blw2

this is generally the model I envisioned back when I was an active CubScouter a few years ago.... separate dens but I think rfd536 is likely spot on about separate on paper only...at least for a majority...and at least in the beginning I don't necessarily thing though it's driven by meeting space. Maybe in some cases sure....but I just don't think numbers will support separate dens. We struggled a couple years to support a full den compliment in a couple age groups as it was. 1-4 kids doesn't make for a meaningful and functional den or patrol.

i think you bring up some interesting perspectives..... most of which, well.... while I find likely plausible, give me heartburn quite frankly. If I had given my son some money (or better had encouraged him to earn money) because his patrol wanted to buy some gear..... I would not in a million years ever feel like I owned a share of it....or feel that he owned it either. Maybe different if it were a group of five friends from the neighborhood not associated with some organized group in any way, but for a scout group..... I can't fathom not looking at it like a donation I think your po

i agree with others...scouts "put" into a patrol raises some red flags my take on the ownership question... I think it not so different than considering what happens to the troop gear if the troop dissolves. If a troop dies, the equipment and assets go first to paying off any troop debts, then the balance goes to the CO for future scouting use..... if deemed ok by CO and council, it can be given to a different troop, etc..... So what happens when a patrol dissolves? Why not look at it the same way....it becomes troop property, to be assigned to another patrol at an appropriate tim

hey, you know.... I think that is great! It's my opinion that nearly every meeting should run EXACTLY just like that. "what do you want to do? You have the run of the building, the field outside, all the kit, the knowledge of 5 adult leaders who are here. Go for your life! " Perfection!

yeah, I'm not convinced IOLS does anything on that front either regardless....maybe I too, am just cynical, but it'll just be more of the same..... except the endless talking, trying to listen and power points will drag on past dinner time. If you're lucky, it'll be in a nice outdoor setting but likely it'll just be sitting around the picnic tables under some picnic shelter someplace.... They will probably all be released at some point to go set up their tents.... or maybe they do that at arrival...then at some point later, they will sit through a 45 minute lecture on tents, how t

I think you make some excellent points. One thing though.... about the "fun" part. I think it imperative that it's more then just certain few events. Much more From my perspective.... my son has completely lost all interest in scouts.... it seems to me that the scouts need to be encouraged and allowed to have fun at almost every meeting or gathering. Not adults setting up a fun program like for cubs, but they need to be free to do it. I've heard some of our adult scouters say before something to the affect of it's not all about fun, when referring to other dropped scouts in the past, sayi

I had a few years of the reluctant Tiger parents with no leader. One year, I was one phone call away from changing gears to let them all know the den was dissolving. After asking a few times with no luck, I ended up setting up a den meeting and lead it myself, as an example. I was CM at the time. I ran a den meeting, tried to make it fun and also show an example of how it plays out.... I really tried to stress the shared leadership of the den with these parents in followup conversations... a scout parent pair would take the meeting for the week or all for the month and do most of

shouldn't the scouter be approaching the PL or SPL and asking him to send little Johnny over? Seem to me that at least theoretically the PL are the ones that need to know where they are and the SPL needs to know where his PL's are....

It goes back a few years no for me...so things have changed but We did a hodgpodge of stuff. I heavily researched options back in the day. Most of those sites for cubs had a huge focus on advancement tracking and record keeping. I eventually decided that all of that was a bunch of work and effort for nothing. At the cub level, it seems more important to just have the scouts' track their own in their handbooks and focus on instant recognition. The only exception i can imagine is the huge pack with multiple dens at each level, where it might be good to have some sort of system to help stre

I read a lot of memoirs and autobiographies...military stuff. This reminds me of one of the Navy Seal guys I read... He talked about his medic training. I don't remember for sure, it might have been but I don't think corpsman was his MOS, but he was the platoon medic (don't remember if that's the title he used... but you get the general idea). I don't know...it's been a while, maybe he was a corpsman. Anyway, those guys were taught real hands-on stuff....not counting the real-world experience...just the training before they go out there..... The goat lab is what really stuck in my memory

Yeah, I tend to think like you, in theory anyway. In practice I think most are probably like my son was.... I tried to encourage him to visit the other troop options just to see. He really had no interest but we did visit one. Our pack was split, feeding essentially two troops. some years more would go across the street and few would stay with our CO's troop but when we were there it was flipping back the other way....we were feeding our CO's troop. Complicated, but the other troop was out of consideration for my son but the troop we visited was "fed" from his school's pack (our CO

honestly....I think this thread points to the one major root to the problem with scouting today, and more close to home for me...why my son has lost interest in scouts. Not enough freedom to explore and grow. He's getting nothing different in scouts than he gets anywhere else. If they were allowed to "go"...I think things would be different.

I'm with Chisos...don't overbook. Boys need time to just be boys in the woods so to speak. although I do think it's nice to do a little something. I remember doing scavenger hunts a time or two. Mostly when we camped it would be at a destination. Once we camped at Florida Caverns state park. Did a cave tour (ranger guided). Otherwise maybe hike teh park's trail....that kind of thing. Otherwise let the boys have fun. We often would do family camping at state parks, just reserve a block of sites, with one site set up as the pack site for group cooking and gathering.....other sites

yeah, my sons didn't fit either when he was APL and then PL...that was when he was still somewhat gung-ho for scouting. I think his shirt was size small. I was going to just help him clip the patch but he never wanted to sew the thing on..... he could care less about patches even then.... I think clipping the POR patch might be the only option I can come up with....

I'm reminded of a summer camp experience...way back in ancient times when I was a scout. One night, we had a capture the flag sort of thing...at night scouts started at one end of the camp, scouters and staff at the other. If you got through you won. My team...4 guys I think, decided to take the path down by the sound, where there was a steep bluff along the shore, knowing adults wouldn't go there.... we were well on track but someone fell and got hurt (not on the bluffs as I recall)... and we had to forfeit and carry him out.... 1st aid and all of that. A fond memory. We were stupid b

yeah, I don't doubt that much.... seem plausible to me.... that the YMCA, or organizations like it, would use sports with that purpose. My kids participated one year in an Upward sports Basketball league at a local Baptist Church. They were all about "fun and purpose" I was very impressed with that operation.... But are you saying that YMCA actually invented these sports games basketball, baseball, football, volleyball, etc... all for the "purpose" That seems like a bit more of a stretch to me, but hey if you say so.... Other organizations certainly invent games for their purpose..

That's not the "documented" I meant.... I agree with you. What I was getting at is that with scouts, the "documented program" that we are all trying to follow focuses on it....the game outline for scouting is doing this stuff with character in mind but while sports coaches might make their own efforts....leagues might even... but I don't think that the focus or reason for playing the game is character. They are there to play the game first, the game is the focus, not character building but again with scouting, the documented program is all designed around character building... I ag

the sports thing is interesting to me.... I'm not a sports guy at all. I'm the guy who's eyes gloss over as soon as someone talks about the game.... I find it rather pointless to watch others playing a game. The games to me are pointless, and it drives me nuts the importance that so many folks give it. I also hate that so many of the so called role models in that area are overpaid uneducated and downright trashy people but the thing I have observed over the years..... many exceptions of course, including the over testosteroned and rude sports folks.... but I'd have to say that a good ma

personally I wouldn't care for that. Units could be all over the map as far as food goes. I'm reminded of my first few trips out with our troop. First couple times was as a guest when son was WEBELOS. Back in those days, the SM of the time had it set so that the SM's and visiting adults just ate whatever the patrols ate. For one, I didn't much care for the feeling that I was mooching from them.... not their job to work for me, and all of that..... but more than that the quality of food and cleanliness was ....well an adventure. I said to myself then..."never again, I'll bring my own food

I was just thinking about this thread..... the TV show or youtube idea...and that book I read Rocks in my Backpack... The statement was made that troops can't do high adventure all the time. true enough and really high adventure doesn't have to really be all that "high", especially for kids, for it to be adventure and fun... But if there are enough BIG trips spaced out through the year....like 2-4 maybe.... and then there is some genuine preparation done for those trip between not just talking about what you're gonna do...but hands on learning and doing.... not reading from the handb

I ran a regatta once. I did it much more casually though...... as an activity for a pack meeting. I set up 4 gutter runs so we could run two races at the same time outside so they can get messy made boats using pieces of swimming pool noodles pre-cut in half axially then to length Supplied stuff to make masts and sails and a few things for decoration. straws for blowing were available as option Threw out the stuff, and said make boats race in 10 minutes or whenever you're ready.... scouts could line up any way they want in the 4 lines, race whoever they want, race as often as time p

oh boy...grab the popcorn.... sheath knives is a hotly discussed topic. It is in the realm of folklore that they have been banned...even though they have not. Thing is, many scout reservations have their own rules against them....so.... it might depend on where this event is held.

Barry I think you touched on a lot there.... Thinking back a couple years ago when my son first joined the troop as a webelos crossover.... wow he was gung ho...not about advancement but about the fun. He was on cloud 9 literately...wanted to be patrol leader, taking the ILST class voluntarily, going to everything..... Going camping, running around playing zombie tag with the older scouts....grinning ear to ear... he resisted the advancement stuff and all the excitement was quickly squelched. Meetings doing the same lame 1st aid drills that were more talk than do... that he did many ti

I think the show, or whatever it is... would have to show both adventure to hook-em, but the character building clearly there but not "in your face" so that parents will see it and thing, hey I want that.... but not so much that it ruins the adventure! Helloooo This is Stampyyyy. Welcome to another.... ha ha... a few years back that is all I heard!!! I got quite good at doing that british "Stampy" imitation.... dead link...but I'll make a mental note to go look for it.... must have been on cable tv. I love watching those survival shows and obviously like scouting...so I'm surpris

Not sure what this is referring to.... Was it the "tougher than a Boy Scout" thing that was on TV a couple years back? That was a nice attempt but missed the target IMHO. Hitting that target is hard I have noticed, with TV shows. I can think of a few emergency room type doctor shows as examples that are pretty good....but there's something subtle about the way they are produced that make them obviously tiers below something like the old "ER". You can tell they are trying hard, but they just miss a subtle something that makes them come of as fake or not quite real.... oh so