in the Old School, Kudu

Best individual tarp shelter on a campout (to sleep under instead of a tent). Some of our Scouts started practicing at home, sleeping under a tarp in the backyard whenever the weather forecast predicted rain. http://inquiry.net/patrol/competition.htm Kudu(This message has been edited by kudu)

It is interesting how similar BoyScoutTrail.Com's Patrol Spirit Award and Coup Beads for Patrol Flags are to mine from ten years ago :-/ http://inquiry.net/patrol/competition.htm Kudu

Our Business Manager Mission Statement: "The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law." Our REAL Mission Statement: "The purposes of the corporation are to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916." Eamonn writes: "Not sure how we got on to a Wood Badge rant?" Your "Traditional Scouting" rant. Wood Badge is the interface between corporate manager theory and volunteer training. Nobody defines Scouting as soccer unless they have been to corporate manager Wood Badge. Eamonn writes: "As I see it we need a "Product" that appeals to the youth we want to join." We already have a "Product" that appeals to youth. 66% of sixth graders (not counting Webelos cross-overs) want to be a Boy Scout if you describe Scouting as the Scoutcraft methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916." That is our mission. Our Congressional Charter does not say "figure out what will make you popular and call that Scouting." The Charter is a preservation document, it defines Scouting as the methods that were in use on the day the monopoly on Scouting (for boys) was granted, in exchange for picking the BSA as the coporate winner. Eamonn writes: "If soccer is the "Carrot" that brings them in? I'm ready to buy into it." Those are corporate manager values. People who want to be popular so badly that they twist the meaning of the Congressional Charter to turn Scouting into soccer do NOT make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes: That is NOT the meaning of Scout Law. Eamonn writes: "We can argue about what the meaning of "Scoutcraft" is?" Pure Wood Badge Logic. That is the reason that outdoor skills were removed from Wood Badge. The meaning of "Scoutcraft" is laid out pretty clearly at: http://inquiry.net/advancement/tf-1st_require_1911.htm Eamonn writes: "Is Scoutcraft the art of living like a Scout? Or is it just having "Outdoor Skills"? Scoutcraft is the process of learning outdoor skills in a Patrol. Living the Scout Law is something that a boy learns to do along the way outdoors with his HANDS. Eamonn writes: "I like to think that I'm the man I am today, not because I can make myself comfortable in the great outdoors, but because of the life lessons I learned as a Scout." If you had never been a Scout but instead learned your "life lessons" on a soccer field, then you would have athlete values, not Scout values. A good athlete would never twist the meaning of baseball terms so that he could play soccer in his Little League team. If he wanted to be popular so very badly, he would go try out for soccer. Maybe that is why so many parents believe that the values a boy learns from sports are far superior to anything he can learn in Scouts, where "ethical choices" means twisting words just to be popular. Kudu

gwd-scouter writes: "We only had one school night this year...We were given a small private school and only got two sign ups." How many sixth-graders? Do you have any contacts with the principal or vice-principals? For those who are interested, the problem with school nights is that they are passive events where a boy must already want to be a "Boy Scout" to sign up. Now REALLY, how many red-blooded American boys not still in Cubs wants to be a Booooy Scouuuut? The trick is to find a contact with the principal or one of the vice-principals and arrange to give a Scouting presentation in the school auditorium during school hours. This allows YOU to define what Scouting is, and what boys love most is Scoutcraft using the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916. I usually get 66% of an audience (that came in sneering) to sign a list in front of their peers asking me to call their parents so that they can be a Boy Scout. See: http://inquiry.net/adult/recruiting.htm Sometimes these boys make better Boy Scouts than Webelos 2 crossovers, because Cub Scouts tends to filter out outdoor boys who can't stand scissors, paste and sock puppets Kudu

Wood Badge is the uniform police of Leadership Development! Since the day of its invention in 1972, the goal of Leadership Development has been to destroy the Patrol Method by cancelling position-specific training for Patrol Leaders and asserting that Scoutcraft skills are not leadership skills: In general, Patrol Leader training should concentrate on leadership skills rather than on Scoutcraft Skills. The Patrol will not rise and fall on the Patrol Leader's ability to cook, follow a map, or do first aid, but it very definitely depends on his leadership skill (Scoutmaster's Handbook, 1972, page 155). As such, Wood Badge will provide the muscle for Chief Scout Executive Robert Mazzuca's bid to "Reinvent Scouting." It is only a matter of time until smiling holders of the Wood Badge stand in front "Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmaster Leader Specific Training" in soccer uniforms and repeat the following: "Camping is not necessarily a big thing with them, as a matter of fact in some cases it is not big at all. So we need to kind of think about, is it more important that we reach that child with the kind of things we have for children and we have for families in character development and leadership skill growth and all of those things? Or is it more important that we get them in a tent next week? And so I think the answer to that is fairly obvious to us. "The other is that marvelous passion for family in the Hispanic world and when we say 'we want to take your twelve-year-old son but you can't come' we're making a mistake there. We have to engage an entire family. We need to reach out and do those sorts of things that recognize their cultural issues and accommodate them. For example one of our pilot programs over the last recent years has been Scouting and soccer, using the attraction of the soccer game to gather Hispanic families around...." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#29491940

If it was a BSA Merit Badge, it was probably borrowed from Baden-Powell's Master at Arms Proficiency Badge: Demonstrate proficiency in one of the following: a) Single stick. b) Quarterstaff. c) Fencing. d) Boxing. e) Judo. f) Wrestling g) Archery. OR any recognized martial art. 2 In all the contest events he must have taken part in an encounter under proper ring conditions, and be able to name and demonstrate the correct methods of attack and defence. 3 Give evidence that he has been training for the selected sport, for a period of not less than 3 months.

Our Corporate Mission Statement: "The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law." Our REAL Mission Statement: "The purposes of the corporation are to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916." Eamonn writes: "I really don't have any problem with the Congressional Charter, I would however point out: Sec. 30904. Powers: 6.do any other act necessary to carry out this chapter and promote the purpose of the corporation. My interpretation of this is that we don't have to remain in the 1916's. The values mentioned in the charter...Have not changed and remain intact." That is almost perfect Wood Badge Logic, Eamonn! Take traditional Scoutcraft out of Scouting and we still have the same "values," correct? Wood Badge is based on corporate manager fluff. Now is a very bad time for corporations because everyone is so aware that 21st century mission statements and trendy one minute manager schemes are based on promoting empty assets. That is why you can buy shares in a corporation so cheaply now! The Wood Badge Logic (or corporate logic) of using Sec. 30904, which deals with the PROMOTION of the OFFICIAL PURPOSE (Scoutcraft), to CHANGE THE PURPOSE of the corporation is an example of the "ethical choices" corporations use to acquire toxic assets. That is what happens when you strip Scoutcraft away from Scout values. Values that are not tested against the forces of mother nature are not traditional Scouting values. They may look the same on paper, but they are just opinions. Wood Badge Logic is a perfect example of "anything goes." Just because business nerds think that soccer or computers are easier to PROMOTE to "modern boys" than Scouting, does not make it an "ethical choice." Suppose you were successful in getting Congress to strip Scoutcraft from the REAL mission statement, and substitute the Corporate Mission Statement in its place? Then it would be still be OK to apply your interpretation of Sec. 30904 to substitute something that business nerds think is easier to PROMOTE than "Ethical Choices"? Unethical choices, for instance? Chief Scout Executive Robert Mazzuca seeks to "reinvent" the BSA and move us away from our real-world industrial-age product, Scoutcraft, and replace it with abstract "values" and corporate management theory (AKA character and leadership): "Camping is not necessarily a big thing with them, as a matter of fact in some cases it is not big at all. So we need to kind of think about, is it more important that we reach that child with the kind of things we have for children and we have for families in character development and leadership skill growth and all of those things? Or is it more important that we get them in a tent next week? And so I think the answer to that is fairly obvious to us. "The other is that marvelous passion for family in the Hispanic world and when we say 'we want to take your twelve-year-old son but you can't come' we're making a mistake there. We have to engage an entire family. We need to reach out and do those sorts of things that recognize their cultural issues and accommodate them. For example one of our pilot programs over the last recent years has been Scouting and soccer, using the attraction of the soccer game to gather Hispanic families around...." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#29491940

The school stuff like Reading, Scholarship, Citizenship, Personal Finance, etc, etc, etc, should be moved to Little League where all that indoor stuff is really needed. After all, self-reliance these days means managin' personal finances and bein' able to repair your car and havin' a career you love and are good at, eh? A lot more than it means bein' able to hit a ball with a club! Kudu

Did you ask your DE for the list of sign-ups from your local school again this year?

John-in-KC writes: "At the risk of waking Rick, and having him blow the Gilwell horn... B-P SFAIK was a non-smoker, and actively encouraged Scouts not to smoke." It was a purely practical consideration that predated Boy Scouts. His military reconnaissance manual, Aids to Scouting lists under "Qualifications for a Scout": "Healthy and sound. A man who drinks or who is liable to recurrence of certain diseases is useless for a scout."

Eamonn writes: "I'm happy that some people seem to want to return to what they are calling "Traditional Scouting" or "Old Time Scouting". I'm not sure if this is what the youth want? ... But they are gone. They will never return. To keep on pretending that what we once had will return is just foolish. The parents of the kids we have are the product of the twentieth century, not the ninetieth century and the kids belong to the twenty-first century." Bunk! When I recruit in the public schools I offer Traditional "Old-School" Scouting, as it is described in the BSA's Congressional Charter. 66% of an auditorium of sixth graders sign a list (in front of their peers!), asking me to call their parents so they can be a Boy Scout. That does NOT count the boys in the auditorium who are already in Scouts! See: http://inquiry.net/adult/recruiting.htm Arrange for me to stand side by side with you in front of an auditorium of sneering sixth-graders and you will see for yourself that boys not any different now than they were 100 years ago. The BSA's REAL mission statement is the Congressional Charter: Sec. 30902. Purposes The purposes of the corporation are to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916. Anything else just ain't cricket! Kudu

NeilLup writes: "I would respectfully say here that this is not the time nor the appropriate venue to push aggressively what you believe is the best way to aid youth in the context of Scouting." I said to find out what he LIKES to play, and play it HARD! That is what old-school Scouting is: A Game, NOT the "purpose." Kudu

Beavah writes: "That havin' been said, I've been on many an Eagle board of review where boys admitted that the badge they got the most out of was one of those required badges you despise so much. Personal Management is common. Citizenship is common." That is because any indoor boy can get to an Eagle Board of Review without ever walking into the woods with a pack on his back. If our socialized Scouting included Baden-Powell's Scouting requirements, an Eagle candidate might be just as enthusiastic about that 120 mile horseback Journey he organized for Senior Hiker Merit Badge! Kudu

Well, this answers John-In-KC's original question, "Why did the Community Organizer in Chief close the White House to reporting while the BSA delivered its annual report?" Obviously both parties needed time to discuss their shared socialist agenda! The BSA is socialized Scouting, and at a hundred years it is a wonderful example of a successful single-player policy for the President to emulate! This is how socialism works: The BSA agrees to train boys in Scoutcraft using the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916. In return Congress picks the BSA as the corporate winner and shields us from free market forces: Sec. 30902. Purposes The purposes of the corporation are to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916. What liberals don't understand is that our conservative membership policies are the face of socialism in the 21st century! All the BSA has to do is make the "ethical choice" and stick by the agreement. Which begs the question, if we had to CHOOSE one or the other, what do we value more: Our membership policies, or doing away with "the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916"? "Camping is not necessarily a big thing with them, as a matter of fact in some cases it is not big at all. So we need to kind of think about, is it more important that we reach that child with the kind of things we have for children and we have for families in character development and leadership skill growth and all of those things? Or is it more important that we get them in a tent next week? And so I think the answer to that is fairly obvious to us. "The other is that marvelous passion for family in the Hispanic world and when we say 'we want to take your twelve-year-old son but you can't come' we're making a mistake there. We have to engage an entire family. We need to reach out and do those sorts of things that recognize their cultural issues and accommodate them. For example one of our pilot programs over the last recent years has been Scouting and soccer, using the attraction of the soccer game to gather Hispanic families around...." Robert J. Mazzuca, Chief Scout Executive, Boy Scouts of America http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#29491940

"What do all of you think? Good badges? Or not so good? What would you get rid of?" Get rid of all of them. Then bring in outside experts to rewrite the ones that deal (without schoolwork requirements) with the following two things: 1) Scoutcraft 2) Service to Others Scoutcraft and Service to Others are the ONLY two legitimate Scouting Merit Badge subjects. Scouts get enough school in school. 1) Scoutcraft. You might remember Scoutcraft. It is in the BSA "mission statement," the one mandated by Congress: Sec. 30902. Purposes The purposes of the corporation are to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916. Scoutcraft is all the outdoor fun stuff that makes 75% of all sixth grade boys want to join the BSA. 2) Service to Others. That is the "the ability of boys to do things for others" part. The practical help other people at al times and how to be a hero stuff--like First Aid, Lifesaving, various health and safety badges, etc. By the way, the "Three Aims of Scouting" mandated by Congress are Patriotism Courage Self-Reliance Patriotism is the natural result of Service to Others, Courage and Self-Reliance comes from Scoutcraft. Kudu

Lisabob writes: "Your assumptions could be right on or they could be totally wrong. I do consider them to be arrogant and irresponsible." Personal attacks are always based on projecting onto someone else the qualities that you secretly fear about yourself. Based on your rash of "you don't know the situation on the ground at all" and "accurately or not, and that troop leader's perceptions may be accurate, or not" stuff, my guess is that you are currently having problems coming to terms with the fact that in life we can never fully understand anything, anyone, or any situation: We ALL look through a glass darkly. Given that universal existential dilemma, my advise is still: 1) Pay attention to the mommy problem 2) Concentrate on OLD-SCHOOL Scouting: Find out what he likes to play and Play It Hard! He needs endorphin sweat dripping off his face, not schoolwork Merit Badges. 3) If this Scout is a gifted natural leader and role model, appoint him to a REAL outdoor leadership position STASAP (SOONER Than As Soon As Possible). Don't rely on the SPL. Kudu (This message has been edited by kudu)

Lisabob writes: "No, based on practically no information, you instead decide to blame the mother for all of this. Sheesh. You should be ashamed." You don't seem to have a problem with anyone who else who offered advice based on practically no information. Blame and shame is your problem, it says more about you than it does about us. This is not a matter of "if we know who to blame then the matter is settled." I called to head-off the controlling mommy problem, it is you who calls for passive understanding. "Just knowing that there are people who care" is NOT enough if his mother yanks it all away again. He ALREADY knew who in his life cares about him when he called his Scoutmaster minutes before slashing his wrists. This woman figured out what her son loved most in the world and she took it away from him. Maybe she is just one of those poor misunderstood victims of postpartum depression, but if Eagle92's friend does not address the mommy factor and she again cuts him off from Scouting, then NO Scouting-based advice will mean anything, now will it Lisabob? Sucking up to her with all that indoor classroom Scouting stuff is a start. Lord knows there is more school than Outing in Scouting. It might make her "feel good" about Scouting but just between us here, it is pure crap. If all the attention helps him improve his grades then fine, but what if it doesn't? Scouting was designed to be the opposite of school because most boys hate sitting through lectures. This Scout sounds like he might be one of those boys. They need a "Mommy Plan B." Maybe just something as simple as stroking her ego 3, 6, and 9 months down the line, eh? I can't help with that but I can tell you that what Scouting has to offer is adventure, which has nothing to do with "Scholarship MB" and "Reading MB." Since everyone else has all that "feelings" stuff covered, I would figure out what hard physical activities this Scout likes and do more of that. Chances are some of the other Scouts like that too. Most importantly, rather than figuring out what the Troop can do for this Scout, the Troop should figure out what the Scout can do for the Troop. He is one of the oldest Scouts in the Troop, a role model, and one of their best leaders. Gifted leaders like to play hard and lead. Don't stick him with a stupid "POR" about books or tents. It sounds like this Troop has "regular elections" which means that some of the Patrol Leaders are fake. That translates to an opportunity for this Scout to provide real outdoor leadership somewhere. Depending on his skills and all of the personalities involved, if the only PORs available now are "librarian" and "quartermaster," I would just make something up, like a "Scoutmaster-assigned leadership project" as outdoor trip master in charge of whatever he does best: Planning and then coordinating some backpacking and canoe trips maybe. Turning a gifted leader into a librarian is criminal. Fix that. Kudu

The problem here is the mother. Your friend better have that base covered.

The idea that we need to dumb Scouting down to the Hispanic level is inherently racist. I recruited many Latin Scouts using the Scoutcraft methods that were in common use by Boy Scouts on June 15, 1916. Kudu

Well, you are certainly full of surprises, Brent Allen! Not only do you serve one of the one-in-a-thousand Troops that uses the Patrol Method at summer camp, but apparently you have had success with the Patrol Method WITHOUT an SPL? As you know, Baden-Powell considered the SPL position strictly optional because good Patrol Leaders don't really need one. So maybe your biggest challenge is going to be Patrol leadership? If your best Patrol Leader moves to SPL, then you will need TWO (2) more good leaders if you indeed do add a Patrol. But wait! There's MORE! If you follow the advice of those who seem to assume that for some reason you now need an ASPL, and if your second best Patrol Leader becomes the SPL's assistant (as often happens after an election when to prove he is a "good sport" the SPL picks his opponent to be his ASPL) then suddenly you will need THREE (3) new Patrol Leaders, correct? So in your Troop of 11 Scouts, do you really have five good Patrol Leaders, Scouts you would trust to lead a Hike or Overnight without adult supervision? If not, then you are likely to soon encounter what Stosh calls the "Boy-led Troop Method" where the program is indeed boy-led by the SPL, but the Patrols can not actually function independently of each other. Over the years I have found that the high energy level of a two-Patrol Troop is better maintained if you ignore the 8 Scouts per Patrol rule and pile all the new Scouts into the two existing Patrols. In your case this would be 12 or 13 Scouts per Patrol at weekly meetings, but maybe less on campouts. Usually you can estimate how many Webelos will drop out by counting the number not going to summer camp. If you loose two of them and then average about 3-4 absences per monthly camping trip after your Troop doubles, this brings the number down to around 9 per Patrol in the woods. A good Patrol Leader can manage 9 Scouts MUCH better than a second-rate Patrol Leader can handle 6. To divide 14 new Scouts into two existing Patrols, have a game night with your two Patrols forming the two teams. All of the new Scouts find a buddy first, and then each pair of buddies picks a side just for a ten minute game. Then let the buddies switch sides. Then for the third game let them pick the team they liked best. Unless one of the Patrol Leaders is a rock star (like a high school football hero that they already know by reputation), then usually the most important thing to a new Scout is that he gets to stay together with his best friends. Let the Patrols stay fluid for a few weeks with the understanding that they will have to make a decision at a certain point. I recommend to the PLC that it wait until the meeting AFTER their first campout, because that is when the new Scouts realize that the Patrols do not camp close together and it makes a difference which Patrol they are in! I usually conduct the Scout "Rank" SM Conferences at their first campout to see how all of this is going for each individual. Then if you can recruit 14 Scouts in the fall, or pick up 14 Webelos a year from now, go directly from two Patrols to four Patrols. This gives your original 11 Scouts an extra year to mature before being called into service. In a small Troop an SPL (let alone an ASPL!) is a waste of leadership talent. Baden-Powell NEVER used ASPLs, of course, and Hillcourt only added them when very large "mega-Troops" became a problem toward the end of his service. The idea that appointed leaders need to be supervised by the ASPL (rather than the SPL who appointed them) came much later. The only thing we ever used the ASPL position for was when a Patrol realized it had made a mistake in an election. The SPL would "promote" a bad Patrol Leader to ASPL if the Patrol agreed with the SPL on which Scout would make a better PL. This gives a well-meaning but incompetent PL a way to save face, and a harmless place to put him Kudu

Buffalo Skipper writes: "My problem is that there is a disconnect between the "talk" and the "action." How do I go about ensuring that this is going to be conducted in a safe manner." You get to safe conduct the same way that you get to Carnegie Hall: Practice, Practice, Practice! Patrol Leader Training -- as opposed to "Junior" Leader Training (JLT) or "Troop" Leadership Training (TLT) -- is based on PRACTICING a Patrol Hike and then PRACTICING a Patrol Overnight with the PLC as the "Greenbar Patrol" and the Scoutmaster as their Patrol Leader. That means you actually take the Patrol of Patrol Leaders on a Patrol Hike, and then a few months later on a Patrol Overnight. The new values-based leadership training substitutes "trust" (values) and manager theory (hyped as "leadership") for this actual old-school "hands-on" training. That is why most Troops no longer use the Patrol Method which is based on independent Patrol Hikes and Patrol Overnights rather than TALK about values and management. The best way to make the transition is Troop Hikes based on THEMES (entertainment) rather than distance, and practicing Patrol Overnights on monthly Troop Campouts with the distance of each Patrol from the nearest adults based on the competency of the Patrol. Start with 30 feet and then gradually work up to Baden-Powell's suggested distance of 300 feet between Patrols. Has suggested that he could camp on his uncle's property (1 acre in a nearby rural community), which happens to be near a skate park." The location is ideal for old-school Scouting because his uncle can check up on them at night. Once they are used to Patrol Overnights on monthly Troop Campouts, they will understand that the Patrol's distance from the uncle's house will be increased in the future as the Patrol proves itself to be trustworthy. Kudu

Actually our Congressional Charter requires an annual report to Congress, not the President. We should remember that despite the fact that the BSA would rather talk about modern stuff like "leadership development" and "ethical choices" the actual mission of the BSA is stated clearly in its Congressional mandate: Sec. 30902. Purposes The purposes of the corporation are to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916. "Camping is not necessarily a big thing with them, as a matter of fact in some cases it is not big at all. So we need to kind of think about, is it more important that we reach that child with the kind of things we have for children and we have for families in character development and leadership skill growth and all of those things? Or is it more important that we get them in a tent next week? And so I think the answer to that is fairly obvious to us." Bob Mazzucca, Chief Scout Executive, Boy Scouts of America

Yes, but what a sad commentary on "Scouting in the 21st Century" that opposition to the BSA's intentional move away from our Congressional mandate is somehow perceived to be MY issue. Sec. 30902. Purposes The purposes of the corporation are to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916.

"Camping is not necessarily a big thing with them, as a matter of fact in some cases it is not big at all. "So we need to kind of think about, is it more important that we reach that child with the kind of things we have for children and we have for families in character development and leadership skill growth and all of those things. Or is it more important that we get them in a tent next week. And so I think the answer to that is fairly obvious to us. "The other is that marvelous passion for family in the Hispanic world and when we say 'we want to take your twelve-year-old son but you can't come' we're making a mistake there. We have to engage an entire family. We need to reach out and do those sorts of things that recognize their cultural issues and accommodate them. For example one of our pilot programs over the last recent years has been Scouting and soccer, using the attraction of the soccer game to gather Hispanic families around...."