Cell phones, text messaging, etc....again

[CNYScouter]

Last weekend the Ship went to the regatta.

My son was one of the few Sea Scouts without his own cell phone.

 

Our van has a VCR in it and a video game system was brought for the 9 hour drive to play and watch DVDs

Once we got there it wasnt touched, no ban on using it, there was just too much to do during the weekend.

 

While there I saw cell phones being used, but not much, as there was just too much going on.

I didnt see any portable video games either.

 

I barely found time to check in at home myself there was so much to do.

 

If Scouts have enough time to sit around using electronics/cell phones on a camping trip I agree that more time needs to be spent on planning activities for a camping trips

 

[Owl62]

Our unit does not ban electronics. We figure, what's the point?. As long as there is no disruption in the activities, nothing illegal or unsafe going on, we have more important things to worry about. As long as the Scouts are doing what they are supposed to be doing, we don't worry about these things.

 

We do have some rules about electronics though. We asked them to refrain from using them during meetings, etc - and they do. The Scouts can use them during their free time, in or near their tents on campouts or during the trip to and from as long as they do not create distractions for the driver or bother others. And they know that if they are broken, damaged, lost or stolen - the unit, camp, etc are not responsible.

 

For the most part, we see very few cell phones, cd players, radios, etc. It just is not an issue in our unit.

 

We don't confiscate anything from Scouts except for safety hazards, illegal, etc. (Rarely occurs) Again, just not an issue in our unit.

 

And besides, it's kind of hard to tell Scouts not to bring electronics to outings when the camps put on big audio/visual and music displays instead of campfires.....

 

 

 

[Loki]

Cell phones and other electronics on outings for emergency use...absolutely.

 

For entertainment? No.

 

If your scouts are so attached to their electronic leashes then consider having a "High Tech" event followed by a low tech outing to contrast the two.

 

And if they really need to send a message...teach them semaphore or morse.

 

[kbandit]

We allow the scouts while in cars to summer camp to use electronics with headphones or an outing that takes more that 1 hr to get there. Once there they are locked up. Our scouts know the rules and it isn't a problem.

We do have what we call a Lock-in at our charter organization's church. We allow the boys to bring the electronics and play all nite. The scouts set up the X-boxes tie them all together and have a blast 10-12 playing same game same time.(we monitor what games are brought and played) We have access to the gym (basketball/volleyball), have pizza delivered, and set up a DVD player/projector using a sheet as a screen. Though the boys would like to do this more than once a year it is a good overnite in the winter. Proceeding the lockin we have a Court of Honor. Also we use this as bring a buddy overniter.

 

I am sure if we allowed electronics at campouts a couple of boys would not doing anything but play thier games and it always rains at least once when we camp. Adults are not allowed electronics by the way. I take my pencil and sudoku's and a book to read at bedtime.

 

Kbandit

 

[Hunt]

Again, when you talk about what "we" don't allow, who is "we?" I think there as a bigger problem with adults imposing rules like this than there is likely to be with the electronic devices. It signals to the boys that no matter how much we natter on about "boy-led," the adults are really in charge, even when it comes down to matters of preference. Why not let the boy leaders decide how to deal with this? They may come up with the same rules, or they may come up with a creative approach, or they may simply have a different viewpoint on the role of electronic devices in modern life.

 

Stosh wrote: "While it did very little to encourage getting to know each other, everyone seemed satisfied with the lack of electronic stimulus." I'm not persuaded by this conclusion, since in your own story one of the boys was clearly trying to get you to at least turn on the radio. Anyway, how can you tell if boys are "satisfied" by a rule that's simply imposed by the adult leaders? While it may not be a big enough deal for them to quit or even to complain, if you really want to see if they are satisfied by this approach, let the PLC know that it has the authority to continue or to change this rule, and see what happens.

[Trevorum]

Owl observes, "And besides, it's kind of hard to tell Scouts not to bring electronics to outings when the camps put on big audio/visual and music displays instead of campfires....."

 

Ah, yes. Scouting continues to reinvent itself. I can see it now - in another generation, scouts won't bother to attend summer camp, they'll just upload their avatar into the virtual experience.

 

[epalmer84]

> Again, when you talk about what "we" don't allow, who is "we?"

 

"We" are the troop, as decided by the PLC. The only real PLC "rule" is on knives since we have council policies and state regulations. Everything in the troop and parent's guidebook is definition type material; "courteous" means you don't cut through other units campsites or shine a light in someones eyes, "thrifty" means you don't chuck rocks in the river as it has a heavy environmental impact (skipping rocks is OK) and so forth.

 

One of our committee members didn't really understand the music thing until we were at a camporee. The troop beside us had a boom box that was just simply annoying until someone crossed the line with some rap music with inappropriate language (I don't allow it in the car either). A short talk when their Scoutmaster showed up resolved the issue when I found out about it.

 

Ed

[Kudu]

Hunt writes:

 

"Again, when you talk about what "we" don't allow, who is "we?""

 

Our policy is that when the Scouts use the Troop Method then the "we" is me.

 

I love to be in charge in the same way that most American Scouters love the Troop Method that puts them in charge of Scoutmaster Conferences, Boards of Review, and "Scout Spirit" advancement requirements!

 

When the Patrols are camped as far away from each other as possible (ideally at least 300 feet apart), then the Patrols make those decisions.

 

Kudu

 

[CalicoPenn]

Gazing into my crystal ball, I see the next big OA Ordeal project at summer camps all across the country - installation of solar powered cell phone chargers in every camp site with the capacity to charge up to 20 cell phones all at one time.

 

Rather than ban cell phones, take the troop camping to places where the cell phones just won't work. As for "emergency use" - remember that story last year about the two former scouts who rescued a woman who was lost in the woods? If you'll recall, they hiked out to get help - not opened their cell phone. Even if they had a cell phone with them, its quite likely it wouldn't have gotten a signal where they were anyway. I've seen a few people throw their cell phones off mountain tops in frustration that the phone didn't work when they reached the summit. Heck, my cell phone doesn't work in my own home except in a few very limited areas (I live a block away from a cell phone tower - one would think the signal would be strong - but the reality is the signal is overpowering).

 

Even the phone's "gps" capabilities won't work if it can't get a signal - cell phone gps works by triangulating position of the phone from the nearest cell phone towers - no signal from a tower, no triangulation. A regular GPS unit communicates with orbital satellites, which is why they tend to work just about everywhere.

 

Calico

[mdutch]

What about using electronics in tents? Like everything else in life, there is a place and a time on (some) campouts for iPods and the like. I don't think too many people here would have a problem with a scout who likes to take out a book and read as they are about to fall asleep at night, so why should it be any different for a scout who wants to listen to music. I think a total ban on electronics is, in most cases, unnecessary, and instead, scouts should be taught what times are appropriate/inappropriate to be using electronics.

[evmori]

Sure we want our Scouts to make their own decisions. We want them to be the ones who decide not to bring electronics on camping trips. Some think a ban defeats this purpose. And it might. But having a rule that prohibits electronics on camping trips is not a bad thing. The Scouts need to also learn they can't make up all the rules they need to follow.

 

I wonder if those who think a unit having a rule prohibiting electronics on camping trips tell their children what they can't watch on TV?

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[Hunt]

"The Scouts need to also learn they can't make up all the rules they need to follow."

 

Well, sure, but you could say this about any rule that you, as the adult leader, think is better than the rule the PLC comes up with. This particular issue is really one of preference, and it's one the boy leaders can deal with. You may not like their decision, but you may not like their decision on who will be SPL, what food they plan to bring on the campout, where the next campout will be, etc. If you show them that you will step in whenever you don't like their decisions, they will understand that they aren't really making the decisions.

[Lisabob]

Hunt mentions this as something that scouts generally decide: "where the next campout will be"

 

Not to get off on too much of a tangent (someone can spin off if they desire), but to what extent is this something your scouts actually decide? What I've seen happen is mostly that the scouts decide WHAT they want to do and then the adults find appropriate places for them to do it. When I've asked about this, I've been told that this is support/background work and not really part of boy leadership, and/or that, logistically speaking, there are few options in the area so it is less a matter of adult preference than feasibility anyway.

 

I'm just curious here.

[Kudu]

I'm with Hunt on this one.

 

I would add that if you are really using the Patrol Method rather than the Troop Method, you adults should be largely unaware of whether the Scouts are using cell phones in their private Patrol areas before you request "permission to enter" :-)

 

As a Traditional Scouting and wilderness "purist," I hate electronics in the woods with a passion but I can still remember hiking to a campout one dark night more than 42 years ago. This was before backpacking waistbelts were commonly used in Scouting, and all of the weight of my pack was on my shoulders and I was in considerable pain. We hiked without flashlights. On someone's transistor radio (high-tech at the time) in the darkness came a brand new Beatles' release called "Michelle". Lenny asked the Scout to turn it up. His family had lived on US army bases in Europe most of his life but mostly in Germany, so his older brother Bob translated the French lyrics for us.

 

If the music annoyed our adult leaders, they never told us.

 

Kudu

 

 

 

 

 

[Aquila calva]

OK. A great song, worth a visit.

 

Album: Rubber Soul (1965)

 

Michelle lyrics by Beatles.

 

Michelle, ma belle.

These are words that go together well,

My Michelle.

 

Michelle, ma belle.

Sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble,

Tres bien ensemble.

 

I love you, I love you, I love you.

That's all I want to say.

Until I find a way

I will say the only words I know that

You'll understand.

 

I need you, I need you, I need you.

I need to make you see,

Oh, what you mean to me.

Until I do I'm hoping you will

Know what I mean.

 

I love you.

 

I want you, I want you, I want you.

I think you know by now

I'll get to you somehow.

Until I do I'm telling you so

You'll understand.

 

I will say the only words I know that

You'll understand, my Michelle.

 

(Just to relieve any suspense, the translation of the French is included in the text "These are words that go together well.")

 

Hooray for electronics on camping trips, at least in the good-old days. Now back to the original thread.