Leaderboard

Ian is absolutely right. There is reason girls come to us rather than girl guides, because they are getting something that they are not getting there. This is one of my favourite photos of this year, some of my girls in the Scottish Highlands back in April. Do these look like girls that want a watered down program?

Our older scout who is the Instructor for wood tools uses the term circle of death.

Yep. Too dangerous. Gotta hire a specialist, trained professional to handle the pocket knife for the Cub...,. ((sarcasm app disabled)) If the DL thinks the real blade is too dangerous, then the Cub will pick up on that. Again, fortunate is the Pack that has an experienced craftsperson to teach safe handling and good tool useage. Respect the edge. Work SLOWLY (what is this about "let the kids work faster " ? ), carefully, SAFELY. Skill first, speed much later. Sharp edge? Yep, that's why we invented bandaids (c) . and mercurichrome. Or iodine. Or Bactine. If the "Saf

Bingo! From what I've experienced in the UK, that's exactly how it works. You don't join the football team to play basketball. We get the girls that like the running around and poking fires and camping. Okay, we get a few girls that are being sent by parents because they want their kids to be more outdoorsy, but plenty of boys are sent for the same reasons.

Please note that the Whitlin' Chip and Totin Chip have no specific requirements. There is no BSA list of "do this this way", not like tying knots or cooking or fire building. The teaching of "safe handling" and "good tool useage" is a ultimately a local culture thing. If you are fortunate to have a skilled craftsman to teach your Cubs and Scouts, count yourself lucky. Kids will want to "experiment" . I was at a B&G banquet one evening, helping to hand out the PopCorn Prizes. One young Cub, sold umpteen dollars worth of Popcorn, was awarded a multi blade pocket knife. As th

Looks like a nice tool. But the kids also need to learn how to open and close a pocket knife without cutting their fingers. At least my Brownies and Juniors took some practise to be able to do it safely. And don't knock popsicle sticks as a possible learning tool to be used for a few minutes very early in the learning process. My girls had to demonstrate that they could listen, pay attention, and follow directions well enough in opening and closing a fake popsicle-stick mock-knife, before I handed them a real pocket knife. This allowed me to identify which kids were going

Show the scout and his family what you are supposed to teach and ask their help to come up with ideas. He isn't the first or last handicap scout, your new ideas may help a lot of boys. Barry

I disagree totally, on pedagogical reasoning. A Cub Scout is much more likely to remember "blood circle" than "safety circle." The language is much more vivid, and will stay in their brains longer. We don't need to make Scouting sterile and boring.

Blood circle sounds way cooler. I get that it's not what we want to encourage, but my scouts were much more impressed when we said blood circle. I'd have filed & forgotten safety circle. Blood circle - that I'd remember.

Not so modern. Girl Scouts were using this term at girl scout camp, back when I was a kid.

I suspect those first 10 minutes were spent thinking, "Hey, girls!" If it only takes 10 minutes for the "girls" to become "just Scouts," that bodes well for this thing being successful.

The use of "fake" knives or props is a great way to introduce the skill and proper handling. But it is just the first step and should never replace the outcome. When they have demonstrated their understanding of the safe handling protocols, etc... with the prop, then move to the real thing. The real knife/ax/saw is when they practice and get tested.

I moved Whittling Chip posts to which was already in progress. RS

Guess I am an "old school Scouter." I believe using fake knives and plastic knives is wrong and does an injustice to our Cubs. To paraphrase William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt for Cub Scout appropriateness, Train 'em. Trust 'em. LET THEM EXPERIMENT! Teach them using pocketknives. And I admit, I screwed up getting wood carving, fixed blade knives for day camp since the requirement specifically state "pocket knife."

Getting far off topic but We use real pocketknives but make every scout have their parent come to that meeting. That way we can have our 13-15 Bears work in parallel with proper supervision. Otherwise there would be a lot of waiting while the den leaders work with individual scouts. We have the scouts bring their own knives. The leaders can then point out differences, especially the impact of using a dull blade (some of these knives couldn’t cut warm butter).

Internally, 4-5 years maybe. Externally, decades.

I do propose moving to the language of “Cubbing” and “scouting” to refer to the different programs.

I think Venturing and all the girls joining Cub Scouts now seems to support that there are a lot of girls who enjoy the same activities. I met a number of new girl Cub Scouts recently who have made pocket knives one of their first Scouting gear items. Fire and knives are a sure winner for almost all kids (safely of course)!.

I forgot about some of the goofy replies that I posted on Bryan, that upon reflection make good sense, like why I always mix up "chip" and "chit". I can see how, for cubs, all of that can be an abstraction.

Two grandsons new in a cub pack. There are (horrors!) girls. No one seems to notice. They do stuff together. It's almost as if it's not unnatural.

While I firmly oppose BSA's girl decision, I strongly support kindness and sensitivity in personal interactions. Even though their Cub Scout Pack is at fault for breaking fundamental rules about mixed-gender Dens, a kind approach is still merited as the situation gets resolved. A Scout is friendly, courteous, and kind, and nobody should be made to feel like an outcast. First, I'd explain in the friendliest way possible to the girl and her parents that we are excited for her interest in Scouting. Then I'd also explain in the friendliest way possible that because we are a boy-only troop, we

What used to require four perceived infractions in the eyes of an overzealous power-tripping camp counselor can now be accomplished in one perceived infraction. Progress!

When people who belong to an organization that denegrates atheists like the BSA, and denegrate the morals of atheists, I'll respond. If you don't like that, that's your problem.