lrsap

Call me crazy, but isn't it possible he was just curious if the rule existed? Or are we to assume all boys in Scouting are potential horrible creatures that, if not for our adult wonderfulness, would devolve into rude, insolent man-apes?

Sorry evmori, but I have to disagree with you on this one, which based on my frequent reading of these forums is actually rare. To me, a relative example would be to replace "social media age restrictions" with "posted speed limit". If every time a SM is driving he/she goes 5 miles over the posted speed limit, the SM is in violation of the law. The SM obeys the rules of the road to a t when performing the SM scouter role, but people see him/her driving 5 - 10 mph over when going to work or to the beach with the family. Based on that, I need to inform the committee the SM is an unsafe law break

First of all, as a daily reader and poster to these forums, I would like to say how pleasant it has been to see a thread this long full of honest opinion, but every post being written in a Scout-like, friendly manner. My 0.02 in this issue is intended as a generalization, not specific to the parties involved in this issue. Actually, MIB, as someone who is going to be the SM of a brand new troop here in the extreme near future, based on everything I have read you would not only be a highly appreciated member of the troop, but I suspect you would get very tired from me leaning on you all t

Neil, you are right that I shouldn't drop a comment like "...'boy-led' used as an excuse to be 'do-nothing' leaders..." without a bit of an explanation. When I actually read it again, it may have been a bit to harsh of a phrase to use. What I mean by this is the boys in the troop were hardly doing anything that resembled a troop meeting. There wasn't much scouting going on at all. If it weren't for the Oath and Law at the beginning, there wouldn't be much difference between the meeting and kids hanging out at a bus stop. Boys are leaving because they are bored. And when you ask the leaders why

I'm sure this has come up before, but hopefully this is with a slightly different spin so I'm at least not too boring. I am going to be the SM of a brand new troop that will be starting up in about a month. The biggest obstacle I think we are going to face as a troop is not the boys inexperience but mine. I have not been an SM before, and have only been an ASM for two troops for about a year. For the last year, I believe I have seen a lot of the "what not to do" type of leadership. I was part of the most adult led troop in my area, and in the other saw "boy-led" used as an excuse t

I just finished helping out at a Cub Camp, and like yours someone at Council liked the sound of the cash register going off. We had over double the amount of people the camp should hold. It was an amazing thing to see. Anyway, I assisted the RM on the BB range. Got to the range at 8:00, and never left until 6:30 that night. Lunch was eventually run out to us around 2:00 in the form of leftovers. We had Cubs up to our ears, with never a break for 10 hours. And I loved every minute of it.

Thanks for the kind words. A committee position might be the way to go, or maybe a return as an ASM in the future. I just know there are some Webelos who need me to be there, and a T-foot that needs to branch out just a bit more. I think me not being there for a few months will make a big difference. Then, when maybe I return, the dynamic will be even better. Because, just between us, not being "Dad" when I needed to be ASM was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

And going back after the Cub Scout year may be a possibility. It all depends on what he needs when summer camp rolls around.

After being my son's leader from TC through Webelos, and crossing over with him into his troop this spring, I have always said I would either be there, or not be there, when he was a Boy Scout based on what would be best for him. Through a canoe trip (his first time in one, very nervous) to summer camp where he didn't pass his Swim Test and was extremely nervous about the overnighter for Wilderness Survival MB, being there was what he needed. Then a funny thing started to happen over the summer. He started working on his swimming, and not only passed the test but earned his Swimming MB.

OOW! One hOur per Week

Well, just got back yesterday. That was one of the best weeks I have ever spent in my life. If anyone is thinking about a week at Camp Old Indian in S.C., go for it. The staff was fantastic and the place was beautiful. Another great thing is watching the new scouts. As the week went by, so did the "new". And yes, thanks for the Gold Bond Body Powder tip. I was the keeper of the Magic Powder for boys that walk funny.

Ladies and gentlemen, can you help a newbie out? I'm about to embark on my first SC EVER, and I was wondering. After the basics, what is the "one thing" you wish you would have brought to Summer Camp? Sincerely, One excited ASM!!

"Incidentally, I have never seen a bylaw that actually pertained to a scout... so far, they were always created because of adults and parents!" Can I get an amen!!!

Just on the surface, I'm leaning towards misunderstanding rather than anything devious. The fact that some of the dates are prior to bridging makes me think about the TF requirements. A lot of them would be done by a Webelos earning his AOL. So he may have been going through the book saying, "Hey, I did that. That too! Cool!" If he were actually trying to pull the wool over someone's eyes, I suspect the entries would have looked different. Not being critical, but just asking. When you say he is aware they do not sign off on their own advancement, does that mean you know he knows, or was i

Not exactly, BD. The CO's rules are their rules. They have the right to restrict as they see fit. I may not agree, but that is how it is. My post was more towards your question and the point you were making. If this were your troop, and a man who is your District RT Commish, all relevant BS training, WB, has a son in your troop wants to be an ASM and camp with your troop, would you then ask him why? Would you tell him to back off, it's not about him? I totally get letting him fly on his own, and in a lot of cases that is be best. The fact that you spend personal time with your son o

"Can I inquire, for information's sake, how old your son is, and why you want to go camping with his troop?" "Another thing to consider, This is your son's scouting experience, Back off let him go camping with the troop, MOM does not to need to be with him all the time. This is not about you." Just curious gentlemen, if it was a Dad with the same scouting resume, would you ask him these questions?

"Another sad point: negative-end-of-spectrum GOBs always overestimate what they contribute." Excellent. That goes along with the negative end of the GOBN over-committing but under-producing, just in an effort to hang together. I was at a CS Day Camp, where one of the activities was cookies in a box oven. It was actually "Groups of Cubs come and get these cookies we cooked while 8 of us were hanging out on the porch" And BTW Basementdweller, I thought the post was excellent.

I've read about mega-packs in these forums over the last couple of years, and I've always wondered exactly how they can be run well. I have personally never seen one in person, so I am not being critical of something I have no knowledge. If you are the leader of one of these type packs, how do you make it work?

"I am 52 years old and Scouts is no longer "my" game" Narraticong, without knowing it, you have provided the best 12 word response I have ever read here, applicable to many threads.

Can anyone provide a link or paste the official requirements or duties for the two new positions, Troop Webmaster and LNT Trainer? I'm normally pretty good at digging these things up, but I've struck out so far.

CPAMom, That's the hard part. You plan and notify, then plan and notify some more, then the occasional let downs do happen. The good thing is, it always seems when you need it most one of those great meetings or events where everyone shows up and has a good time happens. Then you say, "Oh yeah, that's why I do this." It reminds me of my Webelos 3 miles at a nature center. On the way with my son and wife in the car, my lovely wife mentions something about how a lot of the den parents don't listen, can't make it on time, etc. But this time, we had 100%, all assembled and ready to go. T

First, all dens are different. Some are made up of boys that get their new Webelos HB, and are gung-ho about getting all 20 pins. Some are like mine, who are crossing in one week and were really chomping at the bit to be Boy Scouts since Bears. No good or bad, right or wrong, just different. As far as meeting in the summer, the first person to ask is you CM to see if there is any issue (meeting place, etc) that could prevent it. If not, gauge your feelings about attendance during summer den meetings. If you feel the summer months will leave you with half-filled meetings, it probably isn't

Please tell me at the very least they put at least 18 of the 20 to work? No, of course not. Aren't OTHER people supposed to do the work? Just curious, have you ever seen them conduct a meeting? I mean, what could they possibly have for all of them to do on a troop level?

Thank you everyone. You put my mind at ease as far as how this might look to others. And I definitely believe talking to the boys about it is a good idea.

Thing is, my comment was a bit cheeky, but accurate in my opinion. And now you say that it was made mandatory "Because nobody said I couldn't do it!" What is he, twelve years old? No, scratch that. My 11 year old wouldn't even try that. I'm sure the syllabus doesn't say "all class participants must not wear a costume of their critter for the entire second weekend". Does that mean he can say you are required to walk around camp dressed as a six foot bobwhite?