fred8033

My experience is you have to start having the events / activities for people to become interested. Find at least one thing interesting ... example we're going to hike to the highest point in the state ... explore a cave ... go down a mountain biking trail ... ... ... scouts will hear interesting things and then sign up. few will pre-emptively say they are interested until they start recognizing the cool adventures.

I'm not there, but it sounds like the exactly right answer. ... Maybe ... post-covid ... when scouting recovers from all the damage, the demand for a 2nd troop will grow. Let the next passionate dedicated scouting volunteer take up that flag and spin off another troop ... when the time is right. Like suggested in another thread. Are the scouts having fun? Making friends? Being active? The troop number doesn't matter. We only get one life. Might as well enjoy it.

Wow. I so so miss papers written like this.

Love your last post. Your scout having fun is probably the most important. At this point, be concerned mostly with is your son making friends and being involved. If so, that's a win. Not everything has to be advancement oriented. That's fine. My foremost thought is ... 40 years from now ... will your scout look back fondly and remember the fun and activities? The learning we really want ... character ... skills ... being outside / moving ... will naturally come by being active and working with other youth. The checkbox advancement learning will happen. No need to force it immediately. If you stay at the meetings, start friendly conversation with parents that have been there several years. Get to know them. See what they say about the program. Enjoy this first year as your scout starts. Relax. Watch. Over the coming years, see if there is anywhere you can step up and help the troop Avoid injecting yourself too much. It's his journey. It's his experience. ... Friendly warning ... Parents injecting themselves too much tends to damage the experience. If you see something wrong, speak up. If you have a good idea, find a way to suggest it. Make friends with the leaders. When you are ready, become a unit leader ... It's just that a repeated pattern in scouting is that youth experiences can easily get damaged if the adults and parents inject themselves too much. ... it's a fine line. a dance between a gentle nudge and a damaging choice.

My sympathies. It has been a hard several years. COVID. Infomercial legal process. Continued slander against scouting. It's been emotionally really hard. Is there another that would be willing to setup as SM? But your choice might be best. Scouts needs a critical mass to keep the excitement in the program. If this helps your scouts continue and have good experiences, it could be the right choice.

@swilliams ... well said ... I'm sure it's a common practice and well reasoned. Different habits might reflect ToopMaster versus ScoutBook. ... You post into TroopMaster regularly but update BSA after COH. We posted into ScoutBook regularly and scout's official record was current; no upload.

!!!! WHAT !!!!! .... Different topic. ... Take the exclamation marks with a sense of humor. We always got the rank recognized by BSA in their records before the COH. Heck, it was part of purchasing the ranks and MBs. We either needed the paper invoice or the ScoutBook pick-list.

@InquisitiveScouter ... Good question. ... sounds like a transition coordination issue now ... a software issue ... Legalistically, it's not an Eagle required until July 1, 2022. So, do you apply the sentence to a current scout's advancement for something that is not yet required? IMHO ... in all situations like this ... favor the scout ... let the scout know the issue ... find a way to recognize the scout for advancing. the scout earned it. One solution ... post the scout's advancement directly into ScoutBook / ScoutNet. Bypass TroopMaster during this transition window.

The original question is too broad and circling around a root problem. Key statement. Well said. Agree. ... I wish we'd de-emphasize the aims and structures. Focus more on the game and developing active scouts. Hike. Camp. Explore. A variety of activities every month including a weekend overnight. New experiences regularly. Past favorites repeated. Higher experiences periodically. ... The rest will happen..

It's not absolutist bad with documentation. BSA does a lot pretty well. The problem comes in with a large repository of documents. Written over decades. Emphasis and concepts evolve. Editors and authors come and go. I'm betting often editors and authors don't even know the words are different in different documents. IMHO, BSA should adopt a system similar to the 2011 BSA GTA re-write for all the documentation. Whether you agree with GTA or not, I really really am impressed with the process / system behind the GTA re-write and what's happened for now 10+ years. Scheduled published corrections / upgrades Broader set of authors to enable collaborative improvements Emphasis with on-line publication to enable more frequent upgrades Feedback process ... (contacts provided to submit issues) Dated change set list ... (example at start of GTA) Communication channel discussing changes (example ... BSA Advancement news) Systematic good documentation is about putting a system in place to continually improve and resolve confusion.

Our cubs proudly wore their cub uniform when ringing the salvation army bell. ... As a parent, it was a lesson. Teaching our kids to get out in front of people. Saying hello. Saying thank you. Feeling comfortable talking with people. ... Our pack thought it was a good lesson and a good example. From the linked PDF on fundraising rules ... "For example: Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts and leaders should not identify themselves as Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts or as a troop/pack participate in The Salvation Army’s Christmas Bell Ringing program. This would be raising money for another organization."

Well ... I learn something every day. Our pack violated this rule every year. "For example: Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts and leaders should not identify themselves as Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts or as a troop/pack participate in The Salvation Army’s Christmas Bell Ringing program. This would be raising money for another organization. At no time are units permitted to solicit contributions for unit programs. " Also, BSA writing drives me crazy at times. Intention versus explicit words. ... "At no time are units permitted to solicit contributions for unit programs."? Huh? Really? Or was this really to read for other organizations? Or is this speaking of two different intentions. The first that units can't fundraise for other organizations. Second, units can't ask for donations for their own. Instead, units should earn money; not outright gifts? What is BSA really trying to say?

Once an official uniform always an official uniform.

I think that's a fine idea. I'm sad you would have to do that, but it seems reasonable. The desire itself to serve in OA when your troop does not support it is a sign of a good scout. IMHO, your local chapter should be the one to help you find a way in. You should not need to work legalisms to get into OA.

Overall, a nice article. Good story. I had to get past my natural reaction to: "oh oh, another negative BSA story." BSA was emphasized to make the story more interesting. "The Boy Scouts nixed the idea ..." ... Reality is some subset of a volunteer (or volunteers)) AND the scout could not find a combination of right choices and right ideas to make it a viable project. Another option was the scout could have designed and built some number of hydroponic kits that were shipped to Haiti for re-assembly by a receiving volunteer organization (school, church, etc). ... It's never as simple as BSA nixed the idea ... as if "BSA" (national) knew anything about the project.

Great comment ... Focus on quality Webelos program. Recruiting problems Older scouts ok with younger as long as not too much younger. Disagree with BSA not having youth experts. I'm betting marketing constraints trump good decisions though. Example being needing more youth members so open the doors t younger ages to get a larger recruitment population. IMHO, that's been a huge failure point. This specific requirement joining change seems like just noise; mostly a non-issue. It could help as some Webelos dens have had trouble that some can cross over and others can't. It would be nice to see more of an emphasis on the den crossing over. Unless it's because of incompatibility between den members, I fear focusing on who can cross over when. Dens should be encouraged to cross at the same time. Otherwise, individuals are left stranded.

I find that an interesting perspective; young adult leaders. Are scout leaders just too old for the scouts ? I always could connect better with younger teachers / coaches (20s / 30s). Feels like most of our SMs are in their 50s / 60s / 70s. QUESTION - I swear I read somewhere that in some countries you are age-out of youth leadership roles?

... separate their age groups ... imho that's a key change that's needed ... at least in the cub years. Few 4th and 5th graders want to participate in activities also compatible with kindergarten and 1st graders. ... their smaller board ... not sure what this means ... is this driven by England having smaller trees?

Ahhh ... philosophy ... the purpose of a tent floor ... and triggers the classic tarp religious war. ... answers. to keep the shape of the walls. Tarps go inside the tent.

We had many scouts that would pack everything in a 18 gallon tote. 40 gallon sounds huge. Advantage of plastic tote is things stay mostly dry in a downpour. And it stacked, packed fairly easy without stuff being damaged. Scouts quickly figured out how to pack the trailer so those totes fit well. IMHO, it would be interesting to watch the scouts interact and fit 40 gallon totes in the tent ... but then again, that's their issue. I'd be busy making coffee (or hot tea at night) to drink.

I've been in multiple troops. One of the troops had a heavy trailer with heavy gear. I never volunteered to pull that specific trailer even though I drove a Suburban and a 1500+ truck. I did not want to damage my vehicle. We had two guys with 2500+ trucks. I was always grateful. I pulled the other troop trailers, but those were light weight. It's all in gear selection. Patrol boxes that required four 12 year old scouts or two adults to move. I preferred light weight camping supplies. Yes we use a trailer, but it doesn't need to be a beast. I hijacked the original purpose of the thread. My apologies.

Every troop I know has a trailer. Every one. Even if they are the backpacking light-weight camping troop. Some might use the trailer rarely, but each and every does have a trailer. Example: Used during week long summer camp, but not on each and every monthly camping trip.

As my last son has turned 18, my troop is now comprised of one old adult. That adult went on three hikes for about 8 to 10 miles total.

Great answer. Units don't need much of a unit handbook as BSA's documents are generally enough. ... Some limited documents are key though. Standing calendar (meeting dates/patterns, campouts, etc) ... accounting (dues, when, money policies, special rules, ...) ... on-going records ... Volunteer recruitment is so important I can see it needing an explicitly written and agreed guide. Don't trip and fall into good practices. Volunteers to give X months of notice. Or at least as much as possible Volunteers to start thinking about their replacement as part of getting up to speed Committee meetings should review volunteer tenure and coming open slots Specific expectations. ... Does troop committee vote on a volunteer taking a new position? Or which positions? Position specific expectations Does the candidate SM have a trailer hitch that can pull the troop trailer? Well said.

I'm betting at the same time you were talking with the CC about your plans with potential ASMs. SM and ASMs are a team in themselves and SM has a right to good working team. Even then, coordination with the CC is key as the CC/COR might have other plans or might have concerns about any specific individual.