SMT224

I just did.... remove the SPL from his position. I immediately removed him from his leadership position and suspended him from all Troop activities. A short time later, the Committee expelled him from the Troop. Once parents heard what he did, they concurred 100% and said if we had not acted as we did, they would have pulled their sons from the Troop. A number of Scouts were grateful as well, as they now feel safe knowing that the Scout Law is something we do, not just say. It's been dark days for the Troop, but sometimes the only way to find the light is to act quickly and decisi

We always travel to a camping trip in the class A shirt, and in full class A uniform to summer camp. On the way to summer camp last year we stopped at Wendy's for lunch. We were all in full Class A uniform and looking sharp. With 30 Scouts and leaders we knew we were going to take over the place, but when we walked in, there were ~25 soldiers in field uniform from a near-by base. The soldiers acknowledged, smiled at, and nodded to our Scouts as we all stood in line waiting to order. I watched the faces of our Troop as they clearly felt pride to be in uniform. There were a few fa

We actually become more active in the summer. July is a week of summer camp, and our June & August camping trips expand beyond the week-end into 3-5 day trips. We depart on Friday morning (instead of the typical school-year Friday evening) and return home on Monday or Tuesday or even Wednesday (instead of Sunday). And sure some Scouts are off on vacation and may miss a trip, but it's not that different from the school year when some will miss a camping trip due to a game or concert. As far as weather goes, while we all like the "perfect" weather of late spring and early fall,

Sorry Lisabob & Engineer61, I just don't buy the "uniform is a deterrent" argument. I have yet to find a Scout who quits because of the uniform. Now maybe we're not as extreme as some Troops, but the SPL & ASPL are pretty good at enforcing dress codes and the Scouts quickly learn to comply. The main reason kids quit our Troop is because they discover they do not like to camp, and camping is mainly what we do - almost every month of the year in most any kind of weather. We all wear a uniform... it is the clothes we put on every day. It might be khakis and a polo, jeans & a

September - May: Class A (full Boy Scout uniform) June - August: Class B (Troop t-shirt and olive shorts) Any COH anytime = full Class A

Thanks for all the thoughtful responses to my post. I especially appreciate the excellent discussions on management vs leadership. I will certainly be taking this material to our Troop Leadership Training, as well as using in my discussion with those who have completed NYLT. Clearly the material presented in NYLT is only part of what maps out the leadership trail. Thanks again for your responses.

SNAFU - situation normal, all **** ed up Welcome to the real world. Yes, you are seeing the messed up part of your Council where humans and policy have let important things slip through the cracks. But that is reality everywhere - in our government, our medical system, our law enforcement system, and unfortunately in our Scouting administration as well. Where ever humans get involved you'll find absolutely wonderful things happening, and the stupidest thing possible. Every single summer camp I've been to has some things that could be a whole lot better. But things only get b

For years I have been a strong supporter of NYLT. I saw excellent results from Scouts attending 2001-2005. We were unable to send Scouts for a couple years due to schedule conflicts. We sent Scouts in 2008, 2009, and again this year. However, none of these Scouts came back as charged up as in the earlier years. I initially wrote it off to different personalities of those attending, but on speaking to the Scout who just came back from the course, I'm starting to wonder if it's the Scout or the NYLT. On asking him what the NYLT course was like, he said it was mostly lectures on managem

As others have said, practice, practice, practice! We've found working it into games leads to the most enthusiasm, especially with an edible reward!! Giving the Scouts a pile of rope with the instructions to "practice knots" doesn't ever seem to accomplish much - they need some kind of end point motivation that gives them a reason to tie the knot. At one point we tried a weekly "exit knot" - we worked on one knot during the meeting, then each Scout had to tie that knot to exit the meeting and go home! PLC decided it caused too much stress and canceled it! A number of years

"Drowning Doesnt Look Like Drowning" This is an excellent article and should be read by all having anything to do with aquatics... http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/drowning/?10981 I recommend printing a copy and passing on to summer camp aquatics directors in addition to discussing with the Scouts in your Troop prior to any aquatic activity. This kind of critical information should not be limited to adults. The other article in this series,"The Truth About Cold Water" is also very good and a sobering look at importance flotation devices... http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/c

Well, were back from our first swimming hole adventure, and all survived and had a great time!! We started out playing in a stream, and worked our way down to a small hole that was about 20'x30', mostly ranging in depth from a foot to 4 feet, with a couple areas that were a bit more than 5 feet deep. Nothing was over my head. We had 12 Scouts, one of whom was a beginner, the rest swimmers. No diving or jumping was allowed. We had two adults on shore at all times with throw bags and one adult in the water, as well as a Scout lookout on shore at all times. We defined where the deepest

We run our Troop at about a rank a year. Of those that stay with the Troop for the first year, we have nearly 90% achieving Eagle. We are now having nearly 95% attendance at Troop meetings and outings. We discuss the trail to Eagle when the Scout is either out of middle school or has achieved Star. I know some consider this heresy with regard to both BSA guidance and the way many Troops are run, i.e. 1st Class in the 1st year. Sorry, but we let the guys be Scouts and do Scouting activities -- we do lots of camping and have lots of fun, and provided plenty of opportunity for advancement.

Three choices: 1) Stay and do nothing but go along to get along. Things may be ok, but based on your description of events, things will most likely continue to escalate until someone gets seriously hurt or a serious YP event occurs. At the rate these Cubs are going, I'd hate to have to deal with these kids when they crossed over our Troop - they'd get a rude awakening when they discovered their behavior actually needs to be within the Scout Law. 2) Stay and challenge the CM behavior constructively and persistently. This will likely meet with significant resistance by the CM and hi

I would second the recommendations to take swift & sure action on this Scout. He should be suspended immediately and then likleyexpelled. If you do not, you are putting forth a clear message that his behavior is ok. When I first became Scoutmaster, there was a Scout in the Troop who would pull all kinds of nonsense. I thought I was "given him a break" by just talking to him and believing his assurances that it would never happen again. Each new instance was worse than the last, but he was vigorously defended by his parents and anyone who complained was made to seem the problem, an

Since this happened during a Scout activity (a Court of Honor no less!), all in attendance were bound by the Scout Law. His behavior clearly fell outside the Scout Law, and he is therefore subject to Troop discipline. Apologizing to the other kids is a great first step, but the matter is hardly closed. There should be an immediate suspension from all Scout activities pending a full Board of Review. This includes Troop meetings and outings. The Scoutmaster and Troop Committee can decide on further action depending on how the Board of Review goes. You must take immediate action or

Shortridge - Thanks for your input. I am not suggesting an abandonment of SSD rules or thoroughly inconsistent application. My thoughts are focusing on a sensible and rational application of the existing guidance.

Scoutfish - Believe me, I fully understand SSD and the rational for it's existence. I also know that we must be sensible when implementing the SSD to ensure we are not just following rules blindly. For example, in a swimming situation where all the Scouts in a group are swimmers, it is necessary to set up a non-swimmers area? Or a beginners area? I think not. And yet, per your last post, it's either all or noting - either we follow SSD fully and completely each and every time or no swimming. I understand and appreciate your conviction, but disagree with your black&whit

In thinking through this issue as I developed my initial query, and then reading the responses, and rereading SSD, I am inclined to concur with Beavah in terms of sheer common sense. The basic reason for SSD is to ensure Scouts do not drown. If we loose sight of that basic impetus, and instead begin to see the SSD as an entity into its self, we loose sight of common sense (IMHO). While I agree with the spirit of what both shortridge & Scoutfish are saying, I truly believe I can say to my non-swimmers, "Do not go any further than an imaginary line between that rock and that tree.", a

Thanks for the point of clarification mbrigham. Based on your earlier post, I thought he had signed his own book with his own initials. But when the "scout had placed inaccurate dates and the initials of the other ASM", that is outright forgery. He clearly knew what he was doing and knew he was pulling the wool over everyone eyes. If this were a Scout in out Troop there would be an SMC, and depending on the outcome, likely a meeting with the parents. This kind of behavior falls far outside the Scout Law - especially the first point. If he lies about it, or appears to have

Thanks for all the comments & suggested guidance. Gags - DC area, NCAC. How about you? Here's a great resource: http://www.swimmingholes.org

I guess my dilemma is whether to set up the ability areas as described in the SSD training - ropes, weights, & floating markers designating non-swimmer, beginner, & swimmer area. The problem is not only are swimming holes small and used by other folks (who may find ropes and markers strung all over the place a serious infringement) but with moving water, it seems hard to mark anything. It seems better to let the ability groups know where they can go and where they can't go, and then keep an eye on the Scouts. rdclements - I'm not trying to make safety invisible (most certain

We will be camping at two places this summer that have an abundance of swimming holes along streams. They are usually no larger than 10-20 feet across and 1-6 feet deep. They are often used by the public. No real swimming, absolutely no diving. Mainly getting wet and cooling off. Has anyone dealt with this issue before in terms of implementation of safe swim defense? Prior to arriving at the holes I intent to have the Safe Swim Defense talk with the Scouts, establish buddy groups based on ability groups, designate lookouts and life guards, and then do establish causal & unma

I'm a bit amazed that the Scoutmaster didn't catch this - did he not look at the book & signatures and talk to the Scout about his advancement? But anyway, I agree that the first thing to happen is a SMC. It may well have been that the Scout didn't understand he was not supposed to sign his own book. First thing is to set him straight on that, and let him know very clearly who can sign off on a requirement. Then, go over the requirements and see if he needs more work, or if he truly earned the requirement. Unless it's absolutely clear that he did it intentionally, I would not

12??!!! I'd totally lay off! We run our Troop at about a rank a year. We have nearly 90% achieving Eagle. We have nearly 95% attendance at Troop meetings and outings. We don't even discuss Eagle until the Scouts are either out of middle school or have achieved Star. I know this is heresy with regard to both BSA guidance and the way many Troops are run, i.e. 1st Class in the 1st year. Sorry, but we let the guys be Scouts and do Scouting activities -- we do lots of camping and have lots of fun, and provided plenty of opportunity for advancement. But we don't make advancement

On the other hand... Sometimes teen age boys appear not to be interested in anything. It's just part of the sullenness that goes with that age. If asked, and they were really being honest, they'd like nothing better than to play the X-Box 360 or PS3 24/7 and forget about absolutely everything else. So these Scouts may be just normal teenagers and act bored about everything, but will get into the merit badge when then get to the class. Or, they may be seriously uninterested in the subject matter. If you are teaching an Eagle merit badge, I'd let them come to the class anyway. If