Mike Long

In Our Troop a boy must attend at least 75% of our troop activities to be considered active, otherwise we will not sign off the requirement.

I hate the fact that we had to put a number value on what is considered active but we had a series of kids that would show up every blue moon and then wanted to to advance to the higher ranks. So we ask them,"What have you done in the last six months?" If they can't answer a simple question like that then they obviously have not been active, and could not possibly have completed the the leadership position requirement. I then assign the inactive scout to be troop historian. In order to do the job properly, the scout must be very active. When his term is up he presents us with his scrapbook, proof positive that he has completed the requirement and has been an active member of the troop. I have used this method about three times and have always had favorable results.

Don't you hate it when you are trying to get something clean in a primative campsite and you drop your soap in the dirt? What a mess! Well here's an old scout tip.

Cut off one leg of a ladies stocking, put a small piece of bar soap in the foot and tie a knot in the other end (cut off the excess stocking.) The openings in the stocking allow wet soap to come through and keeps the worst of the grunge off your soap if you drop it.

Please note, use only unscented soaps. Scented soaps attract unwelcome attention from animals and biting insects.

The best all around camping plate is the plastic container that Stouffer's Lasagne comes in. It works fantastic as a plate and is about 2 inches deep so it can double as a bowl. Its depth also means scouts are less likley to drop dinner all over the ground. The plate can handle the heat of an oven and is strong yet flexable and weighs next to nothing. The very best part is that it comes complete with food, and you were going to throw the plate away when you were done.

In our local council I have noticed that most troops do not do much if any backpacking. Backpacking MUST be a intregal part of every troops outdoor program. It has many virtues that I will expound upon here.

1. Backpacking teaches the differences between wants and needs. This helps to create a value system that the scouts can apply to every aspect of their life. Sure that camp chair is comfy, but do you really want to carry 5 extra pounds for ten miles? Perhaps you can find something else to use as a chair, maybe sitting on your sleeping pad isn't so bad. Your scouts will stop bringing so much unnecessary junk on trips.

2. Backpacking enforces the patrol method. The scouts will learn that they need to interact and support each other in order to have a successful trip. You will see your scouts bond together like never before. I have seen my Scouts remove heavy items from a struggling scout's pack and share the extra weight among the whole troop; without an adult leader saying a word and without a single complaint from any of the scouts.

3. Backpacking promotes physical fitness. 30 to 45 pound pack, 10 to 15 miles, one day; need I say more?

4. Backpacking exposes scouts to a REAL outdoors experience. Most developed campgrounds are no different than sleeping in your own back yard the only real difference is the scenery and the lack of TV. When scouts see the real backcountry they gain a new perspective of they way America looked before it was developed and an understanding of what the first settlers endured.

5. Backpacking give scouts a true sense of accomplishment. Earning awards are great but physical achievement has staying power. Many years from now your scouts will remember hiking the AT and climbing to the top of Clingman's Dome with a full pack in full detail. They won't remember when they earned Personal Management Merit Badge.

6. Backpacking has less of an impact on the environment. Units that practice Leave No Trace princpals carry less junk, they produce less garbage, spread the impact of their presence over a larger area, and are usually quieter. This is far preferable than beating developed campgrounds to death.

7. Backpacking develops self-sufficiency and maturity. When a scout can pack a backpack and have everything he needs to be comfortable, fed, and protected for a weekend, our job as Scouters is almost complete. At this point you have molded a confident, self-secure individual who knows how to take care of himself. All you need to do now is polish the rough edges.

Backpacking is not just for older scouts, all scouts can do it. Gender does not matter either. However, Scouters that are not familiar with backpacking need to do their homework and have a couple of backpacking trips without the troop to "tune up." These trips will save you a lot of potential embarrassment later. I will post several tips that work for me on this forum.

Communication is a major issue in all organizations: Scouts, Business, Church, and Family. As others have said, it is truly a two way street/edged sword. If you are not informed of what is going on you need to contact the Committee Chair and Cub/Scoutmaster and let them know you are not satisified and EXACTLY why. DON'T JUST CALL TO COMPLAIN, PROPOSE SOME SOLUTIONS! Hey here's an idea, volunteer to be the information officer of your unit. Scout leaders have a lot to do to run an effective unit. We need help and lots of it. If you just find another unit without attempting to fix the problems in your own unit you are part of the problem! As a Scoutmaster, I don't want people like that in our unit. Why? Because all they do is complain about problems and don't help fix them. I want people who will step up and help me with my weak areas and make the unit better for everyone, but like puppy30's case you do have to know when enough is enough. No communication AND no activities?!! I'd leave too.

SOLUTIONS:

(Please note these are from the perspective of Boy Scouts, but I think it applies to everyone.)

Meetings and lots of them regularly. We hold meetings to teach, to learn, and to pass on information. If you miss a meeting, you need to get on the phone and call someone. That is the responsibility of the boy in Boy Scouts. It is also the job of the Patrol Leader to keep in touch with his patrol.

Newsletters are great but someone needs to take charge of it. (Does the Cub/Scoutmaster need to also be a part time publisher?) Newsletters need to be put out regularly, once a quarter is good. Anything that slips in or changes late could be covered in a mailer or flyer handed out at the next meeting.

Websites are not difficult to make and many internet providers offer a service to help you create a site and a home page is included in most service packages. Talk to your provider, you my already have this service and not know it. This does not have to be fancy at all, a simple calendar of events and some contact numbers would do nicely. Please make your site easy to read, no odd typestyles and no patterned or jarring colored backgrounds. Put email links to your adult leaders on the page. You must update it regularly (see a pattern here?) out of date web pages are annoying and people will stop checking them. Oh yeah, always display on the page when it was last updated and when you expect to update it again.

Email is a very powerful tool, use it. In no other medium can you type one message and send it to everyone in your group with one shot.

Telephone calls in my unit are the last resort. We only make calls when we need an answer right now, to discuss personal issues, or to give out last second information. It is not appropriate to expect a unit leader to chase down twenty families to inform them of things they would know if they were at the last meeting.

Volunteer your time to help implement these solutions.

Talk to other units and see how they handle it. I guarantee we all have the same issues.

Unit Commissioner, District Commissioner? You guys must rock. Mine are useless. I hope I'm alone on this one.

I have to say I am not the most organized Scoutmaster out there. We have lapses in communication and not everyone is always informed, but we keep going forward. I am currently battling the communication problem myself and these are the methods that I believe will work.

There is nothing more important that any of us can do than to be heavily involved in the lives of our children. That means get involved in the unit. I know I'm speaking to the chior on this one, the fact that you are reading this means that you care and are involved, but we need to reach the Scout parents that are not involved and get them involved.

Many hands make light work.(This message has been edited by Mike Long)

There are always going to be kids that think scouting isn't cool. Those same kids have no clue what healthy, active troops do. If they did, they would find Scouts to be very cool.

I had some boys in my troop that had the same issues with Scout Spirit and peer pressure, these boys no longer have those problems. I asked the boys one simple question; "So, what do the people that give you a hard time do that is so cool?" They can't give me a good answer.

So they start to think about it and I continue. "How many miles have they hiked? Have they ever climbed a mountain? How about rapell down a mountain? Can thay climb that mountain with a full pack? Can they even pack a pack with all they need for a weekend? How about a week? Can they catch a fish? Can they cook that same fish over an open fire? How about swim a mile, canoe, kayak, or float a class 4 rapid? Have they made the world a better place for thier fellow man? Have they fed the homeless at a soup kitchen, taken part in a food drive or a blood drive? What about cleaning up a beach? How about the time we helped with that beach erosion conservation project?

The boys are stunned. I continue and drive the point home. "You have done all those things, and you did them with other boys. You planned all these trips yourself, not you parents. All the adults did was make reservations and arrange the transportation. You raised the money yourself, you packed all you needed and if you didn't have the skills, you learned them and help to teach those same skills to twenty other boys. Not only that you helped to make sure that our beach didn't wash away so other people could enjoy it. Did you realize the beach gets over 3 million visitors a year and make about 45 millions dollars for our city? What they heck have they done that can be any cooler than any one thing that you have?"

Now my boys say; "Hey Mr. Long, some kind tried to hassle me about being a Scout, what a looser!"

Then I tell them to invite the boy to a meeting, After all, no one likes to be a looser.