Armymutt

I don't know if the schools will let us in or not. Either way, there's no one to get into the schools. I live 600 miles away. Schools near the pack aren't in session on weekends. My kids go to school 30 minutes away. Until the kids in the pack start inviting their classmates or their parents volunteer to run a table on open house nights, we aren't getting into the schools. For us, it's a pretty big factor. It's very demoralizing to expend hours in front of a store with the kids and receive very little from it. Even worse is when those who don't put in the time and effort receive

The CM and I had some discussions this weekend. He's also fed up with the lack of participation from parents and so-called leaders. He's considering a pack that meets on Sunday for his younger son. He has some behavior issues that get worse after being in school all day. Add in that he doesn't behave well when his dad is in charge of things, and a change of scenery might be best for them. We also talked to other pack leaders. The boys had fun. They didn't interact with the kids from the pack we are considering very much, but my son really liked hanging out with a kid who was considering

Hard to grow when I'm the only one doing anything. I don't expect every parent to be as dedicated as I am, but I expect them to at least participate when we have a pack meeting. How hard is it to cheer for a Scout when they receive an award? The only reason we have den leaders is because I told the parents that there will be no den unless they do it. Another den got ADLs because the DL failed to put in any advancement for two months. Their kids were getting no awards and they got fed up.

I wish we could do this. However, of the 5 adults in attendance, 4 are already "Leaders" - the CM, Treasurer, and 2 Bear ADLs. I really think the best course of action is to combine the units. We currently have 2 Lions, 2 Tigers, 2 Wolves, 4 Bears, and 4 Webelos, of which one will drop at the end of the year.

There are other factors. For example, it gives a sheltered person something to do besides sit on their cot all day. Adds a little bit of their normal routine back to their life and gives them the opportunity to practice the human-animal bond. The animals get to see and interact with their owners, reducing stress. Most of the people running these facilities are far too busy to be engaging in routine pet care. The intake, examinations, sanitation, and other operations take up enough time.

As yknot said, it's a liability thing, both on the side of the volunteer and the owner. As a person operating a facility, I wouldn't want to take responsibility if Fluffy slips her collar and runs off while I'm walking her. As a pet owner, I wouldn't want to be responsible if Fluffy bites some volunteer. It's safer for everyone if Disaster Response volunteers stick to disaster response operations and let the owners take care of their pets. These aren't rescue shelters for unowned or lost animals. They are places for people to house their animals while they are living in a shelter.

I was at a veterinary conference early in November. One of my areas of interest is disaster response. The state has a group of volunteer vets that respond to emergencies. One of the roles I thought of that would be great for Scouts is operating a temporary pet housing facility. The owners are responsible for the care and feeding of their pets. The facility operators simply establish it from a trailer provided by the state (sounds like a troop going camping) and process pets into the facility. At the end, everything get cleaned up and the trailer is returned to the owning entity.

I can't even get a response when asking about planning the PWD. Parents just sit. It's getting more and more frustrating every week. The WDL won't publish a schedule or even give the parents an idea of how he plans to complete the program given the concerns I have raised with him. I would love to plan some really cool activities, but I'm afraid no one will show up and those that do will just stand around expecting to be entertained.

Tonight was our November pack meeting. None of the DLs showed up. I think we have 14 active Scouts and 6 were in attendance. One DL didn't bother to communicate that he wasn't coming. I'm getting tired of being one of the only ones who cares. We have a Webelos parent who didn't bother coming inside to even pay for her son's renewal, let alone be present for him to receive his advancement. Our next meeting will be the pack meeting in December because our CO won't let us meet there for the next two weeks. I'm tired of the apathy from parents and leaders alike. I'm even more tired of ha

Except that the program is already essentially that way. We had a campout and knocked out requirements for every den, whether it involved knot tying, out door code, leave no trace, hiking, etc. The program already had that feature. I'm not sure what's fabulous about making AOLs now spend a lot more time finishing up. There's no way a den can complete 8 adventures in 6 months with a quality program.

I like the footprint for BA tents with the fast fly capability. Lets me set up the fly in a rain storm and build the tent underneath it. That way I get less water intrusion through the mesh walls. They also are lighter than plastic and fold better.

I'm liking the idea of the Eureka tents. I've found the tents for $138 and vestibules for $50. I typically lean toward Big Agnes, but I also remember that young Scouts aren't the most careful of kids. My only concern is that Eureka doesn't seem to make a footprint for those tents. Their 2 person foot print is shorter and narrower than the floor dimensions of the Timberline 2. Guess the kids will have to do what their dad did and use a plastic sheet and tarp.

As we prepare our Webelos to move on down the line, I'm looking at tents. I still have my trusty L.L. Bean Geodesic tent from the late 80s. I believe it is technically a 3-person tent, but being in England, we kept our packs/bags inside with us, so it was a 2-person. What are Scouts using these days? I saw what looked more like single tents at the campsite we visited a couple week ago. I was thinking of getting him a 3-person.

BSA provides you a ton of literature on how to execute the plan. Volunteers are the people and fundraisers provide the money, not that you need much. I guess you ignore that whole A Scout is Trustworthy thing, right? Why bother even doing anything? Just click on the little boxes and go buy awards to hand out.

The full-year program fee transfers to Scouts BSA. They don't have to pay anything else to move up. If you are referring to the Pack dues, then that's a failure of Pack leadership to determine where the AOLs won't participate and reduce dues accordingly. Our last AOLs moved up after B&G and PWD, so they paid the same as everyone else. The next group may transition before those events, so their dues will be reduced accordingly.

Wait, seriously? You regard standards as "just words on a page"? What are you teaching the kids with that attitude? Why bother? Would you accept any professional regarding the laws or codes as "just words on a page"? Attitudes start as children. They see adults just handing out awards without regard for meeting standards and they will expect that to be the case all the time.

I think you're quibbling. Changes have been made to every badge/rank requirement over the past 40 years. I wouldn't say that my Second Class that required skill awards is different than the Second Class of today without them. Adding essentially a totin chip, a little more in-depth knowledge of Scouts BSA, and tie two more knots. Interestingly, Scouts no longer have to agree to live by the Oath, Law, motto, slogan, and outdoor code. I can't say that that is a positive change.

I don't know the SMs for all the troops I had. Each Scout volunteered and had to go through an interview process for Day Camp, so there was a barrier to entry. Not a significant one, but enough to dissuade some. Tasks were things like help the older Scouts keep water jugs full and help out the volunteers at stations. Not exactly hard things. Instead, I'd find them wandering off to hang out in a back room.

Does anyone have an idea of how this will work for kids already in the pipeline? It would be pretty crappy for a kid to be looking forward to earning AOL in August 2024 because he only has 2 adventures to do over the summer while waiting for the 6 months since turning 10 to arrive.

It's been around a lot longer than since 2015. I earned it in '86 and it was essentially the Boy Scout version of the Bobcat. A Scout can still join in 5th grade and earn the AOL in 6 months. That doesn't change. Instead, your DL will now have 6 months to complete 8 adventures. In some cases, even less time. We have a Scout who turned 10 at the beginning of 4th grade. He could earn the AOL and cross over in February 2024. The other two would need to wait until December 2024 since they don't turn 10 until July. That gives the DL realistically 3 months to accomplish all

Yes. The Bobcat has been the first rank earn for most of the life of the program. It became a cloth badge in 1972. It's like saying, "We don't need the Scout badge anymore." What does the kid earn for knowing the basics of Cub Scouts? It's a big deal for a Cubbie to earn a badge after the first couple of meetings so that they have something on their shirt. It showed that they belonged to the Pack and actually achieved something significant. In the old days, it was pinned on upside down until the Scout did a good turn. Now they will be a blank shirt for a year. For the boys whose paren

Do you see a Bobcat rank on that chart? The Bobcat rank is eliminated. It becomes nothing more than an Adventure.

I'm sure there will be different requirements, but why eliminate the joining badge? I'm curious how one set of requirements is ineffective. What does that mean? The kids learn the Scout Oath, Scout Law, Cub Scout Motto, CS sign, CS handshake, CS salute, and do the YP requirement. How was this so difficult to do? These excuses for its elimination are so vague. Now we have 8 required adventures to earn a rank rather than the previous 7. That drives up the cost of the program. Lion goes from being $13.87 a Scout to $20.28 with taxes here in NC. The idea that there were inconsisten

I don't like the removal of Bobcat as a rank. What's the point of repeatedly earning Bobcat every year? We already have the Protect Yourself Rules one that everyone earns but we don't purchase. The Bobcat currently serves the same purpose as the Scout rank. It ensures each Cub Scout has a baseline of the Cub Program. Where is that going to fit in now? Are we going to just leave those in the wind? Rank badges are a more tangible thing that the kids can sew on their uniform vs belt loops that require an additional uniform item be purchased. Rank patches are far more visible than belt loo

I mean that the Scouts act more like Cub Scouts than Boy Scouts. I supervised a group of Scouts from across the district at our Cub Scout day camp. The ones from our CO needed far more supervision. They lacked motivation to get their tasks done without me having to check up on them. I don't know what the average age of the troop is right now. They have no interaction with us. The SPL appears to be a high schooler - probably same age as the SPLs I had as a kid.