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Hedgehog

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Everything posted by Hedgehog

  1. Hedgehog
    There really are two optons - to expand the program in the STEM area (which most likely will work as well as the expanding Explorer Scouts to include career exploration did in the 1970s) or to double down on the essential parts of the BSA brand. If you ask people what the makes a boy a Boy Scout they will most likely mention camping, integrity and leadership. A pretty good brand if you ask me.
  2. Hedgehog
    Although I agree having a UC with a son in the unit isn't optimal, I think the key conflict of interest is that Zuzy's son was elected SPL over SM's son. That is what lead to the repercussions for Zuzy's son. It seems to me that UC didn't do anything different because his son is in unit. The SM sounds so disfunctional that any UC would have tried to help him get on the right course.
  3. Hedgehog
    We've made a lot of progress in being boy-led in the outdoors over the past three years. Both the SM and I knew that summer camp was the last vestage of adult lead and we were able to break that this year. I'm hopeful building on that for next year. I think we have five guys (including my son) that are doing NYLT this summer -- including the incoming SPL and ASPL. We haven't had anyone NYLT trained before. I'm making it clear that they have my support to change what they see fit. Also, I'm coordinating a weekend training for the rest of the boy leaders to build on what they did at camp
  4. Hedgehog
    Yes, how dare he have the audacity to try to get someone to run the program they way it is designed. Really? I can't understand how you can stick up for an SM that ignores the way the BSA tells us the program is supposed to be run and runs it like his own personal scouting program. I realize you are just the Chartered Organization Representative and SM Training is not required for that position, but you should take SM Specific Training so you understand the program that your SM is supposed to be offering to your boys.
  5. Hedgehog
    Stosh: Troop is around 47 boys (were over 50, had a bunch of guys age out and a couple of guys join). We had 25 boys at camp. One of our issues is that we have ad hoc patrols on campouts because we see around 50% of the guys attending any particular campout. Leadership on campouts is appointed by the SM or the ASM in Charge of Outdoor Program (me) based on Elected Position, Appointed Position, Rank, Grade and Experience (we don't appoint an ad hoc SPL on campouts unless there are three or more patrols - the elected SPL or appointed ASPLs come on camp outs they are part of the adul
  6. Hedgehog
    Our Eagle SMC's are, in part, preparation for the EBORs. We tell our scouts that the questions asked at the SMC will be more difficult than the questions asked at the EBOR and they are.
  7. Hedgehog
    The quieter ones always do. Get two different colors of paracord. It is more fun if you can see each rope separately. Maybe even get a long thick (like an inch) dowel and cut it into three sections for practicing lashing (I did this for my son and he carries it in the scout pack he brings to every meeting). The website you linked to is great. They even have a phone app. One other suggestion is to get a book called "Self Working Rope Magic" by Karl Fulves. It is a great book full of rope magic tricks.
  8. Hedgehog
    Son had talked to the Program Director, our campsite Commissioner and several counselors who head up the various areas during the week about being on staff. The campsite Commissioner came up an told me "There are boys who want to be counselors and there are boys who are just natural born boy scouts. Your son is a Boy Scout." He borrowed the camp baseball hat I bought at camp and while he was wearing it on Friday he was mistaken several times for a counselor. My son actually enjoys being with scouts outside of our Troop a lot. He has loved his experience with OA and loved h
  9. Hedgehog
    Stosh: I know how you feel about SPLs from other posts. Although I think we agree about delegating as much as possible to patrols, I think we disagree on the role of the SPL. In most of your responses you listed someone else who would do the job, be it the QM, TG, a PL or the SM. I don't disagree with where you pointed out the TG doing things in line with their position (my son is TG next year which is why as SPL he took the new guys to the campfire) or the QM doing things in line with his position (the Troop QM was also an ASPL and did handle the unloading of gear while my son had PLs f
  10. Hedgehog
    Why do you think I've asked that question so many times? Although I may get in trouble if I keep asking because my son is intent on being a counsellor there next summer.
  11. Hedgehog
    Each of the PLs at camp had not served as PLs before. Only my son (the SPL) and one of the PLs were APLs last year at camp and during the year and had undergone our troop's leadership training. Neither of the other two PLs had any experience or training. Simply put, to enable the PLs to lead under those circumstances, the SPL had to almost serve as their "guide." Could the PLs have done more? I'm sure they could have. However, their role was 1000 times greater than it was in the past. I find that to be an accomplishment worth celebrating. The strength of the patrols in our Troop is
  12. Hedgehog
    The structure of the camp makes the SPL the "coordinator in chief." In the past the SPL did EVERYTHING leaving the patrol leaders feeling like figureheads. This year, the SPL worked to push down responsibility to the PLs (as well as the ASPL and APLs). The SPL didn't "DO" a lot (with the exception of the Thursday build-it project) except attend meetings and take care of his PLs. As he said at the pre-camp PLC to the PLs - "You guys are in charge, my job is to help you succeed." Some of the SPL duties (with parentheticals of how the PLs were involved this summer): Setting tone and pre
  13. Hedgehog
    If that is the case, it seems like the SM is using that for justification for disposing of a scout who wanted to lead and is doubling down on adult-led. Sad. And that there won't be elections because we all saw what happened the last times the boys were allowed to choose a leader -- they chose one that the SM couldn't control.
  14. Hedgehog
    I'm with most of the guys here. A new unit would not be started unless there was a need. That need might come from the fact that the current units are not delivering the program to the boys the way it is supposed to be delivered. It might come from the fact that the current unit is too big (that is how our unit started 50 years ago splitting another Troop to make if more manageable). It might come from an IH's desire to have a Troop and a Pack based on their positive experience with scouting. As for recruiting, we have up to five Packs that feed into our Troop. There are three packs th
  15. Hedgehog
    I'm with you. When the SM forgets what servant leadership is (i.e. helping the boys run a program as designed) and puts his own ego and interests above the interests of the program and the CO (which presumable signed on to have a successful program that builds boys up with integrity rather than tears them down with control issues) the SM must go. As adults, we have to always remind ourselves that it is about providng the program for the boys and not about our own egos.
  16. Hedgehog
    What really surprised me is how contagious servant leadership and boy-leadership can be. In talking to my son, we both realized that there was a lot of factors that all converged to make this happen. A big part is that the boys who were in charge had been being primed for this role for three years. The idea of boy-led was ingrained in them and they saw some leaders (both adult and youth) do the opposite of servant leadership (authoritarian or "do as I tell you to" leadership). So the groundwork was there and a bunch of other things (me being there to keep the other leaders in check, my son
  17. Hedgehog
    We do the same camp every year. I"ve talked to a lot of parents and a lot of boys about the posibility of changing and the unanimous answer is they want to do the same camp. We don't have a formal decision but there is absolutely no inclination to change camps. I have to agree with all of them, the camp we go to is pretty good and I think it would be hard to find another camp that has a full turkey dinner served on Friday night with the waiters being staff dressed up in costumes.
  18. Hedgehog
    The mantra I repeat to the new guys every year is "Scouting is about leadership. Leadership is about responsibility. The first step in learning responsibility is being responsible for yourself." Maybe as a congratulations for a good week at camp, you can get him a book on knots and some paracord to practice on. Ask him to show you how to use a knife safely to cut it into lengths that he can practice knots with and ask him to show you how to fuse the ends of the paracord so they don't unravel (otherwise you would have a frayed knot... get it "afraid not"?) . He should have learned those
  19. Hedgehog
    The answer is communication. Talk to new SM and ask what his expectations would be and then listen to the answer. Essentially ask what do you think is the best way for me to become part of the Troop and advance to Eagle as a member of the troop? Most scouters love to be given a chance to express their opinions.
  20. Hedgehog
    Yes, we can get to know the boy pretty quickly but I think that having the boy willing to spend 6 months with a new Troop before asking for an Eagle SMC dispells any concerns about his intentions. It conveys that he is in Scouting for the right reasons and not just in a rush to get his Eagle. It conveys that he is mature and can wait to earn that rank rather than being focused on rocketing to Eagle to get it off his checklist. It also gives him time to develop an attachment to the Troop rather than just being perceived as using the Troop to get Eagle. My sense would be different if he was
  21. Hedgehog
    I got back from a week at camp with our troop last week and it was, in a word, transformative. So, grab a cup of coffee or a glass of your favorite beverage and settle in for a long read. TROOP PROLOGUE Before my son and I joined, the Troop talked the talk on boy-led but it wasn’t very much boy-led in the outdoors. The outdoor program consisted of one nearby campout, two backpacking trips and one cabin camping trip. The adults designed and implemented the program with the boys leading by performing the tasks that they were assigned. I came in at the same time as the new scoutmast
  22. Hedgehog
    If he does have to join a new troop, my advice would be for him to be active in the Troop for six months before asking for an Eagle SMC. That will give the SM a chance to get to know the boy and will help alleviate any concerns about Troop hopping. Having the SM be able to vouch for the boy at an EBOR makes a big difference. Your son has time. If he goes to a new Troop encourage him to act like an Eagle remembering that Eagle is not just another rank but something that becomes part of who you are.
  23. Hedgehog
    My son had additional categories like "necessary based on a choice to have something that is a want." This included things like dog food which was necessary once we decided we wanted a dog. Another catagory was "desirable method to satisify a need." That included things like eating out. He also had "necessary to fulfill a necessity." That included my train ticket to get to work (I have to get to work to work and I need to work to afford necessities). As others have said, the thinking process is what matters.
  24. Hedgehog
    I'd love to have the translation, that would be something neat for the boys in the lodge.
  25. Hedgehog
    Do the "Troop Mobilization" as part of an event like a charity run. Although the know the it is a drill, the boys can contact each other that morning though a call or text, meet at a central location and then move out to set up canopies and pass out water and snacks.
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