pchadbo

Very discouraging on one hand but truly Heartening for a "sturdy lad from New Hampshire" an I know we have the types of people here that he speaks of . . .if we could just close the southern border. . . ;-)

As others have pointed out: "Your Milage May Vary" Take all with a grain of salt and you'll be fine

I loved playground games of anything. . .still do but never joined the teams never had much interest and being the fat kid. . .

Boy this seems an awful public place to hang the Dirty Laundry. . .I for one vote to let the Key 3, DE, or SE involved handle this and keep the rest of the world that doesn't need to know out of the loop. Lets keep private things private.

Not sure the Tiger would go for it as the first one but maybe. . . I wear a reminder daily. . .A bracelet put out by national available at the Web site or Supply store that says: "Do a good turn daily" as someone who works in customer service that little piece of blue rubber (?) has helped me to keep my cool more times than I can count. A Scout is courteous. . .A Scout is courteous. . .A Scout is courteous. . .

Ok lets see if I have this right, we don't keep kids in Scouting because we don't get out enough but the reason scouts leave is because scouting is too hard? Cub scouts doesn't keep the kids involved and outside so it is Cubsouts fault that the scouting movement is shrinking? Scouting is gay/atheist unfriendly so we can't recruit those kids so it is National's fault? The uniform is uncool so we do away with a 100 year tradition? Too many Kids (and leaders) think of Boy Scouts as Web III so it is the fault of the Cub Scout program? Mom and dad aree too busy to take Junior to scoouts so we give up? EXCUSE ME BUT. . . Reading this thread I see a common theme and have no idea how to fix it THE KIDS ARE NOT THE PROBLEM THE ADULTS ARE!!!!! We need to make Cub Scouts fun and keep the "outing" in scouting to get them to Boy Scouts. We need a good Pack to Troop transitional program. We need a good active troop program to keep the kids interested and keep the "outing" in scouting. We need help from the professional to do this. Then we need to get out of the way and let the Kids play. We can, and many of you have, spend years trying to figure out these things on this forum and others like it. We need to keep the Kids as the focus and decide do we want a program trying to be all to all or do we want a smaller (not a bad thing) program dedicated to the traditional scouting skills and values because the hybrid thing wil NOT work.

Does "DITTO" count as a reply?

>> I could take some purple spandex shirts with black fringes and tassels (think cowboy shirts here)and stencil Boy Scouts of America on them in neon green and still fall under trademark infringement even though said shirt wasn't, will never be or never was an official uniform of the BSA.

Moose, As one of the people who will be at those Round Tables where you will be training "whatever" unless it is related to the topic at hand, useful, or just plain interesting, the crowd will not stay interested in "whatever" we have enough trouble sitting (staying awake) through the announcements and the "regular stuff" as it is. Also what can you train in 15 minutes anyway? Oh and BTW have you seen our mailboxes lately? pchadbo

OK Here goes. . .at the risk of seeming intolerant or uncaring or racist or whatever epithet you want to throw, I understand that we have spanish speakers in the communities but shouldn't our focus be on teaching those people ENGLISH to live in an english speaking country rather than accomodating them by or implementing spanish programs? If I moved to Mexico or Spain or Honduras or any other spanish speaking country I would expect that I (the minority) would accomodate to the culture rather than the culture accomodating me. Just my thoughts for what they are worth

"How did the union movement start? When the workers began to insist that they be paid a living wage and work in safe places, among other things" Cool send the AFL-CIO to China!! That'll teach those Chinese a lesson!! :-) "Shame on the Scouts... Companies do not send work offshore, the population does with their buying habits." True but with a monopoly on the sourcing, i.e. only BSA supply, how can the pepople vote with their dollars? This needs to come from BSA (This message has been edited by pchadbo)

Good luck Eagle92 I am doing the same except the one man running the show has been the CC and that is my (soon to be) new job.

Thanks Moose! He WILL be staying with the pack as his youngest will be a Tiger after his oldest crosses over, and yes he said he wants to be the Tiger leader when that comes around. I think you hit the nail on the head: "He is probably feeling the same thing others may feel when selling a home and strangers come into the home you loved for years and start talking about ripping out walls and painting the outside of the house a color you would have never painted it..." So for now I will take the slower approach and let things settle and keep on keeping on.

Thanks LisaBob, but I thought that was covered as he will be the Web 2 leader next year. . . I will talk to him and see what his plans are and adjust or reassert as appropriate

Here is the situation from my point of view: I am fairly new and currently our packs ACM. I have been asked and accepted the positon of CC for the new year (read July 2011). Our current CC is from the "I will do everything and make sure it is done the way I want it done and I will know it is done right" school of thought. He currently fills the roles of CC, Secretary, Advancement, outdoor activities, membership/registration, FOS, pack trainer, webmaster and publisher of our newsletter. I on the other hand believe that many hands make light work so am looking to include moer people (so I don't have to do it all.) Have some of the people ready to fill in, and have ideas for the others, here is the issue though. He has recently stated that he may not be stepping all the way back as he initially indicated when we talked. I seem to have inadvertently stepped on toes by talking to people about taking positions in the new year (July) and beginning to organizing things. I had also talked with the current CC about transitioning the roles through the yearso he could ease out and I would ease in but this doesn't seem to be happening. So my dilemma is do I just wait and see or talk to the CC again? And to add to the issue the COR is a title only, not a bad thing as they don't meddle but again there is no support for issues either. Thanks for the advice! Paul

Well, first off I have to say we are probably the exception here as we a pack of 39 boys, as of recharter, that sold almost $22,000 in popcorn this year and more than 10,000 the last 4 years). So bugetary concerns aren't our main issue. So we do pay for all the "good stuff" but as I said we are probably the exception. Oh and BTW we also have been Unit of Honor the last 3 years (not this year due to large WII crossover and other attrition) so the monies spent on rank and other badges was available too. ;-)

"Cub Scouts is probably the leading reason why most boys (and parents) never consider Boy Scouts. Some years when polled at their first Scoutmaster Conference, about half of our new Scouts told me they dropped out of Cub Scouts. I think that such dropouts make better outdoor Scouts than boys who stick with the program long enough to cross over." Explain this please, is it the mandated one-on-one camping that you are referring to or something else? Again out here in Cubby world trying to make good life long scouts Paul

boy I hope not or our pack is in DEEEP trouble we do stuff like that all the time

Kudu wrote: " pchadbo seemed to be asking two questions: 1) How can I lay a foundation to prepare my Cubs for the Boy Scout program? 2) How can I prepare myself for the Boy Scout program?" I wish I had said it first because it is humbling for someone who does not know you to better state your question than you can yourself. Thanks to Kudu, Beavah, OGE, Eagle92 and the rest. . .learning is best done at the feet of those who have walked the path before Paul

Thanks you can bet I will check those out, however our pack has the nature defecit thing covered being in the woods of New Hampshire ourselves, and getting the kids INSIDE is more of a problem most of the time. (Not a bad problem to have in my opinion) But I will definitely be checking those out (is it ok to buy myself Christmas presents. . .) I think Although we both get our dander up at times, I would enjoy a cuppa around a campfire with you anytime Kudu -- and as for the "rewarding" piece: mud + water + boys = FUN that is the goal right?

Wow glad I ducked before Kudu's post. I am new to scouting and to the boards, so I cannot intelligently debate the virtues of the WB courses that have been and are being offered. I simply asked the question that seemed logical to me: in that CS leaders who are familiar with the patrol method would do nothing but help establish that once the boys reach BS. In return I get the previous Diatribe. OK Kudu, from a newbie to someone who has walked the trail before me, What training and/or skills should I as a CS leader posess and tranfer to the boys in order to make the new Boy scouts a more "scout ready" (if that is a term) group. I really am intersted in your answer as I am trying to make this the most rewarding experience I can for the boys. Paul

Our pack does the career AOL and plaque for about 20-25 per boy. Then when the boys cross over to the troop (same CO) they get a new necker and Scout handbook as a welcome to the Troop

"There is no reason to invent a new course, simply kick the Cub Scouts out of Wood Badge, move their boxes of tissue and "leadership" theory to the University of Scouting, and restore those Beads to the Patrol-based backwoods Scoutcraft competency that Baden-Powell intended them to stand for." Just to make sure the horse is really dead . . why kick those of us in Cub Scouts who want to become better leaders in Scoutcraft AND "leadership theory" so that we will be more familiar with scouting methods and be better able to begin the boys on what has been referred to too many times to count on this board as "the real fun" of Boy scouting? Wouldn't a Cub leader who is laying a foundation be a help to the Troops? Why did this become Cub- vs Boy- Scouts

Thank you all. . .I think. . .now I have more research to do. It shouldn't take more than 1 hour a week. . . ;-)

Have to agree with drmbear: the guy running the meeting is the Key. He has to be able to organize a great meeting (or follow the plan) and cannot be afraid to make a fool out of himself. I am the ACM for our pack and designated clown. You need a cheer or a song to fill in somewhere? I'm your guy. . .just need more songs and cheers in my head. . .must learn more. . .