qwazse

Another one of my youth just fractured their spine snowboarding "offroad" at an event that I was not supervising. He borrowed the board from a friend, I know he did not borrow a helmet. Three days in hospital plus a seizure That's it. If I see ANY of you letting you or ANY of your youth on ski's or snowboards without headgear for ANY activity (scouting or otherwise), I'm stopping them in their tracks and telling them to go make snowmen until they get headgear. If they point you out as their adult leader, we will be having a "conversation."

Awesome event. I don't think there's ever a perfect time for this sort of thing, so I think you all did right by maximizing use of an existing facility. If National REALLY cared about getting the nation's Venturers in one place for a rally, they'd ask all councils to bring crew contingents as well as troops to Jambo! Until then, a series of 3-day nation-wide events sounds like our best bet. NER-4 has an area-wide event for all of its units that weekend. (Look up "Campaganza". When I heard the name I had my doubts, but those in the know guarantee me it'll be huge. "Adults picked th

Ski trip this past weekend was a tough sell to our youth since the new reg was in place and it added $5 to the fee. (That was a group rate that I negotiated with the resort CEO three months ago, letting him know that BSA Units should be requesting helmets if they don't have them.) Low #'s were on the sign-up list until the very last minute. Then they all realized that nobody else was planning a trip for them, and kids started coming out of the woodwork. It was rainy, so the helmets came in handy. (As did the waterproof gear that the kids used to backpacking had acumulated.) One snowbo

I teach my boys when it comes to requirements, follow the letter of the law. So if a scout gives me twelve ways he has kept himself clean, I'll sign off TF 13, SC 11, and FC 12. When it comes to life, follow the spirit of the law. So if a boy is a paragon of virtue everywhere except on his Facebook page, he'll hear from me. In a similar vein, if a boy tells me about how he walked through his entire web browser history with his parents and made sure they were his MySpace and Facebook friends. (Hasn't happened yet.) I might just sign him off on all three.

What does the crew president have to say about this? Meeting indoors in the winter just because its winter would be a show-stopper for my youth. Have you suggested the crew attend an Council/Area VOA event? A lot of these have training in the chaperon's coffee lounge, and it's a lot better way to get to know other adults trying to do the same thing. Anyway, if the president is not meeting WITH the committee or addressing the CO at some point in the year, in my opinion, you don't have a crew. Might as well let the charter lapse.

There are actually a lot of specialty recognitions for youth. Venturing awards are just the tip of the iceburg. But, it would be nice to see a Boys Life article or two on the subject. Maybe interview a recent silver awardee or a quatermaster.

Real men do curse, among other things. But they shouldn't. So don't try to drum up a speach. It's really not so complicated: If a youth says it, tell him "Don't cuss." If an adult says it ask "Please don't cuss." If you say it, apologize. (Even if those who hear it are adults who think nothing of it themselves.) Some youth have dared to become my facebook friends. It's a real pain, but they get a message from me when an obsenity appears in their status. So far none of them have unfriended me because of it.

Here's the smoke and mirrors: "Den Chief" isn't an office within a venturing crew. But just because it's not an office in your primary unit doesn't mean it can't count as a POR toward your Eagle. For example, three of our Eagles from our troop served their POR as officers in a venturing crew. The rub: since "Den Chief" is a troop or varsity scout position, the WAY IT's WRITTEN, you would have to be multiple registered with a troop or team to hold it. Now you and I and anyone else can split hairs over this, but what you *need to do* if this is more than just a hypothetical question is ta

I should show some of your posts to my girls. It might motivate them to take NYLT just to spite you all! (If they can stick around after I hand them their card, shake thier hand, and say "welcome to the Boy Scouts of America", they might be the right kind of women for your boys to take a leadership course with.) If I recall, YP regs have to do with SLEEPING arrangements, and few of our patrols camp in one big tent. So, putting 4 girls in 1 or 2 tent(s) and 4 boys in 1 or to other(s) (adult leaders, male and female, nearby) is not going to break a patrol method. That said, our program ex

I admire your concern about the long-term viability of your crew. I think the key to success is an advisor with a similar commitment. Sounds you want your crew to be outdoors (like mine) and like a spiffy, nationally supplied, uniform (not like mine). So, you're going to want an advisor with a similar interest (and maybe some kids to feed into the program) and a committee of adults to support you and about 5 other youth in getting it started. Talk to your parents and other scouting adult leaders to see if they know of anyone who might fit the description. Best of luck!

Hey Thunder, I started our crew for about the same reason you did. (Plus my daughter was 12 at the time, did not fit in with girl scouts, and loved the outdoors just like her older brother.) A couple of years with our council's VOA and I learned that every crew does it differently. Ours ran finances separate from the troop because some of the adults at the time (especially the UC) felt that we would be a drain on troop resources. Turned out that the crew has been running budget surpluses and that money could have definitely helped the troop over the years. Other crews were extenti

The new GSS requires helmets for all downhill skiing activities. Can anybody tell me precisely what this means? I would love to get gear for our Troop and Crew, but $ is an issue. The standard ski helmets are sized precisely and cost at least $75. Is this what we are expected to use? Is there any headgear out there that could be dual-use (e.g., skiing and rock climbing)? The slopes are pretty tame here in Western PA are pretty tame, so this rule may be a deal-breaker for some youth.

After our last meeting my crew president said that me and my co-advisor talked to much. So, looks like it's youth led or bust. (I still have to break it to my co-advisor.)

You might want to catch up with your old troop (or transfer to a new one). See if you can advance to Life this year! For certain crew events, I have allowed parents to come with 8th graders as guests. (For example, if we are at a state park, there'd be nothing I could do to keep you and your mom/dad from camping next to us anyway. You'd might as well be part of the company.) But, it's not the same as being a crew member (no chance to be an officer, skills can't count toward advancement, etc ...).

When they feel disoriented, I answer my crew "What does the map say? What does the compass say?" One time, my daughter smarted back, "What does the GPS say?" My reply, "Tracking Satellites..."

The last two posts have me wondering two things: - Is there a discussion group among AHG's somewhere about when they will have the first boy "Stars and Stripes" recipient? - Why don't we give boy scouts a chance to earn venturing silver award without joining a crew? My point is that instead of "overselling" Eagle, maybe we need to give due recogniton to these parallel awards. That way, a young woman with Stars and Stripes or a young woman or man with a Silver Award will garner the same respect that our Eagle Scouts have come to earn over time.

Award Eagle to any boy who meets the requirements to the letter. (That includes providing evidence of noble character outside of the troop. E.g. working to help mum with finances.) For the boys who have excellent attendance, give them a certificate (with coupons to the scout shop if you think it would help). Remember that 25% attendance four 4 years amounts to more meetings than 100% attendance for six months.

Solution to a texting class (assuming you can't jam signals, bar electronic devices, etc.): 1. Oral quizzes, stand up and respond to random question in front of the entire class (remember Room 222?) 2. Oral exams (in front of a board of three teachers). 3. Written exams.

I think my crew has a different take. The majority of young women are from two very good GS troops. (One of their leaders is my co-advisor.) For them, our crew provides the balance of activities that they want (shooting, climbing, backpacking, more campouts than the average girl is asking for ...). They definitely devote a good portion of their time to "girls only" activities. The next younger group (my daughter being one of them) tended not to be GS (for long). They are up for more high adventure experiences, and really want to set themselves apart from the stereotypical "mall girl."

Not so about the POR, emb021! In the past 10 months, three boys in my crew have been awarded eagles who were primary in the troop and held their POR in the crew. Likewise, boys could get their rank advancement through the crew and have POR in the troop. (My council HQ did raise the issue with the most recent boy, I had them called National, and they made it clear that there is no such "rule of primary membership". Kind of makes sense 'cause it isn't in the book or on the Eagle application.) Mick1141, this makes your life easier because you can explain to your scouts that with multiple

Your one recourse is the boys who have stuck around. You could bring this up at a campfire where your older scouts are present and ask, "Why are you still camping with us when at any time you could have gone elswhere?" (No need to mention the other troop by name.) Their answers will stick with the younger boys better than anything you could say/do. That way, when boys from other troops ask them to transfer, the'll have a reason (besides the $1 fee) to stick with your program. Obviously, if the older boys point out something/someone you have not recognised as a reason for staying, be su

I certainly have had to bite my lip a lot when the boys (and young men and women venturers) were being chaotic yet not creating a safety issue or disrespecting anyone. But, I would reccommend two strategies besides "sit down and shut up." First, go on at least one overnight a year with your troop. If at all possible, bunk with a dad you may know well. (Or, if your wife goes on these outings, I'm sure she'd also appreciate your company.) Spending some time around a campfire with other adults can smooth over a lot of issues. Second, talk to the troop committee chair about what adult lead

Climberslacker, you sound like an SPL I can relate to! I remember being the only guy in high school wearing a uniform on scout day (decades ago!). I've since lightened up on this method after I realized how much it costs to keep two boys in class A's. Even after accounting for Thrift stores and a troop hand-me-down program, 1 full uniform = 1 wilderness backpacking weekend. So keep up the postitive reinforcement, and don't forget to thank parents for making the sacrifice to keep their kids looking clean and sharp. There's one other thing that I'd suggest. Make sure you're not overlooking

I love those mean troops. It may not help much, but the mom needs to know that her child also grows by "losing" from time to time. OA elections tend to be a sore spot. Given the age distribution of boys who go to camp, if you don't win the younger block, it's over. It causes a lot of soul searching. I remember one boy who talked to me after losing one. He had a laundry list of faults that I could have pointed out, but I had the wits (for once) to just ask "how do you think you can act differently to earn the respect of younger scouts next year?" On his own he listed exactly what I

Be it on the soccer field or in the back woods we're going to teach citizenship. Here are some of my suggestions to make it successful: 1. Have the boys go over their rights and responsibilities with a lawyer. If you don't have a leader or parent in that profession, invite one to come camping with the troop, and while he's fishing he can give the instruction (a couple of boys at a time so as to not disturb the fish). 2. Soccer units: same thing only have the guest present between games or drills. 3. Get the boys in the habit of packing a small notebook and pen/pencils on every outing.