qwazse

Not cupcakes, but ... SPL asked if the boys could bake cookies next meeting!

Cchoat, What age are we talking about? If it's 12-13 I'd let the therapy run its course. Make it no big deal if he takes until 16 to make 1st class. Let him rack up bunches of other merit badges until he gets this phobia licked. That rank advancement will represent his conquest of his fears. If we are talking a 16 y.o. who's finally got this thing diagnosed, I'd talk to the district advancement chair, the boy, and his parents. There's no one-size-fits-all alternative. For this boy, there may be a series of excersizes that chip away at the boy's mental blocks. (Think rowing machine, breath control, flexibility conditioning.). With real phobias, a person needs to build a tolerance to specific sensory/motor stimuli to build a bridge to success. A sports psychologist may help the boy identify reasonable short-range objectives. I'd think some of those would make good alternative requirements.

Pch, you beat me to it. But, I think JoeBob isn't about to be fooled.

Yes, it's part of the Woodbadge curriculum. And the point is to get us to see things through the scouts' eyes, not ours. It's something you should keep in mind even if all your boys go to the same church. I've taught Sunday school long enough to know kids who are heretical for a large portion of their teen years. They spend a lot of time trying to make their world view fit into our denominational box. Every church service is alien to them, even if their parents are daily devotional befor dinner types. It takes the living life as an adult to help them determine if this religion is for them.

Could there be such a thing as over-dedication? My SM, retired single with a part-time job and plenty of time to spare, was the straightest arrow in town. Perfect for the job which he held dutifully for decades until the Parkinson's got the better of him. The COR was also a great guy and passed shortly thereafter. The troop didn't last after that. The plan to transfer leadership wasn't there. (The economy and subsequent job-flight didn't help.) Sometimes an SM giving the group a "2-year warning" is the best way to get others to step up. And, frees the ex-SM to continue serving after his tenure "officially" ends.

I've seen a couple troop+crew committees operating under one chair. When it works, it works great. Never seen a pack+troop combination, but don't see why it can't happen. Still the social transition from elementary to middle school is huge around here. Schedules are radically different. Our MS and HS share the same facility, so there is a big break that makes it difficult for a parent to adjust. If you have two kids, all of a sudden you're pulled in two different directions just to keep on an even keel with school. No matter how scouting is configured, you're not getting a lot of time out of those folks unless they're insane, or until they get their kids back in the same building.

SR540B, For me, it's a balance between micro-managing and rule-enforcing. If a PL and scout(s) are taking the MB together and he sees the boy(s) demonstrate proficiency for their counselor, then he's seen the boy(s) demonstrate proficiency. I don't want to add a rule that confounds that notion. On the flip side, if the counselor signs off on slip-shod work, I don't want the PL to feel obliged to honor someone's blue card. The PL can rightly say, "I never saw you do it, that's what that signature means, so please demonstrate now so I can give you a trustworthy recognition."

BD, I drove to OK (as far as Wichita Mountains) this summer. Don't see a ban lifting soon for some of the folks between here and there.

Then there's those pesky co-eds, of which half of them are only entering at age 14 (from who-knows-where? Venus maybe). They don't know patrol methods -- really don't need to depending on their focus, wear different bling, AND they can be multiples of other units. Even if you go co-ed from the bottom up, I think other scout associations make a clean break between the Middle vs. High School age groups. I don't think any of us die-hard BSA types would easily buy into that model.

Also, a scout can work on merit badges while working first class requirements. This means, for example, if the boys in the troop all want to become proficient in first aid, there's nothing stopping all of them from Scout to Life from getting trained together and earning the merit badge. Needless to say, they will be able to knock off several Trail to First Class reqs. I would still encourage your PLs to not take "I have First Aid" as sufficient reason to sign off on T2FC requirements. They should have seen the boy perform the requirement autonomously. Otherwise, they ask him to demonstrate it again.

Yep. We put on double hats, but nobody likes to do somebody else's paperwork. So we have the mess that Fred's complaining about. COR is a little week that way. Part of the dysfunction that makes our units unique. You could have a COR who challenges the units to step up their collaboration, but be careful what you ask for. The "strong COR" model was tried, and the leaders of one unit did not like it and raised a stink unit reps were switched.

BP, nor mine. I think because we're too small. But when we started, there was a tendency to segregate by sex (mainly because I brought the boy scouts and my co-advisor brought the girl scouts). Fortunately that didn't last long. But I see some leaders maintaining that distinction in their crews. I only have one married venturer, and his wife has yet to join us.

I often wonder why young adults are so afraid of marriage. Maybe we've put it on such a high pedestal that many wont peruse it, but that's another issue ... As 5smom shows, most crews are segregated to the point that males and females operate independently. An adult male associate advisor would not have direct responsibility over any youth female. So they'd rather fly under the radar and avoid the inconvenience of removing an adult from the charter until their mate turns 21.

2C, The pumpkin cobbler was awesome! But don't take my word for it. Here's what s few of our scouts had to say ... : it's food! It tastes like pelican eggs in a universe where pelican eggs taste good. : magically delicious : I ate it all up. Raaawwwrr! : a great sequel by James Cameron. That'll never happen. : I'm thinking ... A flavorball went off in my mouth. Okay, so the boys don't have the best focus when you ask them for a quote, but the pot was empty! That should say it all. Thanks.

FWIW - our boys had a great weekend even with the frost on the ground. One boy with disabilities for whom this kind of thing is really tough (he falls a lot) said, "Well, now I know what I need to prepare for winter." It's not the entire troop, but there's a group of kids who you just can't keep away from this stuff,

I forget how young these pack parents are! Text: Pack dues for the 1st 3 mos. of 2013 are $__. Will u pay Monday? Or will J. quit Dec 31st? Problems? Plz call! Bless your committee, but if they need to approve what you write, there's a problem. FWIW: I decided not to bother collecting crew dues early this year. For all my harping in October/November, nobody paid (or if they were multiple with another unit turned in paperwork with contact info changes or updates in preferred flavor of chocolate bars). We'll have one collection date. Then the crew president will call whoever hasn't paid and ask if they are "in" or "out" and give them 5 days to pay.

We don't get as much "fun in the snow" as you all, but I think the trick is to camp every month. Sorta like the boiling-a-live-frog principle: He won't hop out if you start with tepid water.* Sure you may loose a few boys. But we find that the bug-phobic really like those snowy nights. Of course, setting the example is always good. Even when we have a cabin, I try to set up my tent at some distance as often as possible. *P.S. - That's just a metaphor. I've never cooked amphibians. Well not intentionally, but tangent's just for chats around real campfires.

I prefer mixed patrols, but you have to be prepared to throw the older boys "a bone" or two. They might need a high adventure opportunity, or a more challenging hike into camp. Or, they may need to hang at the campfire after their patrols are tucked in. Arrange a cracker barrel. That sort of thing. Special boys need special adults. Sometimes you'll find the right boy to take a lad with a disability under his wing. But even the "right boy" needs a break now and then. BTW - a boy should not have to "verbally and behind the scenes" fight change. He should be comfortable enough to respectfully disagree with how things are.

Call your scout shop. They should be able to give you the paperwork you need. One of our venturers made our crew flag. It was closer to patrol flag size. Problem is durability, so we don't fly it all that much. But it was a very sweet gesture.

One thing that stemmed from a panel discussion where adults taking VLST got to compile a couple of questions for youth taking ILSC at the lunchtime break ... The boys in some crews tend to hang back and let the girls do all the planning , etc ... The youth present explained that the boys are busy with SPL or PL duties every week. They see crew meetings as a chance to chill. Venturing girls are often not saddled with those responsibilities and are anxious to take charge. "Give it time." They said. "The boys usually step up out on the trail. As they mature, things even out." I'm not entirely sure that's accurate, but it does point out that youth might be less bothered by social dynamics than we are.

If you've turned in your Eagle, I guess it would be wise to strike it from your resume. But I would not even countenance any organization that would slight a candidate for reporting youth awards that reflect his/her leadership experience. Would I want to work for someone who doesn't value candidates whose definition of self begins with "Trustworthy?"

And I frankly wonder how an Eagle scout is now perceived. I would have to advise an Eagle scout to not highlight this acheivement if he were to apply for a position. Such advise will undermine the lad's prospects for a job in even the most antipathic company. SA, keep telling the boy to list all of his awards and recognitions on those resumes. For one interview, a line on my resume (not ES) that my boss thought was very controversial probably helped get me the job. I was asked directly about it, as a result, it extended the conversation and allowed me to reveal more about my character. You do know that there are donors out there who are sympathetic to our loss of contributions due to the day's PC torch-burning corporate villagers? So what will really matter is BSA's total endowment at the end of each successive year.

Our pack had an event called "reindeer games". Each den hosts a game station. (You don't want it to be so complicated that it takes more than two or three boys to manage the station. Think ring toss on "antlers", squirt gun at candles, pin the nose on the reindeer, build marshmallow snowmen.) Boys in the den take turns running their station so that the rest can go around and play the other dens' games. Prizes are usually pieces of candy. So, one of the stations could be making a prize bag/decorating a "stocking".

On the SM side of things ... Stash that extra sleeping bag or fleece blanket(s) in your trunk. Someone's gonna forget theirs. (Or not pack their dad's!) Know where the nearest department store is so you can dash out and for rubber boots for the kid who shows up in tennis shoes. Make sure the boys all can tell you the signs for hypothermia. When fishing in the morning, keep a rag/shammi in your pocket so it is warm when you need it to wipe the ice that accumulates on the eyelets of your pole. Use rubber lures that tend to bounce/skid over the thin layer of ice. (Think combination sport: angling+curling.) Choose colors brighter than usual to compensate for light blocked by ice. Snag it? Leave it! No lure is worth the precarious walk on early ice to retrieve it. When cleaning the fish, have warm water for your hands. Astronomy? Instruct the boys not to stick their eye directly on the telescope lens! Aside from ruining the focus for everyone else, the cold 'scope can be a bit of a shock. Teach the boys to pay attention to the wind and stay out of it. Set up camp on the lee side of a boulder, or lash together a small wind-break. Boots dried by the fire are only as good as the holes not burnt into them! Instruct boys to keep a safe distance an check whatever they are trying to dry frequently.

Definitely drop the irrelevant posts. Remind people that their boys are listening. The page is intended to praise your youth. Unless the boys are bringing up the issue in a constructive manner -- regardless of if they are for or against anything in particular -- policy discussions are irrelevant.