Mafaking

Ah yes the Holy Trinity of scouting. Scout led troops will pick fun vacation type outings Committees and parents want value, time and money well spent Scoutmasters want rugged leadership and self growth events. Congratulations you have a boy led troop. Support the scouts of course. You are on the right track; have the scouts earn half the outing's fee through fundraisers. Be stern with the parents and think of all the personal growth arguments you can, setting a vision, earning one's keep..... If you make this a family event then it gets hard to sort out the fun

SMT224 That's a good way to do it. The program material should offer suggest more variables such as that.

"I am concerned that I may lose the best leader we have to another troop." Doubtful most Troops are like yours in voting patterns. "Perhaps what it boils down to is I see this as a lose-lose situation for the troop." It is. Although we follow the program just like it says; SPL elected in troop wide elections every six months an PL elected by patrols. This program element does not always promote the highest skilled scout into leadership positions. Its a reward system or popularity contest. Then during the SM conferences the Tenderfoots complain that the meetings ar

Stick to your planned Den outing. The CM should have had his pakc schedule out well in advance of your Den planning calendar. The CM is slacking. He didn't get the calendar out in time, does not have a location and has no real plan or budget for the outing. He will cancel the pack outing and blame you. Your lack of participation made him cancel. Shrug it off as it was he who completely failed to plan according to BSA guidelines. Any Baloo trained leader will recognize and make every attempt to stick to the schedule for planning an event. With less than a month to g

That night I would have done exactly what you did. Based on what you said I would bet that this troop and scoutmaster habitually bully and plead ignorance about these matter. Likely they sent an advance group out there specifically to procure this site as they did not have the proper reservations. Hence the split arrival times. I would immediately file a complaint with their Council and District executives. Any other group such as a church youth group or other organized group would be furious over this. Another group may have even called the Sheriff. This troop makes good res

These are leadership training requirements within the program to aid in the scout's personal development. They are not jobs. Would a doctor still be a doctor if he didn't finish his internship? He needs two more months.

The SPL needs to exert authority over this little emperor or put him on an island. I think the spy scout was scribe. Have the SPL immediately select a new scribe. Then put this spy scout under the POR as special project's of the SM. Get him out the PLC. If this scout goes and stays with the other troop all the batter. However, armed with his new found information he will come back and exert even more of his will over the troop. He will make it up if he needs to. "Troop 1 does it this way". 2nd though. During his month long spy campaign on the troop get your SPL to meet the

We lose more scouts to band and sports than we other troops.

It is the absence of the boy led questions that shows an adult run bias. "Am I missing something?" Perhaps The program design allows a scout to reach Life based on four months as a librarian and six months as a bugler, or any combination there of. Then the scout is expected to design and manage a 100 hour multi-task Eagle project. The led up exceptions of the Troop's program based on the BOR do not support this leap. "Did you have fun at camp? Have any hobbies? Are you reverent?" Wonderful questions, and most programs are likely geared towards answering these questio

After re-reading this post. My position is, if the program's quality is assessed during the BOR then based on the typical questions asked during the BOR the program is assumed to be adult led. agree/disagree

In context, Lisa is right MacScouter is not the official BSA policy. I don't think there is a set of official BSA, BOR questions. These were presented from a well known website as a reasonable committee person's perspective on what should be asked during a BOR. I think within the spirit of scouting is this ideal of a can do man able to go forth with confidence and achieve his goals. But goals require plans, means and measures. The program is not about plans, means and measures. From the generic questions from MacScouters its about hobbies, badges and service.

From MacScouter Sample BOR Questions Life Scout: 1. What is the most ambitious pioneering project with which you have assisted? Where? 2. What has been your worst camping experience in Scouting? 3. How many patrol meetings has your patrol held in the last three months? How many of them have you attended? 4. Have any of the merit badges you have earned lead to hobbies or possible careers? 5. What are your hobbies? 6. Of the merit badges you have earned, which one do you think will be of greatest value to you as an adult? Why? 7. Why do you think that the

"Anyone else seen that scenario playout in your troop?" Yes "Have you allowed it happen?" No I would (and have) bumped it along by making reservations at the site. Too many hours were spent getting to the point of having a campout listed for a month with a date and location selected. We don't have too many just camping in the county park type outings. Given the choice the scouts pick the top tier stuff were the activities are obvious. I would tell the PLC that the reservation has been locked in. From the planning calendar plan we know the event at the campout e.g. Pionee

Ok break it down for me. Where is the adult/youth line PLC Approves the following: Campout, Birch River overnight canoe outing, April 2010. Troop has never gone there before but it is commonly known that many council Boy Scout troops have taken this trip. It is 100 miles from the meeting hall. The next step is what and who takes it?

I think you should have been there. Running a meeting is one part skill one part art. Your SPL may have had the skill to have an agenda and know what needs to be discussed but not the art to recognize when others are sabotaging the meeting and preventing progress. An issue gets too controversial, suggest the scouts table that issue until more information can be collected. One scout monopolizes the conversation, suggest the SPL hear from others as well. Diffused debates, suggest the SPL summarize the topic being discussed and ask the scouts to focus on that topic. Trad

As Lisa said the scout's wants exceed their planning capabilities. Year long calendar plan, done that. Had great input from the scouts. Our troop prides its self on providing the campouts the the scouts want. I could go on but for sake of this debate except that the scouts know where they want to go and know how they want to spend their recreational time. Its the next step that is the problem. A twelve month calendar plan with reservations required at 12 different sites, canoes that have to be rented. Fees deposit confirmation notices arranged and filed. It is just beyond what I h

"Never had the guts to try that in my troop...don't like camping alone." Its not so bad. Usually mid day on Saturday my wife drops my son off so I don't spend two nights alone.

"How can we better emphasize self-reliance? We can't. Scouting is a 90 minute program once a week. An elective, extra curricula activity for boys with surplus time and parents with sufficient money. The self reliance issue is entirely a family and cultural phenomenon. Emphasize "boy led": the PL does not show up for a campout. The PL quits coming to campouts, the PL evokes that camping is not required in the scout hand book to make Eagle. "pull him" you say, well isn't that the SPL's decision, oh no the committee which is really a parents watch dog group is there to finalize al

Service is service. The only reasons I can see for scouts specific service project is for the BSA to take credit for the service. If we go back a step and examine why BSA requires community service of our scouts I will suggest that it is more for the development of the scout than to provide free labor to the community. While doing service the scout learns about his community, may go to places and see people they have never seen before. Experience the satisfaction of helping others. Learn leadership and work ethics. If we agree that the primary purpose of requiring scouts to do

I just spent about a week with the family traveling the Dakotas, including the Bad Lands, Black Hills and Mt Rushmore. Rapid City is a tourist trap, filled with put-put golf and fake Indian Jewelry. Sturgis and Deadwood are for the adults. The Black hills are nice but not as nice as the Rockies. I didn't make it to Wind River cave or Custer park where the buffalo roam. Just on an over all experience for scouts from Wisconsin, take them to the Rockies (Colorado) where the peaks are 13,000 - 14,000'. The Black Hills top out 6,000 - 7,000'. As far as hiking, some of the hardest

"what do you guys think about that?" I think we are having a philosophical debate about new scout patrols. What I think that, is that you need is to have heart felt talk with the scoutmaster(s) about the handling of new scouts in the troop. Implore the leaders to consider your opinions. What does the PLC think? As an adult leader I would give a lot of credence to a JASM who has been with the troop for seven years joining as a Tenderfoot. After all I am 30 years past being a tenderfoot aged scout.

"Question - how much should an adult Leader be involved in the" "Training", A lot this is the leader's main responsibility, "mentoring", Just Enough to not look too obvious. To me mentoring is more of "leading by example" demonstration. A walk the talk and delivering on commitments made. "advising" A little goes along away. Too much advice is often spilled out to the scouts in big doses. The opposite should be the rule. For instance, the whole meeting went bad, work on the open ceremony, get it right. See if that settles the scouts down. Next improve the skill demonstratio

Mike F. I like that Idea.

In kcs_hiker, post he/she was merely presenting a comparison between an unregulated gang and a Boy Scout patrol. SR540Beaver, your words that this poster and Kudo are rejecting civility is a mis-characterization of the issue. Clever, but misdirected. Thus if I will argue that Baden Powell conceived of less adult equalized gang than we presently teach too. I can't believe I am writing this but it seems warranted, I am not against civility. There is something wrong with the BSA Boy Scout program for the application of patrol method. A "program" or a process should dev

I have two male 18 year old venture crew scouts that did a good job this past year and at summer camp. They came out of a different troop so it was easy to identify themselves and to the troop as mature young adults. I am losing both to out of state colleges this month. What a loss to the troop, but what great men these fella's are becoming. I would gladly take an 18 year old male Venture Crew scout. Just not a female. And before I start getting Private Messages on what a nasty I am towards women, I have a Sliver awarded Girl Scout whom I am pushing to get her gold while she par