InquisitiveScouter

Leadership through outdoor adventures!!

Who is held accountable for any of the other items?? One of the most often repeated ideas to parents is, "Stand back, shut up, and watch..." Of course, in much nicer terms than that Leaders don't develop until you put them in the hot seat. Scouts are amazed, at first, when you "Train 'em, trust 'em, and let 'em lead!"

Even more evidence requiring...DuctTape for National Commissioner!!! #DuctTapeIsTheMan! #DuctTape4NationalCommissioner

Yikes... Nothing wrong with have more than one Quartermaster, Scribe, Outdoor Ethics Guide, etc... Heck, we have an Eagle Board of Review tonight for a Scout who has only held a Den Chief position for his entire time. At one time, he actually thought he was required to hold some other positions. When we told him he could do what he loved and still develop as a leader, he was very stoked. We told him his ultimate aim was to instill in all of his Cubs/Webelos a desire to continue on to Scouts, whether they joined our Troop or not. Then we helped him set SMART goals every six

Ha! Just went mountain biking this morning, and cut loose buddy pairs on over 10 miles of loop trails. "You have a map, water, and a first aid kit?" "Yes!" "OK, have fun..we'll be here at the picnic table if you need us ;)"

-The smile and look of absolute, pure joy from the Scout (with a single mom) with cerebral palsy who caught his first fish! - The grin from the small-statured Scout who learned to handle a canoe solo and completed Canoeing Merit Badge... - Running into an Eagle Scout at Philmont, now a Scoutmaster, who I hadn't seen in 20 years, and he tells his Scouts there, "This is Mr. X!", and the look of wonder from them that I really do exist...I can only imagine the stories he told...like how he felt when he finished his first 50-miler in our old Troop, or really learning to navigate and orien

One of the prizes for our uniform inspection contests is you get to take one CSP from my collection

So, will they just tack on a $150 price hike to HA tuitions as a "make you pay for our sins" tax?

All, you would do well to review the CDC recommendations for treating backcountry water. Bottom line up front: When in backcountry, best option is boiling. When in possible chemical contamination/heavy viral load areas, filtering AND chemical treatment are recommended. https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/pdf/drinking/Backcountry_Water_Treatment.pdf (Main page link https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/travel/backcountry_water_treatment.html ) https://www.msrgear.com/blog/water-treatment-101-viruses/ I teach classes on this at our Scouting University, with discussion

Agreed...there is more a focus on the "management" side of things in Scouting, than in leadership. https://www.forbes.com/sites/terinaallen/2018/10/09/what-is-the-difference-between-management-and-leadership/?sh=6fe40a4774d6

- We only mandate that they camp by patrols, and select their own buddies. (Many summer camps do not set up by patrol sites.) If there is an "odd-man out", that Scout may tent with another "odd-man out", if the two-year rule does not prohibit. There are some Scouts who prefer to tent alone. If there are conflicts, the Patrol Leader (PL) works it out. If PL cannot resolve, take it to Senior PL. When I am the SM or acting SM in camp, I only ask that they tell me how they resolved any issues, for the sole purpose of making sure that a Scout is not being ostracized or bullied in some way. S

I have this discussion with Scouts when they are earning their Cyber Chip. Here is the gist: If what you are doing with your device would violate any part of the Scout Oath or Law, don't it. Now, Johnny, let's talk about some examples... 1. The SPL says bed time is 10 pm. I do a walk-around at 10:15 and see the blue glow of your device through your tent. What part of the Scout Oath or Law applies? 2. Your patrol mate is giving a talk on how to pack a backpack, and you are playing a game or watching a video on your phone. What part of the Scout Oath or Law applies? 3.

Be careful with this. You must consult with your local council for their interpretation. Our council interprets this as a registered leader with that unit, having been approved by the CO/COR. I made this same inquiry to National for interpretation and was skewered, btw... Tread with care...

Vs none!...always need a third option.😎😎😎

In all of my years as a youth in OA, we did pretty much what we wanted. In hindsight, it seemed like the inmates running the asylum. When our local lodge conducted our last two elections, the youths representing the lodge gushed on and on about how cool it is that everyone brings computers and play stations so they can game all night at lodge fellowships. Parents certainly don't want to hear, nor necessarily have their Scouts participating in that.

Granted, but those aren't requirements up to First Class... service projects, yes, and all units should be providing program opportunity for those.

I have recommended that we never do a "First Year Program" at Scout Camp again...based on my last five years of observations at different summer camps in our region. Here are some things I have noted, in general... - Most "instructors" for the programs were first year staffers without the requisite skills to teach. I observed many of them demonstrating incorrect knots and lashings, incorrect safety precautions for Totin Chip (or outright skipping items like ax use and care, yet still "signing it off"), poor map and navigation skills, inability to identify local plants/trees (ID'ing anim

Oooohhh, just looked at CalTopo...very nice. I might be switching

Google Earth with USGS topo data overlay. https://www.earthpoint.us/topomap.aspx You can toggle back and forth and get an exact satellite image of the area as well...plotting waypoints and treks is easy...gives you exact distances and elevation profiles on tracks and trails plotted. In Google Earth, you can also go back in time on the satellite shots for some excellent older satellite photos, shot at various times through the year, to make out features better. I also use a UTM grid overlay for those badges needing UTM discussions. https://www.earthpoint.us/Grids.aspx

Wish you the best @carebear3895 !!! Thanks for your insights in the forum...it has, many times, been beneficial to get a view from the other side of the fence Will you continue in a volunteer capacity somewhere?

Agreed that that age range should have Venturing available, but I think my example may not have been clear. The Crews I am talking about are really shadow organizations. They exist solely to provide a registration home for older members of the OA. Members of the Crew are OA members who need a unit to call home, but they do no actual Venturing program stuff other than support OA events. So, the unit exists on paper just to support the Order of the Arrow. IMO, this is a reversal of the intended order of things. The OA exists to support unit program (partially) through recognizing hono

Love this thought! May I please use it freely without crediting you??😜😜😜

This^^^^^ and the rest...great post. Would give it more Upvotes, if I could. Like units, each lodge has it's own personality and culture... Those with the least draw for that council's Scouts are what we term a "self-licking ice cream cone" (SLICC) Some common themes among these are: - The Lodge focusing more on being a "Native American Heritage Society", where dance teams, drum teams, pow-wows, and regalia become more important than the "thing of the spirit" - Councils using the OA as a set up and take down of their Summer Camp to avoid paying staff extra time to do th

Barry, thank you for all you did for scouting... Wanna do a 50-miler with us on the Delaware River in August?🤪🤪🤪

Yeah, I have one that was made with aluminum rivets...those didn't last long The self-tappers did the trick.