Eagledad

>>I stated very clearly that if a committee person wanted to take WB they should. I followed up with stating that in my opinion WB would not necessarily make them a better committee members because the traing has a very different focus.

>>I know of a SM that disregards advice from a Woodbadge and Powderhorn trained volunteer and does not understand or use the "methods" of scouting either. It's almost as if they want the benefits (i.e., insurance coverage) scouting has to offer but then not follow the program.

While I agree with the Beavh, I was the District fireman for struggling units and there are a few common traits of the units that really struggle. 1. The dont have a common goal, each adults just kind of does their own thing to what they think is their job. 2. No training because they view their job as pretty simple and just do what they think should be done. 3. Very little planning, mostly just shooting from the hip on a month to month basis. When I worked with these units, the very first thing was getting them trained. At the same time I showed them Scoutings Mission and Vision Statements. I would have them discuss setting goals toward the BSAs goals, mostly just to get them to see there is a direction for everyone to follow. I asked every leader to list their responsibilities on a chart until they started seeing that everyone actually did have an expected set of responsibilities for their part on the team. I also help them look one year into the future of their program. You would be amazed how that alone helps the adults to fit better into the program. That takes a little bit of time, but you can kind of understand the value in those simple traits of a successful team or unit. I highly push Wood Badge on the Committee Chair and SM or CM since they are perceived as the team leaders. Wood Badge is an excellent team training course and goes into much greater detail to those items I mention above. Barry

>>Anyone know what the problem is? Is this a typical drop out rate?

Our Council assumes responsibility for finding COs. That being said, units found all the COs that I can remember. Our Troop even found one before our present CO had a change of heart toward our troop. Barry

>>I haven't had to deal with removing a Scout yet and hope I never do.

>>Second biggest change has been parental expectations that their kids should be involved in a half dozen things; I seem to remember only bein' in one or two.

>>I'm not sure what the answer really is... I think it's something that each boy should have the opportunity to do and learn things about themselves and the skills they poccess.

>>"Johnny really doesn't want to be in Scouts, and I think it would be better for Johnny if he stopped."

>>What do the rest of you think? Yeh think scouting scheduling adds disproportionately to the scheduling burden?

Doctors are like engineers, they each have different opinions of how to do their job. I had one scout who by the age 15 had been through 4 heart surgeries. His doctor had no problem with Philmont and approved him to go. I was the one who kept questioning the scout and his dad if he was healthy enough for the trek. He had the doctor write me a personal letter, which I sent to Philmont along with all his medical history. I was convinced Philmont would say no, but they had no trouble letting him go. I also have a 5 7 115 lb. son who has done three Philmont treks. The only thing I saw him struggle at because of his size was lifting a canoe out of the water on to his shoulders while at Northern Tier. He had no trouble with the 80lb Duluth packs, but the canoes size was just awkward for his size. I would get another doctors opinion for this young man. Barry

>>I go agree with Gonzo that the boy should be able to carry his own pack.

>>My career requires me to be cynical, that should have been obvious from my Username.

>>Of course the Scout has no where to go for help, he can't push back on his parents, and he views all the SM's and ASM's as on the parent's side...gung ho and what not. Seems like there is a point where Scouting does more harm than good.

>>My advice is to learn your position, enjoy your time with your son, it is all about him and his scout experience. RIGHT?????

>>Merit badge classes seem to be here to stay, so instead of debating them, let's make certain that they are not abused.

>>I of course think they are wrong, but if they really deep down believe what they are doing is the best for the kids they serve. I do have to respect them for that. (They are still wrong!)

Short sheeting, plastic Icecube with a fly, rubber spider on sleeping bag, a rock in the backpack are off the top of my head. Barry

Sadly I understand evmoris point after reading the post that is equating Pranks and Bullying as the same thing. In most cases pranks are harmless acts played for the fun of everyone involved. Bullying are acts intended to harm. Bullys might use pranks to do harm, but not all pranks are bullying. If we start considering a prank and bullying as the same thing, there is no end to legitimizing simple acts of fun as harmful. Singing happy birthday to a scout comes to mind. Im starting to fear we will eventually require one adult accompany every scout in all scouting activities while at the same time requiring a bubble suit so they cant be touched. Whoops, actually two adults per scout for youth protection. I guess it is the culture, but Im sure glad I grew up during a better time. Barry

>>The other thing to watch for is that your SPL becomes the troop nag, even if it is just among this group of offending boys.

A quote from the Principles Of Scoutmastership In Relation Io The Boy Development. If a boy is to learn that helping other people is worthwhile, his practice of helping in Scouting must be accompanied by satisfaction and his failure to help must be accompanied by annoyance. The satisfaction or annoyance is greater if it comes from within. Everyone has good responses, but our job is to encourage the Scout to voluntarily change his behavior because he knows it is the right thing to do. Telling him he must change in a Scoutmaster conference or Scoutmaster Minute doesnt typically motivate the boy to make internal decision of change because he doesnt feel the benefit if it. As has been mentioned already, a schedule or agenda does that very well. Our PLC learned to start meetings on time because they got annoyed by complaining parents who got tired of meetings running late. Patrols learned better kitchen habits when they had to cook, eat and clean before troop assembly. Tearing down campsites and packing the trailer went a lot faster (45 minutes) when the scouts missed their junk food stop on the way home to meet the waiting parents. The best motivation for change is annoyance. It is also true that leadership skills have to be improved to improve respect toward leadership, but skills development requires time and practice. Change in behavior from within can be instant. Also we must consider the age. While I consider new scouts to be the most undisciplined scouts in the troop, I remember the 12 and 13 year age of raging hormones. So patience and understanding is also required while waiting for the annoyance to motivate change. The above quote taught me to find ways of annoying the scouts. It requires a lot less work and stress on everyones part in the long run. Barry

>>On the other hand, youth need to respect adults, at least partly, simply because they "are" adults. We have far too many people who seem to think "whatever 'I' want, feel, or think is all that matters", and that they therefore can ignore or disrespect anyone with whom they disagree.

LOL, that's pretty good, but I think it was somehting like "Mmmmm, sweet and tasty." Yep, I had to find a really good Troop Guide for that patrol. I'm always encouraging agressive names like: Lions, tigers or bears. A lot scouts today are into video game names. I don't play video games enough to know if they are agressive. Of course I used to be a Bob White, but we were clever and held our own. Barry

If the patrol was a few nerdy kids looking to improve their patrol stature, I'd probably consider it. The patrol name that personally gave me the most trouble was a bunch of new scouts that called themselves the Peach patrol. PEACH PATROL! That was just wrong. Barry

I'm sure this happened in our troop, but I don't remember it. Which makes me think I didn't get involved. So maybe this is one time you don't have to do anything. Let the patrol figure it out while you just sit back in the shade and watch. Barry