qwazse

Although they may charter through a council (and assigned to a district). They may also be affiliated with a unit, and most are in my district. The district then tries to make it the units' responsibility to keep their respective MBC's up to date and trained. An MBC may decide to work soley with their respective unit, but what's the fun in that? I encourage them to work with any scout in the district.

Oh, you should feel put out all right. But, you should try to understand other folks' position. Why the last minute cancellation? Why by text and not phone chain? I doubt that there will be any satisfactory answers. But, it gives you time to think about what to do next. Now, here is where we get into that "working with millenials" issue. First of all, a district that is two hours away would be completely alien in my day. (I know for some of you out West, this was always the case. But here it was different.) It would be a huge ask of someone's time to commit half a day's travel to help in a ceremony. Even so, the advisor would arrange a meeting point in the district and folks would car-pool from there. Secondly, you listed four different means of communication, the minority of which involved getting another person on the other end of the telephone. So a number of 21st century circumstances conspired to make this a failure-ridden situation.

Really? The 4th 8h and 3rd points of the Scout Law add to the requirements?They seem to me to simply highlight that aspect of First Class that defines arrowmen.

I like the notion of honorary first class scout. None of 'Schiffe's reasons for recognition parallel The Eagle award. Thus I hesitate to use that name. On the other hand, maybe we should focus on having our elected officials honor our fellow non-scout citizens for their noble deeds.

Oh, the opportunity to get boys (especially from out of state) singing "Country Road" before they even think about college applications? You bet they will try to keep this going. Fact is scouts whose first love is the outdoors would be ideally suited for many of WVU's branch campuses. In addition, college students improve their science skills dramatically if they have someone to teach those skills to. By the way, your USGS and state survey offices are great resources for materials (and possibly presenters) of interest to many of your boys.

Well, obviously if a DAC approves a project plan, his approval/disapproval sets precedent in the district. Unless someone convinces him of the error of his ways, he's likely to do the same thing for other projects. Should I expect my DAC to act the same way as your DAC? From what I've learned about the latitude given to councils about how they implement the approval process, the answer seems to be "no." I would think, however, that a Life scout in district A who learns about his cousin's project in district B should expect to be able to propose the same for his project without much opposition.

Most days, yes. I'm giving @@ScouterJLM some benefit of the doubt that he's picking up more than what he wrote. There might be a reason that these particular boys or the other boys in the troop have him in gatekeeper mode. That's why giving a lodge advisor a call might help sift through the specific circumstance. One other thought. These boys sound like they're over-taxed with activities. Maybe a friendly query about how each boy would want to add an ordeal weekend to their busy schedule would do the trick.

Welcome to the forums! Those of us who've worn multiple hats simultaneously always ask ourselves if we've done a disservice to one unit or the other. I'd like to know what's so magical about you that the CO thinks you would make a great SM? I'm not asking to be mean, but really, folks have seen my great outdoor skills, how well I work with the boys, how I nail rules and regs, etc ... and they all knew that the best position for me was ASM, and later crew advisor. Maybe that's because we had a lot of depth, but the point is that someone who enjoys being SM (basically a mentor and coach), does not enjoy being CM (a master of ceremonies, gopher, and recruiter), and maybe one in five SMs enjoy being a crew advisor (good for nothing and best used that way ). The person him/herself doesn't always see that, but someone from the outside often does. So what are these people seeing? And who is the most correct? Who does your spouse think is right? Here, you'll get a lot of opinions on new scout patrols, if any patrol needs its own ASM, how you should be working your troop, etc ... The fact is, nothing we say is gonna help you with that until you really get to know these boys and their parents, go to district round tables, and get trained. Most round-tables split sessions between Packs and Troops/Crews. Given that, there is now way you can maximize interaction with all the people who are most likely to help you be a good SM/ASM and those who would help you be a good CM/ACM. That alone limits your ability to be the best you can be in either position. On top of that, the synergy between the two position descriptions is simply not there.

But, who's planning and implementing your camporee, if not the older scouts? Oh, never mind.

In addition to mentoring the candidates ... You need to think about mentoring the troop. We've had our share of bad kids. Our SM, to my knowledge, has never discouraged a boy from being a candidate, yet Scouts like this never get elected. At least twice before the election we remind the boys to think about each candidate along two very important dimensions: 1. Does he serve cheerfully? 2. When you or your patrol needs help is he there? It really helps to hold elections immediately after they've been camping together for a couple of nights. That way, the boy's behavior over 48 contiguous hours is fresh in everyone's memory. (That's why I favor summer camp Tuesday elections.) One more reason to give your Lodge Advisor a call. Maybe he can send an election team to meet you when you all return from a weekend camp.

Whatever an a%# is, your being it. Comes with the SM patch. Your frank appraisal might be the kindest thing anyone has done for those boys. If it is still nagging you, give your lodge advisor a call. Ask if any other SM's in your council have had to deal with a situation like yours.

I was about to ask you to uncross your eyes, then I realized that we were looking at different charts. My "go to" reference has been http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34416_Insert_Web.pdf. That one has the line going across varsity and venturing. Still even on the other "blurry" chart, there is no distinction between older/younger boy scouts. The line for camporees just stops before venturing. Which is retarded because camporees are the one thing that my Venturers look forward to. (Although they call them "summits" just to feel special.) P.S. - I am not using "retarded" in any way disparaging to mentally challenged individuals (who I know for a fact bring camporees to life). I'm using it to suggest that whoever wrote this chart is thinking backwardly.

Trailer can look pristine ... one fresh chain never secured ... you'll never tell until it comes flying. So, of things not to tailgate, those two-wheeled trebuchet-in-disguise are up high on my list.

FWIW, our orienteering club lets folks run their courses in teams. Sometimes they encourage them to do so. They certainly encourage young ones to participate with their parents/guardians. (And yes, there's paperwork that must have a parent's signature for the under-18 y.o.s ) However, allow me to opine that seasoned scouts should be granted permission to solo an orienteering course -- especially one with electronic controls. The toughest thing with cubs and pioneering, I think, is the physical strength to pull lashings tight. Even many scouts lack patience for being that meticulous. But, working with buddys and being persistent, they could do a fine job with something like a giant hamster wheel. (Plus at their age, you don't have to worry about it being more than 5' tall! )

@@Eagledad, I beg to differ about parents. And it has to do with the tools at their disposal. In my day, most of us could walk to the scout house in the time that it took me to drive my son to his meeting place. I got lucky. My dad retired, so he was happy to ride me places to get out of dish-washing duty. (Mom was happy to have the kitchen to herself and get things done right for change.) But, there were plenty of times where I just hoofed it. It's different now. Why is this? Because most of us have it in our heads that we can choose the ideal troop, ideal sport, ideal house of worship, etc ... for our kids ... regardless of where it is in relation to our our ideal house and our dream job. After all, we have that tin box on wheels. Might as well use it. And thanks to the mobile phone, we can adjust plans on the fly. Really, when the Mrs. is on the road, it's like we are ground crew being radioed into position. Sure we all want our kids to grow up strong and good. But, this profusion of devices has addled some folk's brains as to how best to meet that end.

Perhaps now is the time to actually include the oft-neglected preface to the G2SS ... "All participants in official Scouting activities should become familiar with the Guide to Safe Scouting and applicable program literature or manuals,and be aware of state or local government regulations that supersede Boy Scouts of America practices, policies, and guidelines. The Guide to Safe Scouting is an overview of Scouting policies and procedures gleaned from a variety of sources. For some items, the policy statements are complete. For others, unit leaders are expected to review the additional reference material cited prior to conducting such activities. In situations not specifically covered in this guide, activity planners should evaluate the risk or potential risk of harm, and respond with action plans based on common sense, community standards, the Boy Scout motto, and safety policies and practices commonly prescribed for the activity by experienced providers and practitioners. Perhaps this quote by Sir Robert Baden-Powell from his 1914 book Quick Training for War is appropriate to include here: “... The books lay down definite principles and examples which serve to guide the leaders when applying their common sense to the situation before them. No two situations are ever precisely the same, and it is therefore impossible to lay down exact rules that should guide in every case, but a man who carries precedents and principles in his head has no difficulty in applying their teaching in supreme moments of sudden emergency ...†A situation where 8 first class scouts (the concept, not the patch) present a solid plan and are better prepared than any available adults is one of those "not specifically covered". Therefore in order to minimize risk, they should execute the plan independently!

@@RichardB that could be. It could also be that by not augmenting the syllabus, new scouters will read unwritten principles into the G2SS and as a result the most important part of the BSA program -- encapsulated in the first page of the guide -- goes untaught.

This is not about the kids. (Who knows what clever name some sociologist will pen in an attempt to distinguish them from their 'rents?) This is about parents born into a particular culture (use my term, "post-modern nomadic", free of charge ) the tools of which they have refined and mastered to the point that physical presence and constancy is a secondary experience? E.g., why help kids make friends of their neighbors when you can just as easily arrange out-of-the-box friendships online or a mere car ride away? What will it take for you to convince them that their children, setting aside those tools for a weekend, will grow healthier in our care?

Well, at least with a thousand year title, there will be time enough for the material to trickle down to the rank and file.

Royalty sure gets around.

I found the bling to be irrelevant to weather boys stick around. Plenty of 15 year olds here with no chance, but they're still here.

This is an annual rehash of the same themes. What's changed is that now with Internet advancement, we can start tracking the production of first class scouts. So, what do we have to do to have national start elevating that rank?

Welcome to post-modernism. Your respective narratives are all fine and good until one's restrictive sexual ethic runs afoul of the other's perceived essential natural sexual development. My line: A fella ought notta be gawking at someone else's spouse. It was as novel in the first century as it is today, but I'm rolling with it.

@@RichardB, I think the issue is that throughout the Cub program, parents are encouraged to use their creativity, theater and authenticity. From that is where they feel they have latitude. I do agree that the preface to the G2SS is often overlooked in many of these considerations. But, I can see, in this context, it can support either side's perception. The goal should be not to choose sides, but to use that preface to think through a novel situation together. (I still would love to hear the outcome on that melon. Better yet, picture please! )