AvidSM

Having been on staff and having a copy of the syllabus, I can tell you that there is a little bit of time management (as in a "7 Habits" type course) and a little bit of organizational skills, but not engough get credit at work. Wood Badge is more about leadership, dealing with people and scouting in general. Be prepared to be immersed in scouting as a particiapant. Have fun and get the most out of it that you can!

There are some trick knots that are fun to see and learn: throwing knots and quick knots for example.

I agree that there is no ONE reason why membership is declining. I can think of at least three, none of which have to do with changes in the scouting program. 1. Most boys have no time for scouting - They have school, sports, music, church activities, othter clubs and organizations. Some of my boys come late to meetings because they had to finish up their homework first. Others make half a meeting and run off to little leauge practice. One boy did not join because the parents decided that "with so much going on in middle school, we decided to drop scouting". --- These parents limit

Baden - volunteers are hard to get these days. And, good volunteers, who have prior experience like yourself, are even harder. I don't think they have anyone else in mind but you. So, I would nominate someone else you think can do the job to get these people off your back!

Some troop traditions are worth keeping and some are not. If a troop is boy-lead, I would think it would be normal to change some traditions depending on what the boys want to do. Using your annual fishing trip as an example - if over the years the group of boys who liked to fish have left the troop and the current youth leaders has voted to do something else, I don't think that's breaking with tradition. My troop tends to repeat a certain trip for a few years and then we drop it. The traditions worth keeping are the one's that define the troop. The boys tend to take pride in th

I seems more than a coincidance that several posters have given about the same cost-per-family figure, around $120 per scout. Could it be that a typical Council is restricted to a $120 per scout budget? I think the biggest problem with FOS is that most families don't know anyone at Council and don't know how exactly how their donation is spent. Most folks are willing trust their troop leaders with their money because they know where it's going and that it directly benifits their son or sons. One solution to this would be for the troop leaders to vouch for council; to speak to the

"Cubs" and "scouts" are unofficial shortened versions of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. We use them because we are lazy. Since most volunteers understand what "cubs and scouts" means, we keep using them. I don't think they imply that cub is not a member of the BSA or that a scout is not a boy. (I tend to use the shortened versions when amongst other scouters and the offical terms when I am not). As for Venturing, how may troops can claim they have a venture patrol? When I hear "venture" or "venturing" my automatic assumption is that you are talking about a Crew, not a Patrol in a Troop.

I agree with SemperParatus in that, by definition, Scout spirit has nothing to do with attendance. That there is nothing mentioned in it's definition that would lead someone to include attendance. Scouting is not in your everyday life! Poor attendance is certainly something that needs to be addressed, but not in the context of Scout spirit. People who connect the two are adding to the requirements - no matter what the reasoning or the justification is in their minds.

My troop does a similar "intro to boy scouting" like mtm25653 mentions for the new parents when they come to visit. We also have a new scout campout after they bridge over. To prepare these new parents, I do everything I can to let them know the benefits of scouting and how well my troop delivers the program. I am competing for this boy's time with school, sports, etc. If the boy is spreading himself thin, I need the parents to help keep the boy in scouting. To help him see it's benefits over some of the other activities he can choose from. Alos, these parents need to develop tr

I don't think any of my boys would say the reason they are in scouting is for the weekly meetings. Most of them say it's camping and the outdoors. They know that one of the main reasons for meetings is to prepare for our monthly outings. Most boys are just happy to spend time with each other for an hour and a half. We try to mix things up by bringing in MB Counselors and other adults to talk about their vocations/avocations. We sometimes work on advancement if we know a group of boys that need it. We mix in some activities related to our monthly theme if it makes sense. Th

Do not let the boys shirk their responsibility and remain undecided on this issue. This kind of decision should have been made by the PLC during their Annual Program Planning Conference, typically held over the summer. It's important for a Troop to set it's plans before the families start making theirs for the folowing summer. If your troop does not plan an annual program, then you need to consider holding a conference now, with the summer camp decision being one item on the agenda. If there are issues, like which adults can attend certain a week, you need to advise the PLC of this

So if you planned for 300 people and 600 paid and showed up, you could end up with a profit of 40 to 50%. How is this a poor budget plan? How is it possible to predict attendance numbers? And, what do you do with the profit? So, next time should we plan on 600 people attending and lower the fee accordingly? What happends then if only 300 show up? Good luck running another event if that happends.

I agree in principle that District Camporees should not make a profit. But, having run several of these events myself, I would ask how do you do this without taking on too much risk? If I knew exactly how many people were to attend, and exactly how much money I would be spending, then I could easily divide the one into the other and set the attendance fee to result in no profit. But when I planning out the event, I don't have either of these numbers -- I can only guess at them. And to cover myself, I set the attendance estimate low and the cost estimates high. In addition, there

CAN a Troop be run by adults? -- Yes this is true. SHOULD a Troop be run by adults? -- No it should not. The adults who are running the troop may think they are doing the right thing, but they are not. They should be giving the boys every opportunity to make decisions for themselves - and to see the consequences of their decisions. This falls directly in line with the mission of scouting - to prepare these boys to make the right choices in life. This can only be accomplished when the boys run things. The wording of your internet passage is misleading. It makes it seem as t

I am a Scoutmaster and I am familiar with the situation your Troop is in. Last year's five Webelos from my feeder Pack that crossed over were all duds. One actually filled out an application, but then did not go to summer camp and did not return in September. The parent's said that there was too much going on in the boy's life, with the transition to middle school and all. I agree with msnowman in you should keep plugging away. Attrition is a fact of life in a troop and you have to keep feeding new boys into the program to make up for it. Hold a recruiting drive that runs from

Boys hate paperwork - I think that's the reason only 3 to 4% make Eagle. The Workbook has to be legible and it must convey the information needed to prove the scout has met the requirement. If it needs corrections, the scout's advisor needs to tell the boy what they are in a timely manner. If the advisor is indeed a nit picker, he needs to given a different job in the district. It does not have to be perfect, but is shouldn't look like it was written by a five year old. If a boy has poor writing skills, he needs to get help from a teacher or his parents. Perhaps his workbook was the

While still in the position of SM, I suggest you join the District Committee and get to know the people who run the district. See where help is needed and see if you would be comfortable working with these people. You may try helping out at an event to see what that is like. This way, you have tried out a new position before stepping out of your old one. If you do choose to move on, I suggest keeping your registration with your old unit as a committee member.

Our adults always eat with the patrols. That way, we get to know the boys better and provide feeback on the quality of the meals. The only exception is that some adults have special diets and have to prepare low fat/salt/whatever meals for themselves. Whenever I see adults cooking at an event under a carport using big chuck boxes, it makes me wonder what purpose they are serving in scouting.

Low attendance is a problem a campouts; when not enough boys in one patrol attend, that patrol cannot function. I've got some boys that I don't see all spring due to little league. Others are absent due to football, band or a school play. I see nothing wrong with these activities. As long as they don't over do them, they are wholesome and worthwile. These boys are making choices about what to do with their time. Part of that choice is the attendance policy of the activity. Miss a little league practice and your on the bench for the next game. Miss more that two play practic

A troop rafting trip down the Delaware. A overnighter where we sleep under the stars. Nightly reflections with the PLC. Careful review of MB's beforehand making sure each boy is not over or under extended. We always try for honor troop/patrol awards. A Troop service project for the camp. We go to a great camp with good food, facilities and a top notch staff. Enough adults to keep an eye on the boys to make sure they are doing OK - keeping busy - no problems with MB's - no home sickness. All first year scouts are paired up with an older boy who reviews each days activities and

Ditto emb021's post - have your beading at an event that is meaningful to you. I chose my roundtable because I wanted to share the beading with my friends and peers. Boy/Cub Scouts and parents have no idea what Wood Badge is and what it means to get the beads.

I find that peer-to-peer recruitment works best for a troop. MaScout's "invite a friend" activity is a good idea. I also like to give out prizes to scouts who bring in a friend to a troop meeting or who have a friend join scouting. We have a "recruitment drive" in the fall which lasts until early December. Recruitment seems to be getting more attention these days since they added the requirment to first class.

I would not want to be put into the position that MarkS's troop is in - all the meds in a tackle box because the camp staff won't store it. First of all, the tackle box full of meds becomes a goodie locker for anyone wishing to abuse some of these meds or steal them for profit. Secondly, I do not have a medical background or license, am I legally qualified to give out these dosages? What if I, as the leader, misread the label and give out the wrong med to the wrong scout? Or, if the parents gave me the wrong meds by mistake? Am I now legally responsible if this boy comes to some

Its hard to form and sustain a partnership between professionals and volunteers because they are motivated differently. Volunteers do what they like - if they dont care about something, they dont participate. If they dont think their efforts will pay out, they wont waste their time. A professional cares about shrinking membership because his job is at stake. Less youth means less FOS money coming in from parents. It could lead to eliminations of his position due to downsizing/mergers. I care about shrinking membership and the downward trend nationally, but the overall cau

I have never walked in the shoes of a professional, so I find it very hard to judge them. I dont know what they are told at training. I dont know what motivates them to do their job. What other posts have stated about this may be true or not; we have two sharp opinions here that point either way. I can only say what my perception is of these professionals and their behavior. I have seen first hand professionals manipulate the selection of volunteers because their replacements were not good at, or refused to participate in FOS. I have attended many District Committee Meetings in whic