qwazse

Wait, what? Nobody trained for it taught me pioneering! I got the MB pamphlet read it, and started building tripods. Then went to camp and kept at it. I think you just made baggss point. That said, for the things I need to maintain certification (BSA Guard, Wilderness First Aid) plus things I'm told I need (YPT, Risk Zone, etc ...) I need to commit about 30 hours a year. So ... if ILSC does not get done, I'm not gonna worry about it.

My venturer's parents aren't nagging me to help their precious ones earn Silver or Ranger before they head off to college, so if they set scouting as a low priority, I don't mind as long as the kids aren't robbing liquor stores to buy drugs. But ... The boy scout's parents want plenty of advancement opportunities. Even the ones who are polite about it want to be sure that Eagle is available for lil' junior if he ever decides to work for it. Well, if they want our CO to keep the lights on and door unlocked, they'd better make their family schedule fit the life of the troop. On the flip side, I find myself in the midst of helping families through some very rough times. Every thing is a two-way street.

Oh, and a letter to National telling them that registration fees are bankrupting your pack and you may have to disband as a result would be appropriate.

This happens ... your committee has to team up and ... 1. Come clean with the parents. Say at this time the pack has zero $ to finish the year, so although boys will be recognized for their accomplishments, you could not purchase any awards for them. Report that for a couple of months a generous donor has paid for awards, but it is unfair to ask the same person for another donation. In fact you feel that the pack should eventually return some of it because the donor is already in an unfair situation. 2. Call your council HQ and ask where that fundraising application is. 3. Make a budget, so that you all have clear goals about what money has to come in for the year. 4. Plan less expensive activities until ends meet.

In no particular order, 1. Abbot and Costello, (search "Who's on first") 2. Mel Brooks, (search "2000 year old man"), 3. Bill Cosby (search "Hey Hey Hey"), 4. Jackie Gleason, 5. Richd Little, 6. Redd Foxx (search "Sanford and Sons"), 7. Lucille Ball (search "Hello Lucy"), 8. Beatrice Parker (search "Maude"). Any contemporary US comics worth listening to take their cues from these gentlemen and ladies. But, yes, I found that the toughest part of Brits and Yanks living together was learning when the other was joking vs. being downright mean.

Sometimes those of us in stable marriages feel like we are picking up the pieces for those who aren't. That's pretty arrogant of us because really I see single parents doing double-shifts to make things work out, and anything the Mrs. and I might do counts for a drop in a bucket. My parents argued incessantly during their waking hours, but never took to separate beds. For all the grief, at the end of their days they had each other and that was something. I don't think it would have been worth "the peace" had they split up. (Shoot, if they broke up before they turned 40, I wouldn't have been here to type this!) So, that "long view" is what I took into this marriage. Still I'm pretty sure that Mrs. Q's willingness to put up with me has more to do with her good graces than any significant amount of work on my part! So, while I do believe there is a point where kids might benefit from parents who aren't constantly on the brink of violence, I think many of us -- even at our worst -- are better sticking together for the sake of the kids. Most of us, however, have no clue what we can put up with or what we can afford to change so that our spouse can put up with us. I guess this is where community comes in.

Time to read the riot act. "The cubmaster must step down; therefore, this Pack will disband at the end of the year if his replacement is not found by the end of next month." Come July, if nobody steps up, start talking to other packs about taking on your transfers.

Sorry, I thought since I didn't have first-hand knowledge of such a position, you'd get better feedback from others. I've never seen any one position for this activity, but folks have done for our council ... Invited a group of talented scouts from Israel to make our council a stop on their tour of the US. Recruited contingent(s) for World Jamboree. Set up International Camp Staff Exchange. Make sure imformation about international opportunities are part of basic trainings. I'm sorry your SE doesn't have a particular vision, it means you will have to assemble a coalition of the willing to make one or two things happen.

Here's another one to consider: we have an all night climbing event 9pm to 6am at the cope course. No tents are pitched. If they sleep, it's usually by the fire or on a basketball court for an hour or so. Under the stars but not sleeping. Does it count?

Just for the sake of muddy waters, everyone ... What if the boys did set up a tent, but ran an extension cord from an outlet in a nearby pavilion so they could finish playing that video game that was interrupted because they had to get out of the car and set up camp?

Unless those are tarp roofs that the boys set up, they don't count.

At roundtable, I suggested developing youth instructors for SM basic (IOLSC). Talk about an idea being shouted down faster than I could speak it! Evidently since the syllabus requires complete "Train-the-Trainer" for all instructors. Seasoned instructors please comment ...

I always thought names should be more affirmative rather than antithetical. "Young Naturalists Society" would have much nicer ring. Anyway, "belief" or "orientation" are not explicitly criteria for exclusion in these by-laws. So, I think that we're talking apples and oranges.

I took Wilderness First Aid this weekend, and could say something similar (3 youth 12 adults). Only one instructor and assistant; however, both adults. Good fellowship, and it was a pleasure to see an older venturer working on her ranger award between college terms. I would like to coordinate a course in our community involving more youth participants and instructor's assistants.

One "red flag" of excessive adult involvement is creating drama instead of attending to health and safety! It's highly unlikely that every boy in the den is bothered about this. Has any boy outright told you they mind the patch being occluded by the colors? If they haven't read p. 32 yet (thanks for the reference, dedkad), how would they know to ask? But just in case the design was made by a boy, who worked very hard to produce and order the patch himself (maybe paid from his individual scout account ) ... After they've read the reference in their Webelos book, ask them what they think. If there's a consensus of dissent, you could decide to let them buck the system, saying it's a senseless regulation. Some of them might appreciate your advise and apply it to the day some other authority (i.e. parent) hands down a senseless regulation. Or, you could tell them that when they're venturers, their crew can design their own uniform, but packs and troops try to follow the national standards. Then ask them to debate what they think is best for their den to do. If they decide it's important that they bend the rules a little to respect little Johnny's hard work in getting his griffin embroidered, make sure you ask them if there are times when they should not "bend the rules."

It is very very hard to put faith in your youth. It's sometimes hard to put faith in themselves. I had one VP-Program want to try a self-defense course, so I gave her the a number of a consultant who had worked with us before and told her to let him know when we were meeting. She was shocked when he showed up the following meeting night with some pads and mats ready to teach some basic escapes! She thought we would just be "planning" the course. That said, there are numerous times when youth wont make those calls and will let you down. (Sometimes, the first call doesn't work, and they get discourage and quit.) Nobody wants to tell an otherwise decent kid that he/she let the unit down. So, we ask the committee for a few "fail-safes". Don't even realize we're doing it! How to undo all of that? Well, you need to start asking the SM where your boys can get some "opportunities for failure." Maybe call them "high risk - high reward" policy changes.

I find things shift back and forth between where I'd want them to be and where they are ... With the crew, I'm pretty hard and fast. They propose a date and event, then see if a couple of adults are free. Or, they ask us when we can take off work then check their schedules. This makes it rough on committee who might rather schedule an event to their liking. More because they feel non-participant's guilt. I don't see it that way at all because if each of them can see their way free to an event that the others can't once a year ... that's four or five more possible events that would otherwise not be possible. With the troop: bigger numbers, more youth who can't drive, etc ... So coordinating with adults is more essential. More along the lines of what you suggest. Is the SPL in the room with the committee? We haven't been able to make that happen given youth schedules, but most chairs are available to talk with the SPL on meeting nights. Whatever you can do to make it feel like the boys are interacting with the committee rather than having dictates "handed down from on high", will help.

Don't know what you mean. I direct my crew. I set the boundaries for how other adults interact with the youth, and I give the youth (pretty wide) boundaries within which they must operate if they are going to take advantage of my services. My committee is there to support them. I tell them how I would like them to do that. Likewise, it's my SM's troop, and I'm there to assist him. I remind folks who may wish things were different that he's "the guy." Doing "the time." And getting "the work" done. In the next sentence SM Bob refers to "our bylaws and methods". Which implies he's got people. Hopefully each is a good soul who thinks it's "his/her troop" too, but makes sure things are done in a way that suits Bob's style. Sussing out phraseology that may not be "politically correct", just inserts more BS into the BS of A.

TB, not really a red flag. I personally would rather have the backing of a CO, but if this works for SM bob let him have at it! I think the real challenge will be finding those couple of adults who can grasp the implications of whatever by-laws there are and build a productive committee around them. Generally older scouts will dive in wherever you put them. I think you're on the right track with starting a new patrol. Then ask the boys what they would like to do most in the next few months (Service, High Adventure, Skills Acquisition). Keep an eye for the "odd boy out" who might suit one of your existing patrols. Later give some of the older boys in the other patrols a chance to swap in to the new patrol. Go through the list of POR's with your PLC to see if you have any gaps, and ask the new boys if any of them want to step up and fill them. Meanwhile, think if there are any practical things that need to be done as a result of the merger (e.g., clean gear, make more seats, organize paperwork), and see if a boy might rather do a service project along those lines instead of wearing a patch for the next few months. They key, I think, is to be flexible and upbeat.

Well, I guess if I relay this to my youth, it would be under "why the nation needs first class scouts." And the moral would be "get me those hike plans and get out there where you'll do the world some good."

How about encoding the record on an RFId and implanting it on the kid subcutaneously?

I hope she sent them some signed peacock patches. Always great to have a great story behind a patch! And, Skep, way to live up to your screen name by making this about corporate media jockeying.