smaster101

I had a tough week at camp with one 13 yr old scout. He refused to work on any badges, whether alone or in groups and always found an excuse for why he couldn't get to a MB class or hook up with the other kids. Plus he refused to shower and change his clothes during the week. More critical, he started stockpiling knives from the camp store, and a few boys told me he was waiving them around and threatened to stab them during the night. After this happened I called his dad, who came and picked him up. The dad told me the boy had been diagnosed with ODD - Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and th

We usually have a good turnout of dads on our campouts but our troop has never had a "family" campout, i.e. moms and younger siblings included. I know this has been a sore spot with some moms, so I suggested to our troop committee that we hold a family day hike. They not only liked the idea, but it quickly turned into suggestions for a weekend family campout. Problem is when I told our PLC, my SPL and ASPL's hit the roof. "We don't want mom's along on our camping trips" was the general consensus. So I realize that I should have run the idea by the PLC first, but also, should the troop follow

I'm an outside sales manager for a manufacturing company that makes components for the wire and cable industry. I live in New Endland but my territory is the southern US - Texas to Georgia and Mexico. We have our troop meetings on Monday nights, then I will typically head out Tuesday morning for the remainder of the week.

I have a 15 year old scout in my troop that is very much an outcast from the rest of the boys. He comes on most troop outings and summer camp, but he tends to be a loaner and rarely participates in what the other scouts are doing. Most of the merit badges he starts go unfinished. Hes sloppy and unkempt, which probably just means he has very low self-esteem. Last year he was appointed to the position of troop librarian, but didnt do anything, so the next SPL assigned the job to someone else. Hes still First Class because he demonstrates no leadership ability. Hell do things one on one with

Were back from summer camp, and this year I had a handful of scouts that could not pass either the 2nd Class or First Class swim requirement. These guys are not really afraid of the water, its more of a swimming ability thing. A couple of them have serious asthma that prevents them from completing the required distance. One has very severe ADHD and I think it prevents him from learning something he really doesnt want to do. All the boys went to swim classes during the week, and I felt that they did make an effort to pass, but just couldnt for various reasons. Anyway, I explained to

Oops, Sorry everyone. I just read OGE's post regarding laser tag and got the message loud and clear about paint ball. I should have checked the guide to safe scouting first anyway. Regardless, I know some troops are doing it anyway, so let's hope no one gets injured.

Our scouts have told me they want to go paint balling as a troop activity. Ive heard of several other troops in our area doing this, but I thought paint ball was not allowed under BSA guidelines. Anyone know the official policy on this?

Ok, so you have a scout that was a great SPL or Troop Guide, but then when he becomes a JASM he no longer feels like he has an active role in running the troop. I've seen this many times over the years, especially when the new SPL is doing a good job. The JL Handbook doesn't offer much guidance about this position. Last night one of my JASM's who had been a very good TG ask me if he could run for SPL next election for this reason (I said I felt yes but that we'd run it by the PLC). Can anyone that has had troops with very successful JASM positions please provide some info on how you kee

Thanks to everyone, especially Bob White, for yout insight. Anyone against some positive reinforcement to motivate the guys? During a recent camout I had to leave at night for a family event, but came back the next morning around the time everyone should have been packing up. The SPL was having a hard time getting everyone moving. I had brought several dozen doughnuts back with me and of course the guys all wanted one. I told them they were for after everyone was packed. A couple of kids tried the "well, I'm packed" line, but this didn't fly. So after all the gear was packed and th

Any suggestions for how to get scouts to properly take care of troop and patrol equipment? Lost tent pieces, broken propane stoves, missing stove parts, etc. after every trip are getting me very frustrated. Our QM doesn't seem to care or be effective, even though I've continously told him what his responsibility is. Many scouts don't even take care of their personal equipment like mess kits and clothing. Are they so used to mom picking up after them at home? I see this as an opportunity for our scouts to learn responsibility for their own stuff as well as proper care of troop equipmen

About 10 years ago when I was an ASM, our troop was holding a campout that I could not attend. Parents were supposed to pick up their sons at the campground, and all came except for the mom of one TF scout. Finally, after waiting about 40 min the SM told the boy to put his gear in his car and he'd give him a ride home. When the boy did, a note fell out of his bag. The note said "Dear Mr.C. I can't be there on Sunday to pick up my son. Please give him a ride home" (I'm Mr. C. and I live near this boy's family) The SM asked the boy why he didn't tell anyone about this note and he answered th

Our troop has just started having patrol and troop elections, after many years of SM appointed leaders. Some of the older scouts comment that they liked it better the old way, but recognize that elections are the correct scouting method. It's was a little tough going at first but we've learned from a few small mistakes. We decided to stagger PL and SPL elections so we don't have a completely new leadership each election. Our first SPL election will be in January, so I'm using this time to makesure the next generation of jr. leaders are prepared to take over from the current SPL.

Sounds like a big problem. My suggestion is that your troop needs some adult intervention. Make sure that the SM and other adults demonstrate 100% support of the SPL. Get visibly and vocally behind every decision he makes and let the rest of the troop know that the adult leaders have full and complete confidence that he's doing the right thing. The stronger scouts might be able to bully the SPL, but probably not the adults. I'll bet that they will want to be on the same said as their SM, especially if they also get something out of it. It will also help the SPL deal with the pressure

I've written in this forum before about about what I observe as a lack of any type of religious connection in so many youth and families. I had an opposite suprise the other night when one of my scouts called and asked if I would be his confirmation sponsor (we're both RC). I said yes, of course, and told him it was quite an honor that he would select me. Later I spoke with his dad about it, concerned that maybe the family prefered that a relative be his sponsor. The dad said they didn't have any relatives that went to church, so his son thought he's ask his scoutmaster, and they sup

I think a mixed program of advancement work and MB work at meetings works out OK. For example, a councelor working on a MB can use some meeting time to go over requrements with a small group of scouts to guide them into what they need to be doing on their own. I don't think troops should be MB factories, but I definitely see the job of SM as one who encourages and enables scouts to earn MB's.

Our troop went last year for the first time. The web site referenced has a lot of information about applying. They only take about 20% of the units that apply, and those with a cadet sponsor have preference. You need to apply before December, then they notify you of acceptance around March. You're also limited to 25 scouts, and the 25 x 25 area allocitated to each unit is for real. Units coming with 25 scouts and 5-6 adults really have to squeeze in. We had a hot, dry weekend,but I've heard that when it rains the camp area becomes a flood zone. The hike in is only about 3 miles,

We have our first troop meeting of the seasnon on Sept 10, and I've been thinking about an appropriate SM minute to close the meeting. The best I can come up with so far is to tell my scouts to have courage, that rightousness will prevale over hatred. But most important, I want to tell them that they are our future leaders, and that as scouts they have an opportunity to demonstrate duty to God and country, and learn to be good and just leaders. So I want to tell them to be hopeful of the future, and not to let hatred and bigotry dominate their actions. Does this make any sense? I'm

Our troop has camped, canoed, biked and hiked in a wide variety of weather, and coming from New England we experience it all. Of course, preparation is key and one of the great learning experiences in scouting. There have been just a few situations that have caused us to cancel. The most recent was this spring when we had scheduled our first campout with the Webelos that has just crossed over into the troop. The morning we were to leave it was pouring out and the forecast was for it to continue the whole weekend with temps down to 35 deg. The troop committee and I made the decision to

Ive just finished my 14th summer at camp as a troop leader, and Ive seen homesickness show up in a variety of ways. Sounds like OGEs troop tried everything they could think of, but sometimes, severe homesickness is unavoidable. Its a difficult subject to deal with because every boy responds differently. Im no expert, and maybe Ive just been lucky, but weve had very few cases of homesickness over the past few years. Heres a variety of things I try to do to prevent/overcome the homesickness problem.  A good Webelos to Scout transition program helps younger boys get to know the adult

I don't see any need to add another "soft" badge like Family Life. On the other hand, there are opportunities where we as adult leaders have an opportunity and a responsibility to set a positive example. Dinning hall meals at camp, for example, are a great opportunity for scouts to act like animals and for adults to correct their behavior. I don't believe that any kids can get away with the bad manners at home that they exhibit at camp, so why let them at camp. Other opportunities for setting a positive example are when the troop is traveling or meeting the public at some event. Fo

At our camp the scouts have to clean the latrines as part of their daily patrol chores. This helps them take care of it a little better. In this case I would have had the particular scout clean it himself out of turn. However, I really don't believe this will change anyone's behavior in the short term, but maybe long term he will grow up and see that his actions affect himself and others. We can only hope. I had a 4th year camper this year purposely make a big mess at the breakfast table where a first year camper was the waiter. (They rotate the waiter job each day). I had this scout

Thanks for all the good advice. It's great to have this forum available to help reinforce our own judgement on these issues. I believe this particular scout's problem is that he hates any sport and struggles from a severe lack of confidence. He is also severly ADD, very bright and also very immature for his age. All this means is that he can benefit more from adhering to the First Class rank guidelenes than "sliding" through them. One additional comment and a story. We had several 2nd class scouts at camp last week that did not make swimmer the first day. They all knew they had to

The situation with one of my 12 1/2 year old scouts is that he can't seem to pass the BSA swim test required to make 1st class rank. Summer camp just ended and he went several times during the week to benefit swim, but still couldn't pass - not even close. So what do I do? Keep him at 2nd Class forever? I suggested to him that he have his parents sign him up for swim classes, but I don't have a lot of control over this, other than denying him advancement. Suggestions?

Lots of good suggestions posted already. Yes, definitely repeat training as often as necessary to get scouts proficient at it. Build on the activity so that it's not repetitive. For example, work on lashing techniques at one event, then build a troop pioneering project at a different event to let the scouts apply what they've learned. I've also discovered that attendance drops if we repeat the same type of campout or events too frequently, so we try to cycle different activities every two to three years. This keeps attendance close to 100% by making it something new for many troop members.

Anyone have any helpful suggestions for how successful patrol leader elections should be conducted? We just had PL elections for the first time about a month ago, and I thought it went OK (the previous SM picked the PL's). I just told each patrol to get together and elect a PL, and then the PL would select his APL. But now I'm hearing some complaints that the elections wern't conducted fairly because it was more of a popularity contest within the patrol. Should patrol elections be more structured, maybe using secret ballots?