Eagledad

I did this when I was SM and CM. Uniforming is very important to me because how a scout follows the policies in the Scout Handbook is a series of right or wrong choices. But, I encourage the patrols, and dens, to use hats as a way to identify their patrol from other patrols. The Pack love the idea, but only a few patrols followed that suggestion. Barry

My first down arrow, ever. But that first paragraph is so off sided that only a down arrow can cover my opinion without having to write chapters of a different opinion. I have as many years of coaching as I do in scouting and very little of that post reflects my experience. Barry

They are required equipment for aircraft in Alaska and Canada.

So, are you asking if someone needs to consider life shooting a flare gun or death with some possible risk to the environment? When you're cold, hungry and thirsty, what should a scout do? Barry

The new color shirt is a powerful incentive for many youth. And, they usually need a new one for growth and age. I don't know what you would be saving. Barry

There is not an easy way to deal with this other than strait on. I like Double Eagle's suggestions, but some parents just can't help themselves. I had one such parent that was so bad that he took his sons patrol to McDonalds when they were complaining about food. When we talked to him, he shutdown and eventually took his kids and left. Another was continually hours late from campouts, There are things to worry about because "WHERE ARE THEY?". He also had a problem of stopping off for a meal. He was asked to step back and we never saw his again either. He didn't take his son out of the program however. I'm not saying your adult will be that extreme, but as a SM, you will have to learn to deal with difficult situations and adults. You have to protect your program and scouts. Some adults will not choose what is best for their scout or the program. We have a saying here; start with cup of coffee and see where that goes. But, stand firm because this won't be your first situation. Parent respect an authority that is fair and consistent so they know the kind of person that they are leaving their kids with for weekend or week. So, be brave, fair and consistent. Barry

We used pools all the time in the winter for swimming test. YMCA many of those times, but we used private pools as well. Swimming test at summer camp can be intimidating even in a pool. In fact, I think lakes are easier because they don't get so crowded. We've had scouts who are very comfortable in neighborhood pools panic at swimming test because it goes fast with a lot of scouts swimming at once. Typically they get retested the next day or two with no problem. We've also had a few non swimmers learn and get their "swimmer" ranking before they leave camp. We try to have a day at the pool so they can use their newly earned ranking and skill with all the other scouts. My advice for the uncomfortable scout is to get him comfortable at least with jumping in the pool and floating on his back. Many young scouts have never jumped into a deep end of a pool before their first summer camp. And Strangely, I've seen more scouts fail the floating part of the test than the swimming. Barry

Yep, closed cell works best for me as well, even on cots. I had not heard they are being phased out, but I typically use a cheap Walmart pad. Exercise pads would work too. Actually I have 2 pads, one for car camping and one for backpacking. The backpacking pad is cut down to 2/3s the normal length to save weight and space. My coat is use as a pad for the other 3rd (legs) on backpacking trips. Barry

Well, your young. These discussions have been going for 60 years (Black Panthers). I'm wondering why the billions in taxes over those years on this one specific ideal hasn't had any effect. Hmm, wondering wondering. Barry

LOL, so we are looking for a fix where there is no issue. I remember when we discussed real problems that were (still are) hurting the program. Seems we are living in a time when people feel empowered to demonize what ever personally offends them. In reading qwaze's mention of the uniform, I was reminded of a girl who joined the BSA and commented that she couldn't wait to wear the Boy Scout uniform. Well I guess one person knew about it. I wonder if the girls are going to be tagged as traditionalist. Barry

Adults create the units and manage the program. Folks who struggle with the idea that adults have any authority on the program usually put the program design a head of the Mission. Without the goal of building moral and ethical adults, scouting is just an after school activities program. A program intended to develop character requires continued tending to insure the youth are getting the most out of the Aims and Methods. Anyone who manages a true patrol method troop will agree that staying out of the Patrols way is a lot harder than just telling scout how to act in good character. Barry

Ah! I shouldn't have pulled the religious card. My bad. So much of my life is based from God's wisdom that it just blurted out as more of a habit. And maybe because I strive so hard to "Walk Humbly with God", I still don't understand how humility is anything weak. In fact, I think quite the opposite. Humility is a strength that a weak culture is afraid to flex. As I said, humility a servant action. Can't have integrity without humility. We each have our own walk. Barry

Head adult is OK I guess. But, that supports the myth that the Troop is a boys program where adults hang out only to drink coffee. Scouting is an adult program where Patrol Method is used develop growth in the youth that participate. Many keep implying that youth run the troop, so calling an adult a leader misrepresents the program. As I asked before, if a parent must talk to the program leader on a program management matter, who are they going to call? The youth? How about the Program Head? Of course that takes away from the Scoutmaster's main responsibilities, but we seem to have lost our minds lately on labels and titles. Barry

If you believe that humility is a feminizing term, you haven't read the bible. OK, so you aren't religious. Be careful to those who are. Barry

Yes, but who heard of Scoutmaster back in 1910? Just because she hadn't heard of the term doesn't mean the culture is all weird about it. And if someone hasn't heard the term before, which seems odd to me, they just learned something new. That's all. There are lots of things I never heard of when my daughter joined Girl Scouts. I didn't think that was odd. I just didn't know. There seems to be this concern (fear?) that the SM is assumed the "Leader" when the position is supposed to be something other than a leader. Really! Something other than leader! SOMEONE has to assert the program and protect the vision of the program goals. If leader is so bothersome, then what do you want call it? When your child comes home and says I don't like that program because it makes me feel bad about myself, what title do you want to use to find the person who is responsible for the program. Guide! Call the position what you want, but lets be honest in what the position actually requires. And, let's not blame this on culture, "master" is not offensive to normal people when used in the correct application. Barry

What a great topic. You should start one and see where it goes. My kids grew up learning about humility and how it directs life. But, I wonder, can one be born with it. Or, do acts of humility develop a humble spirit. We often talk of servant leadership. Servant is another word for sacrificial. Are those not acts of humility. In fact, can one be a servant without humility? Maybe humility grows with each act of the scout law. As the humble nature grows, the desire to act from the traits of the scout law grow as well. One thirst for the other. One grows from the other. The more we give scouts the opportunities to make choices, the more they choice to use the traits of the scout law. And the more they grow humble. I don't know, but I like that. One last thing I've realized late in my life; I believe patience is also a trait of humility. In fact, I'm not sure that we can act humbly without patience leading the way. 14th Point? Barry

To some degree, I believe that is instinctive. And, mothers were typically the harder drivers for advancement than the dads. I've said several times here that I don't believe Boys and Girls are a good mix in a patrol (at least until puberty) because girls are naturally organized while boys are naturally adventure driven. The patrol method forces boys to learn group management skills. I believe girls will do that for them. The natural instinct to learn by watching is greatly reduced at puberty, so mixing the genders together isn't a big deal to me then. At least not in the learning and growing aspect of scouting. Barry

Seems like there is an attempt to separate the past BSA from the future BSA. These new changes, or proposed changes, make todays Scouting sound like something completely different. And maybe that is what the culture wants. That is what they did to Canada Scouts. It is very little of what it was 20 years ago. But, so is the membership. In fact, maybe "Scout" is a condescending term for today's youth. Let's go all the way and change the program to The Environmental Guardians. They can still call it an outdoor program, while unloading the burdensome weight of god, ideals, and personal accountability, all in one swoop. Earning the Eagle can be something like saving a whale or polar bear. The title alone is noble. I don't know, just thinking out loud. Barry

I don't send a lot of messages, but they are typically not invites to a discussion. Instead they usually insight or suggestions based from an accumulation of personal life experiences. I typically only send private messages when I don't want to distract the main discussion (like we are doing now). I don't recall exactly what I sent you or the context of why I sent it, but I'm confident it wasn't negative because you are only offended by my lack of response. I must of felt the message was clear enough. Or maybe I felt further discussion was path to mud wrestling and I didn't want to participate. One thing for sure, friendly, courteous and kind was first on my mind. Barry

This is why I have continually whined about the overburdened Cub Scout program that drives away families before they get to the Troop age. The troop program in general does not drive scouts away, so if you can get them there and hold them for the first 6 months, they generally stay for several years. Not true with the Cub program. It grinds on the adults every year to the point of driving them out. If the parents leave, their kids go with them. I was never able to add the numbers because the data is so confusing, but I believe that well over 50% of families that start out in Tigers drop out before graduating the program. Fix the Cub program and the BSA would see a huge bump in about 5 years. Well, that was before all this other stuff. Barry

There are many here who are offended with any opinion that doesn't agree with there post. Some are identified by their constant rebuttals; probably believing they win if they can get the last word. But a lot of us don’t like to get muddy (comes from wrestling with a pig only gets you muddy and makes the pig happy). Some posters here want to be clever antagonist. Usually they start out claiming they are neutral or are a good guy (I’m religious), then they follow with offensive trigger words. Ironically, many of those posters don’t see their hypocrisy, so it’s easy to call them on it. I’m generally pragmatic. I like to get to the point and skip all the touchy-feely filler. Many folks find that offensive, including my wife. But, it tends to push the topic to a discussion based on facts or reality, away from grey area stuff that leads the discussion nowhere. Do you like the warm fuzzy Green up arrow? Do you require more words (praise?) from the poster? I notice a lot Red Arrows in reference to the tone of the post. That’s a good indication to try again with a different tone. Unless that tone was Intentional. The arrows work for folks who are in a hurry or don’t like to wrestle with pigs. But, if a poster truly wants a friendly tone, they will figure it out. Barry

It doesn’t matter, if we don’t have the maturity to take a down as disagreeing, no words that will work either. For some here, All comments that disagree are “hate”. An arrow is just shorthand I guess. Barry

If a down vote is mean spirited, why is it on a scouting forum? I thought we all agreed to disagree agreeably. Barry

This is exactly how my wife handled our troop account. One word of warning, we learned to explain to the families that the money had to stay with the troop if the scout transferred to another unit. Barry

My wife is a corporate CPA and you just described her job perfectly. She can't control behavior, she can only advise the risk of the behavior. And once in a while she will advise when to call an attorney. Barry