Programming
Encouraging Advancement
This past spring, my nephew joined a troop in Cincinnati’s Dan Beard Council. Since it was his first troop summer camp, my son and I drove over to surprise him.
It was a very interesting experience. It was my first time visiting Camp Friedlander. In fact, most of my scouting experience has been in the Crossroads of America Council, especially North Star District. This visit allowed me to see some new takes on scouting.
One of the surprises was a simple system for encouraging advancement. My nephew’s troop has an advancement board. The entire free time after lunch, scouts were hovering around the board, adding their own white tiles, moving the white tiles to reflect in-camp boards-of-review completed, and otherwise planning their advancement plans for the week.
The scoutmasters had encouraged the new scouts to take a white “tile” (a small piece of wood painted white) and use colored Sharpie pens to customize their tile. Hooks and eyes were set into the tiles to allow them to hang properly.
No adults were prompting advancement conversations, but the campsite was buzzing with plans. The troop had made clear that Scoutmaster Conferences were being held Wednesday and Boards of Review on Thursday. This chance for immediate advancement and the privilege of moving the tiles quickly helped further the drama.
In the electronic age, we tend to forget old tools sometimes work best. Our own Troop 35 has the privilege of a dedicated room 
for scouting. As a result, they have one of the old-school advancement charts hanging on the wall. (Generic and Cub Scout and Boy Scout specific charts are available.) Each boy can easily see his own progress. In my short visit in June, I saw several scouts go over and read the chart to find out where they and their fellow scouts stood.
If you want to encourage advancement, find a way to put advancement before the boys in writing. They will tend to think about advancement more often.
District Training Problems: Committee Challenge
As I have described in a previous post, our District’s position with the least amount of training is our unit committee members. Ironically, they are among the easiest to train. All of their training (Youth Protection, This is Scouting, and Troop Committee Challenge) is online. The entire process can be done in about an hour for a fast reader. 
They will need a login username and password. They will also be better served if they enter their BSA Council Number andMember ID in the system’s Profile. When you ask a Committee Member of any unit to get their training, please look at the Rechartering paperwork, the training reports on either my.scouting.org or myscouting.scouting.org. Then give them their member number, preferably by email for easy retrieval. You will save everyone headaches.
You can also send them a link to this article. I have attached at this link to a step-by-step guide for logging into the system and taking the Troop Committee Challenge. The same process is used for the Pack Committee Challenge and the Venturing Committee Challenge.
Please give us your feedback on how to improve these instructions.
We would like to have 100% of our committee members fully trained by Recharter time in October.
Sox Report: Week 6
We have nearly 150 Firecrafter candidates popping sparks at Camp Ransburg. I am going visiting to Camp Krickenstein next week. Maybe we can get them added to to the count, too.
Don’t forget tomorrow’s Mid-Summer Ritual!
Training Report Updates
Over the last several years, our District’s training records have not been kept at the highest quality. Consequently, many scouters have reported to me that their records are incomplete.
Please make sure to login in to the new http://my.scouting.org to review your training record’s completeness. If you have training completed that is not reflected in the record, please contact your unit commissioner listed on the same website. If you are not sure who the unit commissioner is after reviewing the website, contact District Commissioner Jeff Heck for a referral.
We are still beta testing the extent of our ability to update the records without the Council Registrar’s intervention. However, if we are aware of the specific problems that you are having, it is much easier to figure what we can do for you.
For us to be able to make any updates, we will need some documentation to support the training being completed. Most instructors issue the required Certificate of Completion. We can accept those. If you do not have such a certificate and you attended University of Scouting or the old Cub Scout Pow-Wows, you can give us a transcript of those classes taken.
Please be especially attentive if you have taken Wood Badge, position-specific training for the position you now hold, your current Youth Protection Training class, and the Train-the-Trainer class called Trainer’s Edge.
These training records are important for facilitating Rechartering and maintaining a quality experience for the youth in our district.
This Thursday: Roundtable and Chartered Org Rep Training
District Commissioner Jeff Heck encourages all units to send adult leaders to Roundtable. Former Cubmaster for Pack 105 and current Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 358 Tom Sugar will be leading a discussion on Cub recruitment.
Tom was instrumental in recruiting in Pack 105 when it started a few years ago. Tom put a heavy dose of outdoor experiences into his Cub programming. As a result, he used the outdoor experiences as part of the Pack’s marketing.
Come be a part of the conversation about Cub and Scout recruiting. Learn how to tell your story about what you do in a way that is interesting and persuasive to both boys and parents.
After the 6:30 p.m. general session for open conversations, Tom will start with his discussions.
Also, Chartered Organization Representative Training (#D72) will be held after the general session. (Estimated start time 7:00 p.m.) This training is required for all Chartered Org. Reps. Please makes sure that your Chartered Org Rep is aware of this session and either has plans to attend or has contacted the District Commissioner to let the Commissioner Service know your Chartered Org Rep’s availability for another training session.
Chartered Org Reps have not been actively participating in the North Star District for the last few years. Our theory is that part of this low participation is that our units and the District have not made a concerted effort to train them on what the position’s responsibilities are. This training will help to begin remedying this problem.
The Chartered Org Rep is supposed to supervise all scouting activities for the chartered organization. The Chartered Org Rep is sometimes jokingly referred to as the Chief Scouting Officer of the Chartered Organization. The Rep should be supervising the units and actively participating in appointing a unit chair. The Rep should be attending District Committee meetings as the Chartered Organization’s representative to District and to Council.
Please help us encourage our Chartered Org Reps know how important training is for the health of your unit and your chartered organization.
Troop Committee and All Pack Training Now Online
Remember the old days (like last month), where Pack Committee Chairs had to tell new parents that to be “Trained” as a scout leader, they needed to go to a class to obtain their Position-Specific Training? Isn’t it nice that we don’t have to do that anymore?
What you didn’t know that?
Yeah, at the end of June 2015, MyScouting.Scouting.org now offers online Position-Specific Training. This isn’t just limited to Fast Start Training anymore (which is still available).
Now your Pack can be fully entitled to wear the “Trained” patch from online training. All major positions are included: Cubmaster, Committee Members, Pack Trainer, and Den Leaders of all types. They are even available in Spanish.
District will be asking all Chartered Organization to make a special emphasis on having newly recruited leaders attend training during the first week of September. However, this online offering will have nearly identical content.
Consequently, when your Unit Commissioners coming visiting in August, they will want to be sure that your current leaders have their training done, online if most convenient. Otherwise, they will ask that the existing leaders set a good example and attend the live training when it is scheduled for the first week of September.
All Packs should have a Pack Trainer. This person is responsible for doing live training (if necessary) and making sure that all Pack Leaders at all levels are properly trained and reported to the District Training Committee and the Council Registrar. When reporting live training, the Pack Trainer should use these Training reports.
For our Boy Scout Troop Leaders, only one position has the equivalent online training available at this time: Troop Committee Challenge. All other Troop Leaders must still do their training live with an instructor or make arrangements with an instructor to do self-study. Self-study consists of reviewing the material alone, then speaking to a qualified instructor to insure that the material was learned. The instructor still issues the certificate. Troop Leaders are discouraged from self-study except in the most dire of situations. The value of conversations and interactions are deemed to be an important part of the regular training practice. Leadership Training Committee Guide (#34169) pg. 12 (2010). Personal coaching with a qualified trainer is preferred over self-study.
This training is important for Rechartering.
Cub Dens Need Denners
As I have talked to a few Cub Scout leaders, I have begun asking, “Do you or your Pack use the Denner system?” Most of the time, the only reply I receive is a scrunched up face of puzzlement. I could have just asked them how their mother was doing in Polish or Russian. They would have understood the question about as well.
What is a “Denner”?
The Denner and Assistant Denner.
The denner is a den member selected to be a boy leader for a short period of time— anywhere from one week to several months. It is a good practice for the den leader to rotate the position of denner throughout the den so that all boys have the opportunity to experience the leadership position. The den leader and den chief determine his
responsibilities, which might include helping to set up and clean up the den meeting place; helping with games, ceremonies, tricks, and puzzles; leading a song; or acting as den cheerleader. The denner should be given meaningful responsibilities and recognition to help him learn how to be a leader. The denner wears a shoulder cord on the left shoulder. Some dens also have assistant denners who assist the denner and may move up to the denner position after his rotation.
Boy Scouts of America. Cub Scout Leader Book, Kindle Locations 855-862 (2015-05-10).
One of the biggest drawbacks of Denners for the novice Den Leader is the feeling of loss of control. Focusing the Den Leader’s attention on the Denner while the rest of the Cubs are at risk of running amock seems dangerously close to inviting chaos. These new Den Leaders believe the most important part of their job is control. For elementary school teachers turned Den Leaders this loss of control may be a life-threatening condition.
New Cub Requirements for 2015-16
If you are not aware, BSA has issued new requirements, handbooks, and leader guides for Cub Scouts. This is a major overhaul of the program.
This new set of requirements will affect everyone in scouting. The surprising part is how it affects Boy Scout Troops.
As we have linked before, BSA through Scouter magazine and Bryan on Scouting has given us some summaries of the changes. We, as leaders, need an overview that tells us more.
Sox report week 5
Sox is aiming for 120 sparks for the year come the end of this week.
To make a spark, we all know, takes work!
Arrow Tour 2015 at Belzer
The Crossroads of America Council is excited to announce it will celebrate the Order of the Arrow’s centennial as an ArrowTour host. ArrowTour is an interactive event for Scouts (of all ages and regardless of OA membership), volunteers, and Scouting alumni that is traveling throughout the country during the summer of 2015. The tour will make a stop on July 14, 2015 from 4:00 pm to 8:30 pm at Camp Belzer at 6102 N Boy Scout Road, Indianapolis, IN 46226.
The purpose of the tour is to commemorate the Order of the Arrow’s 100th anniversary. During the event, participants will have the opportunity to learn about the Order of the Arrow, its story, and its future. Some of the program highlights include interactive exhibits, activities such as silk-screening and branding, and challenge games. Participants will have a chance to meet some of the Order’s national leaders, and alumni can learn about the Scouting Alumni Association and local alumni efforts to supporting Scouting in our area.
An exclusive ArrowTour Trading Post will carry ArrowTour and OA centennial merchandise. The Order of the Arrow will split the trading post proceeds with the Crossroads of America Council.
The program will conclude with a special show that recognizes the Order’s rich history and empowers participants to help shape the organization’s future. The Order of the Arrow is creating a truly unique and interactive experience for all Scouts, volunteers, and Scouting alumni.
The tour will open at 4:00 PM and will conclude at 8:30 PM.
You can find more information about the ArrowTour routes and program on the web at http://arrowtour.oa-bsa.org. You can also keep up with the tour as it makes its way around the country by following @ArrowTour on Twitter.
For Webelos interested in attending, if they attend with a Boy Scout Troop or Patrol, this event can count for Arrow of Light Requirements 3D and 4.
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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