WisconsinMomma

Sounds like the newest members are sisters of current scouts.  Maybe they'll bring in some friends to build up their dens.   Best wishes, girls. 

Here they just call it the Y and I suspect the intent was to lose the C. 

In his first year, my son came back from camp and he enjoyed Exploding Kittens.   We are also into playing Munchkin recently.  

I realize this topic is not pulling people in, but thought I'd follow-up with a breakdown of the kids at my son's practice last night. 

Two teams practicing, approximately 26 kids -- that's 22 boys and 4 girls.

I noticed that the girls stuck together for the partner practices, so things like skating around and passing a puck back and forth.  Also when they were lined up to do some drills the girls were sticking together.  

However, I noticed my son having a brief chit chat with a female player.   

Overall, the coaches kept the kids very busy with their practice.   These are squirts, ages 9 and 10. 

I think this is an absolutely wonderful story.  A young person with an interest in teaching is volunteering and helping the BSA with guiding younger children, with mutual benefit.  Looking at the photo, she is not wearing a uniform, and so I'm taking this as a -- here's a teen who is helping out at meetings and at camp.  That is wonderful.  And I'm glad she is recognized for it.   Not being local, I guess I'll trust the locals to understand and follow BSA policies correctly.  

As for the title den leader, I'm assuming the reporter messed up.  

So sorry about your crew and crew member, qwazse.

Wow, that is very sad for the kids and adults.

Side note:  doesn't that cardboard classic sledding sound like fun?  Wonderful idea.

It's hard to imagine being a Pack that receives a trailer and a pinewood derby track from a disbanded unit, then getting a call from the unit who is re-forming and wants their stuff back, not to give it back to them?  I feel bad that their pack got dragged into this mess.

People need to talk to each other to work these things out.  It sounds like their relationships are so bad that there's no communication at all.  

Wouldn't the Scout Executive ultimately own this mess, after the first chartered organization surrendered the property? 

I think it's right to take a non-confrontational, non-intimidating, one small suggestion at a time approach.  It will take a lot of patience.

While on the one hand,  my family is newer (1.5 yeas) to Boy Scouting -- my kids are growing up right now and a year is a long time for them!  So I am very impatient in that sense.   That said, I can focus on our family and our family life moreso than Troop life.

Our Scoutmaster, who I think is doing a nice job overall, is leaving for a new job in another state, so the baton will be passed to a new Scoutmaster almost immediately.  I will try to mention getting trained for the position, without sounding nagging about it.  The new SM will really need training, no experience as an ASM,  but is a parent to one of the older boys in the Troop.   He will be helped by our new CC who was a good Scoutmaster, maybe a little hands on and schedule focused but still a good person and someone who embodies the Scout Law.  Things could be worse. 

I need to think of how I can be helpful, and that's mostly staying out of their way, but I am considering making a few comments at the next meeting about a) establishing some Patrol funds, so the patrols can have stuff to make their own flags for Klondike, and so the patrols can have some funds for their patrol activities.  I want to bring up the concept of patrol activities as a possibility for the Troop to consider.  That's actually a pretty big thing right there.   I will also bring up training for the new SM, and I will also inquire about Annual Planning, which has been adult programmed, and I brought up the topic of having scouts have involvement about 3 months ago -- didn't go over well with some folks but others were listening and, I think, curious.   They said that their adult led annual planning meeting took 5 hours -- Good Heavens!!!   ROTFL.  No meeting should take 5 hours, but I have to be careful not to rock ze boat too much.   

The other ideas I was going to promote was that the boys in the patrols should have a voice in picking up boys from the NSP when they shift, and to start using the Outdoor Ethics Guide position and consider a JASM.  That's way too much stuff, or is it?? 

What would be the best, nicest, least-intimidating thing to start with?  

Does that sound like too big of an agenda?  I could try to break it down and go slower. 

Nice!  My 9 year old wants to be a blue angel.  I took him to our air and water show where they appeared.  He watched for 20 minutes and then said, my tummy hurts, and we left.  LOL. 

He still wants to be a Blue Angel! 

OK, my oldest son has been in the troop 1.75 years,  so I've been around that long but really interested for about the last year.  My husband is an ASM.  I know I'm limited as a committee member, so I'm curious about what you would recommend for committee members to bring up at meetings that can support boy lead programming.  I can also make suggestions to my ASM husband to be involved.  We will be in the Troop a long time.  I want to think about what moves are the smart moves to suggest, what will get buy in easily, what will move the needle, etc...  Thanks for any suggestions! 

If you were a committee member, what would you do to encourage an adult-focused troop to employ the patrol method? 

Here's an article about the Star Wars movie and gender politics -- it has spoilers

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/12/star-wars-last-jedi-laura-dern-admiral-holdo-listen-to-women

Girls in hockey truths:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/crystalro/things-girls-who-played-ice-hockey-know-to-be-true?utm_term=.xkqOYdPDD3#.bigr7AOPPQ

Mote girls joining hockey

http://wgntv.com/2017/12/20/more-girls-are-stepping-into-the-rink-joining-youth-hockey-leagues/

Getting rid of ice girls

http://www.thehockeynews.com/news/article/hey-nhl-lets-treat-women-as-equals-and-ice-the-ice-girls

Struggles of a female hockey fan

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/the-struggles-of-female-hockey-fan

Being a girl in a male dominated sport

 I remember shaking my opponents hands and then out of no where, one of their dad's comes over, looks at me straight in the eyes and says, "you are a girl. You should not be here, I have no respect for you." I was in shock. It stuck with me throughout the whole night, but what that man said inspired me more to keep on wrestling.

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/girl-male-dominated-sport

Not to get too off topic --- I have not seen the latest Star Wars film, but in Dr.Who, the newest regeneration of The Doctor is female.  My oldest son is unhappy with it, but we will continue to watch the show as a family.   In the last season, one of the characters was a lesbian.  

My biggest takeaway from observing girls and girls teams in hockey is how youth hockey organizations work together to create opportunities with limited resources.  Maybe this is something that Troops can do , or Districts -- to help interested girls and their families find each other and work together to benefit the girls' program and form some girls' "teams" in the BSA. 

With girls in hockey, I think there is some natural hesitation in a game to play hard against female opponents, but in my observation, the boys get over that pretty quick. How do the boys feel when they are out skated by a talented female player?  I don't know if it's that different when they are out skated by a male player. I imagine it's frustrating either way. 

In hockey uniforms, they all look nearly the same, except for the ponytails.  

My son is on a C team and he didn't really have a choice to have girls on his team or not. One of our C teams has girls on it, I would guess 3 or 4, and the other C team is all boys.   Our boys' team beat a girls team earlier this season,  my husband insinuated it was less of a victory.  We play another girls team later in the season that has a very strong record and the boys are going to have to work hard for it if they want to win. 

The only thing I told my son about playing with the girls is: don't be afraid to play hard against the girls.  You play hard every game. 

Edited to add:  Note that the rules of hockey are exactly the same for male and female players. 

My youngest son is starting to play hockey this season.  While hockey is boy-dominated,  some girls play hockey too.

I wonder if girls' participation in Boy Scouts will look like their participation in hockey.

This is what I have observed as an inexperienced hockey parent:

1)  Some girls play hockey

2) Some teams include boys and girls, these teams generally have more boys than girls

3)  Some organizations have boy only  teams and girl  only teams.

4) An organization that needed more girls borrowed some girls from another organization to have enough girls for their second girls' team.

5)  Hockey girls play hard.  According to an experienced dad -- there are no princesses out there.

6)  There are not enough girls teams for girls to only play girls,  so the girls teams play other girls teams and mixed-gender teams, and boy teams.

Just food for thought.   There are not as many girls playing hockey as boys but the youth hockey organizations make it work so girls have an opportunity to learn and play.

NJ, what do you think motivated him?  What was his Why for going for it?  

4 hours ago, HelpfulTracks said:

First, JASM is appointed by SPL with the advice and approval of the SM, but he reports to the SM.

Thanks for clarifying that, it helps a lot. 

See page one,  I have a link there. Women were welcomed to the OA in 1988. 

Tell us how you worked through managing your workload when you went for Eagle.  Thanks.  Did you start early?   Did you pound it out towards the last minute?  When did you decide that Eagle was your goal?  How was it balanced for you vs. Troop life? 

Hi Scouters,

One of the volunteer jobs our committee is posting regularly is Assistant Scoutmaster.  I am thinking of suggesting to our Scoutmaster that he appoint a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster.  I have a suggestion for a boy in our Troop who I think would be a great fit (he was an excellent SPL, in the small view that I had.)  

Have you as Scoutmasters used the JASM position?  Has it worked well for you?   I need to learn more about this role and what it does, and then I think I will make a suggestion to our Scoutmaster to consider it. 

Thanks for your help. 

I'm asking about Roundtable.  Thanks! 

I have attended exactly one district meeting, and to be honest, it wasn't that useful.   Now as an interim Cubmaster, I should go to district meetings --but tell me, Scouters, what is the point of a district meeting, and what makes a good district meeting vs.. a meeting that could be -- a newsletter?   What are the high and low points of district meetings you attend?  Personally I wonder if they're mostly a waste of  a lot of people's time.  

It does sound like camp merit badges are of various quality levels.

5 of the boys last year earned Swimming and I heard they worked hard on it, and it's hard to ignore those requirements.

My boys have done some easy merit badges -- Mammal Study was finished at camp his first year but he came home with homework for  Geocaching and Sculpture, and they didn't get done until February.

This year they came home with no partials, and I question the Chess badge my oldest received.  We'll have to play some chess over the holidays.

I am a merit badge nerd.   There are a couple merit badge universities in our council, and I like the idea.  My sons have not been to one and I'm not sure that it fits in our calendar this year.  Two technical colleges host them, and I think it's a wonderful way for boys to go out and see a place of higher education and be in an environment that has a lot of the equipment, along with knowledgeable instructors.   In our area, the welding workshop is popular and it has a waiting list.  What a great way for a kid to see if he has interest in welding, and possibly find a future job.  I like all the "career" merit badges for exploration when young men will be choosing a vocation and a little taste of what their future might be like might serve them well and help them make more informed decisions.  They may even make some early career connections. 

What exactly is the problem?   From the OP, it sounds like large class sizes are a problem, and having registrations from scouts with no interest.  That seems fixable.  Make small classes and give the scouts some pre-course prep, give partials for incompletes.   Class design and allowing enough time for the topic to be studied thoroughly, enough equipment, etc. etc. 

As for exclusive clubs, if my oldest were to go for it, Hornaday is very interesting. My oldest is an absolute nature lover and it would suit him, if he's interested and gets motivated. Many of the merit badges he's completed are in that direction anyway. 

Here's a link to a merit badge event from our council last year.  The boys spent a full day and might not have earned completion.  Although we have not participated, this seems pretty well organized. 

https://www.gtc.edu/merit-badge-tech