ajmako

gtscouter, Two things you want to keep in mind: 1) A Scoutmaster Conference can happen at any time for any reason. It doesn't just deal with advancement requirements. In fact, the SM Conference is the number one tool for adult leaders. You can't help a boy you don't know, and the way you get to know him is by sitting down and talking to him. 2) Don't wait for a Scout to be ready to advance to deal with a discipline problem. Advancement is neither the stick nor the carrot in developing a Scout's behavior. If there is a discipline problem with a particular Scout the SM or another ad

Strictly speaking, no. Even less so because of the size of the troop. In my experience I have discovered that there are times, regardless of the size of the troop, when cooking and eating as a troop would be adviseable. In some troops, particularly small or brand new troops, cooking and eating as a troop is really the only practical thing to be done. So it's not always necessary to do patrol cooking. As far as the Patrol Method is concerned each patrol should plan its own menu, purchase its own food, and handle the work of cooking and eating on its own. It's all part of being an ind

>> The newest, youngest scouts seem to be the most dedicated.

My only suggestion is to focus on teaching the skills and providing opportunities to complete requirements. Don't schedule advancement focused activities, schedule activities that provide the opportunity to advance. Then challenge every Scout who wants to advance to seize the opportunities as they come, and if they don't see a particular opportunity, make one. Ideally you want to run a fun program and only have to worry about advancement when a Scout comes to you (or someone designated to sign off requirements) and says: "I did this, can you sign it off?"

Eamonn wrote: Maybe due to my age I'm not remembering things but 30 years ago when I first became a leader I don't remember hearing of children with ADD and ADD HA. Of course now I have and am willing to allow these children some "Slack". I now know that this is an illness.Still even if this is an illness is it an excuse for lack of respect? Eamonn, That's because it wasn't called ADD, ADD-HA, or any of the other disorders that fall under the umbrella of ADHD. Thirty years ago it was called simply Hyperactivity and only covered a small subset of those with the disorder. Before that it w

My personal ethical perspective and background is simple. I grew up among the first generation of Americans to live without segregation--I was about 1 year old when the Civil Rights Act was signed. Most of my schooling was in a Catholic parish school. I became a Cub Scout at the age of 7, and have been registered in Scouting in one capacity or another since. I must also admit that I am a miserable failure at living by the ideals of both Scouting and Christianity, but I keep trying. Rules and regulations are imposed, even in a voluntary society, to ensure the survival of the society. In a

while I'm not as sanguine as Ajmako that you can simply apply the Oath and Law to all situations. Hunt, Cheerfully optimistic? Yes. Hopeful? Yes. Confident? Yes. I am all those things when it comes to the idea that you can simply apply the Oath and Law to all situations. That is, after all, what we expect a Scout to do. We teach him the Scout Oath and Law and tell him to do his best to live by them in his daily life. We tell him to apply the Oath and Law to all situations and let those ideals guide his actions. He can only learn how to do that by observing us apply the Oath and Law to a

Start by focusing on teaching skills, not checking off requirements. Use troop and patrol meetings to teach, then go to camp with a purpose other than "working on advancements." Let the TG take the lead in this. Let him do most of the work. The NSP-SA should be in the background. If you teach the skills like you teach a kid to tie his own shoes, and go to camp for a reason that is fun, advancement will happen. The TG should obviously know the requirements and have the authority to sign them off. As far as the PL is concerned, you can make a schedule, like a duty roster and rotate the PL a

Kudu writes: What's wrong? It is a description of your progress, not his. That's your interpretation, not mine. I don't judge a Scout's progress according to my own standards or anything like that. I set high expectations, develop a relationship with each Scout, and I watch each Scout grow. When it comes to signing off Scout Spirit, I ask myself if this Scout has done his best, based on what I know about him, to live by the Scout Oath and Law in his everyday life. Sometimes I ask him if he thinks he's done his best. And then I sign it off. Kudu writes: Ask yourself: why do you need

Yah, I agree with ajmako, but I think he's leavin' out a whole bunch of stuff. Yeah, that's par for the course. Would you believe I was trying to simplify things? No? Okay, then I must have forgotten all the other stuff. But the cause of what ajmako describes is the right adults in a long-term relationship with kids. Hello Muddah, hello Fadduh, amen Bruddah! I think ajmako's exposition is only tryin' to tell people to avoid traps #2 and #3. (He/she will have to let me know if that's right ) That's good advice, eh? But it ain't enough to pull off what s/he's talkin' about.

Well, we've gone a little far afield of the original topic, but that's to be expected. Stosh: After all, isn't the whole idea behind a venture patrol and NBP meant to be stratafied? It allows a program focus that isn't possible with mixed patrols. Historically, the venture patrol concept was created to deal with a problem of older Scout retention. It's not really a new concept since long, long ago the BSA had Senior Scouts, which turned into Exploring. The NSP concept was introduced to deal with two problems--one with low Webelos-to-Scout transition rates and the other with younger S

Kudu wrote: How do you "measure" Spirit in a Scout's everyday life? When I was SM, I didn't measure Scout Spirit, at least not formally. I watched the Scouts interact with each other and with other people in the course of doing Scouting while he was working toward advancement. When it came time for an SM conference, I sat down with him and talked to him about things he had learned, how he was doing, and what his plans were for the next rank. I rarely had trouble finding out if he had done his best to live by the Scout Oath and Law in his everyday life. I rarely had a hard time seeing if a

I was asked some questions about my post privately, but they are good questions worthy of being answered publicly: But my question is now HOW do you implement that? You mentioned that after some time, it won't take more than a scoutmaster sit down to nip things in the bud. But how do you get to that point. I addressed this in another thread (see RE: name calling again). This isn't a quick, easy fix. The adult leaders have to put forth a bit of effort to make it work. Simply put: 1) Get rid of all behavior rules and zero-tolerance policies. 2) Sit down with the Scouts and estab

I used to want to save the world. When I was a newly minted adult I left my boyhood troop for what was at that time called an "inner city" troop. I did it because I wanted to do my duty and to help other people--especially those who needed it most. I was just a kid from the suburbs and really didn't have a clue what real life was like. Once I got to know the boys in the troop and got to understand the sort of neighborhood they lived in, the schools they went to, and what they and their parents had to contend with, I wanted to save the world even more. I did my best but some of the kids I

C-BOLT wrote: The real problem is, some scouts not listening to certain leaders in our troop. This happens usually when the Scouts are convinced those certain leaders won't back up what they say. For example, if a Scout does something and a leader says "don't do it again or you get sent home," that can either be a warning or a challenge. If the Scout knows the leader means it, it's a warning. If the Scout isn't sure if the leader means it or not, it's a challenge. If he doesn't listen and the leader just says "don't do it again or you get sent home," the Scout now knows it's an empty thre