First Troop Meeting

[fgoodwin]

My son and I went to our first troop meeting last nite.

 

We bridged last month, and I must say, I was anxious. Alex had been getting bored with Cub Scouts, and I was afraid he would not want to stay in Scouting. Two years ago, we returned to TX after three years in MD. He really liked the Cub Scout Pack he left behind. He never really "took" to the new Pack, and being in Webelos with a new den leader didn't help.

 

But Alex really enjoyed his first troop meeting -- they are planning a camping trip this weekend, in fact (caught all us new parents a bit by surprise). I know its gonna be hard for his mom and me to "let go" but I can honestly say I'm looking forward to seeing him "spread his wings".

 

I am a little concerned that the older boys may try to pull some pranks or initiation rites while they're out of view. I hope his troop guide is reliable and above all that. I was never a Boy Scout myself (although I did earn the "Lion" badge as a Cub when it was still around), so this is all new to me too.

 

Any other new Boy Scout parents want to share their story?

 

Fred G.

(soon to be) ASM, Troop 515(This message has been edited by fgoodwin)

[Trevorum]

Hi Fred!

 

Welcome to the order of red loopers!

 

I 'm glad your son enjoyed his first meeting. Often, those 1st impressions are key. We always try to make visitors feel welcome. And I hope your fear about hazing is unfounded. Newbies are always a tempting target, whether IRL or virtually on a forum, but the SPL (and SM) should know that hazing of any kind is not permitted in Scouting.

 

Both of you are going to have a blast!

[hops_scout]

I tried quitting Cub Scouts probably every year since being a Wolf. My mom wouldnt let me. She always told me that I couldnt quit until the charter year was up. At that point in the year, I didnt want to quit. So I didnt.

 

I'm glad I stuck with it:)

[orennoah]

Your son should have a great time.

 

There will, most likely, be times of homesickness. But who said that spreading ones wings was going to be easy. Probably, though, it's harder on the parents.

 

As Trevorum said, hazing is forbidden and any troop worthy of the name knows that new Scouts are the lifeblood and future of the troop. If your son shows that he wants to learn the ways of Scoutdom, I'm sure that the older boys will be happy to teach.

 

To lower your anxiety, I suggest that you take the time to get to know the Scoutmaster and share your concerns with him OUTSIDE THE EARSHOT of your son and the other Scouts.

 

- Oren

[anarchist]

Fgoodwin,

 

First I am glad your son a good time...welcome to where the real action is!

Unless you have a really 'different' bunch of scouts hazing isn't all its cracked up to be...

In fact most of what is/could be now called 'hazing' is usually prat-fall type humor and is aimed by older scouts at their older buds...not at younger scouts...though there are still old timers who from time to time send a youngster of to find 100 ft of shore line or over to the next camp kitchen for a bacon stretcher...

 

What I really want to address is the "surprise" you experienced at having a camping trip "this" weekend...

I am confused? If you crossed last month ...two or three weeks between meetings? We have Webelos who cross on a Thursday and the following Monday they are at our Boy Scout meeting...One Pack crossed over March 28th and we had them at our NSP shakedown campout April 1st...but we also had them coming to planning meetings while they were still Webelos IIs!

 

 

Webelos leaders should start 'working' with all the different Troops their boys may 'cross' to... at the very latest two or three months before crossover...

The troops should be asked for activities schedules as a matter of course when you express and interest in their troop. We actually supply our schedule to three different packs as a matter of course... for the Webelos I and II leaders to think about as they plan den activities and Troop visitations...

 

Our Troop also gives out the schedule at our annual Webelos "service" weekend...In NOVEMBER four months before the first pack crossover is held! We invite several Packs to send their Webelos IIs to a local church camp ground where we do a Troop service project in the early morning and then set up Boy Scout "skill" stations (First-aid, first-aid carry techniques, 'stretcher' building, knots & lashing, map & compass, tent and tarp set up, fire building, etc. add a few games and lunch) and rotate the Webelos IIs through these stations while we ply the parents with coffee...

 

Bottom line is the Pack and Webelos Leaders need to be made aware that the families (and boys) ought to given the opportunity to plan...and the Troops can not be expected to 'blanket' all Packs with info...If your Webelos II boys visit more than one troop, the families must be 'trained' to ask for the troop calendar or schedule from each troop...then the Webelos II DL also needs to be sure to 'really look' at these schedules so early planning can be done...the fewer surprises the better!

 

good luck and get to trainning now!

[fgoodwin]

anarchist, I didn't make myself clear about the camping "surprise".

 

We also bridged on March 28; at that time, we were told to attend our first Troop Meeting on April 11, as they were not prepared to hold a "new parents meeting" on Apr 4. But we were never told of the impending camp out, even in the flurry of emails reminding us the Apr 11 meeting; the messages described the time, date & place of the parents meeting, the swim-test on the prior Saturday (Apr 9), how much to pay for Troop dues, etc., but not a word about the camp out.

 

The first word we got was the night of the parents meeting, and I have to tell you, some of us were more than a bit perturbed to find that our presence was expected at 5:30PM on Friday Apr 15 at the debarkation point.

 

We were made very aware that "stragglers" were frowned upon as they caused the entire patrol to be late. Apparently, the troop waits until an entire patrol is present before any of the boys in the patrol are allowed to be driven to the campsite.

 

Now, like many people, I work and it takes me at least an hour to commute home from downtown. So while I may be able to leave early, it would've been nice to get a bit more warning.

 

But I'm not letting that minor thing get in the way of our enjoyment of Boy Scouting -- no way! Now that we know the rules, we will live by them.

 

Thanx

[anarchist]

fgoodwin,

 

sorry you new troop did not have their "NSP act" together...But this can be a good thing for the future...

 

I am assuming you are in it for the 'long haul'... so having seen the problem first hand ...offer to help the troop make sure it doesn't happen next year...

 

In addition to your ASM training committment, volunteer to do a little troop to pack communicating...and push the troop to have its NSP program planned and scheduled on the troop calendar by September(?)for the comming spring and your NSP program (including parents meeting) ready next year to start on time...

 

Buy the way, if your troop schedules it right, and embraces a shakedown program- only for New Scouts, guides, SM/ASMs (NS parents) and a few Scout instructors...you can plan it two weeks before a troop camp and the new boys get a 'teaching/learning' campout and two weeks later a real troop campout...AND THEY'RE OFF! (and running) and if you (the troop, really) communicate with the Webelos IIs early...even if the crossover is the same week as your Shakedown everyone knows well in advance for work scheduling and equipment/supply 'gathering'...

 

As I said in the earlier post... we had several webelos' and their parents in troop/NSP planning meetings two weeks before they crossed over so they would be ready to hit the ground running!

 

glad it did turn you off... your son will love it!

anarchist(This message has been edited by anarchist)

[Lynda J]

One of the first activities we always try to have when our new boys come in is a camping trip. We try to do that within no more than a month after they cross over. We also invite any of the new parents that want to go. They are also told that they won't be going on other camping trips unless we need the help.

You are right. One of the hardest things for parents of new BS is letting go. The second hardest is understanding that the troop is a boy run group. We had one father comment that he felt the adults weren't involved enough. I explained to him that that was the way is was supposed to be. That the boys make all the plans and run things under the SM, ASMs watchful eye. He went on the camping trip. The SM explained to him that the most important thing he could bring was a camp chair. We got to camp the SPL and ASPL got the boys to unload the trailer, Then had them set up the troop camp fly and chuck boxes. After them the patrols set up their own camp sites.

Before we leave camp at the end of the trip we do a thing we call Thorns and Roses. Each person that is there tells one good thing and one bad thing about the trip. It is understood that they can say anything but that once said he can not leave camp. When it was this guys turn his rose was the boys ability to get things set up without help from the adults. He laughed and said his thorn was not feeling he was needed to help set up.

Someone said before me that how we should do scouting is.

Train then, review what they have learned, then let them lead. That is right.

Will every boy run activity go perfectly NO. But sometimes the ones that the adults thing were the worst are the ones that the boys had the most fun at.

Like the name on the uniform says. BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA. Not ADULTS SCOUTS OF AMERICA.

[SemperParatus]

Fred,

 

Best of luck to you and your son in boy scouts. Let the perturbance roll off your back, relax, smile and enjoy the ride. While communication breakdowns can happen, when I think of the number of things that our troop announces, e-mails, telephones, newsletters, posts, flyers, it is mind-boggling. Miss the crabs yet?