SSScout

""“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.â€"" = Mark Twain = Scouter957: Well, if you want a little advice, you certainly have come to the right place. We have as little as anyone for you. If , as you say, the group of (Eagle?) Scouters in your Troop want the Boy Led, Patrol Method Scouting espoused by the "official" BSA, and the COR/CCh is resisting such (desirous of the Adult Led, Troop Method Scouting espoused by control needy folks), then , as has been suggested, your choices are: 1) Find another unit. Too easy, but sometimes the best idea. 2) Go to the Charter Org, the Institution Head and point out what they signed up for on the charter document. Go as a group, see below. This needs to be done as a group, not just by singular you. It always looks better to have a Concerned Committee of like minded folks . Less like a "rebellion", more like a "let's improve things". Try hard to let the IH take credit for the ideas. Let the problem person have a graceful way to "do the right thing", rather than leave in a huff or need to be dismissed in disgrace. Are ALL the ASMs and SM on board with this? 3) Make sure the folks involved can take and DO take the relevant BSA training. Point out to the COR/CCh that no one can do the best job if they don't have the right "schoolin' ". 4) Remember, "it's for the kids" , not for you or him or those men and women over there..... The purpose of life is not to add to one's own resume, but "to plant trees under whose shade one does not expect to sit". Our job as adult , old goat patrol Scouters is to set up the framework in which Scouts may succeed, not to require their success on our terms. 5) As has been suggested, as last resort, your Scout Leader cadre can "jump ship", find another CO (church. club, temple, VFD,...) and start a new Troop/Pack. Not unusual, not too hard. Depending on the response to choices #2,3,4 above, this might be the best and most fun choice! Heck, you've got experienced Scouters, boys eager, and that's the best start for a new unit! See you on the trail!

As you Scouts grow up, you will probably get summer jobs, maybe even "permanent" jobs. I recommend finding some work, sometime in your young life, in the building trades. Plumbing, carpentry, masonry, surveying, you can even earn Merit Badges in them. "Helpers" can earn serious money, and you learn how things work, how they go together, and how to take pride in your work, no matter how small a contribution you might think it is. One summer I was carpenter's helper. I worked in a crew "bossed" by, oh, I'll call him Mr. Smith. Now, Mr. Smith was by then in his late sixty's and had learned his trade back before power tools were so common. He told me his partner and he could frame a roof with him on the ground and his partner up in the rafters, calling down measurements that Mr. Smith would cut and then send up, by his HELPER (!), and the parts would fit perfectly. He often said that was the secret to reliable construction: trust in the measure and trust in the craftman's skill. One day our crew had just finished some wall frames and had tied them together for the first floor of a house. Mr. Smith came up and looked around. Then he asked me, ME!, to hold the zero end of his tape measure "right there", while he measured. Then another place. Then a third place. And a fourth. He then turned to the foreman of our group and said "tear it out and do it again". "Why? What's wrong?" "It's an inch out of square in two corners" "What? When the rockwall is up and the corners plastered and painted, who's gonna know ?" Mr. Smith straightened up and looked the crew carp in the eye. "I will, and you will. Tear it out and do it again." We tore the frames out and re-measured and renailed that floor. How about you? What will you know after the job is done?

Bingo: Welcome to the wonderful world of angst. And the forums...... G2A is fairly clear. The Scout Handbook is fairly clear. The Eagle Project Workbook is VERY clear. The folks on this Scouterdotcom have a good grasp of the Scout ideal and reality. My final advice: Talk to the boy. Talk to the Scout. Do not talk to the parent(s) unless they ask specific questions, and then speak to the parents AND the Scout. NEVER leave him out of the conversation, even when the parents barge into the conversation. It is his award to pursue. They are his parents to live with and learn from, whatever example they give. And it sounds like the Scout is doing a good job of following the parent(s)' example. Checklist all the requirements, check the time frame, make sure the Scout understands everything and then step back and help when asked. Buen camino!

I guess if Mel Brookes can find humor in the Inquisition and Nazis, we can find fun in Captain Kidd ,Anne Bonny and Blackbeard.,.. Eye patches? Lobster on the shoulder? Robert Louis Stevenson adaptation.... Cutlass Totin, Chip.... (inflation) "AWWK! Pieces of nine, pieces of nine! AWWWK! " Offishul Internashunal Tawwwwwlk like a Pirate Day http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html What is a pirate's favorite type of music? Arrrrrrrrchestral..

So we should bring the LI-ION battery powered saws and power hammers? The idea of Scouts is to make kids independent, safe, self assured , or so I've interpreted the "purposes". No axes? No saws? We have already eliminated Morse Code and finding the north star/astronomy from First Class. The FCScout was intended to be "prepared". I suppose that having your cell ready is one form of that. You can buy a backpack that , thru the up and down motion, will charge your cell and tablet. You can bring along a roll-up solar panel. For a price, you can avail yourself of the ingenuity of many others. That is the benefit of civilization. Yep, many of the young Scouts I meet have rarely seen, much less used a compass. Magnetic, that is. Follow directions? If it isn't in that 25mm screen, , is it real? We , as Scouts, are often called on to deal with the situation in times extremis. No electrical power? Camp stove comes out, set fire in fireplace. No heat? Sleeping bags come out. No water? Haul and boil. Will the OA Ordeal become doing without the Ipad? That is an ordeal for some kids, I guess. I would like to think the Scout of today is aware of, and able to utilize, all the "ancient" technology that today's stuff has been built on.

Very nice , indeed. I hope sufficient thought has been given to the preservation of that wood bench and it's security. New Joisy?

It is starting to sound lie our kids have developed a new trend/trail/system/gradient/ ?? First is mother's breast. Then the "blankie" Then the "teddy" or "BunBun". Then then "pillow" and/or "good night moon". And then... they grow up to..... the KINDLE! The SCHMART PHONE! The MINECRAFT! (or worse....) How to wean them off the new electronic "blankie"? How to say "no" to their umbilical cord to the internet? Tweeting : Here at camp dark bugs can't sleep ((haven't tried)).... Here's a bit of doggerel for you: A Scout on his iphone would tweet, "my vcmpfr s neet! I ck my #browns & @ cmpree sit down & hike on my virtual 2 feet!"

That and Barbecue. And home made coleslaw...

Unless you are at an LDS camp... Yes, I remember some camps that specifically ask adult leaders NOT sit with their units. The camp staff rotates around to the various tables, or a staffer sits with the table the whole week, with "guests" on occasion. Maybe another staffer or another adult from a different part of the country. Or from a different country! Now, this requires sufficient planning so there is enough sitting space at each table for , say, 8 Scouts and a staffer and a guest. Maybe 6 Scouts is enough. Depends on the geometry of the dining hall. I like that idea. Even if the unit camps and cooks "in camp" (Patrol cooking?) , it should be expected they might have a staff guest each night. They do this at the Jamboree, I know.

Anti Bullying Policy: "Do unto others that which you would have done unto you".

Once upon a time, I took some art classes with the Architecture department at school. They offered a "practical" week at a restoration project in Cape May NJ. It was the historic hotel Chalfonte (look it up, nice old place). I went up with about a dozen archy students. I never met so many unhandy kids up to that point in my life. Some needed instruction (!) in how to use a hammer. Clean the paint brush after it was used? We bought so many new brushes I couldn't believe it. There were some that did take the building trades seriously, but many , seriously, looked on the "practical" week as a free trip to the beach. Some one else will clean up, some one else will put the tools away, someone else will cover that hole..... Thinking about it, I wish I could remember those names so I could avoid their buildings (!). And the water was cold in the fall up there. But the Physick House was very nice, and the Chalfonte is still there....

SBMom: Here is a specific example. Look for the County Cable video toward the bottom of the Home Page: http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/environment/tree_canopy.shtm Get those shovels out!

Check with local Arbor Day Chapter about PLANTING the trees to prune! Many county agencies (parks, road maintenance, "Street Beautiful", etc.) would support a tree or bush or flower bulb planting. Get those hands dirty! https://www.arborday.org/programs/ County Extension agent: http://www.pickyourown.org/countyextensionagentoffices.htm USDA Soil conservation agency: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/national/home/ Does recycling count? Check with the county Solid Waste Department. Good Scouting to you!

Yep, time investment is significant. Family has to "take up the slack". Time is taken from work. From family stuff. Family is important. But so is one's self satisfaction and respect. Woodbadge? Why not Lions? Or Kiwanis? Or Church Choir? Or Local Activity Of Your Choice? You can stay in the bosom of the family or convince the rest of the family (!) that you will come back a happier camper. Does wife have "outside interests"? Good wife has painting classes, and they take a significant amount of time. Do I complain? No, I do the laundry. Her "time away" helps her decompress from work and gives her much satisfaction, especially when I can say (honestly!) that she has developed her latent talent considerably. She painted me a Barn Owl! And then there is the time in our various Meeting (church to you) committees. Tonight I will be driving a bus for our camping program. I could say "no", I have to stay home and clean the kitchen, but that dirt and grease will be there when I get back, and hey, son may clean it up. It is his turn, come to think of it.... When I go off for IOLS or RoundTable, good wife understands. My talent and experience needs to be shared with others than my son and wife. I earned WB and then staffed WB (QM corps). It was fun, rewarding and I met many good folks. Some of whom I still work with in Scouting. I know they took away some of me, and I gained some of them. Cross fertilization? Now, one must realize that if you DON"T participate, you will have NO effect on those folks. If you DO participate, you will leave a wake (to be nautical in my metaphor) and more will benefit from your life experience. Therefore, if they go ahead with WB without you, "it ain't your fault". If you DO participate, you will have at least some say in making sure the WBers go away smiling, not thinking "what a waste!". "All feedback is a gift". See you on the trail!

Adaption is the epitome of intellect.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8ffkDf0ol4 While hiking along with the Boy Scouts, to being " PREPARED " we commit... Like BP said, "why, for any old thing", so we take along big bags of SHHHH.....

Wow, there is a lot of stuff about this online.... Google Roy Powers, Eagle Scout and have fun.

Now, That is something up with which I can put. Did anyone ever collect and publish a book of the strips? Well, sort of. Not on Paper , it seems: http://www.kenpiercebooks.com/powers.htm

It just occurred to me: At the last Jamboree, AT&T sought initially to get every Scout to have an included Smart Phone. Am I remembering that right? The whole site was to be WiFi wired. Each Camp had a tower. They were still wiring ours (Camp A) when I arrived. The idea of giving each Scout their own Smart phone was abandoned, but they tried to service all the folks that had such already. The Daily Notes were not reliable, the recharging stations (solar powered!) became hangouts for the bored ("Hey! Mines up to 35%! Now it's 38%!"), and had to be rewired by cable to make'm work reliably. And the octopus connectors were collected as souvenirs by some (!). I even remember that the shower house (Ambient!) plugs were placed off limits to phone charging out of fears of electrocution. Would this mean we might get a "BSA SUMMIT JAMBOREE" branded Ipad? Ooops....

"It Depends". One of our Church camps ( three resident camps, one traveling camp), was required by the county to rebuild all the simple lean-to cabins into "bear resistant" cabins. This meant double screened windows (open to the weather), one screening being heavy " hardware cloth", and the other being regular window screen. The doors(double screened), (at least two on opposite sides) must have a self closing mechanism and open onto a porch (with strong railings) sufficiently large to allow the door (must open out) to swing all the way open and allow the person to walk down any steps unimpeded. Our camps are blessed with a carpenter that likes doing mortise and tenon construction. Camp #2 has not been so required as of yet, just keep the mosquitoes out and the rain off (different state). Camp #3 is by definition an "arts" camp, so "real" cabins are expected. All three camps have a hiking, camp out session, maybe one half of the week is out of camp. The traveling camp "Teen Adventure", uses tents and tarps. Bicycle or canoe, they alternate each year. Scoutson , who went to Philmont twice (once as a Trek Leader), said he had more "roughing it" at our Teen Adventure, but learned more at his Scout Camps.

Rain forest country! Welcome to the Forums!

Sounds like three deep to me. One look out and two nappers.

The consensus around these here parts (4 people?) seems to be the PTB want FA to be instructed by some "professional "type medico person (Who? Doctor? Paramedic? EMT? Red Cross instructor? ) . We have used the same flip chart FA course from the Red Cross Certification course, but not with a RC person reviewing it. Worked for some years.. Personal story: During the County Fair, I help out at the Rabbit Barn. My son and wife raised rabbits for many years, won some ribbons. But I am allergic to the little gems, so I usually sit at the entrance to the Rabbit Barn where the air is coming in and "cleaner". One afternoon, a fellow walks up to me and stops and looks. I recognize him as an IOLS Scouter from a few months back. We shake hands and reintroduce ourselves. He says, " I've been meaning to call you up or email you about your training. It saved my life." Here I began paying more attention. "The possible signs of heart attack? After the IOLS, I went home and when I went to work the next week, I remembered them and went to the ER after work and talked to a doctor there. I went in for tests, and they said it was a good thing I did." The rest of his story went as you might expect. He came in and toured the Barn, and we parted friends, again.

The original post asked about a particular CO and the requirements they had set for their Scout Units. They are within their rights to do that. I have known at least one CO that famously refused (politely) a Scout applicant because they were not of "their" faith, and referred them to the Assistant District Commissioner who had assisted in their chartering (me). I referred the boy to another local Troop, everyone is happy.

"Follow the money" "Publicity. Get a local news writer interested." "Communication" "CORs are the voting members" "Who REALLY owns the camps? Research the land titles" "Publicity. Facebook, tweet, blah, blah." "It's for the kids" "Confront the Council Leaders with the Scout Law. Are they Trustworthy? etc. " "Good Luck"

We interpreted the new syllabus as a guide for the "Troop". We do things by "Patrol", regardless. Instruction depends on how big our crowd is, sometimes the whole Troop in a class, sometimes we divvy it up per Patrol, rotate thru the class areas. We had 4 full Patrols once last year, only 10 people this past April. We also, quite honestly, view the syllabus as the "minimum" we need to do. We include more instruction as the experience of our Scouter Staff allows and permits. It is almost always closer to 2 days , Set up early Saturday morn, go home sunday afternoon around 4 or 5! No one has ever complained. We also try to schedule a "Sabbath Friendly" IOLS when possible. The goal , as always, is to get the newbie SMs to "pass" the FC requirements. Exampling the Patrol Method, the Boy (Scouter?) Led Unit, the "Never do anything yourself that a boy can do" sort of Scouting. Yes, we try to have individual Experts in Woods Tools, Cooking/Sanitation, Animal/plant ID, Compass/map, First Aid (discussion about whether we need an actual Paramedic sort of person here), we look at the introduction of experienced Scouters to the newbies as a form of networking, and "hey, we been there, it ain't that hard" kind of thing. Hope that answers your question. See you on the trail!