Eagle94-A1

Tahawk. My comment was in regards to how some folks think you have to do everything the exact way BSA states in the current literature. But sometimes, in some situations, the current BSA program materials will not work, and that you do need to use ideas from older BSA materials. Mixed aged patrols, which is not discussed in the current literature but is in older literature, was the example I've given. Having youth sign off on advancement requirements is another example I can give. My only worry is is units that do not use the patrol method. As for clear communications form natio

Yes, adaptable is a better word. But "Semper Gumby" sounds so much better. Agree with you. I like to call being a SM is an art, not a science. There is a multitude of factors involved in scouting: from resources, abilities of leaders, abilitiies of scouts, CO support, loctaion, ad nauseum. Every troop is different. Unfortunately I've met folks who think that what is expressed in the current BSA literature IS the only way of doing it, even if it will be detrimental to the program in some situations. And if you tell them otherwise, it's blasphemy. There are som

Here's my $.02 worth. 1) There is no need for an SPL unless you have 2 or more patrols. SPL is just that: the SENIOR patrol leader. If you only have 1 patrol, then you only have 1 PL. 2) I do belive the unofficial motto of the BSA is "SEMPER GUMBY" OR "ALWAYS FLEXIBLE." One of the most important things I learned in Scouting is that sometimes the best made plans fall apart, and you sometimes have to think "on your feet" or "outside the box" to solve problems. Best example I can give is finding out our of our camping gear was destroyed the night before we were taking Webelos on a camp

Qwazse, THANKFULLY that's the case with our two camps. One reverts back to the family ( who will turn the property into "McMansions" like the ones that are currently being built around the camp). The other camp goes to a local university. But I do know of one instance where the SE talked a trust into donating ownershipof the camp to the council. Within 3-6 months of getting the deed, he had the camp sold off. Sad thing is, the camp that all the money was sunk into ended up getting severely damaged by a hurricane. That camp's damage was so bad, an oil company was able to make the case

RS, In 2012, national decided tho create the National Camp Accreditation Program (NCAP) to standardize all scout camp across the national. Here are some links about the NCAP Main link to overall program http://www.scouting.org/Home/OutdoorProgram/CampAccreditation.aspx Camp Facilities Evaluation Tool http://www.scouting.org/filestore/Outdoor%20Program/pdf/430-085.pdf While I do beleive that camps need to be maintained, not every scout camp needs to meet those standards IMHO. My council has some primitive camps that have minimal structures on it. They do not need w

Hedge, there are a lot of different variations on wilderness survival that I've encountered. Some variations have folks only using survival kits. some make some accommodations, specifically sleeping bags. When we did the trips with Webelos, we took it relatively easy on them, and the adults that wanted to got to stay in tents . One of the ones I liked was a "crash site" done at a summer camp and everything needed was provided by the camp staff, if they could find it After waiting about 30 minutes for contraband to appear on the amnesty blanket, the scouts were taken to the site whe

Don't burn out, and keep focus on who is more important, your son and his den. I'm in a similar boat; TCDL for the youngest, troop committee with oldest, CSRT commish, and dist. committee.

Wilderness Survival Weekend Building shelters, utensiless cooking and having FUN! My troop growing up turned this into an annual event with Webelos coming to camp with us. Long story short, our gear got destroyed and we found out the nite before the Webelos Overnighter. Adapt, Improvise. Overcome.

WELCOME TO DA FORUMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I to am at a loss ... SQUIRREL!

If they do things the same way as in the past, you'll be getting a letter in the near future about more specifics. Every camp school is different. First one I went to for being C.O.P.E. Director was a week long, at a scout camp, and we were in tents, eating in a dining hall, etc. Classes were either under a shelter or on the C.O.P.E. course. Second one I went to was for CSDC administration, was 4 days, and at a conference center. We stayed in cabins/dorms, selpt in bunk beds, ate in the conference center's dining room, and spent a good bit of time indoors in conference rooms.

Fred, If an existing Webelos doesn't get his Webelos Badge by May 31st, they have to use the new AOL requirements, doing the 7 adventures, to earn their AOL. And from one of the myriad of forms I've seen, AOL adventures are in the Webelos book.

While there were several interesting things that occured last nite, one is relevent to this topic. As most of you may know, the troop I'm with is young, and is slowly moving to patrol method. One of our troop guides "recquisitioned" his dad's copy of the Scouting and read the article. Asked me if I read it and I did say yes, but he noted my wariness of the article. He asked me, "You don't think the article is good?" And I told him, "I don't think the article goes far enough." T-11 days to ITLS-T!

My troop never used blue cards, so we used photocopies of the Boy Scout Requirements Book and had them initial each requirement , or sign off saying completed.

The patrol method is suppose to be "organized chaos" because it give the scouts a chance to fail and learn in a safe environment. Only time I encountered "well oiled machines" were those troops that are either A) 100% adult led or B) have been around so long and have older scouts who pass on their knowledge to the younger Scouts. Some of the problems I've seen with 100% adult led were 1) folks Eagle and leave and 2) once the leader steps down, the troop folds. In regards to young troops, yep you may need to model what the expectations are, and you definitely need to work with the SPL. I k

While there may be a lot of "old fogeys' who could not keep up with the "yutes," I know quite a few who can and do. One of the most feared, as well as most loved, staffers was this crusty old retired Marine who did the First Year Camper program growing up. While I did not have him my first year at camp, I did encounter him for my religious award BOR. Firm but fair. Could chew you out and make you feel 2 inches tall without raising his voice. But when you passed muster with him, made you feel 10 feet tall and proud. He kept us with us "youngins" on staff. In fact I think working staff kept

Qwazse, Actually the photo that photo is incorrect. The BA22 syllabus shows the "Brownsea" Strip going between the unit numbers and the CSP. Here's one link to that shoes the proper placement. And if I can find the syllabus, I post that. http://www.hcst.net/~edelmann/brownsea22.html

Qwazse, I do not like the fact that adults get their 3rd and 4th bead for staffing NYLT. My sentiments is that the adult NYLT staffers should get the same recognition as the youth NYLT staffers.

You know, the 3rd ed. SMHB written by Green Bar Bill covers the situation where you have a new troop, or are instilling the patrol method in en established troop. Don't have it in my possession, but if memory serves, the SM and ASMs actually run things for the scouts, modelling how things are suppose to be done, and then over a 6 month period, the scouts take more and more resposnibility, while the adults start stepping back more and more. By the end of 6 months, Scouts are completely running things. SM models the job of SPL or PL depending upon size of the troop, and the ASMs model PLs o

I like. Still want to know what the youth staff get in lieu of WB beads as a recognition. Hey, if the adult staffers can get beads, why not youth staff?

Depends upon the event. When I did training, we had to stay out of the red. They didn't want us to make a "surplus," but if it happened, great. IF we did go in the red, district was responsible for making up the difference somehow, i.e. having a surplus at another event. We had very small surpluses (under $25) Now when I did CSDC, the council wanted us to budget a surplus of at least 10% over the actual costs. Part of that was to help out with any unexpected costs. But the surplus from one day camp would help cover those day camps actually lost money. First year as CSDC PD, I f

While it's been a while since I worked summer camp staff and I am not as up to date with current camp standards, I can see a few issues with using leaders at camp to teach MBs. 1) Is consistency. If each week of new leaders brings a new batch of MBs, how can planning be done in advance for the Scouts to plan their schedules? 2) Is the bureaucracy. Even if the leaders volunteer to teach for the week, national has decided that they have to follow ALL (emphasis) of the same policies and procedures that paid staff have to go through: x number of hours of training, camp YPT, sexual harass

Yes, I do see a role for UCs. But what if, despite the attempts of the UC to work with leaders to solve the problem, the UC is ignored?

The Blue Cards thread, in which an SM is doing his own thing, and the Youngest Eagle thread, got me thinking. If a unit is doing their own thing, and Scouts are getting signed off on advancement, how can a troop's advancement problem be identified and corrected before a Scout sits in front oh his EBOR? My council uses the district/council EBOR option. So there is a standing EBOR committee. But the first time they see the scouts is when they go get approval for their Eagle Projects. So the first time they may realize a troop is having advancement challenges, is when they are getting rea