EagleInKY

I believe the best way to recruit at the Middle School level is through friends. Make up your fliers for your Troop open house. Give 5-10 to each scout. Ask them to give them to friends whom they would like to have in the troop.

From the samples I've tasted, I think there is a big quality drop in Campmasters. I'm terribly afraid this is going to kill a great fund-raiser. I've always been very supportive of it. But, if I have to catch a lot of grief from friends and relatives that I work with, I don't know that it's worth it. I think the council is shooting itself in the foot.

Worked for me too, Thanks old grey one. Unfortunately, I've never been able to login using my laptop. Therefore this solution still doesn't work for me in that case.

The boys will only enjoy what they see as "their program" which means incorporating "their ideas". This is tough, especially with the bad attitudes you have running around. But I would get them to sit down, follow a formal planning process, and come up with a plan of things that they want to do. Now, you may have issues with them coming up with good ideas, especially w/their attitude problem. So, you may need to do some pre-work with some of the scouts that have a better attitude to get them prepared to drive the process. If it looks like you are driving it, it will not work.

C'mon FS, don't act so naive. I don't agree with the "don't ask, don't tell" statement. Or at least, 1/2 of it. I agree with "don't ask", it's not your place. He doesn't work for you. However, if you were to find out something as fact, I believe you would be responsible to tell. I agree with the earlier posters. Give him a chance. Coach him on a firm handshake and other tidbits to help him along the way. Hopefully, he'll be a bright young star in the scouting movement. I've had mixed success with new DEs. The ones that don't have any scouting background seem to struggle and not last. The ones that have come up through scouting and have a true love for the program seem to turn out to be the best. Interestingly, one of the best I ever worked with, was a woman. I think she had some girl scout experience, and she group up with several brothers.

Mark - You'll have to download the Chinese language for your browser. If you have IE, it should prompt you to do that when you open the page. It takes a few minutes. I did simplified chinese instead of traditional. But that site could do both.

We've never done family goals, but we do factor the number of multiple-boy families we have into the equation. Our goals are at a pack level, and we recognize outstanding performance at both the den and boy level. We've also usually had a teaser prize if the pack met its goal. For example, one year the top salesman got to throw a pie in my face if we hit our goal. They did, and he did. I wore my rainsuit.

There are some free translation tools on the web. I don't know how accurate they are. Here's the results of the Chinese translation from www.freetranslation.com: 在香港的侦察法律是： 1.侦察乃是被相信。 2.侦察是忠实的。 3.侦察是友好和考虑周到的。 4.侦察属于侦察的全世界的家庭。 5.侦察在所有困难里有勇气。 6.侦察充分利用时间和在属地之中是细心的和财产。 7.侦察为了另外的有自己尊敬和尊敬。

Interesting question. I had remembered a story about Baden-Powell in front of a large gathering, and how the crowd became silent when he held up the sign. I did a quick search on the Internet and this is what I found on Macscouter (from the 1st International Scout Jamboree that took place at Olympia, London in 1920): Mounting the highest tier of the dais, he turned and faced the great gathering. The moment had come for him to close the Jamboree, to bid the Scouts good-bye. But before he knew what was happening, he heard a clear boyish voice proclaim aloud, "We, the Scouts of the World, salute you, Sir Robert Baden-Powell -- Chief Scout of the World!" Chief Scout of the World! B-P hesitated, taken completely aback. As he slowly raised his hand in the Scout sign, the cheering abruptly ceased. There were a few seconds of impressive silence before his voice rang out with its accustomed force to the farthest corners of the building:

Eamonn, We have two of the drip coffee makers. The good news, they make good coffee. Just like what you drink at the office. The bad news: - They are very slow. It takes probably 10 minutes to get the first pot going. That's why we went back and bought a second. - If you get them too hot, they can melt. I had to take the pocketknife to one of them to cut the basket loose. Trying to get it to brew faster and got carried away. - They work best on coleman stoves. We usually just use the big camp chef stoves, and they don't work as well on them.

From my experience, religious issues seldom come up in den settings. In fact, I can't remember any specific religious-oriented matter coming up in the 5 years that I was directly involved with a den. I know we encouraged them to pursue their religious award on a few occasions, but that's about it. Now, in pack meetings, we often have a benediction or prayer. At Blue & Golds or other events where food is served, we'll say grace (usually the Philmont Grace). So, unless you're getting into a lot deeper conversations than I've seen, I think it's a moot point.

The month of August was dedicated to Map & Compass skills for our troop. We started the month off with the story of the scout that got seperated from his troop but was found a few days later. I felt it was a good teaching tool, demonstrated by the fact that our boys refered back to it on several occasions. I ended the month with my Scoutmaster's Minute last night. I told them about Garret and what happened to him. It's a sobering lesson for scouts to hear of "one of their own" who has perished. I reminded them that this is why we use the buddy system, and that they really shouldn't complain about the safety rules we make. God forbid this should happen to any one of us. I think they got the message, let's hope it sticks.

I would not allow an 8 year old son to see it. In fact, I didn't allow my 12 year old son to see it. While very mature for his age, he also has a strong sense of morals and guilt. I felt that it was too strong of an emotional issue to put on him. I also know that some parents at my church took kids in the 10-12 year range and felt it was too much for them. I do think it will be a little *easier* to see on a TV vs. the large screen of a theater. Plus the fact that you can pause or stop it to give yourself a break. I would advise the same that we do on any questionable movie. Screen it for yourself, and then decide if the kids can see it.

Wow, the things you don't know about in your own backyard. This is just down the road from us, probably less than two miles from where our troop meets. I'll have to find out more.

The G2SS does not prohibit whitewater trips for scouts under 14. If you look at the age appropriate guidelines, for Rafting-Floating Water, is "Boy Scouts", not "Older Boy Scouts". You need to read the G2SS rules for Safety Afloat. You can meet those requirements and provide a fun, safe, raft trip for your under-14 year olds.

Three months preparing for a camporee? I'd revolt too. First, the PLC should make the decision. However, being in a similar state in our young troop, I know that the PLC is tentative to stray away from what they've seen. They may think that they HAVE to practice three months for every camporee. Second, why is there such a big deal being made about the camporee? They are just for fun. The competition makes the learning more fun. But, winning or not winning does not directly reflect on the quality of the unit. There are far too many other variables - age, experience, luck, etc. We are participating in a Camporee in early October. The theme is Pioneering, which is not one of our troop's strong points. They're getting better, but it takes time. We're only using the September troop & patrol meetings to prepare for it. They'll go out, have fun, and hopefully improve their skills along the way. They probably won't win much, but that's okay. On a similar note, last year we did the same thing for Klondike. Our guys finished next to last, but had a great time. They did finish first in one of the activities, and boy were they proud of that ribbon! But they had fun with or without it.

There are several float trips offered in both WV & East Tennessee that offer a fun time and safe for boys your age. Our troop is very similar to yours, and we're looking into doing one of these next year. They offer trips suitable for a variety of ages and skill range. We'll have some of the same comments from the older/bigger boys, who feel ready to take on the bigger rapids. But they'll have to wait.

We have a boy in our troop that had been in a "Troop X". He had dropped out for a variety of reasons. Not sure what they all were, but suffice to say, he didn't enjoy the program. Now, he sometimes says, "but they do it in Troop X". I just respond saying "You know, I don't have anything to do with running that troop. They've made their decisions, as we have ours." With that said, I have an open mind and will listen to what others are doing. In this case, is Troop X going on a family-rated Whitewater trip, or a more challenging one? That could make a difference between allowing 12 year olds go or not. (Although the swimmers test would be required no matter what).

I'm going to share this with our Troop Committee. They still struggle with the BOR concept. They end up looking more like a retest than what they are supposed to be. I've explained to the idea of "getting into the head" of the scout and understanding what his motives and dreams are. You obviously stumbled on a negative trait that he feels responsible for. He will be better for the experience. Great story.

Welcome to our roundtable. Pour a cup of coffee and come on in.

I don't think it matters. I've seen successful packs that were female dominated. I've also seen successful packs that were male dominated. Our pack is male dominated. I've tried and tried to get females involved, but they just don't last. I'm not sure why. It's probably intimidating to be the only female at the table when we have a meeting. I also know some of the men are a little rough around the edges. Whatever it is, we need some estrogen every once in a while.

And virtual Boards of Review... "Just look at the cell phone and repeat the Scout Law". I can see it now.

Acco - That's exactly the point. They made a decision, people don't like it, and now they're leaving. Those that remain either like the program as it has become, or are holding out hope for a return to the program BP started. I agree that we need to watch this very carefully, or we could end up in the same condition. I hope the BSA stands firm.

I love the idea. I wish our council would get off its caboose and do something - anything - on computer. Rechartering, advancement reports and tour permits require 12-15 extra trips to the scout office each year. The day may come where we do all our scouting from the computer and never leave our chair. No, Barry. Only the mundane things. The fun stuff - camping, hiking, teaching a boy how to tie a bowline, or how to build a campfire - those things should never go away. (Although, I guess we could do the Scoutmaster's Conference via instant messenger... just kidding).

So, what you are saying is that Trail's End still offers a $7 tin? If so, someone at our council is flat-out lying.