Jenn

Thanks for the recommendation. I just ordered one.

Thanks for all the thoughtful suggestions! I am trying to encourage more training for the scouts. I think that would be really helpful!

Five months ago my 11 year old son joined a very small Boy Scout Troop. He was in Cub Scouts for 5 years and I have been very involved as a den leader and Pack Committee Chair. I have no prior experience at the troop level. The troop we joined had only one patrol with 6 boys. My son and 5 of his Webelos friends joined together and formed a new patrol (doubling the size of the troop). The troop has been in existence for 40+ years and has two ASM who have been around for a long time. The problem is that although they claim to be "boy led", the boys have no idea how to run a meet

I'm interested in attending Wood Badge and have a few general questions. -I'm an experienced (& "trained") Cub Scout Committee Chairperson. I'm a new Boy Scout troop leader (ASM- membership). Do I have to declare a specific position when enrolling in Wood Badge? Is the program the same for Cub Scout and Boy Scout leaders? -I'm not position "trained" as ASM because IOLS doesn't seem to be offered anywhere in my area in the next several months. ( I plan to attend IOLS as soon as it is offered). So I don't actually meet the prerequisites for Wood Badge as an ASM. I do meet

Thanks for all the helpful replies. It's my impression that scouts are encouraged to earn First Class within their first year in the troop. If Rank badges are only awarded at COH, and our troop only holds 2 COH per year, some scouts will never get a chance to wear each of these! I know it doesn't prevent them from continuing to work on advancement, but there are some scouts who really look forward to actually wearing the rank badge. Maybe they will hold more frequent (4x/year) COH if their are more boys advancing. I suppose I'll wait and see how it goes. Thanks for the insi

My son attended his first COH last night and received his Scout rank badge. Some older boys also received badges recognizing their rank advancement, new positions, and merit badges. The SM explained that the scouts took on their new positions immediately after the elections (which were held a month ago) but they were given the badges last night at the COH. He also handed out several merit badges that were earned 6-12 months ago! So my question is: Do most units wait and hand out all badges at a COH? Or do you present the scout with the badge at the next meeting and then formally

Update: I emailed the SM and expressed my concerns regarding the worksheets and my son’s learning disability. He replied with several options, including skipping the worksheets altogether. They will continue to use the worksheets in the troop, but I’m glad this accommodation was made for my son. Thanks for the helpful advice. It was nice to get your feedback and suggestions on how to effectively approach the SM with my concerns.

My son has dyslexia/dysgraphia so writing out the answers to these questions would be a challenge for him and this requirement would discourage him from advancing. I'm sure I could work with the SM to make an accommodation for him. But I actually don't think they should be requiring these worksheets for any of the boys. If Scouts want to complete them to prepare for the SM conference, I have no problem with that. But making this an additional requirement really bothers me- especially because I asked specifically if they imposed any additional requirements before deciding to join this troo

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it. I will talk to the SM about my concerns. I just don't want to come across as "difficult" right off the bat.

Thanks for the feedback. I should clarify that the worksheets are not for checking off requirements. The boys actually use the Scout handbook for signing off on requirements. The worksheets are reflection questions like: "I will continue to show scout spirit by" (fill in the blank). "What did you learn from the Drug, Alcohol or Tobacco program?" (several lines for answer) "Which requirements for this rank did you like best and why?" (several lines for answer) I have no problem with the SM discussing these types of things with the boys at the Scoutmaster's Conference.

I'm new to the forum and looking for some advice! I've been a Cub Scout committee chairperson for 5 years, and my oldest son just crossed over to a local Boy Scout Troop. Before choosing a troop, I had a long discussion with the SM regarding some special needs my son has. I specifically asked if the troop imposed any additional requirements on the scouts. (Another very popular troop in our area has some extra "skills tests" and other requirements). SM assured me that they require exactly what is in the book, no more, no less. Tonight, at our first meeting, the parents were handed a f