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OK so for about the nth time of hearing us scouters complain about STEM and how STEM is going to destroy the outdoor traditions of scouting. My position is:

 

STEM is required for our boys to lead the world in the next 10-20 years.

STEM has always been a part of scouting. e.g. 1911 merit badges, chemistry, scholarship.

 

 

STEM does not mean classroom. The fact that some Troops, districts and counsels make it class room is not STEM's fault it's the people running STEM. Give them ideas to teach STEM WHILE outdoors.

See that shooting star? hey how fast was that thing moving? how high up do those things burn up at?

 

On the mischievious side: OK there is a girl scout camp across the the lake. We are going to build a robot to raise our troop flag in there camp ground.

 

How does the GPS work?

 

Lets stop blaming STEM as a crutch for the couch potato scouts and blame the adult leaders that are offering STEM in a classroom setting.

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IMHO If you are not incorporating STEM in some fashion (field or classroom) into your program you are doing a disservice to your boys.

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Say, brah, I totally agree with you that it should be coupled with the outdoors. Here's what we did at our district camporee this weekend:

 

1. Mobile ham radio for Jamboree on the Air. A local amateur radio club brought their field unit...into the field.

2. Using math to calculate differing leverage for catapults. Two catapults were brought into the field and the Scouts launched stuff.

3. Conservation hike around camp looking for invasive species and testing the dissolved oxygen of the local river that runs next to camp.

 

STEM is a good thing and there's no reason why it shouldn't be incorporated into the outdoors. Those NOVA awards can be done outdoors, too. :D

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... IMHO If you are not incorporating STEM in some fashion (field or classroom) into your program you are doing a disservice to your boys. ...

 

I would put it the other way. If you are not scouting properly, you're possibly undermining STEM.

 

It's not merely the science-related MBs that make BSA already "STEM oriented."

  • Keeping "mentally awake" is the obvious direct connection to STEM, but
  • "Duty to God and my country" implies
    • that there is something out there greater than yourself, and being mindful of "the other" opens you to discovery.
    • that there are people who need you to amass skills and understanding to tend the resources at our nation's disposal.

    [*]"Physically strong" implies that you understand how a body works, and you apply what you know to build and maintain it.

    [*]"Morally straight" implies that you are willing to ethically channel the technology at your disposal.

Scouting, in its purest sense, puts demands on observation skills and resourcefulness. When I was teaching Girl Scouts orienteering last month, I had them figure out their pace and work on some distance conversions. One girl moaned "This is Math!" To which I replied, "Funny how it followed you out of the classroom!"

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Drain some brake fluid from the SM's truck' date=' borrow some shock from the camp pool, start a campfire. STEM in the outdoors.[/quote']

 

 

What is that dense white smoke that is given off before the flames - other than chlorine in suspension.?

 

(AKA, "Do you like breathing?")

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Just for the local hospital. The scouts will obviously need to brush up in their FA skills. On a more serious note, I think this debate is missing an important element in where the STEM deficiencies are. It is more in the underprivileged segments of society, not the well to do suburbs that the majority of scouting serves. STEM is just not "cool" and being more intellectual is not valued. Having a STEM camp in the refuge of scouting provides a great opportunity for those scouts to explore other opportunities and interests away from their normal peer groups.

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With the popularity of Duck Dynasty, Survivor, Ice Road Truckers, Alaska the last Frontier, Mountain Men, etc. on TV, why isn't BSA promoting itself as a survivalist/outdoorsman training program. Oh, that's right, it used to be but isn't any more.

 

Never mind.

 

Stosh

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With the popularity of Duck Dynasty' date=' Survivor, Ice Road Truckers, Alaska the last Frontier, Mountain Men, etc. on TV, why isn't BSA promoting itself as a survivalist/outdoorsman training program. Oh, that's right, it used to be but isn't any more. Never mind. Stosh[/quote'] Voyeurism, laziness? Why do people spend weekend afternoons watching sports on a box and not going outside and at least throwing a frisbee? I think the issue is balance in the Program. In my troop and I suspect ithers as well there is to much focus on the big activity of a campout, be it rock climbing, biking, hiking, caving or whatever. The only time an axe yard gets set up is the crossover campout. :( T-1 requirements are just treated as a checklist to get through. If you don't have a big exciting activity scheduled few will sign up. How many troops just schedule a Camping trip, just camping, without some major theme?
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That's all garbage TV though, Stosh. :cool: I've been following Sarge Faria's "Woodsman's Ways" YouTube channel for about a year now and some of my older Scouts got hooked on it, too. As much as you like your old-skewl uniform, you might like Sarge's use of canvas tarps, aluminum cookware, and wool blankets.

 

One way to promote STEM in the outdoors could be to talk about how old-skewl firelays, canvas, and wool are still relevant today. Sure, they're not light but wool blankets can keep you warm even when wet and a well-built fire can keep you warm all night. Why is that? Welll, there's science is fire-building and materials construction.

 

Sarge's channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBlbcx2-EOEQNWlFeuJ8OUg

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