Information, Observation, and Inspiration for Scouters
The mailbag brought a couple more questions to the Bobwhite’s attention in the last few weeks. I’ll take a stab at answering your conundrums this week.
First, a question from an experienced den leader – and thank you for your service, as you are the front-line deliverer of Scouting to our Cub Scouts! – about a committee chair’s role in advancement: Continue reading “More Q&A: Committee approval of advancement, smartphones at camp”
How does your troop program planning go?
Some troops take last year’s calendar and just copy it, doing the same things each month. Others get together, rack their brains to think of new things to do but generally keep some key activities from year to year and rotate a couple other activities in and out. But a troop that keeps and holds the interest and involvement of the youth is one that plans a variety of things at troop meetings and on monthly campouts.
In participating in boards of review over the years, one of the things I heard most often is that the program is stale and boring, and this was borne out by attendance and participation levels. Continue reading “Woods Wisdom: The Next Generation”
In a recent discussion with our troop Scoutmasters, I found myself using the term “goals and objectives”. Instantly I was reminded of those management concepts that were to revolutionize the corporate world. Continue reading “Troop meeting goals and objectives”
Earlier I posted my opinion that the PLC is for the boys and that the only adult who attends is the Scoutmaster, and not members of the troop committee or parents.
Recently, a post to the Scouting Magazine blog touched on this topic, where one of the parents (who also happened to be the Committee Chair) stated that the Scoutmaster told her she was not welcome at the PLC meeting, and she felt this was in violation of the “no secret meetings” policy of the BSA. Continue reading “Adults and the PLC, revisited”
By now, every unit should have filed its annual Centennial Quality Unit report for 2009 and forecast for 2010. Â In 2007, when the CQU program replaced the old Quality Unit, the due dates were changed from being coincidental with the charter renewal. Â The report may be submitted beginning October 31 but is due by December 31. Continue reading “Quality Unit: What’s in it for them?”