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Hedgehog

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Posts posted by Hedgehog

  1. I'm looking forward to:

     

    1. Cross country skiing / snowshoeing and cabin camping in January.

    2. Building Quinzees and sleeping in them in February (OK, still working on convincing the boys on this one).

    3. 3 day backpacking trip in May (destination to be determined... but its really the journey that matters!).

    4. Canoing down the Delaware and then backpacking into summer camp.

    5. Being the ASM for the Venture Patrol at Summer Camp (and working with the boys to come up with challenging hikes and overnight trips.

    6. 5 day backpacking trip over Labor Day on the AT in Shenandoah.

    7. Working with the SM to make the Troop more boy lead.

    8. Working with the boys to up the quality of the cuisine on campouts.

    9. Perfecting deep frying french fries in a dutch oven

    10. Watching my son and his friends grow as scouts

  2. My apologies for misunderstanding. From your first post, I thought the question you asked was along the lines of "what are the core ideals necessary for the Star requirement?" If the questions were more directed to asking him what he learned regarding specific ideals (i.e. leadership, service, etc.), then you and I are on the same page.

     

    The remainder of my response was related to what appeared to be your disappointment in how the scout responded and the scout's inability to go beyond listing the requirements. I just don't think that 12 year olds have it in them to do the analysis / thinking / relating you are asking of them. I've noticed this in my son as well as in other scouts -- the ability to extrapolate experiences to draw conclusions or generalizations just isn't well developed. Maybe you and others have had different experiences and I'm setting the bar too low.

     

    I'm in agreement with you that age shouldn't matter (my son and a couple of his buddies are on track to be star by the end of the school year) in advancement. I feel that the boys should advance at their own pace and on their own initiative. If some go faster than others, that is fine. I also feel that all the boys should grow through scouting. To me, that is where the ideals and aims and methods of scouting matter the most. As long as all the boys are growing in their skills, knowledge and leadership, it doesn't matter if they are advancing as quickly as others.

     

    Finally, I was in no way offended by your post and I hope you took no offense at mine.

  3. I asked him what the core ideas were for the Star requirements. (I was hoping to hear 1) active time commitment' date=' 2) service, 3) leadership, and 4) merit badges.) He struggled quite a bit and couldn't get past the "requirements'. What do I mean by that, you might ask? Well, I'm not really concerned that you have to be a Patrol Leader for 4 months to become Star or that you have to do service hours to become Star. I'd like to know [i']how[/i] being a patrol leader for four months and doing service to others helps you become a better Scout.

     

    I asked this young Scout many questions and hoped to prepare him for the BoR. He had done so well in the previous (T-2-1) BoR, but I knew that Star, Life, and Eagle wouldn't necessarily be so easy for him. He is very driven by merit badges but the concepts of leadership and service aren't totally there yet. Of course, I'll be the first to remind the boys that Scouting is a journey and that we are constantly learning. But my Scout struggled to explain how leadership and service help the others and himself grow as as Scout and as a person.

     

    As a parent of a 12 year-old and a scout mentor to most of the 11 and 12 year-olds in the Troop, I can tell you that the lack of theoretical response is more the age rather than the maturity. Simply put, 12-year olds aren't able to take the definite (requirements) and extrapolate to the abstract. Give them two more years and you can have all the metaphysical discussions about the meaning of life (that is what makes backpacking with those guys interesting).

     

    It is also unfair if you've never had those discussions before with the scouts. My scouts know that leadership means being responsible for others and you start by being responsible for yourself (they hear that a lot the first year at camp). Being "helpful" means doing something when it needs to be done ("if you are sitting around when others are working, you are not doing what you are supposed to be doing"). Service leadership means helping others to get things done. At every opportunity, I'm having discussions with scouts about how to learn and how to lead.

     

    Also, you can phrase the questions better. What did you do for your service projects? What did you learn from those projects? What did you do for leadership? What did you learn? How could you improve? What would you tell new scouts who would be in that position?

  4. I prefer the "Assistant Scoutmaster's 30 Seconds" to provide sound-bites that the kids remember. Two of my favorites which are applicable in this instance are:

     

    Scouting is about leadership and leadership is about being responsible for other people. The first step in being responsible for others is learning to be responsible for yourself. (I tell this to both scouts and their parents. The second time I tell a scout, I 'll say the first sentence and the half the second sentence and they will fill in the rest. I rarely have to use it a third time).

     

    If your hands are in your pocket or you are sitting down, you aren't doing what you are supposed to be doing. (I use this one when everyone else is busy and someone has either done their job, doesn't know what their job is or doesn't have a job. It is usually followed by a question from the scout along the lines of "what should I be doing?" At that point, I send walk them over to their patrol leader who gladly comes up with a way for them to help. The best is when the scouts start saying it to other scouts.)

     

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  5. Over the summer as a bunch of guys from our troop hiked into summer camp (seriously, how cool is that -- arriving in summer camp with a backpack on having backpacked 16 miles over two days?), one of the guys found a wallet. It had some cash, some gift cards and a library card. No ID. He called the library and got a phone number for the owner. It turned out to be a 13 year old who had lost it the weekend before. That resonated with the boys -- they could have easily have been the one who lost their wallet. The wallet was mailed with a note that it was a Boy Scout that found it and returned it. The best part, none of the adults did or said anything -- the boys knew what to do.

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  6. With my son's Cub Scout den, there was a progression. For Tiger, Wolf and Bear, the boys didn't know about the requirements, they were just having fun. For Webelos, the boys were given a list of the requirements (showing which requirements we were going to do) on a separate sheet of card stock and they checked off each requirement as we did it. It seemed like a good transition.

     

    Despite what the Pack does for advancement, the crossing over to a Troop is a good time to explain "you've leveled up, things are done differently here..."

     

    One other suggestion, is to put Den Chiefs in the Pack, especially around the Webelos level -- they can provide a good role model to the Cubs and can help them be more aware of how they are advancing and how it works in Boy Scouts

  7. A lot of it comes down to explaining and selling the program. When we have Webelos visit, our SPL talks to the parents about the program while the Webelos get assigned to patrols for the night. When we have crossovers, the SPL or Guide explains advancement to them. I'm around talking to the new parents about what it means to be boy lead, the coffee cup style of management, how the shift to Boy Scouts mirrors what the boys are doing in school -- taking more responsibility, how scouting is a safe place to fail, how scouting is about leading and leading is being responsible for others -- and how being responsible for yourself is the first step in becoming a leader and why I think all of that is important to today's kids. I've never had a parent disagree - most of them are fully on board with pushing their children to be independent.

     

    I've had parents approach me about advancement. I simply tell them that their son should talk to me or their patrol leader or their patrol guide. I also explain why -- part of advancement is learning how to meet goals without being told what you have to do. When the boys approach me, I pull in a PL, the SPL or ASPL and have the leaders work with them -- that way I get a two for one bonus -- the leaders get to show leadership and the younger scout gets put on the right track. I also explain to parents that the boys advance at different speeds and I'd rather have a boy advance slower on their own initiative that being pushed to advance before they are ready.

  8. Have a bonfire and campout open to all boys in first through fifth grade and their families. Use your local school to advertise (ours used to let us send flyers home with the kids but now it posts events and invitations on its calendar page). Have each scout invite his friends. Offer s'mores at the fire and hot chocolate in the morning. Find someone to tell camp fire stories - there are a ton on the net and I'd be glad to post links to my favorites. Have another adult arrange skits for the boys (MacScouter has a whole book you can download). The current boys can do more elaborate skits and then you can have the new boys do simple skits. Get a bunch of jokes from boys life to get the ball rolling and encourage the boys to tell jokes. Have anyone attending send you an email to RSVP. Talk to the adults one on one about the program. Invite the kids (with two follow up emails to the adults) the next meeting where you will be doing another cool activity - how about making paper airplanes and throwing them from a second story window or balcony? Tell them to bring a friend. Run it like a Cub Scout meeting - flag ceremony and all. Talk to the parents about how Cub Scouts is the best way to spend time with your son doing fun things together (as opposed to just watching). Explain that scouting is something fathers and sons can do together that creates a strong bond and the best memories. Give them the registration form and paperwork. Announce that the next meeting will be all about snow. Encourage everyone to come and to bring a friend. But don't tell them anything more. They have to come to find out. Do the closing ceremony and end with a snack. The next meeting make instant snow (Google it - I've never used it without the kids going crazy) . Make paper snowflakes. Go over the Bobcat requirements (see how I stuck that in). Play snow trivia jeopardy. Do a Frozen sing along. End with snow cones (you can get a machine to make them and the syrup for less than $50) or snow themes cupcakes or cookies. Announce that the next is about having fun at night. Tell them to bring a flashlight and a friend. Learn about stars, play flashlight tag, learn about nocturnal creatures and give out the new Bobcat badges.

  9. The advice you are reading isn't just theory. It is how successful troops are run. I'll be honest. Nobody learns leadership through someone else's example. Not boys and not adults.

     

    We were talking about the saying that if you teach someone to fish you feed them for a lifetime. A scout asked, "once you teach them, how do you actually get them to fish for themselves?" The adults stopped for a minute and thought. Our reply was, "you stop fishing for them. " The answer to your question is that there is nothing the committee should do except encourage the SMs and ASMs the learn how to implement a boy-led troop.

     

    My philosophy is that a leader's role is to guide by asking questions. For planning purposes have a separate PLC meeting. Here would be my questions:

     

    What do you ideas to do you have for our future meetings?

     

    For each idea, what sort of activities would you do?

     

    Out of those ideas, which meetings do you want to do for each month?

     

    Now that we have the themes, let's plan the first month.

     

    What activities should we do?

     

    Out of those ideas which ones do we want to do?

     

    For each idea, what needs to be done to implement it and who is going to do it?

     

    This is the process the boys in our troop go through to plan every meeting - except the SPL or PL (depending if it is a troop or patrol activity) is the one asking questions. I sit there watching until the PL asks me what I think and I respond, "you are in charge, it's your decision. "

     

    Don't focus on advancement. Scouts is not school - it is not about learning and tests and passing.

     

    Our boys' theme for this month is Duct Tape. Each patrol runs a program regarding the theme. One patrol showed how to make duct tape cups and had a relay race moving water from one bucket to another (guess what I'm going to say when a scout tells me he forgot his cup on the next campout? ). Another patrol is doing first aid using duct tape - blisters, cuts, splints, etc. our theme for October was lashings - two patrols collaborated and used their two meeting to build catapults that were used to fire water balloons at me and another ASM (my sons patrol almost hit me). Imagine the reaction of the Webelos that were visiting our troop that week. The theme for December is Vikings - I can wait to see how they tie it into scouting. These are ideas the boys came up with. All we did was supply ther rope for lashings and the duct tape.

     

    Ask yourself why the boys don't have T-1st but do have merit badges? Because merit badges are interesting and the basic skills are taught like school. Did I mention that for the lashings theme the boys taught a bunch of knots and the required lashings. The younger scouts didn't think they were doing "advancement" - they thought they were building a catapult.

     

    With your a Troop, you need someone to train the trainers. I don't have a problem with a scout (who has already passed that requirement) asking me "Mr. Hedgehog, is this the right way to tie a sheet bend?" If it's not, we get a book and review it. The older scouts master the skills by teaching them.

     

    Just remember, it is easier to start out boy-lead and continue than to start out adult-led and change.

  10. I'll take my Marmot Helium 15 degree down bag over synthetic any day. It weighs just over 2 pounds and compresses smaller than a Nerf football. I've never had a problem with condensation inside (that's what zippers are for) or outside (well ventilated tent equals no condensation inside). Even if there is moisture, it has a DWR coating so the moisture wouldn't effect the down. My 12 year old son has a 20 degree synthetic North Face Cats Meow bag. It weighs about a half pound more (not bad for a synthetic), was around $100 less expensive, but only compresses to around 14 x 7 inches.

  11. Sosh's post is right on. Avoid cotton. This includes underwear, t-shirts, sweatshirts and socks. The only cotton allowed is a bandana (and the 800 count Egyptian cotton pillow case over my down backpacking pillow). Always have separate clothes for sleeping (they will be dry and will not have food odors if you are in bear country). Dress in layers - the space between the layers will keep you warm - use a base layer and the synthetic sweat pants and sweatshirt if it is real cold. I typically sleep in just a wool base layer (with the weight varying on the temperature) or a pair of compression tights if we are backpacking (great for sore muscles). Figure that a tent adds around 10 degrees (feels like more if you are dealing with wind chill). A four season tent will be even warmer. Have a sleeping bag and pad that are suitable for the temperatures you are going to encounter. I have a 50/70 degree bag and a 20 degree bag. You can cool a warmer bag by partially unzipping the zippers. You also can increase your temperature by adding a hat and socks. I see no problem using a down sleeping bag - it is lightweight and warm. I also like the self inflating and air pads - provided they have a high R (insulation) value - because of how easy they pack. Finally, eat before sleeping. Cold weather camping is why God invented those single serving Tastycake pies and prepackaged chocolate cupcakes. And yeah, buy a yellow Nalgene bottle if you typically need to visit the latrine during the night.

  12. To steal a marketing slogan, just do it. Or better yet, set up the tents and they will come. Even if you only get a couple of scouts the first time, there will be more the next time. Plan two events a year and put them in the calendar. Remind people of the events well in advance. As others said, have people come for the picnic dinner even if they won't camp out. There is nothing more gratifying than seeing a kid plead with his parents to camp out and the parent promising that "we'll get a tent and do it next time. "

  13. I've got a Marmot Helium 15 degree bag and love it. It weights 2 pounds and stuffs down to 6 inches by 4 inches. It's never been wet because it is in its stuff sack and in my pack which is covered with a silnylon cover if it is raining. Nonetheless, the newer bags have down that is treated with something that makes it water resistant. I got mine at an end of the season sale. There are lots of good websites that give 20% off coupons.

  14. The key here is that the program need to reflect how people learn. Nobody can learn a knot in one sitting and remember it forever. Same with first aid skills. There needs to be a "D" added to the EDGE method for "Do it again and again." Our boys this year decided to do a knot of the month in their patrol meetings. We adults just had to get them rope - they will cut it and fuse it. The boys do First Aid as a theme for one month each year - they learn the skills, they relearn the skills, they learn them again to teach them and so on. If you have the boy leaders (in our troop it is PLs, APLs and Guides) sign off, you set expectations for them - simply put their job is to sign off only if they are convinced the younger scout know their stuff. As for Eagle, I tell my son that attaining the rank isn't as important as what HE chooses to learn and do in getting there.

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  15. There are a lot of good cook books out there. Tim and Christine Conner's "Scout" series - the Outdoor, Backpacking and Dutch Oven books are great. Another good book is "Fix it in Foil". Lodge has a great cast iron cookbook in addition to the one that comes with their Dutch oven. Also, Check out the Freezer Bag Cooking cookbook and the recipies at trailcooking.com. All that brings up the question that Sydney and Stosh asked - why do we need another cook book? Wouldn't a reference book on methods or a step by step course be better? Oh, and the last time I had fresh baked blueberry muffins was on a backpacking trip in June using a backpacking stove - although they were from a mix, they tased real good with my coffee.

  16. Stosh I think supporting and coddling are different. My response to "I can't" is "I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't think you could do it." Then I would ask them why they couldn't do it. Then I would encourage them to try, letting them know that trying and not getting 100% is better than not trying. At the end, I circle back with my favorite saying "argue your limitations and they are yours to keep." In the end, I feel like I've provided them with a framework for overcoming "I can't" as they progress through life.

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  17. Ii responded with' date=' that's fine, he can give up and stay home. [/quote'] Somehow the idea that a Scouter is kind and helpful got lost in that statement. If I was the parent you would hear from me. Scouts need encouragement and guidance, not to be ridiculed for the insecurities about their abilities.
  18. Part of what needs to happen is to change the culture. To do that you need to not only manage but change expectations for both the boys and the parents. I explain to the new scouts that scouting is about leadership. Leadership is about being responsible for others. The best way to be responsible for others is to become responsible for yourself. I tell the older leaders that they are servant leaders - their job is to make things happen. I also tell them that leading isn't doing but enabling others to "do." I also tell them that they are in charge and they can do anything they want as long as it isn't illegal or contrary to G2SS. With the parents, you have to sell the idea of boy lead. Most parents love the idea that their boys are learning to be responsible. In 6th and 7th grade the boys really make a transition in school for being responsible for themselves. Scouts mirrors that transition. I explain that Scouting gives them a safe place to fail - something that is missing in most kids experience. I had a parent concerned about her son cooking for his patrol and she asked if I would help him. I told her that the older boys know their stuff and they will help him. I then smiled and said that he would be fine and reassured her that we've never had a patrol starve on a campout. I explain coffee cup leadership to the adults accompanying us - that their role is to get a cup of coffee and sit in a chair and watch. If I see them interfering, I say let me talk to the PL, it's his job to make sure that gets done (200 feet distance helps a lot). I also tell the PL how to handle the adults - a polite "Mr. Knowitall, I've got this." In corporate speak, it is called "buy in" in religion is is called proselytizing. It is a continual discussion with parents and scouts of "this is why boy lead, patrol method is good." Finally, as others have said, moving to boy lead is a process. The first step is telling people what you are doing, the second step is trying to do it, the third step is "start, stop and continue" - evaluate and change. The last step is to keep repeating steps two and three.

  19. Part of what needs to happen is to change the culture. To do that you need to not only manage but change expectations for both the boys and the parents. I explain to the new scouts that scouting is about leadership. Leadership is about being responsible for others. The best way to be responsible for others is to become responsible for yourself. I tell the older leaders that they are servant leaders - their job is to make things happen. I also tell them that leading isn't doing but enabling others to "do." I also tell them that they are in charge and they can do anything they want as long as it isn't illegal or contrary to G2SS. With the parents, you have to sell the idea of boy lead. Most parents love the idea that their boys are learning to be responsible. In 6th and 7th grade the boys really make a transition in school for being responsible for themselves. Scouts mirrors that transition. I explain that Scouting gives them a safe place to fail - something that is missing in most kids experience. I had a parent concerned about her son cooking for his patrol and she asked if I would help him. I told her that the older boys know their stuff and they will help him. I then smiled and said that he would be fine and reassured her that we've never had a patrol starve on a campout I explain coffee cup leadership to the adults accompanying us - that their role is to get a cup of coffee and sit in a chair and watch. If I see them interfering, I say let me talk to the PL, it's his job to make sure that gets done (200 feet distance helps a lot). I also tell the PL how to handle the adults - a polite "Mr. Knowitall, I've got this." What you need to do in corporate speak, it is called "buy in" in religion is is called proselytizing. It is a continual discussion with parents and scouts of "this is why boy lead, patrol method is good." Finally, as others have said, moving to boy lead is a process. The first step is telling people what you are doing, the second step is trying to do it, the third step is "start, stop and continue" - evaluate and change. The last step is to keep repeating steps two and three.

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