Eagle94-A1

Why wasn't this caught at the Scoutmaster's Conference?

I agree, SM should have caught it prior to the SM's conference. So some responsibility is on him,as well as the rest of us who signed off in his book.

 How does one get all the way to FC without someone noticing that mom is still in Cub Scout mode? 

Easy. Because of family situation, Scout is at meetings and outings 1/2 the time. And instead of going to summer camp with the troop, he went provisional. He did First Year camper at a different camp than the one we went to. The SM thought the FYC director was the signatory, when he was reminded that one of the ASMs signed off on what was done at camp based upon the paperwork sent from the camp.

Not the kid's fault!

Yes, the adults do bear responsibility for this fiasco. But I do blame the Scout for some of this. He was told several times that parents do not sign off. And when asked, he deliberately lied about it when asked. It was only when he was asked if his mom signed the book that he admitted she did.

An aside, I honestly believe the Scouts would have caught this if THEY (emphasis) had the ability to sign off in my troop.

^{We had a situation recently where we had a Scout pass his Second Class and First Class ranks in 1 BOR. After the fact, we discovered that Mom was signing off on the requirements, and parents that attended the orientation meeting, which she did not, were told that the Scouts are no longer Cubs. We also told the Scouts on several occasions that parents could no longer sign off. Again after the BOR, when the adult in charge of the records went to update the troop's records book, one signature didn't seem right. We asked the Scout 2 times who signed it off and he "can't remember." When it was recognized as his mom's, we asked him a 3rd time if mom signed off, and he said yes.}

^{Unfortunately we could not revoke his Second Class and First Class ranks. And we didn't have time to work with him to get the skills up to par since he missed meetings between that night and when he moved. I feel for the troop he will be transferring to.}

The 2 other adults and I ate most of our meals outside the dinning hall as the table we got could only fit the 15 scouts and 2 staffers, BARELY.  It was not planned, but it was nice.

Hi, my name is Eagle94-A1, it's been 1 day since I was at camp, I'm going back tonite ( pesky job got in the way) and I'm a camping addict.

WHAT A WEEK!

Camp didn't offer either Aquatics Supervision class. Talking to the AD, he said go ahead and take the BSA Lifeguard class, and whatever I did that transfers over to Aquatic Supervision Swimming before I leave, he'd sign off on. WWWWWEEEEELLLLL, with the horrible stormy forecast we had, BSA Lifeguard class started Sunday, not Monday. Spent every daylight hour the pool was regularly open either in the pool or on the waterfront going over skills and rescues. Nights was spent in the classroom. Since I was leaving early, I spent time guarding during mile swim practice to get my guarding hours in. I'm now recertified as a BSA Lifeguard after 20 years.

While I didn't have the fun of doing blacksmithing, rifle shooting, shotgun shooting, Nap On Safely, and other SM activities, I proved that this out of shape, slow, old fogey still has what it takes.1:12 for the weight retrieval and did the 25 yard sprint in 25 second (Barely making it, but making it nonetheless). Exhausted is an understatement, and surprisingly the should is doing OK. A little sore, but no major pain.

Going to pick up some pineapples to share with my fellow lifeguard candidates and instructors on the way back to camp to celebrate.  

It's also what some Scouts want too. One of my Scouts is taking all Eagle required MBs except one. He has enough electives to get Life and Eagle, taking a bunch of fun ones in the past. The one fun MB he's taking is one that has an age restriction at this camp, and was not offered at the camp we went to last year.

Well that Scout had a reality check after the first class with one of his Eagle required MBs he was told the amount of extra work that would need to be done at night during his free time and said no. Switched to a non-Eagle required MB that he was intersted in, and is spending as much free time as possible with the blacksmith working on Metalworking MB and learning about blacksmithing. He's having a blast, figuratively and literally.

"First class/first year (FC/FY)" was an emphasis program of the BSA 10-15 years ago...not sure if it still is.  The theory was that most scouts drop out before they make First Class, so if we got that patch on their shirts as quick as we could, they would be locked in.  Not sure if that was the case or not.  My advice with a new troop is to get them to Summer Camp and enrolled in the first year camper program, where they will work on T-2-1 advancements.  Let the fire ignite naturally, and not on a set schedule.

OPERATION FIRST CLASS, which morphed into FIRST CLASS/FIRST YEAR became the suggested policy on August 1st 1989, when they took away the time requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class ranks. They also did a lot of other things too when national revised the Scouting program that year, i.e. youth could no longer sit on BORs,  Skill Awards were gone, Leadership Corps became the venture crew which is now called a venture patrol, etc.

Yes, the argument for pushing a Scout to get First Class in a a year is retention. stats do show that. but What I mentioned at the time, and still do, is that the stats do not take into account a lot of other factors. The biggest factor is having an active "hiking and camping" troop. BP said it best, "Advancement happens as naturally as a suntan, it's something that just happens in the outdoors."

Probably. As a former camp staffer (5 years summer camp and 8 years Cub Scout day camp) I'm a program freak and this will be a VERY hard course to take and practice.

Hi, My name is Eagle94-a1, it's been two years since I last went to summer camp, and I'm a camping addict.

And I will shortly be off to summer camp. 

Mixed emotions on it. On one hand, it's kinda of a homecoming as I worked on the camp staff for 2 years. But that was 17 years ago, and the camp has changed, a lot. Some of the changes I have concerns about.

Plus being a former staffer, I am a program freak and do not know if I will be able to Nap On Safely.   When I went to a neighboring camp 2 years ago, I was in class all day getting the Aquatics Supervision classes.  I got two books packed, and I may pack a 3rd to be safe. But I have a bad feeling that I will be itching to do something.

Unfortunately I need to come home Wednesday night for work purposes, so I'll type then.

Please tell me this is a bad joke!

EDITED: WOW!  I looked up the FAQs and #24

24.Do YMCA lock-ins to work on swimming requirements, lock-ins at indoor climbing facilities, etc. count as short-term camping for JTE purposes?

Yes, these activities do count as long as they’re troop outings.

On a positive spin, I can now say my troop does 11 short-term campouts a year.

Good Luck!

My son earned Law merit badge over 3 or 4 nights at summer camp. The counselor was a local attorney who came up to the camp after work and worked with the kids on the badge. I suspect the nighttime Journalism MB sessions at your camp were for a similar reason.

Actually the reason for the night time class was to get a feel for actual newspaper work with printing deadlines. During the day, the Scouts were suppose to take photos and chase after news stories. Nighttime was when they met, decided on the best stories and photos, edited them, and printed the camp "newspaper" (ok it was actually a single page back and front handout, but it looked great) in time for handing out at breakfast each morning. Photos would also be used for the closing campfire each week, and for camp promo videos.

I agree. Summer camp should be about fun, not school. But the parents don't agree. The worse comment I got from a scouter about summer camp was that their camp wasn't a merit badge mill, most scouts only earned six merit badges during the week. Six?! The idiot clearly didn't know what "merit badge mill" meant.

It's also what some Scouts want too. One of my Scouts is taking all Eagle required MBs except one. He has enough electives to get Life and Eagle, taking a bunch of fun ones in the past. The one fun MB he's taking is one that has an age restriction at this camp, and was not offered at the camp we went to last year.

I hope that my son doesn't feel pressured to take only Eagle required next year since he is in a similar situation. If he completes the partials from last year (meeting with the MBC for two is a pain due to his work schedule), and completes everything he starts this summer, he will only need to do Eagle required MBs. Sad thing is I've suggested doing some fun things for next year and 2018, and he's not interested. Hope that changes.

My 11 year old still wears a youth M! That was another reason I decided to pass this time around. 

My troop growing up made our own. We had a one color silk screen with the troop logo. PLC would pick the color for the upcoming year and they and the adults would buy the shirts and silk screen them in time for the Christmas party/ COH. Every year was a different color t shirt. We recommended to the younger Scouts to get them big so they could still wear it as they get older. As an young ASM, I still wore my T-shirt from when I was 12.

When I ran day camp, we got a screen, frame, and ink donated from a local shop. I bought the shirts from an outlet store for about $1.25 to $2.00 depending upon size. I had the Cubs make their own. It was fun, but cleaning the screen was a pain.

the way you describe it certainly makes it sound a bit tedious! The High Adventure camps sound more fun though.

 

As a troop we typically schedule some time where we run a selection of activity badges for the scouts that's typically half a day of the week. I think we're farely typical. We also try o have a day or two off site somewhere and give the scouts plenty of free time to do their own thing. Last year was particularly good in that respect. They spent a lot of time getting to know a group of scouts from a particularly tough bit of East London. Bit of an eye opener for my quite sheltered middle class lot.

I don't know when summer camps over here started doing MB classes, but it was happening in the 1980s. I remember we had 5 class periods, 6 it you included Astronomy at night, and 4th and 5th were open swimming, boating, and shooting sports. 

Astronomy comes to mind.

 

Pardon me if we are talking apples and oranges but isn't scheduling in advance a good thing? So we don't have 40 scouts attempting swimming MB at 10AM and 7 scouts at 9AM. 40 scouts going for Canoeing MB but only 10 canoes? Overcrowding/understaffing/underutilization is certainly a factor that leads to poor MB experiences.

I understand completely on the MB classes, and am all for it. But I'm not talking about Astronomy or Journalism (saw that at 1 camp I worked at) or any MB at night. I'm talking about night time programs. With the exception of Opening and Closing Campfires and the OA Powwow, there is no campwide program. You got to register for free time events like swimming, rifle shooting, archery, field games, etc.

Can't you go to one of these camps and simply self program?

BSA summer camps are completely different than UK camps. Instead of a camp offering a la carte programs that the entire troop can do, or not do,  BSA camps offers individual Scouts classes or a specific program. I got 15 Scouts to summer camp, and each one has a different schedule.  Some camps offer high adventure programs, some comparable to DofE trips.

And apparently some camps are even scheduling night time classes and activities that you have to register for in advance.

EDITED: An aside, our venture patrol is doing the AT, with the exception of the specific portion of the AT they are doing, trip adviser wanted to do a section he not only knew well, but would be good for beginner backpackers, they are completely planning the program. And the cost is less than the local council's HA base. Waiting to see the food bill though

Yep, State came in and said the pit latrines are not sanitary, and the camp needed a septic tank and flush bathrooms.

Does it have to be Whitewater? Could jet skis, among other programs, work?

http://www.pamlicoseabase.com/

two of us had ours on our SC trip last week.

Mine spent time in my day pack, and also in my unlocked footlocker.  Toward the end of camp once it was clear that I really didn't need it any longer I put it in my truck.

I was not worried one bit about leaving my pack on an empty dining hall table while eating, or in the footlocker while I was out and about.  It was a boy scout camp after all....  and if you can't trust a  boy scout....

Unfortunately not every person at scout camp is a true scout. One of my Scouts had his patch collection stolen at jamboree, which was a big deal. A friend of mine had some swimming goggles stolen, and I almost had my walking staff stolen. I was lucky, I saw the "scout" taking off with my staff across the field and was able to stop him.

I have not been active with my lodge for a while. Dues are $12/year. There is a payment card that you pay a one time fee, and it covers the 3 Ordeals, Fellowship, and I believe also the banquet, but don't quote me on the banquet.  Anyway, if you bought the card, if you missed 1 event, you still saved money. Unfortunately that came after I stepped down as chapter adviser.

Dining halls are destroying our camps. An expensive totally useless addition all so the boys can fit in one more MB and have someone else do for a Scout what he can do for himself.

 

And dining halls are indoors.

 

A house has plumbing problems, not a camp. All a camp needs is 1 single source of potable water, distribution can be handled by a truck pulling a 250 gal tank to each campsite a once a day. Oh, I get it, the Dining Hall had plumbing problems.

Agree with dining halls allowing more time for 1 more MB.  I hate the fact that camps are turning into MB factories. We are going to a camp that I haven't been to in 17 years, and it's a MB factory. It's over organized IMHO, with even requiring registration for the night time activities.

However I must respectfully disagree with plumbing and camps. Unfortunately a lot of states are requiring plumbing at camps. Still, I'd rather use slit trench and pioneering "chair" instead of some facilities as they are horrible.

Love it!

My concerns is that we are losing our core focus: the outdoors. Now more than ever, kids need the outdoors.

@@TAHAWK,

I'm referring to Bemidji Woolen Mills. Their jac shirts have hand pockets.

My former District Commissioner has one of the Red Voyagers. IT IS SWEET! They also make an OD one. Nice thing about these is that they have hand pockets.

If you are looking for a nice non-BSA jac shirt, Bemidji Woolen Mills. I've seen one, and wish I could afford it.

http://www.bemidjiwoolenmills.com/details.php?itemid=bm07_97&im=bm07_100.jpg

http://www.bemidjiwoolenmills.com/details.php?itemid=bm07_110&im=bm07_112.jpg

http://www.bemidjiwoolenmills.com/details.php?itemid=bm07_101&im=bm07_103.jpg