CarlosD

Our troop is in the process of switching from Troopmaster to Scoutbook. We would also like to have a stand-alone website that could serve as a front-end for Scoutbook (similar to TM), that would also be able to access cloud storage for documents and photos. Am wondering how you integrate Scoutbook with a stand-alone troop website. Thanks, Carlos

Hi all, We are about to have our annual planning meeting where Scouts decide where they will go for each of their monthly campouts as well as for summer camp. This is my first planning meeting as SM and I assumed this is how other units do this, since BS troops are "boy lead". My concern about this is that the Scouts may not do their due diligence in researching the many options for monthly campouts and for summer camp. I sent out a list of campgrounds in Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, and it appears to have not been looked at. Does your unit do it this way or do the SM and other adult leaders play a role in deciding where to camp? Looking forward to your thoughts!

We just got back from summer camp, my first one as SM. On our last night, a scout cut himself in the knee with his knife. He claims to have treated the wound himself correctly. He did not notify an adult. The next morning was return day and his knee was swollen. Upon arriving home his dad had to take him to the ER and he is on antibiotics. He will be fine, but I am wondering if your troop has policies as to who can treat a wound and if adult leaders need to be notified about any injury.

I think its important to establish the notion of a quorum so that any decisions are representative of all of the patrols ( our vote only had 50% of PLs). Collegiality is also an important skill that is not easy for kids at this age.

Thanks all. Am inclined to not allow Adult Leaders to check off their kid's requirements except for perhaps service hours. Will get feedback from Troop Committee and put into bylaws. I think its important to have this sort of policy in the troop bylaws, but I suppose that is another topic.

Just following up. So we are respecting the vote taken by the PLC for now. I may ask the SPL to request a new vote sometime in the future since it seems they did not follow proper rules of order. We are training the PLC on the use of Robert's Rules.

Hi all, I became our unit's SM back in March. I have two sons in our troop. I have not checked off any requirements for them, to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. Do BSA guidelines prohibit the SM or other Adult Leader from checking off son's requirements for rank advancement or merit badges? Can the SM hold an SM conference with his/her son? Thanks.

Thank you TAHAWK and to all who responded. Will let you know outcome.

Thank you for that sir. Requiring all Scouts to participate in campout planning with their patrols was designed in part to stimulate interest in attending the campouts. Attendance has been lagging in our troop. We tried this compulsory planning one time and 18 scouts attended the campout. A huge uptick for us. So my question is can the SM snd SPL overrule a PLC decision we feel is damaging our Scouting program?

We used to let the non-attendees do other activities, but this created problems with having enough adult supervision, etc. Having all Scouts participate in planning is something new we are trying. Would be interested in hearing how other troops do this.

Hi, Am new to the forum. I have been an adult leader for the past nine years. My younger son recently crossed over and I was asked to be the SM for our troop. Since I had previously taken the SM/ASM training, I accepted. I was wondering how much latitude the Scoutmaster has in setting up troop meeting structure. We now have a segment during the meeting where patrols plan their next campout. We (the SPL and I) are requiring all Scouts to participate even if some are not going on the campout. We feel this keeps all of the Scouts engaged in planning outdoor activities, which is an important training element in itself and even induces more Scouts to attend outdoor activities, which of course is a crucial element of Scouting. One Scout (the previous SPL) thinks Scouts should not be forced to help with campout planning if they will not be attending and was able to get a vote in the PLC in favor of this. Can the PLC change the rules on who may participate in certain activities? Thanks for your input.

Hi, I am a Tiger Cub Den Leader and this is my first post on this forum. The Scouts in our den recently earned their Tiger Cub badge. One of the parents asked me if his Scout can receive credit for Electives for activities that were done prior to the boy becoming a Scout, or prior to the boy earning the Tiger Cub badge after having enrolled in Cub Scouts. I couldn't find anything in the Cub Scout Leader Book that spoke to this. My gut tells me that if an activity was performed without the specific intent of doing an elective, it should not count, regardless of when it was done. Would appreciate any references to Scouting regulations which address this issue. Carlos