SeattlePioneer

The BSA membership fee has been rising rapidly in recent year,  to $24 for 2015.

That suggests a NEW,  HIGHER membership fee for 2016.  Who wants to make a prediction?

Since Scouting isn't the US Army or Marines,  I'm not especially interested in what they do.

Personally,  I find endless repetition of the typical flag ceremony boring.

I have two that are excellent for dens and can be done well for a pack or troop, too.

1.  Have all Scouts,  and adults too if desired,  hold their den/patrol flag with their left hand.  They will naturally circle around the flag.

Do the Scout salute with the right hand and repeat the Pledge,  Scout Oath or Law.

2.  Unfurl an American flag.  Have each Scout (and adult if desired)  hold on to the edge of the flag.  Pretty much naturally the flag will be extended and held by everyone present.

Do the Pledge,  Scout Oath or Law as desired.

I recently heard that the council in my area has voted to require ANNUAL youth protection training,  rather than taking the training every other year.

Anyone else aware of this as yet another council fad?

If true, I guess there is just NO LIMIT to the burdens that will be placed on volunteers.

<<BSA does not create units aside from sales pitches to prospective COs by DEs. People decide they want to start a troop, they apply for a charter.
If black people don't apply for charters, that's their business, not an "us problem.">>

As a district Membership Chair,  I made a determined effort to increase the number of Hispanic/Latino Cub Scouts a few years ago.   I induced the council to bring in BSA staff members to create a day long program on how to recruit more minorities.

Despite those efforts,  my results were minimal. The language barrier was a BIG issue.  While boys spoke English,  often parents did not,  and I don't speak Spanish.  I can remember contacting a family that signed up for Cub Scouts SEVERAL times to invite them to pack activities.  EVERY time I called I got someone who spoke Spanish that I couldn't talk to.

I needed a Spanish/English speaker to take charge of communicating with those families,  but the people who could do so wouldn't be bothered.

In addition,  Cub Scouts is quite a complex program.  It's difficult enough for English speaking families to figure out what's going on.  I'm sure it's FAR more difficult for Spanish speaking families to understand that.

<<Does Every Child Have To Be A Scout?>>

No.

As a District Membership Chair for eight years I considered what my job was.

I decided that my goal should be to see to it that every boy of suitable age was offered the opportunity to become a Scout.

Whether they accepted that invitation was up to the boy,  his parents and family.

Of course,  in practice I was never able to invite all those boys to become Scouts,  but in Cub Scouts we "Do Our Best."

Umm.  Not much of a prize in a technical sense.

I've found Silva style orienteering compasses that are liquid filled available at Wal Mart for $5 which I think are a great gift to Webelos Boys going into Scouting.  The idea of making some kind of leather pouch for such a compass would be a great addition at make it a keepsake like the one you have.

Decorate it with a description of who it was for,  when it was given and why it was given and you'd have a fine keepsake.

<<

I do recognize that some of those science parlor tricks can be pretty cool for a boy!>>

 That's true,  but I don't believe in building a program around parlor tricks.

Another Den Leader in my pack and I shared the Day Camp Program, Director position.  He's an engineer by training,  and a real estate agent by occupation.  He eats up the science stuff,  and he'd probably be far better at implementing this kind of theme than I would be. 

But he tends to do stuff that's too complicated for the boys to understand and do.  That can be a weakness of mine,  too.  And it's especially difficult when you have Wolf, Bear and Webelos scouts doing pretty much the same program.   If you aim you activities at Webelos boys,  the Wolves are likely to have a lot of difficulty with it.

<<Tracking advancement has never been a strong suit for us.  As Assistant DL in Tiger and Wolf, I was never very successful with it, finally coming to the conclusion that my tracking it really doesn't matter anyway (for CUBS)>>

I've never been any good at that either.

As a Tiger Cub Den Leader,  I can put that on the parents.  Few of them are any good at it too!

I simply let parents know to notify me when their Tiger Cub is ready to be awarded his badge.  Anyone attending many of the meetings and activities is welcome to the badge as far as I'm concerned. 

I like to appeal to adult leaders to do things THEY ARE GOOD AT DOING or that THEY WANT TO DO.  That includes me.

In Cub Scouts,  we do our best.  Sometimes that's a high standard,  sometimes not.

Thank you Yoda...!

At our Cub Scout Day Camp,  we had several activities that involved making things,  such as a decorated shield and stilts.

Some boys failed to attend camp the day these activities were conducted.

I was asked to make these projects for the boys who failed to attend camp,  and I resisted doing so. 

My theory was that MAKING the project was the activity,  not having the project made for you by someone else.

Also,  in my view,  Scouting is about discovering that life is making choices.  You often have to make choices about what you will do,  and live with the consequences.  It might very well be that boys missed camp for good and sufficient reasons,  but despite that there are consequences to that decision.

I was told that the parents of absent boys would complain about their boys missing out on getting stuff.  (My view is that not only boys need to learn that actions have consequences,  but apparently some adults as well).

Any comments would be welcome.

<<Paper airplane design time & test flights - stemy activity....kids at out flight camps had fun (cheap too paper reams on sale) nice for rainy day.>>

In my view,  science is more than parlor tricks.

<<

I don't know how you do hiking, camping, etc. without science! Science is all around us, and so are opportunities to follow scout law.

- How do you make rope? (find a strong-fiber plant) (Thrifty!)

- Weather (Brave! Hike in the rain!)

- Human physiology (hydration, nutrition) (Clean!)

- Record of observations (Trustworthy!)

>>

For a quality program,  my view is that you need people with expert credentials to design the program and probably to run it.

As an example,  we did tent racing at our Cub Scout Day Camp this year.  I had several identical tents,  and each of three dens competed in setting up a tent.

Next dens competed in a relay race of transporting water from a "lake"  (bucket) to a bucket at their tent sight.

Finally,  all three dens cooperated in setting up a tarp shelter using poles, rope and tent pegs.

So boys had the experience of setting up a Boy Scout style camp in a few minutes,  and then breaking down that camp.

I had the materials to do that and the experience to design the activity.

Now,  all that is mostly just "science" of one kind or another,  but is a scientist with no camping experience likely to put together such an activity?  Will they have the materials available to conduct such an activity?

It seems to me that if you want a quality science theme,  you should have a person with genuine science expertise designing the program.

But BSA isn't a science program  ---it's an outdoor program that uses outdoor methods to illustrate why certain character elements are adaptive.

Why try to change BSA into a science program?   BSA is currently chasing the "STEM" fashion,  which I think is a mistake.

Anyway,  I don't think I'm the right person to design a science themed program.  Find someone who is.

<<

<<I see a discrimination lawsuit soon. That didn't take very long to have someone not allowed to join/rejoin.>>

The USSC decision giving the BSA exemption from antidiscrimination laws was based on the consistently enforced, uniform policy against homosexuals.  Since that policy is now out the window,  I expect that we will be seeing decisions from courts which now impose those antidiscrimination laws on BSA,  and make any sort of option illegal.
 

<<Problem is, when political correctness reared its head during the Clinton years, that genie can't be put back in the bottle. If Hillary gets elected it will only get worse.>>

Political correctness reared it's head during the Clinton administration with the anti gun agenda of liberals,  too.  The difference is that the National Rifle Association beat the hell out of liberals for doing so,  including electing George Bush President instead of Al Gore.

Liberals have taken pains to avoid raising the gun issue,  at least nationally,  since then.  Any attemptes to do so result in a liberal supply of new lumps as the left wing gets beaten up.

Unfortunately,  the NRA seems to be pretty much unique in it's willing to beat the hell out of the left.
 

Personally I think there would be merit to broadening the "Bugling" merit badge and Bugling POR to include any instrument the person can play as long as they can play the requisite bugling tunes.

If a clarinet or violin player is willing to serve as Bugler and can play the needed tunes,  that would be fine with me!

So----

Do horn players do better kissing pretty girls?

Our Council has just announced that they are going to have a science theme for Day Camp next year.

Personally,  that seems like a poor idea to me.

Scouting is about the Scout Oath, Scout Law,  hiking,  camping and the good character needed to do hiking and camping,  in my opinion.

Science only an incidental theme.

Personally,  I have good hiking and camping skills and experience,  and years of experience making the Scout Oath, Scout Law, hiking and camping activities work for Cub Scout and Boy Scouts.  Most of the gear and equipment packs and the council have focus on those areas.

Now I understand STEM is the latest fad --- but that a poor reason for adopting it as a theme in my opinion.   Having a quality science theme means that you need science trained and experienced people to design and make such a program work,  in my opinion.  Just having a series of parlor tricks at a camp doesn't make a science program,  in my opinion.

Frankly,  I was getting tuned up to design a quality Cub Scout Day Camp program next year as Program Director.  Now I'm thinking it's best for me to opt out of the program,  since a science theme requires a person with different skills,  in my opinion.

WHY is Scouting following the latest fads?!  We should be concentrating on what we do well,  in my opinion.

<<

Since BSA is easing membership restrictions can we PLEASE lobby for them to ease up on beer at summer camp? Nothing's better than a nice micro-brew after a 10 mile hike in the Rockies. And I am pretty sure we could get a MUCH larger number of BSA members to support THAT policy change.
>>

Maybe you can get the USSC to mandate that under the 21st Amendment.

<<

• Rappelling
• Rock Wall Climbing
• Kayaking
• STEM: Drones, Robotics
• Archery
• Air Rifles
• Pool of course :-)>>

We do archery and BB guns,  but the rest is WELL beyond what we can do as a volunteer camp.

<<

Activities specific to Webelos

Readyman/ First Responder 2 days. first day was learning or practicing skills. 2nd day incorporated a high where stations were set up for them to do first aid scenarios.

Walkabout

Cast iron Chef

>>

I'm guessing that you chose Readyman because it's probably the most difficult for many Webelos Den Leaders to do on their own?

Did your day camp last just two days?  If not,  what else did they do?

<<

What do your Webelos say they would like to do?

My Webelos were bored stiff with the normal stuff. So what my camp did was create a 1/2 day WEBELOS WOODS program based upon what THEY wanted to do. 1/2 of the Webelos would be doing your standard day camp stuff: archery, bb guns, and fishing. The other 1/2 of Webelos would be doing Readyman, and outdoor oriented stuff: firebuilding and cooking, orienteering, hiking, etc.

Then they flipped flopped.>>

My present thinking is to do a day of hiking away from the camp we use for the program.  I'm imagining parents dropping boys off at a park which would be the center of the day of hiking and camping activities.

The first couple of days of day camp would focus on building den unity and Den Leader experience,  the third day would focus on hiking and outdoor experiences.

The Webelos program would focus on earning one of the required skill groups  --- hiking probably.

We have an area (Alki Point) a few miles away where this kind of program could be carried out,  including such things as a local  museum visit and a tour of the Alki Point lighthouse and a beach hike.

Have local troops contributed leadership to the Day Camp Webelos program?

<<

Even if it were clear that it was supposed to be not worked on by a 1st year cub.....I would ask myself, what are the ramifications of a cub scout or scouter going outside of that area of the program?  Who will care next year?.... or who will care when the boy goes for 1st class.... or eagle?

The answer is that it does not matter.

it does not affect anyone

and nobody will remember it past next week.

SO, if it means that the boys would have fun working on it, then do it.....>>

I agree.

Personally I feel less and less bound by all the BSA rules each year.

My aim is to have a quality program and a quality experience for boys,  and I tend not to let BSA rules get in the way of those objectives.

Our Cub Scout Day Camp has had pretty much the same program for Wolves, Bears and all Webelos.

Some activities had additional complexity available for some activities,  but most were pretty much the same.

We usually had two Webelos Dens of 6-8 boys  competing against each other in competitive events,  which was good.

But next year we may want to have more places available for boys.

This year,  we had an evening Tiger Camp program for four days and a Day Camp for four days for Wolves-Webelos.

I'm thinking that it might be nice to have a separate program for Webelos Scouts  --- perhaps something like a Webelos Woods program that would involve an overnight camping experience.  We would need to have participation by Scout Troops to provide adult and Boy Scout leadership for such an event.

Any ideas or comments on how to have a good Webelos experience out of the Cub Scout Day Camp program would be welcome.

_<<

_{Any breech in the safety and welfare of anyone in my charge is met with immediate, no discussion, expulsion from the troop.  Knowing this upfront means no surprises down the road.  It may also be the reason I have never had to deal with any issues like this in my troops.>>}

_{WAY too broad and vague to be of any use in evaluating a situation,  in my opinion.}

The one really key thing to do is to not gossip about this and humiliate the parent.