T78Scoutmaster

I concur with BrentAllen. We started a troop one year ago (Nov 07) with 7 and now have 17. It was a lot easier with 7, but has been more rewarding with the larger group because we've had no choice but to force the boys to use the patrol method. It's exciting to see the Scouts get more involved in the planning. They are very adventurous. We have a wilderness survival campout in Dec, a snow campout in Feb, and they voted to go to Boundary Waters next Aug. Enjoy the ride.

We are a new troop (Nov 07) and were not planning on conducting OA elections this year until we had two boys complete First Class in May and also met the camping requirements. We didn't know who to contact for OA elections so we ended up asking the summer camp OA rep to conduct the elections for us. The OA rep showed the video and explained the process. Two boys abstained from voting. Voting was conducted by having the boys bow their heads, close their eyes, and raise/not raised their hands after each name. After voting only one of the two eligible Scouts was elected. Both boys are 12 y

Beavah, Another technique would be: Training. Our committee learned a lot about acceptable questions for BORs by attending the University of Scouting course. We're helping our BORs by writing up sample questions for each rank that members can pull from. Of course you can always wait and post your concern at the Scouter Network for views from both sides of the discussion. You may not get concensus, but you'll certainly get a lot of strong opinions. ;-)

I guess I'm a little sensitive to EBOR questions because I was asked a question in my EBOR eons ago that I thought I answered well. When called back in the gentleman who asked the question said I was wrong about my answer and did it in a way that shook me to my core. The board still approved me as Eagle Scout. I've carried the gentleman's answer with me over 30 years later. I realized several years after the EBOR that the gentleman was right, but at the time I was traumatized. Along a corollary theme, what would you say if your boss or someone else in authority asked who you were going

Bob White, Yes, I would. Thanks

Great replies, thank you! Beavah hit it on the head when he mentioned they are discussing it at school; the Eagle candidate brought that up as part of his answer. I feel better knowing this is an acceptable question to ask.

I participated in my first Eagle Board of Review and it went about like I expected with one exception. The last question posed to our first Eagle candidate, because he was close to turning 18 y/o, was who would he vote for in the November general election and why? I was a little shocked that someone would ask a political question. The young man answered the question easily and supported his choice, but I was still a bit taken aback. Is this typical?

I just started a new troop in Nov 07 with 7 boys, all but one 11-13 y/o. We have been blessed because we started with an Eagle Scout (17), who was willing to give back to the young guys. We also have a very gung-ho committee of adults, who have had no previous experience with Scouting. Six months later we have 15 scouts, 8 committee members, 3 ASMs, and me. We are ready to make a second patrol. I am a little shocked at our growth and would like some guidance on how to really get my PLC working together to plan their events. Particularly, what kinds of things do I need to train them on, encoura

I just started a new troop in Nov 07 with 7 boys, all but one 11-13 y/o. We have been blessed because we started with an Eagle Scout (17), who was willing to give back to the young guys. We also have a very gung-ho committee of adults, who have had no previous experience with Scouting. Six months later we have 15 scouts, 8 committee members, 3 ASMs, and me. We are ready to make a second patrol. I am a little shocked at our growth and would like some guidance on how to really get my PLC working together to plan their events. Particularly, what kinds of things do I need to train them on, encour