Jump to content

AT1988

Members
  • Content Count

    32
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by AT1988

  1. Tracking is a good badge. It should have never gone away. I wish they'd keep it around again.
  2. Out advancement chair went to pick up the merit badges earned for this COH. Pathfinding and the other historic merit badges have not yet arrived. Maybe this is the reason for the delay in the start of the program--production problems.
  3. I signed off my first scout for Pathfinding MB today. It was at a merit badge day. I wasnt teaching a class, just hanging out with the parents while our scouts were working on their requirements. He was a boy who called me the day I got the email saying that I could begin counseling Pathfinding. He was an older scout, and very confident, but it still took him three tries before I could sign his blue card. Its a simple thing to know your way around town. Im sure many of us can remember bicycling around town as kids, but this doesnt happen very often these days. In this day of chauffeured
  4. First Id like to answer WHY we have ALL our scouts have a BOR every three months whether they are advancing or not. baschram645 stated: "The scouts had not met the requirements for the next rank therefore they were not eligible for a BOR." And Evmori asked: "Why would you hold a BOR if a Scout hasn't completed the requirements for rank?" My answer is, according to BSA policy: A board should be set up to review accomplishment and lack of accomplishment. The board can counsel with Scouts who are not advancing to determine reasons for lack of progress and to stimulat
  5. A couple of weeks ago our troop had a board of review. Two of the scouts were 1st Class going for Star. Both did fine, except for the fact that neither one of them had quite finished the requirements for Star. One lacked an Eagle required merit badge, the other had not finished his service hours. It's been ten days, and in that time both scouts have fulfilled their requirements. Do we need to hold ANOTHER board of review for these boys, or can the committee chair and scoutmaster just approve?
  6. From Scouting.org: http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/Resources/invite.aspx "Scouts Can Invite Friends Electronically A new feature called the e-card is available to Scouts and leaders on the www.thescoutzone.org Web site. This fun and easy activity will help a Scout complete the new First Class requirement that states he must invite a friend to a troop meeting or activity. Please share this at roundtables and in newsletters." The boy has the email of his friend, fills ont a custom ecard here: http://www.thescoutzone.org/ecard.jsp and presto, 1st class requi
  7. Cheffy is in an ideal situation. Clearly the intent of the original merit badge was to instill a mental map into the minds of the scouts (dimension of space)and the ability to communicate this. Added to this is now the idea of instilling a sense of history (time dimension).
  8. It's too low for a water bladder [but I'm going to try it out anyway]. The pack bottom is dedicated to accommodating a sleeping bag, so that function would be superfluous. If it's for a sleeping pad, why the hole? So far nldscout has the most plausible answer.
  9. Point well taken. I wouldn't ever require a boy to use a MB worksheet (that would be adding a requirement), if I were a scout I wouldn't want to fill out a MB worksheet, but some kids LIKE to fill out merit badge worksheets.
  10. I bought an official 50L BSA backpack for my son for Christmas. I think it's a great pack, but there is one feature that perplexes me. On the bottom there are two zippered compartments. One contains the built-in rain cover, the other contains this odd contraption made of straps, buckles, and strechy fabric with a hole in the center. What is the purpose of this thing? I asked the people at two different scout shops, but neither of them knew. Any ideas?
  11. Pathfinding Merit Badge Workbook Scouts Name: Unit: Counselors Name: Counselors Ph #: 1. In the country, know every lane, bypath, and short cut for a distance of at least two miles in every direction around the local scout headquarters; or in a city, have a general knowledge of the district within a three-mile radius of the local scout headquarters, so as to be able to guide people at any time, by day or by night. 2. Know the population of the five principal neighboring towns, their general direction from his scout headquarters, and
  12. What was the idea behind the pathfinder MB in 1911? Is it a fossil, meant merely to have the scout picture what his neighborhood was like 100 years ago? Or, is that idea still applicable in a world of automobiles, GPS, and fast food? According to the author of the original Pathfinding merit badge pamphlet, Belmore Browne: To my mind there is no important merit badge among all of those granted by the Boy Scouts of America than the one given for pathfinding; and if the scout is not interested in pathfinding, he will know nothing of the locality in which he lives, and he will not have the op
  13. Our troop's necker is 32" square, which is fastened with a turkshead woggle made of brown and kaki braided bootlace from the dollar store. My son made the first batch, which I super-glued together. Many boys prefer it just tied however, that way it can come undone and serve as emergency cordage; just as the 32" necker too has so many practical functions.
  14. An interesting article about how one troop is doing Pathfinding: Troop 1 Scouts earn Pathfinding MB! by trooponenews (Subscribe) Posted on: Mar 23, 2010 at 11:28 PM MDT Channel: News Location: Logan, Utah Tags: Boy Scout Troop One - Old Ephraim Dist.-Trapper Trails Council Boy Scout Troop One from Logan, Utah (Sponsored by the Logan Lions Club-Trapper Trails Council-Old Ephraim District) is celebrating its 100th anniversary as a continuously chartered scouting unit with specially scheduled activities each month throughout the year 2010. Troop One is the oldest Boy Scou
  15. Scoutmaster Bucky has already produced a worksheet for Pathfinding: http://scoutmasterbucky.com/documents/SMBWorkbooks/Scoutmaster%20Bucky%20-%20Pathfinding%20Merit%20Badge%20Workbook.pdf It's got its own take on modernizing the requirements. Some of it I agree with, some of it I'm not so sure about.
  16. Well, Ive signed up to be a merit badge counselor for Pathfinding. Im kind excited about it. A lot of the kids in this age of GPS are at a total loss as to their natural bearings. If you ask for directions to a nearby landmark youre liable to get a blank stare. Many of them have no idea as to the names of any of the connecting streets between where they are and where they wish to go. The interesting thing is, is that the requirements were left in their early archaic early 20th century form by national. Here they are: To obtain a merit badge for Pathfinding, a Scout must:
  17. As posted on other threads in this forum, the BSA Historical Merit Badge Program has begun! Here's the links: Carpentry http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges/2010_mb_carpentry.aspx Pathfinding http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges/2010_mb_pathfinding.aspx Signaling http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges/2010_mb_signaling.aspx Tracking http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges/2010_mb_tracking.aspx
  18. Thanks Gunny, Wow, any stove that burns alcohol is not recomended. This would even include the European Trangia stoves, which we use on backpacking trips since they're safer than white gas (no chance of explosions). Too bad.
  19. Here is what Baden-Powell says in his book, Aids to Scoutmastership One Reason Why a Troop Should not Exceed 32 The number in a Troop should preferably not exceed thirty-two. I suggest this number because in training boys myself I have found that sixteen was about as many as I could deal with-in getting at and bringing out the individual character in each. I allow for other people being twice as capable as myself and hence the total of thirty-two. Men talk of having fine Troops of 60 or even 100-and their leaders tell me that their boys are equally well trained as in smaller Troop
  20. AT1988

    Atheism

    I'm not going to say where I stand on this issue. And while some people would see a heated discussion of this sort as a negative thing, I do not. People who argue over things such as these, do so because things like freedom and duty are more than abstractions. People who argue over such things (regardless of which position they take) care about their country. I'm glad to be associated with such a group. Don't stop arguing, but as you do, just try to assume that the person you arguing with holds the same things dear as you do.
  21. AT1988

    Atheism

    Kahuna, Since the time of the Buddha, the refutation of the existence of a creator has been seen as a key point in distinguishing Buddhist from non-Buddhist views. Buddhism is usually considered a religion, but is also commonly described as a "spiritual philosophy", because it generally lacks an absolute creator god. see: B. Alan Wallace, Contemplative Science. Columbia University Press, 2007, pages 97-98.
  22. I realize Im in the minority here, but I think the centennial uniform is great. The supplex shirt is ideal for hiking I hot weather, and combined with the long BSA underwear shirt, is just great for cold weather outings. Im also crazy about the Trousers with zip-off legs. Theyve proven very practical. How ironic that at the a time when the uniform is ideal for outdoor use, the scout handbook recommends that it be reserved for indoor activities and courts of honor. The only through back Im in favor of is the old 32" square neckerchief. Our troop voted for them last year, and the boy
  23. Our troop adopted the 32" square navy blue cotton neckerchiefs about one year ago. The boys look like they stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting. I sew them myself and top each one off with a single 3" iron-on new style BSA white decal in one corner.
  24. AT1988

    Atheism

    As a scouter, I could never turn away a kid or volunteer solely based on that persons spiritual skepticism, any more than most ministers would turn away a person who was having a crisis in faith. The only exception would be if that individual was openly hostile or irreverent to the scouts or scouters who were believers. I know as far as the BSA policy its irrelevant WHY a person is an atheist, from my own perspective its not. In Western culture, atheists are frequently assumed to be exclusively irreligious or unspiritual. However (as others here have stated) there are religions and
×
×
  • Create New...