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University of Scouting, Pow Wow, Show & Do, Etc


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Does your council hold any of these events or something similiar? If they do, what is a web site one can go to? I'm interested because it is getting harder and harder to have a variety of courses to keep experianced people interested in attending and I'm looking to see what programs others have that I can borrow from. For my part, ours is www.indianhead.org/uos

 

Thanks

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We are having a hard time with these events.

Attendance at Pow Wow has been going down and down. Also looking at those who do attend, it seems to be the same old "Pow wowers?"

I don't think that we have ever tried a University. Not sure why. It just never came up.

Due to the poor turn out for Pow Wow, we are giving it a break, and this coming spring will try a Show and do. We have never tried that either. So it ought to be fun.

It seems as if you guys have really got your act together and I take my hat off to you.

Well I would if I wore one.

Eamonn

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We are having a hard time with these events.

Attendance at Pow Wow has been going down and down. Also looking at those who do attend, it seems to be the same old "Pow wowers?"

I don't think that we have ever tried a University. Not sure why. It just never came up.

Due to the poor turn out for Pow Wow, we are giving it a break, and this coming spring will try a Show and do. We have never tried that either. So it ought to be fun.

It seems as if you guys have really got your act together and I take my hat off to you.

Well I would if I wore one.

Eamonn

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My Council has a University of Scouting, which this year is November 1. All details are at

 

http://www.ppbsa.org/

 

That is the main page for the council, but since we are so close to the event, the link is in big type right there on the main page (as of today, anyway.) If you follow the links there is a lot of descriptive information and a schedule of all the sessions. It includes Pow-Wow University for Cub Scout leaders and Boy Scout University for Boy Scout leaders and there are different patches signifying the different programs, but is really run as all one big day-long program. Last year I divided my time between Boy Scout and Cub Scout sessions, and also took some "general" (namely YP facilitator training.) This is a very well attended event, I can't even begin to guess how many people were there. It was in the hundreds. I can tell you that at lunch time we filled up a decent-sized middle-school cafeteria.

 

It looks from this year's schedule (I do not yet know whether I can go) that there are even more sessions than in the 2 years I did attend. A quick glance suggests there are about 80 different sessions, divided into categories of All Leaders, Den and Webelos Leaders, Pack Leaders, All Cub Scout leaders, and All Troop Leaders. The smallest category has 9 different topics, the largest (troop leaders) has well over 30. Just for laughs I did a search on the word "Webelos" and came up with six different sessions. The troop leaders topics include a bewildering variety of things. I cannot think of any more topics that one might have, unless one were to divide the session on "Cooking Stoves and Water Filters" into two separate topics, and that sort of thing.

 

The day is also used as a "program launch" when appropriate and there are opening and closing ceremonies in the school auditorium, with the program coordinators (called "deans") in cap and gown befitting the "university" theme. People who have attended multiple times are called on to stand and be recognized. At the end of it all we sing Scout Vespers and Cub Scout Vespers (which I take it is a new invention since the days of my youth.)

 

It really is a good program. But this thread makes me wonder, does this mean that my council is some sort of model for this sort of thing?

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Our Council has managed to roll the PowWow into UofS and it seems to be working pretty well. Perhaps a bit of a lag as the word gets around, but overall an excellent program. Well worth the effort! Doesn't hurt to hold it in January either; 'tis a slow time for lots of us.

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Adding to what Ed had to say -- yes our Council has done University of Scouting for awhile. However, the numbers are REALLY dwindling. I don't have the current registration numbers but on Monday we were still at less than 100 registrants. It will held on November 8th.

 

Our University of Scouting is held in conjunction with a day-long Den Chief training.

 

There are two different websites -- www.gpc-bsa.org and www.gpcuniversity.org.

 

The first site is our council website with a link to the forms. The second is an independent site with basically the same information, just set up a little differently.

 

 

 

 

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Milwaukee's PowWow is coming up November 15, cohosted with another council, Potawatomi. The link is: http://www.milwaukeeboyscouts.org/training.htm#powwow I estimate that several hundred people attended last year (including me!) and I'll be back this year. Which reminds me - time to register!

 

Milwaukee also cohosts the Five Star University of Scouting every winter, coming up on January 31, 2004 (Five Star because five councils are the cohosts).

 

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We have University of Scouting each year and Cub Leader Pow Wow every other year. Neither are particularly well attended any more. That is largely our fault and not the attendees. Personally I am not happy with the repetetive nature of the program content or with the budgets.

 

Bob W.

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Would have to wonder if those dwindling #s are a signal to go to alternate years and to crank up another program supplement?

How about an extension to Outdoor Leader Skills Instruction? Try 2 half-day sessions at your local camp; staff it with Merit Badge counselers and sharp Scouts...

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Let me add a little to my original post. We are attempting to have a core curriculum that doesn't change, another set of courses that rotate over 3 years, and a last set of current issues or new courses to try. That is why I want to procure a list of your courses and descriptions to add to our group.

 

As to dwindling numbers for various ones, I think it can be a lot of reasons. One of which would be the same thing over and over. Others might be promotion, timing, price.

 

Keep the ideas coming. I hope to compile a generic course catalog that I will share with everyone that you could obtain some ideas from. Who knows, we might even invent a wheel?

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I think the dwindling numbers mean that its time to take a break! It's possible that all the adults who want to attend these events have & the influx of new adults hasn't reached a level to keep the attendance numbers up. Maybe switching to every other year would help.

 

Ed Mori

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Well, we just finished our University of Scouting. We had around 700 participants, which is about the same as last year.

 

We had some challenges with staff being called to active duty which led to very little promotion, so we were very glad to hold our own.

 

Our next big training event is a Junior Leader College for scouts and conducted by Lodge Leadership. This is our second year for that and we expect over 600 scouts again for that.

 

As I develop our University Catalog of classes and lessons, I will let you know. Please continue to let me know of your events so I can add to the wealth of information.

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