Gone

A scout is honest. If he knows that much he's probably on track. We accept any living non-plant organize. Had a kid find a velvet ant once. High cool,factor.

We usually do it over an afternoon. Sometimes we mix in the plants requirement too. Sometimes we allow this over a few days. Not usual.

We limit to one per species. Kids find any mounds and claim victory fast.

We use sounds, tracks, skat, and visual identification. We go to a wilderness area nearby and cut them loose. Cameras are allowed to take pics or sound. Open to anything in the animal kingdom.

I'm not your buddy, guy. [apologies to South Park]

Nope. We have a module in our TLT on the "Luminaries of Scouting". We go through White Stag, BS22 and other things. We do short bios of these men. We wrap up with the show "Scouting for Boys". During our SMCs we ask the boys to name the luminaries of Scouting. At least a few boys in our area will grow up with the names of these men and their contributions etched in their minds.

This just in.... May 20, 2015 (Irving, TX) Associated Press - The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced a second modification to their recent recent announcement regarding the use of "simulated firearms" such as water pistols and other water-projecting firearms. Earlier this week the Boy Scout national office reiterated their policy that water pistols are considered "simulated weapons" and are not to be used at any scout event except when firing at targets while wearing safety glasses. The revised policy, released to the press earlier today, now includes "finger pistols, pump air shotguns, concealed or non-concealed pistols carried as side arms, air hand grenades, imaginary dynamite plunger boxes or any other simulated weapon of any kind." According to national spokesperson, Phil O. Crapply, the Boy Scouts are just seeking to clarify the policy announcement made earlier this week. "We received a great deal of calls and emails from our members as to what is or is not allowed at Scouting events. The national office wanted to make it abundantly clear what our members can and can't do." Said Crapply, "We believe this revised policy now covers concealed and non-concealed 'air' weapons which, if used improperly, could be dangerous or incorrectly interpreted." This change in policy has both youth and adults scratching their heads. One parent from a troop in Utah, Joe Volunteer, was quoted as saying, "According to the Boy Scouts, now I can't use my finger to point-and-shot as my patented 'howdy' to my friends at scout events. What bull!! What gesture should I use now?" One long-time scoutmaster from Florida was also incredulous. "So now at committee meetings we can't toss fake hand grenades anymore when mocking a really silly idea. We can't even point our finger guns to our head to show our boredom during those marathon committee sessions." While the BSA feels it has clarified this issue for their members, many are still confused. Ron Studly, an adult volunteer from Kentucky asked, "Can we fake hang ourselves? BSA does not mention that!" Said another member, "What about pretending to stab someone or pretending to throw axes or shoot arrows? Can we do that? The national office left that unclear." In their effort to clarify things the Boy Scouts may have just muddied the water further. While obviously focusing on simulated firearms, a whole host of other dangerous "air weapons" were left off the list. One highly controversial air weapon the BSA failed to address was the use of pretend nuclear weapons. Until the BSA addresses all pretend weapons, members can expect continued ambiguity and discord.

What we need is some open gay, non-religious scoutermasters to have a water gun fight in front of national while wearing the uniform improperly while soliciting for FOS donations. That should hit just about every hot button BSA is currently experiencing or is being discussed in the I&P forum. [running from cover from the wrath of the mods]

Then I only have 15 mins of that proverbial "hour a week" to devote to my unit.

They know how to help. Most figure someone else will do it. The problem is that there are a few different types of people. Doers/Problem Solvers: Those who require nothing other than pointing them in the right direction. They will get it done come Hell or high water. These folks step in first and often. The Managers: These are folks who can read directions and execute accordingly. If hit with a problem they will use their best judgement to get it done. These folks may step in on their own or may need to be asked. Helpers: These folks will help out BUT they need a clear set of tasks and need to be managed...closely. These folks need to be asked to help...sometimes more than once. They won't think outside the box and may not complete the task. The Talkers: These are the people who talk the talk, but almost never step up. When they do they usually need as much management as the Helpers. Excuse-Makers: They always have something going on...usually far less than you do. These are people that may be very successful in their personal life but could not manage a scout project any better than a 10 year-old. These folks are usually useless. Whether dealing with volunteers or co-workers, most management doctrines will identify the core things people need in order to get something done. I have found -- whether dealing with co-workers, clients, suppliers or volunteers -- if you are organized and lay things out you have a better chance of people responding. Time: Identify how much time is required of them and that helps them understand the level of effort. People who say they don't have time might have that excuse evaporate if you can demonstrate exactly (or even approximately) how much time is needed to complete a given task. Expectations: Note the success criteria, availability, communication method, responsiveness (time to respond) for the project/role. Tools/Methods: Most people can follow plans, templates or maps. Take the time to build those or help lay those out. Communications: Let them know which method will be used and expectations on response. Results: What is the end result? What is the deliverable? List out what the end result will look like or what things are expected to be turned in. Review: Cover the exit criteria. Let them know that a project is considered done when xxx is completed. We use these methods as part of our TLT. Our boys know how to do these things; many times their parents don't. If you develop a volunteer training course and document your roles (see previous posts) this will help develop a culture within your troop. Those who join will be like-minded for the most part. Those who get overwhelmed will not join. Good! You don't need cattle you need shepherds.

This may lead to thowing thawks at each other. Watch out.

@@LeCastor brings up an excellent point. Must be those years of eating mudbugs, taters and corn at the local boil. We got in to that mind set where we had a few people doing everything. They way we combated that was to change a few things up: We created back-ups for every adult position, whether on the SM Corps or on the TC. Documented the "roll on, roll off" dates of every position. This helped with planning and expectation setting across the board. While we are a tradition-laden unit we make an habit of saying "nothing is sacred"; meaning that if you are new and have a good idea -- even if it changes the oldest of traditions -- we are open to it. We allowed people to create roles that fit their niche. I mentioned this earlier but we have EVERY position documented. And not just the roles and responsibilities (e.g., job description) but the actual processes and procedures, major "deliverables" and annual duties of each position. IT folks call this a "run book" (I hear snickering from my It brethren, but this REALLY works!). Open it, find the current month, read and execute. The out-going person in the role is in the back ground to answer questions, help organize. Changes are made to these role docs and the "run book" by the person in the role (e.g., the place to find cheap canoes is xxx, or don't go to xxx camp because they have a bout of giardia in their water system in 2012). We found that giving the new parents a good map of what we do AND allowing them leeway to do things in their wheelhouse, we got a higher uptake on volunteers. We still have some apathy, but it is FAAAAR less than it was. There's more...much more. And this took us five years to implement and make it work, however I must say it has been more than worth the investment. We are proud of this effort because it has led to higher adult participation and less adult intervention in the boys' side of the program. If only we had a UC and DE to show this model to so they could use it for other units.

Staff NYLT in the summer anywhere in the southwest below 3,000 ft. You'll add this bad boy to your 10 Essentials and drop that extra clothing in a NY minute.

I looked in myscouting.org to see if they had the course code listed. Nothing, sorry.

Guide... http://www.scouting.org/filestore/venturing/pdf/goal_setting_time_management.pdf

In our unit: - You must sign up for a minimum 3 camp outs to be an ASM. - We get summer camp commitments a year out with back ups. Those who sign up early get their camp fee paid. - Cancellations a week or less before an even do not get fees refunded. - High adventure activities require a level of participation from scouts AND adults. Not giving a Philmont, SB or NT space to someone who camps once a year. - Special events require a certain number of service projects attended. Those who don't can't go, scouts or adults. - Trained leaders (ASMs especially) who have high participation get essentially right if first refusal on most events. In short, if you step up, get trained and participate a fair amount you get perference. We have learned over the years this works best with adults in our area. We recruit accordingly. People know in advance our policy and deal with it...or go somewhere else.

District? Don't need them. Never have. They give nothing and ask for everything. Council? Besides paperwork and the scout shop, maybe NYLT and submitting a form to use a council camp now and then, what do I need from council? I avoid most conflicts by simply not dealing with these bodies...ever.

Don't sell popcorn. Sell Christmas trees and wreaths, er, um, holiday greenery. Make four times what we ever did with popcorn. Have an ex CPA and IRS auditor do our paperwork every year...only for council to lose it or screw it up. I think this thread underscores the palace intrigue surrounding district and council.

If the NYLT strip is not official why put it on at all? Coolness does not make it legit.

And we need districts why again?

Had a mom who could not help. No job, just busy. Needed an event planner. She said she's "suck at it if she tried". Planned a $60,000 wedding for her daughter. Left no stone unturned. Those who went said it was so well planned she should do it professionally. Had a family that kept sending the kid to scouts out of uniform. Cited the high cost of uniform gear as the reason. Dropped her son off driving a Mercedes CL class ( the kind over 100k). Everyone in their family had an iPhone 6 Plus. Kid's clothes were all Abercrombie, Niemans, etc. House is in the "rich area"...5000 sq ft, over 700k. As you said, we make room for the things that matter.

I use to travel 15 weeks of the year, Monday to Thursday. Have a job with a large company. 40+ hours a week, usually more. Coached my kids sports teams AND was a DL and CM. Adjusted my schedule so that I could be in town for den and pack meetings. Went to scouts and became an ASM. At first did the website and other things I could do while travelling. When travel died down, took on bigger tasks. I don't buy the "I'm busy" excuse. There are plenty of ways to step up and volunteer. We make room for the things in our life that matter. What you involve yourself in are usually the most important. Those things you don't volunteer for are less important. The excuse that "I have limited time" is made to make yourself feel less guilty about saying no.

There's always the "Oreo Test" too.

From my experience you've asked the right questions and provided the answer. People cannot be bothered. We put the challenge to all of our scouts to give back to scouting what they took out of it at some point in their life. If mom and dad are too darn busy to get engaged, the probability of the scout doing so later on is not good. Maybe the pendulum will swing back and future parents will become more involved, but I doubt it. Just looking at the registration stats of adults over the last 15 years, the decline is significant. BSA seems out of touch on how to fix the problem. To answer the question you pose: I suspect the trend continues and adult registration and involvement in scouting declines along similar rates we've seen in the last 15 years. BSA needs to work on retention. To do that they need the right people in leadership, asking the right questions and taking the appropriate action. None of that seems evident lately. But @@Stosh, the numbers have been going down a long, long time. The pendulum would have to swing back in a BIG way to stop the hemorrhaging.

Unlimited? Source