SeattlePioneer

So jjansson, How do you handle the religious issue in your unit generally, and with your Muslim families in particular?

Wow! Some real good discussion here! Eagledad makes some good points. I found that Scout Camp was not an idyl --- a carefree vacation. It was often a pretty stressful experience ---challenging for boys and often adults as well. The biggest positive from summer camp is not earning Merit Badges, but learning to deal with the challenges that confront you and living with other people. Boys can often do that easily enough on a weekend camp out, but along about Wednesday or Thursday of Scout Camp some different personalities can begin to emerge! Giving boys easy communication home probably interferes with the ability of a boy to deal with those issues. Homesickness is fairly common and usually manifests itself within a day or two of the beginning of camp. If I couldn't deal with that, I let the Camp Director talk to the boys and decide what was best to do. Phoning home might be helpful in some circumstances. Bad behavior might also be an expression of those kinds of issues. Usually that tended to be a problem early in camp rather than later as well. Again I would resort to the Camp Director if I had problems I couldn't deal with. (The experience and independence of the Camp Director can be very valuable. The CD may have better advice than a tired or stressed Scoutmaster or other adult troop leader may have.) Moms's concerns about sickness in camp seem quite reasonable to me. Such issues could be soft pedaled and risk the health of campers. I might want to talk to the camp Medical Director and expect to get frank answers about what was going on. If I wasn't reassured, I might ask the family doctor to get answers or to be on my way to camp to get answers, talk to the unit leaders at camp and take at least your own boy home if you didn't get sound answers.

Here is the fate that awaits those who would flout BSA uniform regulations:

Hello Scout Nut, In my experience relatively few unit leaders have more than a vague idea of district positions, responsibilities and activities. The number of Scouts who understand that? Negligible. > And you stop there why? In my experience, Scouting for adults encourages the development of the same character traits and values for adults. Scouting certainly does tend to cut about 98% of young people off circa 18 or 21. That's the PROBLEM I would like to have a way to solve! I can imagine myself writing up my own unofficial "Scouting" Merit Badge handbook and being a "Scouting" Merit Badge counselor for interested units and Scouts in my district. Those who complete the requirements would receive an unofficial "Scouting" Merit Badge upon completion of the requirements. It might be interesting to find out if there were any interest in such a program and what Scouts might think of it upon completion.

I put some time and effort into designing my pack's "pin" on be a scout.org. I've looked around for ideas but I haven't seen one that's better, in my opinion. Those who might want to check out my boasting can: 1. go to beascout.org 2. select the Cub Scout option. 3. enter 98108 as a zip code. 4. pack #6 (Pack 240) If you know a site you think is better, please post directions to find it. I'd like to see it.

Units can customize BeAScout.org The Boy Scouts of America has launched a new recruiting Web site www.beascout.org. In addition to a wealth of information about Scouting for new and prospective members, this Web site will also connect prospective members and parents to packs, troops, and crews near their home. All Nashua Valley Council units have a listing on BeAScout.org. Ths initial listing contains generic information and uses the contact information for the Nashua Valley Council service center. Unit leaders may customize this listing to include meeting location and local unit contact information. To customize your unit's BeAScout.org listing the unit leader (Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, Crew Adviser) must log in to their myscouting.org account. This is the same account used for youth protection training and online rechartering. On the left side of the screen there is a BeAScout link. Follow that link to customize your unit's BeAScout listing. This link is only available to unit leaders.

I don't care a fig where BSA has stuff made, or from where they purchase stuff. Reasonable quality (or perhaps varying levels of quality people can choose) and price are my priorities. Look for the union label When you are buying a coat, dress, or blouse, Remember somewhere our union's sewing, Our wages going to feed the kids and run the house, We work hard, but who's complaining? Thanks to the ILG, we're paying our way, So always look for the union label, It says we're able to make it in the USA!

Hello Rob, Yours is a common tale. It was my tale four years ago when I undertook to rebuild a Cub Pack that had one Cub Scout and a Cubmaster. Twelve Cub Scouts can be a reasonable number. Which dens are they in and which dens have den leaders? Are the den leaders doing a good job with the program? > Asking for help is a learned skill. The first step is usually to ask people to do a small task ---any small task. Bring cookies to the den meeting! Calling people to remind them is a good practice. Thank them sincerely when they do what they say. Then ask them to do another task. Also, avoid asking for volunteers. The wrong people can volunteer. Identify the BEST person for any job that needs to be done and ask that person. In the nearly four years I've been building up my pack, I've never had a failed Pack Committee (parent) meeting. some of the secrets of that are: 1) Have meetings scheduled most months as part of your regular schedule of meetings and activities. 2) Meeting last no longer than an hour. Meetings start on time and quit on time. 3) Remind people once or twice about meetings. E-mail works for me. 4) Make meetings a vital part of making your pack program happen. Not a lot of talk, talk ---- discussion vital to your next month program, in most cases. 5) Try to do something FUN for parents. Wine tasting after the meeting is over? Some snacks or treats as part of the meeting? Do you have plans for fall recruiting? The real time to get your committee going is to develop the habit of attending among new parents. Who is the BEST person to be Committee Chair? Recruit a good Committee Chair and they should see to it that most of the things you want done get done. Hardly any of the things you've mentioned are the job of the Cubmaster!(This message has been edited by seattlepioneer)

How many plumbers versus how many Scout volunteers, do you suppose? My interest in paid Scouting employment is secondary to educating Scouts on the variety of volunteer positions available and how to get involved with Scouting at the unit, district and council level.

Bingo! Just got a lead on a new Cub Scout!

What I took away from Wood Badge in 1985 is that you work your ticket FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! I'm growing old and feeble, but I haven't given up Eagling and I find I can still work my ticket these days. Some day that will change, but not yet. Still, congratulations on completing a significant milestone!(This message has been edited by seattlepioneer)

> I think that comment neatly defines the problem. Encouraging young adults to find ways to continue to serve as Scouting volunteers seems very much as carrying out Scouting's purposes to me. Apparently, we disagree.

You think confiscating cell phones from Scouts and adults is a good policy? It seems reasonable to argue that it's a policy that is past it's prime. They had some very good ideas, some of which I'm using myself. Using Scouts to recruit new Scouts is a tried, true and effective strategy for expanding membership. I suspect that the tactical use of texting to carry out that strategy might indeed be effective. Often I find that bright ideas need to be experimented with in order to find out how to make them effective. So I'd tend to look at how such methods can be developed to make them work, and to dismiss the old farts who are nay sayers.

Develop a Troop Committee that performs the tasks it should. Recruit the Assistant Scoutmasters you need and give them the room to develop their skills and experience. Delegate more. If you have experienced and capable Assistant Scoutmasters, consider letting one of them be SM. The skills and experience of an experienced SM would be very valuable performing as a district committee member or unit Commissioner.

> As a district membership chair of vast seniority (2004), I think homosexuals have little to do with recruiting issues, which are mostly about the difficulty BSA has of recruiting Latino, Asian and African American families. Being welcoming to homosexuals would probably make that task tougher than it is already.

Personally I make my own apple cider, mostly from apples growing on trees on highway rights of way, street ends and such. Seattle also has thousands of tons of blackberries that ripen on every untended patch of ground in August. I make blackberry jam and jelly for the year and can quarts of berries for Dutch Oven cobblers and such. My original motivation for this was that I hated to see food go to waste, but now I find it a fun and worthwhile activity in its own right. My pack picked apples and made apple cider at the home of a family a couple of years ago. That was a fun activity.(This message has been edited by seattlepioneer)

You guys are a tough sell for my Bright Idea! I really hate to lose pretty much ALL those young men we've trained up when they graduate from high school. Does anyone have their own Bright Ideas on how those young men can be kept interested in Scouting and invited to participate in unit, district and council activities once they age out of Boy Scouts?

Hello Basement,

> My council recently brought in recruiting Xperts from National to talk about new recruiting methods. They actually LIKED the idea of having cells phones at camp and would ENCOURAGE Scouts to bring 'em. Their idea was to encourage Scouts to text their buddies at home as they were doing shooting sports, boating camping and other activities during the course of the day, with the idea of inviting those buddies to an upcoming Troop meeting or activity. When you have to yip at parents as much as Scouts over an issue, perhaps it's time to reconsider the rule?

In the 1960s and 1970s I had the misfortune of seeing much of my political agenda enacted into law. Then I had to observe the sometimes disastrous consequences and side effects of those policies. I switch to "R" in 1984. Of course, there have been some disastrous consequences to THAT, too!

> There is no requirement that a lifeguard administer the test. Generally speaking, the Webelos Den Leader or someone he delegates to can administer advancement tests. Does the parent have a written description of what the boy was tested on at Church Camp? If it duplicated the BSA swim test, I'd be inclined to accept it. But probably it doesn't If it doesn't I'd see if you can make an appointment for a Den swim and do the test at that time, or look for another opportunity to test the boy. A den swim at a pool can be a very fun activity. A time for games and competition as well as for testing.

> The above BSA rule tends to be a big barrier to Webelos Den Camping. It would appear to permit parents to appoint another adult, such as the WDL, as that supervising adult. Of course you would still need two deep leadership. Who has experience in dealing with this Webelos camping requirement, and how do you do it?

The most important Scout rules are the ones enforced by physics and such. Ones where actions have natural consequences. Learning that association is one of the best things about Scouting. I recall two mouthy 13 year olds (brand new to Scouting) who went on a troop bicycle camping trip and thought they were hot shots. They were warned to hang their food to avoid having animals after it. They didn't and the animals did. They went pretty hungry the next day. They didn't come back, but perhaps they learned something from Scouting after all.

Personally, I find bnelon44's implicit recommendation to ask for a Board of Review to evaluate the project. If the facts are provably as claimed, the Scout should not have to do another project. And in the process of reviewing the project, the Board of Review would necessarily have to consider the actions of the Scoutmaster. Sometimes people make poor decisions. I recall making one in particular as Scoutmaster that I apologized for shortly after making it. And sometimes people just have the wrong idea about how to do something in Scouting, which is what this sounds like. Very often unit leaders have ideas about how things should be done, and sometimes those ideas are wrong. We see that on this board rather commonly, and sometimes my bright ideas get shot down.

Hello desertrat77, > Sure.