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Never ask for a rule! It does not say "where scouts and scouters can view the interaction" for a very good reason. It allows a counselor and scouts to meet, say, in a community coffee shop or at the counselor's place of business (if there are plenty of folk in view). Tell your scout that he's right and you were being overly cautious. However, it is definitely more fun to do anything with a buddy, so encourage the boys to team up go with their friends (scout or not) to visit counselors.

Sentinel, Venturers have boundary issues! But I think this one fits under "patrol method." The problem predates Venturing. Back when we were "Leadership Corps" we asked ourselves if we should be members of respective patrols or set ourselves apart. I don't think there's one pat answer. If your PL's are resenting the venturers going off and leaving them in the lurch, then maybe it's time to give them their own patrol. On the other hand, if they are coming back from crew outings with new skills and a better vision of scouting, maybe you'd rather have each patrol "salted" with a couple venturers. Bloop, I think if the boys have strong opinions about how they should be organized, stand by them. But, don't let them get away without consequences. If they are under-performing, figure out a way to get them to evaluate and reflect on how to improve. Encourage them to consider if how they're organized is contributing to the problem. If the boys don't seem to care, maybe you could draft a roster, then ask the PLC to review and revise it. Give it six months. Have them evaluate if everything is okay, then support them if they think change is needed.

"Beginning in 2016 in Boy Scouts, Duty to God will be incorporated in the requirement to show Scout Spirit. During the unit leader conference, the Scout will be asked what Duty to God means to him and how he demonstrates that duty." For some folks this does not represent change. For others, it is asking them to step into the subject in a way they may not be comfortable doing.

Well, Barry, the Venturing division has called that "stealth advancement" it's a great approach if scouters are satisfied with 1 in every thousand boys moving beyond First Class. What's very interesting: nobody is nagging any of my venturers to earn venturing awards (old or new). So, how I choose to advise the occasional youth who chooses to go for an award comes under zero criticism. Fact is, I try to stay as mum as possible about Eagle to our youth. We have enough older scouts proposing projects and having special courts of honor that the cycle seems pretty much self-sustaining. That should be enough, but Son #2 can't avoid heat from all angles: Grandma sits beside him and says, "Now I don't want you to worry or anything, but Papa and I aren't getting any younger, and we sure would like to be spry enough to make it to your Court of Honor." A soccer dad (whose boys are in another troop) confronts him every week about why he hasn't started Personal Fitness MB. Grandpa tells me there aren't many families that can boast 3 Eagles in a household. Mrs. Q is demanding daily progress reports. There have been tears. Unnecessary shouting matches. Lame excuses. Frankly, if he'd miss the 17.5 mark to earn Life, I'd be just fine. I want to call off the hounds. But folks, I have to sleep at night! So I'm trying to walk a line saying to him privately "If you don't want this, just say so. I'll back you. But if you do, hustle up." At the moment he's hustling up. It's just a little sad that some of that is out of fear of disappointment vs. out of joy for the opportunities.

I'm not entirely comfortable with the content of scoutmaster conferences being dictated by National. I don't mind guidelines. And, although I'm perfectly fine talking to folks about religious convictions and hearing what other folks have to say, I can imagine a lot of the leaders I know not being entirely comfortable with it. You all have heard my opinion about service hours having no business in rank advancement. Religion is kind of the same thing. These become "uncounted" requirements. Yes they are in every handbook, but outside of scouting the 21 merit badges is what gets recognition. Well, really what we have is 22 ("Project Planning" being an additional required badge); and now maybe 23 (the addition of "Religious Expression"). I would just rather our new Eagles know that more is now required of them than was required of us.

Not fair! You skipped "forming", "storming", and "norming"!

Ideally a UC should come on a regular schedule and NOT when they need something from a unit leader. After routinely sitting in on a couple of meetings and being clear that he/she wants nothing but to get to know yours and a couple of other units, both UC and leader(s) will figure out when it is and isn't good to bring up anything. For some leaders that will be during the meeting; for others, with a note or E-mail afterwords; for others, coffee may need to be served.

The insignia guide shows "chair" patch (#18059), but http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts/Leaders/About/ThePack/pcomm.aspx shows the old "chairman". Seeing that she is more homo-sapiens than furniture, I think the most appropriate designation is the latter. But, who am I to prescribe language?

Hate to break it to you, but that expectation was always there. Awards were never intended to be for the elite 1 in 1000 venturers. My take: I'm telling my youth that I expect them to be growing. As they do, I would be honored if they talked to me about how that's happening for them. From there it's just a matter of paperwork. So far they ain't biting.

I could envision the hypothetical Lone Scout raising funds for his council -- No strings attached. I could then see that scout benefiting from those funds by applying for a camper-ship that would be awarded without consideration of how much the boy raised. There are boys who just care about helping fellow scouts who they've never met.

P18A, a functioning UC, when "on", is always a phone call away, and can tap a number of seasoned scouters throughout the district to address any given unit's novel concerns. (Or, sometimes, can frankly tell members of a unit that they have a problem that will only be solved when people decide to hold one another in higher esteem than they are currently willing.) His/her presence at meetings is merely to make unit leaders comfortable with giving him that call. I would like to propose that the underlying BSA model is broken. There are too few competent UCs. As mentioned before, many UCs wear to many hats, so all of the positions they fill are compromised. Many folks who could be UCs barely have time to make it to district roundtable. Let alone get trained for a position. They don't have time because their units demand a lot of attention. There are funds to raise, advancements to track, pwd tracks/camp boxes/klondike sleds/trailer shelves to build, schedules to arrange, meetings to fret over, etc ... Therefore, adults commit to being Cubmasters (or assistants), Scoutmasters (or assistants), Advisors (or assitants), Den Leaders (or assistants), Committee Chairs (or assistants) for years on end. Let's work from youngest to oldest part of the program ... DL's can't free up more time because they are running point rather than assisting a den chief (or two or three). CM's can't free up more time because they are running point rather than assisting a senior den chief (eg. a JASM or Venturer who specializes in youth ministry). SM's can't free up more time because they are running point rather than assisting a SPL and his PLC. Advisors can't free up more time because they running point rather than assisting the crew president and his/her officers. CC's can't free up more time because they are hearding adults rather than assisting, a committee comprised of a senior den chief, SPL, Crew President, (and maybe Historians, Scribes, Librarians, and Quatermasters). [*]The majority of senior youth see no substantial place for themselves in the realm of unit leadership. (It's crowded with adults!) So they leave, reinforcing the cycle of adults bailing out a leadership-poor program. [*]Thus, on a district level, your best potential UCs -- those who, through serving, get a birds eye view of the scouting landscape -- are stuck in bloated adult-led committees. They have rarely seen real youth leadership, so they have no baseline with which to encourage other adults in pursuing it. Their larger experience is seeing adults work with (or don't work with) other adults to make scouting work as youth leadership get's removed from the equation. So, the advice they give is not the advice that a unit leader who truly values youth leadership needs. Fix the model. Find more competent UCs.

More interesting: is this a "back door" for girls to enter the program at cub and Boy Scout ages? Frankly I could use a few more youth who "get" the science behind map and compass before I tray to teach it.

Don't sweat it. This is just Learning for Life re-cast with a little more obvious application of "Scout" language. Smokey Mountain saw a need. It's filling it. The program that st0ut17 deftly laid out, is troop-centric, which caters to about 1/4 of STEM Scouts' population.

It sounds like you're in a "when in Rome" mashed up with a "it's just a piece of paper" situation. Kind of like when I was made crew advisor, it was an "on paper only" kind of thing (I even felt that of the adults we could choose from I was least qualified for it), and I pushed back saying "I hate paperwork too much to fill it out for nothing." The best you can do in cases like these, is set the example. Get to know the campground managers. They often know of places you could take the boys for an outpost camp. Encourage the group to respect Mom, but when your arrive at "glamground" you set your campsite on the fringe ... the darkest corner of the grounds or just throw your pack on a picnic table. Stop by in the morning, give them a map with a meeting point marked on it, and say "Rendesvous here at 9:45". Prepare dessert at your campsite. Or lash together a small gadget -- or even a large one. Stand up after dinner and say "Who wants to go on a night hike?" Over time, as you reveal to the boys "your kind of crazy", challenge them to plan something similar. If Mom is willing to keep up with you, always ask "Isn't this fun? See the smiles on their grubby little faces?" If she's not keeping up, well, you've just got the time you need to work the program with your youth. Fellowship with your committee. Learn the language. Get your head around the culture. Don't be afraid to try a conversation that you will eventually fail at. This is "the long road", and you should only take it if your vision for this group of boys will sustain you. Eventually your committee will come around. Or you all will compromise. Or, the CC can find a different SM whose vision matches hers, and you can take scouting elsewhere.

Trees are a pretty good idea most days. Since you car camp, don't skimp on rope and stakes. You'll go through a few before you figure out what works best for you. But pay attention to which trees and the season. A couple of years ago at this time, I strung one between two very tall oak trees. However, this is when they begin to drop their acorns! Think hiding behind a target on the sling-shot range and you get the idea . Except nobody yells "fire" when the next volley is about to drop .

If your site has decent trees, rope for a ridge line and guy lines for the corners is all you need to support a decent size tarp. The trick is to tie "stops" in your ridge line so the center of your tarp stays stretched. If you're in the open, you'll want a set of poles and decent stakes to replace the trees. Walking sticks will do if you aren't setting up a base camp. You can either rig an a-frame or lean-to pretty easily. With a little origami, you can get by with one pole and fashion a shelter that's taller on the door side and tapers down to your feet. I don't worry about bugs, anything that flies in can fly right out. (But, I'm a far cry north of you.) Of course all that applies to when I'm feeling really patient and have found a decent picnic table worth sleeping on! (Cots don't survive me ) Generally, I just lay the tarp on the ground, throw down my bag on one third of the tarp, crawl in, and if it rains roll over the other two thirds. (Or pull the other two thirds over me.) Boom done.

I think one of the most significant flaws in this organization is conflating leadership with a pach on the sleave. If you want to start leading, love your brother scouts and take care of them. Some PLs will lead others will just manage. The managers will get by just fine if the boys are caring for one another (i.e., if they are leading). The leaders might not manage all that well, but because they care, they'll be fine regardless.

Check out old articles of Boy's Life and Scouting Magazine. (They have online versions.) Definitely float what you got by your boys. If you get mostly "thumbs up" on a recipe, incorporated it. Have fun working your ticket.

Yeah, convincing parents that you know the boys' limitations and have the good sense to pick a safe place for them to operate in real patrols is rough. Parents have a really tough time letting go. I see it at sports too. Everyone wants to be the coach and captain, especially on the teams that have really good coaches and captains! BTW ... you could have a crew of 14-15 y.o. venturers experiencing the same thing - even though, aside from the few hours of age-appropriate challenge, they're tasked with little more than what you would assign to your 12 year old scouts! My line to parents (especially those whose sons don't have a POR): "Leadership stars now. Unless we squelch it."

Getting 30 older boys to do anything in unison during fall sports season is nigh impossible. Think about it this way: if they were 4 patrols of tightly knit boys, at the PLC, three of them would report that they weren't going to the council camporee because they had commitments elsewhere (football Friday, soccer Saturday, helping with bonfire that evening, camping after the bonfire, maybe inviting their girlfriends to hang out, church picnic on Sunday). You'd say, "very well then as long as you aren't robbing liquor stores to buy drugs .... And [to the patrol that's camping independently] I'll gladly review your camp plan and make sure you have anything you need. Oh and if those girls really like to hike and camp, here's the number of a crew advisor you all should should call." Then thank the one patrol that decided to come to the camporee for their contribution to the troop and ask them what they would special for their post-taps cracker-barrel. Needless to say, if your SPL is very influential, you would be coaching him to have that attitude.

See if you can get together with the new DL and make those calls. Use speaker-phone if possible. That way you can both know what's happening instantly. And let the parents know you're backing your DL. He or she says "Hi __, I'm just callingto touch base. I'm with CM Daped01 on speaker. We missed you and __ last night and wanted to make sure you all are doing well." That way there's a little bit more respect conveyed. It could be as simple as the school had a one-off evening meeting, or that you all picked a bad night because all the boys signed up for something that night every week. You need to find out so you can determine how to best adjust.

You are both right. Sort of. Pay attention to what your boys want. Make it clear that they can cross-over any time between AOL (which happens to be your banquet) and May. If they want to do pack stuff, let them stay. If they want to do troop stuff, let them crossover. If you are all going to the same troop, just make sure the boys have all the info they need to sign up for summer camp in a timely fashion.