cackle881

What about a Rendezvous re-enactment? You could do black powder shooting, trapping demonstrations, outdoor cooking, horsemanship, Native American lore, etc.

Our bugler not only plays the bugle for all of the traditional functions, but he also is in charge of all important announcem- oh no, I almost said it!

In order for a meeting to be productive, I think that it needs to be oriented towards a goal. Whether it be a merit badge advancement, a pioneering project, or planning for a campout, as long as the boys have a goal they will have that sense of purpose. We used to use the Woods Wisdom manuals (not sure what the name was changed to) and those work well, but they are a little overly structured and that takes some of the fun out of the meeting. What we did like, though, was the sequential progression towards a weekend event and we used a lot of that to make the meetings productive and fun.

We also found that delegating tasks out to the patrols made things go well when we broke into patrol time. One patrol would organize the gear list, another would finalize the schedule for the weekend, and another (usually the younger boys) would plan the menu. This worked out really well!

It seems to be a way of minimizing casualties, should there be an accident on the road. That way, if something dangerous does happen, the entire troop/patrol isn't involved and would be available to help. Just my presumption...

We did the "no candy/soda" rule to promote good nutrition for our guys.

Years ago, in the dim ages, when I was Lodge Chief...

What we did was provide an additional Elangomat for the clan that had the diabetic boy whose primary responsibility was to keep an eye on him. The diabetic was allowed as much food as he needed without question and he ate seperately from the rest of the clan (but not with the Lodge membership).

I am wondering if there are any good resources out there on the Historic Trails award. I haven't had much luck finding anything, since it seems like nobody ever earns this award, but I am looking to see if there is a list of qualifying trails out there.

Hotelier

I can relate to you on this one. I've had parents approach me, telling me that it was not fair that their sons were not elected to positions that they liked and it is hard to explain to them (both the parents and the boys) in a tactful manner that "life isn't fair."

I really hate whenever I hear somebody say that to a Scout.

But the truth of the matter is, not everyone gets a turn at being SPL. It's democracy, folks. My only solution was to make sure that everybody had a job, even the new Scouts, so that everybody felt important. Even if it was something as simple as "Troop Fire Safety Officer" or a second Assistant Patrol Leader, I tried to make sure that all of the boys felt important and needed.

The reason why I speak in the past tense is because I have left Scouting to pursue my Master's degree, but this is only a temporary situation!

Cheers,

Cackle

Well, speaking as someone who earned Eagle the day after I turned sixteen, I can offer some advice on this one.

I was SPL for another year after, before I was moved into the JASM position. As a JASM, I worked with one of our ASMs to create the new Venturing patrol. Something similar might work in your situation.

My other suggestions would be, as others mentioned, Troop Guide and OA Rep. Chaplain's Aide would also be a great addition to your troop program, if you don't have one and if he might consider a vocation in religious life. This is a great time for him to get involved with OA, too.

One other idea I threw around a little bit would be to use his JASM position for assist recruiting new boys that are not from Cub Scouts. At 16, he's not too old to relate to an 11- or 12-year-old boy, but he is old enough to be a role model.

In any case, he is a resource, a role model, and he wants to stay involved, so hang on to him and you'll find that he will benefit your troop a lot/

I was working on camp staff in 2003 and was invited to have lunch with the Wolf Patrol in their campsite. When it was time to say Grace, one of the first-year Scouts was asked to do it. He said something along the lines of:

"Dear Lord, we pray that we'll have good weather, that nobody will get struck by lightning, that nobody will break their necks, and nobody will get eaten by a bear. Amen."

This is completely off subject, but I have a uniform proposition.

I propose that we add to the Associate Lodge Advisor a uniform requirement that states they must wear measuring tape suspenders...

...meaning absolutely no disrespect, but every ALA that I have met...

-Cackle

I would say that the boys need to decide their own program. Since they've been pushed by their former Scoutmaster to earn the award, maybe it would be nice to take a break.

I will go against the grain, though, and suggest that you say "no" to sitting around the campsite playing Uno. There is a time for this at camp, but they should be involved in Scout activities of their own choosing. We had the same situation in my troop, and I met them half-way. I explained to them how they did not have to earn the Baden-Powell award if they didn't want to, but that hanging out around the campsite was not an option. They were free to choose from any of the camp programs that they liked, and they ended up selecting a canoe trip and had a blast. We had lots of time for good fellowship around the fire and earned a couple of merit badges in the process.

Just my two cents.

I just had to get in on this one, since I have some strong sentiments.

I was Lodge Chief for two years, Vice Chief for one, and Associate Advisor for two. I watched many changes come about in the program that I had mixed feelings about. I agree that the WWW is in no way secret, as such, in that much of what we do is very public and visible (i.e., camping promotions, WEBELOS crossovers, One Day of Service, etc.).

However, the ceremonies, by their very nature, demand a certain security in order to coincide with the symbolic progression. I ran many parents meetings at conclaves and was never met with any opposition. When I explained the tests of the Ordeal and their significance, that was always more than enough for them- I never once had a parent or guardian demand to witness the ceremony or read the manual, and this was both during and after the days of "tapping out."

I advocate protection, not secrecy. The ceremonies are protected, "safeguarded," etc.

I am wondering if anyone could email me a text file or pdf or link containing the requirements for the Camping merit badge as they were when I was a kid. I worked as a merit badge counselor at Cuyuna Scout Camp for four years and taught Camping, but the requirements have changed very much since I earned it (early 90s). I distinctly remember drawing a map of a campsite and starting different kinds of fires.

I remember when I first joined Scouting our troop did not have very much equipment. We didn't have propane cooking stoves (just a jet burner for boiling water), or fancy dining fly shelters. We had the old canvas Official BSA tarps and tents. We cooked everything over the fire, even in the rain. We chopped the wood ourselves, split it, and piled it up under the rain fly for the troop's Quartermaster tent. If it was raining, we just woke up earlier to get the fire going. We would search for blueberries to put in our pancakes and ate every fish that we caught. Everything was centered around the fire. In the morning it was the first thing we concerned ourselves with (making our Scoutmaster's coffee before he woke up, or else...). We cooked all of our meals here, and at night we would sit around the fire and laugh, sing, etc. until it was time to turn in.