Re: My Concerns With BSA's Wildernsess Survival Merit Badge
Charlie Thorpe (charlie2@RO.COM)
Tue, 30 Jan 1996 02:48:06 -0600
Hello Norman -
I have been interested in your Wilderness MB thread. I was glad to see the
additional discussion on the various technical issues you raised.
I have to agree that the BSA merit badges were set up to be simple (fun!)
introductions to various vocational/avocational and personal development
interest areas. Most of the badges serve this end nicely.
I have also noticed that a relatively small set of our merit badges get
used for much more than their original intent. Many Troops (and some
District/Council activities) depend on certain MB's to guarantee a minimum
level of proficiency in a given skill that Scouts might be expected to
know. The Swimming, Canoeing, Whitewater, Camping, and First Aid MB's are
probably used around here more than any others to screen for minimum
skills. BSA Lifeguard is more often relied upon this way than Lifesaving
MB.
Our Troop has learned the hard way not to use any MB as a skill indicator
unless we know exactly what went into the MB program. We tend to use
Swimming and Canoeing MB's as minimum tests to see if a Scout is ready to
take care of himself on a week-long canoe trip. We like Hiking and
Backpacking as prep for a Philmont trek. We make sure that our guys get
these MB's from our in-house program....we wouldn't even consider using
summer camp MB's this way!
I have never thought about using Wilderness Survival as a prep for any part
of our Troop hi-adventure program. It was usually one of the "joke" MB's
at our summer camp and I honestly haven't ever seen it taught by anyone
older than 14. I quit suggesting it to our Scouts when one counselor
announced that he was going to check the guys in their survival shelters at
8:30 pm and then he was going to bed (hinting that they should do the same
- wink, wink)...unless it rained, of course (then he didn't plan to check
at all - wink, wink)... Not one kid that I talked to from that class had
any clue about what to do with the conglomeration of survival trivia
tid-bits that they had been memorizing all week. One large block of time
was spent deciding how deep the hole should be to trap a deer (or was it a
cape buffalo?)...nobody had any idea how they were going to dig the hole
without tools...or how they were going to find the deer or convince it to
climb down into the hole....OR what they were going to do with it once it
was down there (looking up at them with those BIG brown eyes...).
Paul Harvey convinced me a while back that realistic survival training
probably shouldn't be done in a Scout setting. It seems that some Council
(NJ?) had set up a survival training course for their Scouts that involved
killing, cleaning, and cooking a live rabbit. I was impressed with the
care they took in setting up the training with the rabbits (as reported in
Harvey's column and in the local news). It's been years since I last read
the clipping, but I recall that they had taken care to have various experts
on hand (Fish & Game, SPCA, vet, military survival instructors, etc.) and
to teach the kids how to dispatch the rabbits with as much compassion as
eating something allows. Domestic "food" rabbits were used. Something
about Scouts and warm fuzzy cute little bunnies and blood caused Harvey to
come unglued. I was less than impressed with his maudlin conclusions....I
haven't bothered to read him very much since. I WAS impressed with the
public reaction that his column generated (I think that I was working in
New York at the time). I guess that teaching kids to be aware of the
natural ramafications of being carnivors becomes teaching them to be
bloodthirsty sadists when it's done in a Scout uniform. BTW, I never could
figure out why anybody would insist that it was horrible to teach kids to
humanely kill a rabbit...and then wax poetic about teaching the same kids
to snag a fish with a sharp hook - gleefully watching while it slowly
drowns in front of you. IMHO, fish should get an ad agency...or a good
lawyer <g>.
I plan to gather up your suggestions on the Wilderness Survival MB and drop
them on the table at the next PLC. Maybe we need to think about developing
some of those skills while our Venture Crew is working up to a long
backpacking trip. Thanks for the ideas!
y'all come,
Charlie II
charlie2@ro.com Huntsville,Al
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
