qwazse

Considering the number of times I've had to dig through a dozen of those buggers just to get something out of the glove compartment ...

On one trip, a scout was mesmerized at how I "randomly" picked berries, roots, lichens, and succulent leaves for snacks as we walked along the trail. I explained to the scout "all the better to remember those 10 plants! Besides, I save my trail mix in my pack for those points on the trail where the bears beat me to God's snack cart!"

I see camps start charging units a fee for electricity use.

All the better to help a receiver find the end zone on a foggy morning!

One way or another, the fundraising is gonna happen. Either every boy will do odd jobs and pay for their own fees/gas/uniforms/awards/etc.... Then donate a bunch of hand-me-downs and spare change to any kid he knows needs it or expense that everyone at the time can pitch in. Or, the unit will maintain a large budget with accounts for each boy that enables him to see if he's done enough to cover his cost to the troop for serving in it.

This sounds like a "friends of" organization, and the COR is representing nobody but family. How many adults attend Pack committee meetings? Does the COR attend roundtable and council events? (I can kinda guess the answer.) If someone is behaving this way, it's because nobody else stepped up and said "That's not how things should work. Let us do our job, and you do yours."

Our SM challenged us to set them up blindfolded!

Don't forget those veggies! An adjacent campsite once had one scout who fried asparagus in garlic and olive oil. My troop did without me and my tin bowl for a half hour that day! Also, don't be afraid to ask mom or dad how to cook your favorite meal. Maybe you can make it work with your mess kit, maybe not. But, it's definitely worth trying. (If it's something complicated, you might not have it down by next month, but by the end of the year ... just maybe.) FYI, When I was 13 (just the other day) I stared down my last meal of franks and beans by the campfire and said to myself "nevermore!" Campfire meals have been awesome ever since.

E441, I'm really glad you (and presumably others in your crew) took advantage of UoS. I've only been able to get a couple of youth involved. I especially hope that during breaks, you offered your service as "graders" of the Dutch Oven course. In principle, I think ambitious youth should be awarded accordingly. But, I would rather them get their certifications outside of the "One Day Scouting" framework. For example, I've had very bad experience transferring the CPR course I took at UoS to what I needed for BSA guard re-certification. (They didn't confirm that the medic they got to teach the course had authority from Red Cross to issue cards!) I would hate for that to happen to a youth! For me, UoS degrees are a big joke, but the networking helps me be better advisor even if I don't get the pieces of paper (I can volunteer in other ways that don't need them). For youth, I would rather them work on "real world" certifications that they can be sure apply to jobs they want or schools they'd like to attend.

Our CoH was outside, by a campfire. We didn't have a proper fire circle of benches, so we brought out folding chairs. We're gonna change that next time. Best part: the WB staffer didn't anchor the log so it kept rolling off the table!

A friend of mine issued a test where each question had one of his students' names among the wrong response choices. Not seeing any of ours in your list, I don't know where to begin the process of elimination.

I really want to look you guys up if I'm down in FL, please. I'll bring my own kit for the families who might be bothered about a Goyam defiling their mess. For completely different reasons, SM raided Target and bought patterned plastic plates for each of the patrol boxes. It kinda sorta works, but we still see one patrol's pattern in another patrol's box.

S99, some scouts (troops) are in a situations where doing it this way is the most secure. Like you, I'm all for rugged individualism. But, I know a scouter who can help boys open student accounts at a local bank that is a safe walk/ bus ride for my boys or my parents understand the value of banking and will gladly pursue it for their kids. For other troops, a scout's position is more precarious. Those of us who have only seen troop fundraising $$ go into a boy's account find it odd. Many of us are not entirely sure what the difference is between raking leaves, selling biofuel, or hawking entertainment coupons. The question then becomes, (and this is how the issue was presented at our round table) can a troop allocate some fundraising $$ to boys' ISA's based on the scout spirit the showed during the fundraiser?

Walking stick between two tallest scouts. Dash to the nearest playground. Lash a span between two tripods.

I don't know how YOU describe HA bases to your boys, but I'm very clear in explaining that they are training centers. When we send them (they don't go without unit leader approval), it's with the full expectation that they will return better prepared to help the rest of the Crew and Troop map out their own adventures. 72 miles in 5 days. Most of that group were senior venturers returning for a bigger challenge. In the following year their equipment was found on a number of young venturers' backs. To be fair, most of those boys didn't bother with popcorn. They all had jobs. And they came back under budget and requested the surplus (zero of which was fundraiser $) be donated to the crew. Lets' see. Who is the troop? Oh yeah. The boys. They can decide if they want to pool their ISA and send some to FOS. Based on my experience, I would more likely trust them to do that then a bunch of adults who belly-ache about needing a trailer, non-stick pans, or more propane for night lights! T2E, thanks for the full quote from Forbes.

Better than nothing. Definitely better than all of the buttons for a feature being there and nothing happening after you've typed a decent length message. Lots of folks have their E-mails from social sites buried in spam folders anyway, so for them, this might get their attention better when it matters. So, PM away, me lads! Hopefully, we'll have chances to make it each other's real campfires!

Lessee, the boy ain't spending it to pimp his ride and take his girlfriend on a road trip. But supposing you don't want to count that rugged Philmont scout who carries your pack for you after your back breaks at mile 8 of 12 ... following the money, the troop benefitted directly with 1k in its coffers, indirectly from council camperships for the families who needed it and council services to the tune of another 1k.

Just tried it. SSScout. Let us know if it was received on your end.

I take "basically telling" to mean that the SM gave his opinion in a way that shut the boy out. The SM may actually have a path that this boy could take to advance, but didn't give any of that to the boy. That's a prime example of a one-sided conversation and we all need to learn to save those for when life and limb is truly on the line.

The two scouts I knew who were just like that and didn't get elected on first (sometimes 2nd, 3rd) round: One had a penchant for practical jokes. The other was foul-mouthed. Parents were clueless. We just told them that we identified with the boys things they could work on, and we'll see if that changes things next year.

Mentor and coach is the biggest. For that last part, you want to be able to direct the boy to outfitters/clubs in the area that would help him (and maybe his patrol and troop) accomplish some of the "action" items in the requirements.

If it's true, yes the SM should let the boy know. It's always healthier to know that someone doesn't approve of the way you're going about things. How he lets the boy know is another thing. And good ASMs are always helping the SM improve on that front. How to parent when this happens to your boy? Well I would let the CC know that you were discouraged by what happened. CC can't change what he doesn't know about. I have encouraged my kids to tell the adult (usually coaches) that they did not like the previous conversation, and ask what needs to be done to improve things. In this case, if the boy feels that he is better than his SM's description of him, I would encourage him to throw down a challenge "Respectfully sir, your estimation of me falls short of my true measure. To prove it, I challenge you or a champion of your choosing to a knot tying contest." Or "I will arrange the next hike." Or, whatever scout skill the boy is strongest at. Should the scoutmaster be removed? I've often seen that do more harm than good.

Fred, ask your self this: Is a troop better if boys come back from Jambo with stories and ideas and a ton of patches? If not, why promote it to your boys. Is your troop able to take more backpacking trips if boys are involved with Philmont? If not, why promote it to your boys? We send some boys on HA's because they come back and inspire the rest of our boys. We send them so that they learn more about this big country of theirs. We send them so that when they are in the crucible on Paris Island they are the least of their DI's worries, so that when it's time to sandbag or swift water rescue or whatever, they are prepared and their community is better for it. If this is not happening with your boys who've come back from "big ticket" events, don't send them! Don't like "warm fuzzies"? If a boy fundraises $2000 to his account through popcorn, that means 'bout $2000 went to the vendor, $1000 went to the council $1000 went to the troop. Boy has 33% in his scout account. Now you can mandate that it all go into some pot like the Marxists do. Or, you could explain to the boy that he is now a direct steward of $2K of troop funds for as long as he is scouting with you all. Then, let the boy decide if some of it should go to help his buddy (or some anonymous scout) make it to camp, or if he is in a unique position to represent the troop/council at some big-ticket event. Just because it's his decision does not mean it's his individual benefit. His choices should be limited to those which make for better scouting. P.S. - I'm actually of the ilk when our crew fund-raises, we toss it all in one pot and use it to reduce fees. I would be happy if it were that way with the troop. (Son #2 might actually fundraise more if it were so.) So, in committee meetings, I am promoting change on that front. But, there is no reason to put what people have been doing for years in the worst possible light.

This was source material for our topic at roundtable last night. Some conclusions: Paying for camp, uniforms, equipment, etc ... Was not a private benefit. Compare that with how we provide our communities with trained citizens prepared to serve, and you get the idea. If a boy fundraises enough to go to Jambo, Is that a benefit to the troop? It is a benefit to his Jambo contingent. Finally, if a boy leaves scouting the $ raised do not go with him.

A master of cubs' bling is the smile on the boys of a half dozen dens. Get the knot, don't get the knot. Nobody cares. Have a frank discussion with the DL, if he can't step it up, ask him if he'd like some other parent to give it a try. But, also ask yourself if you were doing more work than you needed to ... Some folks lead differently than others. Thanks for your services, and you'll be busy enough as a Cubmaster. That may mean stepping in for den-leaders from time to time. But fighting "multiple hat syndrome" is the best policy.