Chippewa29

OGE- I definitely agree with you about not having hazing in the Scouts. I've always been one who believed it wasn't fun to play a joke on someone unless they could get you back. Also, I've never allowed hazing to occur in any form in my troop (fortunately, that has never been a problem for us). Looking back, I'm sure that the reason why the adult in my troop sent me back with those two young Scouts is so that trick wouldn't be played anymore. When I first posted this subject, it wasn't meant as a thread for people to post the best practical jokes they had played over the years. It was mea

At camporees, everyone has seen new Scouts get sent out on practical jokes. One that has made the rounds quite often in our area is for a Left Handed Smoke Shifter. While in high school, I was on the swim team and thus developed very good lung power. Sitting by a campfire on a Friday night at a camporee at age 16, I managed to change the direction of smoke (temporarily). Famous as a southpaw in my troop, one of our ASM's said, "you must be that left handed smoke shifter those new Scouts are always looking for." At that point, we all just kind of looked at each other and smiled, waitin

We had our court of honor tonight. I tried a few more things that I think really made some good impressions. First of all, I did the Book of Honor. Our oldest Scouts of course got to sign it all the way up to Life, while the younger Scouts go to sign it for either Boy Scout, Tenderfoot, and Second Class. There were a few looks of jealousy as a couple of guys saw their buddies sign the Second Class page while they only got to sign Tenderfoot. They made comments like, "I'm going to be signing my Second Class next Court of Honor and maybe my First Class". Also, I presented each of the S

Thanks you very much for your quick response. I was about to run out the door for the day when I came across your answer. It has been very helpful.

I've heard a story in the past of the significance of the Scout Stave. Does anyone know it? I need it for a Court of Honor tomorrow night. Thank you for your input.

Another tradition I'm starting in my troop is called the Book of Honor. When a Scout receives his rank at the Court of Honor, he'll sign his name in a special book I made up with pages for each rank. Right now, we only have a few signatures in it. However, I think after a few years, it will look pretty good with all the kids getting a chance to sign their name as another part of their progression to Eagle. Has anyone else done something like that and how did it work?

I know better than to mention all the overweight Scouters around. Lets just say those Scouters are hoping that the gay issue and smoking keep everyone busy so they won't have to face up to it. If being overweight is their worst attribute, I think I could live with that.

I had to laugh when I read Martha's post. Several years back, we had an adult leader directing the Scouts on policing the area while puffing on a cigarette. As he was finishing the last drag, he noticed a Scout walking right over a piece of paper. He called out to the Scout and while telling the Scout he needed to make sure we left the campsite better than we found it. As the Scout was standing watching and listening to him, he left blew out his last puff of smoke and through the butt on the ground. Those are the things that really blow my mind about people who insist it is ok to smoke in

I'm trying to develop some traditions in our troop to develop more esprit de corps. If you have anything you think can build troop spirit, I'd love to hear it. One thing my jamboree troop did in 1989 was have a set of four marching drums we took with us (we had three really good drummers along with myself just trying not to look too bad) for campfires, shows, etc. We had cadences we marched to, cheers led by the drums, etc.

Has anyone else got any other ideas they would like to share?

I have a positive update on challenge Scout. He had his Scoutmaster conference tonight and did very well. He had some very good perspectives that have shown some growth on his part. He then had his board of review (we have a Court of Honor next week, so we had three SM conferences and three boards of review tonight) and the people who conducted it said he did very well and also commented that he seems to be growing up some. Also, during the rest of the meeting, he didn't wander off and did what he was told without whining or ignoring us. It may have had to do with my pointing out to him d

When our troop had a lot of older Scouts (5-6 years ago), quite often they just wanted to hang out with each other. They were there for about 75% of the meetings (pretty good for 15-17 year olds). When we needed them to work with the younger Scouts, they were very good about it. Often, we found projects for them to do (work on troop equipment, etc.) where they could go off by themselves and socialize while they were working. As long as the Scouts are coming and helping out when needed, there's nothing wrong with allowing them time to socialize (out of sight of the younger Scouts).

With my troop, we travel in uniform. While at camp, the Scouts are required to wear their uniforms for meals (we dress for dinner especially), but while doing activities between meals, they can wear what they want.

The BSA policy is that to be a Boy Scout, a youth must be 1) 11 years old; or 2) 10 1/2 and finished with the fifth grade. Personally, I wouldn't allow someone who is not of "legal age" to be a member of my troop. If they are already in Cub Scouts, I would strongly encourage them (along with the rest of their den) to be a frequent visitor to our troop meetings and come to a couple of our campouts. However, I've seen some troops who let underage "geniuses" join the troop even though they've only been nine but are either in or have completed the fifth grade (basically, they skipped a couple o

I kind of have to laugh when people talking about the "mommy" factor when the Scouts go camping. My troop has one mom that camps with us about 4-5 times a year. She is actually very good about staying out of the way of the kids and letting them get things done. The dads (including her husband) are the ones that I've tried to rein in about letting the kids get things done so they can learn. Of course, I've seen the moms try to do everything when they go camping, but that was years ago with us. The moms in the troop love I'm trying to get their sons to do more for themselves. One even comm

Wow. I didn't realize I'd get this much response this quickly. I'm glad to see that the BSA has a policy on smoking at events. Should we get more parents coming in that smoke at events and aren't discrete about it, I can at least point out the policy so it isn't such a me vs. you issue. Fortunately, the adults that smoke in our troop don't camp with us as much anymore, so we don't have the issue at the campouts as much. Also, they usually don't smoke alone. They will do it in groups. The subject came up because we had a new Scout crossover last year with a dad (very nice guy) that smoke

I'm sure just about anyone has dealt with this one, but I'd like some advice on how to deal with it. Personally, I can't stand it when adults at Scout events smoke in front of the Scouts. Although I know there is no BSA policy on it, my feeling is that any behavior you wouldn't want your Scouts to partake in shouldn't be done by the adults. About five years ago, about two-thirds of the adults (parents and non-parent volunteers) smoked. There were times when there would be 5-6 adults watching a troop activity with cigarettes hanging out of their mouthes right in front of the Scouts. When I

What I've noticed with female Scouters (active, camping ones, not just committee members) is that, like any other male dominated "profession", they are incredibly competent and dedicated. If I had to choose between the top five female Scouters I know versus the top five male Scouters I know, I would have a very hard time choosing because of the quality (although a big lack of quantity) of women in Scouting. In fact, the woman who runs our JLTC is arguably the most together Scouter I've ever encountered.

I don't think anyone has (or should have a problem) with the ceremonial parts of the military in Scouting. I think they add a tremendous amount of class to the movement. As I mentioned before, the concerns people have with linking the Scouts with paramilitary (and wearing camo) has more to do with safety. Our problem a few years back was the kids wearing the camo ended up taking the camp games and making them into war games where kids were getting hurt (and I'm not talking about falling down while running through the woods) and fights breaking out because of the overagressiveness. Now that

This topic has gone a little bit off tangent, but it is still very important and very relevant to the Scouting movement today. My challenge Scout should finish up his second class by next week (he has one "study" requirement left to do). Right now, I plan to sit down with him and his dad (his mom is very active with a younger brother in Cubs and not around much) and have a sheet written with specific things I expect of him in regards to his growth as a person and a leader. I'll include things such as making sure he remembers his book, neckerchief, etc. after troop meetings (no one is perfec

The last couple of posts have been very interesting. The topic of ADD is one that will probably go on for years. I actually know a few adults that have been diagnosed with it in the 40's and 50's. One woman was diagnosed at age 50 and for years had thought she was a "flake" and not intelligent. She never accomplished much because she had a hard time with concentrating and felt that anything that took a lot of focus was "beyond her". Finally, she met someone who suggested she be tested. After she was diagnosed, her doctor told her that she had two choices. The first was that she could go

I'd like to get some ideas from people as to what they think the ideal troop would look like. I'm talking about things like program activities (campouts, service projects, etc.), number of Scouts, set of both youth and adult leaership, etc. Feel free to dream and got Norman Rockwell-esque for this thread.

I had to laugh when I saw this topic. We dealt with this about six or seven years ago. I don't have a problem with the Scouts wearing camo on campouts for activities just as I wouldn't have a problem with them wearing sweats (basically, for the comfort and warmth). The problem our district ran into involved the Scouts wearing camo during nighttime (Capture the Flag) games. At first, the Scouts would just wear the pant and maybe a jacket made of camo. As time went on, they added a large variety of accessories (including face paint, radios, and netting) and it got to the point where they Sc

Having extrinsic (outside) rewards is one good way to build patrol spirit. People have a natural tendacy to develop an "us vs. them" mentality. As my troop has only eight active Scouts (and thus one patrol), we don't have the element of competition to drive them (although I'm hoping that comes in the future). However, our kids are becoming very tight night simply by spending time together and accomplishing things together. Through the hikes, campfires, swims, and dishes, they are becoming a unit. How much time does your patrol spend alone (without the other patrols around) bonding a

Coffee Lady- It sounds like you are doing things correctly. I am in something of a similar situation with my troop right now. Keep in mind you won't see big changes for a while (it will take 2-3 years to really get things rolling). Also, as far as the kids not wanting to take responsibility: your three ADD kids may be used to always having adults do everything for them and wonder why they should have to do anything for themselves (I've seen it before as well as with a Scout currently in my troop). Something else you may need to do is something a lot of people won't look real kindl