Chippewa29

I'm heading up to summer camp for the week starting tomorrow. I know that I'll stay fairly busy helping out with the Scouts, but I'm looking for some ideas on a project or two I could work on while I'm up there. Any suggestions?

Banning Solitaire? Absolutely not. Like I'm sure most troops do, we watch the Scouts and if we notice one isolating himself, we work with the other Scouts to get him interacting again. The only time I've seen kids playing Solitaire, they're sitting talking with the other Scouts waiting for their turn on the chess board, etc. The last time we had a Scout bring a Gameboy on a campout, his dad let him sit out in their car (it was winter and we were in a cabin) and play his game by himself for 2-3 hours. When I said something to the dad about it, his reply was "if I didn't let him bring

We have a rule in our troop about no electronics (other than flashlights or cameras) on campouts. There really is no reason for the Scouts (or adults) to have electronics on the campouts. Myself (and a few other adults) that bring our cell phones with us generally leave them in our cars. That way, we can get to them in case of an emergency. We relish the chance to actually get away from everything for a day or two. As for the Scouts, if they bring their gameboys, then they tend to sit in their tents or under their dining flys and isolate themselves. These games require very little hu

I've seen multiple ceremonies and other occasions where Scouts line up via rank. If a 17 year old Life Scout has a problem with a 15 year old Eagle being in front of him in line, then that's his problem. If he wants to be in the front so badly, then he needs to get off his rear end and finish up his Eagle. Age or seniority doesn't necessarily mean that you've accomplished anything.

Lots of good points already, but I really have to agree with Hunt. Consolidating units would make a lot of sense. There are four packs within ten minutes of my troop that have less than 15 Cubs (including Webelos). They all have trouble getting leaders and the amount of administrative work could be shared and cut in half if some of these units would merge. These packs could probably put on a much higher quality program if they merged and shared resources. Whoever mentioned capping the number of Scouts in a troop also had a great idea. If the troop is so large the youth can't run the

Beavah- Nice string of topics lately. As for those young kids, I was one of them. Back in the 80's, you didn't have to do ten events before becoming first class. You only had to be in for about six months. I got to be friends with the guys a year ahead of me (all First or Second Class when I joined) and raced to try and catch them. Of course, they scrambled to try and keep me from catching them. I made Life in 16 months (minimum time back then). My parents didn't pressure me nor did any adult in the troop. I just had some people that inspired me and Scouting fit my personali

Funny, I was coming to the forum to post this issue when I saw Beavah's thread. I know this is similar, but I think it needs it owns thread. About three times a year, my troop will take a long distance trip to go white water rafting or some other high adventure trip (summer) or museum (winter). It seems that we have some parents in our troop that see these trips as a chance to take a family vacation. Not only does dad come, but mom and/or a sibling or two. We've even had a couple of times where a family has invited extended family members or family friends to join us. Often, there

When you are recruiting and you know they are looking at another troop, you have to walk a fine line with what you say. I don't want to bad mouth other troops, because for the most part, they are running the same program and the Scout can get a quality Scouting experience from them (of course, not as good as my troop 1. A local troop has had some real issues with their SM wanting to make every decision. When speaking to a WL about that, I told him to really check things out and get all the facts. Every troop has its good and bad points. From there, you can decide what is best for you

Organizations that depend heavily on human resources (like Scouting) develop personalities and exhibit traits similar to humans themselves. Successful people are ones that are continuously trying to learn, grow, and improve themselves. Organizations that rely on the "we've always done it this way and we don't think we should change" are actually sliding backwards. About 5-6 years ago, not too long after I had taken over as SM, I started to outline some changes I wanted to make to the troop committee. Their response was "this is the way we've done it for years...." At the time, my troo

That's a great way to put it. The math I like to use is for the Scout to have the uniform for two years before they grow out of it. The pants are about $40 and the shirt is about $28. The patches are another $12, so the total cost of a new uniform set is about $80. I don't count the Scout hat, belt, or neckerchief since those don't have to be replaced as the Scout gets older (I still wear my original troop neckerchief from 24 years ago). If a Scout comes to 40 troop meetings a year (my troop has 46) and ten campouts (we have 12), that comes to 50 wears per year, or 100 wears in two ye

Like a couple of other people have said, its all a matter of priorities. At a troop committee meeting a couple of years ago, we had a big discussion on the uniform (really, the cost of the uniform). One of the mom's complained that she was a single mom raising two kids and $40 was too much to spend for a pair of Scout pants. She garnered a lot of sympathy for her situation. However, after the meeting, some of us were just standing around talking when she was telling us how she wanted to teach her kids about "good music" and took her 12 and 9 year old sons to go see Lynard Skynard the week

Owl- Thanks for the post and letter. I've scene the scenario a few times in the past with my troop. We've always had a policy of no electronic devices on campouts or at meetings. Last year, we had some of the kids bring their hand held games to play after the meetings, but when they got to the point of refusing to go home because they were playing a game, the parents put a quick stop to it. At times when I've caught a Scout with an electronic device, I've made him hand it over to me and I give it back to the parent the next time I see them. If the parent isn't the one picking up the

My troop currently has about 20 Scouts, with about 16-18 adults either as ASM or committee. Personally, I feel the ideal troop size is 4-5 patrols of 8-10 Scouts, with an adult ASM to act as patrol advisor for each patrol, plus an ASM for other assorted duties. From what I've absored over the years, once you have 40 Scouts, you'll have a nice spread from new crossovers to those about to age out. From an adult perspective, you'll be able to fill all of your positions and have all the resources a troop twice the size has. From a balance of resources versus personal touch (something

CNY- Some great suggestions on your part. I've actually done some of them in the past. We have no den chiefs. Most of the kids in my troop are involved in sports, band, church, etc. and we're lucky if we see them every week at troop meetings. We've tried to get kids to be den chiefs, but its been very tough for them to block out an extra night per week. I have taken Scouts with me on recruiting visits. Sometimes, its worked out pretty well. This year, two weeks after leaving a message for a Webelos leader about attending their den meeting, I'd get a call at 9pm saying "go ahead and sto

You have three strong candidates who want to be SM? Wow. I'm impressed by that. Most troops, its who doesn't step backward when they ask for a volunteer I believe that what the Scouts want should be a very strong consideration (probably the biggest one) in deciding on the SM. My only suggestion would be that the PLC interview each candidate and write down why or why not they feel that candidate should be SM. They may have some good perspectives on each of the candidates that won't come up from the adult conversation.

CNY- By the "bells and whistles", the biggest thing is their professional sound system they use for their campfires. It actually belongs to the troop. They've been known to put up a big screen at a campout and show a DVD as part of the campfire on Saturday night. They'll also have adults (and some older Scouts) go out a day or two before a campout to start setting up displays and pioneering villages. Its almost like a trade show exhibit hall. I'm all for promoting Scouting (they do it probably better than anyone), but when a 10 year old kid sees the big sound system and the sho

About six years ago, right about the time I became SM, I had 17 year Life Scout in my troop that was the youngest of three brothers (both had gotten their Eagles in the troop). Our troop at the time consisted of him, a fifteen year old Life Scout, and six Scouts that had crossed over the year before. He seemed very disinterested to say the least. Nice kid who didn't cause any problems, but he wasn't really contributing anything either. I suspected he was sticking around to please his parents. One day, he and I sat down and had a real conversation and were totally open and honest with

Although I am disappointed for not getting better results from our recruiting efforts, I am not discouraged. The connections I made this year (it was the most extensive recruiting we had done in ten years) will pay off in the next couple of years. As for the reason why we didn't get picked by the packs we recruited, they varied. Pack A had ten Webelos. Five went to a troop about 20-25 minutes west of us. The CM of the pack (and father of one of the Webelos) lives in that town and is friends with the troops SM. The other five went to the troop that is a half mile down the road from t

Late last summer, our district professionals spoke at our kickoff roundtable and told us that less than 50% of Webelos the past two years had crossed over into Boy Scouts. In fact, over a third of the Webelos II leaders had never been contacted by a Scout troop. Much to their credit, our pros put together a plan to make sure no one got overlooked. I handle the recruiting for my troop. I contacted eight different packs that are within 15 minutes of my troop (about 50-60 second year Webelos between them). A couple came to visit, but so far, we've only had one new Scout cross over. For

I love the idea of Scouts doing actual work to earn the money for a Scout trip. I spent many summer hours mowing lawns, cleaning out gutters, babysitting, and doing other types of jobs for people in the community. I even had one woman who paid me to rebuild the retaining wall on the lake at the edge of her yard. Not being smart enough, I hauled those heavy bricks around without gloves and rubbed my finger prints off (they of course grew back in a few weeks). I went to two National Jamborees and one World Jamboree by doing this. I think it was a big part of my development to put in thi

Last Sunday, my troop held its first Eagle COH in about 4 1/2 years. It for two Scouts that are part of the group we've rebuilt the troop around in recent years. Things went really well, the Scouts were well uniformed (I'm still amazed at why the Scouts can't wear a full uniform for troop meetings and campouts, but I digress), and our local State Rep gave a very nice presentation without turning it into an campaign speech. It was definitely nice to see the troop come together to celebrate the achievments of these two Scouts. As we currently have four Life Scouts in the troop, we should

When it comes to re-registering adults, there are a few issues. 1. If an ASM doesn't have regularly position duties, then they should not be registered as an ASM. If they just want to be registered, then they should be a committee member. Some of our committee members have regular duties (chair, secretary, treasurer, etc.) and most of the others help out on an as needed basis. Most of our registered committee members help out with some type of support role during the year. 2. People who have been active in troop in the past should be able to stay registered providing they are eithe

OGE- I got your 25 or 624 reference right away. I had to laugh, as I really like the song. It is actually about writing a song and not being able to find the right words. When it was being written, Robert Lamm got to the line that said "sitting cross legged on the floor" and he couldn't think of anything that went with it. He looked at his watch and it was 3:34 or 3:35 in the morning (25 or 6 to 4). He stuck it in there for the time being since it rhymed. When he came back to it the next day, he decided to keep it. Another number that might be used is one near the Kennedy Space

I am also in my 30's, still single and childless (although keeping my eyes open for the right woman who will appreciate my Scouting involvement). I'm the Scoutmaster of the troop I was in as a youth. I became an ASM when I turned 18 and helped out during the summers while I was in college. When I got into my mid-20's, I started to get more active year-round and by my late-20's I was a "full timer". I took over as SM about six years ago and love it. There have been times over the years when a parent would wonder what a single guy was doing working with kids. I'd explain to them that I

It was just announced that Gerald Ford, the only Eagle Scout to become President of the United States, has passed away at the age of 93. I don't think it was any coincidence that Richard Nixon appointed Ford as Vice President in 1973. Because of the scandals caused by Spiro Agnew (not to mention the impending Watergate crisis), the country needed a solid, trustworthy man to rise up and lead it. Gerald Ford exemplified the best of Scouting's values in how he conducted himself in both his public and private lives. While there were many people who may have disagreed with him political