curious_scouter

not to mention the registration fee is just the tip of a very large expense iceberg in scouting. Fundraising can help, but it's still very expensive to scout. Uniform is easily $100+, book $25, unit dues $100-150, campouts @$20 ea is $200+ a year, summer camp is $350+ a lot of places. And that's before any other clothes or gear they need. So like $700-1000 in ongoing annual fees easily. A Scouting career can cost a family as much as a year of in state college tuition. It's a big choice, but I also think it has major benefits to the youth that justify the expense. There truly is no b

Get involved or get informed is my mantra. Serious concerns for safety or logistics are always welcome, but nit picking the plan the scouts create isn't something I tolerate if you weren't willing to make the time to participate

I live nearby. Toyed with the idea of going, until I saw the registration fee. Is the content really worth that much? I could send 3 adults to Wood Badge for that.

100%. I had the performance uniform and loved it. Lost a buncha weight (yay) so needed a new shirt. No more of those, bought the cotton one. Miserable. Just awful. I mean it looks good. You can really crisp it up with the iron, but wearing it in FL is rough. So hot. Just soaks up the sweat around the neck and pits and stays super moist. Strong excitement about the re-introduction of performance options except I suspect it'll take our council shop years to cycle through current stock to where it is available locally and I like... JUST bought this cotton one so will have to stick w

We follow a similar process to @InquisitiveScouter's. SM and CC conference ahead of annual planning, align on any fundamental shifts in year-to-year policies (similar to IS's notes: We have standing expectation of 1 outing per month, 1 in-state / 1 out-of-state summer camp, and certain other activities we pre-commit to each year like helping with pack crossover weekend, etc.) This seed the "parameters" for annual planning. SM and PLC conduct annual planning. CC is invited to participate. We review school, council, district, and OA calendars so we can participate and avoid

I found self-organizing was key. Not right away but just ahead of the next elections we had "patrol re-org night". SPL announced "You are all released from your patrols!" They were given 30 minutes to "congeal" into new patrols. It was interesting. We started with 5 Patrols, we ended with 5 Patrols. Noone specified max/min Patrol size nor number of patrols - we just let it happen. I was worried about this as we have 5 patrol kits... so as much as I love the Patrol Method - sometimes practical considerations do play a part. As it turned out, the politics and awkwardness involved wi

This is a camp problem, not a you problem. Echoing similar advice: Don't leave it to chance. Address it with them before committing to camp and then hold them to it. If they can't commit to making it a comfortable experience (facilities and experience/emotionally) then find a better option if you can.

I honestly don't know how to explain it to an adult any more than I can explain faith to someone without it. I feel like it's one of those things like Peter Pan once you hit a certain age "practicality" takes the driver seat. But these are youth and they need and crave fun and adventure. If you can't understand that's better delivered with a "band of brothers" than force marched into "groups that make sense" it will be hard to convince you. In my unit, I had to force it. I had the "luxury" of being the new Scoutmaster and therefore holding the authority to insist we at least try it th

It's going great. Patrols are all happy with their members. Sometimes relationships change or scouts mature and their Patrol does not "fit" any more so they drift around a little, but not much. And we allow them. The only exception is new scout patrol where you have to have 1 year in or reach First Class before you can elect to move out, but the last two years the crossovers who started in the new scout patrol have chosen to stay in that patrol when they were given the choice and it is building up nicely into a mix of ages and skillets, so it's not JUST all the youngest. Campouts wor

Someone outlines the "official way" already I think. I've always seen this go down much more casually. When I was active on Pack committee we had 4 or 5 times that packs in the area "folded" and merged with us. The money and gear belongs to the CO they were chartered with. All but once, that was all just left behind. All a "merger" actually ended up being was families doing transfer applications to our unit. Easy peezy. No CO messiness. But that meant leaving everything behind. Only in one case did we receive any money and property and in that case I think it was more

It's a neat idea. If it lights your fire, no reason not to pursue it. That said, my practical side whispers you'd have little uptake between policies towards electronic use and the fact that in 8 years of leading scouts I have literally never seen one use a radio. Do it for you, and if a few people get value - huzzah. But if you're looking for a project to benefit the masses I'd refocus on the Radio merit badge aspect and use this as a means to an end there.

Once official, always official. I think the old badges are cool and I love a colorful uniform on a youth. If they like them, they can definitely wear them. I tend to keep mine less flashy, I'm not trying to show off, but it's their walking trophy case. I love the zany NYLT loops, colorful OA flaps, bold council patches. I love a good ghost patch too. I dunno. I think this falls squarely in the "hike your hike" bucket, at least WRT to "official" items. Shoulder loops custom for NYLT, OA chapters and Wood Badge have become a fad in my area, I'm sure strictly speaking it's ou

After discussing with me I allow Star and higher to sign off on First Class and lower. I also allow Troop Guides after training. I find that youth-youth for those ranks has benefit. We have a largeish troop, so it avoid bottlenecks getting progress recorded. It also provide repeat chances for the older Scout to revisit material and concepts and to show leadership by testing. I keep an eye on signatures, etc. and if I see a particularly "prolific" scout signoff, I make a point to check in with them more often to maintain my comfort level they are adequately testing. Have been doin

4.2.1.2 The Scout Is Tested The unit leader authorizes those who may test and pass the Scout on rank requirements. They might include the patrol leader, the senior patrol leader, the unit leader, an assistant unit leader, or another Scout Pretty clear. If you, as unit leader, wish to authorize the PLC to test and pass the Scout on that requirement - I can see no reason you can't. You have a responsibility to ensure those you authorize to do the testing and passing are qualified to do so and that the unit clearly understands who can do what. If you have full faith in your PLC to be hon

It's a good point. I am guessing the POV of my exec today will change after Mar 4 rolls around. Will they be square on paperwork by then? Maybe! This is a prudent change, but if they can't rise to the challenge of timely processing it's going to hurt the units and the program.

FWIW my exec replied that council policy is as long as the paper app has hit their desk and YPT is confirmed we're good to go. The lag in council processing the paperwork should not concern us if the paperwork is in as the act of submitting a valid and accepted application is what gets that person covered as a registered leader, insurance, etc. I do worry about the "what if they lose it". Two years ago, our entire recharter was lost and it took 9 months to sort it out. The interim between paperwork and online status is killing us for using otherwise great tools like internet advanceme

Ugh. If the councils were able to process paperwork quickly, this would all be fine. Our recharter was due Nov 16, 2023 and district/council practically flogged the volunteers in units to get in on time. They even sent out an email calling out units who had not submitted on time by name! Yet recharter is still in process two months later by council. In fact, we recently hand-delivered a new adult application to council as we need this adult at a campout this month and they need to be registered to do that. We were told then they are only about 25% through recharter processing! It

My take on how to get adults to do things hinges on viewing life through the lens of three virtual bank balances: Time, Money, and Social currencies. You may have to draw down the balance of all three accounts for certain activities. Everyone has different balances in these accounts. Some may have more Money but less Time, enabling them to financially support others. Those with more Time but less Money invest their time to help without incurring costs. Social currency is spent when actions create hardships for those close to you. Balances in these accounts can only be changed or restored

We had sort of a blow up over this. Scouts BSA unit. Scout turned 18 in Nov/Dec. Friends would not turn 18 until sometime the next year. Wanted to stay in the unit, but in a way where they could still participate with their buddies. Cited "Unit College Scouter Reserve" as being for this purpose but on my own review and review with District and Council - no. The purpose of that role is to forgive the unit of the training requirements for adult leaders for people in that role. The training status of people in that role are not assessed a penalty for the unit in processes like JTE. But it

"I had walked places all my life. So how hard could it be?" Love it.

Same. lol

I was amazed recently when reading about Emma Gatewood who thru-hiked the AT at 67 years old in 1955 (and then again two more times from what I understand) with a main piece of equipment being a shower curtain as a tarp. I thought that sounded so unusual but based on this additional source, maybe it was a common "hack" of that time in history. Nifty.

Good advice. I have this challenge not only in direct comm "Hey, I sent you an email - did you get it?" but also clearly set expectations. For example, it had become the practice to sign up for a campout ONLY if you were going. Our tool for that supports an "RSVP" model where you can explicitly say "I'm not coming." I started asking everyone to RSVP "no" if they are not coming. This allowed us to start confirming that people were seeing the calendar entries, and not planning to come. This has been really helpful in our planning.

Main thing we did that would be a no-no today was cramming EVERYONE into a single shelter when winter camping. It was a great way to stay warm, but having done it for many years as a youth I thoroughly understand the logic behind the "within 2 years" rule of YPT. The information sharing was unfiltered.

this is what I was going to suggest. Make it an agenda item of your next PLC. Let the Scouts sort it out. They use methods and means you'll never get into anyway. And... they don't want you there. Be direct and make sure your SPL can reach their ASPLs and PLs somehow. That's up to them to figure out and may entail a number of methods. I doubt a one size fits all will work anyway. I know my own son almost never checks emails. I know some scouts don't even have a phone, some until they are in their teens. Others are not permitted on discord. So I think your youth leaders are goi