MarkS

Yeah... 300 feet is tough. Until the last campout, we had one fly for the patrols to share and one for the adults. After four years of changing the culture established by previous leadership, we finaly got each patrol their own fly. What a difference that made. We were at a spring camporee and the patrols even cooked, ate, and cleaned up in the alloted time even though their flys were only separated by the width of a couple tents plus walking around room. In the past, they were lucky if they could settle an argument in that amount of time. Amazing.

Gold Winger said, "Someplace buried in all of my literature is a statement that Committe doesn't have to have a say. The CC should operate based on concensus but that isn't required. The committee members jobs are to do their assigned tasks, not vote or approve." You don't need to dig in all your literature to find what I am refering to, it's in the roles and responsibilities outline in the Troop Committee Guidebook. While they may not vote, they have responsibilities that could prevent a PLC plan from being implemented (e.g, providing advise based on BSA and CO policies, cognizance

Gold Winger said, "Remember, the SM's job is to teach leadership. The ASMs are there to support the SM. Only one adult needs to be involved in the PLC." Meaning to me that the SM needs to participate in a PLC meeting and the ASM does not. I believe the quorum for a PLC meeting is the SPL, enough PLs to conduct the business of the month, and the SM. I doubt very much that a PLC meeting would be successful with fewer participants. Adding the ASPL, the rest of PLs, all the TGs, and the Scribe would give 100% attendance. Any more than that and you have extra people (see evmori's comments

Depends on what you're doing at the moment. For example, you should probably be REVERENT rather than CHEERFUL if you're a pallbearer at a funeral.

Eagledad said, "My observations of patrol styles were reinforced when the scouts in same age patrols just didnt grow or mature nearly as fast as the mixed age patrols. When you think about, that makes sense because if a scout doesnt have example of where to set goals, they tend to just hang around and get bored. All humans need more experienced and mature role models to aspire to a higher goal. Scouts who dont have role models who are more mature and experience have nowhere to go. What typically happens is the adults take over and force growth usually through classroom type teaching. I include

I guess I'm in the minority on this one but it seems to me that if the condition exists in a Troop that a patrol with similarly skilled/aged boys is allowed to continually struggle without skills instruction from a more experienced scout from another patrol called a Troop Guide or perhaps Instructor or perhaps no title at all (just a good cook or knot-tyer), it's just as likely that the older boys in a mixed aged patrol will do all the work while the younger boys may or may not watch and never get a chance to figure something out for themselves or go hands on. "What should we do?" "Not

No... but we've recognized a few with the Artemus Gordon certificate of appreciation. We usually present the award in front of a mock-up of the Inyo.

I don't see a Legacy Patrol in my SM handbook. Patrols are a vehicle for teaching leadership and teamwork. This is best achieved if the boys in the patrol are of similar age, capability and interest. I see no reason to change the way patrols are organized if it does not facilitate their function. Even then, I would advise the PLC to achieve buy-in of the boys affected (the boys changing patrols, the boys in the patrol receiving members, and the boys in the patrol losing members) before making the changes. It's their program, their decision. If you provide them with the appropria

Either get retrained or do it the way you were trained. Don't go changing the way you perform First Aid based on an AP story.

Earning Eagle is not hard. What's hard is holding the interest of a teenage boy in a specific topic/course of action for five or more years from middle thru high school. They mature fast (hopefully) and interests change (hopefully). Often an interest is scouting is lost (sadly).

Our troop tried recruiting at a new middle school that opened up because of school district reorganization in our area. Had tents and teepees set up. Did some cooking demos with lots of cobbler. Did the demo an evening during parent/teachers conferences. Had two boys sign up. One attended a few meetings and a couple campouts the other one meeting. Haven't seen either in a while. After their PLs had trouble getting in touch with the boys, I called their parents to see if they were still interested. Answer was yes but still haven't showed up again. A troop's best friend is a successful pac

If our PLC proposed a Video Game Lock-In, I would be okay with it as long as the video games were of appropriate content and the planned activities tied in scouting methodology. For example, the boys would probably have a really good time playing baseball, bowling, tennis, etc on the Nintendo WII. They could compete as patrols where they pool their scores (patrol method) and tie in real games and activities as handicaps to their video game scores. If a troop is having monthly campouts doing a wide variety of things, this could be a fun addition during the winter.

Yep, sounds like the District Training Chair needs to go to training. BALOO training is only required for pack overnight camping. It's not specifically required for Webelos den camping--alhtough I think it'd be a really good idea. Our council doesn't even have BALOO training. Instead they something called Leader Outdoor Experience (LOE) training. It's a superset of BALOO training and includes overnight camping.

I'd ask the SM what he meant by "AOL board of review" with the intent to see if it's what he calls going over the Boy Scout joining requirements with the boys. In our troop, when boys crossover from the pack, they get a Boy Scout handbook as part of their ceremony. We congratulate them and tell their parents that they want to complete the joining requirements before their first troop meeting. At the first troop meeting, our SM meets with boys and verifies they completed them so they can get their Scout rank badge right away. Usually, the only reason they won't get their Scout rank badge a

To be honest, I'm not sure that our troop has a policy on ECOHs. Since my son joined two years ago, there's been only one and the family of the scout (which includes the SM) planned it and had it at their church. It was very nice but the only boy from the troop that showed up besides the boys from his patrol (half of whom were performing his four winds ceremony) was my son. None of the younger boys in the regular patrols or NSP saw the ceremony. That was a bit dissappointing. We're going to attend our next ECOH next week. That ECOH will begin folloing our regular COH. Hopefully, more of t

WildernessStudent said, "'Leave no trace' I would define it..." No need to. The Bureau of Land Managment (http://www.blm.gov/education/lnt/) and Center for Outdoor Ethics (http://www.lnt.org/), among others, have already defined the principles of Leave No Trace for us. Which say, among other things... "Camp and Travel on Durable Surfaces... In high-use areas, campers should concentrate activity. Use trails whenever possible and select camp sites so heavily used that further damage is unlikely. In areas of very little or no use, campers should spread out. Take different paths whe

AnneinMpls said, "How long will you be in town? If you have time I can give you ideas of where to spend it!" Not very long... I'm already back home. I go up there a lot for work. Spend most my time in Bloomington. Never have any time to go sightseeing. Been to the mall, Lord Fletcher's on lake Minnetonka, and a couple fancy restaurants downtown.(This message has been edited by MarkS)

Ask what the role and responsibilities of a UC are, and what the District Commissioner's expectations are. If the answers appeal to you, then ask about training if that didn't come up in their expectations. Our commissioner staff tends to be a good 'ole boys and gals club where they meet and have coffee and share war stories. Units in trouble here don't really get the help they need from their UCs. Is Mpls Minneapolis? I'm flying up there tonight for work.

evmori said, "Not all kids learn at the same rate & to infer they do is inaccurate. If it's 12-14 months great! If not, it's no big deal." This is true. Not all kids learn at the same rate but if you really think about the requirements that need to be completed in order for a boy to reach First Class, if he can't do it in 12-14 months, it's more of a reflection on the program the troop is offering, not the boy.(This message has been edited by MarkS)

By the book... "The Troop Guide is not a member of a patrol, but may participate in the high-adventure activities of the Venture patrol." If you think about it, it makes sense. How can the TG be an effective mentor of the NSP, helping them out, teaching skills, evaluating progress, supervising their efficiency, et al, if he's busy fulfilling duty roster chores for his own patrol? He can't observe the NSP's patrol meeting and provide guidance while participating in his own.

Its Me asked, "Are there troops out there (cue echo machine) that cross in September to better align with the school calendar?" I haven't read the entire thread but a lot of comments have been focused on what may make sense for an individual boy instead of what's best for a den of boys crossing over. I can't think of a single good reason to synchronize rank advancement with the school calendar. Especially given that unlike Cub Scouts, the boys set their own pace for rank advancement in Boy Scouts. Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops run their own programs. Ideally, a pack and troop

Where are the charts? Or do we get them from our district training staffs?

My son and I were elected last year and attended not one, but two, callout ceremonies. We attended an out-of-council summer camp and participated in the callout ceremony there and when we got back we attended the callout ceremony at our local council camp (plus the other things). I dont recall attending the local callout (plus other things) being optional. At risk of having someone spin-off another thread, could that be something lodges dictate in their bylaws?(This message has been edited by MarkS)

Joni4TA, While I applaud your enthusiasm for ensuring quality in the advancement process of your unit, Im going to have to agree with others that you need to figure out a non-confrontational approach for working with your Scoutmaster. Im not sure what the BSA Advancement Committee Guide Policies and Procedures, #33088, says but I do know that the Scoutmaster Handbook, #33009C, and Troop Committee Guide, #34505B, both indicate that the Scoutmaster determines who can sign off on advancement and it doesn't necessarily have to be an Advancement Chair. My unit doesnt have an Advancement C

I like to use SSScout's approach to asking questions at a BOR. Make it seem like a chat. Here's some of my favorite questions. When a boy is advancing from Tenderfoot to Second Class, I like to ask the following series of questions... Now that you've learned about the use and care of an axe, saw and pocket knife, can you tell me if it's okay to run in camp while carrying an axe? Is it okay to run in camp carrying a saw? Is it okay to run in camp with an open pocketknife? What if you closed the pocketknife and put it in your pocket, is it now okay to run in camp? Answer: It's nev