Eagledad

We (me the cubmaster) set a uniform policy with the Den Leaders. And in this age of email, this policy can certainly be sent to parents for their own information if you like. But after that, I just left it up to the parents and leaders. Maybe its easier for me to suggest not letting the little things bog down the big things, because I can look back at my experience. But at the Cub level of volunteering, uniform is not worth the the frustration and stress. There will always be that 10% who don't desire to be uniform with the group. 20% at the troop level. As a CM, I can assure you bigger frustrations are coming your way. It's not that I'm not a uniform person, you will find in past forum discussions that I'm very pro uniform method at the troop level. Uniform at the troop level is a scout decision and making right or wrong choices is a values perspective to me. Uniform at the cub level is an adult decision in most cases and adults who willingly defy policies tend to boldly defend their choices. Pick your hills. Barry

It’s all relative, my brain would have felt very small without a GPS to navigate Italy last year. I would have been stuck in roundabouts the whole trip. 😳 Barry

Yes all true, and that flight may have been 1981, I’m old and those days are a bit of a blur. But the result of the strike was firing many, if not most, of the controllers. The FAA was forced to make dramatic changes to the ATC system for a couple of years until they could train enough new controllers to bring the system back to normal. Barry

Yes, but when I was flying during the controller strike in 1982, the FAA accommodated special events like college football games with special procedures to deal with the high influx traffic. I don't know where the problems occurred in this situation, but there are ways to adjust procedures if planned ahead. Barry

Lots of good opinions here and agree with them, but I think you really need to just spice up your program a little. They call it Webelso burnout, but really it's adult burnout. The meetings are as good as the adults plan them. There are million ways to do that. My Webs met at the Troop meeting the last couple months. They didn't get involved with the troop program, but they did stand with troop for Flag ceremony. We also met at the park for some outdoor stuff. We rode our bikes one day learning hand signals and proper etiquette, but mostly we just had fun riding bikes. Go for a hike at a nearby lake. Take some marshmellows and stop to build small fire. Easy to plan and only requires a couple of hours. Ask the Troop scouts to come in and teach a couple of knots and then have a knots race. Demonstrate how to safely us a lawnmower, or change the tire on a car. OR, visit troops every other meeting. Get your creative juices flowing and you will find there isn't enough time for all the fun ideas. Barry

Good post, thanks. Our troop of 100 scouts ran pretty much the same way. One ASM to assist troop guides, one for camping and logistics, and one for QM. How many adults the SM requires is dependent on how well the scouts manage their program. Some years may require more adults than others as scouts age out and new blood learn the ropes. Barry

We give all request to the PLC, but we also use project request as opportunities for leadership and planning experience. In fact, I used them to train adults on how to support scouts in a boy run troop. For example, our troop was expected to pick up trash on mile section of road. That is a fairly easy project to plan and lead. So the SPL usually finds a young scout looking for leadership opportunities. The SPL approached me and ask me to find an adult to support his scout. Once the PLC gets used to it, they run it pretty much themselves. Barry

For whatever reason the ASMs are seen as important for patrols, the program is supposed to mature to independence away from that importance. There might be a temporary need to Patrol ASMs, but the need is a red flag that program is not working as it should. The two risk are that human nature does not like to give up authority, and has a reluctance to change. Unless the SM has a plan, and strives, to move the program away from the need for patrol ASMs, there isn't much motivation to change. Barry

A lot of what you do depends on your personality. I’m a big picture person and for me pack success depended on the den leaders. So I supported the den leaders by listening to them and helping get what ever they needed. Each has their own personality and style, so there isn’t a one size fits all answer. It sounnds like a lot, and can be the first month as everyone is starting. But if you nip problems in the budd, your pack will be on cruisecontrol by November. As for pack meetings, make them an hour of pure fun. Move announcements to a news letter and never go more than a minute without giving the scouts (and their siblings) an opportunity to jump, scream, yell, cheer and laugh. The more laughs the better because parents love laughing too. If you see scouts talking to each other because the are bored, then you are doing it wrong. So change that part of your agenda. One last suggestion; have the CC find volunteers for all the pack activities like Pinewood, Blue &Gold, and so forth by the end of September and have them report their progress every month. Barry

My post was an explanation for why youth choose sports over scouts. Not an opinion of what has more value. My point, not very clear, is that youth will go where they want to go and if sports is a better choice, than likely the scout program isn't keeping their interest. Barry

Maybe all our problems are solved. https://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/more-kids-quitting-sports-over-unaffordable-price-tag Don't you miss sandlot sports. Barry

I disagree. Sending scouts into the dark without some kind of light is setting them up for failure. Scouts can learn from experience and change anything they want, but to throw them in a room and just say go, doesn't do it. I know that is extreme, but scouting is hard enough to do with a known process, it can be very aggravating and annoying (not fun) when every step has to be made up along the way. Give the scouts a starting place to allow them give them enough time to learn how it fits in their program. A one year election would I think require at least one year, if not two, to experience if it works or not. Barry

One of the hard parts of being a Scoutmaster is saying "No". And this is why,............................ But, offer to sit with the scout to hear what he learned from the course. I have had a several parents take their son our of our troop because I would not bend to the their demands. Barry

Since all our soccer players were scouts, we tried similar ideas like this and the answer is yes, they did take charge because to not do so would be to loose. It was very much like sandlot sports. One of the players on my soccer team came from a traveling team who got to tour and play several teams in Ireland. They were beat every time. I talked to dad about that and he said the players in Ireland didn't have quite the personal skills of American players, but they were much better team players. The coaches in Ireland at that level have less personal time to coach, so the players have more freedom to make decisions. That freedom allows the players to be creative and adjust to match the competition. He said teams in America are limited by the creativity of the coach. Better teams in the US typically have better coaches. That may not be the case in Ireland. My dad said that before he was the SM of his troop during WWII, their troop would camp without the SM. They would then report to the scoutmaster the next week of their experiences and decisions and he would coach and mentor them from those experiences and decisions. Probably the perfect patrol method program. The success of our county has developed a culture with a layer of safety for our children that we simply are not willing risk. As a result, our youth require longer spans of life to reach the same level of independence and maturity than kids 80 years ago. Barry

looks like a lot of fun. I like dreamers. Barry

Because the scouting experience doesn't have the value of the sports. Our troop had a reputation as welcoming athletes, but in truth most troops really don't mind. What made us more attractive was our program. Oh yes, we were willing to let scouts arrive to Camp Saturday morning after friday's nights football or band. But, those scouts could of easily not bothered to camp that weekend at all. Program, program. program. Barry

Fair weather, hmm. 20 miles in fair weather, maybe more. But, I've not seen fair weather on lakes much after 9:00 am. The one disadvantage of a breeze while canoeing compared to a breeze while backpacking is canoe tend to drift in the wrong direction when you stop to rest. I think we average 15 miles a day over the whole trip. Barry

Umm......that's the best analogy you could think of? Barry

You nailed it. We all would be amazed if we knew how many parents volunteer as leaders thinking they would be moving when their son was 14 because he had his Eagle. When the leaders get in a hurry, they drive the program in a hurry. Also, the speed a typical scout grows is very dependent on the intensity of the activities. I have said many times here that I found that Laser tag and high adventure treks to be the most intense scouting activities for achieving growth. Each activity requires the team to come together as a team quickly. Laser tag achieves that goal in a matter of minutes. A trek takes a little longer, but scouts generally come back changed. Summer camp can do it too if the adults are willing to let the scouts run the troop. "Came how a different person" is a common comment among our new parents. Barry

There is a famous quote: Preach all the time, and if you have to, use words. The Methodist church uses scouting to spread the message, but not by actively preaching by word. I would imagine that Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, etc COs are thinking along the same lines. Barry

I think the weight and bulk of food and water was mentioned when you were preparing for the trek, or maybe someone else trek. But, it never seems to get discussed enough when talking about packs and packing. It's A LOT! Philmont food is magic in that it never seems to dwindle down. Everyone morning everyone stares at the pile of food as they pack in hopes their share is smaller and lighter, but it never is. It's magic. Reminds me of the big sack of raw potatoes the outfitter gave us for our Northern Tier trip, it was always there in the morning to pack. Still, those potatoes are one of my sons favorite memories. The scouts played cards all day on our non-canoeing rest day. The got hungry and came up with the idea of french fries. The outfitter gave us a BIG sack of potatoes and plenty of lard. The adults stood back and watched as they melted the lard and cooked sliced potatoes for munchies all day long. It was fun to watch. AND, the bag of potatoes was smaller the next morning as we packed. Even in the wilderness, scouts find junk food. Barry

I knew it was time when I started dreading the phone ring. At first I thought it would be a break, but when the District Chairman offered me his Job (dream job at one time) and I felt nausea, I told him I wasn't ready. Barry

On a planning basis, Scouts at this age and at this point of a new program require 3 months of knowing what lies a head in their future, the troop leaders need about six months so they can get their minds wrapped around where and how, and the parents need about a years worth of vision so that they have some peace of mind that the program is not just a week by week slip shot operation. Now, just because I suggest a years worth of planning (at the adult level), make it vague and changeable. In fact, our PLC does annual planning every six months immediatly after the SPL elections. They review the first six months that is already on the agenda from the last PLC, and they add new planning to the following six months. That way the annual calendar is reviewed and modified every six months. So, for the first year, I would suggest a planning session with the scouts, that is no more than an hour long (if that) to plan a detailed 3 months schedule, and a list of fun ideas for the following 3 months. For the adults, I would have another planning session with a suggested list of fun outings that include summer camp and whatever else. Mainly, get the adults thinking enough about the future that they can speak intellegently about the new troops future. These adults sessions are also important for reviewing how boy run works on these activities, to affirm the activities are designed around the boy run and patrol method. By the way, I always suggest new troops start with the instruction guide of the SPL Handbook and PL Handbook. But, are they still available. If so, they are better than the SM Handbook. Patrol Method works best if the adults are using the same resources as the scouts. Barry

I can't seem to find a response where I don't come out looking like a hypocrite. Barry

Excellent question. I ran into the exact same situation. My personal opinion is the Scoutmaster wears the uniform because they by default represent the BSA Mission of the program. Anybody else can go as mom or dad. But, if the SM wants to go as mom or dad, I'm OK with that too. Barry