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InquisitiveScouter

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Everything posted by InquisitiveScouter

  1. Be careful with this. You must consult with your local council for their interpretation. Our council interprets this as a registered leader with that unit, having been approved by the CO/COR. I made this same inquiry to National for interpretation and was skewered, btw... Tread with care...
  2. Vs none!...always need a third option.😎😎😎
  3. In all of my years as a youth in OA, we did pretty much what we wanted. In hindsight, it seemed like the inmates running the asylum. When our local lodge conducted our last two elections, the youths representing the lodge gushed on and on about how cool it is that everyone brings computers and play stations so they can game all night at lodge fellowships. Parents certainly don't want to hear, nor necessarily have their Scouts participating in that.
  4. Granted, but those aren't requirements up to First Class... service projects, yes, and all units should be providing program opportunity for those.
  5. I have recommended that we never do a "First Year Program" at Scout Camp again...based on my last five years of observations at different summer camps in our region. Here are some things I have noted, in general... - Most "instructors" for the programs were first year staffers without the requisite skills to teach. I observed many of them demonstrating incorrect knots and lashings, incorrect safety precautions for Totin Chip (or outright skipping items like ax use and care, yet still "signing it off"), poor map and navigation skills, inability to identify local plants/trees (ID'ing animals is usually less of a problem, but still concerning, as many do not include insects/arachnids/mollusks/etc. in their scope), inadequate fire building, poor first aid skills, inadequate cooking/cleaning information, etc., etc. etc. We have had to spend a good deal of time "correcting" learning wrong information. "What does the Scout Handbook say??" - Many programs simply escort the Scouts around to various program areas to earn MBs anyway, to fill the time. Swimming, First Aid, Nature, a handicraft badge, etc. They can do that themselves, thanks - Poor/inaccurate recording of attendance and requirements accomplished. Usually giving the Scout credit for items when they weren't even in class. - Dividing up the Scouts to form ad hoc patrols, rather than maintaining the patrol integrity provided by the unit. If I give you 8 Scouts in the first year program, why don't you just keep them together in the patrol already formed with an identity, emblem, yell, etc.??? Answer: because this is part of our program schedule. If they already have those things done, we don't have anything else for them to do during that block if instruction. Me: 😈 (I think this also contributes somewhat to homesickness issues, as they are not with the buddies they came to camp with.) - Feedback from 95% of the participants is negative...they did not have fun in those programs - The trend to be always "busy doing something" Scouts need some time to go for hike, read a book, sit in a hammock, skip rocks in the creek, fish, etc... When they do the MB program, we encourage them to take an hour or two off every day to do "nothing". Every bit of research I have read says youth need unstructured time for development. Our PLC, all of whom were in those programs, now encourage our new Scouts to not go into those programs. Our adult leaders, many of them parents of Scouts who went through those programs, discourage parents from steering their new Scout to those programs also. It is rare that a Scout finishes First Class in a year, because they have to take the initiative on their own advancement, particularly with the fitness activity tracking pieces. Most 11 year olds don't care about some of those things. We provide OPPORTUNITY to advance to First Class. We do not spoon feed them, nor create paper Scouts.
  6. Oooohhh, just looked at CalTopo...very nice. I might be switching
  7. Google Earth with USGS topo data overlay. https://www.earthpoint.us/topomap.aspx You can toggle back and forth and get an exact satellite image of the area as well...plotting waypoints and treks is easy...gives you exact distances and elevation profiles on tracks and trails plotted. In Google Earth, you can also go back in time on the satellite shots for some excellent older satellite photos, shot at various times through the year, to make out features better. I also use a UTM grid overlay for those badges needing UTM discussions. https://www.earthpoint.us/Grids.aspx Free except for the cost of printing. Map data is a bit dated, but I have used this for years with great results. All lines are True or Grid North, so Scouts have to know the local variation (declination). https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/declination.shtml Coupled with a locally produced Forest Service, NPS, State Park (etc.) trail map, and you have a very thrifty navigation solution for Scouts. Enjoy!
  8. Wish you the best @carebear3895 !!! Thanks for your insights in the forum...it has, many times, been beneficial to get a view from the other side of the fence Will you continue in a volunteer capacity somewhere?
  9. Agreed that that age range should have Venturing available, but I think my example may not have been clear. The Crews I am talking about are really shadow organizations. They exist solely to provide a registration home for older members of the OA. Members of the Crew are OA members who need a unit to call home, but they do no actual Venturing program stuff other than support OA events. So, the unit exists on paper just to support the Order of the Arrow. IMO, this is a reversal of the intended order of things. The OA exists to support unit program (partially) through recognizing honor Scouts and promoting camping. In the case here, the Scouts (and Scouters) must first be OA members before they can join the crew. There is no unit program other than OA stuff. I believe Dr. Goodman would not approve. We have two ASMs and several Unit Scouter Reserves, or Unit College Scouter Reserves (all 18-20) who maintain memberships in the Troop and lend a great deal of time to the local Lodge. They are not full-time Troop-focused, but help out the Troop when able.
  10. Love this thought! May I please use it freely without crediting you??😜😜😜
  11. This^^^^^ and the rest...great post. Would give it more Upvotes, if I could. Like units, each lodge has it's own personality and culture... Those with the least draw for that council's Scouts are what we term a "self-licking ice cream cone" (SLICC) Some common themes among these are: - The Lodge focusing more on being a "Native American Heritage Society", where dance teams, drum teams, pow-wows, and regalia become more important than the "thing of the spirit" - Councils using the OA as a set up and take down of their Summer Camp to avoid paying staff extra time to do this...to the point of telling the lodge that Ordeals must be scheduled as bookends to Summer Camp to accomplish this. - Lodges putting out the message to unit leaders that they should consider what a Scout's contribution to the lodge will be when considering eligibility for OA election. (Yes, this happens.) An Arrowman's first duty is to his unit. https://oa-bsa.org/article/thoughts-arrowmans-primary-duty - Lodges which do no unit service, other than conduct elections. You can generate a whole laundry list of possibilities for this, starting with producing the WTGCG mentioned elsewhere. I know that some lodges even create Venturing Crews which are set up as units solely for the purpose of giving Arrowmen a place to register in order to meet the the "must be registered member" requirement. (anathema!) - Lodges which do no community service events, but serve only themselves (or Scouting) through Fellowships, Ordeals, Camp Work Days, Conclaves, etc. Those with the most draw do the opposite
  12. Barry, thank you for all you did for scouting... Wanna do a 50-miler with us on the Delaware River in August?🤪🤪🤪
  13. Yeah, I have one that was made with aluminum rivets...those didn't last long The self-tappers did the trick.
  14. The other side of the coin is that unit leaders need to be open to the guidance Commissioners give. Many unit leaders I know think that when a district or council person (vol or pro) shows up at their events, it only means trouble. Leaders must be continually developed. Youth and adult. I do not get the sense that this mindset exists in our council.
  15. Yeah, this one is a head scratcher...GTSS forbids, but I know a recent version of the Fire Safety Merit Badge pamphlet discussed using lighter fluid for charcoal, so that is (or was) a very mixed message. I dunno if that has been updated to reflect GTSS prohibitions....anyone have current copy of Fire Safety MB and can check it out??
  16. Ditto. Here, our district has two major challenges. 1. No Commissioner Corps to speak of... (There is no one to help units know what "right" looks like.) 2. The District schedules too many events, if you can believe it... two camporees per year (in addition to a council-wide event), many (like six or so) Cub events that they ask Troops to support, Klondike, a skills competition, a fishing derby, rocket launch, a merit badge event, etc. And you are castigated if you don't attend/support the events. It is like the district is planning a whole Troop program year so the Troops don't have to. When I am asked why we weren't at such and such an event, I simply say, "Because the PLC decided they wanted to do something else." And, unfortunately, that answer is not acceptable to most in our council. smh
  17. This one is a burr under my saddle... one of the stated purposes of the Order is to "Promote camping, responsible outdoor adventure, and environmental stewardship as essential components of every Scout’s experience, in the unit, year-round, and in summer camp." In too many cases, this has devolved into putting up tents at an Ordeal weekend prior to summer camp, and not much else... Good to see some lodges still produce the WTGCG
  18. Hand in hand with Association with Adults goes Personal Growth. The Aims are not discrete functions, they are a unified whole. Again, you know that. If we just pushed them out the door without the Adult Association (as many are doing outside of Scouting), they will rarely develop desirable character... Lord of the Flies?
  19. This is one of the things that is killing Scouting.
  20. You have jumped to the opposite end of the spectrum. Fine. The answer in all cases is the Chartering Organization. You know that.
  21. The program doesn't. People build character in themselves and in other people. We adults are supposed to be setting the example (Association with Adults, anyone?) Unfortunately, a great many Scouters I have come across are not "people of good character". Blame the Co's on this one...most often, the adult leaders are just the ones who volunteer to do it, without regard as to whether that person is a "positive role model" "Scouts learn a great deal by watching how adults conduct themselves." "I think yesterdays overburdened Cub program steels the illusion of fun from the adult perspective and they loose any enthusiasm of it for their kids." You got that right!!
  22. It is our primary platform for event scheduling, communication, advancement tracking, and financial transactions (outings, dues, summer camp payments, etc.) Whatever comes next must provide similar or enhanced capabilities, along with a seamless transition.
  23. Had to make one more post, because I was at 666
  24. That's good advice. We already operate with that attitude towards national, council, and district. The danger is in going rogue But then, most other unit leaders around here, that I have observed (and continue to see), don't take the time to read the literature, practice the skills, or put the "true" program into place. Scoutbook actually enabled our "departure" from district and council to a great degree. So much functionality and promise... Alas, it doesn't sound like the future "solution" @CynicalScouter relayed holds much to look forward too... (Lol, just realized I didn't mention regional...what do they do again??)
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