MomScouter

I'd like to hear some comments from some boys about what they think about the uniform. The basis of Scouting is boy-led; has anyone ever asked the boys what they wanted in a uniform? My son is 13 and he dislikes the shorts because they are uncomfortable, and 'too short'. He hates the look and feel of the knee socks, which our troop requires for certain events. He has no complaints about the shirt, but I have a problem with him having to wear this so much at camp - one year after he just got his new tan Webelos shirt, he came home with a big grape juice stain - there went close to $40! I

My son is in a new troop this year, and they band with a few other local troops to get the number needed to serve at the governor's Honor Guard. This will be his first trip to Mackinaw (with Boy Scouts).

I have a couple mpre questions alone this line...what about boys who CHOOSE to be a Lone Scout even though there are troops nearby? I know of a local family and she asked me if her son could become a Lone Scout. She homeschools, and her daughters are 'Juliettes' (lone Girl Scouts). I also know a boy who is in a troop and not happy with it, and would like to be a Lone Scout. When I asked my DE about it, he said that no one should be a Lone Scout when there are troops available...and that was the end of that. How does a Lone Scout fulfill rank rqmts of leadership in the troop?

Some of our local Webelos leaders are most impressed with the troops that are active and do all kinds of fun things that are PLANNED BY THE ADULTS!! They know what boy led means, but they see all the cool trips and activities some of these troops are doing. It's like they are looking for an age extended Cub Scout pack..does anyone have this problem?

OK here is my dilemma - we joined a different troop last May. My son is 12 and has only been a Boy Scout for a year, and wanted to go in this troop because he had friends there (the prior troop did not work out). So I honored that decision knowing full well that the troop was not boy led. I was told by the DE that the SM was almost ready to retire (he has been a SM for over 40 years) and that we should gradually implement 'new' (or as far as I am concerned, the BSA way) methods and turn the troop around. Easier said than done...the SM does not even believe in the patrol method, does not have a

Where I live, one of the reasons why some people do not go to training is, that a lot of the people who are involved in Cub/Boy Scouts are also the same people who are involved in Girl Scouts, 4H, PTO, sports fundraisers, etc....There is a small handful of people doing the majority of the work for the kid related activities. To tell them they now have to go to training in addition to say, being the Troop Fundraiser Chair, (as well as buy a uniform) will put some people over the edge. I am not justifying it in any way...I work full time and do all of the above and still managed to get training.

Good discussion, and I know what Bob White says is true in an ideal troop setting. However, in a little town like where I live you're lucky to have 4-5 committee members. You're even more lucky to have trained people, maybe half are trained. The other half will tell you they do not have time, so either take their help or leave it. Not an ideal situation but its hard to say no to help when there is so little to begin with. Everyone is doing double, triple duty. It is hard...there are conflicts, disagreements, lack of parental support, and everyone is trying to do the best with what we have.

I have a troop of 9 year old (just bridged) Juniors. We camped at a council camp this summer. For September we have planned: Work on Girl Scouting in the USA badge. Go to a 'grape stomp' and visit a vinyard. Make grape jam (all part of our councils 'grapes' patch). Go to a nature preserve for a Wildlife badge workshop and then hike the trails. Plan the next few months and brainstorm ideas for the year. Do a service project recording childrens books on tape to donate to a hospital or day care. Pick a country and begin learning about it for our 'Tasting Tea'. Hey we left out crafts!!! I guess we

In our troop parents can counsel merit badges.....registered or not! I have been trying to compile a listing of counselors in our troop and found out much to my dismay that no one (except myself and another parent) who is counseling badges in our troop is registered! This includes the SM who counsels quite a few badges, including EAGLE badges. In addition, the SM does NOT use blue cards...has anyone ever heard of that? He just keeps track in some book he has then turns in the advancement report. It get worse....the SM is also the District Advancement Chair!!!! We have not been with this

Girl Scouts can plan whatever high adventure activities they desire, as long as they are within Safety-Wise guidelines. Troops are girl run at all levels (to varying degrees based on age) so it is up to the girls to plan these things...it is up to the leaders to make sure the girls know how to plan things and to know they should be running the troop. As an adult male you have a lot to offer; you could be a leader, a volunteer, teach skills, etc. Girl Scouts, like Boy Scouts, is as good as the scouts make it.

Wow that's an eye opener for me. My 12 year old son is 6'0" and weighs about 250. He plays soccer, baseball, football, basketball, and track, and is going to work on his Lifesaving merit badge this summer. He wears size 12 shoes and has just barely started puberty....so he has a lot of growing to do yet. Based on these stats, it looks like Philmont may not be allowed for him (but it wouldn't be allowed for Shaq O'Neill either!) I guess we can just hope that by the time he is 6'5" his weight will not increase with his height.

What are you talking about?

Ed, I like your idea and was actually pondering something like that...my idea involved having an Eagle Reunion of all the locatable Eagles that have come out of this troop and honoring them and the SM. I thought this might be a good opportunity to recruit potential SM/ASM's too. The good news is that the SM is starting to be accepting of having others take over some of the work and suggesting new ideas...we discussed finances recently and when he said 'we have plenty of money for our needs next year' (meaning advancements, etc) I said 'well some of these boys may want to go to Philmont o

Bob White, As usual your words offer great advice. The program is for the boys. Unfortunately the current committee consists of a Chair who has been with the SM for a long time, and others who will not say a word. One year from now, others will come on board to chime in but for now, there are 2 of us who see it this way, 3 who say nothing, and the Chair who was flat out rude to me at the last meeting over a discussion about using merit badge (blue) cards. (She claimed they were not needed and merit badge counselors do not need to register anywhere). Both the SM and the Chair are att

Recently my son moved to a troop that has the same CO as the pack he came from. There were several reasons we went there, one of which is that there are a lot of Webelos and their parents who want to join this troop next year and I have had a great working relationship with them as committee members and den leaders. My sons reasons for going there are because a good friend of his is there and he also likes the idea of having the Webelos he knows come on board. The SM has been doing this for close to 40 years and while he has a lot of Scout skills, he is really stuck in his ways. He does NOT re

way cool!

Sctmom - I hear ya! This could well be a separate topic (Webelos to Scout transition and how it affects retention). I was a Webelos leader for 2 years, did all the training, read everything I could get my hands on about Webelos. We visited troops, went on a campout. But there are so many differences between Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts - here is what I'd do different it I could go back: As soon as the boys became Webelos, I'd begin involving them in a lot more decision making such as which badges to work on, what types of outings to go on, managing den money, etc. By the end of the 2 years I

What if - an event was held (say a canoe event) and no tour permit was filed, and an accident occured...who would be held liable? The SM? The CO? Other adult Scouters present? I have heard of packs/troops doing things without submitting the permit and have often wondered who was at risk when this occured.

Sctmom, I was starting to think that Scouts (boy and girl) was my social life! lol I agree with the no-quit rule for things my kids join. Do you folks mean for the year or for the long term? My son makes a few grumblings during the year, but I am not sure what I would do if he told me he did not want to reregister. Watching this other family deal with this makes me aware I might have to handle it myself someday. I try to be flexible about balancing sports and other activities so he does not get burnt out. Rooster, I feel the way you do about knowing what is best at times. I believe

I like Sagerscouts ideas (and will use them soon when I bridge a bunch of my girls from Brownies to Juniors!). I also like Bob Whites method of not saying no but rather letting the boys do the research. I am in a new troop with my son and I am afraid that this troop does not fully employ the patrol method. How can I convince the current committee and SM to try some of these methods? The SM has been in scouts a long time and does not always follow the current BSA way but rather the '20 years ago' way. I do not want to alienate the adults I will be working with but I do want the program to

We have a boy in our troop who has told my son he wants to quit Scouts but his parents won't let him quit. You would never guess this based on his actions because he seems to enjoy the activities as much as, or more than, a lot of the other boys. His complaint seems to be that scouting interferes with all the other stuff he wants to do (sports and social life). He is 12 years old. His mother has told me that scouts is the only thing she makes him do (besides doing his best in school) and all the other stuff he elects to do is optional. What do you think about this? I have mixed feelings.

I have never read anything in any BSA literature that requires a boy to attend any kind of religious service. Being reverent and doing their duty to God does not mean attending 'non-demoninational' services, but rather to be true to their spiritual beliefs. A Scout can be reverent and do his duty to God without being a member of any organized religion.

My council is in a different state (and time zone) than where we live. My district as well covers 2 states and time zones. This drives us all crazy - everyone has to always figure out which states time we are going by for different events, different states have different laws, things always seem focused on the state where the council resides (for example Scouting for Food drop off locations).

I have never heard of such a policy. In my troop there are many Eagle badges counseled by those within our troop. If that was not the case, chances are the boys may have trouble finding counselors, as our district listings are outdated by several years!

If all of these badges are going to be updated, this can be a big expense for a troop to purchase all of the new books. While keeping up to date is a good thing, it would be nice if National came up with an idea to make the changes less costly for troops. The changes are available for free on the USSCOUTS website, but this does not include the entire pamphlet.