WisconsinMomma

We did all these things in our Webelos / AOL Den, but -- just know that it was the boys (and my) first time trying out any of these concepts, and it was more about an initial exposure to these concepts than full mastery. I fondly remember the meeting where the boys were trying to come up with a patrol name, and various kids were pitching ideas, and some wanted to give campaign speeches, etc. The Illuminati was a contender, but they came up with the Night Owls -- and it was contentious, not everyone was happy with that result. But it worked, and they had a patrol flag with them when they went on a troop visit. Note -- we did not do a patrol patch in Cubs, and our denner program was on the weak side, but the boys elected denners, and they had some additional responsibilities, that were sometimes carried out better than others.

Hi Everybody, I will just share my experience and perspective from when I was a Cub scout den leader. We did the requirements in the book to the best of our ability, but since I had no experience with the Boy Scout program, I was not aware of any expectations that the Webelos journey was all about prep for Boy Scouts. We did the things in the book, which included some things related to Boy Scouts, but that was about it. Regarding the young man who will be coming into your troop, take him where he is when he comes in, just as you would take in any other boy with an interest in Scouting. We need to welcome anybody and everybody to Scouts, and just as you would welcome a man with no Scouting experience, you will meet this Scout where he is. 11 year olds are young!! Obviously they are still only just beginning to learn. The real formation happens in Boy Scouts.

Congratulations, Brian!!! Woo Hoo! Cycling is a big merit badge and great work getting it done! I feel honored that you are here to share some of your journey with us. Thank you!

Late to the party here, but who wouldn't love Mike Rowe as an American Scouting Ambassador?

I am so sorry for what you are going through. Keep working through this and hopefully your son can have his name cleared or find another unit that's a better fit. Best wishes and I am sorry this is so difficult.

You know, after my boys went out on a hot day, I can see the use of a class B. At Wood Badge we wore t-shirts a lot but uniforms for some meals and all flag ceremonies. I am OK with some flexibility.

I'm taking my boys and some troop mates orienteering today! it's some First Class stuff.

It sounds like there may be a misunderstanding. I would let them regroup and try again. This is called, a learning experience. Kids screw up all the time. Or you can kick him out of the troop, ban his family and curse him for life. I don't know what BSA says about punishing scouts, but if you seek to punish the Scout, I think you may need to check your scope of practice as a Scouter.

My whole family is in scouting. My husband is an ASM and I am a Cubmaster and Troop Secretary, working on Wood Badge tickets. We have three sons in Scouting, a 2nd Class, age 13, Tenderfoot, age 11 and Webelos, age 9. The boys have a nice pack and a nice troop and we have to reason to leave. Sometimes our Pack and Troop are frustrating, but big picture, the people are nice, the kids are nice and we make it work and do our best. Why would you quit with kids still in the program? Give them the best experiences you can!

I am generally OK with girls joining Scouts and I have never been a Boy Scout. I am a woman. Thinking back to my girlhood I am not sure if I would have been a Scout if it was available. It's a huge commitment and the physical fitness might have been a turnoff. I was more into dance and music programs as a youth. I wasn't into camping until my husband and I started together when our kids were potty trained. So we are newer outdoorsy types. I've always liked day outings, of course.

For us, we are just keeping on with Scouting. I'm working on some fundraising for our Pack, and my Wood Badge stuff, and the Troop is working on getting ready for summer camp. So far, no big waves of change. The Troop just had a brat sale and they did well, so it doesn't seem like they are getting any social flak, and the community supports them in their endeavors. Oldest son is getting closer to First Class, they are working on some orienteering stuff this weekend. Youngest is not making a lot of progress but he is 11 and I'm not worried over him, not much. His older brother made second class by 2nd summer camp, I don't think #2 will be that far behind and he has earned a bunch of merit badges and a few Eagle Merit badges (swimming, first aid, citizenship in the nation) so I think he's accomplished a ton in the last year. They just had a great biking outing on the Elroy Sparta bike trails and had fun. Our Pack might get girls in the fall or not, we don't know! We'll take it one step at a time.

It was a rough night in our WB course, but, it was also interesting to reflect on. I think I learned things from the exercise. Of course, it is a struggle to be set up to be in competition, then have the objective changed to be cooperation. It's a trick. I was in competitive mode the whole time, and having a big failure is always a learning experience. We had a cracker barrel afterward and some time to chat. It was very dramatic for us. Rough but we moved on and it is not the main feature of WB, or my most vivid memory from the course, we had so many other positive moments that are more significant than Win All You Can. My husband is taking Wood Badge this year but I don't think I should warn him, should I?

I would like to say I really don't care how colleges view my boys' Eagle awards, if they even get them. If a college looks at my kids and doesn't see them as wonderful people, then it's their loss. And, I get that top colleges are competitive, but I don't really know if my kids will be chasing top colleges. What I want in an Eagle Scout journey for my sons is the maturity and real world experience the journey gives them. My boys are youngish, 11 and 13 and they are just starting to learn. My older son was supposed to lead cooking on this last weekend's campout and I heard it did not go well. But he's 13 and hopefully he will get more chances to do better and he will get better in time. It was his first time trying. Hopefully he gets lots of experiences! He is getting closer to first class. One baby step at a time. I don't care how other people view Eagle, I care about formation. If my boys learn the skills, that's the point, they will be better off than where they started. Schools do not do a complete job with young people, I view Scouts as an important educational experience.

Nice Kilt! I will say, I hate BSA pants. I have women's pants, two pair in the tech fabric and one in the cotton and I hate them all. I wear them because I wear the uniform, but I do not like wearing them. The shirt is fine. I don't have a lot of opinions on the new uniforms, I hope they make more choices in olive for women's pants. I will need a new shirt for BSA soon but may buy a secondhand shirt. In other news, my youngest became a WEBELOS scout this week. He wants to wear a tan shirt but has to wait one more year!

On another forum I belong to, someone was bemoaning the decline of their religion, and someone mentioned this book. I have not read it, but the concept is that many social organizations are struggling. Bowling Alone, The Collapse and Revival of American Community. https://www.amazon.com/Bowling-Alone-Collapse-American-Community/dp/0743203046/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526652514&sr=8-1&keywords=bowling+alone

It looks like red wolf neckerchiefs are on backorder at the online shop. We are doing crossover next week, and I wonder if we should try to go red?

What I noticed in our last Pack committee discussion is a sense of fear of treating the girls "unequally", and it seems that some think that co-ed will reduce risk of being accused of being unfair. I think that some folks on our committee (in cubs) are afraid of looking bad, and that they think that separation is inherently wrong. I would like to find ways to encourage the girls and boys to have their own space but I'm not sure it will fly at all with people who are concerned about political correctness and perceived injustice, real or imagined. It will be interesting to see how it plays out over time.

I'm not sure that I agree with that. My bigger concern is that people will demand immediate entry into boys troops because of insufficient volunteers for girls troops. So, I am really hoping that some strong girls programs will form and that some girls' parents will dig in to volunteering with the BSA. Not all troops are equal anyway, each troop has its own personality and strengths and weaknesses.

It seems that some people are squeamish about perceived discrimination against girls with separate Troops. I'm not sure I understand it and think it would be good to discuss so we can be prepared to support or defend BSA's policy of separate male and female troops as needed. Thanks!

Right now, we are only talking about girls in Cub Scouts. I expect our Troop will stay all boy, and then if they choose to avoid girls,it may just take some creative planning.

Honestly, I really don't know how this will play out in real life until we get there. It will be a learning experience!

We discussed girls at the committee last night, and our Pack will bring in girl dens if there is interest. The Pack will also have boys and girls potentially working co-ed as needed for programming, which is a concern, but a few leaders were told "off the record" that this was acceptable to our council and bought into the idea. So now we will wait and see if any girls take an interest in the Fall recruiting season. We will not poach from Girl Scouts and it sounds like the families on committee who are active in GSUSA will stick with the program they started with. It will be interesting to see what the interest level is.

Hey guys, has anyone been to Tesomas Scout camp? I don't think they have patrol cooking, but they seem like they are highly rated and I've heard they have scouts from all over come. I'm also interested in hearing more about Camp Freeland Leslie. Our troop has been to Gartner Dam for the past 3 years and the boys might get a choice of camps in the future. Thanks!

Yes, of course, I heard this from a parent. Perhaps we need to introduce some super-cool high adventure to keep these boys engaged in the next couple years.