Taking a pass ...

[emb021]

There is a reason National did a Summit Shakedown event this past summer...

 

 

[hicountry]

For those who like this sort of thing and are going....great, have a wonderful time doing what you are chosing to do.

 

To me, these Jambo's are disconected from what scouting means to me....local camping and hiking and learning in the local troop with your friends, being thrifty but having great fun and adventures. Expensive, scout oriented disneyland type trips are not what scouting is about to me.

 

We never brought up Jambos in our troop, boys are having a load of fun with our active program, no family we have is ready to come close to considering these outrageously priced events.

 

Me personally, I hate crowds, lines, hassles, high costs, hype and canned entertainment so I wouldn't attend even if offered to me for free. Rather go camping locally and have a great time with the troop in the outdoors in a more quiet and hassle reduced fashion.

[BadenP]

 

Even with all the pros and cons the BSA has lost AP Hill forever so they really need to make the Summit work or it could be the end of the National Jamboree. There are going to definitely be some problems that will occur, hopefully minor, and hopefully National is better prepared since they will not have the Army backing them up anymore.

 

I have been to three National Jambos, the last in 2010, and I agree they have become more of a circus sideshow than a showcase of what the scouts are all about, but I feel they serve a purpose of allowing the youth to experience scouting at a level way above and beyond their local troop or council experience and that it will always be a special memory for them.

[Tokala]

hicountry, is it really fair for you to decide that none of the families in your unit would want or could afford to go? Isn't that a decision the family or Scout should make?

[Basementdweller]

I have to agree with tokala.

 

It isnt for the troop leadership to decide if the troop is interested in attending or can afford it.

 

Our council sends a couple of crews to philmont and northern tier every year. I will present them as being available and help those interested get more information and fill out the paperwork.

 

I understand it isnt my scouting experience.

[qwazse]

BD, maybe HC's parents aren't soliciting $$$ on FB to pay their mortgage so they can still take the family to Disney.

 

Best think of Jambo as the boy's first national convention/trade show. It's also an opportunity for your boys to work under a different SM. The "primitive" conditions (I.e., more patrol cooking) was a plus in my book.

For some folks, getting in on the ground floor is a big deal. Our troop always takes the first week of summer camp b/c one of the ASMs likes to be available for National Inspection. Besides, if nobody was first or last there would be no camp. (Kahuna, I'll send you our fee for prepping staff for your week.)

 

Although I made a good faith effort to promote it, I can understand why a youth-run crew or troop might not do it. I'm pretty sure my officers thought the discussion was a waste of time from the get-go. I took meeting time to present it anyway because I had just spent a year taking calls from all over the country to fill spots on our Seabase contingent, and the folks who brought it up with their units made our trip a success. The advisor for our council contingent to Jambo deserved at least that from me.

 

That said, if all your boys are reading Boy's Life, they know about Jambo already.

 

[Kahuna]

"Kahuna, I'll send you our fee for prepping staff for your week."

 

No need. I'll not be going to summer camp again in this lifetime, unless someone makes me an offer I can't refuse. That would involve air conditioning, hot showers, coffee in bed, etc.

 

As to Jamborees: It seems to me that they should be like everything else in Scouting is supposed to be - fun for boys! I never looked at Jamborees as a way of teaching or even demonstrating Scouting skills. They have historically been like state fairs. If trading patches is your thing, fine. If earning merit badges, fishing, or just walking around seeing what other Scouts are doing, that's fine too. Jamborees are expensive and will only appeal to a certain group of youth. I'm not at all sure that The Summit is going to satisfy that group, but we will see.

[qwazse]

fun for boys ... [vs] ... teaching or even demonstrating Scouting skills

 

I think that's where we find a clash in philosophy. Some people see those as opposites, others synonymous.

 

For some boys, the "building from scratch" is part of the adventure. But you're probably right. The boys who think "I've already roughed it 12 nights this years" is less likely to buy in to this Jambo's marketing than the boys who think "I've only roughed it 12 nights this year."

[Kahuna]

"For some boys, the "building from scratch" is part of the adventure. But you're probably right. The boys who think "I've already roughed it 12 nights this years" is less likely to buy in to this Jambo's marketing than the boys who think 'I've only roughed it 12 nights this year.' "

 

Exactly. The fun and skills will be synonymous for some kids. We'll see how many. In my troop we camped monthly year around, so we didn't normally choose a summer camp that required us to cook, pitch tents or those kinds of things. We went for the fun of summer camp and whatever the boys chose to make of the experience.