MattR

Hi @AshB and welcome to the forum. Unfortunately this post is from 2011 and I suspect @travers211 doesn't follow this forum anymore. Try sending him a PM, or maybe this will get someone more recent to help you out.

There's a lot here to think about. "scouts are now feeling like to much emphasis is placed on younger scouts" Do the older scouts make the program or the adults? If the older scouts are really owning the responsibility for the troop then they're the ones that should be grappling with this problem. "ranking up and not enough on them" As others have said, the emphasis should be on fun that just happens to cover the skills needed. That, and a bit more time to sign stuff off and advancement is taken care of. "find a happy medium" If it's a zero sum game then there will always be los

Welcome to the forum, @Leehoden

Now it makes sense. Better than that I've been to MM and it sounds like they've improved their patrol cooking. We were there years ago and the patrol cooking had problems. I've always liked the idea but seen it not very well thought out, or worse. But when it works it can be great training for patrols. I hope you enjoyed all the fun things to see nearby. I really liked the caves.

Welcome to the forum, @xinaDeRockie. The only scout ranch that I know of called Medicine Mountain is in South Dakota by Mt Rushmore.

This has absolutely nothing to do with scouting. Why was this posted under program?

I suspect the increased attention has more to do with a good night's sleep and a 10am meeting then chromosomes. Our girls troop is just as distracted as the boys troop. Anyway, I'd certainly like to have meetings on weekends but one issue with planning activities nearly every weekend is, well, that's a huge time commitment. How do scouts with other activities deal with it? How do parents with spouses juggle that?

So you have meetings on weekends? Or after school?

As @RememberSchiff says, talk to @Cambridgeskip as he's an adult in a UK troop.

Back when we had 70 scouts we had a big water buffalo that we mounted to a flatbed trailer. I think it was at least 100 gallons. We have to bring all of our water to most campouts. It's a lot more efficient for us to bring a bunch of 7 gal. water jugs (The scouts bring a full water bottle) than have each scout bring 2 gallons. The water is being brought to camp either way. If it’s a long term camp they have water and we just bring the empty jugs. If we're backpacking then scouts bring 2 or 3 quart sized bottles or a waterbag like a camelback.

@Cburkhardt, I'm trying to understand your overall comments. I see the need for some form of exoneration if there has been a formal accusation of abuse. I'm assuming that in this case it's all just Mr P implying it might have happened and the council just dropped it with no written record. Are you saying a) there would always be a written record or b) it doesn't matter, just an implied accusation should be followed up with a formal exoneration?

How about replacing all of those with the only one that a scout can actually do - Citizenship in the Patrol? Elect a new PL. Solve a problem. Decide on something fun to do. Do it. Talk about how it went. Really easy if the patrol is run well and a tool to use when it's not. Why are nearly a quarter of all the MBs needed not supporting the fundamentals of learning by doing? You can't do Citizenship in the World. No matter how noble it is to understand this subject it's a square peg in a round hole. Scouting is supposed to be a microcosm of the real world where a scout can learn and take sk

Welcome to the forum, @TheGreenWizard. To answer your question, first, we've beat this horse to death elsewhere. Next, I've decided that advancement is not anything I care about anymore. It is the source of nearly all the problems I've seen on this forum. The scouts, when put in such a predicament, just suck it up and treat the offending requirement as a hoop they have to jump through. It's all just a game for them so I've decided to learn from the masters. I'd rather make a game that reinforces a skill. That, the scouts will play and enjoy.

I merged the 3 threads into 1 and kept the last title as everyone has seen it most recently.

I'm not going to switch between threads to check this (is it okay if I combine these threads?), but this case sounds more like a parent just being an ass - insinuated abuse but not reported to anyone that has a record of it? I'd find out who has what record before hiring a lawyer. That all said, Mr P sounds like one of those rare parents that SMs have to deal with. If he's only listed as an ASM then I'd let him know his services are no longer required and that if he does show up the police will be called. I say that because I had to do that once. While I agree with @Eagledadthat talk

Let me guess. The recharter paperwork came back and you're no longer the SM? Either way, having a good relationship with the CO is a really important goal of unit leadership. That's what prevents surprises, at least the kind that come in two parts. I wish you the best.

I was talking to our commissioner and he said it was a good thing the bankruptcy was over. I said no, it wasn't. He was surprised and that someone told him it was over. I told him the BSA was still paying lawyers and the judge hadn't finalized it yet. So, basically this is the new normal. We're more on our own than before. It's more important than before that we put on a good program.

My troop hiked up Mount Washington when I was a young scout. I wonder if this is the same one. There was a weather station on top that could handle 100 mph winds.

Really? I got a 10% reduction in pay even though I also got promoted. I'm just glad to have a job.

One rule about signing off on rather subjective requirements is that there should be no surprises. I.e., it should be very clear to the scouts what's expected. You're new so you're learning. Take it as a lesson for next time but sign off on this scout. Set expectations for everyone going forward, including this scout. Speaking of which, what are the expectations of the spl and does this scout really know them? Even well meaning but sorta lazy teenagers require a lot of interaction with the SM to teach, coach and get them comfortable doing their por.

I stopped the mix and mash approach and did exactly as you suggest, @curious_scouter. The small patrols enjoyed it because it's a lot easier to cook and clean for 2 or 3 than 8. I said it's their choice. Nobody ever wanted to camp as a single person patrol, 2 worked if they were good friends, 3 or 4 was always a good experience. I should add it was more of a struggle to get the adults to agree with this. Now that I'm no longer SM, some old adult-think has crept back in. Mix and match patrols, "advancement" meetings. In some other thread someone brought up the best check on a plan: will it

We got 5lb propane tanks for the patrols. The 1lb tanks have problems in cold weather. Unfortunately, the bigger tanks have their own issues.

I'm trying to imagine a youth baseball team run like a scout troop with ranks and BORs. "You can't retest a player's plate sliding skill at a BOR. You can talk to them about how they learned the skill or how they taught the skill but you can't test the skill." That would never happen. I read these discussions, and I've participated in them before, but now it just says to me that there's something wrong. The test for a sports player is on the field. The test for a 4H participant is in their garage or barn. The test for the orchestra is on the stage. The adults aren't needed for the test.

Welcome to the forum, @feistyscoutmom . Why? Quit what? Do you have a leadership position? Will your son have to go as well? A CC that uses a child as leverage to remove an adult is a mess. Clearly, you and the CC don't get along. But let's face it, you picked the name @feistyscoutmom. Is it possible that you're both a bit feisty? Scouts is a volunteer organization of loosely affiliated organizations. There are units that belong to chartered orgs. There are councils that don't really like getting involved in people problems in units. Technically, your pack bel