InquisitiveScouter

I ran into the former Scout one time not knowing who he was. I was surprised he was awarded an Eagle, until I was informed of the situation. There... fixed that for you 😜

Our Troop assists our local American Legion in placing flags for Memorial Day in those cemeteries in their district. It's a great history lesson for our Scouts as well, as we have some markers here from the French and Indian War!! In fact, just the day before yesterday was the anniversary of the first battle of that conflict, out near @qwazse's way (or what we here call western Pennsyltucky) Battle of Jumonville Glen (a skirmish, really)... where 40 Provincial Troops (accompanied by 12 Mingo natives, including two boys) ambushed 35 Canadiens (French Canadians). The provincials were from Virginia, and under the command of a 22-year old Lieutenant Colonel named... George Washington, and it was his first time in combat. We also talk a little about each conflict we see markers for ... the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War (with Grand Army of the Republic and Confederate States of America markers), the Indian Wars, the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan were all in cemeteries we placed flags in this year.

I'd bet YOU are the evil one 😈

This is great wisdom.

Key 3 and Training Manager (functional position designated by Key 3) can also see exactly what courses everyone needs in your unit. Post if you want a tutorial...

Agreed, but not all state police or state child welfare records are shared in national databases. https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/xreporting.pdf

Your council should have a DVD or thumb drive with YPT on it, as there are many who do not have a computer at home to use for the training. You can borrow this from them to do your training in-house. If your Key 3 grants you Training Manager functional rights in my.scouting.org, you can enter the training courses for your unit without having to file paperwork with the registrar!!! The only restriction is that you cannot enter training for yourself. Other avenues you can pursue to be a trainer that will be helpful for your unit: - You can do in-person Merit Badge Counselor Training - If you have a STEM background, you could do NOVA and SuperNOVA Training - Get certified as a First Aid/CPR/AED Instructor and teach classes to your unit - Get certified as a Swimming and Water Rescue Instructor and teach Safe Swim Defense, Safety Afloat, and Swim and Water Rescue https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/Outdoor Program/Aquatics/pdf/430-505.pdf - Take the Leave No Trace Master Educator Course and teach all kinds of LNT curricula - Take the TREAD Lightly Master Educator Course and teach those skills also etc, etc, etc These are also offered sometimes at Summer Camp or Resident Cub Camp. YMMV.

Talk with your Council Training Committee Chair, or your Staff Advisor for Training (a paid professional with that additional duty) It depends on your background. I'll elaborate if you wish. Plus, IOLS is a fairly trainer-intensive program. It takes several instructors and a course director with support managing things to get through the syllabus well. Train-the-Trainer (Fundamentals) D70 Trainer's EDGE H96 ...are two courses your council may wish you to take to designate you as a Trainer.

It's a play on corporate sponsorship. The Bad News Bears were a misfit baseball team that had no uniforms. Probably like a few Troops you might know... the coach took any sponsor he could get to pay for uniforms. It's a joke on the thread 😜

No, you are not the only one.

I have been to camps where the policy is that Scouts must be within sight of adults at all times. How ludicrous! And ignored... It is a balance depending on activity, age, and skill level. And you will never get it 100% right. Will you take risks, or will you eliminate all risk? If you take appropriate risks, Scouts will experience responsibility and personal growth. If you eliminate all risk, you will have a Cub Scout-level program. I have taken too much risk in some instances (with near misses), and not enough in others (with too much "parenting"). Sometimes, I nearly hit the mark. When we do, Scouts get it, and really appreciate it. (They appreciate the greater risk situations, too, but only when there are no negative consequences 😜 )

There is a difference... when you completed your Masters, you did so through an accredited program. When you learned your statistics, and did your ANOVA (Analysis of Variance, for inquiring minds...), did EDGE... your professor explained and demonstrated (hopefully), then guided you through a problem set. Finally, you were enabled (or evaluated, which I think would be a better use of the letter 😜 ) through a test, and on a final exam. You showed a level of proficiency, at the time. I still have to open my Scout Handbook to review and refresh skills. If you needed to do an ANOVA, you'd be able to brush up pretty quick, I'm sure. What I am getting at is that many Scouts never even learn the skills! Here's an example with orienteering... The First Class requirements say "Using a map and compass, complete an orienteering course that covers at least one mile and requires measuring the height and/or width of designated items (tree, tower, canyon, ditch, etc.)." Most camps and units I have observed doing this give the Scouts a map with all the points already on it, with courses, and distances, driving you to take a selected route. When you do that, it is not orienteering... that is using a map and compass, but it is not orienteering. For our orienteering, there is a master map. Each Scout gets a basic map. He has to copy the points from the master map onto his, and figure out what route to take to visit all the points (if that is the objective, which it usually is.) When he visits each control point, we have a code on an orienteering marker which he must copy down and bring back to show he visited the point. During the course, at one control point, there will be a height/width problem. Younger Scouts have to do a simple height problem (stick or felling method) My favorite for the older Scouts is to do the distance across a stream or road (without being able to cross). That is probably the most difficult measurement to solve from the Handbook. (The Handbook shows equivalent isosceles right triangles. Once they master that, and if they have the math skills, I teach them similar triangles as shown, because it is quicker, requires less space, and can be done without a compass. ) I have seen no other unit or Scout Camp that teaches to that standard. (Even Orienteering MB is usually watered down.) Yet, if you read the Scout Handbook, and see what they are getting at, this is how it should be. I taught all those skills at IOLS, and most unit leaders loved it, because they had never been to that level of exposure or knowledge before. If your unit does this, kudos! P.S. For a real challenge, I sprinkle fake markers throughout the course, too, to make sure they are actually map reading and using paces for distance, rather than just hunting for markers...

This, and even then, we are giving the advancement away. Many Scouts are not earning, they are just attending and getting a badge. I see this in several units, and definitely at Summer Camp. Whenever our Scouts are challenged in a badge program at camp, and actually complete the requirements as stated, I go out of my way to thank that instructor/counselor (not the same thing... a 16 year old is NOT a merit badge counselor) for their program. I wish there was a better way for "quality control" or standardization/evaluation of these things...

Yes, Chapter 7 (liquidation) is still a real possibility, IMO.

It is a legit option... not doing advancement, that is. But not doing KP when it is his turn on the Duty Roster? No way! That is the price of admission. (You didn't say, but I am assuming your Patrols have duty rosters.) We have had Scouts who have not wished to work on advancement, and we are fine with that. Just had one turn 18 last December. Great kid, always there, friendly, but no interest in working on rank. (I did cajole him over the years to at least earn First Class. That should be the measure of all Scouts. IMO, because it is skills based.) But, if his Patrol, or the whole Troop, are doing an activity, he must be there. Troop Swim, for example... He does not have to swim, but he does have to be there with the rest of the group, instead of off on his own. That is a health and safety issue. I give no quarter to dissent on issues of "health and safety". Food in the tents? No way. Health and safety. I have seen too many chipmunks, mice, skunks, ants, and bears!! in tents because Scouts have food in tents. (If you do not follow my instructions when it comes to health and safety, you cannot come camping with us. Simple.) Does he wear a uniform? Is he part of an active Patrol? Does he know and try to live by the Scout Oath and the Scout Law? Does he love the outdoors? Does he associate with and interact well with adults? Is he growing as a leader (sounds like he has influence...)??? Do you see him experiencing some personal growth? If yes, then he is 7 out of 8 for Scouting! And that is fine! He is learning from all of your examples. How you treat him in his decision to not do advancement is a lesson for him, as well. Happy Scouting

We let all new Scouts and families know that Scoutbook is our primary means of communication, and that through email. Some parents do not wish for their Scouts to have email accounts yet. That is their prerogative. The primary means of communication is still Scoutbook. Whether by an email "push" of information, or a family or Scout "pulling" information from Scoutbook directly (the Scout logging on to parents' account if the Scout has no email) All other means of communication are "supplemental", whether verbal (as at meetings), by texts or phone calls, or word of mouth. About five times a year, parent X will call me and say "Jimmy missed the event because we never heard about it." To which we always respond, "Did you read your email or check Scoutbook?" The answer is always <crickets> because "the usual suspects" expect you to hound them directly until they have gotten the information they need. It takes both pushing and pulling information to bridge the communication gap. We also set the expectation that PL's contact each member of their Patrol by whatever means necessary. (Divide and conquer.) Each Assistant Scoutmaster assigned to a Patrol mentors the PL through this. Some PLs are good at it, and the results are obvious. Some PLs stink at it, and the results are equally obvious.

Also, you ought to work to drive identity to the Patrol level. This is the heart of Scouting. A Troop is not made up of Patrols... Patrols come together to form a Troop. Please work to shift to that paradigm. Your Troop identity comes in the form of Troop numerals and a Troop neckerchief (optional) selected and approved by the PLC. That said, if our CO were to ask the same question, we would be happy to comply, but tell them it will cost them the "start-up" fees. Everyone who has already purchased, say, a neckerchief, is vested in that identity, and if the CO wants to change it, let them know what the cost will be, as @mrjohns2 says, "...as supplies run out..."

I do wish we could fully put all responsibilities for stuff like this on our Scouts, and get the great results we are looking for. But that is not reality. I always say, "You have to remember who we are dealing with." We use Scoutbook for communication by email. Whenever a Scoutbook email goes out to Scouts, all parents are automatically cc'ed. Best wishes as you pursue the goal of purely "Scout-led"

Actually, it is not. An SM conference can occur at any point during the journey to the rank. This is a common misconception, because it is always listed last, just before the BOR requirement. From the G2A. para 4.2.3.5: The unit leader (Scoutmaster) conference, regardless of the rank or program, is conducted according to the guidelines in the Troop Leader Guidebook (volume 1). Note that a Scout must participate or take part in one; it is not a “test.” Requirements do not say the Scout must “pass” a conference. While it makes sense to hold one after other requirements for a rank are met, it is not required that it be the last step before the board of review. This is an important consideration for Scouts on a tight schedule to meet requirements before age 18. Last-minute work can sometimes make it impossible to fit the conference in before that time. Scheduling it earlier can avoid unnecessary extension requests. The conference is not a retest of the requirements upon which a Scout has been signed off. It is a forum for discussing topics such as ambitions, life purpose, and goals for future achievement, for counseling, and also for obtaining feedback on the unit’s program. In some cases, work left to be completed—and perhaps why it has not been completed—may be discussed just as easily as that which is finished. Ultimately, conference timing is up to the unit. Some leaders hold more than one along the way, and the Scout must be allowed to count any of them toward the requirement. And, you can have more than one!

A local Troop was doing this, as well as re-testing at BOR's. Because their BOR's were so intensive, the Troop was taking months to schedule a BOR when a Scout requested one. I had a parent from that Troop ask me about this... I was shocked at their report of the situation, and told them this was not appropriate, and that they should point out exactly what @T2Eagle cited above. I also told them that if their Troop leadership was unresponsive, they were welcome to join us. I followed up with a phone call to that unit's Commissioner, and to the District Advancement Chair. Don't know if anything ever came of that... However, about three weeks later, half the Troop bailed and came to join us. Most of the Scouts ranked up very quickly... That Troop now is in danger of collapse. That said, I understand the desire to do this. Scout skills are abysmal. Adult knowledge of Scout skills is abysmal. And, if older Scouts and adults don't know what they are doing, how can they teach? I have been working on the latter... our adults' skill sets are leaps and bounds beyond other Troops in our area. The PLC and SM Corps has been working on the former, through program. Our Scouts actually do not like to go to District events, because they routinely trounce the competition in Scout skills events. It is no fun for them 😜 I'm an advocate for bringing back "testing", at least at the First Class and Eagle ranks.

I vote to bring back public hanging.

James, would you mind sharing a bit of detail as to why your Eagle Candidate's appeal was necessary? Also, I do not believe National has the agility to anything "quickly" these days, as they may be fully focused on gearing up for the National Meeting at the end of this month. https://scoutingwire.org/save-the-date-for-scouting-forward-2023-bsa-national-annual-meeting/

Did the council courtesy copy you (and/or Eagle Candidate) on the forwarding of the appeal? That is, do you know that National, in fact, received it??

BSA and GSUSA make it that important here, because it is about MONEY! BSA has badgered other organizations who wanted to call themselves "Scouts", by threatening legal action for calling themselves that. Again, those moral and ethical decisions... Baden Powell Scouting Association (now Outdoor Service Guides due to "cancel culture") and Trail Life... Looks like SpiralScouts is ignoring them 😜