NeilLup

Hello Melgamatic, I hope that you have the opportunity to serve on Wood Badge staff. Perhaps even be SPL some day for Wood Badge.

I can comment that Kudu's program looks spectacular and will work extremely well.

"Everyone is assigned a unique ID number in the BSA. So regardless of the number of units you may be registered with, you are only counted ONCE for purposes of membership. With Venturing Crews, the youth would be registered as primary in ONE (and only one) crew, and secondary in as many as they wish. " Hello emb, This should be true, particularly if the person multiple registers. However, if they register twice, pay two registration fees and particularly if they use slightly different names in registering (not necessarily in a sinister fashion), they may get two or more different numbers.

As with a lot of Scouting activities, I believe that it can be useful to look at it from the Scout's point of view and ask "What's in it for me?" and "What is the ratio of work and effort to rewards and benefits." Not just personal satisfaction and rewards in the Pack, but in the Troop too. If the other kids in the Troop mock the Den Chief for "playing around with little kids" and "being a baby", it will be tough. But if the Den Chiefs get a lot of praise and reward at Troop Meetings and Courts of Honor, if Den Chief service is honored. If, for example, when OA elections come around, the Scoutmaster makes note of Den Chief service and reminds the Troop members that service is something to be considered and that since the Den Chiefs do their service mainly in a Pack, they aren't viewed and watched doing service in the Troop. However, Den Chiefs put in a lot of time and a lot of service and OA voters should consider that in deciding how to vote. I know of one District that had a very good record with Den Chiefs. They had a very good District wide training annually for Den Chiefs and had Den Chiefs as staff members for the training. They also had a special weekend camping fun event only for current Den Chiefs. They made a really big thing about receiving the Den Chief Service award. Having said that, there are a lot of Districts that don't do well with Den Chiefs. A number of years ago, I checked and National sales of Den Chief cords were fewer than one per District per year. I believe we are doing better than that now.

As with a lot of Scouting activities, I believe that it can be useful to look at it from the Scout's point of view and ask "What's in it for me?" and "What is the ratio of work and effort to rewards and benefits." Not just personal satisfaction and rewards in the Pack, but in the Troop too. If the other kids in the Troop mock the Den Chief for "playing around with little kids" and "being a baby", it will be tough. But if the Den Chiefs get a lot of praise and reward at Troop Meetings and Courts of Honor, if Den Chief service is honored. If, for example, when OA elections come around, the Scoutmaster makes note of Den Chief service and reminds the Troop members that service is something to be considered and that since the Den Chiefs do their service mainly in a Pack, they aren't viewed and watched doing service in the Troop. However, Den Chiefs put in a lot of time and a lot of service and OA voters should consider that in deciding how to vote. I know of one District that had a very good record with Den Chiefs. They had a very good District wide training annually for Den Chiefs and had Den Chiefs as staff members for the training. They also had a special weekend camping fun event only for current Den Chiefs. They made a really big thing about receiving the Den Chief Service award. Having said that, there are a lot of Districts that don't do well with Den Chiefs. A number of years ago, I checked and National sales of Den Chief cords were fewer than one per District per year. I believe we are doing better than that now.

It would appear that the procedure is the following: The nominee must be recommended by a Master Mason in good standing. The Official Nomination form (Petition) must be used. Step 1: The recommender must complete the petition and submit an attached page explaining the candidate's qualification for the award. Step 2: The recommender should also have the petition approved and verified by the local Council, indicating that the candidate is currently registered as an active Scout leader. Step 3: The recommender should then have the petition reviewed by the Worshipful Master of the candidate's lodge. If found to be qualified, the petition will be authorized and forwarded to the lodge's district deputy or other Masonic authority designated to handle the award in his home jurisdiction. That person will then submit the petition, as instructed by his Grand Lodge, for action. Step 4: The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania will then forward the information on awardees to the Boy Scouts of America, Relationships Division, Irving, TX for the official record of recipients. To me this implies that the primary decision maker is the Worshipful Master of the candidate's lodge. I would imagine that the lodge's district deputy or other such Masonic authority designated to handle the award in his home jurisdiction may be another such decision maker although I got the feeling from the above material that once the Worshipful Master submits it, everything else is pretty administrative.

Hello Stosh, With respect, the statistics that I have heard simply do not support that most Troops do a poor job of retention. It was announced at the 2008 BSA National Meeting that the average annual retention in Boy Scouting is 78%. In other words, if one considers 100 11 year olds, on the average, 78 will reregister as 12 year olds, 61 of those will reregister as 13 year olds ( 100 * 78% * 78%), etc. This calculation does not correct for 18 year olds that age out. It was also said that at that time (May 2008) there were more 15 year old Boy Scouts registered than 11 year old Boy Scouts. Frankly, I think that's pretty doggone good retention. The problem with the membership drop in Scouting is that many fewer boys try the program as 10 or 11 year olds. Those that do pretty much stay. These figures are for Boy Scouting only. I believe that the retention percentage for Cub Scouts are much poorer, particularly in the Bear Year and Webelos 1 year. Your unit may be different and, if so, it is very appropriate to ask why. But for most units, retention is quite good.

Hello GKlose, I believe that we have communicated about your council. There is a Wood Badge Course being held in the Spring of 2009 hosted by the cluster immediately south of your council. That opportunity is open to you. However, as a relatively new leader, I would recommend that you go to the course in your council. Part of the benefit will be the leaders from your council that you meet, get to know, and work with after the course. As far as being prepared ... Take my counsel here: Breathe in Breathe out Breathe in Breathe out Don't worry about it. A certain degree of unpreparedness is expected, planned for and part of the course. Part of what we try to do is to show some of the experiences that a Scout goes through (unpreparedness being one of those) to help adults understand the Scout's experiences. Don't overwork the problem. Let the staff do that.

95% of me tells me to say "fine, no problem." The other tiny 5% says to ask "OK, great, what do you plan to do at camp." If the answer is virtually anything Scoutlike, including get to know kids from other Troops, etc. that's fine. But if he kind of shuffles his feet and says "I dunno, just hang." I might pursue it a bit more. Has he heard bad things about the merit badges or been scared off? Was he forced to sign up for the merit badges and he doesn't really want to do them? Is he tired of round-the-clock multitasking? Is he planning to use his full creative effort to cause trouble? Going to camp for a vacation is great and that's a perfectly acceptable answer. But even a vacation has some structure and I would probably pursue enough to find out what the Scout's planned structure is and why that structure has changed.

My recommendation would be that during the period of suspended membership, they would be off the roster.

Enough is enough. These young men would appear to have gone way over the line. I would recommend suspending them from membership. I would say that they are removed from the rolls of the unit. If the COR permits and that it totally up to the COR, I would say that if they wish to be reinstated after at least 6 months, they must petition the unit and the chartered organization to be permitted to return under conditions to be determined by the unit. If they desire a transfer, they will receive transfer papers but the unit will contact their new unit and describe the conditions under which they left the unit. Perhaps these are young men who can really benefit from Scouting. However, first you need to get their attention. And, most important, you need to protect the Troop, the other Scouts and the chartered organization.

Hello Bob White, I will accept it if you say that the Scoutmaster is using a procedure different from that recommended by the book. However, I do not believe that he is "wrong." Scouting is not black and white, nor is it binary. There is, in my opinion, an extremely wide spectrum of acceptable ways to do things. The book recommends one way, or sometimes recommends more than one way. But that is not the only way in most cases, and doing something different is not wrong. We are chartered to be leaders, not to be robots. We have the duty and responsibility to do what we think is most appropriate for our unit. Now criticizing a leader in front of or to his Scouts?? That, in my opinion, is wrong! That is undercutting the person who has the duty, authority and responsibility for running the Troop. Perhaps if I were meeting with that Scoutmaster privately and personally, I might suggest a different way to select youth leaders. I would probably reinforce it by showing the SM the book and how the book recommends things. But if, for example, I were the Unit Commissioner, I would not come into the meeting blowing a whistle, throwing a penalty flag and saying "You're doing it wrong." That's undercutting the SM. And in my opinion, publishing such a critique to a Scout concerning his SM is also undercutting the SM. But each of his has his or her own standard of how they interpret "A Scout is Courteous" and "A Scout is Obedient." I certainly believe that it is appropriate to suggest to the Scout what the procedure is that the book recommends and to suggest ways to discuss this with the SM. But then I would state and do state that it is within the authority of the Scoutmaster prudently to suggest a different method.

Whoa, Bob White, I am extremely troubled by your criticizing a Scoutmaster to one of his or her Scouts. There is a recommended procedure for selecting the leaders of a Troop and a Patrol, but it is not the only "correct" way. In fact, one major sponsor, the LDS Church, as a matter of church policy and procedure, uses a different method for selecting the leaders of their Troop. Youth leadership is a method of Boy Scouting. It is not the only method. A Scoutmaster and Troop must balance the methods as they do Scouting. The Scoutmaster does have the prerogative, within very large latitude, of choosing the way that the Troop will use the methods of Scouting. You might choose to do it exactly the way that the book recommends. So might I. But to criticize a Scoutmaster to a Scout in a Troop and suggest that a Scoutmaster is not following the program because he or she chooses to have all leaders elected is, in my opinion, way out of line.

There is nothing saying that a Scout can hold only one position of resonsibility. Normally the time of a pack/den meeting is different from that of a Troop meeting. So a Scout can be a Den Chief and also be PL, SPL, ASPL or any other job if the Scout and the Troop leadership so desire. Den Chief and particularly Webelos Den Chief can be great leadership opportunities. As was very correctly pointed out, a Scout can meet the position of responsibility requirement by serving as Librarian or Historian. I believe that Den Chief represents much more leadership than Historian or Librarian. Plus there's tha matter of the Scoutmaster's Conference from the previous rank. The SM can counsel with the Scout and pretty strongly suggest that the Scout take some other job rather than Den Chief or in addition to Den Chief if the SM thinks that's most appropriate.

Occam's Razor.

Wood Badge staffs are trained to be able to work with people who know essentially nothing about Wood Badge and very little about Scouting. IT happens. There are also, not uncommonly, participants with decades of service, Silver Beavers, etc. I had one participant who had both the Silver Beaver and Silver Antelope. And everything in-between. I would say that it is better to go earlier rather than later as there will be more time for your Scouts to benefit from your Wood Badge participation. Not knowing much about the ticket is not a big problem. Again, typically there are several participants who have no idea what a ticket is. The staff is trained and prepared to handle that. There might be a little more problem with being unprepared for the ticket if it is a week long course. But when you can go home between the weekends, there really should be no problem. Unless the staff are choosing to be jerks. I have seen that happen where the staff does not try to make unprepared people welcome but rather seems to be trying to make them feel stupid. That's no fun at all but, fortunately, is rare.

What do you think that your new council would do that your current council is not doing? Would it not be a lot simpler and more satisfying to arrange for your current council to provide the services that you want.

Hello Stosh, Bite your tongue and slap your wrist. If the JASM is a position for Eagle Scouts to retire, some serious training is needed of the JASM, the SM, the ASMs and everybody else in sight. JASM is a real job for real Scouts to do to aid and tie together the adult leadership and youth leadership of the Troop and be a counselor and intermediary to both.

I completely agree with gags about hiking poles. I have two knees that are bone on bone and clinically qualify for a double knee replacement. A few years ago, I hiked the Grand Canyon and the poles make an incredible difference. There is one other exercise which can make a tremendous difference -- pushaways. Grab the edge of the dinner table and push it away from yourself. If you are like most Americans, you are anywhere between a few and a significant number of pounds overweight. While it is not necessary to be lighter to be a successful backpacker, it can really, really, really help, particularly if you have bad knees. A physical trainer I know said that each extra pound of weight adds 3-6 pounds of load to the knees. Then add the weight in our backpack and you can see the possible problem. If you can lose enough to compensate for some of the backpack weight, I would suggest that it can make a real difference.

Hello, If you still want to do a week at camp, maybe you can volunteer to be a leader at provisional camp, or else at Cub Scout Day camp.

Hello Eamonn, "In an organization like Scouting one thing we all have to learn to do is say no. Very often we allow ourselves to think or be talked into believing that if we don't do "It" that "It" isn't going to get done and the sky will fall in. I have in the past been very guilty of talking people into taking things on that maybe they didn't want to do? Or just overloading people who already have enough on their plate. To tell the truth I used to see this as a gift!!" More than once, my wife has held a mirror up to me in this area. I have learned to hold the mirror up to myself. We often talk of Scouting as "my" organization and of "my" Troop or "my" Cub Scout pack. I have found that a problem can come when we become much more tied up and emotionally involved with an organization than others are or than the organization warrants based on its mission, values, etc. This can become a particularly problem if the organization is in trouble and is failing or and if we don't want to be association with a "failure." I am seeing this right now with my college fraternity chapter. They have gotten themselves in serious trouble and are in risk of being closed. The question is whether the alumni should come in and put in the substantial effort, financial commitment, etc. to rescue it or whether it should just be allowed to close and leave us with our good memories of when we are there. To me, one of the key questions is whether the current undergraduates care enough about fraternities and of what we thought of as a fraternity. Do they just consider it a glorified rooming house? And the college administration has made some changes in housing conditions which make the situation of fraternities much more tenuous particularly for one in trouble to recover. I suggest to leaders that in our involvement with Scouting, we have, as it were an emotional "bank." When we have a good meeting, or a good experience, we put credits in that bank. When we have a negative experience, we take some value out of that bank. Presumably, we continue to do Scouting because it is a good experience, we are getting good personal feelings and feel better about ourselves, etc. as a result of our dealing with Scouting. We have a nice positive balance in the emotional bank and that balance keeps getting larger. But if that balance is becoming neutral or negative we need to ask why we continue to be involved. I suggest that if the majority of one's Scouting involvement is negative over some extended time, then the bank will be sucked dry. One will be doing things out of duty or obligation and that is tough for any organization, let alone one that is supposed to be a "jolly game." So when a leader's involvement in Scouting or any organization has a lot of negative elements, I suggest that they look honestly in the mirror and ask why they are continuing. I also suggest that they ask how their interaction can become more positive. For many of us, a lot of the positive elements come from our interactions with other people whom we like, who reinforce us, etc. If, over time, our favorite people go away and/or become less involved, and either they are not replaced or the replacements are other people toward whom we have neutral or negative feelings, it can turn a positive situation to a more negative one. If we are more committed to the organization than others who are the primary beneficiaries (Scouts, parents of current Scouts) it can also create a negative, frustrating situation. I don't have a problem recruiting people for a job that the "don't want to do." I do have a problem misleading people about what the job is or putting them in a situation which I know will be negative for them. I believe this can cause some of the tension between professionals and volunteers. For us, it is love, positive reinforcement, being with people we like, etc. For pros, hopefully that is a large part of their involvement, but it is also their paid employment. Pros understandably can have different priorities. Hopefully, they get to enjoy the love, positive reinforcement, etc. But they also need to take appropriate actions to protect themselves, particularly when the actions, results, relations with volunteers, etc. of we volunteers can directly affect their compensation. When I feel negative, I have found it is time for me to take a break and do something new. I then can come back refreshed. Or not come back if that is most appropriate. I wish you well, Eamonn.

Hello pohsuwed, Congratulations on earning all merit badges. As far as a square knot for earning all merit badges, frankly, I don't think that it's a good idea. Just as I don't think that earning all merit badges is particularly a good idea. The merit badge program is, by and large, designed for Scouts age 11-15. Some exceptions, but not many. It is designed to give a Scout a serious introduction to a topic of interest so that Scout can then identify topics in which they can become more interested, make their life's work, etc. I think that there are about 110 merit badges, but to make the math simple, let's call it 120. If one earned merit badges at an even rate over ages 11-15, that would mean 2 per month every month during that period. That's a lot of merit badge work, but I wonder what real in-depth learning and experience one has achieved. One also can continue earning many merit badges beyond age 15 but then, I wonder if it isn't like a Cub Scout continuing to earn lots of Wolf Arrow Points until age 10 so they can run all the way down his leg. I don't want to be flippant, but it strikes me a little like the people who in one summer planned to see one game in every major league ballpark. How much real love of baseball was there and how much traveling for the sake of doing it? Could that person really appreciate the intricacies of baseball, the history of the game, etc.? It also strikes me a little like trying to get into the Guiness Book of World Records by being the person who does the most consecutive dribbles of a basketball. It gets you into the Guiness Book, but how much does the person learn about basketball? It has also been my experience that the people I have met who have earned many, many merit badges have become extremely skillful at both knowing how to meet requirements with minimum work and in finding and arranging counselors who will smooth their path. It certainly is not necessarily the case with you and your brothers, but I have observed that these Scouts often receive a great deal of parental assistance with merit badges including parents serving as counselors for many merit badges, combining merit badges with schooling, etc. None of this is in any way bad and if a Scout and his family choose to do this, it is one way to be. However, I do not believe that it is an appropriate goal for most Scouts and do not believe that it is such an appropriate goal as to warrant a national badge. You decided to earn all of these badges for its own sake. You did not need a national badge to make you want to do or to complete your task. I would imagine that most people who have such goals are similar. They don't need a national badge to make them do it. I would rather have national badges for Scouting activities which are, I believe, quite frankly more appropriate for Scouting. I mean attendance at camp, participation in NYLT and possibly in NAYLE, serving as PL, SPL, JASM, etc. in their Troop. Dedicated conservation work as is recognized with the Hornaday award. Participation on a Jamboree. You have decided to earn all merit badges and I honor you for it. But I would not want to encourage other Scouts to do that nor to think that earning all merit badges is a singularly appropriate way to travel the Scouting trail rather than following a more well-balanced Scouting path and a more well-balanced teen age life. One man's opinion, for what its worth.

I'm not particularly worried about this because the money is only "earned" in paper transfers. It isn't really "owned" by the Scout. If you wanted to be a little bit "cleaner" you could say that if the boy joins your Troop, the money goes to his account. If he goes to another Troop, it goes to that Troop. If he doesn't join a Troop, it goes to his Cub Scout Pack. I would also be incredibly careful about Gunny's suggestion of giving a "receipt" for a "donation>" That implies that the money is "earned" by the Scout and that he has some "ownership" of it. You really, really, really don't want to go there. I'm neither an attorney not an accountant, but I could see W-2s, tax forms, etc. if the money is really construed to be "earned" and a "donation" made.

Hello Michael, I checked the Guide to Safe Scouting and the only relevant thing I found was the following: "When staying in tents, no youth will stay in the tent of an adult other than his or her parent or guardian" In this case, youth is a person under the age of 18, so a JASM would be considered a youth. I can tell you that in most units I know about, the senior youth tent together i.e. the JASM(s) would tent together with the SPL and other senior youth. You are talking about what appears to be a rule made by your Scoutmaster. If you have not had JASMs previously, he or she may be unfamiliar with the position and not appreciate that the JASM is still primarily a youth leader who falls under youth leader rules. The JASM is still, per guide to safe scouting, permitted to tent with other youth. The SM has the prerogative to make such a rule. However, I would counsel with your SM and possibly have your SM talk with other units, with your Commissioner or District Camping Chairman, etc. to get some information on what other units do. Be very courteous and respectful in this discussion as it will influence how your SM thinks of you. Congratulations on becoming a JASM.

I concur completely. It appears you did an excellent job of obtaining information and determining how to proceed. I would even comment that if someone on the EBOR suggests that he should be turned down because of the 4 years ago incident, I believe that is inappropriate. If the incident were that severe, he should not have received earlier rank advancements. You can't pass a boy for 1st Class, Star, Life in spite of a negative incident and then at Eagle decide that the boy is unworthy.