swilliams

I'm not sure what's happening here, but not happy. This forum has always been a great place for help, inspiration, and guidance. Being downvoted for using third-party software, which hurts NO ONE on this forum is pretty unbelievable. And not by one poster, but two. Tron gave incorrect information. I merely asked for help. Taking a break from this place for a while. Mad at myself a bit for letting this get under my skin so much, but there's enough negativity in the world that I certainly don't need another place for it.

Because you care? And maybe because it's extra-rewarding to see a scout that has faced challenges be able to accomplish the 'top achievement'? It also sounds like you know this scout a bit more than perhaps others. A scout in our Troop went from not being able to write a paragraph without the lines drifting across the page, to taking AP European History. I think it's natural for us to root for the 'underdog' and want them to reach 'the pinnacle'.

I'm returning the downvote because I just checked the GTA and it is "recommended" to do monthly entry, not "mandated". You may have some weird issue with the use of third-party software, but don't give false information. Not appreciated.

Thanks for that info. I was unaware of the mandate from National. Hopefully SB is better now than it was when I used it three years ago. It was a nightmare. We had lost data, scouts removed from the roster, etc. I gave up the Advancement Chair job 2-3 years ago to take on other roles, so I'm just starting to refamiliarize myself with the program. We still use Troopmaster because of the reports. SB still doesn't have (as far as I've heard, and from the little I've seen while poking around) the functionality of TM in that regard. We do batch uploads to SB, so it's not all that much more work. Just saw that you've given me a downvote as well. What the hell, man??!!

For any who use Troopmaster... we have a scout who transferred to our unit. His old unit kept an activities log on Scoutbook, so I'm able to see what he had done that applies to his First Class rank requirement for 10 activities. However, in Troopmaster, I can't figure out how to enter them. I can edit the entire requirement to show it as completed, but he only has 8 of the 10 activities done. Troopmaster, as we've been using it, pulls from the activities we enter and the attendance for those activities. Since he wasn't with our Troop last year, the activities he attended aren't listed. Any suggestions?? At this point, I'm thinking maybe just wait until he has two more activities done, then mark the requirement as done?

We had a scout come to us from Belgium years ago. He made Eagle and is now doing a gap year back in Belguim. I didn't know there was such a thing as International Spirit Award.

I agree with the bold, particularly training, which is why I stated: "I put "training" in quotes because we have a hard enough time getting parents involved without telling them they need training, lol. Still, at a minimum I want them to understand what the Patrol Method is and to understand why having their support on camping trips (because that's the specific weak point in our Troop for parents) is crucial." The trouble we're having is that we are really struggling with adult participation on trips, and it's been this way for a while. We've barely managed even finding enough drivers for our last two camping trips, let alone those who will stay. Our Troop has a policy of minimum three registered YPT adults on a trip in case of an unforeseen event or emergency, though four is preferred. We have three for our upcoming trip on the 31st. I'm totally okay with, and in favor of, going with just three, but one of the two ASMs attending is expressing concern about having only three adults. For reference, we typically get 15-20 scouts on a trip. Willing to accept that offering more adventure/learning for the adults may be the exact wrong thing to do. Trying to brainstorm how to encourage, but maybe I need to be thinking more about how to make it closer to glamping for 'Support Adults'. LOL. Our ASM types are already ASMs.

We're mostly set, with the exception of two scouts who haven't been to a meeting yet since the start of the year. We did ILST yesterday now that we have our Patrols and PORs. I think that it went pretty well, but after nearly 4 hours (45 minutes for lunch in the middle) we didn't hold a review at the end. The scouts actually enjoyed the games, though the 'trust fall' one became 'shove the scout in the center' instead of 'redirect the scout in the center'. I thought we'd be able to shorten the time a bit, but found that we couldn't get through everything in the hour allotted to each module. I made sure we had time to watch the videos on the various aspects of the Troop meeting, because there are two parts our Troop doesn't do that I think will help us. The videos were a little - can't think of the word I want - but anyway, the last one was of the PLC doing a review of how the meeting went and one scout said, "That (a game they had tried) devolved into chaos, as usual." I saw a couple of our scouts nodding or chuckling. It's good for them to see that imperfection is so normal and that this is somewhat typical. The best part was observing how the scouts handled aspects of the training. I did a fair amount of camping with the Troop when we first joined, then less as time went on. I forgot how rewarding it can be seeing them figure things out, make jokes, step in to help each other... and yes, even be obnoxious, lol.

In trying to pick up knowledge to help me be an effective leader, I've been scouring this site. Here's a partial quote that caught my attention, both for myself, but for other adults: [quote]How to revamp BSA training - I see a very similar problem in the BSA. There is a lack of depth of knowledge at the unit and district level these days - to your point those senior Scouters who make this all work magically. You describe that very well and I concur. In a sense, I wonder how much of the various training efforts around the BSA are really all trying to address this issue. I would welcome an advanced unit Scouter course that covers the mechanics of unit level Scouting. In fact, I could see a small collection of such advanced, in person courses. A weekend or two for each sounds correct to me. These are serious courses for serious people. leadership development & team building advanced Scoutmaster training advanced unit mechanics advanced district mechanics[/quote] Our Troop needs adults to camp with us (and that's become harder now that they must be registered). I've been thinking about "training" for the adults who don't hold official positions within the Troop. I put "training" in quotes because we have a hard enough time getting parents involved without telling them they need training, lol. Still, at a minimum I want them to understand what the Patrol Method is and to understand why having their support on camping trips (because that's the specific weak point in our Troop for parents) is crucial. I want to come up with a plan that might help, and the above post seemed relevant in that it lays out areas that seem like they would need to be addressed in order for successfully getting parents involved. (Understanding how things work, and being part of the team that makes the Troop run.) The very, very basic start to this plan is to first and foremost build a type of agenda/plan to present to the parents in order to tempt/persuade them to come with us. One dad, who is a landscaper and no stranger to being outdoors told me, "I [curse word] hate camping." So this is going to be a challenge, but I'm thinking what if a camping trip is advertised not as 'come with us because we need adults', but as a chance for adults to participate in an adventure? After all, that's much the way that we approach youth. What kind of activities do you think would resonate? I love hiking, backpacking, fire-building, biking, trail running, rafting/kayaking, bird-watching. I don't love cooking (outdoors or in, lol). I love sleeping in a tent (but not in January). I like the solitude of the outdoors more than being around a group, but have been told I'm personable. That's all to say that what I think would make an awesome trip may not be what others think would make an awesome trip. I DO know that for most of our scouts the time they spend in groups with their peers is one of the biggest draws of going on the trips. For those of you who have done training, what resonated and what fell flat? Are there activities you've done that don't feel like "This is a team-building activity"? One of the things we were told as parents when my boys first joined our Troop was - come with us; you won't have to do anything. That felt kind of nice but - for me - doesn't seem like it's enough enticement.

The next IOLS for our Council isn't until May 3rd. I'm not sure how strict our Council is, but given that we were going to be without a Scoutmaster at all, my guess is that they're not going to make an issue of it unless I don't do the training once it's available. I may do Wilderness First Aid and CPR, which is available March 14-16. Thanks for the link above. Will check it out.

First meeting as Scoutmaster last night, and our SPL had the scouts re-form their Patrols. Late this afternoon I fielded a call from a parent whose son has some very mild behavioral issues (alerted to the issues by the parent, not a judgement call). He will be Patrol Leader for his Patrol. I was told that one of the other scouts in the Patrol has similar behaviors, so the parent wasn't sure that this grouping was the best fit. There was no demand for a re-do or to separate the kids - it was phrased from the perspective of sharing information for monitoring. So that's the great news. The scouts did group themselves, though the one scout (the one who may have similar behaviors) is new to the Troop and the friend who brought him in undoubtedly influenced the grouping. (Our CC has some notes that parents have shared about individual scouts, but hasn't shared them yet. Me taking on this role was pretty last-minute when the previous SM was stepping down, and no one was stepping up.) I do have some experience working with kids in an ABA setting, but with greater needs than we're talking about here. I've finished all my online training - not much there about this. I haven't done IOLS or WoodBadge - they're only available in a few months, from what I saw on our Council website. Not sure how much, if any, material they cover about working with scouts with special needs. Even if this is covered, there's no substitute for experience, which I lack. Please point me to any resources on helping (or resisting the urge to help, when called for) scouts that have to navigate conflict, and who may be more challenged by that. Appreciated.

She got a firm, but polite, "If Patrols are going to work, we need to let the scouts pick their own leaders. When Patrols work, we'll retain more scouts, they'll advance faster, they'll be happier, and your son's job will be easier." She's still speaking to me, so I hope that went okay. LIttle did I know how appropriate that term is, haha. For those who may find it useful, the pairing up of two scouts (or in one case a group of three), then having those pairs find another group was the SPL's second way to get them to group when the statement "form groups 5-8 or 6-8 scouts didn't work for one group (who kept forming into a group of almost 14 scouts).

So... last night was a mess, lol. Unbeknownst to me, Confirmation classes are in full swing, and they happen every-other Tuesday night - same time as our Troop meetings. This resulted in about a dozen of our scouts being absent - roughly a quarter of our troop. On top of that, we had a visiting scout checking out the Troop - not the best activity for him! Followed by three scouts surprising me with, "I need a SM conference." Then the mom of the SPL asking me to 'pick Patrol Leaders based on who was there last night' so we don't have to postpone the training date because it will be inconvenient for her son. This is going to be an interesting year. 😂

I like that! Thank you for the link. We'll be doing our semi-annual planning soon, and I'm sending this to our PLC.

I don't remember who it was, but I sent an orienteering map I made to someone on this site. Always wanted to try it "for real". We do an orienteering event that I create every March, before the woods get too overgrown. This past March, one group got lost. They happily blamed my map-making skills, haha.