red feather

What timing for this thread. During our councils Klondike I had the opportunity to talk with another adult leader that is very active in scouting and fully supports it. During our talks I asked him if he was a scout and he told me yes and had earned his Life rank but not his Eagle and was still bothered about it. (after 20 yrs or so) Turns out that he had to help support his family as a youth and aged out. He told me that he tried to earn his Eagle just before aging out and had completed all his merit badges, project and all other requriments except being active for the almost 2 yrs before turning 18. He was still upset about the treatment that he received when circumstances allowed him to continue in his scouting trail that he was not allowed to, being told he had not been active enough. While we may agree that this is a travesty of what we try to teach scouts, it happens. Personally I would rather have a scout earn his Eagle at the last moment and have it be something that he can be proud of in the coming years. Some Eagles are soaring when they earn it, some are flapping. Many of the 'flapping' Eagles later soar as they have the opportunity. I have sat on many EBORs and am always amazed in the difference between the 14/15 yr old candidate to the 16/17 yr old. The 16/17 aged candidates have a much greater grasp of what Eagle means and have a fuller understanding of the concept. If a scout comes to me with the intent to complete his Eagle at the last moment, I hope that I will do all that is possible to have it come to pass. To have this 'failure' last throughout the scouts life when something could have been done to allow the young man to complete something that will last his entire life is not a rock that I wish to carry. Indeed there are some scouts that at the last minute are just trying to get a ticket punch. That is okay, while flapping now they just might be getting ready to soar as they gain life experiences and reailize what they earned. Some Eagles soar, some flap. They all need to have the chance to soar. just my thoughts yis

Welcome to the campfire, pull up a log and have a cup of (what we call) coffee. As a SM entering his second year (10 as ASM and 2 on the committee) all I can add is have FUN. We have spent the first year getting the scouts used to the idea of 'boy lead' and are starting this year with a heightened focus on the Patrol Method. It will be your enthusiam that can carry the day. If the scouts and scouters see you having fun at the meetings and outings then they will also. Other than that I really cannot add anything else to the excellent advice that has been posted. The key is training and working with the existing leadership to learn how they do things now and gradually putting your spin on it. Each SM has the opportunity to make their tour as SM special and it takes time. Have fun, have patience and have fun yis red feather

Survivorman yes. Man Vs Wild no. Guy on MvW comes off to me as a dramatic. Better skills of Survivorman in my opinion, more details given and better skills shown. Have learned more from Survirorman. IMO yis

No, to my thinking the ticket is to help the Wood Badger learn more about scouting and help to improve it or at least portions of it. If the ticket has a 'subversive' portion to it then it should not be apporved for action. I am proud of my ticket and am still trying to improve on it even though it was completed in 96. C-5-95 and a good ol' Beaver "if it is not for the boys it is not worth a dam" yis

Oh for the days of iron fisted Scoutmaster control. Not really, some time back the troop that I serve had a problem with patrol meetings very similar to what is being discussed and we were at wits end on how to address it. What we did was to have the adults put on a patrol meeting that mimiced the ways the meetings were currently being done.The scouts loved it and that it was pretty funny, but when the adult meeting was over we asked the scouts to critique it and make suggestions on how to improve the meeting and ways to get around the problem 'scouts'. The scouts came up with some very good ideas and, though it took some time, implemented THEIR ideas in their patrol meetings. good luck and remember to go outside the meeting building before screaming yis

An To get a start on the information that you are looking for pick up merit badge books on hiking, backpacking, orientiering(sp) and wilderness survival. These should give you an insight into proper hiking and preperation and also provide some scenarios to practice and accomplish. Have fun and be safe. yis

In the troop that I serve, I am introducing the Instuctor patch (something that we have not done before). As a scout advances to Eagle or has performed as SPL or ASPL and is working on their Eagle the positions that come available that may keep them interested become fewer. As the scout advances they present a paper that is intended to convince the SM (or representive) that they have skills that they wish to pass on to the younger scouts. If that paper is convincing enough then they become an Instructor in that skill, ( if not they pick another skill or improve their paper) and are required to be able to present their skill at a troop meeting as a 'Plan B' when the original 'Plan A' falls through. After 6 mos (or so, work in progress) of the Instructor position they are then able to move up to JASM. As of this post their papers have most interesting and sometimes imaginative. The scouts that are interested see this as a middle step to JASM and also look on this as a continued advancement in scouting. Of course if they age out they then move up to ASM ( still expected to have a 'Plan B'). So far this has been recieved well with the scouts as it gives the older scouts a purpose and a focus for staying active. We will see how it is going 6-9 mos from now, but it looks hopeful and a couple of Eagles have become more active since we started this. yis red feather

Welcome to the campfire. Pull up a rock, have a soso cup of joe and pitch on in. Calico mentioned 'one hour a week', little known secret and you must promise not to tell anyone, it't works out to one hour per scout. Now that you know, smile, and tell no one that you know the secret...ooops this is a campfire and now all know. Have fun and feel free to contact me anytime, not up on current cub stuff but always willing to help or listen to those in need. yis red feather

I may step on toes here. Hope not. Having been in scouting for some years (Eagle 68) and no I have not been active since then, life, military, work and family took priority, the things that I have seen that excite the minds and imaginations of scouts are the things that are outdoors. I have been active with scouts (cub and boy) for the last 17 years and am currently SM (forgot to duck) and the area that I live in expect the males to step up and deliver the scouting program at least on the front end . In that outing is scouting. (had to cancel Nov campout due to deer season,long/short story) I have had the pleasure of working with females that were gung ho for the outing and working with males with were huh with the outing and vise versa. Unforunatly the scouts repsonded most with the males who were competant with the outing skills and with the huh croud. (doesn't make it right but...), just what I have observed. Got my WB beads in 95 and would really like to take the newer WB course to be able to evaluate it and decide for myself whether it is pertinent to what I observe in the scouts that I serve. The breakdown that we see is that the Cubs advance into Webeloes and there is not normally a male involved to help get the Webeloes ready for Boy Scouts (the stongest Webeloe Dens that cross over have a active dad involvement). Not saying that is what is required but what we see. One thing we are doing is to do is try to provide a Den Chief to the Webeloe Den and if possible have an adult scouter assigned as well to help get them ready for scouting. The problem (that I see) with the the transition from Cubs to Scouts two fold, having Webeloes ready for scouting and getting the parents to be secure and ready in what Boy Scouting can do for their sons. In todays society it is hard for some parents to 'let go' of junior and send him off to the wilderness where wild things live. That is where the strong male or female leader comes into play. If the leaders, male or female, have done only the cub scout type of work then there is a disconnect. If the strong male or female leader shows outing skills then there is normally no disconnect. (at least till the weaker male or female have demonstrated skills sufficient to placate the parents) I personally do not care whether the adult leader is male or female, white, black, purple, brown, red or pocadotted (sp?) if they have the skills to provide a program that allows the boys to run their own troop and that as an adult can enhance their expierence and the willingness to acquire those skills then yahoo!!! sorry for the long post but what we do is important. the soap box is broken and thanks for the campfire yis red feather

Gave me goose bumps reading your post gwd. Congratulations! I will recommend that our SPL go to this thread for inspiration. yis red feather

OGE, I would add to you list: orienteering terrain navigaition terrain reading campsite location equipment and clothing map reading walking, hiking skills (how to skills) emergency and non emergency situation training yis red feather

Thanks Beavah for stating it better than I could. ding yis

To answer your question: DRY, DRY, and DRY!!!! The troop that I serve has rolled and stored Eureka tents for over 15 years. The tents usually die a natural scout death of just wearing out. Have had no issues with the shock cords, the poles usually get replaced due to high winds or a scout falling into them. Oldest ones still in use are 14 yrs old. My bivy tent and sack are stuffed but all other tents (one from philmont) are rolled and have shown no leaking or other issues for the last 8 yrs or so. Many companies are saying store loose because so many people do not store their tents as they should. So to limit the return of tents for "damage" they have gone to the knucklehead school of 'how to store'. yis

LOL!!! Sounds just like a scheme that our older scout patrol would come up with. Picture a SM with a raised eyebrow and responding with a guffaw! With this criterea I think with a little calcualtion that I must of earned my 50 or 51st 50 miler patch yis

Having not been there or involved with the various discussions I cannot comment. Something that I have done in the past ( 14 yrs) is put upon the scouts that have earned their star rank is that they are the scouts that I look to provide leadership and that leadership is to be within the Scout Law. These scouts are going to looked to by me (ASm and now SM) to be the scouts to get me out of trouble and other scouts out of trouble, interesting how the light comes on when they are told this. It is a challenge that they had not had prior to Star rank. Had a troubled scout that when told that since he had earned his Star that I was counting on to get me to help if I was hurt on an overnight his attitude turned around and the problems we were having went away. He became knowlegable of his responsibility as a scout and responded. Just a thought yis

Been surfing the forum for awhile (took a short break), but have a question for brianbuf. You have been questioning scouting as it is and asking the forum for what we think it would be if starting up today. My question to you is: What do YOU think scouting would be if starting up today? Please include as much detail as possible like you ask this campfire to do. Looking forward to your post. yis

Would like to add my congratulations to all the others. Like you, I 'forgot to duck' a little over a year ago and am also a Scoutmaster. ASM 13 yrs and both my boys Eagle and moved on. Soome things that I have learned (I hope): Patience, Patience, Patience and then take a big breath. Things only look like they are as bad as they look. Scouts have a tremendous ability to test limits. Let them test the limits and let them learn from what happens when the limits are crossed. They will learn eventually that planning does not happen by itself and that what looks good on paper has flaws when it meets nature. Just Be Prepared. Enthusiasm on your part will carry over to the scouts, they will feed on it and take it and make it their own. Note cards to keep track of what you want to get done on an overnight or a troop meeting. Without them I forget so much and have to ask the SPL to help cover my ooops. It is ok to forget, makes ya humble and causes the SPL to help me remember. (3x5 cards are great) Let your support adults (ASMs and the Committee) know that you will NOT do everything and that they will need to step up and help make the troop that they all serve be the best you can make them. Scoutmaster minutes. It has been a surprise how the scouts have taken to them and expect some tidbit of wisdom (?)to some spouting out. Their favorite so far is ... Never play leap frog with unicorns. Go figure. Try to make the scouts understand that the troop belongs to them, I and our ASMs have finally gotten through to them that our job is to make sure that they do not burn the church down, return the same number of scouts after the overnight in about the same condition they left in and try to ensure that they have the support they need to get done what they are trying to do. The troop is theirs and their leader is the SPL not the SM. If you haven't yet, take Wood Badge, it will definitly help. Other than that....have fun and look to this campfire for support and suggestions. yis

In the troop that I serve as SM, when the sign goes up the scouts are given enough time to recognize that the sign is up, but when there is a group that is intense on their conversation, a secondary verbal notice is given by saying "Gentlemen". That is all it takes to get their attention and all respond. It is interesting how the 'sign' works. At my dads memorial service recently about half the people there were scouts and scouters. When the pastor wanted the attention of those attending she was having trouble getting the attention those there. ( about 400) I put the sign up and when the scouts and scouters responded all got quiet. 60 or so were scouts or scouters. Anyone have similar stories? yis red feather

Congrats on the growth. One thing that came to mind is contact the troop(s) that the pack feeds and ask for Den Chiefs. That should help you with retention and crossovers. We provide DCs and it helps us with our growth and gives both the scouts and cubs a chance to see what Boy Scouts is about and helps the Den Leaders. yis

We recently had an overnight with a group of Webeloe 2nd years. The Saturday activities were planned by our PLC and the evening activity was the retirement of 12 USA flags and 1 Swiss flag. All scouts were involved and several of the adults. Impressively planned by the PLC. The next morning the W2s and our 1st year patrol were tasked with the duty of recovering the grommets. They were up at dawn to recover the grommets. ALL of the them! The grommets will be placed at the base of a flagpole that was saved from demolition and will be placed at a new construction site. (Eagle project) During the scouts activities on Saturday we met with the adults and talked about our troops philosophy and about the gear that new scouts will need and will eventually need. Reports are that the information was appreciated and many questions were answered. All in all a great overnight. yis

In the troop which I serve, scouts and scouters each pay their own way. If there is a need for fund assistance that is available through troop 'sponsors'. The commitee is looking into reimbursing all or a part of the fuel cost of pulling the troop trailer. yis

Thanks for the tip. Good to hear from you. Hope the 100 acre woods are treating you fine. Printed the info and will take a look at the knot. take care yis

The words "uh,oh" just after hot cast iron touches cold ground. Making that very unique sound. 3am heavy downpour...."Mr. S.. our tent is wet... inside." "shouldn't that water be hot before putting all that spagetti in?" The yell around the bend "White water!!!"..... then 3 whistles. "You were supposed to buy the food...." thanks yis

Since training is getting such a high priority how about making some of it available online? Other high priority training is. I personally like the idea since the troop that I serve has active adults that would take the training if they could fit the training dates into their personal and professional lives. yis SM red feather

I used to be a Beaver and a Good ol'Beaver too, But now I'm finished Beavering... I don't know what to do. I'm growing old and feeble and I can Beaver no more, So I am going to work my ticket if I can. Back to Gilwell, Happy land. I'm going to work my ticket if I can. C-5-96 Helpful Beaver "If it is not for the boys it is not worth a dam."