{"id":54,"date":"2002-08-03T13:36:20","date_gmt":"2002-08-03T17:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=54"},"modified":"2011-11-03T13:38:06","modified_gmt":"2011-11-03T17:38:06","slug":"issue-3-august-2002","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2002\/08\/issue-3-august-2002\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 3 – August 2002"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Andy, Attendance in our Troop meetings, hikes, and campouts is getting lower and lower. We\u2019re thinking about making a percentage of participation mandatory for advancement, in keeping with the \u201cbe active in your Troop and Patrol\u201d requirement. What do you think? (Q.Y., Dunellen Advancement Chair)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

What do I think? I think you\u2019d better re-read what the BSA National Council has to say about \u201cadding to or subtracting from requirements.\u201d You can\u2019t do it \u2013 what you want to do is an addition. But, with that out of the way, let\u2019s talk a little about the root of your problem (low participation is a symptom, not the problem). Sounds like you need more exciting, interesting, involving Troop meetings and outings! \u201cProgram Produces Participants\u201d is the guideline. Have more stimulating events, worth attending, and more Scouts will show up! Want to know what to do? Simple: ASK THE SCOUTS. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dear Andy, Our Cubs don\u2019t wear complete uniforms because our parents say they\u2019re too expensive. So the boys just wear the shirts, not the pants. We\u2019d really like to have complete uniforms in our Pack. What\u2019s the best way to do this? (L.U., Garwood DL Coach)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, I\u2019d first wonder why a pair of blue pants that are half the price of the designer baggies kids wear these days are \u201ctoo expensive.\u201d But, that point aside, how about a fund-raiser? Like maybe a bake-sale, popcorn drive, or something else. Then use the money earned to buy Cub Scout pants for every boy in the Pack? How about \u201cre-cycled\u201d pants from a neighboring Pack? How about checking with your Scout Service Center for \u201cexperi-enced\u201d Cub pants? There are lots of ways to do this \u2013 It just takes a little creativity. But, before you begin, one thought \u2013 Be sure ALL your leaders are already in complete uniforms. YOU set the example\u2013 for the boys AND their parents<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dear Andy, We\u2019re happy that 13 Webelos Scouts from the same Den just graduated from their Pack and \u201ccrossed the bridge\u201d into our Troop, but we\u2019re worried about a Patrol that size. Can one Patrol Leader really manage all of these new Scouts, or should we suggest two co-Patrol Leaders? (O.X., Fanwood Scout-master)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019re absolutely right. A Patrol of 13 is too much for ANY Patrol Leader to handle. So go for two<\/span> Patrols, instead! One patrol of six, and the other of seven. Let the boys divide themselves, with the understanding that, if they want, they can re-divide in six months. Then, one Patrol Leader per Patrol will work just fine \u2013 especially if you assign one Assistant Scoutmaster to each Patrol\/Patrol Leader, to act as mentor and guide for the first six months. Oh, don\u2019t forget \u2013 The Scouts in the Patrol elect the Patrol Leader, and then he picks his Assistant PL.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dear Andy, We have a Scout who\u2019s barely 13, but he\u2019s Life rank and just completed everything he needs for Eagle \u2013 merit badges, project, leader-ship, and everything else. But the Troop Committee doesn\u2019t feel he\u2019s old enough to really be an Eagle. Should we tell him how we feel, and suggest he keep on just working on merit badges and more leadership for a while, until we feel he\u2019s more mature? (P.X., Newton Advancement Chair) <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You ever seen a \u201cYoung Eagle Application\u201d? Me neither! Or one that says a Scout has to be so many years old before he\u2019s \u201cqualified.\u201d If he\u2019s done the work, shouldered the responsibilities of his Eagle project, been a Troop leader, earned the merit badges, he\u2019s ready. In fact, by doing all this in just a couple of years, he may have lots more \u201cmaturity\u201d than you\u2019re giving him credit for. So the next sound we should hear is an Eagle Board of Review convening! How cool to have an Eagle who\u2019s going to be with the Troop another five years!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dear Andy, We have a Scout in our Troop who got his Life rank two years ago, and was real active as our Senior Patrol Leader for the next year, then sort of dropped away. He\u2019s a football player and runs track, so he only made a few meetings this past year. Now, he wants to earn Eagle and our committee says he\u2019s got to be active for the next six months to do that. Does he? (C.L., Somerville Scoutmaster)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Now that\u2019s an interesting question! Let\u2019s see, the Eagle requirement says, \u201cBe active for six months after being a Life Scout.\u201d Sounds like he\u2019s already done that (remember that year he was real active?). And after that, didn\u2019t he \u201cdo his best\u201d to attend meetings, even when he was playing football and on the track team? So it\u2019s not really a good idea to insist he repeat a requirement he\u2019s already done, and I\u2019d recommend you tell the committee just that!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Happy Scouting,<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Andy<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Have a question? Send it via email to askandybsa@yahoo.com<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(Issue 3 \u2013 August 2002)<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Andy, Attendance in our Troop meetings, hikes, and campouts is getting lower and lower. We\u2019re thinking about making a percentage of participation mandatory for advancement, in keeping with the \u201cbe active in your Troop and Patrol\u201d requirement. What do you think? (Q.Y., Dunellen Advancement Chair) What do I think? I think you\u2019d better re-read […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-14"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54\/revisions\/56"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}