AltadenaCraig

I replied in the GTSS thread, but to cover all bases: I tried the link, but it took me to a blank page. Bad link, or did BSA pull the item?

I tried the link, but it took me to a blank page. Bad link, or did BSA pull the item?

Congrats. Purely recreational, here: AYSO Advanced.

In my other volunteer life I'm a soccer referee. I carry a Fox40, but my favorite is a Tornado T-2000.

Hi, Eagledad/Barry: This may require its own thread, but I'd like to challenge your assertion that "if the pack program fails, the rest of scouting fails". A recent ScoutmasterCG.com podcast addressed recruiting: http://scoutmastercg.com/scoutmaster-podcast-342-recruiting-scouts/. In the episode Clarke Green shares his experience that bridging Webelos correlate less with program retention than does having been asked to join by a current Scout or Scout parent. I'm not challenging your 95% of troop membership figure; I'm inclined to agree with it. But it doesn't follow that if the pack program fails, the rest of scouting fails. It just means that if a feeder pack fails, a greater effort to "ask" prospects will be required of Scouts and their parents. To be sure, my own experience as Webelos Den Leader, then Cubmaster, then ASM, and now Scoutmaster is that the more successful a Pack is, the greater the "unlearning" required of their bridging Webelos and their parents when joining a troop that aspires to being Scout-lead. I've found it much easier to assimilate boys with no Pack history than those who have become used to a "show" featuring parents who do all the work. Frequently those Webelos and their families are better off bridging to a "Webelos III"-model troop -- -- Craig

Love all the tips. Good stuff for Scoutmaster's Minute. Here's one I've used (all too recently, unfortunately) from Clarke Green at scoutmastercg.com http://scoutmastercg.com/talking-with-scouts-about-tragic-events/, in addition to his own comments, his post includes this timeless quote from Fred Rogers (of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood): "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.†To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world." - Fred Rogers

Thanks, CNYScouter; I hadn't seen these official BSA comments until your post. Soapbox time: IMHO the worksheet project is one of the most infamous examples of "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". Soon after following my son from his cub scout pack into his troop, I felt like I'd discovered a gold mine when I found the cache of online worksheets. Everything in one place and up-to-date, formatted consistently across all worksheets - wonderful! Clearly a labor of love, I felt the author of the worksheets was a hero. But over the years as I've seen them in practice, I've grown to despise the things. I've seen too many merit badge "counselors" simply rely on submission of the worksheets rather than spend quality time with the scouts. To be sure, the scouting program that I remembered - the one that offered a welcome respite from school that nevertheless provided its own effective, but completely different, educational experience - had now become an exact replication of school: onerous "paperwork", dry content, mandated by disengaged adults. I hate the things, now, and discourage their use among our troop's merit badge counselors. I'm pleased to see the official BSA position against them and will relay the link to our counselors as a reminder. I do have a beef with verbiage in the link's official reply: that the problem with the worksheets is that they "emphasize speed over education"; they "can prevent struggling with requirements, when it is the struggle that can lead to retention of lessons learned"; and they are "a shortcut.". Holy cow, I didn't know the merit badge program was intended to be so grueling! Rather I think the BSA's position would be more effective simply emphasizing the merit badge program as a fun way to get exposure to a subject and learn more about it from a passionate adult. Rant over. Carry on.

My only worry with two-man tents has been odd-numbered patrols. Allowing two-scouts to sleep in a 3-man tent is easy, but squeezing three scouts in a 2-man tent is tough. Allowing any scout sleep alone just spooks me.

Couldn't agree more. We've been using Kelty Gunnison 3-man tents for two years now and the Scouts LOVE them. In addition to the reasons you state, the rear of the fly unzips as a "hatchback" and the scouts find unique ways of erecting their "porches". Question for you, Rock Doc: We're a backpacking troop and are searching for a more backpack-friendly case for our Gunnisons than the bulky roll-top carrying case provided by Kelty. Are you familiar with suitable after-market cases or sacks?

That's a common misreading. As written, the rank requirement says "Since joining the troop and while working on the Scout rank, participate in a Scoutmaster conference." As with all SMC's for this and subsequent rank advancements, the SMC can be held at any time during the period which the scout is working on his next rank.

Col Flagg: the highest compliment I can pay to your posts is that you're making me think. Courses titled "... for LDS" (insert "Cub Scouting, "Boy Scouting") offered at Pow Wow's and the like give me the feeling that special accommodations are being made to LDS units - which at the least leave me feeling separated and at worst leave me wondering whether the LDS church's membership policies have resulted in their gaining a disproportionately louder voice within the BSA. Your earlier posts on this thread give me the impression you're willing to accept the "tail wagging the dog" because their numbers make them "too big to fail." While I'm mulling this all over, I'll add my voice to those who suspect this is driven by girls-in-the-BSA ... I'll also add my suspicion the LDS will be pulling out of the BSA entirely. Remember the GSUSA is conspicuously absent from the LDS program. There's a reason for that - and it has nothing to do with whether the GSUSA leans one way or the other politically. LDS shunned GSUSA long before our politics became so divisive. The BSA's consideration of how/whether to open other programs to girls is apparently too much for the LDS church to handle. But agenda-speculating aside, I find Col Flagg's more recent posts - on LDS facilities in particular and Boston Consulting Group strategy model in general - compelling. We have to be mindful that significant resources are at risk, and be thoughtful about how we're going to adjust.

I'm a little more optimistic about this idea. A few thoughts: Defining "classic" scouting is key. Develop a kind of "classic scouting manifesto" (perhaps through voting on scouter.com?), featuring several "classic scouting principles". Here would be my first contribution to a manifesto of such principles: "Adults do not speak unless first spoken to by a Scout" Establishing another "order" within scouting already has a couple of success models: "Order of the Arrow", of course, for individual scouts, but also among troops we often see institutional-level instruction. My own council often features "Boy Scouts for LDS Troops"; something similar could be offered for "Classic" troops. I'd suggest compliance through scoring through volunteers uniquely trained in promoting the manifesto. The success model here might be AYSO, which features oodles of training seminars for their referees and coaches - very professionally presented I might add. At the very least, establishment of "classic scouting principles" would be a very valuable contribution.

I agree with EagleonFire's approach. Our Pack went to one-den-meeting-per-month decades ago. The pack meets monthly at our church's parish-hall and a couple of weeks later or so each den meets at different cubs' home. This scouts-every-other-week approach, coupled with rotation of den-meeting venues, mitigates burn-out and promotes family buy-in. At least it seems to work for our pack. As for recruiting, our charter-org is associated with a day-school and we've been blessed with Heads who have been strong supporters of scouting. We haven't tackled Lions, but the Tiger program has been a big plus as a gateway. Toward the end of each school year one of our Tiger den leaders gets to spend a half-hour or so with the kindergarten boys (recruiting for the following year's Tigers). The den leader simply shows up with a pinewood derby car in one hand and an Estes rocket in the other, and asks if that's something the boys would like to do. It's always a slam-dunk. Flyers go home with the boys, including the date of the first pack meeting in the new school year and recruiting just seems to take care of itself. Though our situation is unique, I'm hopeful others can find a nugget or two to apply to your cub scouting recruiting & program. YIS.