Eagledad

Eagle732's list is basically what we took, and is basically what you get at Philmont and most other BSA camps. Hey, don't forget pouring hot water into the instant oatmeal packets, then you don't even have a bowl to clean. Kind of works with grits, but add a little beef bouillon to the water and the grits become magical treat. Barry

Discussions of California politics always relect me back to the movie The Last Chase where Lee Majors character is driving his old race car to Free California because that is the only state left where the laws still allow freedom of choice. I laugh because the irony is California today is one of the least freedom of choice states in our county. The laws have become so restrictive that more people leave the state than move there. Taking away a persons freedom of choice doesnt change the mind. Barry

Many years back we had a troop in our District that ran a very cool campout where all the Webelos in the District were invited to see the troop in action. The troop generally got about 50 crossovers as a result of that campout, however they typically lost at least 30 or more scouts before summer camp. Short story is the Troop did not want to be a mega troop, so the adults turned their backs to the antics the older scouts played on the new scouts so as to drive away the weaker crossovers. That had gone on several years, but when the district found out, the SM was gone with in the year. When I hear stories of pranks and hazing, I think back on the choices the adults made in that troop. Barry

>>The charter is through what is basically the school PTA. The religious aspects don't seem to be stressed and it looks like a pretty good group. I appreciate the input I received here.

>>You will find that there are two kinds of Scouters on these pages: Those that think there are two kinds of Scouters, and those that don't.

>>But they don't think they have the authority. That needs to change too. I will tell the SPL that he didn't need to wait for me to step in, he could have done it himself.

>>Turning a Scout upside down when they earn their Bobcat is okay if the Scout is comparatively small (1st or 2nd grader) and the parent has enough upper body strength (most fathers, some mothers) and if the Scout is comfortable with it. Now a single mother may have her 5th grader join Cub Scouts and it would be very difficult for most moms to invert their son for this ceremony - physically. So an organization, to prevent lawsuits (i.e. loss of revenue) protects itself by banning the practice altogether.

Burnout is a difficult thing because even if the victims family and friends advice them they are burning out, he or she still has to make the decision to change and most of the time they dont. I think it is an important subject because it is the main cause of Webelos Drop outs. Dans (dkurtenbach) reply is pretty good, but its not just about changing personal rewards, its also the constant stress of responsibility adding to the other stresses of the job and raising a family. After I was SM, my dream job was the District Commissioner because I felt I could make some really big changes in the position. Through the years I was involved in some very successful complicated programs at the Cub, Troop, District and Council where I personally picked and led teams. I certainly got my rewards from the results of those responsibilities, but after 20 years and all that experience at just about all levels of scouting, I was offered my dream job and I declined. In fact I was offered any job I wanted on the District committee and council training committee the following five years, but my heart wasnt in it. I just got to where I cringed every time the phone rang. I used to grab the phone looking for the opportunity to discuss ANYTHING scouting. But after 20 years, I actually got a little nauseated from a phone ring. Like Dan said, once burnout starts, I think it stays. And while I think all the suggestions given are good for preventing burnout, Im not sure it can be prevented, at best it can only be slowed. When I became the SM, my family forced me to step way back on other scouting activities. I wasnt allowed to spend more than three nights a week doing scouting stuff and that could only be on Troop Scouting Stuff, nothing outside the troop program. Scouting discussions were NOT tolerated at the dinner table. That was enforced by the mom, but the kids liked it was well. But that wasnt a burnout problem, that was a family dynamics situation. The worst part for me is that I have a lot of knowledge earned from experience that I want so badly to spread to make the lives of Scouts and Scouters easier. I have a clear understanding how scouting works in creating citizens of character and leaders of integrity. I know how to get the older scouting program working for the benefit of the whole program. And I dearly love talking to scouts and asking them about the Patrols and youth leaders. I help out at the troop level now and then and that feels great. But once I found myself getting close to responsibility, I turned around. Its been ten years and I actually think I could take on a roll now, I can actually answer that phone without fear. But I haven't been invited yet, and I haven't found the courage to do it myself. I have to laugh, do you know how much the uniform has changed in the last few years? I would be starting all over. Maybe a good way to start is to get back in so I can build a team to develop a 12 step program for scout leader burnout. Waaait aaa minute! Barry

>>Who made you God's spokesperson?

>>I would love to eliminate the dining flys, patrol boxes and all that extra stuff and treat every outing like a backpacking trip.....

>>it's not a big issue, just an observation.

>>It was progressive Christians who fought for the rights of blacks in America - not the conservative ones.

>>My troop provides zero leadership to the district

District sets the pattern of the quality for units. They can do that in several ways, but training is the largest contributer to unit quality, good or bad. I found that many of the bad habits the units used in our district were a result of the district simply not knowing BSA policies, so they kept teaching the wrong proceedures and policies even though it was not in the material. At the pack level the District didnt understand the harm of Webelos submitting Troop Applications to the Troops before the scout received his AOL. Council just let it go for a while but eventually National had to make a call. At the troop level most Scoutmasters didnt know the process where the scout seeks the MB Counselor list from the SM and is supposed call the counselor and get the SM signature on the MB card before he starts work on the requirements. We found that the SMs were using the same process in their units that the District used for MB College, which was just find a counselor and the adults will do the rest. We have found that on average, unit quality represents the quality of the district program, primarily training. I really saw this in a Colorado district where most of the Troops were very Boy Run because the district encouraged very boy run program. And districts feed off the quality of the units for their chair positions, so it can be a vicious circle of bad unit leaders becoming bad district leaders. Bad district leaders encourage bad quality units which result in bad unit leaders. Trends can be hard to change, but we fixed a few problems by replacing the whole training committee with good teachers who actually taught the material. The District Training Chairman recieved the Silver Beaver for her efforts. So its hard to know from the limited information if Basement's troop is feeding his district, or his district is feeding his troop, but it appears something needs to change. Just kidding of course. Barry

Like some of the others, I dont really know what a helicopter parent is. I do understand what its like to be a parent and a SM. As a SM, I understand the parenting part of us can interfere with the growth part of the scout. I found myself coaching parents just as much as coaching scouts. From my SM point of view, we arent so much trying to develop skills in scouts as were trying to develop the confidence for them to take the initiative for taking on challening task where they themselves learn skills. I like to teach adults that we arent trying to light up the dark room so the scouts can see to enter, the confidence we want to give is a flashlight they can use to enter the dark room and turn the light on themselves. The adults job isnt lighting up the dark, its only giving them the flashlight. In your sons case, and in most young scouts like him, he knows what he wants to say to the SM, he just lacks the confidence to do it. We do several small lessons to give scouts the confidence to approach and talk with adults. One small way of doing that is through calling adults to set up arrangements for their activities. We teach the scouts how to contact all MB counselors on their own and set up their meetings and get the information for filling out the MB Card. In just a couple minutes time, we show them how to identify themselves to the counselor and then explain why he is calling. No big deal to adults or even 14 year olds, but to 10 and 11 year olds who only uses texting for communication with strangers, it is a Huge scary obstacle. A little practice with the parents or SM and a little boost of encouragement, they go make that call. Typically the first MC call is really hard, the second is easier and the third is no big deal. It actually surprised us adults that it only took three MBs for the scouts to have the confidence to contact all their counselors on their own initiative. For the scouts in your troop, not just your son, figure out the skill they lack for that little bit of confidence they need to reach the bigger goal. If your son has trouble talking to other adults or authority figures dont focus on the goal of the SM Conference or discussion on the lost book, focus on building just enough confidence to get him to make that first step. It will take courage on his part, but he will be reward by the success of his talk. You will learn that these guys are really pretty brave, so they dont need as much of a boost or flashlight as you think. And that one small step will give them the confidence for the next bigger step. That is the difference between how a parent does things and a scout leader. Just a little nudge, thats basically all they need, then once they get going, it will be all you can do to keep up. As your scouts get older and more experienced, you will see them become more courageous in taking on challenging task like planning activities and mature leader positions. They might even run for student council president. Just remember, they dont need you to turn the light on, they just needed a little bit of confidence to enter the dark room and turn the light on themself. When you master this skill, you will understand more why you love this scouting stuff. Barry

>>It is not the UC's job to replace the CC. Though I can imagine the desire to do so, sometimes. Still, it is good to have prospects in mind, and maybe to chat with the COR about thins, as Eamonn suggests.

>>DLChris71, can I ask you straight out if you accept those national Scouting Organisations which don't exclude gay people as being just as much Scouts as BSA?

>>As a matter of fact, the COR might make a fine CC! There is also a business executive recently recruited .... He would be a likely prospect to be CC as well.

Because TSAs new high-tech x-ray found a comb in my back pocket, I was invited to spend another 15 minutes getting questioned, frisked, wanded and run through the metal detector. However, they gave back the comb back without any restrictions for using it on the plane. Barry

Its my experience that we adults rarely change patterns. The choice for change is usually change the adult or add more adults to balance the one. But trying to change the one adult's pattern is usually not a productive route to go in the long run. Barry

>>So it is really hard for any of us, thinking locally and our own limited experience, to know how a policy change would help or hurt Scouts as a whole. IMPO I think given the folks that make it a priority it would probably hurt more than help.

>>All that is to say, we should accept individuals, not their gender into positions of responsibility. If ther is a female with integrity and direct-contact skills and experience, then you may be doing your boys a disservice by passing them over for less qualified males. Your making a trade off between preserving a culture for some hypothetical gain and being flexible to address immediate needs.

>>For the BSA, then, the question becomes "do we need those COs?"

>>Ask any of my scouts if it matters to them that their Scoutmaster is a woman.

>>I agree. WE are supposed to be preparing thee boys for handling themselves in the real world. WEll. the real world has women in it!