PA Scoutmaster

Our council announced today that all Summer camps are closed. The camp straddles the state line between PA and MD, with part of the camp in each state. 

Our council had a high adventure section on their website at one time. Scouters would post descriptions of trips they had taken with offers to help other troops with planning. If you have friends in other troops or if you attend round tables, talk with scouters and see what options are available in your area. You can also look into outdoor clubs outside of scouting for tips.

The SMC does not need to be the last thing prior to the BOR.  It can happen anytime and if the boy is smart, may have 2 or 3 to make sure everything is in order.  I do SMC's all the time.  I have one just for BOR, but other SMC's occur every time I interact with a scout.  The majority of my time is interacting with PL's, but there are a number of times, on a hike, around a camp fire, etc. where I will strike up a SMC type conversation with the boy next to me.  Getting the SMC requirement could get signed off 2 or 3 times while the boy is working on a rank.  They all know that it is wise to check with me prior to BOR because those that don't have problems.  I know what the boards are going to ask, think, do, and they don't,  Touching base with me is a major help with the process.  Those that don't choose that, generally don't find it as smooth sailing as those that do.

 

By the way, I do not have a structured SMC and it is not a formal process.  I can do one at the drop of a hat that can last 5 minutes or an hour, whatever the boy needs.

I agree, Stosh. I notice the Scoutmaster couldn't schedule because he wouldn't be at the next meeting. I never do conferences for an Eagle candidate at troop meetings. There are too many distractions. I would rather do it at during an outing, or at my house or the scout's house (with my wife or the scout's parent in the next room as a second adult). I look at the conference as my opportunity to help the scout be ready for his BOR. 

Congratulations! The ability to set a goal and keep working toward it will help him throughout his life.

"List the names of individuals who know you well and would be willing to provide a recommendation on your behalf".

 

A list of names, no letter required, no survey with check boxes required, just a list of names of those willing to provide a recommendation.  I would assume (there's that nasty word) that nothing is necessary unless the committee makes a request for the the recommendation.

 

This is the stickler I have mentioned previously in our Council.  A SM's recommendation is "necessary."  No it's not.  They sent me a survey type form that had only one choice.  "I strongly feel this candidate is worthy of the rank of Eagle."  While the "recommendation" from the SM is not required, I simply tossed the paper away.  It took 6 months for the boy to prove to me it was worth it to go back to the Council office and get another form and fill it out.

 

It always amazes me that this list is even necessary.  An employer?  Who's that the elderly lady next door the boy mows lawn for?  A parent?  Yeah right, they're going to say something nasty about their son.  Religious reference?  A $10 certificate off the internet will allow your best buddy to fill in that gap.

 

Get over it people.  The boy has fulfilled the requirements for advancement.  The Eagle song and dance routine is not going to do anything but hype the marketability of the rank.  BSA Eagles were around a lot longer than leadership service projects.  I wonder what they were measuring in a candidate that we don't today?

I see where you're coming from, Stosh. I would say that the parent references actually tend to be more critical than any others. I've heard from lots of moms that say their sons could use a little more work on "A scout is clean"

Congratulations! As far as paperwork, it does seem like busy work. However, it's not the worst thing in the world to learn how to do paperwork just as required. College professors and employers will not want you to "wing it", so I look at it as practice for the real world. 

As a side point, I find this question very interesting.

I've wondered several times about the history of our young unit.  Once when cleaning out a storage area I didn't even know we had at the time, it was a shared space for the pack and the troop....anyway, came across a cork board with lots of random photos and info from a few years back.  Looked like it was probably used as a table display at recruiting event of some sort.  Not very old, but just old enough that I didn't recognize any of the scouters or scouts.  Really anything worth keeping, but it gets me to thinking....

I wish we had a better running history.... list of Cub/Scout Masters and other adults, scout rosters, perhaps a list of the major trips or events they did that year, something like that....

It would be interesting indeed to know if there was anybody famous... or even just someone you know from town that used to be in the unit that you didn't know about.

hmmm... might be an interesting research project for someone.

 

by the way, My old pack would be approx 13-1/2 years old now.  I have no idea about the troop.... I suspect maybe a bit older but not likely much... Think I'll ask what the recharter says...

Sounds like a perfect job for the troop Historian! If you have a scout that wants to take on that role, he could go through what you have, research on line, talk to former scouts, etc. As a relatively newer troop, he could make a pretty complete history. I like the idea of documenting trips with photos and recollections of the outing by the scouts. I find scouts take much more interesting photos than adults do. We tend to pose people or have everyone looking at the camera, where scouts tend to take more random pictures that better tell the story. 

 I would be cautious about this whole issue of the clothing.  There are a lot of specifics that probably not allow for such deductions.  Clergy for example can deduct the liturgical robes and such worn during the performance of his duties in a worship service, but he cannot take a deduction for a black suit and clergy shirt that is worn in the general public.

 

If that logic holds true, a scouter may be able to deduct O/A regalia if purchased, but not his full BSA uniform which can be worn in public.  Need to check the fine points on that issue very carefully.

 

Yes, it's the same logic for work uniforms. If you wear a suit and tie to work, you can't deduct the cost because it can be used elsewhere. If you wear a uniform like a UPS driver or a chef jacket, that would be deductible. I usually figure the deduction isn't worth as far as clothing is concerned. Mileage, on the other hand, can really add up.

Yes, that is correct. If he moved from PL to SPL, he can use both positions for the time requirement. For example, he was PL for 4 months as a Life Scout and SPL for 2 months as a Life Scout, that makes 6 months in an approved position of responsibility. 

Congrats! Enjoy the ride, it goes by fast. My son aged out at the end of January. It seems like yesterday that he was just like the guy in the photo you shared. 

Usually the SPL assigns each patrol to bring something (Hawk brings drinks, Owl brings sweets, etc). We have done either a meal or just snacks/desserts depending on what the scouts prefer. 

The top leader? The one who does the work of a leader at the time!

 

Example, at summer camp one year they boys were in a funk about something (can't remember exactly what) and a younger scout (provisional from another troop actually) got a round of song started around the campfire and got everyone going forward. At that moment, he was the top leader ... POR patch notwithstanding.

 

As the Good Book say: let him who is a servant among you be the greatest of all. So, the SPL who serves his PLC well, who in turn serves their patrols well, who in turn surve each other well ... That guy is the top leader.

 

An SPL who assigns tasks and that's about it? Pretty much the bottom of the pecking order as far as I'm concerned.

Good point, Qwazse. Clarke Green had a nice article about this very subject in his blog today:

http://scoutmastercg.com/every-scout-a-leader/

In case anyone needs it, here is a pdf of the new scout requirements 2016 from the new 13th edition handbook. They can be placed in the old handbook if scouts don't need or want to purchase the new edition. A scout is thrifty!

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/boyscouts/pdf/524-012_BS_Requirements.pdf

They both fall apart quickly. The spiral bound does lie flat, but the pages fall out as soon as a scout opens it.

At our council camp headquarters building, there are different edition handbooks going back to the 50's. Even with people regularly flipping through them, they are all in better shape than any handbook that our current scouts own. 

I was not an Arrowman as a youth. When I did my ordeal as an adult, an elderly man approached me after the ceremony. "You don't recognize me, do you?" he asked. Turns out he was my Assistant Scoutmaster from 35 years prior. I was in my forties at the time of the ordeal. I have no idea how he recognized me as I was only a scout for a few years, in a different council. 

I don't like to use a specified number or percentage. It really depends on the boy. One of the best SPL's I've ever had was also captain of several travel soccer teams, taking multiple AP courses, etc. There were a number of outings where he just was not able to attend, even though he wanted to. He was great at delegating to his ASPL, He gave detailed instructions, came to the church Friday night to make sure everybody was ready and followed up with his ASPL and PL's after. If I only looked at numbers, his performance was somewhat lacking. But every outing was successful, even when he couldn't be there. 

I've also seen PL's that go to every single outing, but are disengaged and not really concerned with running their patrols. 

The key question for any POR - Did you do the job?

I concur with the group, it is up to the scout. Most of our scouts do individual ECOH, but some (including my own son) prefer to do it during the regular Troop COH. I support the scout in whatever decision he makes.There are as many ways to do an ECOH as there are Eagle Scouts.

With your troop having this tradition, I would recommend discussing it with the Scoutmaster so that he is on board. It sounds like your son led a great project, and congrats to him on his Eagle rank!

So far it's been easier than I thought it would be. People who help with the troop are usually the same people that help at church, soccer, school, etc. All the groups now need the same clearances, so there hasn't been any push back asking people to get it done. Our council has an email address to send them, so it's pretty easy to submit. The only issue was one guy that needed the FBI check and it took months. Everybody else had lived in PA for 10 years so just had to sign a waiver stating as much and that they hadn't had any out of state convictions in that time.

And now we get helicopter recess...

 

http://www.startribune.com/support-seesaws-for-recess-consultant-at-2-edina-elementary-schools/330529851/

That is depressing. The worst part is this quote: â€œEvery school is looking for a way to increase student activity and engagement and decrease conflict,†he said. We wonder why some kids have trouble resolving conflict. It's because they aren't allowed to have any type of conflict, so they can't learn to resolve it. When my son was in elementary school, they banned games of tag and any running at recess. Some kids might lose and feel bad. Some kids don't run as fast as others and might feel bad. Yikes.

I think going back to the original poster's question, he is looking for a long term plan. In that case, I would stay away from the cheapest stuff;  you are just going to end up replacing it. As many others have said, decide what kind of camping your scouts want to do. We do both plop and drop and backpacking. We have had good luck with the REI half dome tents. Not terribly expensive but not dirt cheap either. They aren't ultra light but when split between two boys they work fine for anything up to and including Philmont. Most good camping suppliers have programs for youth groups. Talk with companies like REI, Eastern Mountain Sports, etc. They want to encourage the next generation to be outdoors, so they are usually willing to cut some breaks to youth groups. 

In the short term, asking other units in your area for help can get you started. Many troops have stuff that just sits in their gear room and hasn't been used for a long time. They would certainly be glad to help a new troop. Ask your district or council to put out the word that you could use some gear. Once your scouts start using this stuff, they will get a feel for what they like and don't like.

We ask scouts to provide any personal gear such as sleeping bags and packs. I'm sure some troops may provide that but we are not able to do that. We do encourage scouts to donate outgrown packs and bags so younger scouts can use them.

I'm not pushing for any specific retailer, just saying what has worked for us. 

Just wanted to post to say thank you for this thread and the great responses. My son did not get tapped out last night and he was crushed...I mean...it surprised me how crushed he was. This thread has helped me to think about ways to positively handle this with him when I pick him up from camp tomorrow. Of course, by tomorrow he probably will not even remember how he felt last night.....lol.

Alamance, I've been there, and it feels terrible. It took 3 years on the ballot for my son to be elected. Looking back, he probably lacked maturity the first year. The second year was definitely a popularity contest. However, he did eventually make it, and he really embraced it. Maybe because he had to wait, he valued it more. He has become involved with the lodge and jumps at every opportunity for a service weekend, trail crew day, or pretty much anything else. 

I found the link you posted regarding elections a few years ago. We did find that it helped to make an actual ballot as opposed to having kids write down names. In addition, i really started taking time to talk with any candidate that met the requirements for OA. We let them know that if elected, we expect them to not only complete the ordeal, but really become involved in the lodge. If you can't commit to that, I completely understand and will not think less of you for not being on the ballot. I found that these steps give us a good pool of OA brothers that really care, and really want to be part of it. 

Best of luck to you and your son. 

Wow, that's pretty cool! They use the same advancement in Abu Dhabi as we do here? Sad to say, I know next to nothing about international scouting. Maybe I'll start to do a little research.

Our local scout camps want you out by 2pm. State parks are by noon but you can negotiate later departures. We cannot arrive before 12 noon at our church (to let church traffic leave) and there is pressure from parents to get kids home before 2pm to get homework done. We usually do a hike or play patrol games if done early. Sometime we just let them "chill". They usually don't get much down time from mom and dad.

I would agree, Krampus. I get pressure from parents to get kids home earlier. I've found that our late arrivals on Sunday and/or camping 3-4 hours from home was a primary reason that some boys were not camping as often. 

Here we are in Orange County, CA:   http://www.ocbsa.org/

 

It has a lot, but sometimes tough to find what you need.

My son got a patch from your council at the last jamboree. Being from the east coast, it was very exotic for him! I think our council uses the same template as yours:

http://www.cccbsa.org 

Dryer lint is free and makes easy to start tinder. It catches easily but it doesn't burn long. Need to have some good birch bark shavings or similar.