Our Future is Still Bright...If We Allow It to Be

[LeCastor 641]

I've been re-reading a history book, created over 15 years ago, outlining the rich background of Scouting in my area. In one particular chapter, the author highlights some pretty cool things that took place during the "Improved Scouting" years, despite the changes that the National Council, BSA introduced in 1972. Dedicated Scouters gave countless hours to mentor, guide, and teach countless young people how to navigate the world and society. This is exactly what each of us is still doing today!

I think the general malaise I feel from reading some posts on this Forum is due, in large part, to the attitude that things aren't as good as they used to be. Well, no, some things are definitely different. However, some things are just the same and will be for many, many years. The Movement of Scouting will carry on even if the organization of Scouting stumbles from time to time. 

Our future as a Scouting Movement is as bright as we'll allow it to be. I look at my two-year-old son and see a future Scout just bursting with energy. He's already tramping the woods, picking up pinecones, marveling at the trees, and asking Daddy to help him light fires. He'd even gladly accept a pocketknife if I gave him one. 😉 The other day we stopped into a Scout Shop while traveling so Daddy could pick up some CSPs from the area, and my little one proudly told the Shop staffers "A...be a Scout!" It brought a tear to my eye.

I realize controversy invites loads of dialogue and emotions run hot on different sides of the issue at hand. What I yearn for on this forum and in discussions with my fellow Scouters is talk of fires, pocketknives, OA adventures, camping, Merit Badge Counselor success stories, etc. So I challenge each of you to give the Issues and Politics forum a break for ONE DAY and come back to one of the other sub-fora, writing about some successes you've had recently and focusing on the bright future of Scouting.

[WonderBoy 36]

I'll admit that following these forums sometimes reminds me of spending too much time on social media or the news outlets. It's easy to fall into the trap of spending so much time on what's wrong that we forget about all that's going right in our world.

[Hawkwin 299]

I have a success story in the making!

A female Webelos - the only one in her pack, recently visited my son's troop to satisfy one of her AOL requirements. She visited us from the next council and county over. As the den leader for my daughter's AOL den (in yet another council and county over in the other direction), we invited her join us at our den meetings. She earned her Looking Back Looking Forward elective with us at our last meeting and will be joining us tomorrow to satisfy Build a Better World #4 - when we are visiting with yet another local pack who has invited the local school board president.

We are finding ways to make things work.

It is a great feeling to know that our little act of kindness to her has made her feel a greater part of scouting. We are hopeful that if we start a troop in February that she will be one of our founding members.

Me: "Valkyries Approach!"

Den: "Lead the Way!" (Patrol Yell)

Edited December 20, 2018 by Hawkwin

[Eagledad 2777]

Must all forums are generally negative because the format was built as a resource for seeking information. Think of how many forums you visited just to learn about a subject. Folks with successful experiences don't generally seek to brag to the world. We come here to seek solutions, so the causes of the situations get a great deal of attention.

And a lot of the program has changed in  the last 30 years. My passion is "boy run" "patrol method" scouting, so I came here in my early days to learn more about how to implement patrol method. Now I hang around to spread the fruits of my experiences. 20 years ago the Patrol Method forum carried easily 25% of the total Scouter.com discussions. Now, it gets maybe one a month. That in of itself is indicative of how the program has been changing.

But, I'm so starved for a patrol method discussion, I might have to ask questions under a different name. Hmm, what name should I use. Kudu? No, no, that one sounds to much like a musical instrument. Beavah? No, no, that just sounds weird. I know BOBWHITE! Oh, wait? That name leaves a bad taste for some reason, I don't know why. Thinking, thinking........

Barry

[Buggie 110]

Try "NotEagleDad" for that complete disconnect.  Just don't argue with yourself. 

[gblotter 372]

Last night we held our final troop meeting for 2018. Ours is an LDS troop that will go out of existence one year from now. We used last night's troop meeting to motivate by highlighting the Scouting journey that lies ahead in 2019, both in terms of rank advancement and outdoor adventures. We anticipate up to 14 new Eagle Scouts in 2019 (in a normal year, it's just 3 or 4). We compared our 2019 troop activity calendar to a rock band's farewell tour schedule. We will be revisiting many favorite camping destinations from past years. As we moved month-to-month through the calendar, their excitement escalated to cheering as each new campout was revealed. Next summer we will attend two premier BSA summer camps, plus a backpacking trip. We unanimously agreed that our troop will go out with a bang - not a whimper. We will not just finish the race, but we will do it in style.

How's that for some positivity?

[Eagle94-A1 2687]

11 minutes ago, gblotter said:

How's that for some positivity?

 

 

"WWWHHH000000 BBBUUUDDDDDDDDDDYYYYY!" as Shug would say.

[MattR 2659]

27 minutes ago, Eagledad said:

I'm so starved for a patrol method discussion

Then start writing. Seriously. You know it. You enjoy it. You want to share it. I mean this in the most respective and appreciative way I can. Write something that we can point people to. Write something that will not only explain how to do patrol method but why.

One of the problems with the usual writing is the authors are trying to keep things short and not get into too much detail. The result is overly vague and not useful. It also has no emotion. We all get goose bumps when a scout first conquers his fears and starts leading his patrol. That needs to be conveyed in order to get someone to understand why. It does not come across in a description of ethical decision making. You have tons of stories and those stories are what grabs people. It's passion that turns people, not claptrap written my committees.

And don't tell me that it's all out there because if it were then we wouldn't see someone, like NotEagleDad, write something like:

35 minutes ago, Eagledad said:

Now, it gets maybe one a month. That in of itself is indicative of how the program has been changing.

I knew this other guy on the forum, I forget his name, but he always used to end his posts with "I love this scouting stuff." That's what we need more of. There will always be bad stuff, there's little hope in ending that. But it's the good stuff that will change things. In fact, I love this scouting stuff would be a great title, rather than something that contains the word manual.

[RememberSchiff 3663]

22 minutes ago, MattR said:

I knew this other guy on the forum, I forget his name, but he always used to end his posts with "I love this scouting stuff." That's what we need more of. 

Yeah, I learned a lot from that guy. 

[Sentinel947 1205]

I think there is a tendency to reinforce negative thinking on a forum. Not necessarily because we're negative, but because the positive things are happening in our units, district and council, and we come here for support on the things that aren't going so well. 

I don't think this requires a whole new thread, but I'm greatly optimistic for my troop. The New Scoutmaster took over in May, and from May until now I've done my best to support him and pick up slack as he learns his role. I found out in November that I've been accepted to Graduate school, and that starts in January for me. I'll have classes in the evenings during the Troop meetings, so I'm going from 60 to 0 pretty quickly with Scouting and my Troop. I'm staffing NYLT this coming summer, but I'm not sure what my future in Scouting looks like beyond this summer. I will likely occasionally drop in on Eagle projects or Eagle Court of Honors. My program will take me about 2 and half years to complete, and afterwards I don't expect to return to "active duty" with my Troop. There will be several new classes of Scouts and parents that won't know me, and the current leadership I do know will be winding down their involvement. It'd be a weird time to jump back in. 

A few weeks ago I arranged a meeting with all of the ASM's, current Scoutmaster and the previous Scoutmaster. We talked about the Troop, the transition, what was going well, what wasn't. We also talked about our availability and interest for the 2019. The previous Scoutmaster and I are considered reserves going forward and we charted the exit for another experienced ASM who's son is almost aged out. We identified who would take over as Scoutmaster if something happened to our current SM (sons dropped out, job caused a relocation...ect.) That leaves us with about 3 active ASM's available for meetings and outings in 2019 with one other that exclusively handles high adventure stuff. We also identified a few potential candidates to become ASM's this year. Our goal with this is for the Scoutmaster to be able to focus on the Patrol method, while the other ASM's provide coaching to the ASPL's and other troop positions when needed. (We have about 60 registered Scouts.) In the past ASM duties were mostly ad hoc spur of the moment type stuff with some delegation from the Scoutmaster.

Overall I'm thrilled, because I think the Troop has the adult leaders in place and the organization to really help our scouts take it's next steps into becoming more effective as a youth led troop and utilizing the patrol method. After years of pushing, things are starting to click on the patrol method. The Scouts had patrol leader elections last week, and for the first time in a long time we didn't have patrols merge, rename or significantly shuffle membership. I took a picture of the Troop and patrol flags last night, because it was the first time in a long time where the patrol identity stuff has stuck for us over a term (6 months) of life in the Troop. Short of the Scoutmaster or next SPL doing a 180 turn on the patrol method, it appears to be here to stay. (Note, we have to meet in the church's preschool room due to advent activities in the church fellowship hall, so enjoy the decorations in the background!) 

I'm proud of what the Scouts, ASM and current and previous SM have accomplished, the program we've put on, the lives we've changed. I'm grateful that the transition has gone mostly well, as we all know, it can be dangerous time for a troop program. I'm thrilled to see new parents step into roles on the Committee and as ASM's. I'm disappointed that for me, my time with my Troop has just about come to an end, but I'm optimistic that the Troop will continue to do great things for our Scouts and our community. I hope I've made a positive impact on the Troop, because it's definitely changed my life for the better. I know I'll continue supporting Scouting in different ways going forward, and I'm excited to see what my next chapter in Scouting will look like. 

Isn't that why we do all this after all? 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Sentinel947

[Eagledad 2777]

12 hours ago, Sentinel947 said:

m we've put on, the lives we've changed. I'm grateful that the transition has gone mostly well, as we all know, it can be dangerous time for a troop program. I'm thrilled to see new parents step into roles on the Committee and as ASM's. I'm disappointed that for me, my time with my Troop has just about come to an end, but I'm optimistic that the Troop will continue to do great things for our Scouts and our community. I hope I've made a positive impact on the Troop, because it's definitely changed my life for the better. I know I'll continue supporting Scouting in different ways going forward, and I'm excited to see what my next chapter in Scouting will look like. 

Isn't that why we do all this after all? 

I don't know how much of a religious person you think of yourself, but your last paragraph reads like a prayer. 

We've known you on this forum since you were a scout. I've enjoyed watching grow into the man you are today, and I am excited for the man you are becoming. 

Thank you for opening yourself to us and sharing a bit of your life. I must admit, through the years I have you found as inspiring to this forum as much as you have inspired those who are personally involve with your scouting ambitions and experiences. You truly live up to "Loving this scouting stuff".

Barry

[Sentinel947 1205]

7 hours ago, Eagledad said:

I don't know how much of a religious person you think of yourself, but your last paragraph reads like a prayer. 

We've known you on this forum since you were a scout. I've enjoyed watching grow into the man you are today, and I am excited for the man you are becoming. 

Thank you for opening yourself to us and sharing a bit of your life. I must admit, through the years I have you found as inspiring to this forum as much as you have inspired those who are personally involve with your scouting ambitions and experiences. You truly live up to "Loving this scouting stuff".

Barry

I'd consider myself fairly religious. I guess you could consider it a prayer of sorts. I do ask God to help me identify what is will is for my life. 

I appreciate your kind words. I should also thank the many members of this forum. I've learned a great deal of things about Scouting and life from my time here. I will still be dropping in from time to time here, but like my Troop, I'll have less to contribute as I scale back how much time I spend on Scouting. 

 

[qwazse 4342]

@Sentinel947, you definitely have a lot to look forward to. Graduate school is it's own kind of troop; and your class, it's own kind of patrol. Then, there's a family, or if you are so led, the ministry. And as you visit your troop, you can explain what's the same, different, etc.

[FireStone 423]

I think we, as Scouters, are generally a fairly humble bunch. We don't do it for the recognition, and when things are going well we tend to just privately be happy about things going well and try to maintain the positives in our programs. When things go badly, that's when we turn to others for help, and on an Internet forum looking for help means shining a big old spotlight on the negatives. 

I think we do mention the positives, but we often don't start new threads about them. I'm pretty sure I mentioned our wildly successful recruiting effort in my Pack this year, doubling the Pack size since June. Which is great, but again, I'm not going to start a thread about it. When I look at what's on my desk at the moment and I've got that stat about Pack membership alongside an ongoing issue of bullying in the Pack, you know which item I'm more likely to bring to this forum. 

There is a lot of good going on, and it does often get overlooked here. But not because we're a negative group, we're all doing what we can to improve our units, and that means asking for help with problems far more often than it means pointing out the good things we see happening. 

[MattR 2659]

On 12/20/2018 at 7:35 PM, Sentinel947 said:

I found out in November that I've been accepted to Graduate school

Congratulations!