qwazse

Regarding fun ... scouting should be fun. But, that doesn't address "why scouting?" That's because lots of things are fun. But many things that are fun are either extremely hazardous or utterly trivial. Fun is a by-product of skill mastery. Skill mastery in an ethical framework is fun with a purpose. Thus fun is not an end in itself, but a means of reaching those ends.

@JSL3300 it may be appropriate to consider other troops. Or, even other youth programs. I admire your son trying to turn the tide, and it is often possible for a scout to reset his patrol/troop culture. But, that depends on the SMs and ASMs intentionally supporting the scout's endeavors. There could be a back-story as to why this troop seems to be joyless. I am told that a scout is cheerful. If one is not leading cheerfully, then what is one doing? You might not be in troop leadership, but maybe you could find some time to chat with an SM/ASM about the troop culture. I personally really a

@Double Eagle because the attendance is much different than previous Jamborees, things will likely be configured differently. In any case, guests will have limited access to the facilities. (I'm assuming you're not a guest coming with a seven figure donation check.) So your "must see" will be limited to what you "may see." If the SBR staff have provided you with a list of the areas that guests will be able to visit, others here may be able to tell you what you should make priority. My impressions (comparing my youth at AP Hill vs. four years ago at SBR): whatever elevation change you reca

@AwakeEnergyScouter, search YouTube for “Swedish Jamboree” to see what they are about nowadays. But, indeed, USA National Jamborees traditionally drew a lot of big names — including the King of Sweden! When I was a scout in the ‘81 Jamboree pioneering area, he visited, and we launched a catapult for him.

Rise up, oh insignia dorks! Here’s the official on Messenger of Peace: https://www.scouting.org/international/messengers-of-peace/

Let’s be very clear. Reasons don’t have to be empirically based (although it helps when they are). Wether the policy was the result of speculation from experts in child development or risk-averse lawyers, it would be very nice to relay to parents when a policy was spelled out and by whom.

God be with he family as they mourn.

All of the above is why I advocate “forestalling death” vs. “having fun” or even “be prepared.” The latter are are scout-facing goals. Preparedness is a path to saving life. Fun is much more probable when survival is maximized. Mastering preparedness is its own kind of fun. But, that’s still an inward-facing answer to “why scouts.” If we want someone to sponsor a troop over many decades, that sponsor needs to know that what it’s doing is bigger than the sum of its parts.

First ain't always best. There are other terse scouters out there. Let's look forward to their offerings.

Forestalling death.

@Benjamincook, welcome to the forums. Sorry it's on such challenging circumstance for your troop. Nothing personal with the SM, but somehow he violated parents' trust. We've now learned from history that for every 999 people who had one-on-one encounters with youth with no ill intent (and with many favorable results), there was someone who took advantage of that situation to prey on multiple scouts. Now, when adults in my troop "accidentally" find ourselves one-on-one with a scout, we promptly inform a scouter or parent of the encounter. Failing to do so sews mistrust in the troop. I

I would register the participant as an assistant scoutmaster. I had an ASM with special needs when I was a scout (long before that term was used), and he was great! Going from youth to adult positions of responsibility at age 18 used to be the default trajectory just a decade or two ago. And in the 50s and 60s, a few ASMs could complete their work for Eagle — often after their scouting career was interrupted by a deployment. This “unit participant” is new to everyone, and is used so that BSA can continue its half-century ageist policy of maintaining Eagle as a youth award. I take that to

I’m confused at the first line … A fella can be the first one, the other two, but not all three. Now, we do have an ASM who logs advancement for us and chases Scoutbook bugs to ground, but in doing so frees up MC’s interested in advancement to catch when things fall through cracks. Like others said, you may have latitude to act, but doing so can foster hard feelings. Not just with the guy who you’re dismissing but with others who will not be as ready to fulfill roles because you might treat them the same way. Also, you’re not Teflon. The troop can ask the CO’s institution head to

As with all of my qwazseisms, you all may quote with the citation “Stranger on the Internet”

@InquisitiveScouter some councils and units have produced their own ILST. It’s a little more work to pick your flavor, but you might find a YouTube that suits you. But, not every scout needs ILST. Get a critical mass to do it over a weekend of games, and they will infect the others if you are an active troop. Also, video instruction might not suit the personality of the scouts who miss it. Don’t hesitate to share the syllabus with them. When my daughter had to read the ILSC syllabus because she was going to teach it, she asked, “Why didn’t you teach us this?” I bit my lip to avoid sa

The really good news is, if you do this long enough, you also meet people who will throw down a couple of Ben Franklins for no particular reason other than to help out your scouts. Keep those folks on your mind, and forget about finding salt for the slugs.

Maybe this link will work better for one-click … https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/training/pdf/ILST_IntroSyllabus_9_11.pdf

No surprise that lack of comms is frustrating. Each time that happens, you need to decide if it's a hill to die on. Regarding the youth's choice in uniform, do your best to see things through the scout's eyes. She's there to have fun. The stark distinctions between GS/USA and Scouts BSA have been mostly the inspiration of adults dickering over centuries. There's no reason that girl that young would see any difference. Regardless of the uniform, she's surrounded by caring adults. We have to take care to not treat things like her preference of uniform as some form of rejection.

Although @Armymutt has grievances, and although others may suggest better or worse ways to handle this, we need to start with one bottom line: The COR wants situations like these to end amicably. That means, although the past cannot change, leaders in this CO need to prepare their unit to be open to people who aren’t contributing to the life of the unit. There are limits. The advancement method loses its effectiveness when conventions for account are skirted, but a simple conversation with the scout can clear up if he at least gave requirements a try. Morale erodes when one member sh

Our pack typically plans on paying for guests like troop leadership at the B&G, although many of those guests have donated time and $ to the Pack in one way or another. If the COR says you shouldn't have refused them, then that's it. You can argue about your "if it was some other family" hypothetical when one is at the door. Next year, pad your budget a little for such eventualities. The most important impact is when this scout may join a troop. If registered but have not completed 5th grade, it's at age 10; if not, age 11. If the youth is 11 already, it's a moot point. But, the

Welcome, and thanks in advance for all you do for our youth!

Our council kindly plays bad cop for us. They won't let us keep anybody on the charter who is not trained fro their position.

Scouters across the nation were clearly doing an end-around and dropping their registrations as direct contact leaders to avoid exorbitant fees. But just because they are now MBCs, many of them are competent leaders who are very helpful to have around. They are just making the registration fees more expensive for the rest of us. Sooner or later BSA would shore up that loophole. That’s why my troop pays for leaders’ registration fees. (It amounts to maybe an extra hour of the scouts washing cars.) I think it’s kinda dumb and make up for it by providing a little extra here and there, but it

False. “For decades, “ leaders of both sexes were required for overnight coed activities — two of each for coed wilderness activities where a crew should prepare for the need to split the group. Other than that a male advisor could certainly hold a meeting with a mixed group of youth, or arrange for another male adult to meet them at the range for a morning of firearms training. Not even 5 years ago, in 2018, this was extended to include “all meetings,” and the language became one-sided “where a female youth was present.” The latter was to perpetuate corporate double-speak that skirte

@InquisitiveScouter, keep complaining about it and those 19-20 year old ASMs will be reclassified as program participants. I want to make it clear how much of my life involves deeply personal one-on-one conversations with 19-20 year olds of the opposite sex. It is very hard for some young adult women to navigation their world — many are facing abuse, caregiver burdens, financial stress — and they open up about it to very few people. They often look for second father figure and, along with their friends, arrange a meeting with him. Sometimes that person is me, often I can rope a second eld