Prepared

I do not know the feasibility of this for everyone (based on sizes of units and area), but my son's Troop he just joined held a uniform "swap" day. The older Scouts brought in their smaller uniforms and donated them to be given out. The younger/new Scouts were able to get full uniforms and some extra stuff (like a really nice winter coat). Maybe this is something you could look into. Understand that this was actually someone's WB ticket item and that is why it happened.

I am little late to this convo, but I just wanted to make sure I understand this correctly..."There is no (realistic) way to know who is a MBC within a District/Council to allow a Scout to go an earn the MB"...does this sound about right? I am asking because my son is now in Boy Scouts and he is SUPER excited about everything Boy Scouts has to offer. He has read through a lot of the MB possibilities and some of the requirements for them. He then said he REALLY wants to earn the Chess MB. Then I think to myself, "I HIGHLY doubt there is anyone in the troop/district/council that would be the MB counselor for this" and then say "well I know that you have to work with a MBC (and explain what that is), so you will have to talk to your PL to help you get info on a Chess MBC". I am pretty sure that since he has been a Boy Scout (since end of February) he has asked me about that MB like 3 times...I just don't want him to lose interest because he is not getting what HE wants from Scouts.

I know Boy Scouts is BOY LEAD, but I want him to keep his motivation and want to be able to provide him with all the information he needs to find the answers to the questions he has. Does anyone know what can be done?

Also, I just thought of something...is it possible to set up "On-line" MB classes that Scouts can attend and earn their badges that way? (Kind of like an online class for college, if anyone has done that)....just a thought...

So, we tried the route of talking to the COR, but they decided that since the CC started acting like they were going to do their job....they could stay. My issue with that is we had so many issues before the CC left and things were better while the CC was gone. Once the CC came back they started doing the following;

Micromanaging jobs that I am responsible for

Telling people what to do, when they were doing it already as they are supposed to while the CC was gone

Disrespecting my wife and I about everything

Telling everyone that they were going to do jobs that are clearly my job, which I did while the CC was gone

The final straw was this;

We received an email from the CC saying that many parents approached them and have said they were scared to say anything to us and wanted to leave the pack because we were controlling and that we made it not fun for them anymore. (even though no one ever mentioned this to any other leader in the pack)

The CC then went on to say that an adult stated they wish they had my pack meeting plans (that I work on a lot to make on my own) so they knew what was going on during the pack meeting (even though no one has every said anything like that to me or anyone)

Finally, the CC stated that I must use the Pack meeting planning guide and report to them what my plans are before the leaders meeting. (not something I must do, as I said before I work really hard to make pack meeting plans)

I piece together various things throughout the interwebs that I find to make the pack meeting. I write out the cards for the opening, closing, and things like that well in advance to give to the den leaders for them to practice before the pack meeting. My wife and I did everything we were supposed to do and slightly more after the CC left, because they just abandoned us. We let everyone do their job and took on things people just didn't want to do, like Blue and Gold committee.

Really at this point, my wife and I are over the constant disrespect and it really pains me to be told that I am unapproachable and that people are not having fun, when I am told by nearly every kid that they are having fun and most parents thank me regularly for everything I do for the program. I put in a lot of work to make the pack better and keep it that way and the CC just came back and destroyed everything we did. We tried to stick it out and "deal" with the micromanaging and telling people what to do, but I cannot deal with disrespect.

The worse part about it is that if you were to say something to that individual they would say that if you knew them you would know they are not trying to be rude, they are just being direct and things like that. However, telling people what to do and telling them they are making it not fun for people is completely disrespectful and something I cannot be apart of.

Oh, and as far as I know the UC is best (wood badge) friends with our CC. I am not really sure if they are our UC, never knew who they were until the CC threw it out there that they were friends with the UC....I talked to the DE and they said they could talk to the COR, but knew it was really up to them and if they were ok with the pack having issues like that then that was their choice. It really is sad that people can take control from the hard workers so easily and no one can do anything about it. The only thing that makes me feel better is knowing karma is something that should not be messed with.

In any organization it's important to know the rules, formal and informal, that govern it.  When folks are ignorant of the rules, but try to exercise power, it will almost always fail --- and frankly it's the ignorance that is the cause.

 

However well meaning they may be, and however accurate their judgment, it's not for the leaders to ask a CC to step down.  The CC was selected by and reports to the Chartering Org Rep (COR), if the collected leaders wanted to change CCs the way to go was to approach the COR and work with that person to affect change.  Any other method was almost certainly destined for failure.

We knew that we could not actually make her leave. For us it was not a matter of removing her at that point, it was more of a please step down or we will go to the COR and ask that you be removed because of how you are treating us and the other parents. It was a courtesy to the CC, that is it. Our COR did not appoint the CC, the CC decided they were going to be the CC and the COR didn't argue. That CC also did not communicate with the COR, or anyone for that matter for a whole year. We were certain the COR would have agreed with us, just never got there.

When my son was a Webelos last year, we had a first responder come in and talk to the kids. They showed them a lot of cool things and talked about a good portion of what they had to do for that adventure. Then the DL talked to the kids about the different things that were not covered. I recently just did a Webelosree and set it up so that station where the 4th graders did the first-aid, they talked about it, demonstrated it, then they played a variation of the first responder relay found in the den leader guidebook. This allowed the Scouts to learn using the EDGE method. In my opinion, that is the best way to teach kids. Hope this help.

So last night, my wife an I decided to step down from our Treasurer and CM positions as well as pulling our son from our pack and moving him for the last 5 months of his Cub Scout life, all stemming from issues with the CC being disrespectful for the last time. It really makes me upset that issues with our committee chair drove us to leave and affect our son like this. My wife an I took over from the now CC who was the CM almost 2 years ago. The pack was slowly falling apart and the kids were not having any fun. Potential new parents were told to not join the pack and a lot of people were ready to quit scouting all together. My wife and I made a lot of changes concerning the pack meetings, the campouts, and the programs as a whole. The kids started to have more fun, the parents were happy with everything my wife and I were doing, the CC was staying out of our way (although she never did her job or helped us in any way) and things were good. Then all the leaders decided it was time to ask her to retire from the pack, so another parent (who has a kid in the pack) could take over as the CC. This started the downward spiral that eventually lead to us leaving and taking our son out. My issue with all of this is that I do not understand why someone who is so condescending and disrespectful to parents and volunteers would be allowed to stay and ruin the children's scout experience. My son was upset that we left, but understands because of the amount of unnecessary stress that was put on us. At what point will someone step up and address the issue of leaders who refuse to leave a pack when other parents want to step up and be leaders. The CC has been with the pack for, what she says, over 12 years and their son has just graduated high school. I am sorry for the rant, just wanted to get it off my chest somehow. I am really upset about this, I really cared about the pack and the kids in it. I just wanted to make things better for those Scouts and improve their Scouting experience, but was crapped on and told that I made it not fun for people and that they wanted to leave....

rant over...

Reading this makes me hopeful for our youth. A lot of parents try and force their kids on everything and never let them make mistakes to learn from. My son is working on his AOL right now and I can see the Scouts become more and more independent. They planned most of a hike, with the help of the adults last year, and they ran most of the trip. The only thing we did was interject when they said they wanted go up a path that, "looked cool" and they wanted to know where it went (it was an animal trail and they couldn't follow it). Many parents do not give their kids a chance to fail at things that can teat them a valuable lesson, I do that sometimes. THIS is the biggest reason why I want my son to be in Scouts. He has an opportunity to do fun activities and adventures as well as many chances to learn from a failure in a safe way. Thanks for sharing this @@Horizon

I have been trying to figure out a way to show the Scouts about Woof'ems. The logistics of making the roasting stick seems easy enough, but just never did it. I found this website; http://www.madetobeamomma.com/woofem-campfire-treat/, which has a way to make a desert kind of thing, but could also be changed to a meal type.

That could be something you could teach at RT for those that don't know what a Woof'em is and how to make the sticks.

@@judybsa, so the Den leader is supposed to plan to have the Scouts do an activity but not help them with planning it? If that is what should happen, then that works. I will just make sure my Den Leader understands that (I am the CM). Thank you for the help.

So my son is working on this Arrow of Light award and one of the requirements for an adventure states, "Show that you are an active leader by planning an activity without your den leader's help." My question is, how is this something that can be done. The den leader must plan each meeting and if the Scouts are planning something how can they accomplish this?
 

Awesome, I found a bigger one for cheap and will probably get that to use. Thanks for the help everyone! I can't wait to use them this weekend

A camping we will go, a camping we will go...hi ho the derry o a camping we will go!!

Starting this up one more time

What dimensions of mosquito netting do I need to get to cover a cot. I have seen the premade stuff, but I am making my own frame like the one @@TAHAWK showed me. Thanks in advanced!

Forgot to mention, I found this (https://www.walmart.com/ip/DISCONTINUED-PER-VENDOR-12-21/46164505) but feel as though it is too small

My pack was already doing it when I joined. I ensured it started when I became the Cubmaster. My son started his Webelos rank when I became the CM, so it was easy to just suggest the Den Leader start working with the boys on their patrol name. Now that the Arrow of Light makes it a requirement, it should be easier to have the Webelos decide in 4th grade.

I have seen no one leave because of the ban. I know it was an issue, but then died out. People my area seem to not care about it. Personally, I do not know why it was a big deal...then again I grew up with people who were gay.

My real vote is Tim Hortons....but I have moved away from my home state and don't have one near me

_{"Please put your Pokémon away"  at the Holocaust Museum...   at the Arlington National Cemetery...   http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/12/485759308/holocaust-museum-arlington-national-cemetery-plead-no-pokemon}

_{This is what bothers me about people. What is happening with my family is that they are going out, while I am at work, to different places that they may or may not have gone to and enjoying the place (i.e. Botanical Gardens). They stay there and enjoy their surroundings and catch Pokémon along the way. They are not just staring at the phone, they stop when they find something and get it and move on. This is what we can only hope happens with everyone else. I know there are people who will just stare at their phone and wander around not looking at anything else while in a place that invites you to go to. I just hope it will not always be that way.}

My major negative is the amount of data that the app has access to. It has access to EVERYTHING just about.

So does all the other apps people put on their phones.

That's not exactly how this works. Unlike geocaches, the locations (a.k.a. "stops") tend not to be isolated. In fact, players can "boost" stops that they like. (One former scout did so with a veteran's memorial that another scout had refurbished for his Eagle project.)

 

Once a player is at a stop, any "chasing" is done by rapidly tapping a control on their screen.

 

The "map" provided by the game is your typical driving gps map. Going off trail seems to get you further away from targets. So, I don't see that happening. At least with this version.

I say sort of like geocache because there are points on the map that you go to and makes people go to places they normally would not. Our local Botanical Gardens is full of Pokéstops and a ton of Pokémon...this is causing people to go that normally would not. The map may be like GPS maps, but there are things off the path that make people go to them. Plus people will wander around trying to find a certain Pokémon. People already do it at this large park, that is just a giant hill, with a pond and playground areas, so it is not too bad if they go off the path.

Cybersecurity risk.

AWWWW Yeah, I can see it now...people will lose their information so fast and not care, but lose those Pokémon and they will lose their minds....lol

It kind of works like a geocache kind of thing and I could see it working in a way where the Scouts could mark it on a map. However, the game does not allowed other players to interact....yet

I thought of one major negative...people leaving trails to chase down Pokémon....

So what do you all think about Scouts and Pokémon Go? For those of you who do not know, you walk around and Pokémon will pop up wherever you are. The Pokémon you get will depend on your location. So if the Scout is on a hike and they have the app open, they will find Pokémon. I know they always say to not bring electronics, but kids find a way...so again, what do you all think about it?

Well I just realized...I am not only looking for Tidewater Council, but also Princess Anne District...probably should have mentioned that huh??

Are they Webelos?

Question to all the Scouters out there. Who is apart of the Tidewater Council in VA? I ask because I am planning this year's Webelosree and wanted to push out the event this way as well as the other ways I am already doing.

I am with MrBob, just talk with the Den leader for the "AOL" scouts and see if they are willing to take him into their den. You should do it soon though, there are a lot of dens who are already working on the adventures.

@@Richard....the fact that both sites exist on Scouting irks me. My site came from a quick Google search. Thank you for the info.

@@RichardB Yes it was an approved camping place for Cub Scouts. We camped and the reason I asked for clarification on what to do with the boating was because it was free time that I cannot control what parents do with their kids. The reason we asked is because Guide to safe Scouting specifically states that "Safe Swim Defense does not apply to boating or water activities such as waterskiing or swamped boat drills that are covered by Safety Afloat guidelines" and Safety Afloat Guidelines (http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/Aquatics/safety-afloat.aspx) says "Cub Scout activities afloat are limited to council or district events".

Lucky for us, we have all the trained personnel with us. No one was ever told this changed. Additionally, we had to go around it because we were told by the DE that scouts cannot do canoeing unless it is a district or council event and again we had to tell the parents that if they went they were not covered by BSA insurance. This is why we would not have done a tour and activity plan because as far as we were concerned the aquatics part of the campout was not sanctioned by BSA and the parents were on their free time with their children.