Mike F

Island Boy, Have you considered maybe handing over the Pack CC job and volunteering for SM? You probably have more experienced pack committee members that understand the program and could be convinced to take over, with you helping as an advisor for a while during transition. -mike

For a Venture Crew, I highly recommend getting a copy of "NOLS Cookery", edited by Claudia Pearson. They don't use pre-packaged meals at all. Crews carry bulk food, like noodles, dried beans, tomato powder, butter, cheese, flour, etc. I went on NOLS trip in 2004 and it's amazing all the great food you can whip up with minimal equipment, some imagination, and maybe their cookbook to get you started. The first chapter of the book is on rations planning. Everything is based on dry food pounds per person per day (ppppd). Quick summary follows: 1.5 ppppd for warm conditions, base camping, sho

Scout's dad Welcome to the campfire! We've been saving a place for you!! You're smart to ask questions - most or all of us have been through this. I've seen exactly the same situation - right down to WB instructor SM. It's tough and will likely be a slow process. Good advise in posts above. Another approach to keep in bag of tricks: Get active in the game - support meetings, campouts, etc. You'll have to grit your teeth sometimes, but hang in there. You'll get more first-hand insights into inner workings. And adults/boys will begin to accept you as part of the team. (It

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jdm, Congratulations on getting them to come back! Welcome them back like long lost best friends!! Sure, they've missed out on the opportunity to work with the rest of the Den on the activity pins they've missed, but that shouldn't be a surprise. Nor should they be made to feel bad because they aren't wearing as many. Their reasons for going inactive aren't as important as getting them plugged back in and having fun. If they're motivated, I'm sure you can come up with some extra help to get them the opportunity to earn the Webelos badge and you probably aren't too far ahead with Arrow of

RK's Reader's Digest version is essentially correct, but I would have included specific written requirement that JASM has shown outstanding leadership skills. (Ref SM HB, p 15, and SPL HB, p 110) I know - it doesn't make sense since it also says the JASM follows the guidance of the SM in providing support and supervision to other boy leaders in the troop. But that's the way it's very clearly written in at least two places. Both of these handbooks mention that a troop may set its own age, rank, and other qualification standards for SPL and PL. Exactly what these are (if any) is up to t

Yee-haw! These lasts posts are some of the most valuable I've seen!! Thanks, gang!!! -mike

OneHour, Here's the process we used to get our Hi-Adventure Program rolling after it died a few years ago. Your mileage may vary. 2002 - I started talking up trip to our older guys about high adventure activities. There was mass confusion and much apathy. In spite of this, we persisted, managed to get 3 Philmont slots for 2004 and got started talking about Boundary Waters for 2003. BSA/Sommers was full during times we could make 2003, so we went with North Country Canoe Outfitters (http://www.boundarywaters.com). After making presentations to troop, we had enough interest for 2

Seattle, I know that's frustrating! Some ideas: 1. Keep focusing on those former Webelos. Maybe they're a bit burned out from the Cub/Webelos experience and don't understand the difference between what they've seen in the past and what they can expect in Boy Scouts. Emphasize fun and adventure. Put together a slide show or picture board of your troop in action. Is their former Webelos leader any help? He/she might be willing to call a meeting of all former members. Make it fun - meet at a pizza place. Have the troop pick up the tab for all former Webelos. 2. Parents are some

I liked the idea of a ceremonialists-only cabin! If only we were all so lucky to have cabins to tempt them with. In the smaller lodge of my youth, we spread the belief that being on the ceremony teams was cool. Members would typically wear a bit of costume most of the time. Something like a choker or other beaded piece. This made them stand out just a little bit in the crowd. We didn't have a special cabin, but did all camp together and had a lot of fun, making the other guys want to be part of the gang. Some of those ceremony team buddies are still my best friends 30+ years later.

BW - right on! CASCOUTER - please let us know how things develop. It's going to be hard, but in the scout's best interest. He needs to learn accountability. -mike

(The lantirn glows a little brighter. Or, I think I'm starting to see the light.) To re-frame the issue, why would we even consider slowing a scout's advancement? Usually because we don't think he has the maturity (or skills, spirit, participation, or whatever) to move up to the next level. The easy way to address the shortcoming is to set an arbitrary age, but there are a bunch of problems with this: 1. No one can add a requirement. 2. Age doesn't equate to maturity. 3. It's just outright not fair to those fast-burners who DO have the ability, desire, and opportunity to m

Eamonn, I may have missed it, but I don't think anyone said anything about a scout not doing his best. That's not the issue. I love ya man, but sometimes it says "demonstrate how to tie the knot," not "do your best to tie the knot." There are some requirements that must be met -- not just best effort. -mike(This message has been edited by Mike F)

Bob White, I thought the SM had to sign a blue card authorizing a scout to begin working on a MB. (But something at the edge of my recollection is whispering that there may have been a fairly recent change in how the blue cards were handled.) If SM has to sign the card before work can begin, can't he work to help the scout find another MB counselor that isn't his parent? As a personal matter, I've never signed my own kids off on any of the merit badges or other skills I teach. I have helped them learn the subject matter, but made them go through the learning process of setti

Kudu, Excellent! I like the way you think!! Thx!!! -mike

Ronvo asked about the ribbons on the Troop 17 uniforms. Check out the description under "Recognition Plan" on their home page. I've never seen anything like it.

Centreville Scout, We never heard back from JAM, but I suspect you're right that they were unable to get permission to void and start over with elections. The books all say the election as conducted should stand. That's not to say it's impossible to get a variance, but I've been through painful experiences like this and had to chalk it up to lessons-learned for next year. As far as the SM having the authority to strike a name from the ballot, I refer you to pg 52 of the official OA Guide to Inductions which I linked above. "4. The unit leader provides a list of registered active memb

I always take a chair and most of our guys do, too. Comfortable folding chair for the short hauls and a Crazy Creek for the long ones. Crazy Creek worked great at Philmont last summer. Place in back of the pack (up against your back) to pad the bulky items during the day, provide some lower back support in campsite, then lay flat under torso part of Therm-a-rest to pad rocks/roots at night. I trimmed all the excess weight I could, but this 1-2 pounds was well worth it.

Ditto for PVC frame. Can glue some of the corner pieces to make it easier to assemble at camp. I've always draped mosquito net over the frame and long enough to prevent gaps at bottom. #2 son ran into unusual problem a couple of summers ago. Skeeters didn't get in, but spiders seemed to love crawling under bottom and setting up inside. He solved problem by tieing the net inside the PVC frame and tucking edges of net under his sleeping bag.

Good discussion. After other efforts to instruct, train, encourage, discuss, etc., all fail to correct the problem, it's time to demonstrate to the scout (and maybe the parents) that there is a consequence for their actions. I've found this often comes as a shock - it seems scouting is the first place where they are held accountable in this way. It's a valuable life-lesson to learn at an early age. Some will see the light, adapt, and flourish. Some will leave for good. We agonize over those, but have to remember our first priority is making sure the troop is a safe place for all scouts.

A rare bird, indeed, is an Eagle at 12. My sons have heard me say a hundred times, "I'd rather see a boy finish up his Eagle on the cusp of his 18th birthday, rather than get it at 15 and drop out." My oldest scheduled his Eagle SM Conference for the evening before his 18th birthday a couple of months ago. When I asked him about his timing, he just grinned and said, "Dad, I've heard you say it one too many times!" I knew what he was talking about and we had a good laugh. He wasn't one of those that disappeared in his late teens, showing up at the 11th hour to finish a project.

Good points and references above in what to look for. I'd like to add some thoughts on HOW to conduct the search. As a scouter parent, I would visit a lot of troops that sounded like they had potential. This will hopefully mean visiting a few. When making these initial visits, I wouldn't take my son. Some might argue that he needs to make the choice and should be fully involved in the process, but it can be confusing and tiring to visit a number of troops. Things to do when visiting: 1. Observe. Are they following the program? Who is running the show? What are their meetings

Hunt, I agree with you -- wish more kids would just enjoy the time outside doing things they don't often get to do. And agree with ACCO40 about there being more to camp than just collecting merit badges. One of the things we discussed last year was prohibiting the guys from taking the Cits, Communications, and a few others. Loudest outcry was from parents who wanted their kids to have opportunity to rack up those Eagle-reqd MBs. We gave up on preventing scouts from taking them and settled on ensuring they're done right. We have also wrestled with how to make camp more of an exp

KS, Your post was a direct shack. (Fighter pilot talk for a bomb dropped directly on intended target. I know you knew that - just translating for others who may not...) -mike

Hunt, We had an issue with Communications after last year's summer camp. Reqmt #5 "Attend a public meeting (city council, school board, debate) approved by your counselor where several points of view are given on a single issue. Practice active listening skills and take careful notes of each point of view. Present an objective report that includes all points of view that were expressed, and share this with your counselor." The class met this requirement by attending the nightly SPL meeting. It was "legal" since it was approved by the counselor, but some in the troop really didn't th