shortridge

SP - Where's the Straight Sex MB now?

Cracked magazine once did an article on more practical MBs. They included Meth Cooking, Mallwalking, Taser Safety and Gaydar.

Developing a website that won't work with a certain browser is like operating an autobody shop that won't fix Chevys because the owner doesn't like the design of the console. It's stupid and short-sighted. IE still has more than a third of the Internet usage market. That's an awful lot of customers to be thumbing their noses at. And for the BSA to be partnering with such a site is stupid and short-sighted, too.

And I was just about to eat dinner ... ugh. So much for that bowl of chili. packsaddle, I think you just launched the Scouter.com diet!

Unfortunately, I'd wager that the vast majority of Scouts in the U.S. - the ones who camp in assigned campground areas at state parks - rarely have the experience of digging and using latrines or catholes. Portable toilets or permanent "comfort stations" abound. If you don't go bushwhacking or into the backcountry or on long trips, convenience is always around you. My second or third Boy Scout camping trip was to a privately owned piece of waterfront land. There was a ramshackle wooden outhouse with monumental splinters on the seat, so it was a relief to use the latrine we dug. I never had a problem going in the woods after that.

Richard, Was that a question or a statement? If a question, to whom was it directed?

Perhaps the Bad Idea shirt company is hanging out here because of threads that include the phrase "bad idea" ... just a thought.

Is this October Fool's Day?

Before everyone gets themselves off-kilter, this is nothing new. That NCS standard - if indeed it's the source of the problems - has been around for more than a decade. I had to deal with it when I was Scoutcraft director at my camp in '98 and butted heads with the COPE director. I will say that the standard is extremely poorly written. Whose shoulder height? What are "safety standards ... comparable to COPE," especially in terms of equipment? (You can't really compare manila rope to kernmantle and webbing.) What is are "high beam activities"? What is the definition of a "reliable protection system"? So many questions. I assume many of the answers are in the BSA's climbing/rappelling manual, but that doesn't help people building a pioneering tower.

If you want to change the boys' attitudes, a decision has to be made right then and there on the spot. There have to be immediate consequences for that kind of inexcusable behavior. Waiting until it's all over and refusing to hold future camporees won't hurt the perpetrators one bit. They clearly don't care. The only thing that will get their attention is immediate action.

Thanks for clearing that up, moose. I was imagining that the course director would be in charge of scheduling and would fill the SPL role, that the participants would be cooking most/all meals themselves and that all the staffers would be up to speed on how to mentor properly. And I didn't consider the scribe a key position.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

I'm asking this as a complete WB outsider ... How many staff members does it take to put on a course for a class of 40 people? My back-of-the-envelope calculation comes out to about 15. Five troop guides (one per 8-person patrol), a course director, assistant course director, a quartermaster & assistant (food ordering for everyone & cooking for staff), and a handful of other staffers to run program sessions not taught by the troop guides. Everyone pitches in to set up program areas & such. What am I missing?

Do the math backwards. To net $500 for your troop, you'd have to have more than 80 families going on the same night and spending a minimum of $40 on average. To get $1,000, you'd have to snag more than 160 families. Is either doable? You're not going to get every family in your troop on that one night. And figure only a handful of outsiders, unless Red Robin is the happenin' place around your town. Not to be a downer, but the average person to whom your Scouts give them is going to politely say "Oh, thanks," stick the card on their fridge and forget about it. The pitch they're going to take away will be "Please buy an overpriced candy bar, and then go eat at this restaurant that you might not normally eat at to help the Boy Scouts - only on this certain night." They get no benefit at all from it - there's no discount to the customer.

Several professionals have told me that councils are not allowed to promote a Scout Executive from within the ranks of the council's professional staff. Can anyone provide some insight as to why not? Many other organizations do promote from within. They nurture local talent with roots to the area. That keeps junior and mid-level executives motivated at the prospect of upward mobility. Such methods provide stability for a leader's family, too. Scouting's system seems to guarantee that every few years, the top leader of the council will pretty much have to start anew, meeting volunteers, getting up to speed on the personalities, putting his or her stamp on the professional staff, developing relationships with big donors, etc. Why not promote the Director of Field Service or Support Services Director or Senior District Executive to that job instead? I could understand this policy in light of some of the more troubled councils. In a place where there's been widespread cheating on membership numbers, you might want to clean house and get someone new on board. But in most places, wouldn't it make sense to develop leadership and have someone with those local connections?

They're probably thinking of National Camp Standard M-70 (M for Mandatory): "Scout camp structures such as monkey bridges, obstacle courses, and pioneering towers are expected to meet safety standards in equipment and supervision comparable to COPE, but do not require the employment of a COPE-trained director or instructor. All high activities (shoulder height or more above ground) must have a reliable protection system and backup system to protect participants. Equipment is checked at least every week. Except for a COPE wall event or high beam activities, any time a camp participant is engaged in an activity that is shoulder height or more above ground level, the person is belayed. COPE wall events and high beam activities are carefully spotted." http://www.scccbsa.org/files/2011_Resident_Camp_Standards.pdf

Sigh. The discussion is not about the skills. I daresay that 90 percent of the people on these boards know how to make a fuzz stick, and can do so readily. And again, making a fuzz stick is not a skill. Whittling and knife use are skills. The question I thought I was posing was whether anyone actually finds them of use or not.

No, fuzz sticks are not a "skill." They are a tool you can create if you know how to use a pocketknife properly - that is the skill. I'm just pointing out that I've never had use to use that particular tool in 20+ years of Scouting. The skills involved in firebuilding include knowing the right mix of tinder, kindling and fuel; knowing the best types of wood; knowing the most efficient firelays for your purpose; and being willing to get down in the dirt.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

Go outside and move. Don't chain the kids to folding metal chairs. Be excessively patient. Don't raise your voice (except when a kid is going to stick his hand into the fire). Establish authority by your presence. Always keep a small notebook in your pocket to write down program ideas when they strike.

So: Fuzz sticks. Yea or nay? I've never found any need to make them or use them. If there's not enough tinder or small kindling in the immediate area, I'll just walk a little farther.

A week later in a meeting, the SM made a friendly reminder about an upcoming event and asked a follow-up question: "Okay, so what time do we meet here for the campout?" Curtly, Smith literally yells impatiently: "FIVE THIRTY! YOU SAID IT ALREADY SO CAN WE JUST GET THE MEETING OVER WITH NOW?" He probably wasn't the only Scout thinking that.

>> Attend a model United Nations program, either put on within the troop/patrol or the ones put on by the YMCA. >> Connect online with members of a Scout troop across the globe and learn about Scouting and life there. >> If you're close to a major metro area, visit and tour the local consulate of a foreign country. >> With parental permission, fill out a passport application and apply for a passport. >> Plan a patrol backpacking trip in another country. Figure out transportation, costs, supplies, border issues, medical precautions, language barriers, currency exchanges, etc.

The only times I've used the sanitizer tablets were when forced to teach it to Scouts taking Cooking & Camping MBs at summer camp. Thought it was silly otherwise - never sanitized at home and never got sick. Hot water & soap to wash, hot water to rinse, dry. Or if you're using a frisbee as a plate - toss around to dry.

Please note I actually had another "bad" in there. I agree with Calico that there shouldn't be artificial barriers. But in the circumstances described, and for the reasons articulated, the SM and CM should be putting up barriers for the good of this boy and his present-and-possibly-future den. He needs to be told he can't straddle the fence. Either way is fine, and it's entirely his choice, but he's got to make that choice.

Don't do it. That is a horrible idea. A den chief is a mentor, a guide, a coach, an instructor. He should not be approaching his job from the point of view of hanging out with his "buddies." You can't have it both ways. That's an awful reason to want to be a den chief. From a practical point of view, too, his buddies aren't going to view him as a den chief - they're going to view him as a pal. He will have zero authority. Den chiefs should be experienced Scouts who can independently lead activities and instruct Scouting skills. Unless this young man is a stellar camper who's heads and shoulders above everyone else, mature and skilled, he's not going to be able to do the job. Bad, bad, bad, bad idea.

Sea Scouting can be done with a yacht or with a homemade log raft. I daresay some Scouts would prefer the challenge of the latter. It's entirely possible to run a Ship without owning any equipment or boats at all. Just plan ahead and rent canoes, kayaks, rowboats, sailboats or stand-up paddleboards from your local council camp, at the state park, or from an outfitter. The Ship in my area attracts boys from all over the district, up to an hour away. They're not a clique of upper-middle-class kids out for a lark.