Tampa Turtle

My boy was turned off by (a) lack of uniforms and (b) girl in the ad.

I think that is BS. We have a prohibition on boys claiming credit for individual service (usually hitting boys doing HS Service, alter boys, and my son who works sundays at a soup kitchen). But if the boys are doing service as a Troop or Patrol and are identified as Troop X they should get credit. If the requirement was "10 campouts" it would say "10 campouts".

One my scout moms, who I dearly love, is my ex-Webelos co-leader. She was super organized leaving me to do the fun stuff. I am teaching a (popular)MB and at the SM's request doing it as a "group". At least I do some talking and they break up and do demonstrate. So it is semi-structured and they have to do a lot of work at home. I try to make it interesting as the MB book is a bit dry. I booked 4 evenings to cover the material and work with boys, do check offs. She was "4 evenings! It shouldn't take more than one". I had to explain that it is mostly on their schedule, I cant make them do the work, that I will sign off only if they show me they did the work, and the structure is mostly to help them stumble in the right direction. But just sitting and listening or filling out the form is not the MB. Now she was a GREAT DL and WDL. Master of the optimal advancement schedule while still having fun and not giving easy credit. But she was having a hard time making that 1st year transition.

All good comments and I understand the dilemma. A problem is if the boy came from a unit that the boys did not exercise their skills they can lose them. So I have seen boys who got a rank, probably passed it at the time, and promptly forgot it all. But they got signed off. I have battled some of the POR credit issue for "Leadership". I have to admit in a lot of cases I have looked/asked around and the boy HAD done more effort than I was aware of, especially from his perspective.

Grizzled veteran? Maybe a Slightly Soiled Sophomore. One son just completing 1st year, older son his 2nd. So memories are pretty fresh. In cubs boys really like (mostly) being the son of a leader. Some status and perks. Certainly get to go to a lot of events. In Boy Scouts in tends to work against them. There is always a suspicion that they get extra treatment and I for one make them work harder. And that is not fair either. I will not sign off on my boys and not even give my opinion if they met the requirement or not. Will I help them learn knots? Sure. (and they help me). But they have missed a few deadlines because I was the only one to sign off and I wasn't there. To be fair if you are an adult leader your boy tends to get a little more help from the other adult leaders. Unfortunately the boy leadership hesitates more in doling out punishment (please punish him!) It was hard on both of us the first year. My boy forgot his flashlight and I had a spare. I turned him away and he coped. He paid for his replacement. There were times I turned my chair 180 degrees because I was cringing so much at him trying to set up his tent or make a fire. I hated sending him away when a year before we would hang out around the fire together. (and my son has a bunch of disabilities and you want to hover) But it was great when I turned around and he managed to set up the tent on his own. Or didn't need a flashlight at all. Or solved the problem by himself. Sometimes another adult could work with him on completing the swim test because he inspired in him some part that I could not reach. My boys still see me around and may come over to ask me a quick question. Or laugh with the others as I bring up the rear of the hike. And yes I have been around the times they have gotten injured. So I am there "just in case" but in the deep background. Yes CC is entitled to his viewpoint. In my experience the boys whose Dads hover the first year or so advance quicker but seem to lag in leadership development later. Don't worry you will still be around.

In our Troop the adults do some preplanning for the boys during the summer. We try to consolodate (the ever moving-usually approved weeks after school starts) School District Calendar, 3 different school calendars, holidays, special events (NFL games, parades, etc), and known scout events (Scout Sunday, Blue and Golds--two packs, etc,etc). This leaves the open weekend for planning. We give the boys some suggested rules that have worked in the past (meeting times, mix of low cost trips if we do a high cost one, past calendars for ideas. The boys are responsible for planning what camp-outs and activities they want to do. It gets kicked back to the CC for cost estimating (and kicked back for the boys to raise money if needed). Adult leaders are there to try to make it happen. Because we are a large Troop we tend to have more opportunities to do stuff than any one individual can participate in. It is not unusual to have some guys go hiking and another one marching in a parade the same weekend. Kinda hard when we are short of adults but it keeps the horde down to a reasonable size. We violated this a few times. Gone to the same Summer Camp because it was easier for the adults. Did not do Seabase, Philmont, and a week long AT because it was to hard on expenses and adults. Sure enough need to avoid getting in a rut by doing same things every year. Older boys get bored. Hard to strike the balance between letting boys having freetime and the need to schedule enough activities. Sometimes it seems like MB academy in the woods. I fought for more freetime at Summer Camp and the compromise was to give boys a choice of 3 or 4 things to do (stay and play cards, go swimming as a group, go buy a slushie, go shooting) as long as we new where they were going and a return time. Worked 90% of the time. One problem is boys seem so programmed and scheduled these days they seem to have a harder time without structure.

I would lean toward patch...less likely to fall off.

We do not count a Council or District activity as done as an individual (for example a MB academy). I think the logic is anything that fosters "group spirit" over the individual. A half-way active scout should be able to bang this one out pretty easy in our Troop.

Alabama, First off, welcome! It is a LOT different and can be a difficult transition for a DL. I 2nd stepping back for a while, maybe helping on the Committee somewhere before training up for an ASM. If you do ASM maybe with work with boys other than your son--you know be in the vicinity but not engaged. It can be hard. Let him work with other adults.

Our list is same as Eagle92's list except we only count Service Projects done as a Patrol or Troop not individual.

9 not counting Summer Camp, Winter Camp, Seabase, Camporees, and training events. Most boys do 10-13.

The reality is that some people, myself included, will make pre-judgements about someone with a tattoo. When I was hiring folks and a person has a gang or prison looking tattoo I would question their judgement. That said I one of my best guys has an awful self-made tattoo.

Tampa Fire and Rescue is interesting in having 16 and under do CERT maybe as Explorers as trainers. I wish younger guys could do it.

It is a shame that the Scoutcraft is less and less in the recent publications. The boys and parents will seek out the latest editions and not realize what they are missing. In addition, ignoring the subject means relying on older info that in some cases is out of date or practices we would no longer recommend. I love the old stuff. One of my treasures is my Dad's 1940 "Popular Mechanics for Boys" book with stuff culled from the magazine. Had Sea Scout boat plans, DIY dynamos, and making your chemistry lab. Of course it also showed how to make a camp stove out of a tin can and gasoline.

We have several ASM's who are cops. We have called on them occasionally to do "the talk". Tough call. Once you call in the authorities you lose control of the situation. I have seen boys hit each other and threaten each other with a knife. They get the knifes taken, totin chits taken, and sent home. I can see kicking a kid out of the Troop way before calling the cops. If you call the cops and the kid stays in the Troop it will really erode your authority with the other boys. The Duct taping bothers me--it seems like hazing.

Working my first job in the bowels of an electronics factory. No TV no Radio. Wearing a rubber suit around machinery I was sure my boss had garbled the news. We went outside and saw the smoke trails hanging in the sky. I saw the huge factory flag at half mast so I knew it was true the Shuttle blew up. I was pretty shaken up. On a clear day in Tampa you could see the launches in the east. My wife was on a roof top with some co-workers and saw it happen. Hard to believe it is 25 years.

The City of Tampa gets its drinking water from the Hillsborough River which the occasional Manatee will swim up if cold enough. Why does Tampa water taste so good-it must be the manatees!

Our old Pack is booming and is school based but chartered through the PTA.

Had a heart-to-heart with the SM who is a good guy. He will talk to the boy and go from there. He agreed that we have no first hand knowledge except for the "free security advice" to other boys. Apparently last year he thought a couple boys on how to circumvent security at boot up "like it never happened". Several boys got busted by their parents and it was traced back to this boy. So he had a history of that. So for now I think it is the best approach. I discussed it with my adviser (wife) who reminded me that parents are expecting us Scouters to keep our eyes open for trouble and intervene to help a boy out. We have to use our best judgement. It helps to get the big picture. I'll keep you guys posted.

Thank you, this is excellent. I am sure some nitpicking will follow. Moderator THIS DESERVES A STICKY.

Beavah, How do feel about Obama's "compromise" today. So a Catholic employer doesn't have to cover contraceptives but the insurance company must. Seems to miss some of the point. Funny thing is that "The Church" doesn't want to support contraceptives while 85% of Catholics support their use.

Don't abuse. Punctuation. Drives. Me. Crazy. .5 million in LFL. Hmmm...

Our Council requires electronic now and it is really a lot less delay and headache anyway. Now I only wish they would allow you to submit an online order and overnight your stuff to you to prevent that trip to pick it up. If it was only $10 I would do it in a heartbeat.

So sad, not a hammock camper amongst them at all.

That explains it! I was cleaning out my MIL's house and found a stash of removable buttons. Must have saved them.