qwazse

Boomer, although a full blown sports oriented scout camp may be out of reach, I think you may be on to something. A camp with limited resources may need to offer a theme every year. It may tap into "sports focused" kids. For example, one year they may offer morning excersizes in speed conditioning. The next year: weight training. The next: diet and aerobics. The next: core stablization. (Think "log Nautilus" in the pioneering area, or calorie counters using knots on a belt in the cooking area, and you might get the picture I havee in my head.) It's impossible to do all of those w

How 'bout this ... Don't offer to be SM, but offer to help coordinate a couple of non-camping troops in an "outdoor experience." Something along the lines of "I know of this really great spot where boys like yourselves would love to camp.

At training this weekend, I brought up a recent discussion in these forums. One leader said "so, it was you who posted that?" He went on describe some of our senior members with terms of endearment -- sort of the way our boys recall their favorite (or otherwise) camp staff. Just a reminder that real folks will be "listening" to our frank and courteous conversation!

I'm happy with "silly". My ideas have been called worse! Keep in mind that I did not write the Venturing Leader's manual. I'm just trying to do what it says. True, with these older youth, we talk about what they "should do" more than what they "must do". But there are consequences for omitting certain "should do's". One very simple consequence is when I am talking to an advisor and/or president of a new crew, I'll tell them, "... And you have these other advisors/crews near you who are awesome. You should give them a call." Guess which crews are going to get the reference? The o

Well, when my crew first started, they steered clear of the VOA. (Both council and area offered opportunities.) Those particular youth were a pretty tight clique. It took the next generation of officers to "open channels of communication with the aliens."

I don't think it's a problem with MB's. It is a hassle sorting out positions of responsibility. For example, one unit may grant a kid a POR and not remove him if he's not doing the job. The other unit might not want to accept it, but they're kinda stuck.

Short Change the ages, change the uniform colors, and you've got the basic description of a patrol and a troop: Local youngsters banding together around a common interest. Yet you say troops don't also have to network? Not really. Sure it's nice for SPL's to get to know other SPL's in their district, but there's nothing in the manual that says that's their responsibility. It's a pleasant surprise when a troop hosts some activity for other troops, but we're not expecting it to be the routine. Now, patrols DO have to operate within a troop -- ideally with a little bit of independence

[He tells me to read the Leader's Manual. Then he tells me it ain't necessarily so. I feel like I'm in theology class. ] We can have Lone Scouts, too. But that's not how Boy Scouts were designed to operate. If you had 8 Lone Scouts living within a half-mile of one another, you'd say "Dudes, form a troop already!" When councils come up short with support for VOA's or what-have-you, the natural inclination of crews should be to pull together and do their own networking. Why? Because the officers read the Leadership Manual, go to their advisor, and say "Dude, how can we pull off th

Sounds like your sold on the m&m's. But, as a practical matter, I've found that a snack-size ziplock in my pack has the added advantage that I can see when I need to restock without opening the container. These kids aren't backpackers (yet), so it's a moot point. But, once they've made theirs, you may ask them to think about other containers that might work just as well.

In the other thread, we were debating over my opinion that a propensity to network (through VOA or less formal association with other youth movements) is what distinguishes a "crew" -- in the Venturing sense of the word -- from a "club" or "paper crew." Anyway, I wanted to know in what ways you or your crew are "innies" (tend to just do your thing and steer clear of council or other crew activities) or "outies" (tend to connect to other crews, Council VOA, or other "upper tier" Venturing associations). How do you operate? What barriers do you experience?

Short Your entire argument that crews aren't Real Crews until they connect with other crews stems from the word "a"? If it were just one word, would that make it a flawed argument? Keep in mind that it's nearly every "demonstrate" requirement in each bronze award requirement that has this inclusive thrust -where your own crew is just one of many possible outlets - contrasted to the more exclusive requirements for Boy Scout rank advancement. BP's correct, that inclusive language in itself does not preclude every youth in a crew seeking recognition by only doing everything within a cr

Short Please tell me on what page of any Venturing handbook or materials I can find this interpretation of the program. Either you or I have a fundamental misunderstanding of what Venturing is. Maybe I've got the Venturing handbook upside down, but here goes ... Nearly every third bronze award requirement reads something like this ... "Demonstrate by means of a presentation at a crew meeting, or a Cub Scout or Boy Scout meeting ..." Note that the wording is "a crew meeting" not "your crew meeting". This is much different than the Boy Scout Handbook (where we read "your" tro

Sounds like the lodge advisor needs a little creativity. E.g. stop by with the chapter reps on a campout or combined activity. I definitely can relate to the boys not wanting/remembering to attend special meeting just for elections. We tried that this year and it was a flop. You may need a little leverage, e.g. ice-cream/pizza night, to throw in the mix. Regardless, if the lodge figures out how to solve the issue with this one troop, it sounds like they may succede with other troops as well.

Since Eng brought it up, it's always a good policy to review riptides with your kids before they hit the beach. http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov/ My kids got caught in one in NJ a couple of years ago. They knew exactly what to do, and got to shore no worse for the long walk back. My wife watch it happen and told me they were in control the whole time.

Short - It's certainly true that crew-to-crew links are encouraged through VOAs and the Corps of Discovery, etc., but in no way are they a benchmark of a quality crew program. Agreed. Not a benchmark. But not healthy either. There are no other crews like them in the council. Under your way of thinking, none of those crews are real because they don't connect with other crews ... crews which have a completely different program focus and have utterly no reason to interact with them. I would posit that those "clubs" don't become crews until they promote themselves council-wide. Th

Durn cell phone worked at camp this year. Fortunately it was utterly useless on our week at Seabase Bahamas. I consider home to be where the cell phone has no bars. I try to get back there as often as possible.

In the crew I'm in the opposite situation. My older youth are so "FB burnt out" that they are starting to avoid it. Too many friends, too many notifications to wade through, they just tune it all out. My younger youth, I think, have been encouraged (sometimes from the pulpit) to friend the adults whom they know and trust. They are taught that if they aren't bold enough to use FB with "the whole communtity" there to hold them accountable, they don't deserve to use it at all. Anyway, so far there's been nothing that boys haven't said on FB that doesn't wind up being said at camp whe

The sad thing is that goals have gotten heavier over the years so that folks wouldn't have to worry about the hassle of anchoring them. They are movable so that the same field can be used for football as well. Think about it. Would anyone ever insist on a mobile backstop so a baseball field could be dual use? And yes, the BSA should require boys to learn the basics of safety for whatever sport they play. If they now need to know to anchor goals before they run out on the field, so be it. It's no different than when we explain safe swim areas to cubs. They may not have the skills

Short Now we hear from qwasze that "real" crews are those that interact with other crews in the council. Does that definition apply to packs and troops as well? I don't think so. (Sorry district guys.) That is, the adults should interact with the district on some level, but packs' and troops' programs are so structured that I don't see them needing to have their boys interact with other units if they don't want to. A crew, on the other hand depends on the various connections of its members for its vitality. If a couple of venturers in climbing crew X would rather do some kayaking,

Short: I'm left wondering what the difference is between a "paper" unit and a "real" unit. A real unit has an advisor that hates paperwork so badly that he/she will act to add substance to that piece of paper called a charter. TwoC: Do they intend to be Venturers, to be crew officers and work toward Venturing advancement? Advancement is not a method of Venturing, and very few Venturers will be officers. So, that kind of muddies the waters. But you're close to the mark. If this "crew" acts like a youth-led movement with an advisor who has a heart for supporting council cam

BS, Sounds like you're not the instant gratification kind of guy this woman is looking for. That said, I don't think you need to worry about the fishing MB. As long as the boys are getting her signature if they complete the requirements, accept the card. I would leave it up to the boy to switch. And, only suggest it to him if you know of a better counselor (e.g. catches more fish, teaches boys to cook them really well).

At summer camp, we usually have a couple out of about 25 boys complete the mile ... then do a 5 mile hike after breakfast, and a 4 mile canoe trip after lunch. Never bothered with the first three requirements, but these kids are usually earning swimming or lifesaving at the same time, so we never worried about it. Have yet to see a boy order the mile swim patch. Anyway, just came from Seabase Bahamas and Capt. anchored at a substantial distance from the reefs, so some of the snorkels were pretty hard swims, even with flippers. Unless they had been conditioning for soccer all summer, th

This may sound hockey but ... Step 1: LOVE THE KIDS You have six. Get to know each one and their interest. If they like to watch wood burn, burn wood. If they like to swim, meet at the pool. If they like walks, find a local hike for the afternoon. If one is in a top-noch dance class, go to their recital. In the process you will hear the conversations you need to hear to plan the "next big thing". Step 2: FEED THE KIDS Smores (a variety of chocolate keeps their interest), Pizza, a special trail snack, the local coffee shop. Step 3: ASK WHO's MISSING? They

As mentioned in other threads, I will fudge "EDGE". But only for the scouts who have successfully taught another scout skills.

Who signed off on the requirements? It should have been a patrol leader or SPL who tested them on the task. If they know the material, then it's not to fast. If they don't, oops ... I would make sure the 1st class candidate knows his material before advancing him. It's not like it's taken the kid three years and he would be rusty on some knots in this age of velcro. All of the material should be fresh.