Chippewa29

Some excellent points have been made. There are a couple of things to clarify. First, each patrol has a patrol advisor to them getting the resources they need for their program. Second, we are really having to work with the Scouts to help them develop their program. In our younger patrol, it is easy, since all but the PL are first year Scouts. However, for the older patrol, they were given the opportunity to develop projects and carry them out over several troop meetings. The first one went great, as they were preparing for the camporee. However, the next project they wanted to do

Buffalo- To answer your question, the patrols set up near each other (I try to encourage further apart so the younger guys aren't getting in the way of the older guys). As far as planning campouts go, the patrol leaders will sit down and figure out a schedule together. With transportation, the adults figure out rides for the troop in general along with other basic logistics (although the Scouts are responsible for buying, packing, and transporting their own food). As with Jblake, we've realized with two patrols, a senior patrol leader is either not necessary or ends up being the PL

In our troop, PLC meetings don't really need to occur. The patrol works with his APL (consulting with his patrol advisor) and other patrol members to plan their part of the troop meetings. The two patrol leaders in the troop are very good about working together when joint decisions need to be made. Since our two patrols are very different (one is all 15 and older, the other 13 and younger), there isn't a whole lot of rivalry and the PL's are very easy to get along with. My main concern will come when we add another patrol and more coordination is involved. I'll see how things go this

Six months ago, when doing our semi-annual elections, we had no Scouts interested in being the Senior Patrol Leader. Instead of coercing one of the Scouts to take the position, we opted to just run patrol programs within the troop. At our meetings, the two Patrol Leaders do the opening and closing jointly, then each patrol does their own activities for the rest of the meeting (except for maybe a joint game toward the end). I was a little nervous at first, but it has worked out pretty well. Our patrols are much stronger units than they were before and the patrol leaders have had actua

As a youth, I went to two National Jamborees, a World Jamboree, and two National OA Conferences. I really enjoyed the social aspect of patch trading. I met some wonderful people (some of whom I corresponded with for years) and learned some great things. The conversations I had with foreign Scouts opened my eyes to a much wider world. Although some of my most fun experiences at the Jamborees were from patch trading, I agree with the other posters when they say a Scout shouldn't spend their entire time doing that one activity. Jamborees are about experiencing different things and meetin

My troop currently has two patrols. One has nine Scouts from age 14-17. The other one has a 13 year old (PL) and seven new Scouts. In the past year or so, we've had some issues with Scouts not filling the different POR available, or in some cases, taking the POR and then not fulfilling their duties. Part of that was our fault, as we would beg Scouts to take the position when they didn't really want them. Our terms last for six months. Last term, we decided that if the Scouts didn't volunteer to fill the positions, we just wouldn't fill them. We still had a couple of Scouts not do th

Although I may be prejudice (I sell exercise equipment for a living), I am glad the BSA is pushing harder for its adult leaders to live up to the Scout Oath. One of the adults in my troop realize that he didn't qualify to go to Philmont. He'd been saying he needed to lose weight/get in better shape for a while, but this really spurred him on. Since January, he has lost over forty pounds. To do so, he is walking several days each week and he ate a very healthy diet that severely reduced his caloric intake (even brought his own food on camp outs). Now, his old uniform looks like a tent on h

This past spring, my troop had two 15 year old Scouts transfer from a nearby troop. I am sometimes a bit skeptical when an experienced Scout wants to transfer to another troop. The Scouts visited our troop meetings three times over the span of six weeks. I spoke with them and their parents extensively (the parents were letting their sons run the show on this- I took that as a good sign). I also made sure that the Scouts spent a lot of time getting to know the Scouts in my troop. I came to find out that the other troop (with whom I was a little familiar) had a lot of unwritten rules that c

While a Cub Scout and early in my Boy Scout years, my mom did a great job sewing on the stuff. I had learned to sew a little bit when I was young from my best friend across the street (a girl that I, in turn, taught how to throw a baseball). When I was 13 and getting ready to go to the Jamboree, I needed two full uniforms with the special jamboree patches. At that point, my mom taught me how to sew the stuff on. We each did one of my uniforms, and from then on, I did all of my own stuff (except for merit badges, for which Mom used her machine to put on the sash). When I got to colle

My troop is currently at a major crossroads. I've chronicled the trials and tribulations of my troop the past several years since I became SM in 2001. A few years ago, we had 24 Scouts in the troop (up from six when I took over as SM) and things seemed to be moving along pretty well. In late 2006 and early 2007, we produced four new Eagle Scouts and while not perfect, we realized we had come a very long way over the years. Due to Scouts aging out and a couple of bad recruiting years (area has been weak), our membership is down to thirteen Scouts. That is a whole other topic that can b

I went to the Scout Shop this morning and bought a new uniform. Although I got a pair of switchbacks when they came out a year and a half ago, I went ahead and got a new pair of pants. I hadn't gotten a new uniform shirt since 1996. I ended up getting the shirt (short-sleeved), pants, belt, hat, and socks. The latter three I got so I could show the troop. Here are my thoughts now that I've seen the real thing. 1. The shirt material is nicer than the old uniform. The shoulder loops are too big for the epulats (sp?). Maybe National can make them a little smaller, use less material, a

I'm now in my mid-30's and still single and childless. I've worked with my hometown troop since I got back from college 13 years ago, first as ASM and now as SM for the past 7 1/2 years. I have had issues with adults (old enough to be my parents) not taking me seriously and have had a couple of parents say that I don't understand kids because I don't have kids. However, as time has gone on, I've been able to win over pretty much everyone. On occasion (especially when talking to Cub Leaders), I'll have people wondering why I'm single and working with the Scouts. My answer is simple:

I definitely have to agree with scoutldr on the enforcement of the standards. Four years ago, I did my BSA Lifeguard for the second time (18 years after the first) and was told by the instructor that we needed plan on being there all day to earn it. We had class from 9a-12p, 2-4or5pm, then did a shift lifeguarding for open swim every evening. The BSA Lifeguard and Lifesaving MB students had to staff the open swim (regular staff was there as backups) on Thursday night. The waterfront director had me in charge of the whole operation. It was very tough, but a great week and a wonderful learn

I'll admit that I am an addict when it comes to check my email. If I'm on a computer, I'll check it multiple times during the day. However, if I don't have access, then I'm fine without it (like this past weekend when I went camping with the troop). I have mixed feelings on the subject of having WiFi access at summer camp for the adult leaders. I greatly enjoyed summer camp last year, as it allowed me to completely get away from the world for six days. However, my job sometimes entails very quick communication to close a deal. As I am paid mainly on commission, missing a deal could

Before I post my comments, I want to give a little background on myself. For my profession, I currently sell exercise equipment and have about 5-6 years experience in doing so. Also, I've got about a decade of experience coaching girls high school track and field. I am a registered counselor for the Personal Fitness merit badge. I've designed workout programs for many friends and family and taught more people flexibility than I can remember. As you can probably guess, I am a big proponent of physical fitness, but not one of those nutcases that lives on protein bars and works out three

I joined the Cub Scouts in December of 1980 not long before I turn 9. A friend of mine from school (thanks, Myron!) got me to join. Cubs were ok. Looking back, they followed the program pretty well, but I wasn't into the "cubby" things. I got my Bobcat, Wolf, and Bear, but only earned a couple of arrow point (definitely not a star in advancement area). When I turned 10 and became a Webelo, I got WDL that was an Eagle and ran us more like a Boy Scout patrol than a Cub Scout den. Told us about going to the Jamboree and Philmont and the different adventures he had as a youth. Got us (we

Fun is a relative term with many definitions. For some people, fun means goofing around with no direction. I came across a definition of fun a while back that helps to put things in perspective with what we are looking for. "Fun in Scouting is the sense of satisfaction and pride you get from many hours of dedication to something worthwhile. When Scouts feel this sense of 'fun', they are compelled to seek it out again through more success." Not all Scouts are going to agree with that definition, but they just need to go along with it. We have some Scouts just like to go camping or

Although I don't necessarily agree with the idea of term limits, I strongly agree that you need consistent fresh blood coming into your leadership (both youth and adults). A megatroop in our district (100 youth) has a SM who has been with the troop since he was a youth and has been SM for twenty years. Although he has been in there forever, he is definitely no stick in the mud. He is always wanting to try new things and make their troop better. Also, he is very good about getting new leaders involved and getting their input. One of the reasons my troop is more prosperous now that it h

As someone previously stated, a Cub pack tends to be more "fluid" in their membership, with no one thats been around for a long time (more than a few years). Scout troops, on the other hand, have some people that may have been around forever. If you want to change something, it does take time and very good interpersonal skills. An excellent book on dealing with this is "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John Maxwell. There are a couple of chapters where he specifically address the issue of making change within an organization. I used this book to help transition my troop w

I just got back from our fall camporee and fortunately, things went well for the most part. The Scouts had fun, the weather was great, and the Scouts did a pretty good job with campsite operations. Something I am really getting concerned about is what one of our Scouts eats on campouts. This Scout is 13, in eighth grade, and has been around for 2 1/2 years. He's a First Class Scout and a very nice kid. A little immature for his age, but overall a good kid. This Scout is the pickiest eater I have ever come across. He won't eat fruits, vegetables (except for french fries), bread (

My troop does a six month cycle. A scout is always eligible to run for reelection. Our terms start Feb. 1 and August 1. We have Scouts in the troop that are involved in an activity that prevents them from being SPL/PL (such as marching band or football in the fall, musical or baseball in the spring). The PLC for the spring/summer term gets to do the detailed planning for the spring campouts and take charge at summer camp. The PLC for the fall/winter term get the fall campouts and is in charge when we do our annual planning conference (January, so they get final say on the campouts for the

I find it amazing how some families don''t have the time to do a service project, but are insulted when they find out they missed out on something that goes along with it. This situation reminded of something that happened in my troop about 15 years ago. Our committee chair at the time was head of the local historical society. One Sunday evening, a local historic cemetery was vandalized. She was called that Monday morning by the caretaker to see if she could help find a few volunteers to help clean up. She and her son (one of our PL) called around the troop to meet that afternoon at t

With our troop, the Scouts know if their cell phone goes off during a troop meeting, it becomes mine for the duration. It got ridiculous last year when during our opening flag ceremony, our SPL''s phone rang and not only did he not turn it off immediately, but he answered it. Fortunately, his mom was there and saw him do that, so she put the nix on him having his phone at meetings or other Scout events. The summer camp we attended this year didn''t allow cell phones at all, for two reasons. First, they didn''t want kids calling home to mommy as soon as they got homesick (Calico- I love

In the past, I''ve often written about a Scout in my troop that has dealt with OCD, ADHD, and Aspbergers Syndrome. He drove me crazy at times in his Scouting career, but fortunately, he was (and still is) a really nice kid that had some challenges to deal with. Miracle of miracles, this young man had his Eagle Court of Honor a month or so back. When he joined the troop, he was a few months shy of 11 with the intellectual capacity of an 8-9 year old, the body of a 6-7 year old, and the emotional maturity of a 4-5 year old. Now, he just left for college as an 18 year old. He''s still a

I haven''t had cable TV since 1993 and I didn''t have a TV at all from 1994-2000. I didn''t miss it at all. In the fall of 2000, I got my own place for the first time (meaning no roommates, as I hadn''t lived at Mom and Dad''s since the early 90''s). Mom and Dad thought I would be lonely, so they showed up at my place one day with a TV and VCR. I''ll watch it occasionally (really enjoy "Lost" in the winter), but I can go for a week without watching it and not miss it. I am thankful as well for my Mom kicking me out of the house in the summer when I was a kid so I wouldn''t watch too m