NC Scouter

I recall reading about an unofficial "E-Chip" instruction program for scouts 2-3 years ago on Scouter.com, but I can't find it now. Can anyone help with the link, please?

It was, as I recall, developed by an individual troop and was modeled after the BSA Totin' Chip and Firem'n Chit programs, but was much more extensive. I know BSA now has its Cyber Chip programs, but the E-Chip program had more content.

Our troop has been frustrated for years by the G2SS language that seems to (practically speaking) preclude ocean swimming, but last week I dug further and searched for the BSA Aquatics Supervision document referenced in the G2SS. I found a copy at http://crew505.com/downloadables/BSA-Publications/Aquatics-Supervision-34346.pdf. It runs 310 pages. Check out the Ocean section on p. 64 and the Guarded Public Facilities section on p. 71.

I think it depends in part on how big the pack is. The sister pack to our troop has about 160 cubs and it's in desperate need of qualified, committed, trained leaders. I'd say two bucks a scout to help achieve that objective is not out of line, even for a half dozen scouters. I, on the other hand, attended Wood Badge when I was cubmaster of a pack with about 15 scouts. I paid my own way.

What examples of good, scoutmaster-assigned leadership projects for Star and Life ranks can you share, please? We have a scout who has put himself in a calendar dilemma on his path to Eagle. His only option at this point is to complete a scoutmaster-assigned leadership project to complete the Life rank in the next 2-4 months to set himself up for a 6-8 month period to complete Eagle Scout requirements prior to his 18th birthday near the end of April next year.

I am the scoutmaster, and I'd like to offer the scout some appropriate leadership projects that are meaty enough to be valid. Any ideas or examples, please? I know this needs to be unit-specific to "help the troop," but some examples would be helpful. Thank you.

I bought a wool felt campaign hat on eBay this month, made by the Sigmund Eisner Company. It fits great and is just the look I'd hoped for. I've seen a reference elsewhere that Sigmund Eisner was not the BSA uniform supplier after 1932. Is that correct? And if so might they have continued to make official BSA campaign hats after that? Is this hat really 80+ years old?

First I'd like to apologize to the the forum. I failed to include two pertinent facts. I am the father of the scout in question, and I am also the scoutmaster. (I am not the merit badge counselor.) I appreciate your comments.

I told my son I thought his VBS service, although wonderful, should not be used to fulfill this requirement, but I wanted the input of the forum. Thank you.

There are other ministries of our church that would be wonderful choices for fulfilling this requirement (food pantry, donated goods, even refugee resettlement), not to mention many other groups in town or even ministries of other local churches.

A scout in our troop working to complete Citizenship in the Community wants to know whether or not his volunteer service at our church's vacation bible school can qualify for requirement #7. What do you think?

Some have the opinion that vacation bible school is not the kind of service the BSA writers had in mind when the requirement was written. The pamphlet uses community service organizations addressing problems like illiteracy and poverty, environmental and health issues, or helping the elderly, children or animals as examples.

The argument in favor of agreeing with the scout is that furthering belief in God and religion "brings people in your community together to work for the good of your community," but, our community is relatively affluent: it's not poverty-stricken children being served. On the other hand there is no question the scout has served well for three summers and plans to do so again this year. He is highly sought after by the staff each year and really enjoys participating.

Sigh ... I don't know all the facts here, but if what Rayburn has written is correct, and this scout has no other history and none of his friends believe he's a doper, then I think it would be unduly harsh for the board to say no. Again though, a lot should depend on how the scout handles it. If he stands up and owns up to the board, telling them exactly what happened, shows he's truly sorry and that he's learned a lesson, taking full responsibility for his actions, he should have a chance.

Any update?

I am unable to start a new thread in the Advancement Resources forum. After I enter the message and click SUBMIT I get a message saying "You are not authorized to create this post." I seem to be able to post to existing threads like this one, but I can't start a new thread. What's the problem?

I just got a message that I am unable to post to the Jamboree 2013 forum. No explanation why.

Thanks for your replies.

After sleeping on this and looking carefully at the requirements again this morning I think the interpretation hinges on how the word "group" is defined.

To exaggerate for emphasis, if BSA intended for group to be defined as the number of people in a single boat and two trained supervisors are required for every boat, then canoe trips would be impossible or at least very different!

So while I agree that the requirement is one trained leader for every 10 participants (we'll need five, which we have already), I don't agree that the professional boat crews count. I think our trained supervisors are responsible for reasonably assuring that BSA Safety Afloat standards are observed.

One other point -- the content of the Safety Afloat web page differs from the Safety Afloat section of the G2SS. My understanding is that the current G2SS always prevails over any conflicting information.

Fellow Scouters,

Our troop has been planning an offshore, ocean fishing trip for this month using commercial sport fishing charter boats. The boats carry 8 people each, including the captain and mate.

A couple of adults have reviewed the Safety Afloat requirements and are saying that we must have two adults per boat trained in Safety Afloat and Safe Swim Defense. That would mean four scouts per boat, plus the captain, mate, and the two trained adults.

We are a relatively large troop, and based on preliminary sign ups we would need 14 trained adults based on the most strict reading of the requirements (two adults for every four scouts). We happily have enough adults planning to attend to meet that standard, but it will not be easy to get all of them registered and trained.

In my opinion the Safety Afloat rules make no appropriate distinction between private craft and commercial vessels of this size. My interpretation would be that even a single trained adult could validate that the commercial captains are in compliance with Safety Afloat requirements.

How do you and your districts and councils interpret these rules?

Thank you for your input.

According to our older son, one of the highlights of the Centennial Jamboree was the address by Robert Gates.

That son has now earned the Eagle Scout rank. We're trying to arrange for just a few congratulatory letters from people we think will be meaningful to him. Sec'y Gates is one such person, but now that he is gone from the Pentagon I've not been able to find an address for him.

Sec'y Gates is Chancellor of the College of William and Mary, but when I called there today they said that the Chancellor is an honorary role and that he has no office and no staff. They said they forward email to Sec'y Gates once a month or so.

Does anyone here have any other ideas about how to contact Sec'y Gates?

This will not be received well by the project review committee in our council. The brevity intended, clearly indicated by the guidance in the form ("You do not need a detailed list ...") and the lines and numbered lines that restrict the amount of text needed, will send them reeling. No more detailed, step-by-step work plan, etc., etc.? I wonder what they will find to obsess about now?

Skipper, a couple of questions please.

How many new scouts did you take to Camp Davy Crockett?

What is your assessment of CDC's new scout program? I'm referring to the one called the Baden-Powell program in the Leaders Guide.

I am particularly interested in the sizes of the groups in the B-P program and how interactive the staffers made the program. The camp our troop has attended the last few years has new scouts in groups that are very large (20-25 scouts). That makes it difficult for the scouts and for the staffers.

I visited another camp this week specifically to assess its new scout program. The groups there were patrol-size (6-8), but the instruction I observed was not very interactive and the staffers seemed to not be well engaged.

Thanks.

Thanks. Keep 'em coming.

I found this in Wikipedia re: Google Goggles - "Google is currently working to make the system able to recognize different plants and leaves, which can aid curious persons, those wishing to avoid toxic plants, and botanists and environmentalists searching for rare plants." That would be great for scouts!

I switched to an iPhone a couple of weeks ago, and a friend showed me the Sky View app. Not only is it really cool, I think it might help scouts get interested in astronomy who otherwise would not have done so.

That got me to thinking, are there other, good, similar apps that you find useful for scouts and leaders? A first aid app, for example.

I am deeply concerned about the lack of a first aid element among the requirements for the Reading merit badge. Paper cuts can be nasty, and having picked up my sons' school backpacks I know that muscle strain could be an issue, not to mention eye strain ... The list goes on.

And Scholarship ..., well never mind; the risks of that badge deserve their own thread.

Thanks to all of you for your really great replies.

I like that the Canadian patches are 99 cents each!

Calling all Environmental Science merit badge counselors; do you require scouts to specifically identify all plant and non-plant species for requirement 4a, or are more general descriptions acceptable (e.g. grass, vine, shrub, etc.)?

Requirement 4a states "Mark off a plot of 4 square yards in each study area, and count the number of species found there. Estimate how much space is occupied by each plant species and the type and number of nonplant species you find. Write a report that adequately discusses the biodiversity and population density of these study areas. Discuss your report with your counselor."

I am not a lawyer, and I don't want to put too much of a lawyerly point to this, but when I first read this requirement I read into it that in addition to counting the number of species the scout would be expected to also identify the species. But now as I re-read it I don't see any requirement to identify the species.

The reason I ask is that although some of the species in a study area might be fairly commonly known others may not be, and while the plants can be identified generally it may be difficult for a scout to source a plant ID guide that would enable him to precisely identify all the plant he might encounter.

On a related note, have any of you found a good, online plant identification guide that will allow a user to identify a plant step-by-step based on its characteristics?

http://scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges/mb-ENVS.aspx

My sons got their survey emails based on their 2010 Jamboree registrations.

Ryan, I sent you a private message. Please let me know if you have trouble accessing it.

Our unit commissioner said last week that there is to be a "special" QU patch for units that earned QU designation all four years the CQU program existed. I can't find any such patch at scoutstuff.org. Has anyone else heard about this patch?