perdidochas

The burn out was from Den Leader work. I did Tiger Cub (1yr), Bear (1yr), and Webelos (2 1/2 yrs), as well as a very active Wolf parent before becoming a DL. I agree that DLs aren't a good choice for ASM at first. I spent three years as a Troop committee member (Advancement coord) before becoming an ASM for that reason. I needed to learn to step back.

Scouter99, It's very easy to set up a Scribe or historian role and assign it to a Scout. We've done that, now we just have to get our Scribe to consistently show up :-)

As a former Cub leader, now a Boy Scout leader, I realized it was too long at the beginning of my 4th year as a Den Leader (and an additional year as an involved parent). Not sure if the Cub leaders chiming in have been in the program long enough to burn out. IMHO, Boy Scout leaders think it's too long, because we experienced it. My last year with the Pack, i was absolutely burned out, and knew I had to get out soon, because I was snarling at all the Wolves, as they milled around the Family Life Center (fancy name for church gym, where Wolves through Webelos met).

I think I've met the DE twice in my 3 yrs as a BSA leader. He had taken over a newly formed district (combined from two old districts), and had a deer in the headlights look. My problem is with a higher up part of the council staff. Every time I have ever met/talked with him on the phone he has been short and rude, even when I tried to engage him in small talk when he was not doing any work, just waiting for the next group to check in. I've let the council know this on several occasions with the annual surveys, so they know about the problem.

KDD, I'm a former advancement chair who lived through the process from going from Troopmaster to TroopWebHost. Partial merit badges and activities don't transfer, but otherwise it works fairly well. It is a great way to communicate, and the best thing is that as AC, I spent less time printing out copies of their progress reports for the Scouts. They (and their parents) can do that now. Also, leaders can update activity information themselves.

I went over to the onmyhonor website due to curiosity that you brought up. Seems like they are a little high strung. I sympathize with their views, but I'm not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater and give up the BSA because of disagreements on a few things (some G2SS things and the new membership rules). I note that onmyhonor has pretty heavy-handed secret moderation. They've already deleted one of my posts, and I think I will soon be kicked out of the site.

It's for the girl.

MattR, I agree about MB apps ideally being online. However, with the example of the systems we currently use online, I'm not certain it would be any better. The staff needs to realize that the volunteers are the ones who actually do the heavy lifting and deliver the majority of the program. They need to either help us out or get out of our way.

I don't think we've "dropped the youth that used to just come for the fun of it." I think they aren't coming anymore. Why? I'm not sure. I personally think it's the increase of the seriousness of youth sports combined with video games. I know that most of the Scouts we have intend to Eagle.

My observation is that most phantom members are aged-out Boy scouts that are kept on as ASM's on record. It allows them to do OA activities, and continue their "active service" time.

Talk to her Brownie leader. That said, a Swiss Army knife is useful to anyone.

One thing I wish my Council would do to encourage volunteers is to not lose our paperwork. I've been trying for almost a year to be an official Merit Badge Counselor. The other thing is for the professionals to treat volunteer Scouters as customers instead of the help. Several of our professionals have been downright rude to me as a volunteer Scouter. Had I not been a true believer in scouting, I would have quit on the spot.

Webelos doing something besides crafts is the joy of Webelos. As a DL, I punted on crafts--got parents to run that.

I stand chastened.

Thanks for posting about this. I didn't realize this award existed, I'm going to suggest it to some in my troop. Aquatics and Camping should be pretty easy for my troop.

Now, probably not for this boy, but I had a boy in a Webelos Den go from no Scouting Experience to Arrow of Light from late September to March.

Locally, we are seeing the same with Cubs. I think we would be better off to get rid of Tiger Cubs. I think we get too much burnout of kids and volunteers with 4 1/2 yrs of Cubs. I know I barely survived my tenure of 4 1/2 yrs as a Tiger Cub through Webelos den leader (along with another year as a Cub parent). Our troop is busting out at the seams at this point. The Cub pack, which had over 100 scouts when I was involved, is down to less than 30. I'm no longer involved in the Pack--haven't been for over 2 yrs, when my youngest crossed over to the Troop. That said, the leadership is supposedly changing. I do agree that's the problem. From what I understand about the Pack, the CM and CC were a married couple, and they didn't delegate enough to others. You can't run a Pack of 100 that way. I still say get rid of Tigers. Make the Wolf year more like the current Tiger year--adding the go-sees. There is no reason not to play with the Wolves.

Check state by state. This is a good guide. http://www.handgunlaw.us/documents/USKnife.pdf I wouldn't worry about the Leatherman, except maybe in NYC. I would think the sheath knife would be legal for open carry. The main thing is don't carry them in carry-on luggage, only checked luggage.

Are Scout units having harder time finding volunteers? The majority of our Scout's parents are either ASMs or Committee members. Thankfully, most of them are MCs.

Locally, we are seeing the same with Cubs. I think we would be better off to get rid of Tiger Cubs. I think we get too much burnout of kids and volunteers with 4 1/2 yrs of Cubs. I know I barely survived my tenure of 4 1/2 yrs as a Tiger Cub through Webelos den leader (along with another year as a Cub parent). Our troop is busting out at the seams at this point. The Cub pack, which had over 100 scouts when I was involved, is down to less than 30.

"...Parents who entrust Scout leaders with their children justifiably expect them to return uninjured..." I have a big problem with that. Partly, because it is a lie. It is impossible to prevent injury--even playing video games in the basement, and as a pediatrician told my wife, it is impossible to cover everything with bubblewrap. I hope my Troop's parents don't read that :-) I do agree that safety is the highest priority for adult leaders, but by that, I am mainly thinking safety from major injuries--drowning, heat stroke, etc.

@Dedkad, I terms of camping and cub scouts, it may just be that the parents don't like camping, and don't want the expense of camping for themselves. You're talking at least $100 to get basic camping gear for an adult (tent, bag, pad/air mattress, not counting cooking gear). Some parents may want their sons to camp, but have no intent to do it themselves. The first night I camped in a tent was as an 11 yr old Boy Scout. As a cub, I went to Pack overnighters as a day trip. That said, afterwards, my family camped, primarily so that we could experience Yellowstone in the best way possible. @rdclements, I haven't really noticed that. For the most part, our new adult leaders have at least some outdoor skills. Maybe not First Class Scout level for all, but we are working on that.

I agree 100%

Dwise, BSA is expelling "large numbers of members based on those forbidden definitions?" Please show your source. Now, I can see we may be turning away folks, but please show that we are actively kicking out "large numbers" of members for any reason.