Sdriddle

I have a question... what merit badges would be appropriate for a first year camper to take part in? He is going to Camp Cherokee at Circle10.org and most of the badges seem be geared toward more experienced campers. He would like to do rifle but it says recommended for older scouts. He has experience with hunting and I wondering if he would be strong enough to handle the rifle requirements. His swimming is weak so I am hesitant to suggest that he take part in swimming merit badges. He also just looked at me when I suggested basketry, but I think that would be a good beginning badge to take. Any ideas??

Sheila

O.K. everyone, I feel that the whole point of my post has been misunderstood and taken to an extreme. I am really trying to get a feel for a complete boy led troop. Our troop is struggling with getting the boys to take responsiblity for their positions and am looking for what is within the bounds of the PLC to have control of. I did not mean punishment, merely do you think that the PLC can handle the decision of whether a boy can continue to be a part of the elite flag core if he is not adhereing to the policies (which are being hashed out by an adult to be approved by the committee) or should the decisions be made solely by the adults. Is there any precedent in your troop or in any BSA literature concerning anything like this situation? I just want to suggest the right thing to the adults who will make the decision concerning the policy.

Sheila

I think the reaction of the other boys and adults has a lot to do with how a boy ultimately will remember the occasion. We had a new scout take part in the flag ceremony and his job was to fold the flag... well he had forgotten how to do it and had to be helped. Embarrasing? To the boy, yes, but not as much if everyone had been laughing and pointing fingers. Afterward he helped refold the flag to make sure he could do it. Too often boys revel in someone else's ignorance and rub it in their face and "forget" they have been made a fool before and how it made them feel. Most boys I know either bury their true emotions so they won't look like a fool and stew about it later in silence and make plans to get them back, or they wear their emotions on their sleeve and react with tears and anger from the embarrasment. The ones that can take a joke without getting upset or burying their resentment are the rare ones. They are the ones who are mature enough to understand it was all in fun and it wasn't a personal attack, something most 10-11 year olds do not posess. It continually amazes me at the differing rates of maturity of boys the same age.

I have 3 boys and the most amazing thing that I have learned (even though I have 3 brothers) is how sensitive they are to how people react to them. I always thought girls were more emotional but not any more.. I think that boys self-esteem is more difficult to preserve and build up due to the pressure to "be a man" and the fact that most of them do tend to keep their feelings to themselves so avoid looking like a fool in fromt of the older boys because they so much want to be accepted and fit in. I think sometimes a shy insecure boy needs to be "pushed" to participate. A flag ceremony is a good place to do this because no scout would ever disrupt the ceremony to make fun of someone. Just be sure to slather him in praise and ask if it went the way he expected.I was pretty shy and self conscious as a child and still battle it as an adult. I wish more people would have gently pushed and encouraged me to take a chance on new things because I have spent too much time sitting in the back of the room and not trying new things for fear of embarrasment that would probably not have come.

I know my views are not all PC but they are based on my personal experiences. Every boy should be treated as an individual even when in a group because they are boys and not men. There is plenty of time to toughen up when they get to high school.

I do like the idea of a group of tent mates missing out on an activity if they disrupt the camp. The same technique is used in schools.

Sheila

Specifically, the committee has assigned an ASM to rework the elite flag corp policies. I have suggested that patrol leaders be able to nominate up to 2 boys a term /6 months to the PLC for membership on the corps. Also that the PLC be able to question a boy on behavior not fitting with being on the elite flag corp and discuss his removal from the group if necessary with the Scoutmaster overseeing and approving the whole thing. Currently the boys already in the corps get to pick the new boys. Some adults want the adults to choose. I would like to see the boys have some say in it with an assigned leaders final approval. Have any of you ever had a boy go before the PLC to discuss behavior issues, or does it go straight to the SM. The troop is very immature and mostly in the 11-14 age group and most of the leaders have little faith in the boys making choices concerning these matters.

Sheila

I thought I read somewhere that the SPL and the PLC can handle some discipline problems. I am running into adults who think all disicpline should be handled by the adults. Am I off my rocker?

Sheila

I kind of figured this would be a hot topic which is why I wanted all of you experienced Scouteres opinion. I would like to suggest a replacement tradition but am unsure what would be appropriate... At training, one leader said they they have the whole troop sing "little tea pot" to the scout who loses something. Any other suggestions?

Sheila

Hello All,

After completing training I have come to realize that a tradition in the troop my son recently joined is hazing. When ever a boy loses something and it is found, he has to sing a song or lay on the floor and "fry like bacon" to get it back. I would like to know if I should approach the Committee or the Scoutmaster concerning this and what does your troop do when a boy loses something?

Sheila

Bob,

I am still new at the Boy Scout level and would like you to elaborate on CM or CC who are active with the boys sitting on the BOR. I know that we have a couple of CM's who attend almost every troop meeting and campout and also sit on Boards. One told me that he asks the boys about Baden Powell and turns them down if they don't know who he is and the date Scouting was founded. I thought this sounded a little off after attending Leader Essentials and Position Specif training. Is there a book about Board of Reviews and suggestions on who should or should not sit on them?

In regard to the original post, I agree with switching positions on paper. Many of us wear several hats with our packs and fill out the paperwork to make the recharter papers correct. I don't think the BSA wants to encourage people to get on a power trip by officially holding more than one position. Also, just think what your uniform shirt would look like if you wore a patch for every position that you "assist" with!

Sheila

Thanks Bob, I'm going to get that book as soon as possible. Obviously leaders and boys alike should be familiar with its contents.

Sheila

The troop my son recently joined was started in 1913 and has been continuously chartered by different places, since. They are planning a 90 anniversary celebration next year and are trying to get a Texas Historical Marker for the Scout Hut which was built in the early '30's. A committee of parents has been selected to organize this event and are trying to find enough information to qualify for this marker. Unfortunatly, the original members are passed on and finding records has been difficult and the state says it need more information. Has anyone else been involved in anything like this? Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks for all the information. I now have the Guide to Safe Scouting. I wish their was more specifics about patrol activities. All the references I find seem to be contradicted elsewhere. Does the patrol leader handbook have suggested activities and guidelines or does the PLC come up with them? Are patrols allowed to have their own fundraisers as a seperate activity? After just joining, it is a big expense to upgrade uniforms and such and then pay for summercamp with only one fundraiser for the troop before then.

Thanks a bunch,

Sheila

I am a new Scout Mom and the troop we joined is growing faster than some of the leadership can handle. They have gone from 8 boys three years ago to 32 this spring with another 15 coming next spring. Transportation is a problem as everyone cannot fit on one church bus anymore. An AS and I have been looking at individual patrol activities to take some of the pressure off everyone going to same place at the same time. When it is brought up, CC and others say that two deep leadership is required for any activity including individual patrol outings as per the Guide to Safe Scouting and training. Right now the boys are all fairly close in age but that is changing and soon the boys are going to have different interests and ability levels. How do other troops handle patrol activities and growing pains?

Sheila

As a new Scout parent I was wondering what the proper procedure for encouraging seperate patrol activities would be? Would it be appropriate for a parent to suggest this to the members of a patrol? Should this go before the committee or mentioned to a SM or ASM? I wonder how much the boys actually know they can do unless it is suggested by adults. I am planning on taking new leader essentials to learn more about how Boy Scouts operates coming off of 4 years of extensive cub involvement. The troop is very old with a lot of history, but went through a period of years with low enrollment and does not have any "older scouts". The oldest are probably in 8 th grade. My concern is how to encourage new(unused) concepts to the troop as a new parent and not step on a bunch of toes. This is a small town without a lot of options for troops and do not want to alienate myself or my son.