Stosh

8 boys crossed over into the troop this evening. My two boys that were in the troop earned TF. It was a good night. The WDL for next year does not have any Webelos II boys but he and I talked at length about working closer to make the transition a bit smoother. I would love to have a DC to toss their way, but this year they're going to be either the PL's or TG's for the two NSP's. At least with 10 boys, it should be a lot more fun for everyone.

The sad part of the whole process is that scouts that threat them nicely are the exception. We must have Paper Scouters, too.

As Webelos parents they were already coming every week with their boy as part of our AOL instructional process. They got to see how the troop would be run and how the boy led thingy worked. After 5 months, they felt comfortable and my ASM and I spent a lot of time incorporating them into the program (Build a Hero - All the moms and dads that had served were on a panel to discuss their experiences in the military, etc. They did not participate in the program as parents, but as speakers, leaders, etc. We tried to break that concept of family camping, but kept them on in a different role as fund raiser organizers, activity support, chaperone outings, etc. A talent survey also went out to each parent on their skills background for such things as consultants for the boys' advancement and potential MB Counselors.

Had I known at the beginning what I know now, I would have pressed harder for parents to commit. Our premise was to hold AOL Webelos advancement for "any boys that want it" With the one troop that crossed over 5 of 15 those 5 had AOL Even some of them attended our meetings because we published our schedule of events and they would pop in for guest speakers or specialty things like Whittling Chip and bird house building, etc. We just assumed they were getting the full program. Obviously they weren't. I don't know what we're going to do next year, but losing 50%+ boys is really not acceptable.

With the two different programs, the BSA does fine with recruiting into the arts/crafts and family camping, but these might not the the types of boys that @@MattHiggins is talking about. So how many people out there have the middle school Boy Scout recruiting night to focus more on those interested in Boy Scout type of activity. 20 years ago, I worked heavily with the Webelos boys doing the Boy Scout things. We had a mock camporee outing where the boys practiced what they would have been doing for competition for a camporee, fire building, first aid, etc. The final event for these boys before they crossed over was a major campout where they did the planning and running of a campout weekend. I took them on after B&G at the end of the Bear year. They met every other week and shut down over the summer as a pack. Well, I went to weekly meetings and kept on over the summer that by the time they got to B&G their first year as Webelos they got their Webelos patch and AOL. Parents weren't too happy that they were so far advanced. Yeah, well. the boys were having fun. They began right after that B&G planning their "big summer outing" Menus, activities, etc. They chose an abandoned island, set up camp after canoeing out there, dug latrines, set up tents, did just about everything that was new and different for the boys. Pizza in a box, Dutch oven, and the big Saturday night supper was steak, baked potatoes and corn on the cob with a cobbler for desert. These were Webelos boys doing it all. Back in the day, if the SM approved it, they could come into the troop on a cross-over as TF scouts. They were all tested by the SM and when they crossed over, they were issued the Scout and TF badges. Some of them were not yet 10 1/2 years old to join the Boy Scouts, so the Scout meeting after each boy turned 10 1/2 is when he crossed over during a ceremony conducted by the troop. Technically they couldn't be registered in Boy Scouts, but attended as guests until they could cross over by age and get their TF rank. SM was VERY concerned that they wouldn't find Boy Scouting exciting if they were already "been there, done that" while a Webelos. Needless to say all 6 boys eventually Eagled. It will be interesting to see how well the hang in or whether along with the non-cross over attrition whether or not we get more once the boys get into Boy Scouts with the Boy Scouts basically running the AOL section of Webelos II for the packs. I don't know about the 10 that dropped out of the 15 going over to the one troop, but when boys did not care enough to come to the AOL oriented meetings with the troop, it was pretty obvious they had already checked out at the beginning of their 2nd year of Webelos and no one in the packs really cared too much about it. They had no plans for any outdoor/Boy Scout types of activities for the boys, just once a month pack meeting and pack activities that the DL's didn't have to do anything to get ready for. It was kinda sad to learn all this which the Webelos program has evolved into in our area and would appear is more universal than I even thought.

My ASM and I did something a little different this year with the adults. They were all given an adult registration form along with their youth's registration form and told that we will be holding YPT and Committee member training along with boy-led, patrol-method orientation this summer so we'll be up and ready as soon as we can be. It's kinda surprising how much more effective telling is over asking. It'll be interesting to see how things work.

Wow! 20 years ago we lost maybe 10%-15% of the boys at cross-over. That's why I did the ticket to understand the dynamics. Then for the next 20 years I merely welcomed boys into the troop and didn't ask questions. I kind of suspected a more serious problem over the years thinking things weren't as good as they could have been, but with the numbers approaching 50% loss it's kind of disheartening. The council does well with the Cub recruiting, but for 3-4 years now I have been harassing the council about Boy Scout recruitment at middle school orientations. This year, we are going to just go ahead and have a booth there with or without the council's support.

20 years ago when I was doing my WB ticket one of the items was to usher over Webelos boys into Boy Scouts. The feeder pack didn't have any Webelos II boys, so I went way back and picked up the Webelos I boys and crossed all 6 over and they all eventually Eagled. Well, here's how things are shaking out today. 3 packs feeding 2 traditional troops and my new start up. All in the same relative area of town and the boys will basically all be attending the same middle school together next year. 34 boys in Webelos II of the three combined packs. Pack 1 didn't really have much of a program and there were about 7 or 8 boys. Pack 2 was the one closest to us, they have about 7 or 8 boys but the WDL was kinda burned out and as just going to let the boys get Webelos and forego the AOL. Pack 3 had 15 boys and were crossing over to the one troop they traditionally went with (same # et. al.) So it was kind of a scramble for boys this year. The 15 boys strongly connected to the one troop we kinda wrote off because they were all going to do well with their AOL program. We as a troop went back and set up a push drive for any boys from the three packs that wanted to go for AOL, we'd make that opportunity available. With 15 going straight to their traditional troop, that left us with a few more at about 19 boys. We did a major push and now tomorrow we do the crossover for whoever went where and whoever got AOL, etc. and the results were kinda surprising and disappointing. Troop 1 the traditional one (Eagle mill) with 15 possible boys kinda all wrapped up ended up with 5 boys crossing over. Troop 2 (struggling with leadership and membership issues) picked up 2 or 3. Troop 3 (mine) with the AOL push program picked up 9 boys. A tad under 1/3 came to us, 1/3 split between the other two troops and the other 1/3 didn't cross over. The 10 boys who didn't go with their traditional troop who have AOL will get a direct invite from us. We'll see if we can pick up one or two. As the non-AOL boys from the other two packs turn 11 they, too will get an invite to join our troop. One of the boys has recruited a friend who was not in Cub Scouts. So that means we will pick up 10 boys this time around. Leave us with 2 patrols of 6 boys each. 2 NSP with TF PL's (maybe) and no TG's. Should be interesting. But my overall question is: Are other cross over situations showing such large numbers of Webelos not going into Boy Scouts or is it just something in our drinking water here in my neck of the woods? This isn't the first time we've had such losses during the cross over.

I sure hope so!!! When I first read it it was like the kid who walked the full length of the classroom with his fingernails on the chalk board!

@@UncleP I've worked with youth for 45+ years and I have never encouraged them to quit anything. I have experienced this in the past with parents. The results tend to focus around giving the youth "permission" to give up on something (anything, doesn't have to be Scouting) and in the future, if they have any regrets those are the adults who will be blamed, and there will be regrets. If one always encourages them to stand and persevere, and they quit anyway, they have no one to blame but themselves.

If he's catching scissors, what more does he need to know?

Way to go guys, it was all fun and games until someone gets hurt.

Will he ban all electronic devices at the Board Meetings? Actually, if the truth be known, his expertise will do wonders for the S.T.E.M. program.

Don't get confused with what organizations call leadership. They are really referring to management. Leadership is never going to become obsolete when one has people around them that they truly care for because they will follow that person no matter what. We are naturally drawn to leadership. The teacher that cares about you. The boss that "has your back". The friend that is "always there for you." The hero who pulls a stranger out of a burning car. The neighbor who stops by for coffee and conversation when you've been bummed out about something in life and they heard about it. We are all naturally drawn to these people.... it's because they are leading and we're following. "Hey, I just heard Charlie down the street just lost his mother to cancer. Thought I'd stop by, wanna come along? I think he'd appreciate it." Kinda hard to say no even when "it's not your job". Kinda like a favorite uncle that picks up the slack for his nephew.

Mammals are tough. What about bat houses? I have those around my property trying to increase their population around my house.

I'm not trying to be stupid here, but I'm having trouble understanding the question but if one buys a male bunny and a female bunny and puts them in the same cage. Rumor has it that this will work quite nicely.

I'd be happy if they got them up to Y2k.

That was only a small part of the trade. The Barbary corsairs took African slaves for the colonies and Christian slaves for the Arab Ottomans. Kinda like an equal opportunity type of setup. They were rather good at it and that's where the "Shores of Tripoli" are. Slavery has been around since day one and will probably be around in one form or another well on into the future. We get all worked up about the African slave trade, but getting Shanghaied was not a pleasant experience either. The issue of slavery in today's first world societies is rather repugnant, but we have our indentured servants and a number of other work arounds. In other parts of the world, it was the natural consequences of being conquered. What do you do with all the people after you've won the war? One can do like Moses with the Midianites. Killed them all except the girls under 13 who were virgins, they were enslaved. So people were set free after the Civil War only to "Owe your soul to the Company Store" a few years later. The Union wars pretty much cleared that up, but those today that are enslaved are those on the dole. They're never going to get rich and the government controls the person's freedom. After all from the 1929 to 1945, most American men were subject to the whims of the government. It was haled as a god-send, but in reality, if one didn't work for the government and weren't self-sufficient, your future was pretty bleak. My grandfather "survived" the Great Depression" by growing and selling popcorn and strawberries. Basically with 4 sons, they were able to work on the farm for food and catch whatever jobs they could to survive the banker and tax man. Does that sound like a free person to you?

All of the camps in our area already have Wifi. The one camp has had it for 3-4 years now. I guess the best we can hope for is a discount on the pricing.

Yep, I have single moms with 2-3 kids besides the scout. I have families that struggle from paycheck to the next. I have boys that truly can't afford the uniform shirt. Neither myself nor my ASM are from the neighborhood where these kids live. But we go there and do what we can with whatever resources we can scrounge up because we care about the boys. For many of them this effort might be the only opportunity they might get. Don't hate the program because of the people. My wife and I are the only two people to step up and take on a brand new Venturing Crew that is a 45 minute drive so that those kids will have a chance because no one else stepped up. I have no idea how many at-risk kids I helped stay out of trouble just because I took the time to show up. Mrs. and I have worked with the Director of Education and it would seem that it's pretty much the three of us to be there for the entire youth program of a congregation (about 35 kids) we are not even members of. If one is looking for an excuse to hate scouting, my advice is just as good as any other. I'm not exactly "Out of touch" with what's happening in Cub Scouts at the present time with the new program. I am NOT a WDL and there are no millennial parents that are stepping up and I have 9 boys that are working their butts off to get AOL and THEN not all of them are guaranteed to even join my Troop but I am doing the WDL thing right now to make sure the boys have a chance. I'm not a Cub Leader. It's not my job. I don't have to be doing this. I really don't like the new program anymore than the next guy. I haven't been a Cub Leader for 25 years. But I have 9 boys that really do appreciate what I'm doing. As far as the fun goes, the program is designed for the boys to have fun. If the adults have fun, that's all well and good. But that's not what we signed on for.

Pogo had it right.....

Being a good baseball player makes them a good baseball player. Being a good soccer player makes them a good soccer player. Being a good Scout makes them a good person. Why is this so difficult to understand? So I'm biased? Yep, the principles of servant leadership, character development, and maturity growth are all dynamics of Scouting I also apply to the work I do in the various church youth ministries and community youth activities I work with in the area. Works for all youth of these developmental ages. I'm 65 years old. I gave up basketball many years ago. I gave up football even before that. About 25 years ago I finally gave up baseball/softball..... I'm still camping..... and kayaking.... and canoeing. It's Memorial Day weekend and it's the "official" start of summer. My tent, my kayak and my canoes have all gotten wet already this year. I've done 2 major road trips with my camper too, so I cheat a bit in my old age. I'm still making it down the road. Don't make home runs, baskets or touchdowns, but life is good.

And the only good Indian is a dead Indian.- Philip Sheridan, Plains Indian Fighter for the US Army. The majority of laborers who built the Transcontinental Railroad were not whites either. 1/10th were Irish.the bulk of the rest were Chinese In the US territories following the Civil War, Buffalo Soldiers were called up to put down a slave rebellion in the Indian held territory. The slaves were black. Ever wonder why the ultra liberal Hollywood only portray the Indian fighters as the 5th and 7th Cavalry? It's because the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th were Buffalo Soldier units. Irish need not apply. WOP means "Without Papers" People get their backs wet when they swim the Rio Grande. This "Stuff" is nothing new to the world, the US doesn't have a corner on the market, and wars don't settle the problem. Ruhanda, Cambodia, Germany, Russia, The New World, Manifest Destiny, Midianites, take your pick. It's all the same today as it was yesterday, just different names and different places. Technologically man has made great advances for the improvement of mankind. The rest has stayed pretty much the same. Correct me, but if I recall correctly the slave trade out of Africa was was originated basically out of the Arab Slave Trade business until the Portuguese took it over for the European and their colonies' market.

Adventure Requirements: Play a challenge game or initiative game with the members of your den. Take part in a reflection after the game. Working with the members of your den, organize a Cub Scout carnival and lead it at a special event. Help younger Cub Scouts take part in one of the events at the Cub Scout carnival. After the Cub Scout carnival, discuss with the members of your den and your den leader what went well, what could be done better, and how everyone worked together to make the event a success. Make and present an award to one of the adults who helped you organize the activities at the Cub Scout carnival. Correct me if I'm wrong, but why is everyone waiting for council or district to put on some carnival? It doesn't need to be anything extravagant, IT'S A DEN ACTIVITY FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! A den can put on 3 or 4 of these, or whatever it takes to make it happen for all the boys. Just because a boy or two missed the first carnival doesn't mean he can't get his award, JUST DO ANOTHER CARNIVAL! Need a special occasion? Okay, Third Thursday of the month Den Potluck/Family Fun Carnival Event. It's kind of a long title, but it'll work. OMG (Oh, my goodness!) Having to do a second or third carnival of fun for the boys is probably going to cause irreparable harm to their psyche. Seriously people, you're over thinking this.

That's exactly what we did last Tuesday, along with a meeting with all the parents in the troop/Web den that were veterans speaking about their service. We're in the parade and we will stay for the ceremony at the cemetery. Last Saturday the boys went to the cemetery and cleaned up the scatter garden getting it ready for this weekend and we spent another hour and a half visiting all my friends and listening to stories about their lives. I do extensive research on all the veterans of the 1800's buried in the county. We even have a sergeant who fought the Mexicans for Texas Independence. That one impressed the boys the most. They were Confederate soldiers, a soldier who was in the audience and saw Booth jump to the stage, the 12 year old drummer boys who was fighting at Shiloh and Vicksburg, War of 1812 veterans, Indian fighters, 2 star general, soldiers who were part of the Eagle Regiment who had Old Abe as their mascot, wife of a man killed at Little Big Horn, commanding officer on board the USS Maine the night it sank in the harbor in Havana, Cuba, all there for a interesting spur of the moment Pre-Memorial Day walk in the cemetery.