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Brew, Yes, it happens. Our troop is in that "slump." The patrol will pull together a yell to get their tenderfoots (we don't have many) to advance, but won't use it in competitions in such. It gets worse as the boys get older. Part of it was a new troop that spun off of ours. Part of that was fed by a line of SMs who "allocated" patrols. So, that's one mess to untangle. Then we'll have a sit-down with the older boys at summer camp. Maybe discuss how to build in a little tradition. Something that as adults they'll be proud to see in scouts when they return for a visit.

You may call BS on your veteran leaders. Of course the little gompers don't want to sit in sweltering heat while DL's dole out awards. But fishing, baseball games, parades, an evening at the pool, picnics, etc ... will attract a great number of boys. Anyway, I use Google Spreadsheets to generate quick surveys for venturing stuff. (I also use them for online activity sign-up.) The have a built-in form generation, and the results go straight to the spreadsheet. Just a few questions is all you need. I usually open with a silly one like "How many cookies did your family eat at the Bl

In my opinion most kids in Scouting enjoy camping. So to follow your line of thinking why count the number of nights camping as a requirement? T - 1 and Camping MB all require nights camping. Because the purpose of T - 1 is to become qualified to take your patrol hiking and camping. There's nothing wrong with a boy learning a little accountability in terms of setting aside a few hours for service. It's just IMHO not a First Class skill.

We lost that battle a couple of years ago. Now, instead of wasting energy smuggling, the boys are trying to figure out the most dependable way to maintain battery life (e.g. how to rig solar panels, dynamos, etc ...) To do that for any length of time requires teamwork because you need to know what device gets priority relative to how much juice it consumes. Of things that get in the way of us forming "real" patrols, electronic devices are way down at the bottom of the list.

We have some bad kids in our troop. One has had a parent come with him on nearly every activity. The boy is slowly growing out of his aggression, but it's a rough climb. Anyway he gets that we won't put up with his behavior because we told him "We don't put up with your behavior." He's at the point where he can usually time himself out preventatively. Another has had to be threatened to be sent home. If you've given warnings, suspend him. Tell him he'll be welcome back with a parent. If you get a chance to talk to the parent, explain that their boy unfortunately needs more supervis

We are seriously mistaken if we think this is an issue of property use. By virtue of the fact that the GSUSA has young Catholic women in its care, it asserts the right to understand (and potentially counter) any cultural influences that may be contrary to its teachings.

Leather thong is aLso great material. Stain to your preference.

Any ship in a storm! As momma (who,if pinched, bled Bible) said, always be ready to give a reason for the Hope that is in you. If you can do that in a boy friendly way, you should have the job. Most Christian COs support lay leadership! You just have to mind what your boundaries (e.g., serving communion or holding baptisms ipwould require ordination in most sects).

We have a large number of camps, which our council markets aggressively. Prices vary. Our boys love 'em, so we go. Some of them do have good hill top locations for star gazing (not so easy to find nowadays). Prices are competitive with state parks in the area. The one is in ski country, and accommodations are really nice, so our VOA holds a winter getaway weekend there. Council camporees and Area Venturing Summits are hosted there as well. Non-scouting organizations use them. My son's freshman class used the cope course at one camp. Still, IMHO, nothing beats making friends w

Unless the CO is the tail-hook society, CM is out of line. COR needs to know. Frankly, the guy's wife needs to know. She might be the only one he'll listen to. I am seeing this from the perspective of a Crew advisor who has seen capable moms demoralized by the slightest perception of the "old boys network." We want you to be more enthused about the program as your kids grow (I'm sure the GS leaders will feel the same way). Behavior like you described undermines that.

If it was five months after moving to bear, and a boy up and said "You know, there was this thing in our Wolf book that we never did ..." Guess what my den would be doing the next week? So if your boys are rarin' to get started on the Bear book tonight, move on! If parents complain just tell them these guys on the internet gave you permission! Actually if you tell everyone you'd like to start calling it the Bear den on June 1st, and listen in case there's a major issue, odds are everyone will fall in line with that.

Charter Organizations that provide equipment and funds. That sounds funny to me. Agree with SN that it's a mistake to thing that the GSUSA program does not support a vigorous outdoor program where there is demand for it, but the majority of leaders don't see the demand for it. Most of the women who I see stepping out of the woods are not GS. At most GS cookie sales, you can ask the sellers what their troop is planning to do with what they earn. I have yet to meet one whose trrop was planning to attend some radical feminist rally!

... our guys enjoy helping the community ... As most boys do. After all that's the slogan. So, why bother making it a requirement?

I would be more upset if the majority of priests were dismal. Puns aside, It seems to me to be an overestimate of avowed practicing homosexuals. I've seen similar accusations directed toward GSUSA.

If the boys organize it and coordinate other volunteers in the clean-up, I would count it as a troop activity for first class requirements. If you let my troop camp there, I promise you my SM will count it as a camping night for our boys. So I guess if your boys camp there, they should count it for a camping night too! That said, because it's local, you need to decide what to do to make it an adventure for the boys. Maybe a hike to one of the farms to learn about its operation? A pioneering project? Making stations of the cross for the CO? I personally see it as a great locatio

Don't know how many stream crossings are on the AT, but in wilderness areas, I carried a pair of water shoes instead of sandals/crocs. They had a durable sneaker tread, so I could hike in them a ways if I was tired of the boots. downside: They would stink to high heaven if they never aired out.

sunto A-10 compass. Needle settles faster than anything (even my electronic compass), declination lines in the housing, and the instruction book was we'll written.

Not a fan of the service hours obsession. (IMHO the phrase "counts for service hours" should be banned from all announcements.) I wouldn't want Tenderfoot advancement to be held up because of a troop that had not scheduled a project suitable for a young boy's age and skill level. Frankly, I would like to think that you could use rank as a rough guide to which boys are suited for certain projects. (For example, setting a bunch of pre-Tenderfoot scouts to road-side litter pick-up is a recipe for failure. Tenderfoots, on the other hand, should have learned the basics of hiking on a road, so

Eliminate "using the EDGE method" from 4c.

I don't think you'd want cub headgear with boy scout or venturing uni. Otherwise, I say go for it. I think the blue garrison cap would look sharp with the yellow shirt.

One more question for the Brits: same uniform across units? Especially the for the leaders, is there a distinction in uniform for leaders of the group as a whole vs. leaders for the unit? Just thought about it as I am rifling through the laundry for my grey shorts to go with my green venturing shirt and instead found green canvas shorts (which I am just crazy about BTW) that go with the tan shirt. Tonight's activity is venturing, Monday's is boy scouts. Some of my fellow Yanks have different shirts for each distinct leadership role: unit(s) vs. council vs. area. Just wondering h

The real travesty is the paperwork load on GS leaders just to go camping. Not sure if it's a national thing, or our council, or camp-specific. But, my co-advisor complains about the relative complexity vs. BSA tour plans, etc ... In terms of rhetoric, we would do well to remind our kids that there is an ongoing battle for their hearts and minds. They should be coached not award the prize to just anybody.

I met one reader from a neighboring area last summer. I have yet to meet anybody I've split hairs with on a thread, but am looking forward to the day I do.

Not gonna lecture you. Sounds like you are satisfied with things on the adult front. If it's just the attendance thing, I'd suggest mixing it up ... Game (sometimes older boys are balancing between sports, etc ..., maybe this part can be optional for them -- if they call ahead and excuse themselves.) Flags Oath Scoutmaster Minute Skills teaching. - Each Patrol rotates organizing this. They may: -- Read straight from a reference, -- Demonstrate, -- Invite guest speakers, or -- Throw down a challenge. Skills testing. - In patrols for T2F stuff or to take up the chal

Z, it sounds like your librarian will be porting a file box from home to the meetings whereas ours port it from the storage closet to the hall where we meet. We use durable plastic hanging file boxes. In that case I would definitely concur that the SM should have a back-up copy, but not rely on it. If you want more adult leadership involved in this, fine, but I'd rather adults focus on maintaining their cars' tires, brakes, and windshield wipers. (Blew a tire on today's commute. Could you tell?)