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dfscott

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Everything posted by dfscott

  1. We charge $70/year, plus $15 for campouts to cover food. Currently, myself and the ASMs are eating the cost of fuel, and the campsites. We're trying to get them to raise the amount so it's not coming out of our pockets, but they're worried we'll get too much pushback from the families.
  2. Thanks all. All good points and I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one here. I also just discovered that the Troop Committee member has been trying to hold off-the-record meetings with the other ASMs to discuss "program issues" and activities. Luckily one of the other ASMs let me know, I forwarded to the COR, who let them know that these sorts of divisive meetings were not appropriate. Things have calmed down and the two adults have agreed to be on probation for 6 months. During that period they are to have no interactions with each others sons and will not yell at any of the b
  3. I've got a difficult situation that I'm trying to resolve (I'm the SM). The COR and CC are not sure what the best course of action is either. This is long, so I apologize in advance. We are a relatively new troop - going on our 3rd year, just added 8 Webs last week from our feeder Pack to bring our numbers up to 22. Much of our adult leaders and Troop Committee have come from the feeder, so they tend to have a "Cub Scout" mentality that I'm working to break them from. Our last campout was the first one for some new scouts that just crossed over -- we had three new scouts cam
  4. Hey All- Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I thought I'd provide an update. I ran into our DE at a scout event and tried to pin her down on it. She did some admirable bobbing and weaving, but eventually it came to "BSA has no problems with JW -- it's the other way around, so you need to discuss with the family and make sure they understand what is required." So, our CC sat down with the boy's mom (not deliberately excluding dad -- he just doesn't speak much English). She considers her family as "not particularly devout" and doesn't have any problems with her son saying t
  5. Reporting in: DE response was "Hmmm.... that's a tricky one. Let me check and I'll get back to you." Still waiting... In other news, he joined us for our hike this weekend and had a great time -- fit in with the boys immediately.
  6. I just had a new scout join the troop this week. While one of the ASM's was discussing Scout Badge requirements with him, the subject of the Pledge of Allegiance came up, and he stated that he wasn't allowed to say the Pledge. I have heard that Jehovah's Witnesses are not supposed to be join Boy Scouts due to this fact, but I always assumed that it was on the JW side, not the BSA side. Being in downtown Atlanta, our Troop is pretty liberal -- many of our boys have same-sex parents. So, my thoughts are: if his family doesn't have a problem with it, I don't either. However, I could see
  7. I'd love to get either or both of those syllabuses (syllabi?), but the message board won't let me send you a PM (says I'm "not authorized").
  8. I like this idea, but we're talking about 6 one-hour meetings, a day hike, and an overnight campout. It's hard enough to get them to come to a day-long training on a Saturday, much less schedule 8 things that they need to attend in addition to regular scout stuff. I'll have to see if maybe there's a way to condense then material without diluting it too much.
  9. Well, there is audio, but you're right -- no video.
  10. Hi -- responded to your welcome post. I personally have never been to Scoutland, but I have been told that it is definitely oriented more towards Cub Scouts than Boy Scouts, so it sounds like it is a good fit (are you going with your Bear or your Webelos?)
  11. Hi and Welcome! I'm a Atlanta Scouter (Scoutmaster and father of a Second Class Boy Scout and a Bear), but our Troop elected to head to your neighborhood for Summer Camp at Camp Rainey Mountain -- our boys loved it! I'll warn you that they've just upgraded the forum software and it's still a little squirrely, so be patient (and I suggest composing your posts in email/notepad and then cutting and pasting). This is a very helpful group and I've learned a lot. Feel free to ask anything!
  12. Yeah, I used that cirriculum and and it was boring. It's ironic that while it talks about not standing up and lecturing, that's what I ended up doing! And having the SPL deliver it was a disaster -- it's too much material for me to handle, much less a kid. The cookie game didn't work for me, either, but for a different reason. They immediately started asking each other "do you want your cookie?" and then would ask me if it was ok. No one tried to be sneaky. Anyway, here are links to the 80s videos for anyone interested -- I like the format (seems easier for the boys to un
  13. At my first youth leadership training, I used the "official" ILST tools. It was fine, but even with the games mixed in, it still felt a bit stiff. So, we've just elected a new slate of youth leaders, and the thought of having them slog through the ILST powerpoint again is painful. I was hoping that there may be some other tools that people have had success with that will get them moving. I found some old training videos from the 80's on youtube that seemed a little more interesting (they boys are always up for watching something), but I don't have the complete set. Anyone have any ideas?
  14. We've been using etrailtoeagle.com. Most of our scouts are young and the parents really like the report subscriptions that shows them which requirements are needed for the next rank. It's pretty cheap (~$20/year) and doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a lot of the others, but it does the job for our small troop. May have to look troopwebhost -- haven't heard of that but sounds similar...
  15. So, for the curious: here's the result: ASM and I discussed it at summer camp. While he understood what I was getting at, he still said that he didn't think the boys were old enough to make these sorts of decisions (our boys ages range from 10-14, with most being 11 or 12). While I agree that they don't have the experience an more established troop might, they have been doing this for a year and need to start learning. He said we'd have to "agree to disagree". I took that as "I'm not happy, but I'll deal with it." Unfortunately, when we announced the new patrols at the Court of Honor
  16. It's supposed to mean that you didn't prove you were a human by entering the write captcha code, but it doesn't even ask you for one (I'm having the same trouble).
  17. I mentioned in another post that my current single-patrol troop was begging to split into two patrols (this was the boys wanting to split). I told them that once we hit 12 total, they could split. Well, that time has come. So, I wrestled with the best way to do it. I have a few "misfits", so I didn't want to just put them in a room and have them group with their friends for fear of having 10 guys in one corner and two lost sheep leftover feeling like the last kid picked for kickball. I finally found a method online that let the boys have most of the input and me balance the numbers.
  18. Update: sorry for necro'ing the thread, but I thought a report was in order. We divided into two patrols last night, having hit 13 scouts. I asked the boys if they wanted to have an SPL this time or just let the PLs rotate troop duties. Most of the boys voted to have one, with only a couple (the current SPL and PL) voting that it wasn't needed. (Looks like everyone will have to learn from experience.) Two guys have stepped up to run for the position - one is the oldest boy in the troop, but he has a lot of sports and work commitments, and the other is a very popular Webelos cross-ove
  19. Our chartering org is very tight on space. As a result, most of the camping gear ends up getting stored at my (the Scoutmaster's) house. My son (who is one of the patrol leaders), mentioned that because of that, I always end up checking everything in, and he ends up washing things that weren't properly washed. He ended up appointing a Patrol QM to keep up with the cookbox, and then we had our Troop QM keep up with Stoves, propane, lanterns, etc. But this means stuff is scattered all over, and we have to deal with a lot of craziness if someone can't make a trip. We do have a troop trailer,
  20. Hey all -- OP here reporting back. Thanks for all the feedback. Since elections, we've had two more boys join and are expecting at least 2 more next month, taking our total to 12. Several of the boys have expressed wanting to split into two patrols, for competitive reasons as much as anything, and I'm encouraging that. With two patrols, I feel that we'll get better troop games and maintain patrol identity (since right now I'm just splitting the troop in half to play games). I'm trying to provide more structure tools (agenda templates, "cheat sheets") for the boys, both in PLCs a
  21. Question for the winter vets: We're doing our first winter campout this weekend. We live in GA so it's only getting down to around freezing, but for us southerners, that's cold. Our site has 9-bunk 3-sided "cabins" as well as an area for tents. So, is it warmer in a 2-man tent with a buddy or does a patrols' worth of body heat counteract the lack of a 4th cabin wall?
  22. It is a small troop - only 1 patrol. However, we did start with only a PL and an APL. The PL got overwhelmed with the responsibilities of running the troop as well as running the patrol. I gave him a choice of running the troop meetings or the patrol meetings and letting the APL take over the other. He asked if he could run the Troop meetings and let the APL do all planning for patrol advancement, campouts, etc. Are you suggesting that I just skip the idea of Troop meetings and make everything patrol meetings? I'm a little worried that the patrol will fall apart when some of the le
  23. I'm the SM of a 6 month old small (and young!) troop. Most things are going well, with all the boys having earned their Tenderfoot and well on their way to 2nd class (I should probably mention that the Troop Committee is all about FCFY, but not quite as sold on "boy-led" as I am). But now we're coming up on our first elections, and no one seems to want to run for anything. The 12yo SPL, who I felt was overwhelmed had originally said he wanted to step back and be Historian. But now he'd like to run again (not sure if that's his desire or his dad's, who is an ASM). My 11yo son was elect
  24. Thanks again, everyone. I actually have the merit badge (since he earned it a while back), so I may go ahead and give him the merit badge so he can put it on his sash and not feel "weird". And then give him the card. The badges, I'll get this weekend and I'll just pin them on this time (or maybe use the plastic holders -- I'm on the fence about those) and give them the card as well.
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