gwd-scouter

Hey Pack. The kid who gets teased certainly does feel pain down deep. He had a particular rough go last Monday and his mother called the next night saying he was quitting Scouts. He is very overweight and that is the reason he gets picked on. Unfortunately, I did not get wind of the teasing until driving home from Scouts with my son. He said he put a stop to it and thought everything was OK. Making things worse is the biggest offender in our Troop also picks on this kid at school. It does, however, go both ways and Mom is sympathetic to the fact that her son does many times initiate fighting and bickering. Both boys can certainly dish it out, but can't take it when it's returned. The other Scout (the biggest offender) is the know it all type, constantly interrupting meetings to let everyone know his knowledge of all things (I'm sure we all have these types in our Troops, too). My son called the teased Scout the other night to talk to him. He told him stories about when he was a 6th grader, very overweight, and the target of some pretty severe ridicule and embarrassment. Conversation ended with the Scout saying he would give Scouts another try, but still wasn't going on the hike. I then spoke to Mom on the phone and she decided she was going to call the other Scout's Mom and try to work things out face-to-face. Just love it when grownups take responsibility and act like grownups. Moms and sons met that night and talked things out. Saturday morning before leaving for the trip, I spoke privately with both Moms. They admitted they were each only getting one side of the story and that the boys were going to work on getting along - at least quit the fighting. The Scout that was going to quit showed up for the hike! I tell you that just about brought tears to my eyes. Much credit to his Mom, but enormous credit to the boy that wouldn't give up.

Today our Scouts went on a hike to help the newer Scouts complete their 2nd class 5-mile map and compass hike. The best thing about this trip was that our older scouts paired off with the younger guys and worked with them one-on-one to complete the requirement. When I say older Scouts, I'm talking about the 13-15 year old Scouts. The younger Scouts are 11-12. That's our troop now, leaders in the 13-14 year old range (we have one 18 year-old but he is not active at meetings or outings, and one 16 that just couldn't make it this weekend - but the best SPL we've ever had), and a handful of 11-12 nearly dispanded. We have one young fellow that is very overweight and is always ready to back out of anything. He is also teased a lot at school and unfortunately one of the worst offenders is also in the Troop. To his credit, he showed up this morning for the hike and one of our older Scouts stayed with him, always at the back, but kept encouraging him when he felt like he wanted to quit. I'm posting this because I am so proud of the guys in our Troop. We are small - very small. But these guys are learning about Boy Scouting, the older guys are helping the younger guys, the younger guys are looking up to the older guys, and in the end, I imagine that we will have a great troop of wonderful Boy Scouts doing the Boy Scout Thing. Love this Scouting stuff!

Just got off the phone with our DE. I was asking if I could come to the District Committee meeting in a couple of weeks and propose an idea to have a Webelos-ree in our District. The reason I called is because at last week's Roundtable the Spring Camporee was discussed. When the District calendar was put out, the Cub Scout folks were told that the Spring Camporee would include the Cubs. Now, we're told that it has been planned as a Shooteree and the Cubs can't come. This really upset me because our District used to welcome the Webelos to come on one of our Camporees but in that past couple of years there has been no invitation or plans for Webelos. In fact, it has been more that the Boy Scouters have gone out of their way to exclude the Webelos. In the conversation with our DE, he first said how he admired that our troop was reaching out to the packs in the District, but also said that he didn't think that a District-wide Webelos-ree would work. Seems that the other troops just aren't interested in doing something like that. So, here's our DE, getting judged on numbers of boys in our District and he has to deal with: Number One: Volunteer leaders that will not step up to help plan a District event: Day Camp, pinewoodderby, camporees, etc. Troops that sit back and wait for feeder-packs to supply them with new Scouts each year Troops/Packs that do not do Scouting for Food Troops/Packs that do not do any community service projects Troops/Packs that do not any recruiting other than that provided by the DE Troop leaders and Pack leaders that have no interaction Leaders that are better than everyone else because they've been doing it longer New leaders that have never been given a feeling of being part of the crowd in a district that is largely the "old guard" - especially true in the Boy Scout level I do not know about other professional Scouter positions, but I do not AT ALL envy the job of the DE. And I, for one, think ours is doing a fantastic job for our District.

EagleDad posts: I even let the new scouts know that Webelos are looking up to them. I really like that and it seems to be working with us. We don't have a real patrol method I guess since we're so small we only have one patrol. We do have an SPL and ASPL, but they are in reality the PL and APL but like the other titles better (in another post I mentioned we are down to just eight active Scouts now). We are having a Troop/Webelos campout at the end of the month and have invited Webelos Dens from two Packs. Our SPL and ASPL have so far outlined some great ideas and have presented them to the other guys in the Troop. Our SPL was just elected last month and already I know he'll do a great job. He was talking about the upcoming campout and told the guys "you younger guys, this will be a chance for you to show these little dudes (his words) what Boy Scouts is all about." Don't you know the younger Scouts in our Troop got excited about that. So, very little troop, but working the patrol method the best we can.

I was the despised CM at one time that was robbing another Pack of its boys in order to feed our own (recruiting was "too good"). I didn't go out of my way to do it, but it did happen. We had the largest Pack in our District (by far) with about 90-100 boys. Another Pack nearby had around 40, and several others struggled along with 20 or less. I got a call from a Den Leader that wanted to move his entire den to our Pack. Seems his Pack never did anything - no Pack meetings, no Pinewood Derbys. The CM for that pack was largely absent and relied on the Den Leaders to do everything within their dens. At the time, I had no idea about all this but told the Den Leader that he was, of course, welcome in our Pack. I REALLY did not intend to personally lead to the demise of that Pack as I was accused of by not only our DE at the time, but by his boss as well. I just figured people will go where they want to go and I wasn't in a position to tell them they couldn't join our Pack. For the next few years we grew from the average of 90-100 boys to 120-150. During that time, several small packs never rechartered. That was a long time ago. Many years have gone by and I've learned a lot more about Districts and the numbers of Packs and Troops in them. Seems there is always one great big pack and there is always one great big troop - then a bunch of little, struggling packs and troops. Also, at least in our District, seems like there isn't much interest in helping each other out. There is huge competition at the Cub level for Scouts. Yep, I'll admit back then I was very proud of being the CM for the "LARGEST DEN IN THE DISTRICT" ta da! And, yes, I got over myself a long time ago. At the Troop level, most Troops sit back waiting for Webs to crossover. Recently, that has led to something of a demise in some Troop's numbers around here as Webelos Leaders have gotten wise to the fact that their Scouts ought to shop around for a Troop and not just follow the pack.

Older son called last night (2nd year of college, Eagle 2001) to tell me about the job interview he had today for his summer co-op job. While we were chatting I mentioned being asked to do the BOR mentioned here. Older son was Den Chief when the Eagle candidate was in Cubs so I thought he'd be interested. I also sought his advice on things to ask. Then I told him about the Myspace suggestion from OGE. Older son said, "you know, I was meeting with my advisor earlier today about my interview coming up, and he said that employers are starting to look at Myspace and Facebook." I just thought that was kinda neat. BOR is tomorrow night and I'm looking forward to seeing my former Cub Scout again. Thanks for the ideas folks.

Thank you all for your suggestions. Our District does not do Webelos-ree. In fact, most troops in our District really don't want the Webelos along on anything they do. That's one of the reasons our Troop is reaching out to a couple of Packs to try to help their program and (hopefully) ours in the long run. We have two Scouts going to NYLT this summer, the first in many years. The Troop does have a binder with the MacScouter Big Book of Games and last night our PL and APL were looking through it since they were making plans for the Webelos campout. Cubmaster from one of the Packs dropped by last night to get some info on the Campout and he is so excited that our Troop is willing to help his Pack - we have a Den Chief there with their Webelos Den. The guys in our Troop are looking forward to this trip, especially our newer Scouts, since at least for this trip they won't be the "little" guys and will have an opportunity to show off their skills.

I was just invited to sit on an Eagle BOR - my first. Nice thing about it is, it is the BOR for one of my former Cub Scouts. Can't believe it's been that long! I have the guide to conducting Boards of Review and have looked over the Eagle Scout section. Other than the suggested questions on that document, any advice you folks can give me?

In the thread about Boy Scout meetings being boring, I got the feeling that the poster had kind of "been there done that" with his Webelos Den. Then again, we've had threads about just exactly what to do with Webelos Scouts that will properly prepare them for Boy Scouts. Over the years I've met a lot of very enthusiastic Den Leaders that want to treat their 10-year-old Webelos Den like a mini-boy Scout troop. So my question is: is there such a thing as overly preparing Webelos for Boy Scouts?

Getting the Scouts to think for themselves has been an ongoing process in our troop for the past two years. Before that, PORs were treated mostly as "honorary" with the adults leading the show. It came as a great surprise to the boys and adults when I stepped up as SM and insisted that we would start working toward the real meaning of boy-led and that PORs were no longer going to be "you've done your six months with a 'title' now we'll sign you off." At that time, our troop was mostly older guys - Life to Eagle - that had never really had any responsibility in the troop, a few 1st class to Star Scouts that seemed to be just hanging in there, and a few Scouts under 1st class. Two years has passed and we've lost a good amount of scouts and leaders because of this transition. Some immediately moved to other Troops. Some quit outright. We lost all of the former adult leaders for a while, but a few have now come back to help us with Boards of Review and merit badges. Seems they like the way things are headed in our troop and want to help where they can. I've mentioned in other posts about those few "legacy" Scouts that over the past two years hung in there in order to "make" Eagle. Well, the didn't "make" Eagle. Those that hung in there somehow found it in themselves to help their Troop, go on outings, show leadership to the younger Scouts, and EARNED their Eagle. Now, even though we are a very small troop, those 1st class to Star Scouts from a couple of years ago are our most outstanding role models and leaders. The new guys we've recruited are learning to depend on their Senior Scouts. I think the hardest part for the Scouts was understanding that I really meant what I said. It is their program. It is their Troop. It's been two years since I stepped up as SM and the light bulbs in their heads are almost fully lit. We are finishing the second year of their year-long plan. We have, so far, done everything they "planned" back in September. The reason I put that word in quotes is because they still are far way from doing all the planning themselves. First step was to get them to come up with ideas of what they wanted to do. Second step was to be sure we, as adults, followed that plan. Our Troop is now having monthly PCLs to come up with meeting plans leading up to the monthly activity/campout - something that was never done before. Admittedly, these still need some input from me, but it has been less and less as the months go by. Difficult as it may have been, I have found that if we continue to raise the bar of expectation for our Scouts, they will live up to the challenge. We just have to train them, mentor them, and then get out of the way and let them do their jobs.

I was CM for five years. For the first three years I really loved it, but burnout was settling in around the 4th year. I did not have a functioning committee and that was largely due to my own error. I'm a take charge kind of person, highly organized, and it became known throughout our Pack that I would take care of things (I have since gotten over myself and have learned as SM to rely on our Troop Commitee, our ASMs and more importantly the Scouts to take charge of things - wish I had done so back then). We had over 120 boys in that Pack and I did have wonderful Den Leaders. At the 4th year mark I let everyone know that it would be my last year and we needed someone to step up to CM. Our Asst. CM did not want the position. No one else did either. So, I continued on into the 5th year. During that year I laid back more and began handing over the "reigns" to the Committee and other interested parents. Finally, one of our then Tiger Leaders stepped up and I retired. He has now just finished his 4th year as CM but his son is now finishing Webelos and he will move over to the Troop. He does not yet have anyone willing to take over as CM. In his case and in mine, a sort of complacency set in among the leaders and parents in the Pack. Yes, we had a wonderfully sucessful program. So, they figured, he/she is doing such a great job, no one else could do so well. He and I have talked frequently at roundtables and we have both admitted that in a way the Pack was something of our "fiefdom" - we meant well in wanting to continue the strong tradition of the Pack, but unfortunately that led to difficulty when it was time to step down. One thing I regret about being CM: For the first five years in Cubs, I was Den Leader to my older son - really enjoyed that. But, as CM while my younger son was coming up, I didn't get to have the enjoyment of working and play one-on-one with him. He had a great Den Leader so I don't think he ever felt short changed, but I sure missed the interaction. I've been out of Cub Scouting for four years now and often think that when it's time to find a successor as SM for our Troop, I'd like to go back and work with the Cubs.(This message has been edited by gwd-scouter)

Last night, husband and I met for an adult beverage after work at a local chain restaurant/bar. Just behind us was a family with two young girls. The girls were wearing heelys and rolling all around the restaurant while their parents enjoyed their meal. Oh good grief!!!

ScoutNut: Have asked the Webelos leaders and still waiting for their replies. The campout is set for the end of March so I hope they answer soon so our guys can start planning. LisaBob: as always you have such great answers. I've already thought about a lot of them and our Scouts have come up with similar ideas themselves. I too was a Webelos Den Leader, but have been away for quite a while so that's why I posted here in the Cub Forum. I especially like your reminder to keep the adults busy - it's something I actually hadn't considered. As a former Cubber, I know exactly what you're talking about. Local: thanks for the kind words. Yes, we've have some disappointments recently with Webelos Dens coming to visit and camp with us, but ultimately chosing to go somewhere else. Our boys have planned a great program this year as they did last year and we've followed through on all their plans. At least we had folks visiting this year which we've never had before, so word is getting out there. I just have to learn a little more patience, a little less taking things personally. The campout we're planning for March is for the 4th grade 1st year Webelos in two different packs. I've established a very good relationship with the Cubmasters of these packs and our troop has a Den Chief in each one (don't you know that diminishes our numbers considerably on meeting nights since we only have 9 boys and those 2 Den Chiefs go to Den meetings the same night we have Troop meetings). Both of these packs only have one 5th grade Webelos Scout each - one of whom has already crossed over to our troop and the other coming in April. So, we are inviting the 4th grade Webelos in the hopes of planting the seed that will lead to them coming again to meetings and outings during their 2nd year of Webelos and ultimately crossing over to our pack.

This is our most recent Scout's Own: CALL TO WORSHIP: (Scout) Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into His presence with singing. HYMN: GOD BLESS AMERICA (ALL) God bless America Land that I love Stand beside her and guide her Through the night with a light from above. From the mountains To the prairies, To the oceans, white with foam. God bless America My home sweet home! God bless America, My home sweet home! INVOCATION: (Scout and All) God be praised now and forever (All) For giving us minds to understand Your teachings (Scout) God be praised now and forever (All) For hands that lift up those who fall (Scout) God be praised now and forever (All) For ears that hear the cry of those who need help (Scout) God be praised now and forever (All) For hearts that care about the needs of others (Scout) God be praised now and forever (All) For eyes that see the beauty of earth and sky (Scout) God be praised now and forever (All) For the new day and this new journey (Scout) CAMPERS PRAYER (ALL) God of the mountains and hills, make me tall and strong; Tall enough and strong enough to right some wrong. God of the stars, make me steadfast and sure. God of every lake and stream, flow through my life and make it clean. God of the rain, wash from my life all dirt and stain; Pure and strong let me remain. God of the darkness and day, through shadows or light, guide my way. God of the surging waves and sea, wide horizons give to me. God of the morning dew, each day my faith renew. God of all growing things, keep me growing too. SILENT PRAYER BENEDICTION: (Scout) Dear God, thank you for the wonderful opportunity to be here together. May your blessing rest upon us and our work as we close our camp and grant us safe passage home. May you give us light to guide us, courage to support us, and love to unite us now and forever. ALL: Amen.

email on its way to you.

Thanks Cubmaster Mike. Your suggestions were the kind of things I was looking for. I really was hoping for more input from others on the forum.

Before our troop changed its CO, our troop number was 357 - chosen specifically for the SM at that time.

Had 2 Scouts at last night's meeting with Heelys. While I think they're OK for outdoor fun, I don't want them rolling around indoors. But, taking a cue from the wisdom here on the forum and resisting outright banning them, I had a chat with the fellows. I asked if they thought it would be OK to skateboard in the building. "No," they said. I asked if they thought it would be OK to rollerblade in the building. "No," they said. "But Mrs. B.," one of the guys in all seriousness said, "these are different, the wheels are built in."

LisaBob is absolutely correct in that Cub Leaders deserve respect, as do we all that volunteer our time and effort to the BSA. Be careful Jeffrey H. I'm sure your intention in your post was not to imply that we Boy Scout Leaders are a somehow inferior "breed" and just a bunch of knot wearing, paper pushing, only one hour a week types! :-)

Our Troop is having a Webelos campout at the end of March. We have invited the Webelos Dens from two packs to join us and have asked them for information on what they'd like to do during the campout - i.e., particular pins or other advancement opportunities. Since we have so many experienced Cub Scouters on the forum, thought I'd ask: if a Troop in your area invited your Webelos Den to a campout, what kind of activities would you like? What would you expect to see and learn from the Scouts? From the adults?

ItsMe, it is always difficult to read one's intent in the printed word so I sure do hope your post about comparing a young SPL to an adult Cubmaster wasn't a slam against me. My post was not intended to convey that I thought a 13 year old should be compared to an adult when making a presentation to the Troop. Anyway, something I've noticed - and again it may not be your intention - but your posts all mention what You are looking for in a troop, that You were bored, etc. Your boys may have been bored at the meetings you visited as well, I just don't get that read from your posts. I can say that in my earlier days with the Troop, I too found meetings to be boring and mundane. My sons did not share the same view. Admittedly, I was coming in as a former Cubber and it took me quite a while to understand the really enormous difference in Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting. Looking back, I am very glad I did not share with my sons my (then) negative view of Boy Scout Troops. If I had, the probably would have quit and missed out on all the fun. What we as adults may view as mundane meetings to be endured before a campout, are not necessarily seen that way by the boys involved. I do agree that Troop meetings should not be all business all the time. It bothers me too that I know of a few troops in my area in which the adults lecture and pontificate throughout almost the entire meeting (actually, ours was like that several years ago). Sometimes a skill instruction may take an entire meeting, especially if being led by a younger, more inexperienced Scout. Then again, perhaps the boys decide they just want to play Ultimate Frisbee for a meeting (similar to prarie's goof off night). If a Webelos Den Leader/parent and their sons showed up for both of these meetings, naturally the Frisbee meeting would seem more fun. But, it would not be an accurate reflection of the Boy Scout Troop any more than the meeting-long skill instruction would be. I apologize that I am not as eloquent as some of the others on this forum and I wish you luck in your search for a troop.

Nice replies so far to ItsMe post. I will add that our troop meetings are sometimes boring affairs, at least they would seem so by Webelos Scouts and parents visiting. On the other hand, some of our meetings would be seen as out-of-control. Simply another side to the boy-led troop. Last week and this upcoming week, our Scouts are covering first aid requirements T-1st class. Last week, one of our younger Scouts was put in charge of covering some of the Tenderfoot and 2nd class first aid requirements. Yes, he stood in front of the group and mostly read from the Scout handbook. A couple of gentle nudges by me that he should perhaps include some demonstration of what he was talking about got things rolling along better. Of course as an adult and former CM, I could have taken over the meeting and come up with a lot of fun stuff to go with the instruction - but that's not my job as SM. I was very impressed with this Scout. True, he read from the book a lot. But, this was the first time he was in charge of something. His first time teaching a skill. The first time he stood at the front of the room. You see, he wanted to run for SPL but no one voted for him because he usually is disruptive during meetings and pays little attention to those in charge. After the meeting I complimented him on the job he did. He said, "I wanted to show that I could be in charge so maybe I can be elected SPL next time." Now, that's what it's all about. Edit to add: We only have one patrol in our troop because it's so small and in reality the SPL is the PL (but they like the title of SPL better). Anyway, they do have a patrol name, flag and cheer - Kung Foo Falcons! Yep, they sing their cheer "we are the Kung Foo Falcons" to the tune of the Kung Foo Fighting song.(This message has been edited by gwd-scouter)

Our troop is fairly young so we have not acquired many ribbons. But, those we had were getting tangled on the flag. We strung a line across the back of our Scout room and now hang all the ribbons from that. Makes a nice display.

Eamonn, I can sympathize. CNY asked is anything happens to a unit that doesn't recharter on time so I answered his question. But, to move on to how the process actually works...well, that's something else entirely. We are also pushed very hard by our DE to recharter on time. Packets are given out at December roundtable meeting to anyone that may be present from a Troop or Pack. I don't know what he does about those units that are never represented at Roundtable. Our DE does not meet with any of the Executive Officers of the Chartered Organizations. The actual unit list inside the recharter packet printed out by Council is dated some time in October and, at least in my past 14 years, is always wrong: Scouts/adults missing, scouts/adults still listed who were removed the year(s) before, ranks incorrect, etc. etc. DE makes a point of mentioning how poorly we as a District did the previous year in rechartering on time. In the end, even those of us who do make the effort to recharter on time, will not get the charter certificate, membership cards, etc. until some time in the late summer or early fall - if at all.

I don't know if anything negative actually happens to a unit that doesn't recharter on time. Rechartering on time is one of the requirements for Quality Unit and in our Council for Gold Star Unit