MattR

Is there a way to submit photos? I'd enjoy seeing photos of scouts from around the world.

There's a difference between a formal job and something that just needs to get done. Not every scout needs a formal title but they all need to help out, especially on campouts. Designating a patrol QM for a campout is a job and a good way to train leadership. Grub master and clean master are also jobs that unload work from the PL. So that's 5 jobs when you include PL and APL. For the other scouts, who are likely young, giving them something simple, like flag bearer and cheer master gives them easy responsibility at a young age. So I like the idea of giving everyone a job to do. Using the

I'm really impressed with GBB's writing. On the one hand he wrote a 300 page long PL's book that just drips with enthusiasm and on the other he wrote a four word synopsis of scouts that does a better job of describing the program than anything else I've read. But getting back to getting the scouts to get this. The "administrative unit" view of the patrol is so far from the goal. My view is the PL needs to own the decisions that make scouting what it is. They decide what fun is, they look out for their patrol members, they have to care. So my question has always been how do we get their he

Sounds like a local scout office decision. I have a hunch the troop leader will be reinstated by the national office in a day or so.

It's a snow cave, only first you have to pile up the snow and let it harden. If you keep your sleeping bag above the top of the door it will be about 35 degrees inside. When it's below zero outside that's super nice.

Welcome, @DanTheMan

I really like the idea. That is the missing piece that NYLT assumes is already there. Not promising much time but go ahead and send me your draft. @Eagledad brings up a good point of no connection back to the SM. I had a scout at NYLT and when I asked what I should work with him to continue what he had learned they had never thought of any followup. Does NYLT even have tickets? I'd think that would be a great way to encourage a scout to take ownership and lead. This is one place where EDGE makes sense. We've taught you all this stuff and now we want you to really use it. I saw too many sc

@tripexistence, one more idea for you. Cub scouts is a fun program. Just because you can't find anyone to join now doesn't mean they won't later, after they see how much fun this new scout of yours has. I have a friend that was in a troop in Singapore. They had to go international just to go camping.

So, the last snow was in 2013? The lake isn't even frozen. I am jealous of the dock, though. Our lake in the summer is probably not much warmer than that one in the winter. And it's a lot smaller. I teach scouts to make quinzees and the scouts use them because they are much warmer than tents. We have one winter campout where the quinzees are also warmer than the cabin, just because the cabin leaks like a sieve. Well, that and nobody is allowed to sleep in the cabin.

Welcome, @nate5.

Okay, @LeCastor, that is a brilliant idea. That should be put in a list of great and really different ways to engage scouts.

I love it. So retro. And so very applicable. One thing that really surprised me was examples of doing it wrong. Everyone says they let the scouts lead but it's the examples that make it concrete (telling the patrols where to camp, making the menus, etc). I'm curious as to who made the video. Was it a troop or the BSA?

I think there are two issues. One is getting a kid to show up. The other is what happens to the kid once he shows up. We make a big deal of the SPL talking to the visiting scout, introducing him to the troop, and asking him what patrol he'd like to visit with. Then the patrols go crazy inviting him to join them. Making a kid feel welcome once he shows up is just as important as getting him to show up.

I don't know his name and I probably only met him once but I'll never forget him. I had just moved to town and joined a scout troop (Devon 50 right outside of Valley Forge). I didn't know anyone, I was struggling with everything, new school, new neighbors, and then there was the Scout Law. I just couldn't get it and I was frustrated. I was at this gentleman's house with a bunch of other new scouts. He was much older than any of the other adults in the troop. He was the epitome of kind. He helped me through memorizing the scout oath and law. If there's anything in scouting I'd like to be it wou

@Eagledad, in the picture you posted I see 8 people with 5 different types of hats. It looks to me like everyone is wearing what they want anyway. Or am I missing something?

Time to start a tradition. The girls troop will have the same numbers - only in reverse. Or jumbled in the case of a palindrome. Or completely different for any troop that has multiples of the same number. Or or ....

I was in the Transatlantic Council as a youth, so I saw lots of "foreign" scouts. We've have international scouts at our local camp. It is always great to see the discussions. Now that you can get peanut butter world wide that's not so much fun but there are plenty of other things to talk about. Of course, you just have to go skiing around here to meet all the ski bums that normally live on the other side of the equator. I regularly talk going overseas to scouts. "Hey, you like adventure? I got a great idea for you." Not many try. So, how important has it been? Unfortunately it's mor

Why would this be considered double dipping? The scout helping out only gets credit for one requirement.

Insulting moderators has a way of backfiring, so to speak. Change your tone and we'll let you back to the campfire.

Welcome to the forum. BTW, this thread is over 8 years old.

Welcome to the forum, @scoutboy. Efficiency is not your friend when it comes to advancement. That might sound really strange but one of the main goals of scouts is to have the scouts solve their own problems. If the adults make things more efficient then there are fewer problems for the scouts to solve and they learn less about what we're really trying to teach them. Scouting has what are called aims and methods. The aims are what the we, the adults, want them to get out of the program. Advancement is not an aim. Advancement is a method. That is, a way by which the scouts achieve the aims

I'd prefer Scouting BSA over Scouts BSA. It implies we're doing something rather than just being there. In the meantime, I went with a patrol last night that helped out at a local homeless charity. It was great watching them. At one point I just asked the PL if he could get his patrol organized and a minute later they had it all figured out. I'm really impressed with this PL. He's 13. They had fun. I put a bug in their ear about helping this charity once a quarter and making this their thing. It was a good night to be a scouter.

Welcome to the forum. I live in Colorado. Weather is part of it. Nice mountains are also a big draw. It does attract the super crazies. At one point we had a guy that had swum the English Channel in our troop along with a group that had hiked the Grand Canyon from rim to rim and back in 19 hours. My son rode his bike from the front range (5000') up to the Longs Peak trailhead (9000' and 50 miles), hiked to the top with me (7 miles, 14,200') and then went all the way back. 20 hours of aerobic activity. That's considered a nice challenge but nothing special. Century ride in the mountains wi

I would have taken the scout to my home, assuming my wife was there, and put him to work helping me unload stuff. An opportunity to get to know him better. And when the parents show up I'd gently confront them on the fact that I had talked to them and they did say they were going to show up, and trustworthy means something. Then I'd drop it. Do all that in front of the scout and you'd embarrass all of them to the point that it would never happen again.

Ironic that the socially conservative regions are leading in girls coming in while they're also leading with boys going out? This is either just a bit of levity or a real paradox. Please pick the one that makes your day better. No facts were harmed in this presentation. Only stunt facts were used and they are well cared for under the auspices of PETF (people for the ethical treatment of facts).