Eagle94-A1

1) WELCOME TO DA FORUMS! 2) I thought NLYT no longer uses the terms SM, SPL, etc since the program,includes not only Boy Scouts, but also Sea Scouts and Venturers? 3) Can Explorers now do NYLT?

Only and ASM here. In my troop, we pawn our kids onto other adults. I know my oldest is glad about that b/c I tend to be harder and expect more out of him than others. Now when he is home, I will remind him of things he needs to do occasionally, i.e "Do you think ( insert names of missing patrol members) need to know what is going on since they missed the meeting?". And he will ask me for advice

While most of the adults are gone, the SM isn't. Sadly his son is not interested in earning Eagle and is dragging his feet on the matter. Dad will not quit as SM until son gets Eagle.

Yep I can believe it. My problem was that the Crossed Over parents/Cub Leaders took over the troop, and began running the troop like Cub Scouts. As their commissioner, I tired to work with them and help them get back on course their previous SM set for the unit; SCOUT LED! Long story short, I was told I don't know what I'm talking about and that Scouting needs to change with the times. If the troop can survive 1-2 more years, I see turn around. That group of parents are done with Scouts since most of their sons have Eagle and left. Only 1 or 2 remain. After 3 years of no new Scouts, they finally got a batch, as well as a Scouter who understands the program and wants it done right. There is a lot less resistance now to Scout Led.

It could be worse. My council never kept track of training records. It was just never put into the system until about 12 years ago, when National pushed it. Long story short, 99.99999% of the district was untrained. That included myself, training chairman, and our district commissioner who served on PTC staff. We did a training survey, verified who did what, and turned in the report to the council to fix. Now I believe the district training chairman can update those records.

We had a brand new 10.5 year old Scout also get diagnosed with a undescended testicle at his BSA physical. Luckily it was caught in time so that he could have it fixed and attend summer camp. As others have mentioned is is part of a standard physical, and can ID a hernia. A friend of mine had a hernia discovered at a BSA physical, and was unable to go to camp that year because the problem was not caught in time. As far back as my first summer camp, that procedure has been SOP. Yes, getting a physical is VERY serious and important, but I gotta tell this funny story. My introduction to Youth Protection came from a physical. We had a MD, also a cardiologist by specialty, do physicals for free. We would go into a room, he'd do the check up, and we are done. Well the first year youth protection became mandatory, the physician, also an ASM with the troop, had the CC in the room in order to have 2 deep. I asked, " Mr. K_____, why are you here?" His reply was, "It's this new youth protection thing, we can't be alone with Scouts anymore." My response was "let me get this straight, We're concerned about Doc _________ Molesting us?!?!?! Yeah right with 12 kids and the 13th on the way, I don't think we need to worry." And of course we all laughed.

One reason why those number dropped could be Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans metro areas not only had the largest number of private schools in the US, but also the largest number of Catholic schools. Lot of people who moved out of the NO metro area never returned. I know my mom never did return, and my old troop died when most of the leaders and Scouts did not return. Regarding public versus Catholic, it depends on where you are located. I know in New Orleans, you want to go to Catholic school, even if you are not Catholic. My mom worked for the public school system, and sent me to Catholic school. I knew a bunch of folks whose parents were teachers in the public school system, but they attended Catholic schools. Heck, both parents of one girl I dated in high school were PRINCIPALS (emphasis) in the public school system, but sent both her and her sister to Catholic school. Regarding discipline, That is a fact. Some of the things my mom had to deal with at work would not have been tolerated at my school. And the principals acted as if their hands were tied. And at the high school I attended, we had folks waiting for teaching positions to open up. One of my friends from college took a significant pay cut to teach at my alma mater. I know one of the things that made my Catholic high school affordable was fundraising. Parents and alumni gave what they could. I would not have been able to go to my HS if it wasn't for financial aid. In fact the highlight of my senior year was being able to thank the alumnus who gave the endowed scholarship I was on.

I switched troops when I was a youth. BEST.DECISION.EVER! (emphasis) Original troop had some Scouter issues, and had a lot of verbal problems regarding leaders, i.e lots of yelling and cursing by PLs and Leadership Corps (today's venture patrol). I was not happy with the troop, and when they announced that my CM was going to be SM, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I had issues with the CM.

@NJ, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts going coed. I am assuming, and you know what happens when you assume, that it will be like the UK prior to 2007 or thereabouts: Units could be all male, all female, or coed. @@Fred, I don't have the stats in front of me, but give me some time I can probably find them, and even more current ones. I know the coed school discussion came up regarding my private HS and other way back when, and they used the data to support staying all male. Also topic cmae up in my ed theory classes.

Had a discussion abut this with the DE last nite. Long Story short, he also said that the pros have been told it's coming.

Actually the trek leader is adamant on the First Class rank because we already have 14 or 15 Scouts and 5 adults going and cannot really open it any more. And there are 3 my son's buddies who want to go. Concern is if he allows my son, he'll need to allow them, and others. And we are limited to groups of 10 max. The Scouts already got creative in setting up 2 groups on the same trail. I am actually not too concerned; I only asked if he met all the requirement but the BOR and the PT requirements because the wife wanted me to. SWMBO went into momma bear mode for a bit until she finally comprehended that he was reminded multiple times to pay attention to the requirements and keep accurate records. I think he learned his lesson. Buckling up on things. I'd rather he learned this lesson as a Scout, than as a 17 year old Life Scout with 2 months before turning 18 and still needing Personal Management MB.

First Class Scouts are traditionally supposed to be able to handle themselves in the outdoors by them selves. Yeah we met, and unfortunately had, a First Class who was pretty useless camping. But having the basic outdoor skills is one reason for the First Class. The other is an attempt to limit the number of folks going. The section we are going wants groups no larger than 10. We only able to have 5 adults go, so we can not split into 3 groups, only 2.

On the TALK ABOUT SCOUTING Facebook page, someone mentioned how their SE told them Scouting will be going coed in a pilot program in 2018. I think this is a done deal. EDITED: I think this quote is very ironic: <i>A spokesman for the Girl Scouts of the USA said it could not speculate on the decisions of another organization but said their single-gender environment for girls offers unique benefits. "Research supports our premise that many girls learn best in an all-girl, girl-led, and girl-friendly environment where their specific interests and needs are met," said Andrea Bastiani Archibald, a psychologist who helps guide the Girl Scouts. "We are unparalleled in our ability to build great female leaders who contribute to society at every level," she said.</i> Why do I think it's ironic, because research also shows that boys learn best in an all-boy, boy-led, and boy-friendly environment.

My son is caught up in the 84 day thing. He wanted to do the AT trip this summer, and the requirement is First Class and do the prep hikes, or do the AT last year. Prep hikes are open to everyone, so he's going on those. But he did not keep accurate records when he did the Tenderfoot physcical fitness. So he has to restart that requirement, and won't make it. Mixed emotions. On one hand I would love to see him go. Heck I want to go. I think it was a good goal for him to get First Class in order to go. On the other hand, he waited to the last minute, despite some reminders about the importance of keeping up with paperwork and planning. Despite me telling him there is no way he will be able to make it now, he still thinks he may be able to pull it off. I think this will be a good lesson for him on time management, and keeping records. Since BSA no longer allows patrols to camp without adults, most troops only do troop camping. Closest thing I've seen to patrol camping is venture patrols doing a HA activity on their own with 2 adults.

First year I went back to camp, one Scouter was "commuting" between camp and job. He was a minister, and there was 2 unexpected funerals to do. I had to make a Walmart run to secure the "secret ingrediant" for the cook off, and a lot of folks did too. Second year I went back, I could not get off work. So I was commuting back and forth. Drive was 20 minutes, which was less time than I normally spent.. At all times, 2 adults are in camp. Personally I'd love to take a vacation./

Even with on-boarding there can be challenges. 3AM Scout and Mom both went though the troop's orientation, and ignored it. 3AM is one of the Scouts who was forced into the troop by mom, so he had no vested interest to stay at camp where "it's hot, sticky, and no video games. The food is horrible.This place sucks." And mom is so overprotective, it's ridiculous. And yes, 3AM knows how to manipulate mom to get out of situations he doesn't like.

After 2 incidents with cell phones, they are pretty much banned. First incident involved a homesick scout at summer camp calling mom at 3:00 in the morning to pick him up. That was a mess, and mama bear drove to camp to pick up her Scout. TAfter that incident, cell phone use was limited to the older Scouts. Second incident involved an older Scout letting his little brother use his phone because he had an accident. Adults knew about the accident, administered first aid, and told the scout he'd be fine. Scout wanted to go home. So Lil' brother called dad to pick him up because he was hurt. Thankfully Dad reasonable, and sneaky. Dad called the adults to see what was up. Dad did show up, but observed his "injured" Scout for 30 minutes goofing off and being thrilled he was going home. Lil' brother got the phone a second time and called dad to see what was taking so long. Lil' brother was surprised to hear his dad's phone go off in the bushes and dad was watching him prance around. After that no phones on camp outs. Now the lock in we have, tech is welcomed. Regarding the comment about adults with phones and control, in correct. We are responsible for the Scouts. And if something happens to the Scouts, we are responsible for contacting them. Also, if somethign happens at home, how are the parents going to contact us?

Two of my Eagles are my favorite success story. Dad left when they were young. Mom serving time in jail. Grandmother was raising them by herself. Living in a rough neighborhood, going to a school that had lots of drugs, gangs, etc. Grandmother had enough and got them involved in Scouting to keep them out of trouble. One took to Scouting like a duck to water. He worked camp, did OA, got Eagle, etc. He was the driving force to get a Venturing for the older Scouts who were getting bored and antsy. Long story short, he stayed active until he enlisted, and several of his friends stayed as active as can be with school and/or naval service. Once out of the military, he eventually started his own business, which he at some point he sold. He married his HS sweetheart, has three kids and is involved with his son in Scouting. Brother was a bit of a trouble maker. Always causing problems. Something happened one summer, and he did a complete 180 degree turnaround. Instead of being the trouble maker, he became a leader. he worked camp, did OA, and Eagled. he was active until he went to college, and did some things as he could. he also served, married his HS sweetheart, and is doing well. They had rough times, they had challenges. But Scouting helped them overcome.

My cousin and I were both pushed to get Eagle. He got his at 13 and quit. I got Life at 13, and could have gotten Eagle at 14y7m, which was when I completed the project, IF I would have focused only on getting the last few MBs for Eagle. But when I was 14, instead of taking MB classes at summer camp, I did a local "high adventure" backpacking trek for fun. I also did Brownsea 22, yesterday's NYLT, learning a lot and having, fun. At 15, I got into the OA, went to jamboree, did a Canadian expedition. It was all fun. Work, challenging, but FUN. At 16 and 17, I spent summers working my tail off. No time to finish up MB. Then when it was announced that one of the guys I was PL for passed his EBOR and was waiting for national approval, it hit me. I have x number of months to get the last 2 or 3 MBs. I made it. Took me a while, but I made it. And I had a blast. Fast forward 20+ years. My cousin has a son who become a Tiger. Thankfully he doesn't push his son to get Eagle. My cousin becomes a Scouter, and tags along on his son's adventures: OA, Philmont, etc. Stuff he should have done as a youth. And he had fun doing it. My point it, to many folks focus on Eagle, and not the lessons and fun of the Trail.

In my district, references need to be in letter form and mailed to the district advancement chairman. EBOR gets to read them. I have been told this happened twice. First time, the SM counseled him and told him what he would put down. Don't know if the Scout didn't hear him or didn't care. He used the SMt, and received a negative reference. Second one I was told about is interesting. Scout went overboard with the references and had 6 or 7 letters. All but one were positive.

In my troop, parents are NOT suppose to sign off on anything. I'm a Cooking MBC, and all my son had to do from summer camp was the backpacking meal requirements for that MB. When he worked on that requirement on a backpacking trip, I made sure that the trek leader saw what was going on, and could verify that he earned it. He wasn't a MBC for that MB at the time (he is now and a few others), so I "officially" signed him off. BUT I didn't actually work with him. The Summer camp counselor and the trek leader did the MBC work. No, this mom, despite wanting her son to make Eagle, didn't really attend anything. It took and act of congress to meet with her after the second fight.

So very true! Additionally the way they are written, in beauracrateese and legalese, it takes time for some adults to understand. Try being a teenager and trying to get through the paperwork.

Vent away. Can definately relate.We had two guys in the troop who were only in it because mom forced them. One transferred to a new troop after a year, but he got to First Class due to mom signing off on the ranks and no one noticing it until after the BOR. He didn't do a heck of a lot do to family situation. But enough to start two fights and and do some morale damage to the patrol. The other stayed 2 years. When he was not around, the patrol worked well. When he showed up for events, the negativity and arguing damaged the patrol. She eventually realized the troop wasn't for him, so he is now in an Explorer post affilaited with her job.

I am going to go off on a tangent a bit, so bear with. I was just asked to be my troop's "Eagle Advisor," helping the Star and Life Scouts get prepared for doing the Eagle service project and the BOR process in my neck of the woods. And part of that job is attending with the Scout the Eagle BOR for the project approval, and attending with the Scout for their EBOR. GREAT SCOT WHAT A MESS WE ADULTS HAVE CAUSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Compared to my project's paperwork back then to today's paperwork, and it is P.I.T.B! I can now see why an "Eagle advisor" is needed, because there are so many rules, processes, and ridiculous minutia that the Scouts need to follow. And I blame adults for the problem. I've seen some things that Scouters have done to cause this mess we have today. Hey, I'm the one who had a district advancement chair try and deny my project because HE didn't approve it, his predecessor did. But I also blame parents. I've heard of some of the things parents have done to give their Scout Eagle. Heck we had one mom threaten to sue if her son didn't get an extension because he screwed up his first project so badly, the beneficiary told him and the Scouts to leave. She didn't think it was fair he would not be able to get Eagle because "[beneficiary] changed their mind after he started his project."

A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.... : I was up in Canada doing a 64 mile canoe trip. First day out was gorgeous and very nice. So the second day, I decide to wear swim trunks, jungle boots, sunscreen, and a PFD. WWWWWEEEEEELLLLL a cold front comes through after lunch dropping temperatures, causing rain, and kicking up the wind. Went from lower 70s / upper 60s to the lower to mid 50s in minutes. Plus you got to add in windchill from 30-40mph gusts and rain. Needless to say I got cold real fast. Grabbed a ponchor, but no other insulation. And those 30-40mph gusts caused some "challenges" with my canoe. The waves cause my canoe partner to freeze with fear. I ended up screaming at my partner, "PADDLE OR DIE, TACO! PADDLE OR DIE!" (Me screaming at partner, not you folks ) And to make matters worse, my buddy canoe decides play a joke on us. With Taco frozen, they pull up next to us and push the bow of the canoe out. They did it with enough force, combined with the wave action, that we had to use that momentun and do a 360 to get back on course. We nearly flipped over 3 times, and it took about 10 minutes to get on course. By that point they left us behind, and Taco was still frozen with fear. I was not making any headway paddling a loaded canoe by myself in the wind and rain. So I decided to "island hop:" go to the nearest island, walk along the shore dragging the canoe, then paddling to the next island to repeat. So I am in jungleboots, swimtrunks, PFD, and a poncho in anywhere from ankle to chest deep lake water that is glacier fed. Did I mention the water is barely above freezing? I finally make it to the rest of the group. I'm disoriented, slurring speech, and blue like a Smurf from the chest down. Yep I had hypothermia.One of the guys noticed it, and started treating me for hyporthermia. But with no dry wood, they couldn't start a fire, and made that comment. That's when I commented, "I have a Sterno can in my survival kit." All eyes turn on me and I am told to bust it out. That's when I say, "But its only for emergencies." Then my buddy says " [EAGLE], YOU GOT HYPOTHERMIA. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY. BUST IT OUT NOW!" So a fire got started, I got treated, and all's well that ends well. Except for the hazing I got for years about the "...it's only for emergencies" comment.