htusa31

Let me add. Anything I have implemented, they voted on. Nothing I have done without the boys telling me, Yes or no.

I take what they tell me and I run with it. Doing the behind the scenes leg work to get it setup for them to do. And by doing by delegating parents to do it for me. The ones that want to help.

Are we allowed to use Pizza Huts's fundraiser night?

We sign up with Pizza Hut, we pick a night M-Th. 

We get 20% of any and all sales that night. 

They will send us flyers to hand out, and try to get people to eat Pizza Hut that night. 

Boys have to do nothing other than hand out flyers. Monies will go to the general Troop fund account.

The goal is Eagle, with learning a few usable like skills along the way. If we reach Eagle great if not then do not hang your head. Smile that you experienced something great, and you learned some useful life skills along the way.

I will not churn out Eagle scouts just because that is what the main goal is. We will earn our ranking and our positions. Nothing is handed out, it is earned through hard work. 

I did find out, the troop quit going to district camp outs because they were being competitive in any of the events. They were getting discouraged and figured why bother trying, the troop was turning into a churn out Eagles as fast as you can. 

This was not the way I taught. When we went to district camp outs, we went for the camping and to get in the outdoors.  In reality we went to have fun, learn about comradery, and to full fill some scouting requirements.

We also had to earn our rankings and they just were not given to you. For instance, the cooking requirement requires a scout to assist is preparing a meal. Having a scout flip a burger, is not assisting in preparing a meal. We all know what it means, but using it in that context is fulfilling the requirement but it doesnt teach anything to the scout. 

If the boys learn nothing else from their scouting experience, it might as well be Don't Procrastinate.  We all hear about these stories of how boys either get done by the skin of their teeth, bend the last minute rules, or simply can't justify anything to make it happen at the last minute.  These boys have 7 years to figure it out.  If they don't get their Eagle it's their own fault, not some leader''s, not their parent's, not their buddies', not their project beneficiary, not the Council's, but theirs.  It's all part of the growing up, being responsible part of the program.  Any boy that walks away from scouting with a bad taste in their mouth because they missed out on an Eagle, missed out on what scouting is all about, too.

 

Sorry, no sympathy from this corner.  Get your act together, set a goal, make a plan and then get it done.  That's how successful grown-ups do it.

Agreed. Hard to do when girls, sports, cars, and college gets thrown into the mix. Still not an excuse, its choosing your priorities wisely.

I seen this type of fallout on an Eagle project once. Friend had everything lined up. Finished the project and the beneficiary went :poof:.

No one could sign off on it expect him. Never knew why or any more details. Friend was 30 days from turning 18, and all he needed was one signature. 

Friend couldnt get second project going. Beneficiary showed back up about 3 months later. 

I havent spoke to friend in a while, I dont think he ever got his Eagle. Last time I did talk to him he had nothing but a bad taste from scouting. 

I pushed the envelope on my Eagle. I was finished with my project in the final 2 months before I turned 18. Got my final approval from national 3 months after I turned 18. It was hair raising during that wait, I knew any rejection would require an appeal and a nightmare to complete. 

I missed out on the Eagle Scout Scholarship as well. I am now encouraging boys to shoot for 16-17 to get their Eagle. They will have plenty of time to apply for the Eagle Scholarship if they chose to. 

Had my first meeting last night. 

Things went great. 

Scouts were eager and ready to go. Parents were very receptive. (especially since a few were from soccer). They were the first to volunteer any and everything I need. We have a few fundraisers already planned out ready to go. Just have to get final approval.

We started preparing for the district camp out next month. I have a final meeting on the camp out, Thursday with the district. 

I did sit down with each scout as I get to know you meeting. We went over their accomplishments, and set some not easy but not unreachable goals in ranking up. I have a few that are up for their board, so thats being scheduled here soon.

Also went over the OA and planned on doing elections but ending up pushing it off to next week. Same went for troop elections. We pushed them off so they could think about who they want in each position.

After the next fundraiser we will talk about our summer trip and see where they want to go. I told them to think about a few places. Yorktown, backpacking part of the Appalachian Trail, camping for a few days and doing a merit badge/quick summer camp. 

If they chose to backpack, we will have to take a test run trip before the end of school to make sure we are ready to go.

You don't have to live through your children in order to step in at times to show them how to managed an unreasonable coach, teacher or adult.

 

There are many things which come with age. Wisdom is one of them. I knew it all when I was your age too....until I got older and realized I didn't.

Oh I dont know it all. I know a few things but not everything. Ill seen a lot of crap a lot of people my age should never have to see. 

As for managing an unreasonable leader you are right, when they become of maturity, it will be the kids job to handle it. 

But doing it publicly and in front of others is not the way. Criticizing the leader and badmouthing them all the time is not the way.

Sitting down behind closed doors and hashing out the issues are the proper way. Go at the source not around it.

You came to the realization that "parents suck...?" 

 

You may feel a little differently when your son or daughter experiences some kind of issue with a coach, teacher, scout leader, etc. 

Doubt it as I do not live through my children. I live to help them understand life.

It is the coach/leaders job to lead. I am there to supportive/helpful, not criticize every move they make.

Yes...leave fund-raising to your troop committee and the PLC. 

 

The best way to be successful AND make sure you have time for family is to do your job and not the job of other people. Delegate, delegate, delegate...and teach the boys to run things. If done right you should be working more in the background and saying less than anyone. The best SM says little and is rarely ever seen. The boys should be leading, doing. The adults are in the background making it work for the things the boys cannot do.

 

If you don't delegate you will burn out in a year or two.

Agreed 100%, on the delegation. I ran the team the same way. Some parents did different parts. I just had to coordinate and coach. I think I had to once go and setup a soccer game. Parent dropped the ball and someone was put into her place the next day.

Sadly the Scoutmaster is put on the forefront to come up with fundrasing ideas. I will work on transitioning that out of my hands to the proper hands. 

A lot of the details about what fundraising will work and what style you need to adopt will come from the people in your community. For example, everyone expects our boys to hold a spaghetti dinner fundraiser weather they need the money or not. Even though that particular church is no longer our CO, they would like the boys to hold it there. Most scouting is local. Go figure.

 

I would recommend this little exercise (you might be buying quite a few folks' coffees):

 

Look up your classmates who were scouts (even if it was just for a couple of years) in your troop, and see if a few of them can get together for an hour to talk about old times. Let them know what you are planning to do, and ask them if they could talk to you about what they liked about your troop and what they didn't like. Ask the boys who were only scouts for a short time why they left the troop, and those who were there until aging out why they stayed.

 

Hopefully there weren't any terrible skeletons. But you might hear a few things that went on that you never noticed as a boy. Those will inform you as to the kind scouter that you may want to be. Maybe you'll be a lot like your former SM, but maybe there was some adult who you never gave much thought, but made a world of difference in your buddies' careers as scouts. If so, it might behoove you to get to know that person. There might be things your SM did that were really off-putting, or a situation or two he didn't handle well. By now everyone ought to be able to understand both sides of whatever it was, but it will help you learn generally what your troop will need from you as an SM. And, if you can't provided it, what you will need to ask from other adults to make troop and your district be the very best they can be.

 

And from that meeting, you might just get one or two volunteers.

I am good friends with 90% of my old troopmates. 25% are my best friends. We have talked about scouting and what to do and how we would run it over the years. Luckily there is not much we would change. 

I like qwazse's suggestion of reaching out to old scout friends.  Seems like a great idea if you could pull that off.

Even if you know how to contact only one....he might know how to get in touch with others.  

Anyway, seems like a great suggestion.

 

 

I've seen analogies used many times of scouting to sports, even that the SM is like the coach.

I think it makes sense in terms of parents staying off the playing field

but Stosh is right, I think.  It does seem to fall apart with the coach comparison.  Some very significant differences.

 

I suggested a book earlier in this thread (So Far So Good, A New Scoutmaster's Journey)

I thought of another one, also a very easy, short, and quick reading.

"Aids to Scoutmastership", by Baden-Powell

you can find the full text of it online for free.

I ordered a copy from amazon.  It's very old, but it still applies I'd think....

and a third and I think very excellent resource is scoutmastercg.com

... and of course this forum

 

I've only been a Cub Scouter (cubmaster, assistant cubmaster, and assistant DL) so far, so this isn't coming from vast troop level experience, but I have been doing a lot of reading lately and have been participating here for a while now.  (these conversations are better than any I've had at our roundtables)

Anyway, it just seem a good idea to get a fresh understanding of the foundations of scouting to boost your youth experience with either good reminders or good ideas of different or better ways.

I sure do wish I could have known to read this stuff before I got heavily involved with the pack.  I could have been a much better cub leader I think, even the focus is scouts and not cubs.

 I have the Aids, and So far on order from Amazon. 

I went ahead and bought the Vol 1 Trainers guide. Vol 2 should be out here shortly. 

The new scout handbook wont hit my local ship until Jan 22.

As for the Coach to SM, they have differences yes to the untrained eye. While I was a coach I just wasn't a coach I was leader/guide. Teaching them that soccer can be a stepping stone to getting ahead in life. I had probably 45% of my boys get college scholarships for soccer. (partial or full) My first kids are now graduating. Some have went on to Masters, the others are getting well paying jobs.

I was also teaching them that soccer is a job, if you want to be good at that job give me 100% all the time. Same applies to work, give 100% all the time and the rewards will be bountiful.

Same goes for being a SM, the goal in scouts is getting the Eagle rank, but its not the end goal. The end goal is learning about and how to handle life on your own. Whether that is a job welding, running your own business, or savings someone life. Scouts teaching you how to handle those things and how to grasp life and make it your own.

Thanks Stosh and blw2. I'm not going anywhere. The heat I can handle.

If the kids can't be coached by a tough coach, then the real world will be interesting.

For those who don't like my attitude that's fine. I've been hated by worse.

I'm just a no bull shoot you straight kinda guy. I walked on eggshells for years and I'll never do that again.

I'm a heck of a moviator. A prior manager told me I could sell ice to Eskimos.

I've been known to get change where change was needed. So I'm not worried about getting the job done.

So let's move along to the reason why I started this thread.

Any suggestions on being a SM?

Fundraising ideas?

Other than don't do it and my attitude sucks. You only judge me from a few comments so Ill ignore that fact.

I have been wanting to get back into the woods for a few years now. Wife is not a big camper. I used to do the highland games but those are only me involved. Scouts will allow me to interact more with the kids. Much less travel and more time at home in general.

As for the condescending approach. You don't understand why I have that speech. Its there for a reason and it works. I have more respect from parents with that approach than being shy and quiet about it. I'm upfront honest from the start. It puts their expectations in check, that they are the parent and are welcome to help but they are not the primary reason I'm here. I'm here for the kids and to help them not stroke a parents ego. Its about the kids and kids only.

Welcome to the forums.

 

I'm reading tea leaves here, but my suggestion is to not be SM. You have your plate full and you do not want to be burned out 10 years from now when your son is looking for a troop. Granted, cub scouts is not nearly as much fun as boy scouts, but don't you want to spend time with your son? If you're the SM you might be forced into going on a campout when your son is doing some cub scout event.

 

You can be ASM, you can still help out, have fun, and learn, but you can also say nope, can't make that. At the end of the day, it is the SM's responsibility. I've seen a couple of people get signed up for SM before they joined a troop and it has never worked well. It's an indication that the troop is struggling. That's not a good place for you to learn about being a SM.

 

Also, and I want to say this politely, but your comment that "I came to the realization that parents suck" is a bit harsh. Yes, there are some parents that are immature and don't see beyond their own kid, but the majority are wonderful. Hopefully you mean "some parents suck."

 

Best of luck.

Nope I meant every word. Its harsh but it gets the point across really quick. I started using that phrase in my second coaching year. As soon as I say that, parents quickly straighten up, feel disrespected, some get red mad. Those are those ones you dont want around. The others take a second and realize, yeah you are right. Parents do suck. Why?? Because when I get a kid in soccer, the parent becomes a spectator. (after that time period they become parents again) The same will apply to Scouts. This is a boy lead group. I came out of this troop. We have always been boy led. SPL gets what we as leaders want to do and conducts it. 

As for taking kids camping, I will not take them under 7yo. We also do not do a lot of District camping anymore, as the only places the district goes is cow pastures. We have the Smoky Mountains in our backyard and all they do it camp in cow pastures.

Yes my kids are young, but I promise I wont miss a beat with them. I havent yet. I love my work, and I work for a family run company, so time off is not a problem for anything family related. Its the type of job that I use my IT Business degree for.

Anyways as for it being all on me, it will not be. Luckily we have the same leaders I had when I was in. They already know the working and kid schedule. We each pull up the slack the other leaves behind. Im not worried about being burned out. Ive been in since I was 7. 15 years of total service.

We have an nice Cub Scout group that feeds the Boy Scout troop and they met on Tuesdays, the day after Boy Scouts. 

Trust me I already thought about the concerns mentioned. Wife is supportive as well. We had a nice long talk about it before I went out and bought what I needed. 

Ok so after getting my Eagle(2005)I went off to college, got my degree, found my wife, had a couple of kiddos. Had my daughter in 2013(light of my life) My boy was born in August (2015).

So the Boy is way too young to be thinking about scouts just yet but that doesn't mean Dad cant.

Yes I know he may not like it but hopefully with my good influence he will follow Dad. Its his choice in the end and all that. I don't see him not doing it. I am the first Eagle in my family so hopefully he will follow suit.

I dont think I will get my daughter involved in the local GS, to be quite honest they are not what I call Scouts(just the local area not in general)

Hopefully she will want to do Venturing and that will be fun.

Anyways my old scout leader (married into his family, married his distance niece, but still close enough for family functions), tells me at a Christmas part they need a Scoutmaster.

He has wanted me to come back to be an assistant, but I haven't been keen on an assistant role. This is not because I dont want to work with boys, I just want to enjoy time with my kids and family. I of course have had other hobbies, but those hobbies are not holding my interests anymore, I guess I am looking to find something to fill that hobby time. Of course allows me to bring the kids even young, to campouts and such. Gets them outdoors at a young age. I can also bring the kids to meetings and give the wife a few hours of alone time. 

It took me a second to register, that they want me to run the show now. Of course I am not stranger to leading, I was head soccer coach for 6 years to ages 10-20. I can lead a team and get results that are needed(This was with AYSO and I had a impressive winning record. I just got tired of parents thinking they run the show and their kids is the best thing since Donovan. I came to the realization that parents suck.)

So anyways, besides a few things I know from my young scouting days, anyone care to give a few pointers? Ill be the youngest in the area running a troop. (28)

We have some fund raising to do, old SM didnt do popcorn or fundraising(work) and we have less than 800$ in the bank at the moment.

Any suggestions??

Thanks in advance.

Thanks.

Im a IT Director so reporting is the only way I know something is wrong.

Without a report I cant really fix it. 

Yes I will continue to use this name.

Ok so I had forum sign up problems.

I created an account htusa. It said it would send validation email. I waited for over 3 days for the email that never came. I checked all spam and junk folders. Nothing.

I switched to several new emails and nothing..

So I tried to create an account by linking my Facebook account and it popped up with a 505 Error.

It allowed me to create an account with Twitter.  New username is htusa31.

I tried sending out a few PMs to admins and it restricted my PMs but it only allows for 2 messages to be sent. One of the two I sent to was last active in September and the other a week ago.

Thanks,

htusa and htusa31

FYI you can tell me which account you want me to use and then delete the other.