Greying Beaver

Hi, Vicki and Sirjimmyg. To answer both of your questions. Vicki - About the arrows used in the AoL ceremony: The parents are told to print - in large letters - the boy's name in black ink on a piece of white paper 2" wide and long enough to wrap around the shaft and be scotch-taped to form around the shaft. It cannot be seen more than five feet away in the low-light of a bonfire. The Medicine Man holds the arrows, including three "unworthy" arrows. He hands the arrows to the chief one at a time. When the Chief is handed an arrow by the Medicine Man, the former examines the arrow to see if it is "worthy" - straight shaft, good fletching, good point, etc. What he is really looking for it that piece of paper with the boy's name on it. No name found"? The Chief breaks the arrow and announces "Unworthy!". After giving the arrow a good looking-over, he calls out the boy's name. The boy and his parents come forward, the boy is given his arrow, and if he is going into boy scouting, is escorted to the bridge by the Guide. This is repeated for all of the boys in the den whether he is going on into boy scouting or not. If the boy is not going on into boy scouting, the chief congratulates him on completing the work for the Arrow of Light and asks them to return to their seats. That has never happened. As I said above, the only time that the "gag (a stage term)" did not work was when the parents did not follow the instructions about labelling the arrow. So . . . this year I will visit the Webelos den meeting when the arrows have been finished. Also, the current den leader is our troop's equipment committee chair and an OA member. He saw the incident and was upset as I and the boy who portrays the chief were. We got your redundancy - right here! The three of us will verify the arrows at the den meeting. The "unworthy" arrows are covered as well. Ever seen pink fletchings on an arrow before? Sirjimmyg - Our OA chapter sends the ceremony team to the AoL ceremonies at the pack's requests in our district. That makes the ceremony an OA event and the actors do wear their sashes. Some packs prefer to conduct their own AoL ceremonies. Others ask for us year in and year out and feed us supper to boot. The guys in our ceremony team take pride in knowing that photographs of them are in more photograph albums than they can count ;_))).

Program will be a greater influence than anything else in having a successful unit, period. BSA National did some numbercrunching a few years ago that, among other things, led to the First Class Emphasis program. He did relate some other findings, but I think that I'll keep those close to the vest for now. Semper Paritus is right. Another pack starts up down the street with a activity-filled, fun program, and you would hear that loud sucking sound. IT's Me, either you are part of the solution or you are part of the problem. Get other parents who have the time, and as a group go get trained - now! Then put your training to good use in the pack, preferably at the pack level.

Oh, this is a boy-run troop alright, but not according to the definition we understand. There are those times when the adult leaders can stand back and let the boys run the program. And there are those times when the adults need to be more active in the planning and running of the troop . . . until the program "gets back on track" and running like its supposed to be. Your situation sounds like it's time for the latter. Ask yourself and the Troop Committee some hard questions like Who is and is not advancing?, When was the last Court of Honor and what ranks were given to which boys?, How did the patrols do at the last camporee?, Did we go to the last camporee?, If not, why not? The purpose of the BSA is to help boys become good citizens (boiled down to its essence). The advancement program is there to assist in that, and it should not be ignored. And there is nothing wrong with the boys wanting to have a good time on campouts. Baden-Powell's reason for starting the program, "A game with a purpose", still applies. What you are looking for is that balance of "game" and "purpose". Looks like its time to step a lot closer to the running of your program and get it started again. Get the TCC, the TC, SM, and ASM and parents on side about this. If you have adults teach skills to get the advancement program going again, do it. Then as soon as the boys begin to take over, you step back. Good luck to you.

Re: Adult postion patches not being handed out until after position-appropriate training(s) completed. This would solve a bunch of problems with troops regardless of age. New troops, absolutely. A spin-off troop starting with adults who have been active in the troop as either committee members or supporting the unit by tranporting scouts to and from weekend campouts (bless 'em!) but not trained as SM's could cause some problems in the short run for the unit. A lot can be learned by osmosis, but the leader-specific training should still be required before SM, ASM, or TCC patches are given. Things like the buddy system, two deep leadership, the Patrol Method, that a complete uniform is a Method of scouting, etc., need to be presented in a formal setting by district and council trainers. Because adults serve as SM's, ASM's and TCC for indefinite periods of time ( sounds better than "come and go"), those coming into the positions need to be familiar and comfortable with the positions they are about to undertake regardless of the age of the troop. That means formal training. That lets these volunteers know that the Methods of scouting, such as two-deep leadership, the Patrol Method, and that complete uniforms is a Method of scouting, are proven ways of making scouting the program that it is and not made up on a whim. IMHO, because the SM is the liasion between the troop and the TC, and the TCC is the liasion between the troop and the district, these people should go through position-appropriate training(s) before being awarded: yes, awarded leadership position patches by the district - and make a big deal out of it, too.

First - Knots. What puts me into a low simmer for a short time is cub scout leaders with their two rows of tiger and cub scout leader knots. I wear my ribbons and WB beads with pride, but when the parent of a boy just entering the troop after bridging shows up with all those ribbons, yes, I see a dedicated scouter - in need of a lot more training. Guess who doesn't want to go to any boy scout-level training? Bingo. And guess who wants to know what those beads around my neck are for? Bingo. Speaking of Beads and Such. Put "cimarron art gallery" in your search engine and you are going to find All Sorts of Critters, every stripe or feather, in all sorts of stuff. I got my favorite critter from the cute little critters on necklaces found on page 5. Now the little guy hangs around just south of the overhand knot securing the beads on the leather thong. Yes, I know it's not part of the uniform. If you cannot be full regs, at least be cute.

Our troop tries to keep it simple: Full Dress Uniform - all bells and whistles, no OA sashes because it's not an OA function. Dress Uniform - shirt with all patches and insignia in the proper place (that's another problem), uniform shorts or trousers "Class B" - any scout t-shirt (I'm a scouter; I have a closet-full of those!), uniform shorts. Knee-high socks preferred. "Campin' clothes" - NOT your uniform (Get that stained or worse and Mamma ain't gonna be happy. And when Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.).

Semper Paritus - This is the beginning of a good idea that done correctly, might work. The only problem that I see is the money that parents have sunk into the existing troop - butane stoves, portable canopies, tents, not to mention trailers to haul it all to camp. They do not want that gear split up with another new troop. It would, however, give boys in larger troops who are ready and waiting for leadership positions a ready-made leadership position in the new troop. At the same time, the parents of those boys who are the "levening" for the new troop would go along and to the same thing for the new troop's new parents. They would be able to put into action any training that they have completed. But . . . consider this: These families that go inot the makeup of the new troop need to completely understand that things are not going o be the same in the new troop. A really good troop program is one thing; a new troop is another. Problems are different. Those families going into a spin-off troop need some sort of training to get them through that first year, both youngsters and adults. Money may or may not be a problem. Who does the new troop turn to for some start-up funds? If the old troop used chuck boxes, the "levening" boys and adults are going to want them as well. That means money, time and facilities - that the parents from the old troop may not have. A single chuck box may not be expensive; more than two is. A CO willing to provide seed money is one way to get around this. Our council has a few "para-professionals" whose job it is to gert new troops up and running. I know one of them who works in low-income, predominately minority neighborhoods who works miracles. That includes making Eagle Scouts. the problem is that as soon as he lets them go it on their own, it's even odds that the troop falls apart. That is why trained adults are vital to a new troop. One off-shoot of this is that the "para-professional" has trouble finding CO's, especially church congregations. If the troop doesn't have any boys (okay, majority of the boys in the congregation, that congregation is not willing to give time, resources, and money to sponsor a troop. All the troops in ouyr neighborhood that sponsor troops use those troops as part of their youth ministry. Nothing wrong with that as long as the congregation understands that Scouting is for all boys, and that any boy is welcome to any troop. Finding congregations wanting to be a CO for a troop is the job of the Commissioners. God, please bless'em real good. The program on a national stage may have to go through this condensation before seeing new units spinning off of the larger troops. That is more a local council problem. And that is going to call for exceptional council and district support and leadership. Better it not come to that, but, let's see, what is it we're supposed to be . . . .? Right!

Here's a rule of thumb: When you see some confusion, a bit of dirt up in the air, etc., that is GOOD. A BOY is in charge of the activity. When you see order, calm, and real progress being made, that is BAD. An ADULT is in charge of the activity. Remember: BOY-lead program. What really has me see lots of red flags go up is a mom of a Webelo coming into the troop asking (I kid you not), "Which other boys are going to be in my son's patrol and which other boys are in the troop?" I give her a current troop roster and let her decide for herself. Eight out of ten times the boy wants to stay with his den mates.

Most of the boys - and some of the adults - in our troop wear U.S.Army BDU (camo) trousers because they are comfortable and durable (What a concept!). A bright jacket, shirt, or poncho is almost a must in the woods.

if you earned it as a scout or a scouter, you can wear it. I have a scout circus patch from 1965 that has turned into a collector's item. I wear it from time to time. I have been offered cash money on the spot for it. Nope. Mine. Not for sale. Had too much fun earning it.

I sit on our troop's Eagle BoR's and always tell the new Eagle, "As of now, you are an Eagle Scout. The only time you 'Was an Eagle'is after you are dead. To a "Bullet-proof adolescent (just ask one.)" that really gets to him.

In our house, the first week of the month is the "Week from Hell". This is for my wife, my son, and me. Monday night - troop meeting; Tuesday night - crew meeting; Wednesday night - troop committee meeting; Thursday night - District boy scout and venturing RoundTable and OA chapter meeting, all three in the same building at the same time; Friday night - leave for troop campout (and get into camp no earlier than 9:30p.m.); Saturday - in camp (nap times for adults are part of the duty roster); Sunday - drive home and supper at an eatery. Man, I can't wait to get back to work on Monday so that momma and I can get some rest! What's this t.v. program "Monday Night Football" all about. Never seen it.

Our OA chapter has a cross-over ceremony that leaves a real impression on the cubs crossing over and their family members. The seript is one sheet of paper, front and back. There is a lot of stage direction involved, but the different characters can learn their parts on a very short time. The best part of the ceremony is when the Chief is handed the first of the Arrows of Light, and after examining it, declares it "Unworthy!", breaks it, and throws it into the fire. That makes 'em sit up. That "unworthy" arrow is a dummy arrow that the den leader makes for the ceremony. It's one of three that the Chief finds unfit and throws into the fire. The boys get their Arrow of Light, cross over a bridge and are met by our SPL first then the SM. The rest is details. We figure a total time of 3 to 5 minutes per boy for the ceremony - after the quarter-mile hike through the woods just after sunset. The one and only time a "good" arrow has been broken was when the parents did not follow the instructions for labelling the arrow as we asked and need for a ceremony done at night with only fire light to see. The parents were, of course, upset, but when the OA member who portrayed the Chief told us what had happened (He was in tears because he knew what he had done. He was 17 at the time and takes his ceremony work very seriously.), they understood and calmed down. Their son is now closing in of 1st Class five months after the incident.

NEWS FLASH !! The manager of the local scout shop said that a new uniform is in the works at National. No details yet, but that de la Renta fella is not in on the design committee.

Don'cha just love those old drawings and photographs, carefully posed and everybody in complete uniform? Our troop has a simple policy: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. If the Romans are silent on this question, if indoors or out and you are in complete uniform, give the hand salute. If you are not in complete ("field") uniform, i.e., activity uniform, place your hand over your heart.

Re: "advanced in rank but not as a person." That is the core of the definition of an "Eagle Machine". The FCE program makes no mention of separating the first-year guys from the rest of the troop. They need the closer attention that can be given by TG's. And you are correct that TG's need to be trained how to teach . . . and make sure that they know the skills required for T'foot - 1st Class. Our new guys come into the troop from the feeder pack in April. They are off to summer camp between 2 and 3 months after joining. We have a good idea of the number of boys coming into the troop and add that to the number of scouts and scouters coming to summer camp. We use that time to get the boys comfortable with the Patrol Method - and the parents as well. It has paid dividends in other ways. In the past six years, three complete patrols have "Eagled-out". My son is counted in that number. Parental support (like providing vehicles for weekend campout transportation and staying for the campout) is the key to this. At the same time, our troop lost two complete "new guy" patrols two years in a row. But that is another story and the parents were not part of the problem; it was internal to the boys as a group. A well-run FCE program does help with retention, but it takes some planning, training of both youth and adults, and dedication of both to the program.

The First Class Emphasis program is supposed to help ease the new boys into the boy scout program and get them to 1st Class within 12 months of joining the troop. It brings together proven retention techniques. BSA National did some numbercrunching a few years ago. Boiled down, a boy tends to stay in scouting if 1.)He attends the first summer camp after he joins, 2.)He attends troop meeetings on a regular basis, 3.) He stays with his fellow Webelo den members for at least the first year, 4.)A Troop Guide and "new guy" patrol ASM are assigned to this "new guy" patrol to teach and counsel the Patrol Method , 5.)the "new guy" patrol goes camping as a patrol on the troop's regular/monthly campouts, and 6.)He makes or is very close to completing 1st Class with in 12 months of joining. The TG demonstrates the Tenderfoot - 1st Class skills; the ASM backs up the TG and signs off on the requirements in the boys' handbooks. Camping seems to be the glue that keeps first-year boys active longer. A First Class Emphasis program at summer camp is a great tool to help with the new guys' advancement. When planning for summer camp, the first qusetion should be "Is there a FCE program?" If not, reconsider. Most summer camps have an FCE program and they advertise it in their literature. The new guys have very little business taking MB classes, Swimming being an exception. It is an Eagle-required MB, and the boys need to be congratulated for taking that first step to becoming an Eagle Scout. Make sure that the boy's parents/guardians are aware of that as well. A boy still at Scout rank who earned five merit badges while at summer campand hasn't had any Tenderfoot - 1st Class requirements signed off? Yep, seen it happen. Which brings us to the parents, the best friend or worse nightmare for the troop. If they want to help, ask them to go get trained as ASM's so that they become familiar with the Patrol Method. If the boy is coming from a Webelos den, the parnets are still in Cub Scouting Mode where the parents are all but members of the den. War Story: Had a "new guy" dad who when he was seen starting to cook for the "new guy" patrol, was asked why; he said that he is in the Grizzly Patrol with his son; he was led gently over to where the adults were camping and the basics of the Patrol Method were explained; he thought it great because he didn't have to cook supper for the boys because he is a member of the Fossil (adult) Patrol. The troop gains an ASM or two and the parents assume their correct place in the troop - back aways from the "new guys" to let the Patrol Method start to work.

Indy_Owl - 1.)Your husband's TG: Call your course SPL and let him know whats going on. Be specific. My wife's TG was a complete nightmare. The SPL was out of the country on business most of the time this was going on, so it ended up in the course SM's lap. Follow the chain of command! She emailed her ticket work to the SM. The next day we got an email from him, "Congratulations on completing you ticket work!" Let the staff know. It's one of the reasons that they are there. 2.) Your not wanting to have a beading ceremony? Your choice, period.

I concur. The staff will make arrangements for those with physical disabilities - or should. Our patrol had one fellow confined to a motorized wheelchair. And I am arthritic in all joints from the hips south. And boy, was I in pain during the two weekends of the course. But the staff helped in every way that they could. You should have no problems. Just in case, give your Wood Badge SM a telephone call and give him a heads-up. I used to be a beaver . . . .

Four youngsters who pushed each other all the way to Eagle? I saw it happen in our troop about three years ago. Six of the seven boys in their patrol made Eagle. They had been together since Tigers. Want to keep these boys active in the troop? Try this: whisper in their ears about Eagle Palms. Five more MB's and they pin a bronze palm device onto their Eagle medal. Check in the back of the Handbook. Then stand back and watch the feathers fly. Oh, yeah, five more MB's and the gold palm is awarded; five more and the silver palm is awarded; five more after that, a bronze palm is added to the silver, and so on. Currently there are 118 MB's. That can tranlate to a total 6 silver palms, a bronze palm, and change to spare.

I am Troop Advancement Chair, which means I chair Eagle BoR's for our troop. "How do you honor the 12th scout law?" is an excellent way to phrase that question. In a discussion at my Wood Badge course we were told that "A scout is reverent" has two parts; that the youngster follow the tenants of his faith and respect the religious practices of others. BP and the others who started the scouting movement were very careful to require that a scout be reverent, not Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Jewish, et al. By the way - Our troop is having an Eagle BoR tomorrow night. A very timely read for me.

Our troop has reached a good middle ground. Yes, we have a neckerchief. The only times when it is required is for courts of honor, boards of review, and other special occasions. What rates as a special occasion? Leave that up to the SPL. Also, the neckerchief used to be much larger and was a square piece of cloth. It was folded to form a triangle then rolled. It was large enough to be a bandage, a signalling flag (I have my dad's handbook when he was a scout, the 1922 ed.(?). It has those wonderful drawings of the neckerchief being used for a variety of things.. BSA Supply Division needs to make a larger, adult version of the neckerchief. It looks good on boys, but not on us adults. On some the ends might come down past the second button on the shirt. I really do miss neckerchief, though. Neckerchief slides were a way to express yourself and show a little skill with a knife. Used to be that "Boy's Life" had a regular "Slide of the Month" with directions and drawings. (sigh!) I used to be a beaver and a good old beaver, too

I recieved my beads a year ago this past April. I find myself using the lessons of the course all the time, especially at troop committee meetings. An agenda topic will be under discussion, and I hear that little voice in my head start saying, "Wood Badge stuff! Wood Badge stuff!". I put in my WB 2cents-worth in. "October Sky" and "Remember the Titans" were excellent "funnels" to see the management concepts being applied in real-world situations. The Money Game was a great lesson on "seeing the big picture". The water bottle rocket exercise forced leadership and management skills and abilities to the fore. It was also a lot of fun. Our patrol was awarded the "Best Hang Time" ribbon; our rocket ended up in a tree, hanging down from a branch. And "Diversity"? Man, our patrol was Diversity Personified: An Arkansaw Hillbilly (by his own pronouncement), a man of Vietnamese-Cambodian parentage, one of the last polio victims (His motorized wheelchair came in very handy at times!), a divorced mom raising 4 sons, a man with Attention Deficit Disorder, Retained Traits, and me with my arthritic hips, knees, ankles, and toes. Our patrol yell, "Beavers! Dam!", brought the cubmaster whose pack was across the road over to Gilwell Field wanting to know why the profanity. He was asked what do beavers build. Then he understood. It's true: you never stop earning or using your beads. - G.B. I used to be a beaver and a good old beaver,too

I concur. I have never heard of it, don't know if our council uses it or not ( I will find out.), and sounds like the solution to a bunch of problems in the Venturing program. It is different from O.A., but Venturing is different from Boy Scouts. It is right in line with the Venturing idea of ". . . here is what you can and cannot do; go, venture out - have fun with it . . . ". Make the ceremony fit the crew (What a concept!). The whole thing parallels O.A. but on that Venturing level that separates it from the boy scout program.

Hi, John-in-KC. If it ain't in the uniform part of the catalogue, it ain't official. The MacClaren tartan neckerchiefs are part of a restricted inventory of BSA National Supply Division stuff. You won't find the beads, neckerchief, or woggle in the catalogue, either; nevertheless, all Wood Badge uniform items are official uniform. Same thing for Order of the Arrow sashes. It comes down to who has the authority to order the items. I'll tell you this: If the kilt becomes part of the BDS boy scout uniform, I'll have mine before you have yours, and have worn it to a troop meeing, too ;-). I do remember seeing a Venture crew that had adopted the MacClaren plaid kilt as their official crew uniform. Ventures can design their own uniform and program. Their program? Blacksmithing. Forge, anvil, bucket, hammer and tongs. Oh. . . I used to be a Beaver . . . .