Camping Every Month?

[5thGenTexan 504]

Camping required or just at least a Troop activity?

January is coming up. 

1st weekend is before everyone returns to school, so that is iffy.

2nd weekend is open.

3rd weekend.  There is an ILST course offered that I would like to propose our Scouts 13 and older attend.  Younger Scouts I am going to suggest we run a First Aid MB class all day Saturday.

4th Weekend - Pack PWD is planned and our Scouts typically help with that event.

[fred8033 1591]

There is no meaningful scouting without camping and the associated adventures.  Scouting is building character by being outside. 

You can't require camping, but why be in scouting if you don't learn to love the core activities.  It would be like being on a football team, but not wanting to be on the field.

Edited December 1, 2022 by fred8033

[5thGenTexan 504]

1 hour ago, fred8033 said:

There is no meaningful scouting without camping and the associated adventures.  Scouting is building character by being outside. 

You can't require camping, but why be in scouting if you don't learn to love the core activities.  It would be like being on a football team, but not wanting to be on the field.

thats great, but I can't make there be more weekends in a month.

[DeaconLance 35]

I camp out a month is a goal to strive for but cannot always be met.  JTE gold is 10 in a year.  Most Troops in my district can only do 6/7 in a year due to schedules.

[yknot 1338]

I'm going to be crazy here and say you don't need to make every single camp out an all weekend affair. We did plenty of local single night camp outs just to get outside during tough to schedule months or extra nights because someone needed one. You don't need to take a trailer, you don't need to cook feasts and lug tons of food. After work Friday night to Saturday a.m. works well. Plenty of time to hike and do stuff. Almost zero food prep/meals unless someone needs a signoff. My nephew's troop did a couple local Sunday night camp outs and the novelty was kids/parents getting up at 5 a.m. to shower and get to school and then swagger around the halls all day. 

[fred8033 1591]

1 hour ago, 5thGenTexan said:

thats great, but I can't make there be more weekends in a month.

Monthly camping is the ideal; not a hard rule.  12 months a year is rare.  10 out of 12 months is outstanding.  7 to 9 months a year is good.  2 to 3 would be a warning sign.  

Also, it's how you count the outings.  Camp in at the charter org?  One night?  Some months with two campouts in one month (some scouts go to one, some to another).  ... I'd worry less about the number and more about holes in the calendar where the scouts could be active.

Edited December 1, 2022 by fred8033

[KublaiKen 192]

What did the PLC decide?

[5thGenTexan 504]

16 minutes ago, KublaiKen said:

What did the PLC decide?

There hasnt been a PLC meeting in over a year.

[5thGenTexan 504]

1 hour ago, DeaconLance said:

I camp out a month is a goal to strive for but cannot always be met.  JTE gold is 10 in a year.  Most Troops in my district can only do 6/7 in a year due to schedules.

I was made aware on Tuesday our Council isnt doing JTE any more.  That after I had filled out the worksheet. 🙄

Edited December 1, 2022 by 5thGenTexan

[KublaiKen 192]

Ah, then I would say which weekend to go camping might be the secondary issue: that should be planned by the Scouts in the PLC at an annual planning meeting, not by old men on a message board. Youth-led is on the same level as outdoors in the hierarchy of Scouting, both are methods, right? Solve the problems by solving them together: dump the calendar dilemma on the PLC and let them solve it.

[5thGenTexan 504]

1 minute ago, KublaiKen said:

Ah, then I would say which weekend to go camping might be the secondary issue: that should be planned by the Scouts in the PLC at an annual planning meeting, not by old men on a message board. Youth-led is on the same level as outdoors in the hierarchy of Scouting, both are methods, right? Solve the problems by solving them together: dump the calendar dilemma on the PLC and let them solve it.

I am just a CC trying to walk a fine line between having a program and not making the SM mad and quitting.  we have different ides on how the Troop should operate.  I would be happy as a clam if we had an active PLC, but I can't get that through.  We are very "Lord of the Flies".  Even if there was plan, this ILST course is a newly announced thing.  I pulled the newly elected SPL aside on Tuesday and explained about 3 different tasks that needed to be taken care of that night at the meeting,  He looked at me like I was from Mars.  Not a single Scout who holds a leadership positions knows what it means.  They just know they got to vote for people for some stuff.  As far as I can tell, they believe it means they get to tell people what to do, and thats it.

The SM decided that the older Scouts were going to start the E-Prep MB at meetings so they were more engaged.  It turned out he didn't have a plan for the rest of the Scouts in the Troop while the older ones were working.  So, EVERYONE started the E-Prep and 6 or 7 do not have the First Aid MB that is a requirement. 

Therefore, my January plan is to get everyone set on First Aid, and the Scouts that are old enough NEED to be at ILST.  It might not be what they want right now, but there has to be a foundation started soon.  And this is a 113 year old Troop.  There is zero excuse for this.  I have been CC for a year and did my best to stay out of program, but I am done with that and going to seriously drive some change.

[InquisitiveScouter 1653]

31 minutes ago, 5thGenTexan said:

I was made aware on Tuesday our Council isnt doing JTE any more.  That after I had filled out the worksheet. 🙄

@5thGenTexan, you don't need the council...  What level did you get? 

Just order the patches, if you want them, and recognize your Scouts at the level of program they achieved.  We filled out our worksheet, sent it to our FD (we don't have an assigned DE) with a cc to our District Commissioner (we don't have an assigned Commissioner), and ordered our own patches.

Here's a link to Gold:

https://www.scoutshop.org/no-name-provided-656986.html

 

[fred8033 1591]

2 hours ago, 5thGenTexan said:

I am just a CC trying to walk a fine line ...

You can provide friendly views to the SM, but at some point, you have to salute that the SM is the SM.

[5thGenTexan 504]

5 minutes ago, fred8033 said:

You can provide friendly views to the SM, but at some point, you have to salute that the SM is the SM.

At some point my kid is going to get fed up and then a new CC will have to be selected. 

[InquisitiveScouter 1653]

8 minutes ago, 5thGenTexan said:

At some point my kid is going to get fed up and then a new CC will have to be selected. 

What does your son's patrol want to do?  Get another adult, and take them camping, if that's what the Scouts want.  Does not have to be the SM on every trip.