LauraT7

service hours to ANY community organization should count - and when looking for service projects - who better to service than your own CO? yes, you should do them to thank the organization, and the organization should support your troop - isn't that the design of the system? The church that has supported our troop for over 85 years knows they can count on the boys to not only volunteer for projects that the boys see and recognise as a need, but that they can also call and ask for help on anything. The Pastor and staff of this church are all female - and the majority of the congregation is elderly - heavy work is sometimes tough for them - so we are called upon for everything from moving furniture within the building, to helping the elderly residents of the rental buildings on the property move, to all kind of maintenance and cleanup, in addition to special projects and Eagle projects. Truth be told, though - does it really matter? most of our boys give way above and beyond the hours necessary for rank advancement at these various tasks, anyway. "counting" the hours is never a problem for us.

I don't know what to call it ..... I remember a halloween story/poem about a dead man, you put the kids in a circle and pass around peeled grapes for his eyes and spaghetti for brains, a rubber glove full of jello for his hand, etc. We're looking for it for one of our Denners - the cub pack he works with is having a lock-in and thought it would be fun for the boys. I know it's past halloween, but he still thought it would be fun to do Anybody know what I'm talking about? or know where I can find it?

Whoa! you scared me there for a minute BobWhite! I'm glad they only have to describe "going with support" anyway... I wonder how the HS principal would feel about a rowboat in the school pool.... ;-)

jbroganjr - nope - don't need that vest.... When I "finished up" with the boy in our troop, he had actually started at MB opportunity days under another counselor. But because I also counseled that badge, and I am in his troop and neighborhood, he contacted me to finish it up when he was ready - 7 or 8 months later. Now, this particular boy is rather young and shy. though he has been in the troop almost 2 yrs, he just reached Tenderfoot at summer camp this summer. his family is very religious and he misses alot of scout things because of church events. He DID mention it to me that he had completed the requirements and needed to have them signed off - after his mom reminded him. he never did get the gumption up to call me at home - but I'm never home anyway, and I had told him he'd probably get the machine, but that I WOULD get back to him. His mom also explained that he panicked when confronted with a machine and would just hang up - something ALOT of young boys do - they just don't "think on their feet" -esp when dealing with an adult. i guess I'm saying that how much i "follow up" depends on the boy and the badge - some need a little more help, others don't. With this boy - he worked better face to face - so after meeting one night, when I had time and he had remembered his stuff - we sat down in a corner of the main room and went over it. much of it he had done in school - speeches and things - and he had done a great job. Many of the merit badge counselors in our area simply don't return calls - from adults or kids. and this is just plain rude - even if they are no longer counseling, they could AT LEAST return the call and say so! Our district has not put out a new list in over 2 years! On the whole,though, we post a list of merit badge counselors that we know in our troop and area and the badges they counsel in our troop library, and the boys are expected to make first contact. but after that, it's a two -way street. Our camps send the partials home to the troop, too - and they are finished on the local level at the boys pace. The "merit badge opportunity days" worked the same way - except that some MBC's choose to return the partial card directly to the boy on the last day, and others turned them in to the organizers to be returned to the troop at roundtable. some MB counselors were very poor with blue cards. i feel the MB counselor at leaset must take responsibility for making himself available by signing the card initially and being available by phone! The one who did "Cit in the Comm" Didn't even sign the card in the beginning, and didn't sign off for the partial requirements they DID do, on my son's and some other boys' cards. My son is ADHD - and this kind of organizational follow up is just out of his league without help. More persistant boys got their cards signed. Since there was more than one running classes, we couldn't even contact him to find out what they HAD completed! there was a merit badge counselor in our troop for that MB - and I encouraged my son to at least contact her and get credit for what he had already done - even if he didn't choose to finish it then. Which he did, once, and they never got together. I reminded him a few times, but if he chooses to "loose" that work - well, I can only do so much. Even with his ADHD - HE has to take some responsibility for pursuing badges and getting credit for work done! When it becomes important enough to him - he will.

our troop is doing a cub recruitment activity where we are getting the local HS pool for a few hours for a family swim. (we have the safe swim, a red cross lifegard and all the safety stuff covered) the boys are going to run stations so that the webelos can get their "Aquanaut" activity pin. (and have some free swim & games time, too!) but the wording of one requirement is confusing - just what is: "5. Demonstrate three basic water rescue methods. Demonstrate reaching and throwing. Describe going with support." We can think of 3 rescue methods - reaching something in to them, throwing something, and a swimming rescue. is the swimming rescue what they call "going with support"? or would "going with support" be swimming with a PFD on or a kickboard? we're confused. Anybody know?

off my soapbox - but on the subject of this post... our district has started a yearly "Merit Badge Opportunity days" - last March was the first year and they were OVERWHELMED by the response. they must have offered about 20 - 30 badges, in a classroom style setting, 5 sessions on 3 saturdays over 6 weeks. the boys signed up - they expected about 150 (remember, this was district-wide) and they got about 600+! I will say that there was a BIG drop off when it came time to return the second week. Many of the badges offered were the drier ones, like the citizenship ones and some really tough ones like Chemistry and Aviation. - and the classroom setting, including homework and "worksheets" turned off some of the boys. So be it. They weren't really ready to do the work yet - so they dropped out. about half dropped out - but it was still WAY more than they had expected! Most of the boys in our troop who signed up stuck it out - though very few got all 5 badges they signed up for (5 sessions, 5 badges was the max) many of them kept the worksheets (which had been organized into folders for each boy) and continued working on them. Just tonite, I checked off and finished up with one boy who started his communications badge there. He didn't finish it in the 6 weeks, but he DID finish! This year, they are offering less badges, and only 3 sessions (not all day) and they are limiting the "eagle required" badges to first class rank and above. But it has gotten our troop thinking - as we have a few merit badge counselors in our troop. We are thinking of doing our OWN merit badge day(s) - either just with our troop - or the troops in our town (theres 4). We thought we would make a list of badges we can counsel, let the boys chose their favorites and do them. OUTSIDE of meetings - because not all the boys will be interested, and we don't have TIME at meetings, anyway! What DID work, though - to answer your worksheet question- was to have the worksheets pinned into a pocket folder - gave them something more substantial to keep track of, had their name on it and they could keep their assignments, misc stuff and a pen IN it, along with their handbook or badge book. loose paper is just trash to a boy in a hurry!

OK guys - I get enough of this stuff in my troop - I don't need it here, too! Should we get out the dueling pistols and call out 40 paces? ;-) of course, I'm kidding, but I belong to a number of boards on different interests, and it amazes me how testy people can get with each other. I agree with BobWhite, that BSA has put lots of hours into this program and they've worked out alot of bugs that we couldn't work out on own in a lifetime of working with kids - we might as well take advantage of their expertise. The rest is opinion - and some of those opinions work well in some troops. and BSA structure DOES leave room for alot of flexibility in the program - which is a good thing - 'cause we're all such rugged individualists! Ok - I'll get off my soapbox now - do I need to get out my bullet-proof vest and take cover?

try the craft stores - like Hobby Lobby, Michaels, - even the fabric stores that carry craft items - like jo-anne fabrics in our area. there are alot of small wood -type things for crafts that, while not intended for name tags, would make great name tags. Check in the doll house section, the shelf and plaque section and also look for wood burning sets and supplies. Wood burning might be a great way to do the names, too - and of course, the craft store would carry the pin backings you would need to glue on make them nametags. My son and I made some nice nametags at a leather shop, (actually, they were meant to be hair barrettes - but we put a pin on the back instead of the hair clip) at the time, we were in cubs, so mine has a wolf on it (for Akela) and my name, and my son was a Bear cub - so his has a bear on it. they have lasted a long time and we always get nice comments on them

Compass - now that's a truly "scoutlike" suggestion! I LIKE it! We'll have to work on that with Jon's patrol - which is already the best running in the troop (has more of the outside-the-box thinkers) And I AM mixing up the camping merit badge with the rank requirements! I didn't have the book handy at the time of my original post - thanks for the ideas!

Ok - going back to my original post - COR being involved in the troop /committee is great - never had a problem with that. It's just that in the leadership problems we've had with our troop, many on the board have suggested getting the district commisioner involved - and guess what? She's already there! Because she IS both our COR AND our troop's Unit commissioner. or am I confused? is the unit commissioner and District commissioner the same thing? And while she IS a help, I dunno - I guess I was hoping for an extra voice to promote Boy lead programming. It's an uphill battle.

Compass - It isn't that the boys' decided it - it's just a habit that they have kept up. We have just started with "boy lead" programming after many years of dictatorship. It's hard for even the boys to realize what this means after many, many years of being a "boys club" run by a few "big boys" and not a true BSA troop. Even the boys resist change, when they have been with the troop for 3 or 4 years and have ALWAYS done things a certain way. We are not shorting the boys their ten nights, we DO go to camp - in fact last year we went to TWO camps, and a few of the boys attended both! But one night campouts do make it difficult if other activities sometime prevent you from attending every campout - see what I mean? We try for 1 campout a month, but it doesn't always work out that way. poor planning and short notice mean trips don't always pan out. Again - it's something we are working on. We had a couple of boys last year who were ready for first class - except for that 10 night bit - they missed a few campouts. If we HAD done a few 2 nighters - they would have had their first class a few months earlier. Plus, I agree with some of the others, that if we were ALREADY THERE on Sat AM, we'd get to do alot more stuff. Esp on District camporees, where we have missed openings and information by coming in on the day of the activities, or where we waste half the morning setting up camp instead of DOING. We also tend to cut down on meals prepared by doing one nighters, which the boys need for advancements. Breakfast, LUNCH and dinner. with one nighters, they usually only cook Sat dinner and Sunday breakfast.

I heard / read somewhere that BSA was going to or had reviewed or changed some of the regs regarding strenuous activities, like mountain biking, trekking, backpacking, etc, due to some of the serious accidents and even deaths that had happend in recent years on Scout trips. Is there any truth to this? What has anyboy heard, if anything? We had a boy die in our council a few years ago on a mountain biking trip - don't know the details - but apparently he became dehydrated too fast, got disoriented and lost. they found him alive, but he didn't recover. I had a question in another post about class III med forms - I'm wondering what other things we need to be aware of when planning our own trips. Things are pretty clear if you go to a high adventure base - their health forms, requirements, etc are pretty clear cut. I think the problem lies when troops plan their own trips, and are perhaps not thinking they are really that dangerous or are not covering all the bases in their planning. Anyone know anything further?

Our troop has a habit /tradition of one night campouts. we usually leave very early Sat ( 7 or 8 am) and are back Sun around 11 - 1. Often the boys bring a sack lunch, esp if it is a hike or bike trip. Our campouts are very activity oriented - for example - Bike all day, set camp, eat, campfire, sleep - breakfast, break camp and go home. It IS difficult, at best, to get the adults home from work, get the stuff packed up and ready on the bus and out in time to set up camp on a friday, make or eat dinner, etc before dark. We live in a bedroom community of a large city, where the ave commute is 45 min or more, and I'd guess most of our parents /leaders don't get home until 6 or later. But I also feel we are shorting our boys - esp to get in that "10 nights of camping" requirement, and that we seldom have an oppportunity to cook lunches. Our boys are surprizingly resistant to change this, too - one of those "we've ALWAYS done it this way" things (Man, I HATE that rut!) How do your troops manage 2 night campouts on school weekends? Do you pack up the equipment the meeting / night before? or do you do 1 nighters, like us? if so - do you do 2 nighters in the summer? (no homework) How do you get leaders off early enough to get the troop out of town? do some leaders join you later? How do you make it work?

luckily, even with a rather small troop, we have a pretty good turnout percentage for campouts - Sometimes people have to leave - but usually it is for family events - a wedding, Christening, something like that - most of our boys are under 14, though and not on HS sports teams yet. Alot of the Jr high sports teams are more forgiving of missing a practice or two. And the boys DO set their priorities - most of ours - chose scouts. however, when somone does have to leave early ( my son and I had to leave summer camp on Fri for my nephew's wedding on Sat) We make arrangements in advance. The replacement adults took over my tent for that night, and brought it home the next day, rather than taking mine down and putting up another. (it was my personal tent) We had 3 boys in one troop tent and my son and another boy in another troop tent - so one of the boys moved over so my son's tentmate wouldn't be alone that last night. One problem mentioned is church - especially when the boys are in 7th and 8th grade, when many faiths do their confirmation classes. Most of these REQUIRE attendance on sunday, because their church services (as opposed to non-denominational Scout services) support and teach their particular beliefs and re-inforce the lessons the confirmands are being taught. However, most churches are very flexible - esp with scouting, which encourages faith participation, IF someone (parents) talks to the confirmation staff/ minister and explains the situation. Many pastors / teachers will allow the boy to do his lesson / review on the scout service instead - after all, it's only 1 sunday a month! All they have to do is ASK! Even a "no" answer would only put you back to missing a boy on Sunday - which you already are dealing with - right? We also try to get back by noon on Sunday - which doesn't get you home for church - but does get you time to do homework, rest up and hang with the family some.

"I see unpacking to clean equipment so that it can be re-packed as a huge waste of time." Glad somebody else agrees with me! It's taken a few of us a long time to convince the rest of the troop what a monumental bore / chore it was to waste a whole monday meeting after a campout (and sometimes more!) to clean out the bus and equipment! Besides, often some of the boys on the campout didn't make the monday meeting / cleanings - and some boys who didn't make the campout got stuck cleaning the bus and equipment! Why did they always do that? "because we've ALWAYS done it that way" AAARRRGGGHHH I HATE that phrase! Now the rule is that no boy may leave with parents or ride until the bus is clean and equipment stored. Equipment that needs cleaning /airing are assigned to go home with the boys / patrols that used them. We still have some room for improvement - but the changes ARE making the boys happier!

one of the things we are talking about trying in our troop - is to assign specific gear to a specific patrol - In addition to their patrol box, they get assigned certain tents and other equipment, and they use that same equipment next time - so if there is a broken zipper, missing stakes, or lost utensils - they have to "make do" until the committe approves replacements (which in our troop, could take years....)

We haven't done the "Patrol" system for very long - previously, what was done was that those boys who needed those requirements of planning and cooking were always given priority in campouts. It does say "help plan a PATROL menu" - which to me, means multiple input. then the requirements of food groups, nutritional needs, list of food, and costs, gear needed, safe handling of food, garbage, etc were all done individually by the boy with an ASM or other adult to sign off. then those boys, say (2 or 3 in a patrol at most) would be assigned cooking duty on the next campout. Sometimes they could not ALL be "cooks", or they didn't make the campout they planned for - so they would be given the job of "cook" on the next campout. this has become easier since we started using patrols for meals - more opportunities for cooking! And yes, they DO have to cook THREE meals but we often don't get them all in one campout. for some oddball reason, our troop has a habit of one-nighter campouts, with lots of biking, or hiking - activity stuff that we ususally bring sack lunches for. Sometimes it's hard to fit in that "lunch" cooking meal. But what we often do for this is have the boys bring a sack lunch or non-cooking meal and suppliment with some kind of "hot" extra the boys cook - like soup, or stew.

WOW! There have been some changes since I was a GS! But all in all - the basic program, as our council ran it, is not all that different than it was when I was a girl. More "awards", apparently to make it more like the BSA ranks - but the intent is the same. this was VERY informative - THanks!

"or if some of todays rules were brought about by reactions to isolated problems when common sense and decency didnt prevail." I think you answered your own question - problem is, nowadays, common sense ain't so common - and neither is decency. All the more reason why we NEED BSA for our boys. As for some of the non-safety related changes - like the attendance requirement for POR's - alot of troops still put requirements in - mostly regarding rank - because there are only so many POR's and the boys above first class need them to advance. Our troop does NOT put limits on who can run for a POR - but we do tell the boys who needs a POR and that their patrol will be better off if they choose a PL that attends most activities and has ability to manage the patrol. and the attendance requirement? Well, again - using "common sense and decency" - I would say that there are boys who have no control over their attendance - because of illness, disabilities or split homes - Even confirmation and homework would be acceptable excuses to miss meetings and events. But soccer, choir, band, karate, etc are choices that the boy AND his parents have to make. A boy doesn't learn an instrument or play a sport without practicing - neither does he become an Eagle without participating - right?

Yaworski's ideas ARE good - esp doing projects in and around their own neighborhood IN UNIFORM! makes them visible and makes the community willing to support them! (if uniforms are a problem ($) many councils have "uniform banks" for just this purpose) Someone else had a comment about inner-city kids and summer camp - and they are right - partly - These kids DO NOT have the experience base ours do - they have not had the freedom or ability to go fishing, chase bugs (cockroaches don't count!) and count stars (can't see 'em for the city lights!) or sleep outside. They probably won't be ready for traditional summer camp, esp if they are new to scouting, and not coming up from a cub pack. But you can have a BALL teaching them! Start small - you can do day "campouts" at local parks and teach them to start a fire and cook outside. You can "hike" and "Navigate" in the city just as you can in the country - the scenery is just different. If they are affiliated with a church - there are alot of church-related camps that are inexpensive and do cabin-camping to break them in - these kids will probably not have sleeping bags and camping equipment - and the troop may not have tents and stuf for awhile. Neither are the parents likely to have equipment. For leadership - ask the parents and GRANDPARENTS to volunteer - but not the vague, "please, we need volunteers" but be specific - "Would you be willing to spend one night a month sitting a board of review?" - & a committtee member is born. "Would you make phone calls and arrange rides and reservations for us? (hey - there's an activities chair!) and "someone told me you are an (accountant, bank teller, store cashier) - we only have about $200 - would you handle our troop checkbook?" and you've got a Treasurer. Ask each and every parent & grandparent - IN PERSON - what are your skills? can you be a counselor on ONE ( or more?) merit badges? All you need is for each parent to share ONE small skill - Don't disregard single parents and Grandparents. Grandma and Grandpa have a wealth of experience to share - and while they may not go on campouts or bike with the kids ( and don't be surprised if they DO!) They can carry a large and dependable load of background and prep work. Just break it into small pieces and assign specific tasks, and you'll start to shake down a core group of dependable people and skills. Single parents ARE busy - but Scouting can be a "family" event - and Single parents often know how to organize and plan, and make do - they HAVE to! your friend has a prime opportunity to train the boys AND the parents correctly from the start!

Our venture patrol / troop is planning a 3 day backpacking trip to the Shawnee National forest the 2nd weekend in Nov. It is considerably warmer than home (we're at the WI / IL border) 7-8 hours south - but it is 3 days of hiking, with full packs, probably some climbing, tho not "high altitude" and the nights will probably be cold. they will camp on the trail. Do the boys need the Class III Adult/high adventure health forms? I think they do, some in my troop say no - only if they go to a high adventure base or BSA activity. I'd rather be safe than sorry....

Attention span and fine motor skills, for the younger ones, might be a problem - But I'm guessing that most of the boys on such a trek would be first class and older anyway - maybe 13 + ? I've always wondered why there isn't a badge that has emphasis on sewing skills - it wouldn't have to be elaborate - They still have Basketry! it could be as simple as that! At least something that covers basic sewing - so the boys would be equipped to at least sew on their own badges and do emergency repairs, like buttons and hems.

I grew up in GSUSA - and the program is very different now, than it was when I was a GS. BSA has a very different set up from either the old GS I knew and the new one. But none of them would condone irresponsible behavior with equipment - especially equipment that did not belong to you personally. "Return it in as good or better shape than you found it" was what I was brought up on. That being said, I hope the boys in question truly KNOW what is expected of them to clean and return the equipment. It may sound funny - but many of our boys were never actually TAUGHT how to care for a tent in our troop! (we have remedied that! LOL!) We also have boys take home equipment - tents, coolers, etc to clean and dry. One thing we make sure of, though, is that the boy is ABLE to do it - some of our boys live in condos and apts - they have no yard to put up a tent to dry it. So those boys get the coolers to clean, or the job of re-stocking patrol boxes, the bus, etc. But they STILL have a responsibility to the troop. I would have an adult sit down with Mom and explain to her that GS has NOTHING to do with BSA - in OUR troop - this is what is expected of the boys, and it is reasonable for him to carry his share - unless they live in a condo - then he can get a cooler to clean! Ask Ms. particular how she would feel if her "baby" had to sleep in a mildewed tent that could set off allergies or leak because the wet fabric lost it's waterproofing? Of course, Jr. is welcome to bring his OWN tent - and sleep in it ALONE, and if they want to buy a new tent every year, they are welcome to do so, they only cost about $200 - $300.... If someone has an old mildewed tent - SHOW them what mildew and rot can do to the tent fabric - Many people really don't know! they never think about it! In fact - it's a good thing to show the whole troop! have another boy - or the PL, if he can do it without rubbing it in - show the boys how to erect the tent, clean it out, check the zippers, tabs, poles, stakes, etc., take it down and properly roll it. Show them (if your tents are like this) that many tents can be set up in the garage or basement - they don't HAVE to be staked on the ground - or they can be hung on clotheslines to dry - esp if the floor of the tent is wet! - then give these two boys the job of teaching the next "new" boys about the tents (under the watchful eye of a PL) There's nothing like teaching something to cement it in the brain of a kid!

ok - who's got that first aid badge??? I might need it as i almost fell off my chair laughing! I definiately vote for that to be our theme song!!! Go OGE!!!!

I carry one - a small flat one that my father carried for years in his pocket. I carry it for it's usefullness, and for the memories it brings me of my Dad. I also have a small leatherman-type tool in my purse. I can't tell you how often the small pliers, screwdrivers or knife have come in handy. For the boys, however - a knife can get you expelled real fast in most school systems, and is frowned upon in most other places, too. So they DON'T carry them. Except at scout outings. If they have their tot'n'chip, they proudly carry them. We try to encourage them to have a case, or hook them on a belt loop, though - as they tend to get lost, and parents get annoyed having to replace them.