ozemu

Hi SM Mike and welcome. You have taken on a big thing and my congratulaions on doing something. Whether it works or not is not all up to you. My experience (different kids to a fair extent I suppose) was that I needed help from my old Troop. On our first camp I had three PLs come and help me. They sort of mentored my new Scouts. Can you get help from nearby even for a single activity? The other Scouts might help to set the standard a bit higher. I also worked really hard to have magical first events to again set a high standard. Simple but loads of fun and exciting. Not b

BP wasn't a Boy Scout. My SM was. Both were great men.

...and Barry you might fear for your boys' safety but in allowing him to put it at risk you can be sure of the health of his soul. The expression is not mine but I like it and I look forward to experiencing your worry.

wooden 'S'tool surely. Is there a need for wooden gardening implements in ensuring the safety of our daughters? Great list though. I just printed it several times and have an order for a painted sign that is as large as the side wall of the house bearing these rules for all to see.

I don't teach much about the environment as I do not have a head that retains such detail. I can tell them some of what to eat as that knowledge is derived from a different ability. Besides there are schools to teach about the environment. I do teach for the environment though. That is more in line with our spiritual aspect. Social, physical, intellectual and spiritual. Being a deep ecology type I teach FOR the environment and leave the minutae to science types. Basically I encourage the Scout to look, listen, feel, smell and wonder. Sometimes also to taste but lets be careful.

I suspect that it is harder today to appeal to young people. Young people are taught by media and fashion that people our age (specially males) are idiots or peadophiles. The electronic age has reduced concentration spans and a young persons willingness to pursevere (spelling?) Being away from adults is a bit scary for young people and seen as unimportant by parents. (If it were important adults would run it) Our rules and standards are much more severe (through bitter lessons learned) Argueably also most adults do NOT have a military background (skills). But the

Sadly reminded of a story from a Northern Territory policeman I knew. A father outback at a lonely fuel station gave his eight year old son a little motorbike. "Always ride on our side of the road. If your bike konks out head for the sun until you hit the road. We will find you there." The young bloke did as he was told one day. But was riding on the wrong side of the road. He headed directly away from the road straight toward the sun until he died. The lesson for me (my daughter will always do exactly as I say - when out of the house) is to explain the why. Why follow the

Scouting should be a rich and varied experience. The Patrol method is our mainstay. A Scout learns from peers, shares the work with them and eventually is responsible for running the Patrol and training its members. Looking after gear is one of the progressive tasks achieved in all aspects and to completion during those years. Rich and varied.

If you like medieval and detective stories they combine really well in the Cadfael series by Ellis Peters. 20 great historical novels spanning about ten years of welsh / british history. My wife liked "The day my bum went psycho".

Perhaps try to run a sequence of activities that start whole group, expell some energy and then divide down to interest areas with a mix of learn and play in small groups. Then return to large group but with less energy to end the evening. A bit like parade, Troop game, Patrol activities (skills development and games), Troop activity, SM minute, Troop parade. I think the rough sequence may help but only if the core mission etc is recognised down to the youngest person attending. Divide and conquer always works. If they will not do this then I suggest that you stop the show o

I too dislike sloppy dress in public. Our Troop wears a uniform of the right colours but they voted to not require official items. Green shots are green shorts they reckon. However what is more important at public events (I noticed one poster refer to this)? Correct uniform or Correct manner Yes I know both would be great but as a principle which is more offensive/commendable?

I just asked the two (boy) Scouts behind me what they think and they are more serious than my daughter was. "When you play games the boys are always trying too hard to win and the girls just play for fun which is better" "Its better to talk to boys and girls because most of the time at school boys don't talk to girls unless they are your friend" There you go. Not really sure what to make of those two responses. They have not known Scouts without girls except within the batchelor Patrol we had last year. They were both in that Patrol. (As explained in a previous post we

Torveaux, I agree that boys and girls will probably study better when separated. Besides you can work on learning, themes and understandings that are gender oriented. My thinking though is that the purpose at hand involves the community building that very much involves both genders. Unless we are training our boys for service in single gender institutions like the military. And even there, depending on your job, women will be your boss, peers or subordinate. As they (girls) are different it is my view that we should get to know them under stressful situations early in life so tha

We have had girls in Scouts Australia for 10-15 years or so. Longer in ages 15 and up. Apart from having a woman as part of two deep rules and a separate tent for girls to sleep in there are no problems. No extra toilets or anything. Sex!! When young people look at their hearts desire for 24/7 and see them first thing in the morning with no full blown bathroom and sweating from lugging a backpack around they at least have a realistic understanding of thier strengths and weaknesses. No problems amongst ages 6-15. In Venturers (you have those I hear) there are sometimes s

BRAVO for the newbie moderators. (Thinks) Will Acco slam me for any inaccurate philosophical statements now? Oh the horror!

Kittle, bump and I always take the time (that is why I do the job). Even if the Scouts PL is available I will happily do the test assessing. The PL needs time off too and (in this Troop) they work very hard. Also it is a good random check on test standards. If the Scout is not yet ready I send them back to their PL for more instruction, refer them to the fieldbook (or similar text) or teach them on the spot. Retesting at least 24 hours later. Exception - if the Scout is avoiding the PL for some reason I might refer them back. Only happens occassionally but some do not recognise

Our Troop elects the PLś and APLś (with PLs having a say in the APL allocation). Then the Scouts also nominate three mates. We match Scouts up with a PL/APL combination that they chose and have at least one mate in the Patrol with them. A bit of a headache for a few minutes but seems to work. OA type election procedure is followed. Siblings separated normally (ask them) Invariably the oldest and most diligent Scouts become PL. PL and APL must be at least First Class (our equivilant is Pioneer level). Girls concentrated in just two of four Patrols so there ar

There would have to be a funiest home videoś and Scouting Bloopers show.

Thanks mate, the PLC has already done the job. An ASM is keeping an eye on it for me in my absence. Quite correct a monthly theme would work. Our theme tends to be the next camp as we do those monthly too. Also advancement has directed a few activities as the older Scouts teach the younger ones as required by their badge choices. We have never tried the monythly themes as shown in your massive Troop Programs publication. Cant remember the name of it. Have a copy (Thanks KS) and have read it avidly but as the PLC designs the bold content for meetings I have used the documen

We repeat the Scout Law at each meeting. The PLC voted to do this. The Oath and Law are the source of all SM Minutes. Everything is done in Patrols. Even when we split into advancement groups we maintain a Patrol system. We Scouters award a Wisdom Stick (curly wooden staff) to the wisest Scout at each camp. We promote personal growth and responsibility this way. We also recognise improved performance, behaviour etc n site and publically. We camp or get outside on weekends every month minimum. We do something outdoors every meeting (mostly) We camp in Patrols a

Thanks guys, nice calender Cliff. I appreciate the thought but Patrol activities are not a new notion for our Scouts. It is just the volume required to keep things rolling is more than their norm. Alos probably because our age group excludes any Scout over 14 (average age 12) from the Troop the initiative is a little weak. They do need suggestions. They need ideas to get their brains working and more importantly they need ideas that have been done by other Scouts. That way they get an idea of their capabilities. (They under shoot I reckon - except for one who is startin

As I explained on another thread we are unable to meet as a Troop for most of this school term (10 weeks). In fact there will be only 2 Troop meetings. There will be three weekend camps as well. We need 8 weeks (approx) of Patrol activities for four Patrols. That is 32 separate activities in ten weeks. HELP!! I'am sure the PLs will come up with a few but equally sure that bowling, skating and movies will be resorted to without some really cool (and simple) activity suggestions. Thanks Wingnut for your contribution previously. This thread will be printed and given to

I don't like the Australian Scout hat. We have several in the hall. To me it looks American. No offence. Australian drovers do not turn the brims up at the sides. Why did Scouts Austraia do that? I prefer the Aust Army slouch hat. Akubra - rabbit felt. Fits like a glove after a while. Parade standard looks a bit ordinary but a weathered old slouch is iconic. But for practical reasons I wear a Dizabone hat that is squashable. It is waterproof when bought. Lasts if treated properly but who has the time? It can be put under a pack flap or in a canoe barrel etc and doesn't get

anarchist yes it is an Aussie thing. Patrol events without ANY adults are OK but not Troop events which require adult supervision. SPLś do not exist here either. In fact Scouts 15 years and over leave the Troop and progress onto Venturers and we never see them again. Maybe that is the reason. Great ideas wingnut and PNScouter. Other local Troops are in a woefull position. We are the biggest around and that is for good reason. Adult leadership in other Troops may not be helpful. The two closest Troops have joined for lack of kids reasons. But we will look into some joint thi

My work has and will be keeping me from home on the regular meeting nights a lot over the next three months. I am the only Scouter in the Troop qualified to run meetings. Our system does not allow the other uniformed adults to do so without more training which they cannot attend due to their own (over)work. We are pursueing the long term solution of finding another adult to do the training but the problem is with the here and now. Weekend camps are still viable as planned. Patrol activities are possible in lieu of Troop meetings. I intend to throw the problem over