Brewmeister

Here's where I am coming from on this. In the ideal world mentoring between older and younger scouts is strong, everybody remembers to do what they are supposed to do all the time, and young scouts are willing to approach anybody and ask for help when they don't understand something. But what happens is that the real world isn't perfect and these things don't always happen. And what I've found is that scouts, particularly those that have been used to "following the leader" since Tiger cubs, are a little lost and frustrated when they get tossed in the deep end of boy scouts despite everyone's best efforts. They also get hit with a lot of new info and, at least in the case of my son, if it's not written down somewhere it's like he never heard about it. So I was thinking that a supplement to the in-person mentoring would help the whole new scout onboarding process. I figured some folks out there would have created something already that could serve as a template and that could be tweaked and customized to the specific procedures of our troop.

Yes, but it's so much easier to not do something constructive.

I'm thinking more like an introduction/orientation handout...something you might give out to new scouts that says "here's how things work in boy scouts." Does anyone use anything like that?

Keeping in mind that the scout handbook has all you need to know... Looking for some ideas/samples of document/resources troops have created for new scouts/families.

(2) Craft and school activities that turn off boys who thought it would be mini-Boy Scouts. They leave and while they might have liked Boy Scouts they usually don't give scouting another try. Opposite problem...boys who join and don't like to do the camping that our pack does. Although most have stayed around for events & derbies, we have a few who we can never seem to get to go camping.

Yeah, BSA24, I guess I never equated outsourcing uniform manufacture to accepting immorality.

Almost all of our departures were due to parents--mom or dad lost interest, divorces where it wasn't important to the parent with custody, etc. At the Cub age the parents have to be the ones making the decision. I know of only one case where we lost a cub due to not being interested in our program, but that was a scout who never attended camp or any activities outside the pack and den meetings, and who missed a fair amount of the latter due to sports.

We really haven't learned much from Sodom and Gomorrah...

You hit the nail on the head AZMike. A private club that sets its membership policy but does no harm to anyone...they must be destroyed. A religion with fanatics who kill people who don't agree with it...it must be feared. That's really the nut of it, isn't it?

This is not that hard. Private groups have a right to set their own standards. Private citizens and groups thereof have a right to support groups or not. The day the BSA changes its standards for money is the day I leave it.

I can't figure out what this is...I thought it was actually official based on the graphics and logos. Appears it is a site hawking...something? Anyhoo, I don't have a problem with the military connection in theory. As has been pointed out, remember why scouting came to be in the first place. And my experience is, given free time in the woods, boys will tend to find "guns" and end up in an epic battle....

When I first became Tiger leader, it was the result of the cubmaster at the time talking to the group of new parents at recruiting night and asking "who wants to be the tiger leader?" Since I had to be there anyway... Fast forward a few years and we realized there had to be a better way. So I talked to the other DLs who had been tiger leaders and created a "HELP!" document unique to our Pack. I then run the first tiger meeting, and the first two go see its are scheduled by utilizing some recurring community and district events that happen in October and November. At the first meeting, we play a game, do an activity, and have a snack. We also cover Bobcat stuff and other scouting essentials. I give the den a blank flag and we come up with a den cheer. I then explain to the parents that this is how they will run the meetings from now on: game, activity, snack. I pass out a sign up sheet with four columns--game, activity, snack, and go see it. I then ask for a "coordinator." This is the person who finds meeting locations and is the point of contact between me/the CC/the advancement coordinator. In other words, this is the den leader but we give them a few meetings to grow into the role to be sure it works for them. By that time we've usually identified a co leader as well. Coordinators/leaders are also the stewards of the den's copy of the meeting resource guide and the "how to" games and crafts book, Tiger advancement chart, etc. They see to it that these resources make it to the parents handling the next activity. I should also point out that our district did something different in roundups this year in ones they conducted. They gave every family a youth app AND an adult leader app. I had always stressed adult involvement in my recruiting, but having the district do it this way took it to the next level. I worried it would be heavy handed but it actually worked well. The idea is not that you charter 15 new adult leaders, but that you have the forms on file to be signed and turned in when you do identify that leader. More important, it instills the idea of shared leadership to all the adults. It works well for us, though I suspect there's going to be some criticism of that approach. So in summary--lead the first meeting, have a sign up sheet for future meetings, and get a coordinator. I agree with ScoutNut that it is a simple process if you don't over complicate it.

The way I look at it is that we already have all the dump camping gear. Now we need a way to use the dump camping gear effectively with patrol boxes. We currently have jumbo Sterilite containers that we use when we go canoeing but they have drawbacks. I built one box since I started this thread just because I like to fiddle with stuff. So we can try it out on the next campout. We've already been discussing what to do for backpacking. Since we already have plop gear it would be a matter of having an additional set of lightweight gear and perhaps swapping stuff between the types depending on the outing. Actually that's one of the things I like about this troop. No unit is perfect and Ive had some concerns that I have aired here, but we do a wide mix of types of camping, from winter cabin (I know, that's not camping), car camping, large and small group sites, backcountry canoe, and hopefully backpacking by this time next year.

Priced out the supplies for a wooden model...over $70 per box, $35 in plywood sheeting alone.

Much has been written here about the merits of big-box patrol kitchens versus lightweight camping and cooking. That's not what this thread is about. Faced with a troop currently outfitted with regular/larger-sized cooking gear (i.e., regular sized pots and pans, etc.), the problem is how to effectively split that gear up into boxes of stuff that can be used by patrols, as we inch our way toward a patrol structure. I have seen many people advocating the use of giant platic tubs. We have those. However, the problem is that the stove goes on the bottom and everything else gets stacked on top. So, if said patrol needs an item from the bottom of the box, calamity ensues in trying to dig it out and replace it, and so on. This is in contrast to the relatively ordered fashion of the patrol box, with handy shelves for everything and available legs to keep it off the ground when other table space is limited. But, wooden boxes have their drawbacks as well. So, I'm looking at various patrol box plans, of which there are plenty to be found on the interweb... The questions for the assembled: -Plastic tubs or wooden boxes? -If plastic tubs, how to effectively organize? How to best keep off the ground independently? -If wooden boxes, best plans? Other thoughts?

Well, we do still have the "troop method" issue to deal with but we are making progress. I've made it a ticket item. We'll probably be a bit of a hybrid for a while but hopefully will make it closer to the patrol ideal.

Congratulations! (Beavers are the best dam builders...)

What I decided to do was ask my son to read all the requirements beforehand. He quickly understood how involved they are. I told him it was going to take some time and we discussed how it was his responsibility to be sure he had completed everything fully. At the meeting, there were some tabletop excercises to handle some of the "describe and prepare" stuff. They also reviewed all the requirements so that the boys understood it was their responsibility to do and keep track of tasks, camping nights, and so on, and report back when they are done. As it turns out, this is a regular session the troop holds in fall to get boys started on the process and not the "one and done" that I had worried about. I feel comfortable that my son understands it's his responsibility to do the work required.

Perhaps complicating the discussion is that the first meeting is tonight...the more I read the requirements with a knowledge of the troop's typical program, the more leery I am.

You might recall that a number of months ago I asked about a troop organized merit badge clinic for personal fitness that seriously shortcut the requirements. At the time my son, with a little coaching on my part, decided to do the badge as written. Fast forward a few months. Now the troop is starting a clinic for the camping MB. The first meeting is tomorrow. I already knew this was one of the harder ones (despite being done at summer camp) so I looked at the requirements. Ummm...yeah. I have no idea how they are going to do all this individual planning and execution in a group setting. And I'm pretty sure we don't have any equipment for trail cooking with lightweight stoves. Now, I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and wait to see what is actually covered but I have experience as my guide here so I'd like to have a general idea in my head of what to do if they say "we're not gonna do that." I know people don't like MB clinics and I don't disagree but the situation is what it is. Any thoughts?

Does anyone argue that Webelos get the lion's share of $$$ spent on them when it comes to awards? Let's see, 20 Webelos pins alone at $2 apiece... Tigers could just as well argue, why do I have to pay full dues when all we get from a rank standpoint is a tiger totem ($2) and badge ($2). They are in effect subsidizing the Webelos. So we charge the full dues at the beginning of the year and give them multiple ways to avoid paying them through fundraisers. Fair enough--suck it up!

The problem with all the grand planning and occasional navel gazing that goes on in this forum is that out in the real world only a very small percentage of people involved in scouting truly understand and care about scouting. Maybe "care" isn't the right word, but there is only a small percentage out there who make scouting their passion.

Not from a scout, but this one is my favorite: "You really have your s**t together." Wish I had a warm and fuzzy one for you, but that's the one that really sticks out.

Wow, basement....just wow (again).

It needs to be in a document format, so something that would render as a PDF or other document that could be both electronically send and printed if necessary. I'll look into OpenOffice.