qwazse

You need to understand how absurd this statement is. Ideally, we would have four patrols. Each would come with a great plan for the same weekend. One to hike North, the other South, the other East, and the other West. How could I or the SM possibly "be there for the chance that something bad could happen?" Not by limiting each plan to no more than 100 yards from the SM's camp chair and coffee. (FWIW, I don't recall my SM ever having a camp chair.) The PM tells me how: Know the skills of each patrol. That shouldn't be too hard. The cloth on their left pocket and merit badge sash should tell that. Review the plans, suggest revisions if necessary. Make sure they have specific contact information if necessary. Back in my day, thatwould be clear knowledge of every farmer's residence and every ranger's station ... plus the location of every pay-phone, and where the dimes are in each scout's emergency kit. Arrange rendezvous points to touch base with the PLs who may need some extra support (i.e. the ones who aren't quite first class scouts -- concept, not patch). Or send a chaperon if you must (e.g. SPL/ASPL/JASM). Fast forward to the age of cell phones ... this whole process should be even more manageable. In fact, SM and I have hiked to our coffee shop while the boys executed their plan knowing that we were just a phone call away. This should be the standard. The need for "minders" in the immediate vicinity should be the exception -- typically employed while a patrol is still getting its bearings. This, to me, is the quintessential definition of a great SM. Empowering boys by getting them qualified to patrol (verb: the action of traversing a district or beat ... for observation ...).

Bonus points: find someone who was in the pack 75 years ago. See if he's in a position to pay a visit.

I'm sorry, Rick, but I know a lot of Jews, Muslims, and Christians who would not see themselves in that language. Not now. Not a century ago. The folks who left for Trail Life made that quite clear.

I have seen that private schools like @David CO's tend to have a synergy between the balance sheets of service organizations versus band/theatre versus sports. Parents bare the brunt of expenses, facilities included, one way or another. So they want to see as many groups getting as much utility out of those facilities. Harsh reality example: when the jr/sr high school installed in a climbing wall on the taxpayer's dime, the differential cost of Venturing was notable. I could see the calculus rolling in the kids' heads: "Why devote time and $ to mastering a skill in my crew when I can go to my school gym and do the same thing?" Never mind that that there is no comparison between a gym used by hundreds and the number of hours of individual training and breadth of experience that a weekend on location a small group can provide, the short term differential was huge. Suddenly, it was the boys in the adjacent district who kept pushing for cope and climbing weekends. Now, if kids at our school had to pay even a nominal fee for "wall time" or fund-raise for more experienced trainer's, we'd see some of that interest swing back to the scouts.

Yeah, I was going to blather on about operating vs. capital costs. But it sounded like we were talking about what a scout or his troop might have to pay form him to get the most out of his membership. Like @Saltface I look for locations where the camp fees are next to none. But, the drive may be some distance. Most scouts aren't going to go to every activity, but all of them are going to need to step it up around the house. The $100 a month figure was to get them to look at things their parents (or an older siblings going off to college or war) do that they could start doing. This actually encourages most parents to put more than just $1200/year into some "scouting account". If parents see their scout really applying what he's learned in the troop to things at home, funding big-ticket scouting seems more like an investment than an expense. BTW, after nearly two decades, Son #1 is returning my tools sharpened! (I'm forgiving the bent riding mower blade, because the next week I did the very same thing!)

Happy sails! The winds look to be a little low, so you might be motoring a good bit. Sunscreen, hat, water bottle (and requisite 'biners)! That's most all you'll need to know. Oh, and the kid with the camera has to have a steady hand for when the shark swims by.

You might want to offset that by the cost of feeding the average teen for about 30 days. Also, average the uniform cost over a couple of years, and factor in the rate of hand-me-downs in your troop. In general, I advise scouts to make them useful to their folks to the tune of $100 a month.

The original Girl Scout program was very much scouting for girls, as was Campfire Girls. Something happened among baby boomer parents that made the outing part of scouting optional for girls. (At least in US and UK.)

Mash, I didn't intend to paint your views wrongly! I didn't mean to play my soapbox at your expense. Communication is an understatement. Beyond excessive arts and crafts and fear of the wild, there's another reason Daughter didn't stick with GS/USA. Someone gave her a cookie flyer and she started taking orders from scouters at Son #1's troop meeting. Made her feel great. Then we got a call from another GS mom (not her leader, but this one had boys in the troop) that she was supposed to wait until some official date to start selling. Made her feel miserable. That mom was not trying to be mean, she just knew how council would react if they got wind of it. Mrs. Q was mad, and Daughter didn't want to be in an organization where a brownie doing a good thing (the smile on the dads' faces was more valuable than the actual sale) made folks angry. And yes, I've read similar things about you all who have packs in proximity. So, take it as a cautionary tale. But, it's one thing when it comes from unit, but it's another thing when units are made to feel like they are in some kind of gulag.

The medal is not the pinnacle. The pinnacle scouting experience is hiking and camping independently with one's mates. When a scout can be trusted to do that, he/she has arrived. Service projects are just a way of showing a scout can apply what they've been doing in their troop to help their community.

Projects like these should stretch the youth. They should be something he/she hasn't done before. They should address something important to the youth. When leaders any level come back with "also do" lists, it sounds like asking more of the same. It may be in a direction that doesn't inspire the youth. It may be nothing the beneficiary really wants. The project should be the first of several as a youth. Too much beurarcracy makes a kid want to put his/her first project off until his/her managment and presentation skills are mastered, and that's a shame.

Why should they be hard?

My gut tells me this is an honest (albeit misguided) attempt to prepare the next generation for the "real world" scenarios experienced by the previous generation. At least around here. Plenty of guys got by with a handshake and maybe a handwritten contract. But a woman in the same profession would feel she had to come with a polished proposal and all the bells and whistles to land the same bid. Then to stay in the business, she had to outdo herself or lackluster competition would call on the good-old-boys network to grease the wheels in their favor. I hope it's not just Mash's GS council, but that nationally the "steam will be let off the pressure cooker" for these girls just a little. There's plenty of work to do in this country, and we need kids who know how to do it, one focused project after another.

Your classmates could have taken a cue from my classmates' playbook and pounce on the Arabs ... or whoever was next in line. Fact is, folks in OK are so nice it's just plain scary. I'm glad Daughter graduated a Sooner. But, every time I visited, there was just a tiny part of my coastal wiring that was on edge ... just waiting for you all to club us when our back was turned and put us in the stew pot!

I've heard this from parents of my female venturers as well.

Why two hours? How about "however long it takes to earn 1st class rank in a patrol of scouters trying to serve our youth? Mr. SPL or JASM will sign off as you demonstrate the skills." I'm really looking to get some adults out of the SM's hair for more than just a day. (Actually, this batch of adults are coming along quite nicely. A couple of them were Eagle scouts, and are really good mentors -- both of youth and parents.) P.S. - @MattR, sorry about the back pain. Ouch! Hope you bounce back before the next campout that comes your way.

@Terasec, way to take a three year old thread completely out of context. This post is about gays. Not godless or girls. Although, I daresay the appeal to debate without denigrating may still apply.

I'm indifferent. Our camp's T2FC area is well run. But, it robs PL's/APL's (not to mention TG) of their purpose. We no longer sign off on requirements just because the T2FC staff signs off that the scout was present when they were taught. (That's also the recommendation of the camp brochure.) Boys are expected to demonstrate skill mastery to their PL. Bottom line: we've gotten no more Eagles with or without First-class-first-year, so if a kid would rather knock out baskets and leatherwork than got to the T2FC area, I encourage adults to support him. We do want younger scouts to try and advance a rank at camp if they haven't done so already, but that's generally so the adults present could feel useful by holding the occasional BoR during free time or in the evening.

The king is gone, long live the king.

Rescucitating an old thread because: I'd love to hear from @MattR about how his scheme flew or flopped. If you want to spout off your great idea to the JTE task force, you have a week.Click here for instructions at Bryan's Blog. Write them. Let us know what you said. Even if they don't use it, maybe we will ... just for fits and giggles.

Most days, I'll gladly take credit where it isn't due. But, I'm just the relay. BSA's very own @RichardB takes the trouble blow his committee's horn. I just read and link to them as various threads warrant. The real statistics that I'd like to see (but are nigh impossible to collect) are long term relative risks/benefits. But, that's a different rant.

So, what's the plan for your next Palm? Are you gonna round off your MB count before your BoR so you can snag an inns ta-Palm or two?

The registration status of a leader was immaterial. In fact it could make things worse. Typically, scouters with lapsed registration are to cease all scouting activities until it is restored. So, for example, if he signed in as a registered leader for the event when he was not on the roster, it's a problem. If he then ignored G2SS age recommendations thereby putting an unprepared scout at risk, that's a bigger problem. If this is the way you all do business, that's even a bigger problem. Given the disconcerting revisions to G2SS, some of us patrol-method folks who rely on 18 y.o. ASMs are about to have tremendous problems.

Okay, not too far down from my rule #1 (never ask for a rule) is this one from Hezikiah: Don't show the Babylonians the treasury!

@Jameson76, did you all get trip cancellation insurance?