Night Fox

Welcome! I am in the Shawnee Lodge #51 in the St. Louis Council. I will seek Brotherhood membership in September.

Dave, It is not easy to face the world with our challenges so open for all to see. We work with youth who sometimes come with labels like ADD, Tourette's Syndrome, tremors, deafness or learning differences. Some of these are easy to spot and other are not as evident. The bottom line is to take these youth for the gifts they are, not the labels society gives them. You show us why the scout that is brave is not just the one who saves a drowning victim but also the one who learns a different way to thread a needle. Thank you for trusting us with this side of you. NF

I can't help it. No role models or politics for me, just funny. I have to add Cat Balou. It lurks in the reruns and Lee Marvin gets me everytime. I still like those Stooges. This must be my politically incorrect night. Night Fox

Welcome to the forum. You will find such great support here from lots of dedicated scouters. I know they have helped me. I can tell you that I took the same job as you with little warning. The scoutmaster resigned. The saving grace for me was a good support system with the youth leaders and ASMs. It sounds like you have the advantage of being able to look over the retiring SM's shoulder and look at some things that might help you out alot. You seem to have the necessary desire to support the boys in the three aims of scouting and willingness to listen, learn and not try to do it all. There is so much help for you. You don't have to be loud or on stage to let the boys lead. First, adjust your attitude to success.Talk to your son, the Committee Chair and the SPL. Training is imperative for leaders. If you are already trained, then go to district roundtable. Finally, enjoy. BTW, even though it was much more than 1 hour a week, I wouldn't have missed a minute of it for the world. Good luck, Night Fox

Old Grey Eagle, Thank you for the great demonstration of a teaching method. The "broken record" technique is quite appropo. Great song selections too.

Medication is always a choice of the parents of a scout. That being said we have several extremes in our troop and pack. I have seen several boys that dont need meds in the scouting portion of their lives. Otherscouts seem to need the edge the meds give to be their best. I think the parents, with input for the scout, needs to make that decision carefully and revise it when needed. One scout, a PL, has ADD and Tourettes Syndrome. His medicine helps him focus but it also keeps him very quiet and withdrawn. He happens to be my son and we decided not to medicate on camping trips or summer camp. There are times when he needs the concentration edge so if the scouting event is a classroom type setting we make sure to offer it as an option. We did check to see if he was being successful. We let the then SM know that our son could tic, verbal and motor, or need to directions made very clear to him. The SM never saw a tic until a parent/son pillow fight some three years into his boy scouting activities. Our son does well without medication in scouting. (The opposite is true at school.) We think we made a good decision with his input. Another scout, a former PL and eagle scout, found that he was getting into more mischief without his medication. ( I think his parents woke up after he ran into a door on a cabin campout. His concussion and paying for the door were both bell-ringers to say the least.)He even took his meds on staff at Philmont this summer.He is 17 and parents made the ultimate decision.They have tried it without his meds and say they can't afford it. More often the cases I have run into in scouting and in my years as a teacher are that although many parents would like to see their children succeed without the drugs they need to follow this up by asking, Is my child being successful within that choice?We have called parents on campouts explaining that they needed to come pick-up their son because of impulsive behaviors. We have told parents that they needed to come and be there to monitor their sons behavior for their child to attend the next meeting or outing. These usually happens only after we have tried every trick in our repertory and have met with the youth leaders and parents. Parents make the choice about medicine and need to realize that choice may not be the best for the troop. I also think some leaders do not take advantage of the special needs resources and teachers that might help them solve challenges with these scouts. I advocate for a multi-handicapped scout in our troop and some of the adults say things like But hes just deaf, he should be able to do this or that. I have to be very careful not to baby the scout but also educate my adults that he does have some other physical concerns that they may not be expert in. (For example, I learned about his difficulty hiking when the boys father and I did the running with our sons for the personal fitness merit badge. We ran with the boys for support) The scouts motor skills are a challenge many of our leaders didnt understand. The parents were frustrated because they were told ...hell be fine. We leaders will deal with it. I suggested his PL give the scout some mentors to help him with hiking and tying knots. The scouts who mentor to him have woken up to what the scout can do, not what he cant. He is becoming a great troop scribe. His parents are helping by encouraging the scout to play baseball and strengthening himself physically. The frustration level is better. Overall I feel these scouts need to be expected to make the same good behavior choices that their peers do. Being ADD or ADHD is an extra challenge not an excuse. Parents need to support their sons success by giving them the best tools for the job, which can be meds.The leaders often need to support these scouts with a little extra time and gain knowledge about the condition. Attending the special needs section of your UNIVERSITY of Scouting or calling the councils special needs team for help would be good steps. Scouting gives my son the chance to socialize and be good at something that he likes to do. His challenges have helped him be a better brother to his fellow scouts. He was the patrol leader of the scout who is deaf, physically delayed and ADHD. They just made OA call-out together. His patrol worked at pulling up all their members. Good luck with your son OldGreyEagle.

Our troop has always insisted on full uniforms, including sash, at COH.The lesson was made practical when the plc decided that the youth in full uniform were allowed to go first in the dessert line.The sash may have been forgotten once but their stomachs remembered the next. Its a way to reward those who do it right.Our scouts have been sent home for uniforms before an outing.It doesn't happen often if you are consistent. One of the most impressive things my guys saw at summer camp was that many of the staffers wore their sashes at the flag ceremony and merit badge sessions. Not once was it considered bragging and it keep raising questions like "What is that one?" and "How did you earn that one?" Our older guys had a rapport with guys that earned similar merit badges and the younger scouts were always gathered around the staffers to discuss the merit badges. It was made cool because the youth wearing them were wearing the sash with non-boastful pride. Unfortunately the boys in our troop don't wear the neckerchief. Only the adult "Old Goat" patrol wears them in hopes that the good role model will work. Maybe we should bribe them with cobbler...? YIS, Night Fox

Greetings form a first time poster. Why reinvent the wheel when you can promote program that works? I am finding that if the outing is in scouting it truly lends for a more active lifestyle than without it. My son is one of the few guys in his troop that loves to backpack. He pulls in his buddies to hike and climb with him. I am fortunate because I can keep up with them. When the troop wanted to do climbing and the ropes course and caving, I began to help find ways to support them. I started off by taking training to support the troops interests and now I am on the council training staff for Rock Climb and Ropes. I find myself more fit and having a yearly physical so that I can keep attending the activities. The BSA Physical Fitness Award gives scouts and leaders a framework for promoting lifelong skills in the scouting framework. It stresses the seven components of fitness and uses BSA age appropriate and safety guidelines. I am not sure how much support each council gives to supporting the award but my son is taking the requirements his planning meeting to suggest it as a troop activity option. The information concerning the requirements is in the www.scouting .org website. It was also featured in scouting magazine last year. If we encourage the youth to make the best of the program it should help them and us be more physically strong. Thanks for "listening". I have been learning so much from you all.