MattR

Testing isn't necessarily bad. It's failing without recourse that causes problems. When I had scouts that didn't know the knots we worked on it right there. They relearned before the end of the conference and got signed off. After a few ranks they didn't have problems again. I never had to re teach skills at an eagle SMC. What the scouts learned was that failure was just a step in the process. I asked my scouts if there was a way they would prefer getting that feedback (like knot relays and other games) and their response was knot relays were worse, boring and less effective. Practicing with a map, for a counter example, was better suited in the field. First aid is similar to knots in their view. Probably because it's just hard to make a fun game out of. Anyway, it gets down to teaching that failure, or rather improvement, is an ongoing process. You can spend years learning how to sharpen knives. Nobody learns a knot the first time and yet the process is one and done. I also learned that a lot of scouts struggle with failure, just like adults. So when they're asked to come up with a fun game to use those skills their first response is no, not gonna have a game for a skill they don't feel comfortable with. That's the rub. Scouts see check boxes because that's similar to what they do in school. The adults are also shown check boxes at IOLS. I mean, all of the first class skills are taught in a day. Nobody sees a culture of improvement when it comes to advancement. These are skills, not facts. Facts can be seen once and memorized. Skills seem obvious but slowly reveal complexity that requires constant effort. Mastering the first class skills can't happen in a year. In five years, if the scouts worked on constantly improving their skills, they could be really good. Creating that culture, in a fun environment, is the crux of scouting. Unfortunately, I don't see any resources from the bsa to help create that.

Welcome to the forum, @K1805

That's a great idea.

I didn't see this 11 years ago. We go to Chimney Park all the time. All of the fun trivia I know about the camp: There used to be a 65 mile backpacking trip from there to BDSR. It requires getting permission to cross one small piece of private property but was supposed to be stunning. I can get that route as someone digitized it. Also, under the cabin is a really long (the whole length of the cabin) fire place where presumably entire tree trunks could be shoved in and burnt to warm the cabin through the concrete floor. I have no idea how such a fire was started or how enough air got to it. I think it connects to the stone chimney on one end. The opening is outside on the other end, The council used to own the property but gave it to the forest service under the condition that the scouts could use the cabin. That's all I know, which isn't much.

@FireStone, I understand your anger. Well, I probably don't but it makes sense to me. All I can add is I'm thankful we can now talk about these things and punish the guilty. So, I thank you and your wife for enabling justice.

Welcome to the forum, @Nate_m . All I can think of that relates to this is we have individual scout accounts that scouts can use to pay for scout activities and when a scout transfers to a different troop we'll send that troop that money.

I think sketchy is the wrong word here. Rather, people just aren't ready to trust you with their kids. Trust takes time. And it's not just about scouters and parents. I realize that scouts won't trust me the first time we meet so my relationship is a bit more measured. Same for parents. Same for any people meeting for the first time. Trustworthy goes 2 ways. Give it the time it requires and you'll eventually be helping where you want. Also, follow the YPT rules to the letter. That's a big deal now.

@TWP , welcome to the forum. To answer your question, no don't leave. I don't believe the guy that said everyone has enough volunteers. However, everyone is a bit gun shy about adults without kids. What you need to do is gain some trust. Try volunteering with the local district. At worst you can help at a MB event and make some connections so people know you. Volunteer to help at a camporee so you can get to know the local troops. BTW, I don't have kids in the troop and I'm having a hard time saying no. I used to be the SM when my son was around.

@Cambridgeskip , the idea of scouts making decisions and leading other scouts is strange for a lot of scouts as they transfer from cubs to scouts. But they don't see that as much as they will have to listen to the older scouts and do as they're told, much like listening to adults. That's their first shock. Their second is learning how to tell the younger scouts what to do years later when they become older. Now that you mentioned this I wonder if that isn't what makes scouts unique and, more importantly, is what parents and kids don't understand about the benefits of scouting. At least over here, it's become really easy to say "scouting is about eagle." It's a short, sweet elevator speech when in fact it's much more than that. I can't easily describe the benefits of scouting but I recognize it when I see older scouts working with younger scouts and those younger scouts looking up to the older scouts.

Is scouting still fun? Post Bankruptcy My answer to that is that in my troop, this past weekend at a camporee, absolutely. The teamwork and leadership of the scouts was outstanding and the program put on by one of the other troops was just great. The theme was pirates and our patrol won because of excellent enthusiasm and, thinking way outside the box, they gambled all their dubloons with the scout running one of the stations and won. The older scouts decided they wanted to have fun that included the younger scouts and the result was magic. The adults ate well, took naps and read their books. Most of the scouts I know that are focused on eagle when they're young are those with parents that push it. Those parents see eagle as worth more than confidence, teamwork, problem solving and other skills learned doing scouts.

Ask them for the certificate. You don't need to be registered in order to have a myscouting account. Thats what I found on scouting.org. You might even have to take the training before you can register, but I'm not sure. The website describes one process as create an account, take the course, submit the certificate with your registration. So, skip the last step. My reason for being difficult is I'd rather see all of the parents take the training then just the adults that work with the scouts. Those parents don't need to register.

Our CO requires a background check and a recommendation for all adults that go camping. Is there anything else that registration with the bsa would cover?

Is it time to lock this thread? It seems to have the highest number of down votes per post. How about, for everyone that's frustrated, walk away.

Welcome to the forum, @ped .

Just curious, what does NSO stand for? I looked online and found the following: National Statistics Office (Philippines) National Symphony Orchestra New Student Orientation Nashville Symphony Orchestra (Nashville, TN) National Statistical Office Novosibirskaya Oblast (Russian federal subject) Nintendo Switch Online (paid online gaming service) National Solar Observatory Nalu Service Object Naming Service Object Names Supporting Organization Nevada Site Office Nurses Service Organization (liability insurance company) National Service Officer (Disabled American Veterans) Northern Spotted Owl No Such Organization (Vassar University; Poughkeepsie, NY) Network Security Officer Nonqualified Stock Option Nevada Solar One (Boulder City, NV) Nederlands Studenten Orkest (Dutch: Netherlands Student Orchestra) Northern Star Online (Minnesota) Neighbourhood Specialist Officer (UK) Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra (Canada) New Store Opening National Security Office(r) National Census and Statistics Office (Philippines) National Sales Organizations North Sydney Oval National Socialist Society (political group; Russia) NATO Standardization Organization National Safeman's Organization Numeric Stockage Objective New Student Outreach Nonferrous Smelter Order Network Systems & Operations Nuclear Safety Officer Non-Skating Official (roller derby) Non-Subscriber Order Naval Staff Officer Natural Spin Orbital(s) Non-SIOP Option Nuclear Support Office Nuclear Safe Orbit Non-Standard Option Navy Subsistence Office Neutral Start Output Non Standard Operation Navy Supply Officer Non-Streaming Overhead Nail Solution for Onychomycosis Normal Sustained Operations NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organizations) School Oberammergau (Oberammergau, Germany) National Support Officer

Welcome to the forum, @PatB34 .

Wow, I sure am glad this forum exists. I've been busy and hadn't been paying attention to this thread but certainly would have thought that "out of bankruptcy" would have been posted elsewhere in all the email from the BSA that comes my way. That said, if the subject line of the email sounds like pablum then I'll likely trash it. I wish the best for the survivors. I wish the best for the volunteers. I think it will be hard for both. Here's to perseverance.

When I was young we used the inside of the car as a jungle gym, while on the highway.

Well, yes. The thing is this whole issue about patrol cheer is one of enthusiasm. One doesn’t teach enthusiasm by explaining it. One does enthusiasm. If your SPL is introverted, unsure of his or herself, and never seen enthusiasm in scouts before then nothing you talk about will change anything. My suggestion is ask the SPL to watch you while you walk up to the troop and ask them what time it is ... which eventually leads to a really loud song. Once the SPL is comfortable doing that then ask him how each patrol can do their cheer instead of a song. I have no idea, do each patrol in turn or all at once. It's supposed to be loud and silly.

My impression is that patrol yells were the original way for a PL to get his patrol to form up. A patrol cheer is completely different and used when the patrol is already together.

Well, that's half of what I'd prefer. I want to use our domain name and not twh.email. But, thanks for the pointer.

We went to Troopwebhost and I wanted to set up email aliases. It seems like we can only send out email through the website. So we can't send email to, say, plc@ourdomain.org. That's annoying. Or am I missing something?

Hmm. So that's why our email doesn't work. We're in the same boat. SOAR is likely no more. We use our website for a few things: Calendar with registration Pictures and invites to visit us email aliases (all, parents, plc, etc) Announcements (both push and pull) I think we could do 1 and 2 fairly easily with a somewhat static website. 3 and 4 need some better tools. Honestly, I don't want to mess with it even though I could.

Just remember that the cub master reports to the committee chair This sounds like a bad working relationship. My guess is the CM has no idea you're burned out. The only reason you're sticking around is for the scouts. That's really good of you, up until it explodes. My suggestion, for the continued good of the scouts and your sanity, is prepare yourself to educate the CM on what he's doing to you and any future CC that you can't find. Be honest, firm, and kind. Leave your anger at the door. Remember the scouts. Remember that he's likely burned out as well. Talk about ways to get more adults to help out. And then after all of that, follow @InquisitiveScouter's exit plan. Good luck.

Big tents are like big boats. The two best days are the day you bought it and the day you sold it. You might want to consider when you'll be needing the larger tent. In the summer a dining fly and a smaller tent makes a lot more sense. When the weather is not so good you'll only be camping for a weekend, so I'd suggest practicing good stuff management and getting cozy in a smaller tent. And a 6 man tent is not that small.