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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/24/19 in all areas

  1. Happy Holidays to all of my Scouter Forum friends! Dale
    3 points
  2. OLD TOWN, Maine — When a fire ripped through several downtown buildings earlier this year, the destruction affected more than just the people whose homes burned down or the business owners who lost their investments. It also touched the members of Boy Scout Troop 76, who were just starting to learn about emergency preparedness when the fire broke out. Ironically, the troop members found themselves ill-prepared to handle the devastating aftermath. That’s when it occurred to Troop Leader Chris Kelly to introduce a hands-on activity to teach the boys about emergency preparedness by coll
    2 points
  3. From the Boy Scout Handbook, seventh edition, seventh printing, January 1971, page 357: "Your advancement through Second and First Class ranks was a natural outgrowth of your patrol and troop experiences. In merit badge advancement you are on your own [italics added]. "Why do we have merit badges in Scouting? For two main reasons: to encourage you to increase your skill in things you like to do and to give you a chance to try out new activities that may result in new interests.... "Many men who were once Scouts feel that their entire lives were influenced by their merit badge
    2 points
  4. A puzzling discussion, as if freedom to explore 100+ merit badge topic areas and associate with adult experts was contrary to aims of Scouting. What of those scouts who earn elective merit badges and have no interest in rank advancement as they find some of those required merit badges a waste of time and money? I have a few of those, they have found their joy in scouting. My older son was one. He didn't earn Eagle or even Star, so what, the aims of Scouting were more than fulfilled with him without the Advancement Method. In my misspent youth in Scouting, I earned Woodwork, Chemist
    2 points
  5. I understand what your saying, but it's different strokes for different folks really. Most scouts I've met who earned more than 35 badges were more along the lines of self motivated. The best way to describe these scouts is something along the lines of nerdy, lacking for better words. Like some students that don't have to study to make "A"s in school, some scouts find earning MB badges easy and fulfilling. Not saying that some scouts don't fit in your description, but I don't want a discussion of ideas based on a small select group. Barry
    2 points
  6. You also need to read Lincoln's writings on slavery and the black man, to get a fair view.
    1 point
  7. The Civil War was fought over secession, the south the secure it, the north to prevent it. Secession however, was all about preserving slavery. How do we know? Because the south said it was. They published articles saying it. State legislators passed declarations saying it. The first states to secede sent representatives to other slave states telling why they should also secede. Those representatives said things like: "Georgia seceded for one reason, and one reason only. The preservation of slavery!" (can be found in the minutes of the Virginia convention where they were discussing secession.
    1 point
  8. While it is not the norm, I would suggest that there may be a few youth that earn a multitude of merit badges and yet never go beyond the lower ranks. Eagle IS NOT the goal of the program, as has been noted over and over. How much are we disenchanting a boy from simply enjoying the breadth of options in the merit badge program if we push too hard for rank? Most of us that have been around a while likely have stories of very successful young people that stayed with us through high school, and maybe even beyond. Yet they never became Eagle. When you have the privilege of simply visiting wit
    1 point
  9. BSA isn't concerned with program. Their focus is on finance. If commissioners had the power to "make corrections" in a unit, they would very quickly start using that power to mandate fundraising. The commissioners job would be entirely about $$$.
    1 point
  10. Well - to an extent. Math problems help my daughter to grow, but I wouldn't subject Scouts to that. Within the context of the Scouting type activities - merit badges, camping, leadership opportunities, patrol activities, etc. Yes - even if they don't bring specific value to the troop or community, yes - we should support them.
    1 point
  11. In our results oriented world of today, I think we have to be careful how much we try to find the "value" in what Scouts do. Scouting is a youth development activity with four aims. All of those aims are targeted at developing the individual - they don't worry about how much value that individual then adds to the group. I think this is the right model. Since development of youth is the point, helping them develop along the four aims is the purpose. So, if a youth earns 8, 18, or 80 merit badges and it helps the scout to grow then we're succeeding. So, I wouldn't try to stop a Sc
    1 point
  12. Great story. I am hoping for our troop to start working on E-prep prior to June 1st (Hurricane season starts). Many people here in Florida are not very well prepared for a disaster. I have supplies but not everything we should have. But being a scouter has given me a lot of supplies needed.
    1 point
  13. It's probably worth restating the aims: character development, citizenship training, personal fitness, and leadership. I see that merit badges accomplish a few things: they help a scout explore an area of interest they provide some adult/youth interaction they are (can be) fun The more areas you learn about as a kid, the more prepared you are as a citizen. Along the way, you get to interact with more adults which might help you in developing your own character (aka adult association). Oh yeah, you get to have some fun too.
    1 point
  14. Congress stopped issuing new charters. This brings into question the relevance of the old ones. Someone with standing could sue on the basis of BSA's current by-laws. What's questionable is if they could appeal to congress to sue on the public's behalf on the basis of corporate definitions of the last century.
    1 point
  15. Is that like asking if more than 1 camp outs a month are a waste of time and money?
    1 point
  16. As this thread illustrates, there is a whole merit badge industry within Scouts BSA -- including summer camps -- that promotes essentially indiscriminate merit badge earning by all Scout BSA members starting when they first join, in a manner that is only loosely linked to Star, Life, and Eagle ranks. Even merit badge nerds know that they will be recognized for the number of merit badges earned. The important number is eight: Why isn't earning more than eight elective merit badges considered a waste of time and money?
    0 points
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