FScouter

A camporee is an "activity". It does not fall under the responsibilities of the Camping Committee. It was nice of you to help out, but if the district program chair was not happy with the camporee, she talk to the camporee chair, and should see to it that there is an Activities and Civic Service committee, whose job it is to plan "activities" and appoint a camporee chair. See the Camping Committee Guide #33083 or the Activities and Civic Service Guide #33082 or the Camporee Guide #33571. But be forewarned; mentioning "the book" in a home-brew situation might get you labeled a troublemaker. Perhaps you could thank her for reassigning the camporee task back to the Activities committee so you can better concentrate your efforts on the Camping Committee tasks.

"Is this written anywhere to prove this rule?" The old Quality Unit Award form 14-221 says "A subscription to Boys' Life will go into the homes of all our Boy Scout members". The new Centennial Quality Awards program 14-175 says 100 percent of families subscribing to Boys Life.

It is impossible to provide "back up" for what does not exist.

The official BSA requirements for rank advancements and merit badges may be found on the BSA website: http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/advancementandawards.aspx

Quite correct, thanks.

In the words of the immortal Rosanne Rosanadanna, "Never mind!"

I don't understand the thinking. If the den leader changes the name from "den" to "patrol", and "denner" to "patrol leader", how does that prepare Webelos to transition to Boy Scouts? I have always believed (perhaps naively) that a successful transition involves showing them what Boy Scouts are like by visiting a Boy Scout camporee, camping as guests of a troop, and visiting a troop meeting or two. The preparation for transition is complete when they earn the Webelos badge and the Arrow of Light. It seems to me that referring to them as a patrol and continuing to function as a den led by an adult den leader would only set them up for a rude awakening when they join a troop and became part of a real patrol. Besides which if I was a real patrol leader Id feel my position was being cheapened when some Cub Scout joins the troop and announces he was a "patrol leader" in his den.

A lexis deficiency leads to incommodious social intercourse.

Since BSA does not endorse holding two positions of responsibility at the same time, I doubt that the purpose of the cord is to enable the uniform to show the den chief position simultaneous with a different position. There isn't any indication that a den chief should choose one or the other. The Cub Scout Leader Book says the den chief wears the den chief badge of office, the shoulder cord, and if earned, the service award cord.

On the other hand, one might ponder the expectations of a person that would walk off at the first suggestion of alternative elucidations. Perhaps it was discovered that Scouter.com is a discussion forum as opposed to a Q&A site.

If the problem is no den leader for a second den, the best solution is to choose and recruit a den leader for a second den. There may be a ton of practices utilized by packs and dens to avoid using a den leader, and of course the proponents will claim their particular practice works well for them. Better than a real den leader? http://old.scouting.org/commissioners/resources/13-500.pdf

The Den Chief Cord isn't worn when the Den Chief POR badge is worn. Gee, that sounds like a den chief shouldnt wear the den chief cord. Im guessing thats not what you meant, maybe you could clarify. Who else would wear it if not the den chief? Multiple positions of responsibility may be practiced by some troops, but multiple positions is not encouraged or approved by BSA. Of course I could be wrong and if so someone will surely point out the publication that discusses multiple positions of responsibility.

A camporee is a Boy Scout competitive skills event. Patrols from all over the district come and show off their skills and compete. Webelos dens may be invited to come for the day only to observe what the bigger Boy Scouts are up to. They may even be invited to participate in a few events that are more or less age-appropriate for Webelos. The purpose is the whet their appetite for Boy Scouting. At the end of the day they go home. The district should be planning a separate Webelos event like a Weboree or Webelos Woods weekend, a similar kind of event geared strictly for Webelos. Usually what happens is some district committee person gets the bright idea that they can blow off the Webelos event and just tell em they can go to the Boy Scout Camporee instead. Much easier to put on one event than two, right? No mention of course that they are separate events for very good reasons. After a few years this gets to be a bad habit and everyone comes to believe that's the way it is supposed to be. Some of us in our district got tired of this and started doing an annual Klondike Derby. (No Cub Scouts allowed) By the way, a camporee is not a camping event, but rather a competitive skills event. It is planned and executed by the district Activities & Civic Service committee, not the Camping committee.

My concern is more how a boy can simultaneously and successfully carryout two difficult positions of responsibility.

We teach boys first aid skills and expect they will apply the knowledge when a situation arises. I would not expect that when an accident occurs they would simply get out of the way.

Eds view is not the point I wanted to make at all. Boys tend to come up with ideas and plans that fit in with the desires of the adults sitting at the table. I see the unstated agenda of other adults in attendance as solely to guide the proceedings to the ends they desire, or to steer away from activities they dont want to get involved in. Adults are intimidating. They can communicate their disapproval without uttering a word. A simple harrumph, folded arms across the chest, rolling of the eyes, staring down at the lap, exchanged glances with the other adults. Worst is the Look. When my son was young, I could cause him to burst into tears by simply giving him The Look. Boys want approval from their adult leaders and will seek it even if it means keeping quiet about what they really want to do. Adults, stay out of the room!

If a boy quit because of "sports", how does one know that he didn't really quit because the troop program was boring, and "sports" because the better option?

If that is the case, what is the purpose of a local unit "bylaw"?

The multiple references in this discussion to youth protection seem to me more of a smokescreen to justify adding more adults to the mix. Really, if you can't trust the SM to sit in on a meeting with multiple Scouts, you've got the wrong man for the job. Or ultra-paranoid adults. Maybe it's rather a secret desire of these outside adults to keep the proceedings pointed in the direction they want things to go. It's bad enough having the SM present, but adding even more adults serves only to interfere with the development of these boy leaders; these extra adults add no value to the proceedings. In fact, if the SPL is sufficiently skilled in keeping a meeting on track, even the SM is superfluous.

If a contractor was doing an Eagle project, it might be routine. But the typical boy is not a contractor and it's not part of his "routine" unless he tends to routinely build things normally built by a contractor. Maybe the "feedback" was suggesting to the boy that he is capable of more?

30 hours instruction time over a weekend seems a little grueling.

Maybe we ought to eliminate 1 or 2, or maybe add another. Is this a board of review?

While your heart is in the right place, it could well be that many Scoutmasters find it better to teach new Boy Scouts after they join the troop. The transition takes place after Cubbing is left behind. Other Scoutmasters may have other comments, but Id much prefer that incoming Webelos had a good solid Cub Scout experience in the Cub Scout elements, and leave the Boy Scout elements to the troop, after they proudly walk across the bridge.

I don't know why it would be dumb to know why boys quit a troop. In addition, it might be useful to know why boys stay in Scouting.

What is the value or purpose in changing a Webelos den into a mini "troop" with patrols and patrol leaders?