Sentinel947

It's important to have these reminders. We tend to get so invested in chasing the ideal of what we want for our troops and scouts, we miss the really important stuff that is going well. The last couple months of scouting for me have been somewhat stressful as I help the new Scoutmaster transition into his role. Its important to come to terms with what we can control and what we just need to stop worrying about.

Came across this article while I was scrolling through my LinkedIn today. https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/this-rarely-seen-leadership-practice-is-now-linked-to-happier-workplaces-motivated-employees-says-research.html I think it nicely supports a good deal of what we try to teach our Scouts about being kind to others and servant leadership.

I won't go that far. I've met a few really passionate and wonderful pros. What the YPT rules on communication lack is nuance. Should adults monitor a troop facebook page? Yes. I doubt any of us argue that. If there is a facebook or groupme or group text for the plc should troop adults be in on that? Yea. If the Scouts make some impromptu group to just shoot the breeze, should adults be in on that? The rules are well intentioned and say yes, but now I'm sitting monitoring the random thoughts of my scouts 24/7. Or they'll ignore the group and chat elsewhere since adults are in

I vote to leave it alone. It isn't something that requires adult supervision.

Looks like his website is now down. Enoch posted on Facebook about it, looking to get it back up at some point.

I'm an ASM: My Troop's meetings are 1.5 hours a week. So lets say a typical month has 4 meetings. 6 hours a month. I also attend the PLC meetings. 1 hour once a month. Running tally: 7 hours a month. Our monthly outings run Friday at 5:30 pm till about noon on Sundays. 49.5 hours a month. I probably spent about a half-hour to a hour a week responding to emails, various questions, or coaching the new Scoutmaster, whether before, after, or outside of a meeting. Final total: 51.5 hours a week. Things I also do but can't really get a good handle on due to variability: E

Hey all, I attended a Course Directors Conference recently. I'm a backup course director for a NYLT course in 2019. One of the Pros from Irving was there so I was able to ask some of our favorite topics of conversation. I've figured we mostly had answers to these questions, but it's good to hear it straight out of the horses mouth so to speak. I've summarized his answers below. I was impressed by him. I was surprised National sent a pro from Irving out to Midwest on a Saturday, and he was at the event all day, and being available for 1 on 1 face-time. He had some real enthusiasm a

If you write a blog post online accusing me by name of a crime I didn't commit, couldn't I sue you? Not sure if it's "defamation" or if it's a different word.

Maybe its just local conditions. I'm 25. When former Scouts visit our childhood troop, they say hi to me, and after observing they almost always joke: "Wow, things really haven't changed much." They're both right and wrong. I think the BSA as an organization has changed quite a bit. I feel like that pace of change has accelerated. But I still recognize the BSA from when I joined back in 2005. My Troop hasn't changed much from all these policy changes. Requirements change, uniforms change, membership policies change, but the core activities and methods of Scouting haven't changed in

They'll need to be counted as adults for YPT if they are "participants" after 18 in my understanding of YPT. But this is only going to be a situation that will last until 2021. At that point there won't be any Scouts who qualify and are working their requirements under this extension.

It seems to me that the extension will only be long enough to give them the amount of time necessary to earn Eagle depending on the date that they join. I'd guess it'd be enough to give them the minimum amount of time needed to earn Eagle from Scout-Eagle. "The actual extension will be based upon the individual’s registration date and age at the time of the request and will provide not more than twenty-four months from the date of initial registration to complete all requirements." My amateur guess is if they join at 17 years old and 11 months, they'll get the full 23/24 months, and it'll sca

For a medical inhaler? That's terrible. At least in my council, I never saw that behavior at Wood Badge, and it's prohibited at NYLT, at least the courses I've staffed. Again proof that training results vary from place to place, and having taken Wood Badge doesn't automatically confer some special expert status on a Scouter.

If you do not attend a church, you could use a parent. My Scouts commonly use the troop chaplain. I used the facilitator that led the classes for my youth religious medal program in Scouts.

There's only so much retraining you can do with older Scouts. I try to avoid telling stories about my troop, because every situation is unique, so there's a chance this can't be replicated. I joined my Troop in 2005 as a new Scout. The Scoutmaster at that time was finishing up his Scoutmastership and was done by 2007. He had us running a great patrol method troop. He was a stern but fair man, and what he excelled at was giving youth leadership room to make their plans and fail or succeed. He was always available to coach the youth, and if the SPL wanted to, he'd have weekly phone calls w

It only has a negative connotation that you give to it. Religious practice is absolutely made up of behaviors. Religion or lack their of is a choice. It is a behavior. It is based of our feelings and ideas about life and our purpose for living. To suggest otherwise is to suggest we do not have free will in life. That our lives are the outcome of genetically determined sequences that we have no control over and that's all we'll ever be. One's sexual preferences are not a choice in my opinion. But what behaviors I engage in because of those preferences are a choice.

Nursing and HR as well. I've always worked on Female majority HR departments since I graduated from College. Most of my supervisors have been female. Not necessarily good or bad, just is what it is.

That's in theory how the program is supposed to run. Boy Scouting age 11-14, Venturing 14-age out. As other's have said, if you're going to run your unit(s) that way, you need to go all in. Venturing is about leadership, and the youth really drive that program, even more so than boy scouts. A crew really is a separate unit from the Scout troop. What you're really looking for is engaging your older Scouts. @Eagledad talks about better in his posts than I ever can. I wrote out multiple paragraphs, and they were basically saying the same thing Eagledad was, just longer and less concise. Thi

The more things change, the more they remain the same. Welcome back.

Granted. I guess I should say, in my unit, it's a total non factor, our Scouts have a harder time following it than our leaders. Parents are supportive.

How about a little more patrol method out of national? 😂

Fair point. A lot of us are really jaded. Including myself. I saw the other day the BSA newsroom post about YPT applying to digital conversations between adults and scouts. It was three years old. All the comments were gloom and doom. Today, that rule is rarely complained about.

This is what IOLs, SM specific,Wood Badge and the like are for. But we all know those don't entirely solve the problem. What would you add that would fill in the gaps?

I agree, but that's not what the situation is. This is the parent doing all the talking for their son. Possibly the son isn't involved at all. All for talking to the son and his dad together. Parents have a right to be involved if they choose, but the broader point is, by doing it for their son, they are doing him no favors as life as a real adult looms.

Maybe we have differing definitions of Purist. I don't think a purist is inherently inflexible. There are underlying goals, guidelines and methods to this program. Following those is being a purist in my mind. You wanting the Scout not the dad to talk to his MB counselor is being a purist, but it's not to be difficult or unreasonable. How will that young man approach a college professor with a question when mommy or daddy road graded everything for him previously? At 11? Sure, maybe mom or dad need to coax a shy boy. At 17? Really? Maybe if that 17 year old has a disability. But tha

I'd love an opportunity to hit that pitch. "I am a Scouting purist. Your son taking responsibility for his own needs and communicating with adult authority figures will be critical when he enters college or the workforce. I'm a purist because I want him to learn these skills now." Maybe this is why I'm not a SM or CC. My smart mouth would offend some parent and they'd pull their son out. "How dare you tell me how to raise my son!"