qwazse

My SMs (two consecutive ones over a period of years) were drawing fire because boys weren't advancing according to someone's timetable. (Over this time I had seen boys quit because of the unending emphasis on requirements. And those new-fangled trail-to-first-class courses produce boys who were no more competent.) What I ultimately did when SM #2 got this issue thrown in his face ... I made it very clear in a committee meeting: 1. that we (SMs and ASMs) were not doing 1st class 1st year. 2. that 1st class skills were to be demonstrated to a PL, not an SM or ASM or any camp staff, for s

Good luck with that. I just tried to PM you and got blocked!

Yep DS. It's best you do this as a district service -- not as a member of the pack. From the outset, it in your interest to have someone in the pack assist you (for example procure your classroom, bring refreshments, push paperwork, etc ...), and that person would take more of a role the next time the pack needs instruction. That person would be your pack trainer, even if for now he/she is basically your gopher. (You know ... go fer this, go fer that.) That way you make it clear that your doing this as part of what needs to be don in terms of commissioner service with an eye towards the pa

Good point. We've done something similar. I've always left it to the guy who values it the most to pick up the rounds. My leaders know that I drink on very rare occasions, and leading up to a trip is not one of them.

Youth sometimes see things differently than we do. In situations like these, I just try to suck in my breath and roll with it. Give the trek leader your undivided attention from here on out. Touch base with a phone call every week. Have him tell you what he knows about each boy completing any tasks assigned to them. Lead through him. So, for example, if there's an announcement to go out, ask him to do it. You'll follow-up on any omission. Ask him if there's anything specific he would like you to do for each meeting. Then, rewards. In my crew, "officer's privilege" includes th

I'd rather not, but assuming the ratios and depth were maintained ... We've managed to retain some very helpful adults by being a little flexible. This never happened, but ... Come back wasted? I'm sending you home as soon as you sober up. I'd rather hear from you and your buddies that you're checking into a hotel and won't be back until morning. If you keep your distance, I can take the heat from the res. director for your unplanned absence. Why? It's personal. Thanks to the family beer business, I grew up with plenty of drunks, I don't need my youth to have any part of tha

Campmaster should have said "I will run it by SM and the committee." IMHO it's yours and the SM's call weather he/she has to go back to the scout and say "sorry, I spoke out of turn." The only reason it would be the larger committee's business is if it was counting on those discounts being added to the troop treasury. (E.g., if it's a line-item on the "income" side of your budget. Or, your budget includes paying for adult 1 and 2 at the discounted rate.) Is the low attendance an issue? That's entirely the SM's call. If he's willing to work with the boy, you all should support him.

For the love of all that is good and right in the world: no plaques! How about a custom patch? Something that says "valued leader of pack ___"? I'm sure there's still a few novelties with "Leader of the Pack" on them. Also a picture with all of the boy's and their signatures would be awesome.

BP, it's not "my idea" from some backwater fringe area of scouting. The parents in my troop and neighboring troops are a relatively forward-thinking lot perfectly fine with some boys being in a crew and some not. No problem. If scouting went co-ed, my guess is about half of them would reorganize into a boys-only organization. Some of those parents only have boys and the others happily shuttle their girls to different activities. Yes, the girl-scouts who join my crew do so primarily because they want to do some outdoor activity that their GS mom can't or won't organize, but for every one

Well, KDD, as long as it wore the heaven into you as well ....

Now, see BD, that's where you're being poud foolish. Put a hitch on the church van, pull the trailer, and you won't need the pick-up truck.

MB, what bothers me about your lodge is that you haven't mentioned the *lodge chief*. Your young arrowmen need to give him a call and let him know that they would like to provide this service for your troop an any others as time allows. Frankly, this whole conversation should be between the youth, and you, your "expert scouter", and the advisor need to take a step back, encourage communication on the youth level, and support whatever decision the Chief and his officers approve. Chances are, your boys will like the results, and they don't, they can suck it up for now and run for office nex

In terms of what boys want, I can offer a sample of 1. About half the boys in our troop who could join our crew don't. That could be for a lot of reasons, but one is certainly that they have enough women in their lives already.

I guess it would fall under: Conduct the Scouting program according to its • own policies and guidelines as well as those of the Boy Scouts of America. -- Annual Charter Agreement.

Way to act like a pro e92. The note refers to monkey bridges. The crux of which cannot exceed 5'. That means the stays are gonna be at least 10'. So, you would need to contrive an 11' rig to support the stays. That's about the proportion of the plans shown. The boys cannot work at that height. (Unless they are properly supervised and harnessed.) But they can certainly build a tower that tall. (Hint, the Egyptians didn't build their obelisks upright.) And once erect and proven stable, they are certainly allowed to climb it!

Gotta say, KM, you seem right on target with a group of 13-and-under boys. Note-taking is a very strange and foriegn act to them. Can I suggest something a little unconventional? For things like attendance, etc ... Teach them a knot language. Instead of taking attendance via check boxes, have a colored chord for each boy into which the scribe ties for each meeting. You would keep this in a scribe's box, which would also have a calendar, etc ... You need to put your thinking cap on to figure out how to make this symbolic. You might have different colored beads or totems for chores and

BD, my "ghetto" kids are like yours. I feel very fortunate that the wealthier kids in our unit respect being tight on funds and maybe that's why they don't push big program ideas that only half of us could afford. I think they take a little pride in having adventures that don't break the bank. Week before last, SM had them put together a collage from a stack of this years' photos. At the center: the sign at a Dolly Sods trail-head with warnings and pictures of unexploded ordnance. That trip set everyone back maybe $25. (Boys who didn't have their own gear, were able to borrow -- thanks t

I know a number of parents (myself included, at times) wish the boys would want to take a big trip to the Indianapilis 500 like they did in the past. (I missed it the time our troop went.) Boys aren't interested. They want to take a trip on an extended weekend to go back and hike the West Rim trail of the PA Grand Canyon at a fraction of the cost of Indi. (We only did half of it a few years ago.)

IMHO (and keep in mind I've only been and advisor for 7 years and have watched about 8 crews very closely, others have more experience). The challenge of Venturing: vision. How do you boys see yourselves? As a venture patrol of the troop? A leadership team? A youth group? An outdoor club? A chance to "catch up" for your friends who missed out out scouting? Sometimes when you go down at list you realize: "hey, we could just do all those activities as older guys in the troop". Sounds like that's where you're at now. Sometimes you say "what about pistols? Go karts? Our girlfriends an

I've done this on several occasions with my crew. To make sure everyone's aware, give a call to the SM of the troop you're sharing a campsite with to let them know your situation. He might even loan you an ASM buddy for Saturday morning!

Reb, I hear you. I just know -- from camping with Jr. High co-eds outside of scouting -- that things don't always run smoothly. Sex differences get in the way, and most scouters would rather not deal with them. High school youth have begun to accept those differences and work with them on their own. (Some youth make terrible decisions in this process, that's why adult association is a critical method of Venturing, but generally awesome ideas result from the different perspectives.) Thus the Explorer and Venturing programs and BSA's broad mission statement. But harsh reality: makin

Reb, I hear you. I just know -- from camping with Jr. High co-eds outside of scouting -- that things don't always run smoothly. Sex differences get in the way, and most scouters would rather not deal with them. High school youth have begun to accept those differences and work with them on their own. (Some youth make terrible decisions in this process, that's why adult association is a critical method of Venturing, but generally awesome ideas result from the different perspectives.) Thus the Explorer and Venturing programs and BSA's broad mission statement. But harsh reality: makin

Wow. It's like my crew has an evil twin! There's a lot here, but I want to suggest two things. 1. Do your job maybe a little bit more, but lean on other folks to do theirs. If the books are balanced because you've fulfilled your treasurer role, take responsibility for your pet activity and be the chairperson for that. Your one guy, get him trained and make sure your supporting whatever activity he wants to do. An attractive crew is one where a handful of guys actually take care of one another. 2. God bless your SM for wearing a second big hat, but a different adult leader in that positi

Wow. It's like my crew has an evil twin! There's a lot here, but I want to suggest two things. 1. Do your job maybe a little bit more, but lean on other folks to do theirs. If the books are balanced because you've fulfilled your treasurer role, take responsibility for your pet activity and be the chairperson for that. Your one guy, get him trained and make sure your supporting whatever activity he wants to do. An attractive crew is one where a handful of guys actually take care of one another. 2. God bless your SM for wearing a second big hat, but a different adult leader in that positi