Have you heard of a Scout Patrol that doesn't like to camp?

[Stosh]

 

 

Oh, Stosh, you gotta know that sit-down talk is on the docket! I'm not pleased with this merit badge fixation they share to the detriment of their Patrol mates.

 

I guess I don't understand what you mean in the second part. I should NOT take pictures? What the what?

 

As for patience...I have a ton of that. I've been patient for a long, long, long time as we move closer and closer to a Troop with two distinct patrols...I can continue to be patient with these anti-outdoors youngsters.

 

On another thread, I commented that when the boys back out of an activity I hook up with the Mrs. and we go instead. Taking pictures of all the fun we had, I was told, was like rubbing salt into the wounds and putting down the boys. I also would visit places and take pictures of things I think the boys would be interested in for future activities. That was heavily frowned upon by some, too. I guess handing out travel brochures and BSA literature on high adventure is frowned upon too.

 

Needless to say I have pretty much ignored such advice.

 

Also with two groups, why not have the boys realign themselves so that the campers can go with a full contingent and the non-campers can stay home. Sounds like a win/win to me.

 

While the boys do keep the patrols relatively stable on leadership and membership, there can be changes occurring at any time. There's no such thing as a term of office for anyone and membership is determined by who wants to be with whom. I pretty much stay out of the whole process and it works well for the boys. Pretty much eliminates all the bickering and squabbling.

 

If implemented, the boys that want to camp would group together and those that didn't would group together. A camper surely would not want to be part of a patrol that didn't camp. The "rules" should be he gets to decide such things.

 

6-8 boys in a patrol and a PL... Let me know what you decide. If they get 2 weeks into the program and the PL they elected based on popularity turns out to be a dud, then have another election and get someone in there that will do the job. Oh, the PL needed a POR for advancement? Well, he had better start looking around for something else because PL isn't in his future anytime soon.

 

And how much hassle and hair-pulling does this involve for adults? Absolutely NONE! That's the beauty of the whole thing, the boys have no one to blame but themselves when all hell breaks loose.

 

This way I don't have to go on the forum and ask for help on how to deal with these boys. They have to deal with it themselves, they have more skin in the game than I do.

 

Stosh

 

[Scourge]

Two Words: Girl Scouts

[CalicoPenn]

Except the Girl Scouts camp more often than this Patrol did

[CalicoPenn]

I'm glad this thread has been resurrected - I've an additional thought on the attitudes expressed by the boys.  They weren't developed in a vacuum.  I think all of us have horror stories of parents who saw no value in camping, or who had a lot of fear over their sons staying out in a tent overnight.  I'm just surprised that it's taken so long for those attitudes to trickle down to an entire Patrol instead of the ocassional boy here or there.

 

It also ties in, I think, with something disturbing I just read about the closing of Camp Lakota in Woodstock.  For the longest time, this was a primitive camp close to the Council that was usually book every weekend in May and October for District camporees and a great place for individual Troops to spend a weekend - there were often 3 or 4 Troops on the property on any given non-camporee weekend.  It was a great place for Patrol only camping too - there were even some Troops that would reserve 4 or 5 campsites and assiged each to a Patrol with the adults in their own site.  When Webelos were allowed to camp out, a section of the camp was reserved for webelos camping, complete with their own activity shelter.  Later, a winter cabin was put in which was rarely unused on winter weekends.  It was a popular camp - and no one minded the primitive facilities.   Now that the vote has been taken to close the camp, the Council shared with the media some of their reasoning and results on their evaluations.  What struck me is that the best point of the camp is apparently the new swimming pool that was installed 5 years ago.  The second best might be the climbing wall.  The evaluations gave big negatives to the primitive nature of the campsites, with no running water at each site and with primitive facilities (outhouses) in strategic locations outside the sites (and shared with other sites) and to the marsh.  With attitudes like that from the volunteers and national engineering staff who came up with these evaluations, is it any wonder that Scouts don't want to camp anymore?

[Stosh]

Paper Eagles anyone?

[Hedgehog]

Wow. It's 6:00 am and 39 degrees outside. I'm snug inside my down sleeping bag in a tent. 19 Boys in tents around me all sleeping soundly after a spending yesterday at a Camporee they decided they wanted to go to - seriously, who wouldn't want to this tomahawks? There are four other ASMs with me. We had a blast hanging out in the campsite while the patrols did their thing and then having short ribs and polenta for dinner with apple pie for dessert. At our meeting next week the SPL starts the meeting with calling up the boys who went and asking what the best part of the trip was.

 

More later ... I've got to go make coffee.

[Stosh]

Both my boys bailed on me for this weekend's program.  Mrs. and I went anyway.... Blue sky and sunshine, fantastic fall colors and they bailed on the most beautiful weekend of the year.  

[qwazse]

Those boys deserved to be beaten with a stick. Or at least instructed that weekends like this are precious to trade in on anything but scouting.

 

Son #1 and I have been fuming because our jobs tied us down while DiL was able to free up her extended weekend to go backpacking with here friends in in Dolly Sods.

[perdidochas]

Well, that's what I've got right now. As the older Scouts have turned 18 and moved on to college, etc, the younger Scouts coming into my Troop "just aren't that into camping. They put camping trips on their Patrol calendar but when it comes to their Patrol meetings they realize that none of them are going. Many excuses are made as to why camping isn't fun and they'd rather see if anything else comes up. You may recall that I got two Scouts from this Patrol to agree to go camping two weekends ago. That was solely to fulfill First Class requirements and most definitely NOT because they wanted to be out camping. (They actually told me that.). The rest of their Patrol calendar for the year is hockey games, video game nights, and board games. Hiking, camping, and general Green-Bar-Billing is anathema to these youngsters. I guess this is turning into a rant but I guess I just gotta vent...

 

Not a patrol, but I know individual scouts that don't like it. 

[Stosh]

Any scout that doesn't like to camp is going to end up being a Paper Eagle at best.  One has to seriously question their motivations as to why they are in the program.  A kid that wants an athletic scholarship to college but hates sports.....  The college graduate that wants to be a business CEO but doesn't like to work.... the seminary graduate that likes to have his weekends free.....

 

How far are we going to cater to these people before we realize how much of our time is being wasted on useless efforts?

[qwazse]

I know boys who don't like it but still go along to be with their friends.

A couple of weekends a year, or twelve weekends in one year ... And yes Eagle is still available to them.

There's one such boy in every bunch. If he mends gear, keeps the scout house clean, fundraises, lines up presenters for meetings, or masters first aid, I'm fine with it. For some scouts, camping is the side show to an otherwise full life.

 

When that scout drags his buddies down to the lowest common denominator, (e.g., schlepping at momma''s house while she serves them up pizza and cannoli, and picks up after them ...) That's when I have a problem.