Boy Scout Troop 1210
Romans 12:10 - "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Boy Scouts different from Cub Scouts?
Pure and simple, Cub Scouts is parent led ... Boy Scouts is boy led.
From the troop meetings to the campouts, its the boys organizing and leading each other. Parents act as coaches on the side. For many parents new to this paradigm it can feel startling - even uncomfortable at first. However, it is unquestionably one of the most valuable aspects of the Boy Scout program ... and one of the things that contributes the greatest to the growth of our young men.
My family is busy - how much time will this take?
All of the boys in our troop have active family, school, and extra curricula lives outside of the troop. Troop 1210 offers a range of activities from which the scouts choose to participate - ranging from as much or as little as they desire. It's up to them!
In general, we have 2 troop meetings a month (2nd and 4th Mondays of the month from 6:30pm-8pm), and the boys are encouraged to meet in their patrols once a month. Additionally, given the high adventure nature of our troop, we typically plan 1-2 optional outdoor adventures each month (e.g.: backpacking, rafting, rocket launches, rock climbing, etc). Scouts attend the events that interest them and fit their schedules. No more. No less.
My son enjoys the outdoors, but this high adventure stuff seems over the top ... will it be too much for him/me/us?
This is a common question from new families ... and here is the simple answer: High Adventure means having fun outside in nature. That's it. No pressure. No expectations. No experience required. The only thing necessary is a love of the outdoors, a desire to learn from others, and a willingness to try new things.
To help make this happen, our troop follows a proven approach that gets older scouts to teach younger scouts through progressive outdoor adventures graded to youth age and experience. For younger scouts this will often begin with our Spring Break Science (family) treks and First Class Emphasis campouts. As interest grows, scouts continue on to Beginner Backpack adventures in the local mountains with modest levels of difficulty and older scouts leading the way. Ultimately, if the scouts desire, they can progress to 8+ day backpacking adventures in the High Sierras, or Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim treks through the Grand Canyon, ... or anything they can dream up. There's something for everyone in Troop 1210 - with a definite emphasis on the outdoors.
Troop 1210 welcomes parents to join on these adventure too - so long as it's clearly understood that the scouts are the ones making the choices and doing the leading ... not the adults. Many of our families agree that the best memories our older sons have are their adventures with us (their parents) under the stars and in the wilderness.
How much parental involvement is required?
Boy Scouts is boy led ... and parent coached.
A healthy troop requires the involvement of many people, parents included - though it is in a different capacity than Cub Scouts. Our role is to coach and guide, rather than to plan and execute. Adult roles range from Scout Master and Assistant Scout Master(s) ... to helping be the adult supervision on one of our many outdoor adventures ... to being a merit badge counselor (e.g.: Astronomy, Cooking, SCUBA, Swimming, etc) ... to performing a role on our troop committee (e.g.: Committee Chair, Treasurer, Advancement Chair, etc) ... to helping with activities such as arranging car pools or sitting on a scout's Board of Review. There's something for everyone, and your help is encouraged and welcomed!
For new parents, we typically encourage them to spend their first year (and energy) really getting to know our Troop 1210 families ... before getting too overwhelmed with taking on large amounts of adult volunteer responsibilities. Our troop is a family, and knowing the people with whom you are working makes everything far more engaging and fun.