pchadbo

I will preface this by stating I speak for me and me alone. When I speak of "making men" or being "manly" I am generally looking toward the idyllic icon of the WWII vets that came home, got down to work, worked hard, did not complain and did what needed to be done. That being said, hand in hand with this conversation is the "feminization" of young men. Men were the bread winners, did not openly whine about problems, rather sought a solution to the problem. Men were about doing not talking. Many feel that the "cult of manlyness" has been assaulted and degraded to the point that many look for women with male genitalia rather than "men". Men are no longer encouraged by society to be aggressive, to be physical, to be strong in their opinions, to shoot, to hunt, to fish, to camp to be outdoors, to chop wood, to build fires, to build anything. I am not sure if this change is good or bad, but it has certainly brought about a different "breed" of man than was prevalent 60 years ago. Some still long for the "good old days". I hope my muddled meanderings help.

Welcome to the warm glow of the virtual campfire. Grab a chair, a cuppa, and don't forget your sense of humor!

Follow up note: Apparently procrastination and delay are valuable tools. While we were debating this topic, the SPL and the SM sat down at a PLC meeting that was called at the alst minute, where they were the only ones to show, and had an hour and a half long discussion. . so those who voted for the SPL and SM to talk (me included) were right and those who voted leave it alone were right! I love this Scouting stuff

Well, at least I know my tenure as Training Chair will not be boring. . .

So first, the topic came up sitting around with a group of Scouts and Scouters which included the SPL, and during the conversation, he brought up to the group his concerns, he asked me some specific questions, which I answered, but the tone and tack of his questions had me raising an eyebrow. Second, I know my role as UC, hence the reason for me being here seeking advice, and I know I cannot, and will not "get between" the SPL and Scoutmaster. However, that being said, my role as UC is to see if the Troop is healthy and offer suggestions and guidance if it is not. This is what I am seeing the beginnings of, with a looming membership explosion on the horizon. lastly, a question for you: In your experience going through what you did, what would you have liked to have seen done, or could anything have been done by a (mostly) neutral third party to help your situation?

Yeah, I understand what you are saying, but to "stop doing it" means to say no to the SPL who asked for help and advice. Not a good option either. I am caught is territory that I should not be in, I did direct the SPL to speak to the SM, but he also asked for help. I am just trying to figure out how to do that without upsetting the apple cart.

@@jwest09 -- yes bad choice of words. perhaps, "help the SPL to get more breathing room to run the program with less SM control" would have been a better phrasing. I know I am treading in very dangerous waters here, which is why I came here for advice on the next steps. Yes, I am planning on having the conversation with the SM about the SPL's concerns, I am just looking for the advice of how to walk into this minefield without blowing everything up. Edited to add: I have also noticed the slow ebb of boy leadership since the SM has taken over, just did not realize until the conversation with the SPL how far the pendulum had swung

@ Jwest09 that has been at least brought up and the history is there, we have the flags to prove it, CO is willing to split if we feel it becomes necessary, part of this is to see if this is an anomaly or will continue, as the Pack has exploded in the last 2 years from 35 - 90

@@CalicoPenn -- that is exactly what I did suggest to the SPL. I was just trying to see if there were any out of the box ideas anyone could come up with to help "run interference" for the SPL to put his plan in action.

@@krikkitbot that is on the horizon-- timing just has not worked for him and work. . been working him since he was Cubmaster. . .

Hi all! I am coming to the virtual campfire for some advice with a "good" Problem. I am Unit Commissioner for a Troop that currently has 40-45 boys. The Troop is strong in most areas, camps 11-12 months a year, has 1-2 eagles per year on average, we send 5-7 boys to our Council camps as staff each summer, one of our past SPLs is the Current OA Lodge Chief with our immediate past SPL serving as Chapter Chief. All of the boys take what the learn outside the Troop and bring it back. The Troop is reasonably boy-led, but more as one big Patrol with SPL running everything not individual Patrols.. The Players: Me: Unit Commissioner, District Training Chair, past Wood Badge Staffer SPL: NYLT trained, motivated 16 year old SM: Position trained, 2 years removed from accelerated transition from Cub Master to Scout Master due to SM leaving sooner than expected ASMs: motivated group less than 3 years removed form Cub Scouts The issue: Our sister Pack has blossomed into a Pack with 90+ plus boys of which 40 or so are bear and above. Meaning, if they sy=a=tay in and cross over, we are looking at doubling the size of the Troop in the next 3 years. This is a "good" problem to have. Why I am writing for advice: Our SM is very well intentioned and trying hard but cannot seem to let go of control to the boys. It is little things: he has told the PLC that they cannot meet without him, the agenda for PLC needs to run through him, he "approves" their decisions, He has also,at the request of Past SPLs ( I spoke with them and they did ask) taken a more active role in program planning. It is these little things that are concerning me. I see the boys' leadership being slowly undermined and if the Troop explodes I can see the Troop becoming adult-led very easily. I had the opprtunity over the weekend at our camporee to have a nice conversation with the SPL who would really like to run his Troop without the training wheels or brakes. How can I support the SPL who wants to run the program the way it should be run without overstepping my role as UC or ticking off the SM. FWIW the COR is on the side of the SPL (gottal love CORs who show up to help at Camporees) Thank you in advance for the advice and ideas.

Welcome to the Campfire! I too hail from the northeastern part of our beautiful country, in the Daniel Webster Council. Pull up a chair, grab a cuppa and enjoy the glow and conversation around the virtual campfire!

If they are mirroring our Council which was one of the Pilot Councils, this will be only for Youth applications. The adult apps still need the signatures for background checks and the SSN. in fact from your post: "This system is not designed to register non-paying adult positions, position changes in the same unit, or youth or adult renewals."

My Rule of thumb when I handled the finances (days thankfully left behind) was at the end of the year, I wanted $0 + the MINIMUM cost to operate for one year, ranks, awards, books and other predictable expenses. This allowed for a year to recover if a fundraiser fell flat on its face without having to stop program due to lack of funding, but it also made sure that when we had a great fundraiser, the great fundraisers benefited from the work they put in.The boys that earn it should reap the benefit. Long term capital investments, trailers etc, are separate issues handles outside of the "normal" budget.

Gratz!!!