Rock Doc

6 hours ago, HelpfulTracks said:

1. Ask a nearby troop or crew to come and teach your troop skills. Older, more established units routinely do this. It helps their scouts meet requirements and it helps your troop out as well.

2. Ask the OA if they have some youth that would be willing to visits and teach skills. 

I strongly second this approach! Whenever possible create situations for youth to teach youth, with adults in the background. Failing that, use a train-the -trainer approach to establish a cadre of instructors confident in their abilities. Once you've started that ball rolling the youth should start to become more self-sufficient and successful. The same applies for the adults - challenge each other to learn the skills, and have throw downs with the youth to see who is learning the fastest; competition is a great motivator!

On 6/18/2021 at 4:54 PM, David CO said:

How many units are in a Lodge?  

Our Lodge consists of three chapters each representing dozens of units. Total Lodge membership is north of 600

On 6/6/2021 at 2:40 PM, yknot said:

This is something I had trouble with with my last AOL den. They were very well prepared for cross over.  The Troop though went through Scout very laboriously with a couple of fun exceptions. Then, all cross overs had to sign up for a Dan Beard program at summer camp, which the kids started calling Dan Bored, and did a lot of the same stuff all over again. The Troop lost about a third of the boys that first fall because they were bored stinkless. I think it's important to honor the progression but also realize it can seem very repetitive and boring to 10 and 11 year old kids. People have talked about kids burning out on cubs and I think some of the repetitiveness, especially the last 18 months in cubs and the first year in troop, is one reason why. 

 

Does your troop have a strong youth-led ethos? My experience has been that given the opportunity a youth-led PLC will shy away from the proscriptive approach and generally try to keep things fun with a pinch of advancement thrown in - especially right after crossover

32 minutes ago, David CO said:

I think you are all missing the point.  

The Chartered Organization has an obligation to protect its children.  The CO can protect its children while they are participating in unit activities, but the CO has no control over OA.  The CO cannot protect its children at OA activities.

Why would a CO want to have a "pipeline" from its unit to some other program whose leadership and activities are totally outside the CO's control?  It doesn't make any sense.  I understand why OA would want to have this "pipeline", but I can't see any reason why a CO would want it.

Even though the KC's are a Catholic organization, my church felt that it needed to have more direct control over Catholic scout units.  It ordered all KC councils to transfer their units over to the parishes.  If the bishops don't even trust the KC's to run scouting units, imagine how they feel about sending Catholic scouts to OA, which is completely outside their control.

I can easily imagine how a CO might someday be sued because it allowed OA elections.  

Can't speak for all Lodges, but in our Lodge scouts attending OA events must still be supervised by an adult OA member from their home unit, or a trusted OA adult member approved by the home unit. It's not an unsupervised drop-off activity.

3 hours ago, SSScout said:

 Might be a lot of "Pre-Requisites"  to meet. 

 

Several reading/written requirements, but nothing hands-on.

This weekend, a local council held a merit badge college where scouts were able to earn the Cooking Merit Badge in half a day! Apparently they followed some "Nationally-sanctioned" program. Anyone heard of this?

1 hour ago, Owls_are_cool said:

If there is any chance of thunderstorms in the forecast, I'd be ready to head to the shower house OR have enough vehicles available for scouts/adults to shelter in. Doing anything else will put yourself and the scouts at risk. 

I would invest in a lightning detector that can wake you up with lightning is within 20 miles of your location. That will get you some time arouse your scouts (no easy task) and into shelter. Having a NOAA weather radio that will awake you when a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning is issued is a good idea also. 

All good points. However, in your mind, how far would be too far to move to a sturdy structure? I've certainly encountered situations at scout camps and state parks where it might take 15 minutes to reach a vehicle or enclosed building. Just trying to gauge folks tipping point between hunkering down and evacuating, because it's not always cut and dried.

10 hours ago, elitts said:

So yeah, I'm not getting my scouts out of bed for a thunderstorm.  Now, if you tell me there is a storm from coming with anticipated straight-line winds of 50+ mph, that's a whole different story. 

This was my rationale too. Our tents/hammocks were widely spread throughout the campsite and gathering everyone together to move to the distant bathhouse seemed more risky. 

11 hours ago, Eagle1993 said:

We had a situation at a summer camp a few years ago.  Storm hit middle of night, constant lightning.  Camp had us stay in tents as they felt the run/walk across an open field was more dangerous.  It was nearly four hours of constant lightening... scouts were able to play cards without flashlights in their tents.  One of the worst lightening storms I was in. Nearly no wind.  
 

It was a tough call either way.  I think they probably should have evacuated us before the storm hit but who knows how quickly it ramped up.  

I agree that evacuation is the best course of action if an organized storm system is forecasted, but this scenario relates to the unpredictable pop-up storms common in spring and summer. 

13 hours ago, skeptic said:

You hunker down and warn them to stay in their tents and not get in the open.  The shelter is just as likely to be a lightening draw as a tent, as is the boathouse, and they are on the lake which is also open.  Stay away from the trees if possible.  Do not touch metal of any kind.  Assure they all understand and whatever you do, they need to stay separate as they are.  Once the storm moves out, you can appraise the damage, if there is any.  Do not need what we had at the 85 Jamboree the first night when Hurricane Bob ran a squall line through our campsite, knocking down one tent, busting tree branches, and causing some boys to panic.  

 

This ended up being our decision, to hunker down primarily due to lack of high winds. We reasoned that trying to wake and move 30+ scouts in the dark during heavy rain might be more risky than staying put. Our situation was not any different than the surrounding area (no prominent features), was not prone to flooding, and the bathhouse was too small to accomodate our entire group.

13 hours ago, jcousino said:

The only correct choice would be go to the bath house as this is the only substantial building present.

(Any Close hard top cars would be good also

Open shelters look inviting but offer no lighting protection and maybe even an increased risk.

Just look on the first page of BSA lighting awareness page.

If they youth refuse to go good subject for a troop confernce .

your other adults are the main issue?

 

Lighting you go indoors no questions (search lightning deaths if you have any questions)

 

John

In absolute terms I agree with you that the bathhouse would be the safest option. However, what are your thoughts about how quickly you could roust 30+ scouts (including moody teenagers who can sleep through a zombie apocalypse) and get them to stumble 100 yards in the dark while the rain is coming down in buckets? FYI my question is loosely based on an actual situation

It's time for Springtime pop-up thunderstorms that can occur any time day or night, often without warning. So, your troop consisting of 30+ scouts and a half dozen ASMs have bedded down for the night at a local state park, each in their own COVID-required tent or hammock, pitched in a stand of mature pine trees. No severe weather watches or warnings are in place. The campsite is adjacent to a large lake with relatively level surrounding topography.  Nearby is an open picnic shelter adjacent to the lake, and an enclosed bathhouse a little further away. At 2 AM in the morning you're awoken by sudden intense lightning and thunder, and light rain. The rain quickly ramps up to a torrential downpour but with no significant wind. Phone reception is spotty and radar slow to load, but the storm continues unabated. Having been jolted awake by the sudden onset of the storm, in your addled state do you leap from your (hopefully) warm and dry cocoon yelling for everyone to jump out of their sleeping bags and hightail it a hundred yards to the shelter or bathhouse, or do you tell everyone to stay put and hope for the best (and what if they disagree and refuse)? Go!

I strongly recommend your son schedule a meeting with your troop's Eagle coach(es) before getting too involved with the proposal. There are frequently local tips and tricks to be shared (District/Council idiosyncrasies, preferred beneficiaries/beneficiaries to avoid, permitting assistance, resources, etc). The coach also helps the scout develop a realistic schedule and provides non-parental accountability. Good luck!

Wee man should be fine as you suggest. As for you, I'd go with an insulated air pad (Big Agnes, REI, etc.). They're close to 3-inches thick and allow plenty of isolation from the odd root or rock. Air mattresses are bulky and cold, you'd need to use the thermarest on top of the mattress to prevent a chilly night. Good luck!

First crew adventure was ATV riding. All participants completed their ATV safety certificate and then rode all weekend! We're a pay as you go crew right now, but starting to build a fundraising culture. Get involved with your council VOA for local connections, and reach out to the Areas and Regions to attend larger events. 

Our annual planning focuses on blocking out dates and general themes, allowing the PLC du jour to flesh out the details closer to the time. 

Our patrols plan their menus, and a pair of scouts from each patrol buys the food (usually $10/scout/weekend) and then get reimbursed from their patrol members. They rotate through all the younger scouts for rank requirement, as well as Cooking MB requirements. Adults plan their menu separately, and one or more serves as grubmaster, split costs evenly. Simple process, and has worked well for years. Patrols occasionally challenge other patrols and the adults to cook-offs (chili, desserts, etc.) 

1 minute ago, Eagledad said:

I'm curious of how many scouts use hammocks. Most of the hammock users in our troop were adults. Scouts tried them out for an hour, but never got motivated to use them. 

Barry

Our troop and crew are almost 100% hangers

Ditto SSScout...  Our ILST is taught entirely by older scouts who are NYLT grads, so highly recommend reaching out to the District/Council or OA Lodge to find youth resources

1 hour ago, Eagledad said:

Yes, but that is common in most all troops. It's not a flaw specific to electing the ASPL. 

You would surprised to learn that most (vast majority) of troops do not have a plan for developing leaders into higher positions like SPL. In fact, some adults call that adding to the requirements. Even the Handbooks don't really talk about it. But, the better performing troops have a suggested leadership development tree. It's only suggested, the scouts can try their own plan. Our minimum development tree is PL, Troop QM, ASPL and SPL. But I had one scout who during his third year showed me his plan to be the SPL in 18 months. I was impressed, but I wondered if he could pull it off skipping one of the responsibilities on the tree. I assumed if he had the initiative, he had the will. He did and was a really good SPL. The reason his plan was 18 months was because he was also on the swim team and couldn't put the time into the job during swim season. Did I say he earn top score on his ACT?

Barry

I agree with the concept of a development tree, although we don't currently have a specific track. As SM, I generally encourage scouts to explore troop leadership roles that interest them, rather than requiring a specific progression. We do however, strongly promote SEALS, NYLT,  camp staff, and OA LEB roles, as we've seen that participation in these programs consistently leads to more successful SPLs.

16 minutes ago, SteveMM said:

Perhaps that's how it works in your troop.  That's not how it works in ours.  In our troop, the ASPL is elected, serves for six months, and then becomes the SPL.  At that time, an election is held for a new ASPL.  

The process is outlined here: https://troopleader.scouting.org/assistant-senior-patrol-leader/  Electing an ASPL prevents the SPL from selecting his choice of assistant. 

21 minutes ago, SteveMM said:

Side note: My son beat the SM's son in the ASPL election, which brought me far more joy than it should have 😀

The ASPL is not an elected position, the SPL appoints the ASPL with guidance from the SM

22 hours ago, ParkMan said:

One of my biggest frustrations as a Troop CC was the line that existed between "the pack" and "the troop".  Pack leaders would often discuss on their own and come to some conclusion about "the troop".  Most often, the pack leaders had some sort of misperception about what we, as troop leaders, were doing.  I would encourage a quarterly "Key 7" meeting.  Pack CC & CM, Troop CC & SM, Crew CC & CA, and COR.  It's a great way to help keep the unit working together.

The "Key 7" sounds great, but I'd also invite the SPL and the Crew President to make sure youth have a voice

Vuvuzelas...dozens of them. They're now specifically banned in the Leaders Handbook!