AvidSM

I have taken Wood Badge for the 21st Century and was on staff for the same. I can certainly agree the the purpose of the course is not to teach specific leadership or outdoor skills - these are now taught in separate prerequisite courses to Wood Badge. Knowing the nuts and bolt of how to lead a unit is a good thing. Knowing about camping and the outdoors is also a good thing. But, having these skills is worthless unless you are willing to apply them for the benefit of the youth. There is a saying: "Ideas are like bellybuttons, everyone has one" (I know there are other versions

We elect our SPL in May. If he hasn't been through NYLT, we encourage him to attend and the troop pays. May gives us enough time to submit paperwork for NYLT in August. Also, the ASPL goes if he hasn't been already. Having the troop pay is a real incentive for attending. Having NYLT in August works out because the SPL and ASPL are trained in time for the program year start in September. I agree that there is no sense in having the SPL/ASPL attend if he is half way through his tenure. I also agree that the troop should only send mature scouts (14+) to NYLT.

We are also chartered with a Methodist Church and the relationship is good. They are looking to add a large new addition to the building and we are asking for a dedicated meeting room just for the scouts. Our COR goes to all the meetings and is very vocal in reminding the church leaders who we are and how we fit in their youth ministry. We attend Scout Sunday there and also help out with outdoor cleanup service projects and the bazaar.

In my council, they do not see the blue cards (merit badge applications). They only see the advancement report, with all the boys listed with their MB earned, signed by the Scoutmaster (me) and two committee members. We now can print this report directly from TroopMaster. The process seems to be run on the honor system, with the troop advancement chair being the key player. We have a District-maintained list of approved MB Councelors. And, there is a process by which a person gets on this list - it involves filling out BSA form #34405 and a BSA adult application if the person is not

Welcome! Where abouts in Southern Maryland? Anywhere near Solomons or Pax River? I work for the Navy and have to travel that way once in a while. Beatiful country.

Fishsqueezer - It sounds like you have already made up your mind about removing him from his SPL position. Your discussion with some committee members makes sense, but it the Scoutmaster and not the committee that has the power to remove a youth leader from his position. I would just make sure that this decision is not a personal one. This boy was voted into the position by his fellow scouts. You might want to also discuss this with the other youth leaders in the PLC.

My answer to your question is - it depends. So much of what you get out of the Wood Badge experience is what you put into it. There are benefits to learning the preferred leadership style, but only if you apply it in your scouting job. There are alos benefits to meeting other scouters with more experience and knowledge than you. There will be people there, both on staff and as participants, from all walks of scouting. You and your unit will only benefit from meeting these people if you engage them and follow their advice and examples. Lastly you will be encouraged to wr

1. This is a hard questions to answer because the word "fun" is overused a lot. So much so that it is almost of form of sarcasm, as in, "Come on, it'll be fun!" What is fun to a boy? My answer to that is, I don't know - go ask a boy! My focus as Scoutmaster is not so much promoting fun as it is getting the boys to plan and execute a program that they want to do - one that will satisfy their needs as scouts. The most memorable momements, the one's the boys reminise about, are the ones that were most challenging or where something went wrong. They talk about the burnt pancakes and the sev

As a Scoutmaster, I have noticed that the majority of new parents have no idea how a troop operates. The one's that go camping have a lot of suggestions, most of which go against the priciples of the patrol method and boy run. I nicely tell them that and they seem to slowly get the idea. I have also noticed that the boys do not like change, especially the older ones. Oak Tree mentioned this in his post and I agree with him. The change has to make sense to the boys or they won't agree to it. Part of my job as SM is to keep a running dialog with the boys about the problems we have and

OGE, don't be dissapointed in yourself. Your passion shows that you care enough about scouting to know how it should be run. And, your wisdom shows that know how to choose your battles. When my SPL gets all worked up over something, I tell him, "let it flow past you like a stone in the river".

Way to go IM! Sounds like you're having fun!

The focus on the Eagle rank by people outside scouting is very understandable. For some people, its probably the only rank they can name. Forget about them knowing the mission or vision of the BSA. The Eagle rank is like the 500 pound gorilla in the room - it's very hard to ignore. I was taught in training that the goal for a Scoutmaster was to get all scouts to first class, not Eagle. Once they get to first class, everything else is gravy. I scouts I have seen that made it to Eagle, including my son, made it through sheer perseverance. They had to make scouting a priority ove

I am having the same problem with troop owned tents. The scouts do not treat them with respect. The boys, especially the younger ones, abuse them - one actually dragged one in it''s bag and tore a large hole through the fabric. Many end up with missing parts. These are $200 Eureka three man "A" frames I am talking about - with aluminum poles. I''m at the point of asking why we have troop owned tents. Do we have them for the boys that can''t afford one? Or is if for unifomity? We actually have a policy that all crossed-over boys must use the troop tents for one year. The thinking

When I started to get involved, a long-time Scouter gave me some good advice, "when it''s no longer fun, stop doing it". You must project yourself into the position, look at the people you will be dealing with and ask yourself, will I enjoy this? Will I get some satisfaction out of my efforts? You are going to have to put up with parents and scouts who will sometimes drive you nuts. And, at times, it will seem like you are the only person who cares. I cannot say how many hours a week you will give. It will depend on the support from others and how far you need to go to get to "boy r

I noticed a picture of Jack White of the heavy metal duo, White Stripes, on the internet. See link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070918/ap_en_ot/music_white_stripes_tour_3;_ylt=AoPgalzISNzZFRHKBMAfphzBaMYA Is he wearing the official BSA jac-shirt with Philmont Bull patch? On White Stripes web site, it seems that the color red is very predominant. It may be that he just likes the jac-shirt for it''s color and has no idea what it is.

My troop pays for half. But that doesn''t cover the cost of the patrol food on the second weekend - it''s very easy to go over budget.

Troopmaster. I works great as long as you keep the data current and your advancement chair knows how to use the program. I like is especially for OA eligibility reports.

In my opinion, BSA training is not sufficient. There should be a BSA safety course that all direct contact leaders must take and a get refreshed in periodically. This course should cover the types of risks that scouts typically get exposed to in the program and the ways in which the adult leaders should be minimizing those risks. As a Scoutmaster, when are my boys facing greater risk? When there is a lightening storm or in a vehicle driving on the road to camp? What are some examples of bad decisions by direct contact leaders and things they could have done to prevent the

Eamonn, from my point of view as a Scoutmaster, you were not a bad parent. Your son asked you not to "cross over" and you supported him emotionally and finacially. I have seen bad parents first hand - they are the ones who make the wrong choices. The ones who pull their happy, spirited sons out of scouting because they, the parents, do not understand how a troop is run. Or the ones who do not limit the activities their son is allowed to do and scouting gets the short end of the stick -"He couldn't make the meeting because he didn't finish his homework -is being punished - etc". The

Bob - It was a pleasure to read your post. All I can tell you is be patient with the boys and keep stressing the basics. You are certainly headed in the right direction.

ASM's are not committee members and do not attend committee meetings; they have no influence on the business of the committee. I attend committee meetings as a Scoutmaster, but I am only there to give my report on progress of the troop, PLC actions, etc. I do not tell the committee what to do. Each committee member with a position give a report also. We might give each other ideas or suggestions to help each other out. If your committee is voting on issues so critical that you somehow need to get the ASM's involved, it has a problem.

My troop uses the BSA's themes, but not in sync with the BSA and not strictly by month either. The PLC picks a theme for a campout or outing for that month and then plans the meetings leading up to it to prepare. The theme is dependent on when the campout/outing is and not by what month it is. If there is a campout planned for the middle of the month with a cooking theme, the three or four meetings leading up to it have that same theme and the boys plan skills instruction, patrol meetings and activities in preparation for that campout. This really helps the boys better plan out the w

Jambo wrote, "I found that this type of writing is found in the National curriculum of training manuals, written by child psychologist" Way off the mark Jambo, it quoted from Baden Powell himself. And, I disagree with your statement, "Who ever thought out this so called "Boy run" troop?. In my opinion, he should have his head examined.(or was this idea developed by the brains at our National Council?" B-P was not some brain from National Council and neither am I. I'm just a Scoutmaster, "down in the trenches". My troop is boy run and it works very well. I've been doing this

The Units and Council are like two orphaned siblings arguing over who is their mother's favorite. By the book, the executive staff is supposed to support (and is accoutable to) the Scout Executive, who supports the Executive Board, which include the CORs, who are accountable to (support) the CO. Also, by the book, the direct-contact volunteer leader is accoutable to the committee, which is accountable to the CO/COR. So, by the way it is formally set up, both sides support and are accountable to the CO and not to each other. The CO (and the boys and parents within it's chart

I agree with Acco40's statement, "The hardest thing for the adults to do is to allow the boys to fail" The core of boy run is letting them make as many of the decisions as possible within the game that is called "Scouting". It's the Scoutmaster who runs this game, provides it's rules and stucture. And I agree the the person who said, "A boy is generally supremely confident in his own powers. Therefore, he dislikes being treated as a child and being told to do things or how to do them. He would much rather try for himself, even though it may lead him into blunders, but it is ju