Last night at Roundtable, one of our participants got off on a tangent about the advancement process in her troop.  Remarking that it took her son, an ambitious go-getter, three years to make First Class, she mentioned that it was because the Scoutmaster was very particular about just which Scouts were allowed to sign off on advancements, there were no opportunities for advancements to be completed at camp or troop meetings, and she’d end up driving him to other boys’ houses to get things signed off.  Many other boys were in the same situation and it seemed that the Scoutmaster took some delight in making the boys struggle. We were talking about another topic when she brought this up, but I got to thinking about a response. Continue reading “What’s a Parent to Do?”
Which Lane are You In?
In many troops, there is an ongoing battle, or maybe just a misunderstanding, about exactly who is responsible for what. Â Without getting into the line between what is an adult function and what is a youth responsibility, I’m referring to committee and program functions and how sometimes the lines get blurred. Continue reading “Which Lane are You In?”
Keeping Boys Interested
When boys cross over from a pack to a troop, they usually stay the course if they stick with it for the first year or so. Â There are lots of strategies for keeping them interested once they’ve crossed over. Continue reading “Keeping Boys Interested”
Dealing with troop election results
This month’s What Would You Do? question in Scouting Magazine comes from Scoutmaster D.M. of Ft. Myers, Fla.:
We recently had our troop leadership elections, and the Scouts elected a senior patrol leader who is inexperienced, uncommitted, and has no real sense of responsibility. I am worried about the direction of the troop, but I want to respect the boys’ choice. What do I do? Continue reading “Dealing with troop election results”
Webelos is different!
Many den leaders make the mistake of assuming that the Webelos program is conducted the same way as the Wolf and Bear program. In doing so, they usually shortchange the boys from the excellent features of the Webelos program, sidetrack the transition to Boy Scouts, and find they are falling behind on where they are supposed to be. Continue reading “Webelos is different!”