61rover

I was at District Roundtable a couple of weeks ago was struck by the sheer volume of crap that the Adult leaders had on their uniforms. I'm not talking a patch or two, I'm talking fistfulls of beads and loops hanging from every epaulets, pockets, and everywhere else. I've seen South American Generals with less stuff on their uniforms. These are the people that are supposed to be leading by example as Roundtable is a resource for new leaders. It looks shody and frankly gives the impression that these people aren't in it for the scouts, they're in it for yet another childhood. Does anyone else see things like this?

Nike you have described my Pack as well. I've referred to our pack as "The Island of Misfit Toys". More and more I have parents that see scouting as a tool to fix behavioral and emotional issues that they have been unable to deal with. It is in fact driving the kids without these issues from the pack. I struggle because many of these kids do benefit from scouting but they put an ENORMOUS burden on adult leaders and on the other scouts. It's tough to have a normal campout when one of your Webelos has an 'episode' at 2:00am. The other scouts remember this instead of the campfire. I don't know the answer, but the issue is real. I also agree with the comments about adult leaders. Many of the 'adults' at our District and Council level are poor role models. They appear to be involved in scouting to relive their childhood, not to benefit the boys. Many are also wildly out of touch with the world of today's youth.

Our Pack leadership attends often. It's REALLY hit or miss though. Many are just cheerleading sessions. We have told our District repeatedly "We don't lack enthusiam, WE NEED HELP!" The issues with roundtable that I have are: - Not enough focus on key issues for leadership; Recruiting, Fundraising, Retention, Parental Involvement. - Too much folklore. Many things said in Roundtable simply aren't true. It's too much "Here's how we've always done it" and not enough "Here's official BSA Policy". - Too many Roundtable leaders reliving their childhood instead of focusing on the scouts Roundtable COULD be a really useful resource. Usually it is not.

Our BALOO trainer was quite indifferent to First Aid training. I would like to see it encouraged.

I am really excited to have found this forum! I am in the process of moving from ACM to CM. I was the ACM for most of this year. Our Pack has many challenges (I secretly refer to it as "The Island of Misfit Toys"). We have 12 scouts. That means that almost every parent has to take some sort of leadership role. Recruiting has been very difficult. Neither of the schools in our area are very supportive. We have to pay dearly for meeting space as it's our only option at the moment. We have been unable to find a Church or other group willing to Charter the Pack. We've been given one more year to find one. I feel a little overwhelmed. We get no help from Council or District. It has been difficult enough to just keep the Pack going with a basic program. Putting these more structural issues on top is even tougher. Any advice?(This message has been edited by 61rover)

We found good pricing at: www.acsupplyco.com. The Generic bulk pack is very affordable ($5/rocket) and is designed so the boys can decorate how they wish. Engine bulk packs are a good deal too.