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.

Tonight's the night... Also my first meeting as SM instead of Advancement Chair or Committee member. Deep breath, and ready for the plunge.

I've looked online at how to get someone set up as a Lone Scout, and will call our Council for further info, but had a couple questions for anyone who may have had a scout in a similar situation as what we have. This scout was part of our Troop last year, but moved back to Ecuador. He will be returning/visiting from time to time and wants to be involved with the Troop as much as possible. He's one of our older scouts and has always been a great help. He easily has one of the best attitudes and most positive outlooks I've seen in a young man. Looking for suggestions as to what we can have him do, and whether he can have any type of POR with the Troop. He's currently in the States, and will be here until Feb. 18th, if that matters. The scouts are reorganizing their Patrols tonight. My thought is that it can't hurt to let him join a Patrol, even though he isn't formally a member of our Troop anymore. There's not a lot of information I've found so far about what goes for this kind of situation.

Thanks all. CC says, "Our district will not accept money from the council account." Ugh. They tried the batch ACH mentioned by InquisitiveScouter - above - "We tried the batch renewal process and it's not going well at all. BSA system sends a $0.01 penny test using Stripe to our ConnectOne bank account but it takes a long time to receive it and R___ (our treasurer) sees it "go in and then out" and we don't know what to do." So frustrating. I've told her she should join this forum, btw.

Has anyone encountered the following problem? Our CC says, "Payment from the Troop account won't go through for recharter or for the adult leader renewal. I may need to pay for the Troop $100 recharter myself from my account and request reimbursement then ask adult leaders like M__ and D__ H__ etc. to renew their membership online and request reimbursement...." Has anyone successfully paid for their adults renewal from a Troop account that is set up with their Council?

It's funny to see this topic front-and-center again because, coincidentally, Bugler apparently is a top choice of Position of Responsibility for our scouts this semester. Four of them gave speeches telling why they should be chosen. In a very funny twist, the kid who gave the most convincing speech does not play a brass instrument. He very cleverly dodged anything specific, and several of us thought he actually plays the bugle. 😂 After that meeting, one of the others showed up to the holiday party with his trumpet in tow. They're really duking it out for a position that usually goes unfilled. SPL will be making his choices after the new year. We shall see.

Thanks everyone. In addition to the above advice, I picked up copies of the SPL handbook and the PL handbook and plan on looking through them before handing them over. One thing I have going for me is that I've been a track and cross-country coach for a few years now. (Some of the scouts I've coached previously, and one caused my eyes to wet a little when he told me he was hoping I would be the next SM and it was a wish granted. This kid...) Hopefully some of that experience transfers. It's at least similar in that I can't run for them - only encourage them when it gets hard and celebrate the wins and milestones with them. I'm signing up for Wood Badge, but that doesn't start until April 4th. Now I have to focus on prodding younger son to decide whether he's going to complete the MBs he needs to rank up, or whether he's done. He's my lazy one. Smart as a whip, but so hard to get him to do anything. I think he wants to make Eagle like his older brother, but when push comes to shove he's reluctant to put in the work. Same thing with deciding whether he'll retake the SAT after doing some test prep, or not. I'd be delighted had I gotten his score, but he's not thrilled with the score, and I know he's capable of more. In many ways, dealing with scouts who aren't family is easier. 😂

I truly understand that they need to make the decisions. (The very first thing I've done is to arrange a day of training for the scouts who will have leadership roles so that they understand what their responsibilities are and will have the information needed to be independent of the adults.) But the incoming SPL has indicated that he needs help. This is helpful. How do they figure it out, I guess is my question at this point. I can, and will, let the SPL know the scouts need to self-select (for lack of a better term), but how does he begin? The mechanics of it? Ask them to form up during the next Troop meeting? Email them? A lot do group-chat, but not all have phones. Do they figure it out over the course of a few weeks as they naturally form groups? Am I being too impatient in wanting to sort out the Patrols soon, so that we start off with these new expectations in place? One of my biggest fears (outside of the sheer terror of being a SM in the first place) is that things stay the same because that's how the last SM did it. For example, I'd to see the scouts cooking in patrols on our next campout, which is January 31st, instead of cooking as a Troop.

So... I'm taking over the SM position for our Troop. I feel like we're not horrible at the patrol method, but that we have a fair way to go. I'm completing training as fast as I can, and reading as much as I have time for, but there are a few things that are popping up and this group of Scouters is one of the best resources I've found - either for answers or pointing to where answers can be found - so here I am with my questions. We've experienced a lot of growth this year in our Troop, with scouts joining throughout the year. As a result, our Patrols are kind of a mish-mash, with some scouts not being formally added to a patrol or even knowing if they're in a Patrol. We have five who are not yet Scout rank, but two of the five only need to whip and fuse the rope, do their Child Protection, and SM conference, so even among them, there isn't a clear indication that they should be, or want to be, in a Patrol together. Previously our Patrols have been done by grade, but not sure that's the best answer. The current SPL inherited the Patrols the way they're set up now, so he doesn't have a lot of insight. I've not yet met with the incoming SPL. We need to elect our incoming Patrol Leaders, but will need to set the Patrols first. Any guidance from you for me to pass along would be SO very appreciated.

I can't speak to this case, specifically, but it seems the answer is yes. Unfortunately the legal system moves slower than snail's pace. I have an open ethics complaint that I filed in June of 2022 that is still not fully decided. It is nearing the end, though. The final agency must decide whether to adopt the findings of the judge in their session later this month. My complaint was combined with two others, but relatively straight-forward, and it still took 2.5 years. It took nearly a year for the judge to decide whether to grant a request for summary decision.

Part of my son's project, completed this past June, is probably already in ruins. He built a bocce ball court, and in the process of excavating had to put in a rain garden. New Jersey has had drought conditions for a few months now, and because this is at a pool - which is now closed - he couldn't get anyone to give him access initially. Once someone finally agree to come open up, he realized the water had been shut off for the season. Bye-bye to the $360 worth of plantings. Our Troop has talked about making a list of projects completed by our Eagle Scouts, and trying to maintain some of them, but it hasn't gone beyond talk at this point. However, it looks like our next Scoutmaster will be... me.