qwazse

Howe, let me rephrase. I have the dubious privilege of dealing with young women whose troops did not camp frequently between ages 11 and 13. They resent it vocally, and we need to encourage them to tone down the anti-GSUSA rhetoric. Only because they couldn't get "ALL" their fellow scouts on the camping train. If you want to produce more of those girls, let them settle for a campout a year.(This message has been edited by Qwazse)

RK, you are right in waiting until you can get nearly all the boys in the same room. And I can certainly relate to the autumn disruptions. This is a decision that can wait. Keep in mind that in waiting to long, boys might realize that they can do things differently anyway.

That's crazy y'all! Our pros make copies at hq for RTs. Not sure what budget it comes from. Don't know how much of RT comes out of pocket. Although, I did have a commish once reproduce a slide presentation he asked me to do in full color hard copies. I felt bad because it really was a lot of ink for little content. But the material was all new to him and he was excited about it.

Fine. I'll just talk to the hand Hand, what is a reasonable number of outdoor overnight activities that should be offered to the average group of 10 year olds? [Hand raises four fingers.] Does that include some kind of week long summer camp. [Hand puts thumb up.] Should I tell someone to lower their bar if one girl says one overnight/year is enough? OUch! [Hand slaps.] Get the training you all need. Take the girls camping once. Have fun. Go the next time they ask.

BD, in that situation, I'd suggest: Work it out with the boy(s) who want to be den chiefs. Play nice. This may mean the den chief's figure out a rotation, or their PLs touch base after meeting. It sounds like one of the better headaches to have.

The boys have spoken. Dude, you have to do something out of doors that first or second weekend in October even if it's a day hike around town with a stop at the nearest soda fountain. This month, have the boys read each other the safe hiking chapters from the book. Call your game officer or agricultural agent. They might be able to give the boys some idea of how to find wildlife, and when/how to hike safely during hunting season. Campfire can be in someone's back yard barbecue. (That's assuming your away from the burn ban.) Do you all have leaves to rake yet? Maybe there's a town square or some elderly veteran's lawn that needs some TLC.

I dunno. Most hunter camps I see advertised have lodgings with four walls and a roof. But, a definition that would apply to 11 year olds should fall within Pack's parameters.

One patrol. Boys elect their leaders - who may or may not be the trained youth. Or two small patrols. Boys elect their leaders as above. Leave the choice up to the boys. Provide basic training for whoever is elected (maybe the NYLT boys could do this). Don't elect an SPL/ASPL until you have about 24 boys. Never appoint SPLs. You have other things to worry about.

Never saw a troop who capped at 32.

Those are our future venturers, so what we think does matter. Many Webelo I's do not camp all that much. But, for that age, IMHO, you should have a tent weekend in the fall and spring, get a cabin someplace in the winter, and attend a week long GSUSA summer camp. Your daughter might be overwhelmed by the numbers. To see if she's right, you need to work with her to see how much free time she has throuout the year. Don't rule out the possibility at you are running her ragged with too many activities. But most likely she will see that this this is just a drop in the bucket. Plus, it amounts to more time with her friends. The opinions of other girls and the availability of adults fit into the equation as well. Like SN said, get trained.

Not quite sure what your aiming at, but crews often use this: http://www.scouting.org/filestore/venturing/pdf/510-013WB.pdf

Tickets don't get worked in a vacuum. There's no way of avoiding preconceived notions -- even without the Internet to bounce ideas off of!

If they were very active in Webelos, I would definitely say yes. There was no reason why either of my sons couldn't have nailed down all of those skills. They had already camped and hiked and knew community leaders and had to learn to swim (because we spent lots of time with in-laws on Lake Erie and on the FL Treasure Coast). But lacking a sense of urgency, they took years. Adults (and even a PLC if they are determined) can set up a program that moves boys along and gets them tested properly. Now, the real challenge is helping those boys maintain and build upon those skills. That's where your troop comes in, BD! Have your SPL call their SPL and see if there's a location that your troop can share for a weekend and work on orienteering, pioneering, or some other activity that will help keep everybody sharp.

I'm suggesting to my older boys that a skit about the merit badge process would be helpful. I have one youth who should do quite well at it. But he's more "director" than "playwright." If anyone has something prepared, I'd appreciate sharing. (Woodbadge ticket, maybe?)

It's amazing how the things you think are easy can become quite complicated. Usually that's because the goal is dependent on other people. Becoming conversational in any language requires a huge commitment. That includes, among other things, spending time conversing with native speakers. If you have tons of Spanish speaking friends who will welcome you into their community and won't fall back on speaking English with you, you're goal is attainable. Otherwise, not so much. Don't judge other folks' ticket items. Getting first aid certification or trying out a few new recipes may be a huge challenge for someone. That's why you'll have a ticket counselor to help set reasonable goals. I thought getting my crew to Seabase would be easy. Turned that there were so many financial hurdles (including a folded airline) that it consumed most of my energy for months when I should have been working my ticket. Why I didn't make the high adventure one of my five goals? At the time I thought it was too "easy" and "routine". So, don't just think in terms of personal improvement. There may be a few simple things that have just not been getting done around your unit, and you are in a position to do it. You just need a little "fire under the butt.". Those make great items.

Boys that are in school full time asking for another class in the evening? Never saw it happen. If the boys wanted to hear from a counselor about a particular MB they could invite him to come and present on it. It's each boy's responsibility to start the badge if he's interested. Our boys do ask to meet with counselors during meeting time. We allow for that. It's the easiest way to address YP issues. And it's a good way to demonstrate for younger boys how to work on MBs. As boys mature, we see he following progression: 1. Earn a badge at camp. 2. Earn a badge from a counselor who frequents our meetings. 3. Earn a badge from a counselor who is willing to drop by on our meeting night, 4. With a buddy, earn a badge from a counselor at the location of the counselor's choosing. 5. Plan a troop/patrol outing with an outfitter who can counsel a MB of interest. Some boys will rack a few badges at district/counsel pow-wows/universities. But that's he exception, and they don't seem to advance any faster for it.

Depends on what the leader and his/her assistant can handle. But, I would say "No, it's not okay. At least not for the first few meetings." It's also important to get to know the parent's situation. Sometimes there is a mom/dad out there who truly deserves a "pass". Sometimes it's good for the kid to have mom away from the building for an hour.

Really, the cop should take jr. to the homicide investigation scene? The surgeon should take Jr. into the OR? The corrections officer, the pyschologist that counsels suididal pateints, shall I go on... not sure of the correlation there... Love the "shelter the boy" mentality. Of course you don't take him to the scene. It could impact the chain of evidence. But, by venturing age he could ride along. He could watch mom/dad present the evidence in court. One of our boy's moms is a child advocate lawyer. From following her to work (which can be a dose of gruesome mixed with sad some days), he decided his Eagle project will be to make a kid-friendly area in the courthouse waiting room. Again, the OR is a sterile field which takes discipline to maintain. But, yes, boys do watch from the galley. My wife's anatomy books are on the bottom shelf and our kids have been reading at them since they were toddlers. (My statistics journals, not so much.) Confidentiality dictates when my kids could come into the psych research office. But they've served as pilot subjects for our interviewers and technicians. They've answered the same intimate questions and have been subjected to the same tests. I've been talking to them about teen depression and suicide attempts for years. Heck, even TT's drawings would be something to show his boys long before they march off to college. Be neat to see if they could imitate one in Lego bricks! Obviously, there's a continuum. You don't dump every aspect of your job on a cub. But as they grow older, boys should be up for more interesting dinner conversations! But, can a so-called erotic artist proudly share any aspect of his/her work with a pre-teen? Or his/her mom and dad? Maybe it is a societal thing, and one day we'll get over our hang-ups and be able to suggest to kindergartners that in just 13 years they can have a lucrative career letting someone besides their spouse gawk at them luridly. My gut, however, tells me that will not be a good day.

It might but it also burns way too many scouts. How many scouts does it burn, really? How many "marginal" boys will be put off scouting and will never participate again (even though they hardly participated at as Life scouts year after year)? How many boys involved in "outside activities" don't even bother to call in weekly or put forth an effort to drop by an activity even for half a day? Not even for half a year? How many boys care so little about their troop, that no amount of verbiage is going to convince an SM that his signature belongs on the bottom of an Eagle app? I'm betting it's not all that many. But if it were 5 million, none should be Eagle.

Not in any manual that I've read, but ... I expect an Eagle to have a certain sense of dissatisfaction. Most recent example: Had an eSMC last week for a 17.9 y.o., and we pointed a number of areas that the boy would need to sharpen (chapter 1 material) before his board. He's a smart guy, I'm sure he could cram the night before and be good to go. But got a call from the SM today, and the boy wants another conference even though the paperwork was signed, checked, and approved. He is not satisfied with his performance, and wants to make a better showing to be sure he's prepared for the board. He also, I believe, sincerely cares that *we* respect him. He's in college, and has held down steady jobs, so this medal doesn't affect his standing with anyone. Bottom line: he will not be satisfied with himself until he can make up for the shortcomings he discovered at the last conference. Other examples: I expect an Eagle to be dissatisfied if he let his sports team or coach down. I'd expect him to be disatisfied if he wasn't the best musician in the band. Not getting straight A's would bother him, not to the point of worry, but to the point he figures out what's keeping him from learning everything put before him. If a disaster hits, I would expect him to wonder why he couldn't prevent every death and be rankled by every home that's not restored. I would expect him to think deep thoughts about his creator and think about the next step in his spiritual growth. That's the biggest distinction, as far as I can tell, between Life and Eagle. Fact is, most guys grow into that mentality, they just do it long after their 18th birthday.

"Can your boys join ours on a campout and teach us some of those skills?"

Last night I just saw an vocal stand of boys get a yellow card and evicted from the end-zone because the goal keeper complained that she was being harassed. No trial. No appeal. The ref just deciding that there was a teachable moment, and put a strike against the team. Two more of those could have cost the team the game. But complain to the conference that the ref was holding too high a standard of sportsmanship? Not a coach or player around that would dare ... Reason #4 (I'll wager) why families choose sports over scouts: varsity athletes AND fans are held to high standards, a letter means something nowadays.

"But I just want to hike and camp -- and other distractions."

"Did you do the requirements? Convincing yourself that your answer is the right one."

Back in the day ... No geocaches! Rock climbing? Nope. Compound bows? Rarely. Trap shooting? Not at camp. Rifle? Yep, but buy your own ammo. Line up at the trading post by the pay phone to call mom.