AT1988

That was gay.

Tracking is a good badge. It should have never gone away. I wish they'd keep it around again.

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.

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 kids, the ability to give simple directions is becoming a rare aptitude, one that deserves its own merit badge.

 

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 stimulate these Scouts to greater participation in the program. This function is of equal importance to the function of reviewing boys who present themselves for advancement.

 

http://www.scouter.com/Forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=272614

 

Thank you all for your input. Its rare that there is such a consensus about anything on this forum. As NealOnWheels summed it up so well:

 

Proper procedure would mean you need to schedule a "follow up board of review. If they have completed their requirements it should go quickly.

 

This is what I felt was right. We are a new troop and are committed to doing things the right way.

 

Regarding what baschram645 wrote about, . . .your Adult leader's need training. If they don't know the requirements then read the Handbook. Well, I did, but I still had questionsthats why I came here.

 

Thank you all.

 

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?

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 requirement is fulfilled!

 

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).

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.

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.

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?

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 be able to give strangers correct directions how to reach them.

Census data can be found at: http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/SUB-EST2008-4.html

 

Pico Rivera

Population _______________

Directions:

 

 

 

Los Angeles

Population _______________

Directions:

 

 

 

Santa Fe Springs

Population _______________

Directions:

 

 

 

El Monte

Population _______________

Directions:

 

 

 

 

Sierra Madre

Population _______________

Directions:

 

 

 

 

 3. If in the country, know in a two mile radius, the approximate number of horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs owned on the five neighboring farms; or, in a town, know, in a half-mile radius, the location of livery stables, garages and blacksmith shops.

tire store

Name:______________________________________

Directions:

 

 

 

hardware store

Name:______________________________________

Directions:

 

 

 

gas station

Name:______________________________________

Directions:

 

 

 

 

 4. Know the location of the nearest meat markets, bakeries, groceries, and drug stores.

grocery store

Name:______________________________________

 

 

 

 

gas station

Name:______________________________________

Directions:

 

 

 

drug store

Name:______________________________________

Directions:

 

 

 

 

 5. Know the location of the nearest police station, hospital, doctor, fire alarm, fire hydrant, telegraph and telephone offices, and railroad stations.

police station

Directions:

 

 

 

hospital

Name:______________________________________

Directions:

 

 

 

your doctor

Name:______________________________________

Directions:

 

 

 

fire station

Name:______________________________________

Directions:

 

 

 

bus depot

Directions:

 

 

 

cell phone store

Name:______________________________________

Directions:

 

 

 

 

 6. Know something of the history of his place; and know the location of its principal public buildings, such as the town or city hall, post-office, schools and churches.

 

Population of Our Town____________________

History of Our Town

 

 

 

 

city hall

Directions:

 

 

 

post office

Directions:

 

 

 

your school

Name:______________________________________

Directions:

 

 

 

First Methodist Church

Directions:

 

 

 

 

 7. Submit a map not necessarily drawn by himself upon which he personally has indicated as much as possible of the above information.

 

 

 

 

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 opportunities for learning and putting into practice those requirements that are necessarily a part of the education of every Norman man.

 

So then, the main purpose of Pathfinding is for the scout to, know the locality in which he lives. A purpose, I would argue, just as important today as it was 100 years ago. How many of the boys in your troop never take notice of the names of the street and highways as their parents chauffeur them from place to place?

 

Browne goes on to say that working on the Pathfinder MB is to help the scout acquire a good memory and intelligent perception. Today we might say that we want the scout to develop an awareness of his surroundings and an adult understanding of his town or city.

 

Ive come to the conclusion that while having the boy develop a historical perspective is indeed part of the intention in the reissue of Pathfinding, the original intention of familiarizing the scout with his town, and having him communicate clearly from memory directions to a stranger, is still valid and important. Perhaps more today than it was 100 years ago.

 

To this end I will present the requirements unaltered to foster a local historical perspective, but I will not shy away from updating my questions. In keeping with the stated intentions of the requirements, I will substitute livery stables and blacksmith shops for something just as useful and pertinent to our world. I have not yet decided what these things should be however.

 

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.

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 Scout Troop west of the Mississippi River, and will be celebrating their 100th anniversary as a scouting unit in March 2010. Boys between the ages of 11-17 who are interested in joining Troop One are encouraged to visit our troop meetings at First Presbyterian Church, 178 West Center Street in Logan, Tuesdays between 7:00-8:30 pm. Troop One is a non-denominational scouting unit.

 

March 23-Logan, Utah

 

By Joshua W.-Asst. Senior Patrol Leader-Troop 1 Logan, Utah

 

Tonight, Troop 1 Asst. Scoutmaster and merit badge counselor Jason Grimes and 15 Troop 1 scouts hiked the streets of downtown Logan to earn requirements for the Pathfinding Merit Badge. This antiquated merit badge was decommissioned in 1952. However, in honor of the BSAs 100th Anniversary, this badge has been named to the BSAs new Historical Merit Badge Program and can be earned by Boy Scouts from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010.

 

As part of the merit badge requirements, scouts from Troop 1 had to show general knowledge of the local area and also describe how to reach their home from their current location at the First Presbyterian Church of Logan. During the walk, scouts were told about some of the historical sites of downtown Logan. Stops included: Caine Lyric Theatre in beautiful downtown Logan (which reportedly has a ghost on the premises that has a thing for Shakespeare); the Logan LDS Tabernacle; St. Johns Episcopal Church (the founding site of Troop 1 in 1910), Federal Way (upon which was the original Post Office in Logan & the first Federal Building in Cache Valley); Logan City Fire Department; War Memorial and County Courthouse (where a mob lynched the murderer of the sheriffs nephew back in 1873); Logan Post Office, Logan City Police Station, & Logan City Library; First Judicial District Court Building, and finally the Logan Masonic Lodge.

 

In closing, as a scout, I thought this was an interesting way to learn about the city of Logan and earn a rare merit badge, all at the same time. I hope other scouts will participate in the Historic Merit Badge Program too.

 

 

http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/ishare/88986977.html

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.

 

 

 

 

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:

 

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 be able to give strangers correct directions how to reach them.

3. If in the country, know in a two mile radius, the approximate number of horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs owned on the five neighboring farms; or, in a town, know, in a half-mile radius, the location of livery stables, garages and blacksmith shops.

4. Know the location of the nearest meat markets, bakeries, groceries, and drug stores.

5. Know the location of the the nearest police station, hospital, doctor, fire alarm, fire hydrant, telegraph and telephone offices, and railroad stations.

6. Know something of the history of his place; and know the location of its principal public buildings, such as the town or city hall, post-office, schools and churches.

7. Submit a map not necessarily drawn by himself upon which he personally has indicated as much as possible of the above information.

 

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges/2010_mb_pathfinding.aspx

 

 

While out town does have garages, a police station, grocery stores, drug stores, and fire stations, its been a few generations since the last livery stables and blacksmith shops went out of business. And I googled telegraph office and the name of our town, but I came up dry there too.

 

To be fair there is some guidance provided here:

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/historic_pathfinding_new.pdf

 

but its still rather loose. Common sense dictates that the requirements should be adjusted to the Scouts world as its exists today.

 

Maybe museums, libraries, or hospitals could be substituted for livery stables and blacksmith shops.

 

How do you all see it?

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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.

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 Troops. I express admiration ("admiration" literally translated means "surprise"), and I don't believe them.

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.

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.

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 boys do look like scouts.

 

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.

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 spiritual belief systems, such as Buddhism and Scientology, that do not advocate belief in God. Moreover, there are some folks that simply have been raised without religion, which is no more their fault than if they were raised illiterate.

 

I believe there are three different kinds of atheists:

 

1. Religious atheists (Buddhists and Scientologists) whom the BSA has no problem with.

 

2. Implicit atheist who have not thought about belief in gods. In this sense it has been said that all children are born implicit atheists, in that they have no idea of God. An adult who is an implicit atheist would be characterized as having a sheer lack of philosophical interest in God, rather than on a positive denial of Gods existence.

 

3. An explicit atheist is a person who has made a conscious disbelief to deny Gods existence.

 

Most explicit atheist I have known see no point in debating their views with believers. Most show respect and reverence to other peoples religious observances, and some of them attend religious services themselves. I know quite a few Cultural Catholics who fall in this category.

 

A very few explicit atheist however, are what Ive come to call evangelical atheists. These people are rare, but they see it as their mission to save others from the God Delusion. I feel much the same way about these people as I do the believers who ring my door-bell at the most inopportune times to tell me about the superiority of their particular brand of Christianity.

 

I feel that in reality, these evangelical atheists are what the BSA policy is most aimed.