Boy Scout troops don’t seem to have the same drought of willing adult helpers as Cub Scout packs do, but they still need a few to serve in roles supporting the Scouts in running their troop, and a few more to help with the support tasks that the Scouts can’t do for themselves. Still others are needed to serve on boards of review and to drive Scouts to and from their campouts.
Very often, parents of crossing-over Cub Scouts who were den leaders and committee members in their packs will look for a way to help out in the troop that their sons join. More often, though, it seems like these Cub Scout leaders have been burned out after five years of organizing den and pack meetings, planning campouts and outings and running to the Scout Shop every time a boy earns a belt loop.
Fortunately, there are parents who don’t suffer from this kind of burnout, and are more easily convinced that serving as a volunteer is not only fun and rewarding, but won’t take multiples of “an hour a week”. Continue reading “An untapped source of adult help”
You know the routine. It happens every month.
Suppose that instead of a usual weekend campout, the Scouts of your troop have decided to go on a weekend hike – maybe to get a taste of what a longer voyage like a Philmont trek might be like.
The troop committee has many responsibilities and functions that facilitate a well-run troop. These include equipment, finance, advancement, training, transportation, helping to provide camping opportunities, and generally supporting the Scoutmaster.
If you have children in school, you have undoubtedly noticed that they are learning more complex subjects than you did as a kid, and are encountering concepts earlier in life. The stuff I learned in college – organic chemistry, calculus and nuclear physics – are being covered in high school, and our middle school students are learning about math and physical science subjects that were high school-level classes just a couple decades ago.