SM1234

Youngmaster, As always happens in life, every responder will have a different opinion on how you should run your troop. And there will also always be what I like to call "the noise", those ~10% of people in a group who, no matter how hard you try, will feel and express to you and others that you are doing it wrong, and that they are oh so smart and right (but never willing to step up to lead). As nauseating as they are, always ignore the noise. Ultimately it is completely up to you, your SM, and what you want to do. The key thing to remember is that regardless of whether you make mistakes (and you will make a lot of them), you are doing something that no one else would step up to do. You have the vision, you are the leader. Your decisions will not always be popular. Be sure to give yourself the credit, forgiveness and latitude you rightfully deserve. YIS

Hello Fellow Scouters, I'm a new SM to the forums, it looks like this is a great resource. Regarding keeping kids quiet, we try to emphasize respect for everyone. And when the "ADHD or IHDHD (Imagined ADHD)" kicks in, I give one or two warnings, and then quickly boot anyone who continues talking out of the room, to take a 5 minute break outside, while we are discussing MB work or whatever the topic is. This works pretty well. I also like to give push ups for talking out of turn or forgetting handbooks, etc. Our troop is a strong bunch of boys, let's put it that way. Any one of them can now bang out 50 push ups at any time. With the system above, we seldom have any real/long running interruptions anymore. And that keeps me from going berserk, which is great for the entire troop, me included.