Eagle94-A1

I have concerns. http://wtvr.com/2016/07/11/what-you-need-to-know-about-your-privacy-and-pokemon-go/

Don't know if it started as an Eagle project or not, but there is a troop that has taken responsibility for a local "park" next to a branch library. The "park" is rather small, about the size of a house lot, but it is well maintained and has benches and table in it. Also a sign stating it's maintained by the troop across the street.

Does anyone remember the time, when all you needed to go camping as fill out the form, and your First Class and above Scouts had First Aid Merit Badge, so you didn't need to worry about having folks with first aid certs? I do, and I miss it.

Don't get me wrong, I am an advocate for training. But I do wish the certs with expiration dates lasted longer than 2 years. And I wish that those certs that have prerequisite certs, i.e the Aquatics Supervision certifications (3 year certs) require Safe Swim and Safety Afloat (2 year certs), would automatically renew and extend to the higher certification's expiration date. If you got an active unit, or involved in multiple units, it is extremely challenging to attend training, heck even schedule it. I'm now a WFA instructor, have been asked to conduct a WFA training, and I have no idea when I can do it before the end of the year. Between the pack, troop, and district, I can barely balance Scouting activities.

Sometimes folks will get waivers. I know of one instance, the person served in multiple roles. 1 role he completed all required training and BALOO. One role was missing ITOLS, and a 3rd was the online training. he got in under his CS role.

A few questions for you. 1) What does your son want to do? 2) Where are his friends at: the Webelos I den or Webelos II den. 3) IS HE READY FOR BOY SCOUTS IN 6-9 MONTHS?!?!?!?!?! (caps for emphasis) My middle son was in a similar situation last year. Originally he decided to skip Webelos I and go straight into Web II since he would have been eligible to Crossover in May. He eventually decided he wanted to remain with his friends, and will be Crossing Over in December with his den. I want to emphasize the last question because it is VITAL. We had 4 Scouts from 3 different packs cross over early. 1 Scout had no issues as that pack begins the Webelos to Scout transition as soon as they become Webelos in June between 3rd and 4th grades. They also have a year round program. 1 Scout had some initial issues as that pack really incorporates the Patrol Method after December of 4th Grade Year. The issue was the last two. Their pack did NOT begin the transition process until the Scouts actually crossed over. They were very ill prepared for Boy Scouts, and held back their patrol to the point that the patrol was abolished and the patrols were rearranged after them being in the troop a year. They are FINALLY getting their act together.

One of the challenges in the unit is that the CC/COR does things his way, and that has led to some things I do not like or approve regarding BORs. And it's permeated downward to other committee members. Apparently the troop has done multiple Scouts in one BOR for a long time, and everyone on the committee wants to keep it that way "to save time, otherwise we will be here all night." Trying to do the BOR by the book was another "challenge" I had with Gunship last month.

I've been to 1 camp where if the Scout brought the book AND was able to do the skill, the director would sign the book. Director was a crusty retired Marine, who was firm, but fair. This incident was one of the reasons Gunship and I had a "discussion" mentioned in the other thread. While I do not think the Scout deserves the rank, the BOR passed him off, and it is a done deal that we can do nothing about. We cannot withhold it from him, revoke it, etc as some would like. Worse part is that he is now gone, and there is nothing we can do to get him up to speed.

As others have mentioned, the unit belongs to the charter organization. The COR is the liaison between the IH as head of the CO, and the troop. So the only person who can remove the COR/CC is the IH. Better have good reasons to do so and have a convincing discussion. From personal experience, IHs are reluctant to remove unit leaders unless forced to, i.e. Youth Protection reasons. Unit commissioners may be able to help, but the professionals will say "It's a unit matter and it needs to be discussed with the (IH)." When I was a DE, we had some folks asking me to remove a CM. Long story short, this CM drove people away, both youth and adults. One of the parents/leaders asked for my assistance in the matter, and I was told to tell them the quote above, changing IH to COR/CC/IH. Eventually the COR/CC/IH was approached, knew exactly what was going on, knew the troop was suffering because of the pack's retention, and was unwilling to remove the CM!

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. 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. 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.

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.

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.

(JTE calls a lock-in playing video games a "weekend campout") 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!

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. 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 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.

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.

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.

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.