LeCastor

I ask this question because I was reading a 1979 article yesterday in the Scouting magazine archives, and it got my mind thinking about all the thousands of influential Scouters that've come along and helped raise us. This particular article was about a chaplain named Les Shearer. I'd post the link to the article but Google books is missing the year 1979 ☹️

Welcome to the Scouter Forum, @Clstlg! I bet you'll find the answers your looking for here or at least get some solid feedback from the experienced Scouters here.

We all have role models growing up. They can be our parents, friends, or Scouters. Who is your Scouting role model and why? As I was growing up, I spent many summers in Middle Tennessee with my grandparents. In many ways my grandfather influenced me, especially in camping, hiking, and the outdoors. He took me to buy my first handbook, Bill Hillcourt's Official Boy Scout Handbook, 9th edition. That summer I spent many, many hours reading that handbook and practicing the outdoor skills at my grandpa's cabin in the woods. Even though I never met Green Bar Bill, he is one of my Scouting

Recruiting Boy Scout age youth can be difficult but as everyone above points out, there are definitely ways to do it. There is one Troop in my district that has no Pack affiliation and they manage to keep afloat year and year with fresh, new Scouts throughout the year. It's amazing how well they do with word-of-mouth recruiting from the Scouts themselves. In our school district it's difficult getting into a school to make a presentation or do a Scout talk because the principals limit outside organizations. The power of Scouts talking to their friends is truly awesome!

@Liz, both @FireStone and @WonderBoy make a valid point here. Knives are among the sacred objects of Scouting and I can completely understand the desire to hand down to a son or daughter a cherished tool, like a pocket knife. You could easily have a single knife--your own--as the one your Cubs use to fulfill the requirement in question. On a side note, I once stepped in it (royally) when I purchased a Scouting tool for one of the Scouts in my Troop. During a camping trip this young man was showing great interest in fire-building and, as a way to encourage his new skills, I purchased one

@MikeS72, Unit Scouter Reserve is a designation for 18+ year-old Scouters who wish to be registered with a unit but without a specific position, as you state. The registration fee is as @Treflienne says: $33 + any liability insurance your council may charge. This allows a parent or other adult to be a member of the unit and, as a result of registering, requires that person to have the BSA background check. Unit Scouter Reserve members must take YPT. The upside for the Reserve member and for unit JTE is that there is no position-specific training required.

Now we're cooking with white gas! Thanks, @Eagledad!

I do this, too. So, I'm pretty sure the future of experiential training is, in essence, using the syllabus as a jumping off point and then making the experience unique to the presenters and learners. In my final Scoutmaster's minute on Gilwell Field I expressed to the Troop that our Wood Badge course will never happen again because the course was unique. Each staffer and each learner shaped our course and made it our own. @desertrat77 is absolutely correct that the presenters can make or break the training experience, so District Training Chairs must take this into account and make wise decisi

Yes, I completely agree. There's never going to be one class that makes you an expert, and I really don't think anyone could expect that as an outcome. But the issue I see is that Scouters aren't going to the introductory training "classes." As a result, we don't have youth-facing adults with the base knowledge they should have to effectively deliver the promise of Scouting. The point I'm trying to make is that the introductory training courses could be approached from a more experiential method of teaching as opposed to PowerPoints and videos. The fact that you, @cocomax, seek further k

Looking at the photo and the description of the tool, this particular one doesn't appear to include a can opener. You might go to your local Scout Shop and purchase the official Scout knife: https://www.scoutshop.org/bsa-deluxe-pocket-knife-2-1-2-knife.html. As others have mentioned previously, the Bears could take turns using this knife to complete the requirement.

Might you permit me to resurrect this topic? Training is very near and dear to my heart, as I believe it helps Scouts and Scouters stay on the trail, as it were. However, I have seen a steady decline in the number of Scouters showing up for training despite the plethora of opportunities on the Council and District calendars. Locally, we have so many in-person training opportunities that it tends to confuse people to the point of paralysis and, in the end, no one registers for the classes and, as a consequence, the training opportunities are cancelled. I often hear folks say adults a

Getting back the OP, I think we've established that the BSA doesn't discount the work a Scout does serving on another Scout's Eagle project. There is no double-dipping or double-counting in this case. Service rendered during an Eagle project is service rendered and, therefore, eligible for service hours needed for rank advancement.

The P 38 is a valuable tool and I keep one on my keyring at all times. However, this doesn't help the OP solve the issue of using a pocket knife with can opener. We would like to steer comments back to the OP rather than veer too far off the rails.

Hi @Mohunter! I haven't heard of any such policy either. As I see it, if you are doing service, voluntarily, through an Eagle Scout service project that should be considered giving service. Do you think this might have been a policy from your previous Troop?

@Jameson76, I know you are being facetious but as Scoutmaster I was able to select the staff and they shared my vision. Probably I'm not your typical SM based on the negative views of Wood Badge I see on the forum. @CodyMiller351, you are welcome to take Wood Badge in Wisconsin if you want to. We'll welcome you with open arms and we won't haze you or shame you in any way.

I particularly like the Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills course and eagerly volunteer to serve as an instructor each time it's offered in our council. Two years ago I volunteered to run the course and assemble a staff of talented instructors. At least in my view, that course was very successful because when each Scouter left they left energized, re-engaged, and ready to do some Scouting back home. Also, now, in my various Scouting roles, I try my best to encourage Scouts to participate as instructors for whatever I'm organizing from the training standpoint. Youth teaching adults is

Yes: https://www.gofundme.com/chippewa-falls-girl-scout-3055

And the plural of "y'all" is "all y'all". I would agree with @KarenZ that AAC has always been a powerhouse and one of the largest councils. That's where I started Scouting in 3rd grade as a Bear in Norcross, GA.

Yes, this absolutely breaks my heart. These young women had their entire lives ahead of them and were simply doing a Good Turn for their community. it hits me especially hard because this happened in my backyard.

Thanks to everyone who helped point @shortridge to the universal emblem for online purchase. I have one that I got from my Scoutmaster many years ago. It's worn and stained from many a campout; dirt and coffee spills give it character. That patch holds a special place in my heart, especially these past few weeks following the death of one of my Scouting mentors who also happened to be married to my Scoutmaster. I recently sewed this emblem onto an old wool shirt and as I was doing it the sales sticker fell off the back. It was purchased from Maison Blanche, a former New Orleans departmen

Hi @Summitdog, I served as a Wood Badge course director earlier this year and I highly encourage you to take Wood Badge when you are ready. If you are interested in knowing more, you may read my biog post about Wood Badge and the reason it exists: https://scoutlaw.wordpress.com/2018/09/21/so-what-is-wood-badge/ Yours in Scouting Service, LeCastor

When I was getting long in the tooth as a Boy Scout our Troop Committee suggested forming a Venture Patrol for the older Scouts. We still came to Troop meetings (occasionally) but we were more focused on doing more "grown-up" things. At this time Venturing wasn't around yet as a stand-alone program. The benefit of having a Venture Patrol in a Troop is the older Scouts still have skin in the game and can be steered toward giving back--to the younger Scouts---what they received at that age. One of the major issues I see nationally, is that very few people actually understand what Venturing

@CodyMiller351, thank you for serving in the role of Assistant Scoutmaster. You have chosen to give back to a younger ones what Scouting gave you. I think you are a rare breed, a fresh ASM who just came out of the youth end of things. @Eagle94-A1 and @Sentinel947 are two of the ones I know best on these forums. They have loads to tell you about serving a Troop as a young ASM and seeing what their Troop was doing incorrectly, from the point of view of Scouters interfering with the Patrol Method, for example. @MattR hits the nail on the head when he recommends reading anything by William "

Yes, I agree with you about the "too much US and THEM" on this forum. Very often when reading everyone's definitive answers I can't help but think of The Dude's quote from The Big Lebowski: "Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man."