matuawarrior

KS, Guam is 30+ miles long. It would take 1 lap if you start North head south, loop around the southern side and north again. When we did our 50 miler a couple of years ago. We started out early in the morning about 0300-0400 hrs. It was just to hot for the Scouts to hike at sunrise. Matua

Calling his Scoutmaster at 11:00 o'clock at night before his 18th bday requesting for a Scoutmaster conference. That Eagle Candidate had better be calling from a hospital bed to be waking me at that hour for a Scoutmaster Conference. I'm sorry but that is going way to far. To call your scoutmaster requesting for a conference at the 11th hour will not cut it for me. For the rest of those counselors who passed him. I would seriously look on the start dates of the blue cards. That's the date when the SM signs the cards giving his approval for the candidate to start on the MB. The last time I checked Personal Management had a 3 month requirement. But that's just me. I just had a parent call me two days ago "begging" for me to work with her son who is a Life Scout so that he can make his Eagle before he turns 18 this coming August 5th. This kid has been a Life Scout for Two Years and now she wants me to bend over backwards so that he can make his Eagle. I asked her why is it so important to her that he makes Eagle. Her reply was that, she saw that it is looked upon favorably in his college application if he is an Eagle Scout. This Life Scout has most of his requirements signed off with the exception of 3 Eagle Required MB's: Personal Management, Citizenship in the World, and Communication; Eagle Service Project, Scout Spirit, and his SM conference. My reply to this mom, I'm sorry your son ran out of time,even with 5 weeks left. Matua

We still have meetings during the summer. The only increase are the outdoor events. We usually have an activity every other week. Our hiking increases as well as campouts. We normally attend summercamp but his year our district decided not to hold one in the summer. Our district Scout Camp is now in December. It will be held during the school break after Christmas and before Jan. 6th. S0 with no summer camp, Our units are planning their own camps. The PLc is even planning to do a fifty miler this summer or just do five different hikes in five days. Our membership decreases due to off-island trips for vacations but we still have a number of scouts, venturers, webelos who attend our summer activities. Matua

Open up my book and read . . .while the PLC meets. . . A) Let's Go for It! B) Oh-Ummhhh, read my book, while listening covertly. C) Listening, listening, listening . . . D) Good Job, We have the Leadership, Let's Go for It! E) Not a problem, pass a note to the SPL to have the Scribe check with the Committee Treasurer. Note to myself, to talk with CC. F) Suggest to SPL that First Call be moved to NLT 1000 hours and have Brunch. (our units operate on the 24 hour clock and we do metric also, old military habit) G) Next year, uummmhh, Let's do it! Continue reading book . . . H) Call out,"SPL!!!" Who, by now, will be reminding the Jr. Leaders about the No Hazing policy, the Scout Oath and Law. I) What can he do to better the troop? Instruct the PL's to write down five positive things this Scout can do to better the unit. Narrow the list down and remind the PL's of the 4th point. . . . Bookmark my book for next month. (Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill) I've "Read" that book for 8 years and always bookmarked on the same page, "3 feet from the Gold", at every PLC. Matua(This message has been edited by matuawarrior)

Thank you and Congratulations to you too. Matua

Hypotheticals are hard enough to deal with because it deals with what if's . . . If a Scout receives a beating from my disclosure to his parent, I will personally deal with that parent within the boundaries that the law provides me. If a Scout comes to me and discloses that one or both parents are abusive, I have every obligation to call the proper authorities on the parent. I still stand by my 3 options that I give my Scouts and Venturers if they ever come to me with what they feel as earth shattering news: He can tell, I can tell, or we can tell together. Honesty is what we preach in Scouting. That is what I'll follow until National changes the Scout Law. Yes, every family is different. "Remember, not all families are like yours and mine". The more reason to provide those parents the respect and courtesy that they deserve regardless of how we feel. Matua

There should be no line between what to to tell or when to tell parents anything regarding their children. They're the child's parents. They have the right to know. To hold back any information dealing with their child's mental or physical being is grossly negligent in our duties as Scouters. WE are there to supplement the family's program. They, the parents', signed the registration form allowing their child(ren) to join the Scouting program. As per the hypotheticals, The first regarding religion -- the parents still have the right to know. The Scout maybe "losing faith" but His Faith is that of his Family until he is 18 years old. There are some family's who are strong in their beliefs. To undermine the parents jurisdiction upon their child is wrong. If the Scout is a Christian, regardless of denomination, I will guide that Scout to the Book of Ephesians Chapter 6 verse 1-3. The Second regarding the "D" grade -- is still the parents right to know. We have no business in school related activities. That's between the child, parent, and teacher. Here on Guam, the teachers' call the parents or guardians, anyway. But I will guide the Scout to tell his parents before they get the phone call from the teacher. The Third regarding the scout's questionable sexuality -- again that is still the parents right to know. They know their child more the we do. Both parents and child may need to seek professional help which we are not trained to do. We are not Pastors, Priests, or psychiatrists to deal with that situation. We cannot as leaders look at things in the short term. To the Parents, that will always be their child. We, the Scoutleader, are only there for one month to 6 years depending on the interest of the Scout. We are there temporarily. We supplement their family program when they join the BSA program. All we do is plant the seed and pray that they become better citizens than we have been. Our Mission is to insure that we give the Scout every opportunity to Character Development, Citizenship, and Physical and Mental fitness. I for one take that one step further by helping to provide Spiritual Development with the permission of the parents. When we start withholding information from parents in the guise of "confidentiality" regardless of how small we think the information may or may not be a detriment to their child. We are actually doing a disservice to ourselves, the BSA program, and the family involved. We have to be transparent for our Scouting Lifestyle to survive. Here on Guam, we have a new law that's called "Parental Interferance" or "Interference with Parental Jurisdiction". Is it really that important to with hold any information to a parent? I don't know if other states have a similar law. But-IMHO- it's not worth it to go to jail. Matua

It's good to know that I'm not the only one with the so-called "General's Uniform". My latest uniform has everything that I'm allowed to wear on it. I have 1 row of knots, 2 service stars--one for youth and the other for adult leadership. On my right side above the pocket is my XV World Jamboree Patch, I still have the purple name plate from that jamboree also. On the right pocket flap is the OA Lodge patch and ribbon. On the temporary pocket, I have the U.S. contingent patch to the XV WJ. On another uniform I have the National Camp School patch on the temporary pocket. I have 7 uniforms, 6 short sleeve and 1 long sleeve. Most are similar with the left shoulder sleeve having the same CSP and troop # 26 with the exception of the position patch which maybe Scoutmaster, Crew Advisor, or Cubmaster. I only have one venturing shirt adorned with all patches. I have one shirt that I call semi-sterile with only the left sleeve patches on it. No patches on the front. This is my campfire shirt. I do have the official shorts and pants,and campaign hat. I, too, enjoy wearing the uniforms at different events. The look on Scouters, Scouts, and Venturers faces when they ask "How'd you get that?" or "I didn't know we can earn that?" or "Adults get awards too. . ." Yes, I do wash, sew, and iron my own uniforms. It's all in the FUN. Matua(This message has been edited by matuawarrior)

Depending on the situation. I would tell the youth member the following: 1. He can tell his parents. 2. I can tell his parents. 3. We can tell his parents together. I don't believe in keeping anything from the parents. Their the main supporters of this program. We stress "Trustworthy" as our first point of the Scout Law. I feel that applies to my relationship with the parents. I am not a parent, one day I will be. I want to be treated exactly the way I have treated others while their children are in my charge. To keep secrets from parents, destroys their credibility and trust with thier child. And it will destroy Your credibilty as well, not to mention the reputation of your unit. We cannot go around working in shades of grey. It has to be black or white, Yes or No. I will help guide the Scout to his decision but ultimately he will tell his parents. He has the 3 choices that I mentioned above. Scouting helps the family program. We're supposed to supplement the family not substitute it. Matua

We formed our own Chartered Organization 5 years ago. We were chartered with a public middle school for 4 years. The Principle was very Scout friendly. When he was trasferred to another school the incoming principle was hostile towards scouting. We had no choice but to look for a new home. We hit many dead ends looking for a new charter organization. We finally decided to Charter the units ourselves. We had a troop, a pack, and 2 posts. It was not an easy task. Fortunately, I have a friend who is a lawyer and also one of our ASM's. He helped us with all the legal aspects of forming a non-profit organization. He is also on the BOD. The liabilty issue did come up but we did have to get the needed insurance, which was not much. When we started five years ago, it was a struggle. Now as long as our books are in order (we have an outside auditor), we do our annual financial statement to a local media, file with the territory Dept. of Rev and Tax, and our annual board meeting. We're pretty much set. There are pros and cons to having your own non-profit organization. I believe the pros out weight the cons by a large margin. We are currently meeting in the village community center until our HQ's is built next year. All material and work are in kind donations by local businesses. The land that our new HQ's will be built on was given to us in a perpetual lease. As long as the foundation and it's BSA units are active and growing. We have a home. We usually apply for grants locally, within the region, and nationally. 20% of monetary donations go to our administrative costs, which we have kept to a minimum. It was not easy but looking back the last five years. The foundation did alot. We have our goals to keep us focused to move forward. We grow our leaders. Matua

We offer 25 MB's. 5 are required. Average MB's earned at camp is 3. Matua

In the great Scoutopia, they should retain their basic skills BUT if they rarely use it, then they tend to lose it. In my units, we train to teach a skill and train to retain. I would back track on the scouts who were not taught properly and just give them a refresher class. We do this by age group or patrols preferably by patrols. Each scout is different so we have to look at it individually and not as a whole. If the scout was not trained properly in the troop, then I would ask who signed off on his BSHB. If the trainer did not correctly teach the scout, then I would counsel the trainer, which should be his Patrol Leader. If he was a transferee, then I'll just put him in the refresher class. If the scouts are Jr. Leaders or Star and Life Scouts,who may have forgotten the skills. The best situation for that is have them relearn the skills and then train the scouts who need those same skills. Another great way for Jr. Leaders to retain their basic skills is to remove the Scouters from the Primary trainers and put the Jr. Leaders back as the trainers among their peers. Of course, their will always be exceptions. Constant Patrol competitions in Pioneering, First Aid, Orienteering and other Basic skills will have scouts retain those skills that they sometimes take for granted. Above all Be Flexible and have Fun. Matua

Yes, you can accept the donation. If your Charter Organization is listed a 501© Non-profit,you can write them a receipt from your charter org. OR you can have your unit listed as a non-profit with your state. I would prefer the former to the latter because of complications and legal requirements per state. OR if the couple just wants to donate funds to your unit without receiving a receipt than that's okay too. But most Business would use that as a tax write off. Of Course, council may want the funds for FOS but then if the couple feels that they really want to help Your Scouts then why say NO. Matua

I agree with the suggestions from everyone. I've read most of the Posts. I may have missed it but I just want to add. That you should ask your Charter Org. for thier calendar as well. Matua

BW's correct. Only your Jr. Leaders can decide what they want to do. As a Leader, our job is to guide them. 1. Brainstorming is great. The more the merrier. 2. Putting it on a calendar is a little more challenging but they'll get it done. 3. Empower them to make thier own decisions and stand back and let them make thier mistakes and learn from it. Do not help unless it is a Safety violation or concern. 4. Instruct your Jr. Leaders to conduct After Action Reviews (AAR's) after each event. What went right? What went wrong? Did everyone learn? etc. 5. Be Flexible. Plans change. Matua

I've been observing the thread from time to time. I've followed many great advice given here. Since my last post, we have taken the ASM out of our off-site patrol. These scouts are on their except for the last Tuesday of the month when they rendezvous with the main body and go through inspections, BOR, and Fellowship. This past Tuesday, I went by the off-site Patrol (Dragons) HQ to drop off some paperwork. The Scouts were having a barbecue. I was even invited to stay but because of the Troop/Crew meeting that night I had to decline. This is our charter's model patrol. I agree that Scouts should have earned their First Class Award but I also look at maturity. Matua

Here's the site that my venturer's are getting their info: www.nasar.org Matua

ditto with the suggestions. We do the same with our BOR's for the last 6-years. Scout to First Class are handled by the Jr. Leaders who are Star or higher. These jr. leaders are shadowed by 2 respected committee members. Star to Life BOR's are handled by a combined board of committee and venture crew officers. Our crew officers must have either the Ranger or Gold award to sit in our BOR's. We keep a 2-3 ratio on BOR's, 2 adults-3 youths. We also have an Honor Board set up the same way for disciplinary reviews. Did the the Adults think this up? No, it was our Jr. Leaders and Crew Officers. We have had 0-less problems with discipline when the Scouts and Venturers know that their peers will be handling their reviews. We also train our Jr. Leaders and Venture Crew Officers how to properly conduct a BOR. Matua(This message has been edited by matuawarrior)

I feel it was Cloaked in Mystery. Only Beaders can talk of Wood Badge, non-Beaders were given the run around. It seemed like OA all over again. As OGE stated, "The aura of Wood Badge is changing". I believe it's changing for the better. I am so glad that I attended the very first class of the 21st Century WB in Aloha. It was a lot better than what I was informed. I enjoyed myself, made many new friends and contacts, and learned alot of leadership skills that is helping me and my units. Now I'm pushing volunteers in my district to go. Matua

My Troop/Crew brings a mop bucket and a plastic oar to camp. Also, a clothes line with the clothes pins attached to it. We use that to wash our clothes. Then we hang it up. As per meals at camp, Our Scouts wear their uniforms to breakfast and dinner. That is only because Flag Raising and Lowering are before those two meals. Scouts can wear their activity uniform during lunch. Our camp showers are open from 0500 to 2200 hours every day. Here on the islands. Our scouters, scouts, and venturers wear quickdrys all day. Its not uncommon to see the showers being used all day. Matua

Mr. ed My condolences to the family and unit. I would suggest to bring in a Church Leader depending on your Scouts Religious Affiliations and have them available to talk with the Scouts. I would try to run the meeting to as close to normal depending on the mood of the Scouts. This is a big event that happened in their lives. I feel that others on the Forum may provide better guidance. My Prayers extends to you all, Matua

We are still car campers. It takes 3 trucks to carry all our gear. However, we are slowly moving to becoming a backpacking unit. Takes time but we'll get there. Our PLC and Crew Officers discovered last year that we get more camp time, 2 times a month, when we backpack compared to car camp, once a month. It's alot easier and faster. Matua

I'm currently a small business owner and Notary Public. I operate a Postal Mailing Service similar to POST NET. I've owned a landscaping and courier service business. I've been a Special Projects Consultant for the local government, a municipal clerk for a local mayor, a 4-H youth mentor, served 8 yrs in the U.S. Army, worked 2 yrs in the civil service as an Electrician. I am also currently a full-time student at our university majoring in Business Administration special emphasis on Finance and Economics. Matua

Our first evaluation is this Tuesday for our off-site patrol. After two weeks of working as a team, the Off-site patrol is requesting that the committee recind the requirement for the ASM since the Patrol has a JASM assigned to them as an advisor. Since the patrol is doing a great job, I feel the JASM and ASM should be both pulled back to the Troop to help with the 2 NSP's. Matua

Since we started this program. Our Off-site patrol has done more activities than our on-site patrols. Membership is slow but the four boys who are there are committed. The ASM assigned to them is their advisor. This Tuesday's meeting, they will be heading up to Rendezvous with the Troop for Patrol competitions, Inspections, and Boards of Reviews. The PLC and Venture Crew officers are also planning a BBQ for that night. The Patrol Method works when you let it take its course. Matua