Stosh

As a youth, I quit scouting after 4 years of going nowhere with the only troop in town and went with other youth programs. I'm still involved with scouts as an adult and don't regret my youthful decision. I wouldn't blame a kid today for doing the same thing if the troop was run as poorly as mine was back in the day.

For your next beef stew, use apple cider instead of water. Oriental stir-fry is a big favorite with my scouts. As a challenge for the boys. Each one brings in their favorite meal, the one they would want their mom to make for their birthday dinner. Then adapt that to the campfire. (Hint: Any 9X13 recipe can be done in 2-9" pie pans in the Dutch oven.) 3 briquettes above the number on the lid on top and 3 briquettes below the number on the bottom will give you a 350-degree Dutch oven. Adjust briquettes by 1 briquette top and bottom to raise the temperature 25-degrees. So a 425-degree oven is 6 up and even number on the bottom #12 = 15 on top, 9 on bottom (350o), 18 on top, 12 on bottom (425o) #14 = 17 on top, 11 on bottom (350o), 20 on top, 14 on bottom (425o) Kabobs also are easy to make The best I ever saw was a troop in our council got hold of a gal's 4-H project - it was a 45# turkey. They did that up in an aluminum foil tent and it turned out perfect, fed about 3 troops that day. "Eating out" for me means a campfire is necessary for "fine" dining.

I just have every one of my scouts bring in their favorite meal recipe from home. We then rework it to fit into camping doable. That way every scout gets their favorite meal every now and then. In my former troop the Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake was quite a challenge, but once they got it down, they haven't lost a Dutch oven dessert competition since. For some of the recipes they have gone full circle and what was a favorite of one scout from home, was taken back home by another scout for his mother to make at his house. Handing out menus by a SM is doing a major disservice to the scouts.

So then it is his responsibility to START all over again and get it done. Obviously "For the boys" is not one of his leadership skills. If a scout screws up we hold them accountable. Well, a little lead by example for this SM would be a good place to start with him.

Sorry, @@Eagledad, I don't think even you can spin a positive light on this SM's approach to the program. I sure hope @@Renax127 has other options for this scout than this troop.

There's a kid who's childhood just went down the toilet. I wonder if Child Protective Services should know about this?

I'm 65 years old, weigh 160-165#'s (same as what I weighed in college) and don't do any "sports". To attribute the avoidance of obesity and credit achieving optimal health to sports is a bogus argument. I've done it without sports my whole life and I am used to a cubical environment 8 hours a day for many years. I've never belonged to a health club either. Currently I own a full acre of quite steep hillside yard and don't own a riding mower because it's too steep, but it gets mowed every week with a self-propelled push mower and all the clippings get collected for the garden mulching and composting. I would attribute obesity and questionable health nutrition to TV/video games and fast food chicken tenders along with the occasional pizza and Mountain Dew.

I hope you're printing them in black ink! and do you have one of those paper cutters that cuts them squarely? Oh, and is your nickname "Monk"? Okay, okay, his is my 3rd edit. But did anyone check to see if these cards are copyrighted?

@@Eagledad. @@Renax127 gave the impression it was not JUST the newbies that got the menus handed to them, it looks like each patrol got a menu to follow. I'm thinking his son at age 11 has only been on 2-3 campouts and menu planning for everyone is done by the adults. That is what I was basing my comments on. I agree, small steps are in order, but this troop doesn't sound like it has taken the first one yet. Yes, my newbies may end up with PBJ their first few meals, maybe mix in a ham and cheese eventually and then they might even want to grill it after a while. It's a progression as you mention. The Dutch oven French toast and Mountain Man B-fast were part of the Sunday morning topic. The reason one may be scratching their head trying to reconcile this is because it's related to two different issues. By the way the Dutch oven French toast is made the night before so it's only getting charcoal going and cooking that can be done while tearing down camp. MM B-fast can be prepped faster than starting charcoal. Takes a bit more human intervention on Sunday, but still can be done in a reasonable amount of time. My boys all have large plastic zip-lock bags they toss their dishes in on Sunday am meals and take them home to clean them. Not really Kosher, but it does work and they get a better meal than Pop-Tarts and donuts which is done with the intent of not having to cook or clean up. It's a nice compromise. The boys don't mind cooking and the cleanup can be done later at home.

The first time I went to BWCA I used an experienced scouter to train me in the techniques necessary to do it without an expensive outfitter. Possibly that might be an opportunity for the Venturing camp. Provide specific training on how to do specific high adventure activities using experienced trainers. The Crew wants BWCA. Do they know how to pack for that, how's their canoeing skills, map/compass work, wilderness camping, etc.? Equivalent of the Canoeing MB, Orienteering MB, Cooking MB (focused on campfire), Camping MB, and toss in a bit on Bear Awareness, fishing, and other topics of interest they might come up against in the BWCA setting including permit and boat registration paperwork. Do they even know that only 7 Crew members can go on a permit? 2 on that permit have to be adults. 9 people to a permit. Most Crews might appreciate a focused week-long training session on how to do that type of activity. The next year, maybe it's hiking (Isle Royale, Yellowstone back country, Grand Canyon and AT are all different experiences!). Then there's biking packing, hauling, cooking, supplies, bike repair, etc. The year after that we go with winter camping skills (health concerns, diet, clothing, equipment, skis vs. snowshoes, etc. Then there's the river/rapids trek with sandbar camping Whole new skill set over BWCA. The focus for the program is a week of specific training and the rest of the year is focused on using those skills in the Crew's program. with a 6 year cycle of training, the Venturing members can get extensive training in all the different venues while enjoying their time in the Crew. When they're done and age out, they may not have a Ranger award or Eagle classification to put on their resume, but they will have skills that they might use well into their adulthood years, if not life-long for some.

Definitely needed the fix!

When I was a kid we would leave for a weekend camping trip the moment my dad got off work and wouldn't return until 5-6 pm on Sunday night. I guess it's nothing more than making sure the boys get 2 nights of camping and that after the second night, seconds become precious and Sunday morning becomes reminiscent of the Retreat from Moscow. Pancakes on Sunday morning is the quick and cheater way of getting out of camp early. Usually Sunday morning favorites include the Mountain Man egg bake or the Dutch oven French toast. Of course none of those options are as good as the out-run-the-forest-fire approach of a Pop Tart and donut breakfast. Seriously?..... where's the enjoyment in that?

The worst feeling in the world is knowing you just disappointed a kid.

When I was a Webelos DL, I was also an ASM for a troop. I ran my Webelos as a boy-led patrol. They were involved in the planning and execution of all their pin learning and for a final fun activity for Webelos we did a campout. We canoed out to a wilderness island. The boys cleared out a place for a campsite, dug latrines, set up their own tents, cooked the meals they designed, shopped for and packed in the canoes, and did everything for the weekend. I brought two scouts along with the adult dads just in case they would have been needed to step in and do the DC helping. They weren't needed. After the meals they did their own 3 pan clean up. Saturday night meal was baked potatoes, corn on the cob and steak. The boys did ask me to do one thing, which I agreed to. I cooked the steaks for them so they wouldn't ruin the expensive meat. A major windstorm passed through on Saturday night and the adults did help the boys reset the tents that went down in the storm in the middle of the night. Those two things were the only adult times of assistance. These boys did as well as or better than a lot of NSP's in my troop, but then they were as Webelos adult trained and the NSP's tend to be youth trained. 2 of the boys mentioned this outing specifically in their ECOH as one of the high points in their scouting career.

I picked up music in 6th grade in school. Played tenor sax all the way through college. Picked up piano in high school, still play for personal enjoyment. Picked up guitar in college, still play at church. Played violin for one year of college. Played for 2 years in professional rock band on the weekends. Picked up fife and bugle late in life, but having fun playing both. In grade school played Little League 2 years. Played basket ball 2 years in high school. Played tennis one year, Got kicked off the golf team for not showing up for one practice. still play a little golf here and there. Spend my leisure time kayaking, canoeing, hiking biking and other "sports" that don't have their counter-parts in school sports but are all related to my scouting experience. While I might be a bit biased against school sports and it's obsession by the kids and their parents, I found that the glamour of the idea wears off very early in life. Music and scouting seem to be a bit more life-long in their value as a pleasant pastime at least for me..

With all the "training" BSA does to get it's leadership ready to work with the boys, it's surprising how much counter effort is done by ignorant adult agendas. It would seem that one can't make this stuff up. 11 year old's first campout? As far as I'm concerned, it can be PBJ for all three meals. I would NEVER hand a menu to them. If an 11 year old can see through this BS, why can't these adults?

When I was in Scouts, the troop had a number of options. They had the old 2 man Explorer tents, for those who buddied up, they allowed small personal tents that could sleep up to 3 or 4, and they had large wall tents that the whole patrol could bunk up in. Those that didn't mind a bit of noise and a lot of snoring, went the wall tent option, I always went with the Explorer tent until I brought one of my own. Everyone ended up getting what they wanted.

One works for good grades, they work at making marriages successful, they work at a career and they work to earn money. What makes anyone think that playing games physical or electronic fits into the pattern? I counseled a lot of people as a minister and found that the maturity of certain individuals seems to get arrested in adolescence. As young adults they continue to play sports they were good at as personal recreation and sometimes do so to the detriment of the marriage. These are also sometimes the source of their children's motivation to "follow in dad's footsteps" and repeat the cycle into future generations. If such obsessions revolve around sports or electronics it might produce a nice source for other's entertainment and even a degree of financial satisfaction. However that financial base has to be acquired quickly in life in that sport careers are very short lived relative to other careers. Academics such as science, math, have the potential of benefiting society in ways more productive than entertainment. I'm not averse to having our children play games, but not to the point of it becoming compulsive and all encompassingly competitive. Scouting on the other hand helped develop skills I have used throughout my life, in my career, in my marriage, in my family, in my interests of life. At age 65 I'm still using them on a daily basis and don't foresee ever not needing them. I work a lot with youth in a number of different venues and the reason I use BSA as my basis is that it has the potential of doing more good for the kids than most others. Church youth ministries is a close second.

I advise my boys that the only official record of their advancement is their Scout Handbook and Blue Cards and it is their responsibility to keep them safe, duplicated, stored or whatever. But if they lose them they are on their own. The adults may keep records too, but those aren't official and adults dealing with a number of boys may not get everything recorded properly. The only way to keep track of their advancement progress is up to them. They get this "lecture" when they first start in scouts and it is repeated ad nauseum throughout their scouting career. I have only had a couple of sticky wickets along the way, and we got those resolved rather quickly.

My ASM that does advancement is a little OCD.

You copyrighted it and now you're soaking those Dubai oil sheiks big bucks and you're going to retire tomorrow. Congratulations!

3.8% of high school sports participants go on to play in college. 3.1% of the college sports participants go on to play professionally. More money is spent in our public schools on athletics than on math and thus American students rank 31st in the world on math skills which would not come as any big surprise. If one wishes to know more about these statistics, just Google it and decide for yourself. Then just for fun Google BSA Eagles and look at their contributions to society rather than lining their pockets with professional athletic salaries for self gain. One's gonna have a problem convincing the world that sports is better than scouting when it comes to societal improvement. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/the-case-against-high-school-sports/309447/

@@5yearscouter I like those "non-traditional" kinds of things for the ECOH especially if the boys do the ceremony. It's supposed to be for the boys anyway. My first wife and I split many years ago and when it came time for my youngest to graduate from high school the Ex did the big hoopala graduation, invite the world, have a big feed, etc. thingy in June right after the graduation. I told my daughter I would host a party for her too. So we sat down and she invited all of her closest friends from high school to come over on a Sunday afternoon, they had all the fixin's for kabobs laid out on a table, chairs set out on the lawn and they made kabobs, drank sodas and talked for over 5 hours. My daughter had missed out on the other parties because there were too many all at the same time and had only 5-10 minutes to make an appearance before having to leave. She said the party I had for her meant the world to her because she finally had the opportunity to sit and talk with her friends as they got ready to move on with life.

My younger boys are usually so worn out by the end of the day that the adults sitting around the campfire in the evening make more noise than the sleeping boys. Often it's hard to wake the boys up at the evening campfire and get them back to the tents for the night. They're like zombies after 9:00 pm.