Buggie

I should have gone back and checked to see if anything really did post or not. And looks like it did post, twice in the same message. Funny that. So below is the same sort of response from the other day. Bah. I tried replying to this on the weekend, but it didn't take. I don't think there was anything to this, however I can't read minds. What it sounded like to me was that the scouter in charge hadn't anticipated the girl Webelos unit's situations and went into lock down paralysis mode not knowing how things should be done and not wanting to get in trouble for anything.

I can't claim to read any ones mind in this, however I think it was more of newness unknown paralyze shutdown syndrome. They didn't think it through and then didn't know what to do. So do nothing. Of course this is hampered by not knowing what COs are going to form girl troops next year. I expect speed bumps along the way. Keep cool and navigate through. It's not a stop sign. More of a we need to plan better moment. I can't claim to read any ones mind in this, however I think it was more of newness unknown paralyze shutdown syndrome. They didn't think it through and then didn't

At our recent Webelos event, where the Webelos are embedded camp out with troops and then the troops host various events for them, we had one all girl unit. It wasn't a perfect run. There was some confusion in how things should be handled. At first one of the District level folks balked at the fact that the girl Webelos unit was set up inside the scout troop. They were required to move to a separate campsite. The whole thing is an unknown for folks, how do they handle it? It's not defined by national yet all the way. And hopefully we'll get some guidance on that. Further more, post event day,

Maybe I should dig out my classic retro scout issued parachute pants. But in seriousness it is funny how they market stuff. You could almost see the scenario. Hey Bob, you'll never guess the mistake we made in ordering. .... I know! Lets put them out as classic socks!

Unfortunately, it's one of those situations that does pop up in troops. They do have the right to suspend the scout for a length of time. And even though the spirit of scouting says they should be working with the family and the scout on finding ways to mitigate the unwanted behavior, there's nothing out there that is going to make them willing or enthusiastic about it. Your concerns about how the troop's adults are going to continue to support your son are real and valid. The only thing you really can do is to wait out the suspension. However, you should even without your son's blessing

Learning from experienced scouters can be interesting especially if they've been around for awhile. Like all you fellow geezers here. But you have to take care with what they are teaching. For example, my SM was drafted to assist with the SM training course for those who hadn't taken it online. A good endeavor to be sure. He came to me the next day having learned things himself. Things he thought were true turned out not to be. Things he didn't know about at all. It was eye opening for him. One of the problems with the experienced scouters is what they believe is in the program/policy/r

I didn't get all the way through it because one of the things that struck me was the uniform requirements. BORs can't make such a requirement above what BSA requires. A scout shows up to the best of their ability. Some scouts can't afford the full uniform. We had a scout lose everything in a fire. While he did get a shirt provided as a gift that was the best he could do. And i know in my case we couldn't keep my son in anything long as kept growing out of everything. A shirt was the best we could do.

Westley: If only we had a wheelbarrow, that would be something for our OA lodge activities... Inigo: Where did we put that wheelbarrow the scout had? Fezzik: Over the scout I think. Westley: Well why didn't you list that among our assets in the first place? Oh, what I wouldn't give for a black cloak. Inigo: There, we cannot help you. Fezzik: [pulls out a black cloak] Will this do? Inigo: Where did you get that? Fezzik: At the troop's scout closet. It fit so nice, they said I could keep it. Fezzik: Welcome to the OA! There will be no survivors!

We had a camp out this weekend. I'm still fairly new to this troop and I did scope it out early before signing up, but I'm still very happy when I see them do things in ways I think are right. First of all, the scout's set their own schedule. It included some instruction time on things the new-boys and some of the other scouts needed practice upon. They chose it. It was fun to watch from the adult's sitting area. (flag ceremony stuff) Secondly they did everything on their own with very minimal adult interaction. Mostly safety things like "How many scouts are supposed to be in the ax

Me too. Now I get it to a degree. Us adults are older. Not as pliable as them young-uns... But still at times I think we go overboard with creature comforts and gadgets. If you carry more than four scouts or require your own truck to haul all your personal stuff, perhaps you should re-think it. My big thing is cellophones. I think it is reasonable for all the adults to have them on a camp out and for very good reasons below. However except for the reasons listed below, ours should be off unless there's a need that you wouldn't frown at a scout for. Main point of contact (maybe tw

I'm in the OKC area. And to make the sob story even sadder, my marine battery I use for the CPAP died at summer camp this year as well. I had it since 2010, so I'm happy it lasted as long as it did, but I didn't use it as often as I would have liked to since I didn't get to go camping much. Job limited me to pretty much only summer camps. Also very handy to have in case of power failures at home. Those pesky T-Storms et al. So that's another thing I'm in the market for. My plan is to take stock of all that I need and prioritize it. There are things I'm getting starter items f

I hear badge magic is fantastic for that....

Yah, I have a CPAP so I tend not to sleep in hammocks outside of a nap. The hose and apparatus don't work so well with it. The fun thing is that my hammock broke at summer camp this year. I just got comfortable and suddenly I was on the ground. The rope coming out of the hammock and through the carabiner connecting to the straps on the tree went *pop*! I joke that the two other adults in camp woke up long enough to ask if I was okay. Actually I was pretty lucky. I had a camp pillow that cushioned my head in the fall. Also I always try to clear the ground beneath me. Lastly, becau

Mostly camping in Oklahoma. With one trip a year expected to Kansas. The weather varies after October. Either you've got sunny skies and 70 degree weather or you go down the temperature range to highs in the 20's generally. Typically you don't see Okie kids camping below 20 for highs. We deal with heat, not the cold! Most of the scouts aren't well outfitted for below freezing weather, so there's a limit that various troops choose on when to go camping or not. But yah, my situation is that I need to gear up for winter camping and wanted to know what sorts of things people would recommend

It's the Spanish Inquisition patch. I never expected to see that.

For me, chigger protection is always appreciated along with your standard bug spray of choice. Every year I think, I need to remember to get the chigger powder for next year and I always forget it and wish I hadn't. A nice wide brim hat. A cooling towel. A friend of mine recommended one of those cooling beanies that motorcyclists use under their helmets. Some folks swear about those zero g recliners that can tilt back. To me I can't relax in those. I feel like I'm about to fall backwards. I like using a Sansbug for my mosquito netting. It's my luxury item. If I'm bringing one.

I'm privy to a few schools in my area and how they handle it in regards to hotels etc. They are assigned to share a hotel room together if they are in the same trans-gendered classification (FTM or MTF). If there is only one, they receive their own room. I've come across a few transgender scouts at summer camp, but I don't know how they handled tent assignments as it wasn't in my unit.

Conflict of interest happens too. And then there's the situation where people think that something is going on, even when it doesn't. Or even though they are taking a minor role, because of their District role they carry more authority causing more folks to follow along than would otherwise. Even if they aren't trying to do that at all, you get the problem because it isn't them pushing their position, it's someone doing it for them. So yah, it can get ugly even with the best of folks and intentions. It really takes a set "just do this job and nothing else" type of mindset. A

I've seen it done. It required scouters to devote their time on whatever day it was that was needed, regardless of holidays/weekends/etc. It is a huge undertaking and if adults aren't on board or the scout doesn't follow through, it's blown. Still possible, but dangerous. Make sure the scout has the support they need all the way through. Communicate often and early. Scouters tend to bend over backwards to help when they see a scout doing their best, but it only takes one to upset that apple cart and destroy everything. Best to have as much wiggle room as possible.

Never be afraid to shop around. Also never be afraid to and try your best at keeping your eyes open at self examination. Sometimes it's the unit. Units are good fits for some folks and bad fits for others. Sometimes it's us. We're too "us" and we need to change what we're doing. But again, it never hurts to see what other units are around. And even though I hate the thought of a kid leaving scouts, sometimes you need a break. I would rather someone take a year off then get frustrated to the point where they don't ever want to be a part of it again. People try to give the impr

These replies above are great. One of the things I've discovered as a parent and I definitely see it necessary as a scouter is that you've got to learn how to advocate for the scout(s). The parents, the SM, the ASM, the CC, etc. Everyone involved had best be very familiar with the current guild to advancement etc. Especially for Eagle boards. At camp two SMs I know give the SM training for those interested. The next day one of them came and asked if I knew the answer to something that he was surprised about. He was shocked that I knew the answer that he had just learned. It's becau

And if the witch is heavier than a duck, which means they sink in water and are thus a witch. Turning scouts into newts. (they get better) Course I'm also thinking of plague cart races. Yes I know. Bad Buggie. Bad boy. Go to the corner. Sorry I didn't really have anything helpful to add.

I worry for things like this. BORs should be to assess how the scout is doing in the program and how the troop is doing to address the scout's needs. It isn't a retest or examination of the items the scout has fulfilled for the rank. You can see how well the scout has been taught, but you can't deny them because they no longer remember how to tie a square knot for example. (you can then go back to the SM and say, hey, we need to beef up the square knot knowledge. we're seeing scouts aren't remembering it.) For the POR, it isn't an assessment of how well the scout did in his duty, but that

For the last decade I've been on the parent side of scouting. My job required too much of my weekend time for me to do much in the way of camping and my son really enjoyed having a place away from parents, something I honored unless there was a need for extra adults (which seemed to only hit in warmer months). But things change and this year I was finally able to volunteer and leave the "just a parent" role behind. As such, I'm going to be camping through the winter season for a change and I need to gear up. My son ages out this year, so some of his gear is going to be loaned to me until

I've posted a few memories in other topics, but a relatively recent one makes me laugh a lot. We had a bad situation where the SPL had to resign for medical reasons and the ASPL had stopped coming. So an Eagle scout was tapped to help out in the interim until the elections could be held. The Eagle scout really didn't want the job, but he did it because there was a need. A scout put his name in for SPL and won the election. He was happy. We all felt like it would be a great thing for the scout. Then the SM said, "Why don't you go ahead and assume the role and close out the meeting."