qwazse

I can lead and serve without setting aside time to enjoy costumes and dance ... but somehow it doesn't come out the same as what's done by these boys who've feebly hearkened back on Native American culture. So, if the flag is somehow substituting for a little of that, then I'd say keep it in the closet. If it's reminding boys of the dances they've seen, fly it proudly.

It's like my SPLs have an evil twin! First, he should be congratulated on identifying the problem. Most young male leaders actually think poor planning is a synonym for spontaneity. He needs to politely point out that if the troop has an outline, there will be more room for fun on its own terms. If not, a visit from the Krampus will be in order. Second, he should consider abandoning electronic forms. If they aren't gonna come up with solid plans when they are in the room jawing with their buddies, they won't when they are staring at whatever screen they are using. It's nothing personal, it's probably just the nature of the PL's he happens to be dealing with. Figuring what medium works best is always a challenge, but it can be half the fun. One month request the plan on used wrapping paper and crayons, the next charcoal on a slate, fabric paint on a neckerchief, painted on a used sign, or carved into a staff. This sounds stupid, but instead of something that is easily copied and forwarded along, it requires peoples' attention to follow. And while each PL is concentrating on how he will out-do the other, a vision of the actual program might just sink into his patrols' psyche. Then, just take a photo of the program as delivered and upload it to the site. Third - and especially if your PLs aren't motivated by the above gimmik, make some phone calls. If these PL's are comfortable with electronic reports, then maybe it's just a matter of calling a few days in advance and saying "Hey, our troop's counting on you. Can you get that program written? Do you need help?" And by help, that may mean paying a visit to the scout's house or meeting someplace with internet access. Things that are real important need a real time investment. If it's any consolation, adults have the same problem -- as evidenced by my CC still having not started our recharter.

This: That's the boy we mould entire troops around. Think out of the box. Trail Life or BPSA or Canoe Trails or the local orienteering club or any other group would love to have you on account of your boy!

Get the boys to give you an idea of what the target should be. Halve that. (They always overestimate how "active" they can be.) If I were to choose a benchmark, it would be something like 2 overnight events in the past three months, 4 in the past six. Eight meetings present or accounted for. (All of those for the PLs -- if you can't let us know you ain't coming, you don't deserve the patch. The ratio of present to accounted for can be up for discussion.)

@@Renax127, you had ASM's who didn't want to assist the SM, that's all there is to it. It was far easier to micromanage your program than to go off and start their own. So let them take over. I get adults not "getting it" and having to bite your lip after using all due courtesy to say it could better be done left up to the boys. That's one reason why I became a crew advisor -- so I'd have a little space to try and lead the way my SM lead me (and later, to try some of the techniques suggested on this forum). Being "the guy" gives a little authority, but doesn't change the culture until adults see youth rise to the occasion or one adult sticks up for you. If you have that one adult who thinks you're insane but will stand by you regardless, it's actually okay even if the boys see the two of you disagree sharply. But, if you don't feel like you can be supportive now that the tables are turned, then walking way until you cross paths with that "sidekick" is the smart thing. Just remember this feeling when you wanna have words with your son's coach or youth leader.

Not going to repeat the advice above, but add to it. If you think you are the best guy for the position, the COR deserves to know you think he made a mistake. Aside from that, don't waste words. If you're concerned about they saw something unlikable in you and didn't tell you, and you could ask for an explanation, but -- only if you think you'd be willing to change. Your son will understand that you didn't get picked to be captain. It happens in school all the time. In fact, most folks around the district would understand that as well. So don't feel like your good name has been tarnished in any way. Definitely shoot for those precious weekends with your son! (Involve the Mrs., as much as she's willing.) As an SM, you would actually have fewer of those than you think.

@@Stosh, as warm and dry as this weekend was, they boys may as well have built a chicken coop instead of a survival shelter! Thanks for the tip, and the advice on exploding. You know, now every boy who reads this page is going to try it! @@RememberSchiff there wasn't to much browse (oddly: lots of oaks, no acorns) where we camped. So no deer eggs. The SM and I did find some bear scat up the hill.

I just mentioned on Byran's blog that the best way to inspire a leader to take woodbadge is for someone who as earned it to come along-side him and selflessly lend a hand in his unit. That's clearly what you need to see happen in your unit with regard to arrowmen. If the scout you two admire the most has that lodge flap, ask him what his lodge may have to do with him being such a great scout. If what he says sounds like something you want go for it! If the scout you admire the most is not an arrowman, then ask him what has helped him be a great scout. Seek that for you and your son. Everyone else, take note. Your actions promote!

On our winter survival weekend this morning , I tried to cook an egg in coals (no paper cup, or anything.) to cook it in. I figured if I cracked the top, it would allow steam to come out the top. I then buried it in coals. It took far longer for the yoke to cook than I would have expected. Shells are great insulators! Any suggestions on how to do it better next time?

War is an awkward name for it for Muslims who consider Dae'sh to be neither Islamic nor State. They would rather us think in terms like "extended gang violence." Not entirely sure I'm buying it

FYI, Lodge life in our council seems to be a lot of fun. Arrowmen are a helpful lot. They've backed me up when I needed help with my Venturing responsibilities. Our troop has a goodly number of 1st class scouts who lose elections, another number who are tapped out, count the cost, and don't do Ordeal (which I take as a good sign that they value it enough not to show up as slackers), a majority who will volunteer if there's a call for Arrowmen to serve, and a minority who attend lodge events regularly. @@koolaidman's advice is spot-on. You'll never know if you don't try. But if you all sincerely have something better to do, no one's gonna be too upset if you take a pass.

Or, just get some crayons and draw up a certificate on parchment paper. Include a random patch from your collection. Boys have access to some pretty good printers these days. Guess how valuable one more certificate is in their little minds?

Maybe "in play" is a more appropriate term.

@@ianwilkins and @@Cambridgeskip, as with most things there is no single cause. I don't have statistics on APO, the college service fraternity (http://www.apo.org/Home) or the unit scouting reserve, my anecdote is that of the nearly 100 graduates from our troop and crew who I know, only one joined that organization. Education, war, etc ... cost more and pay less ... Thereby shrinking a young adult's free time. Parents of said adults are pulling double-shifts attempting to defray those costs. So, there are strong economic pressures working against our most vibrant Americans participating in the program (which itself is demanding more in fees and paperwork than it ever has before). Nevertheless, it betrays a decade of ignorance propagated by organizational deceit when you have volunteer and professional scouters who say, "Look to Venturing's vibrant growth as an example of the success we can have with a co-Ed program." (My paraphrase of several statements from different folks over the years.)

I had a moment to watch your show. Nice interview of one of our scouters. Let's clear up one assumption. There's a lot of marketing speak about the venturing program. Folks often cite the Venturing program as an example of a growth as a result of being open to girls. However that division is the most rapidly shrinking (down to 158k in 2014 from 192k in the previous year). If retaining members is any guide, it seems that our unisex divisions are the ones to follow.

Yeah, sure, fill out the form. After all, there's not enough meaningless paperwork out there already. It's not just your ink and paper (a multi-page form asking for a lot of detail regarding any incident). You need to gather witness statements -- including a statement from the rescued person. When you apply for this award for a scout our scouter, everyone involved in the incident has to buy in that his action was a big deal. If you have your doubts, don't waste other people's time.

I look at it this way: zero volunteers = not really that important. Like 'rat said, give it a year or two then dust the idea off the shelf. In the mean time, coach DLs in designing an active summertime program for their den.

I disagree. BSA would only accrue the girls interested maximizing their outdoor skills. They are mainly girls who were already done after a year of brownies. A generous guess would put that at about 20% of all American women. That's just market share. The yield from that number would, of course be smaller. GSUSA's base is not disenchanted in the least. They are a fun lot to be around, if you get an invite to help, do so. (While there, encourage moms to get the maximum outdoor education training that they can.)

This is indeed one of those "know it when you see it" kind of things. Especially when it comes to aquatics, we should all be in the business of forestalling death. And from your son's perspective he was doing what he was trained (formally and informally) to do whenever you're in a pool. As a life guard, I'm trained to do a little bit more ... but our situations are the same. We go about our day making sure everyone is fine. In a pool you almost expect someone to have trouble, so you go about your business with one eye toward preventing a bad situation (mammals thinking they're fish) from ending badly. Part of training backpackers is to get in the habit of considering the slowest person in the party, making sure each load is balanced on each back and across the hikers, keeping and eye on frayed equipment, knowing where the 1st aid kid is, who's got a neckerchief to spare, etc ... Proper routine attentiveness will avert ruinous calamity. So, for instance, splinting up an injured hiker found along a trail and adjusting your routine to make sure rescue arrives is noble, but really not out of the ordinary. It's when you perform that way when you are out of your routine (e.g. you're in your Sunday best and hear a toddler-sized splash from a supposedly empty pool some distance away, or at a scenic rest area and barely hear a cry for "help" 200 feet below ...). The times and places where that "mentally awake at all times" kicks in for a scout while in the majority of others that "still small voice" would be ignored ... that's where we start to identify that "uncommon concern and exceptional character."

I kinda understood what your saying, and my main observation is: the SM is usually not that guy. Even if he knew a thing or two, parents rarely see him as someone whose correction they'd heed. Usually, when moms or dads come to me with above my pay-grade issues, I will ask, "Is there someone who you (and the other party, if any) will listen to if they told you what you need to do differently?" If someone is willing to sit with me by the fire after the kids are in bed, they might get a little of what slice of wisdom I may have. There might be some water in this old rock, but it would take some time squeezing to get at it.

Me too. But try parsing this ... http://www.scouting.org/filestore/program_update/pdf/Transitioning_New_Requirements_2016.pdf "For 2016: • Boys joining on or after Jan. 1, 2016 MUST use the new requirements. • Boys who have joined prior to Jan. 1, 2016: • Who are working on the Scout badge MAY continue to work on the existing requirements, but MUST convert to the new requirements upon completion of the Scout badge. • Who are working on Tenderfoot through First Class MAY continue to work on the existing requirements, but MUST convert to the new requirements upon attaining First Class. • Who have completed First Class MAY complete the rank they are currently working on in the existing requirements, but then MUST convert to the new requirements for subsequent ranks." Given that, in concept, a boy starts on Tenderfoot the minute he completes Scout, if your boys join their troop and rank up before New Years, they can work with the old T2F requirements for one more year. Which is stupid. Just get everone working on the new requirements ASAP. Have fun.

It's an original from my advisor's school of hard knocks. Feel free to to quote me the next time someone whines that crews steal boys from troops, or some DE spouts off that female venturers will help us boost membership. Not until they come with their own boat ...

My experience: Girls ain't honey and boys ain't flies.

Life is so much better when the CC and ASM's take up the slack on this. I've reached the point where I'm the old-guy-in-the-room most places, so when I rattle off parenting advice, folks actually think I know what I'm talking about. SM's are really glad when they don't have to deal with minutiae from anyone except his PL's. There are precious few things a parent needs to really talk to the SM about. (Some examples: "I made some extra cookies. Mind if Johnny brings them to the meeting?", "I have this prime camping spot and it's free every third weekend.", "I'm a trained EMT/lifeguard/belly dance instructor ... certifications up to date ... just in case your program needs it.") Sure there are some serious things, but those should always be with the understanding that the SM will get advice from or direct them to anther trustworthy adult who knows how to help.

Dispel any illusions that an Leader's biases won't bleed through. The crew was putting final plans in on their upcoming survival weekend in the mountains. And I told them a friend in a nearby Christian commune invited me to their community caroling night. They all thought it would be a neat side trip once the finished their shelters and had dinner. Then the President asked, "How did you come to have a friend in a Christian commune?" "Talking to strangers." I replied. "I shouldn't have asked, and don't want to know more!" He concluded.