SSScout

Again,,,,,, it all depends on the Scouter. Done right, nothing wrong with a MB Day/College/university/Powwow. Advance notice requires that Pre-requisites be known and completed before arrival. MBCounselors need to be true to the spirit of MBs, and not be averse to awarding partials, or not signing off if the boy is not ready. I did Bugling once a few years back, in the sign ups, the Prerequisites were clearly spelled out (SM bluecard, note from SM attesting to serving as Bugler, compose the Bugle call). I was nonplussed when two of the four Scouts that came that day DID NOT HAVE A HORN with them ("Oh, I thought you provided one"), a different two didn't have the note, only one had the bugle call composed. Only two could successfully play the required calls. I gave out three partials and signed one Bluecard. None of the partials ever contacted me back. I called them 8 months later, arranged for two to come and play their calls. I signed those two, never heard again from the last. Two weeks ago, our District had a MBDay. Some really unique MBs offered. Pro plumber did an all day Plumbing MB, required and enforced some pre-requisites, had a class of 8 boys, soldering, threading, lots of pipes made. Heard he signed off on 6 of them. One burn, (first Aid!). My Bugling MB had three, passed one, two partials. I wait for them to call me back....

Matching Mountains with the Boy Scout Uniform by Reimer (1928) is now available in a reprint! A interesting book about the history of the Scout uniform. It lists no fewer than 40 (!) uses for the necker. http://www.amazon.com/Matching-Mount.../dp/143256918X Or the original! http://www.boyscoutstore.com/matching-mountains-with-the-boy-scout-uniform-en.html

The Troop of my yoooth ,designed the necker and it had a 4" embroidered patch with boots kicking up dust mottoed "Always On The Go!" It is a big one, about 30" on a side, triangular. And it was used for all the usual stuff: slings, flags, signalling, . Once a year, usually in February, I sponsor a neckerslide contest for the boys, and I give prizes, I collect coupons from local establishments for free tacos, ice cream, etc.. I get to display my collection of souvenir neckers and woggles. I get to talk about the history of the necker, and what has changed. Even the adults get interested. Some years, lots of entries, this year, only four.. I enlist a local art teacher for my judge, so there is no "favoritism". I've seen nicely carved ones (Woodcarving MB at camp) to artfully contrived ducttape to a Smurf toy glued to a pipecleaner. In the years I have been doing this, the Troop has gone from a tiny cravat ESL necker to a 30" custom one, not like my old one, but distinctive. Overcollar, undercollar, no collar, tucked in collar, don't matter none. Encourage them to wear it proudly , usefully, as a mark of being a Scout. Not every Scout has a uniform to wear, but every Scout should have a Necker.

Summer camp. Back when I was about 8, my dad (we live in MD) took me and my 9 yr old cousin to the Mast Cove Camp in Maine. No longer there(I looked). We stayed there two weeks, I learned about boats, oceans, getting along with other kids, gimp weaving, eating stuff I'd never seen before, and how to complain about abusive cabin counselors (another story). I really do not remember Scout camping of any kind until I reached Boy Scouts. When I was a CM, I led many a hike and got a couple of parents BALOO trained so we could go to the "Son and One" Council camps. And folks now adays think hard about sleepover camps for Webelos as a ... ? what? maybe not appropriate for kids that age? My son went to Camp Heritage in PA as a Web, and camped away with others here in MD too. Exnicios: Take the initiative and find out where your Council's "official" camp is, persue it. Share your results with others. Get ALL your boys out and about.

So the boy did not qualify as an APL, but , boy, did he qualify with "Specially Assigned Duties". I hope his PL would vouch that he did his APL stuff, too.

At an imaginary dinner with several African American celebs, Hank Aaron growing up, "... had two loves: baseball and the Boy Scouts. He can still recite the Scout Oath." Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/black-history-comes-alive-at-the-dinner-table/2014/02/20/78a206b2-9589-11e3-afce-3e7c922ef31e_story.html

JB: I do teach that idea. Put it down on a safe surface (not wet or slippery), along with all the other stuff. Why do I and why would someone else not teach that?, Since there is no "official" curriculum (should there be? another topic, perhaps), and no "official" requirements as to skill acquisition (show how to do this and this and this...), in the W/C and T/C awards (just read the page in the book), we are left with "tradition". and the skill set of whomever is teaching and signing off on it. What is the right stuff to teach? Require? Demonstrate? EDGE??? There are now many many websites with suggestions on how to teach, and what to require for the W/C and T/C.It is surprising (maybe not?) how consistant they are in these things, but not in how to do it. We've done pretty well, so far. I like to hand out to my IOLS adults copies of the pages from my 1956 vintage Fieldbook. It shows photos of all the stuff we've been talking about: handing a knife/axe/saw to another, using a stone and file to sharpen, how to safely use the tools, limbing, felling (when is a modern Scout ever going to be allowed to drop a 12" maple?) , whittling, fuzz sticks. And it shows the BOY doing it. Compared to today's handbook and Fieldbook, this is radical stuff (?G2SS?).

Teach using the "what if" game. We have guidelines, rules, etc. because of "what if". We pass knives blade back to the palm, handle toward the recipient and he says "thank you " and you then let go because if you don't....? I saw one example of fake knife teaching that worked: Our Troop did a Whittlin' Chip station at a Webelos Weekend camp (went thru 35 lbs of Ivory!). Mostly, the Scouts used my pocket knife collection. The SPL in charge of the station, while I was watching, came across a Cub who wanted the W/C, but was honestly scared of the real knife (talk about approach / avoidance) . The SPL went into the nearby woods, found an appropriately shaped stick, carved it into a knife and handle, and worked with that Cub for about an hour, until he could handle a real knife with some aplomb. I was very proud of that Scout. I still have that wood make-believe blade. But teach with real blades, teach 'em respect for the edge, respect for the tool.

Interesting discussion. Does one NEED a blade of a certain size? When I teach IOLS (and I have been told "gee, I wish you had taught the IOLS course I went to."). I show lots of sharp stuff and talk about the "fable" of the sheath knife ban. Then I show folding knives, lock backs of various types, the new Opinel twist lock knife, big kitchen knife, a K-bar, and I invite a discussion of what kind of a knive a Scout NEEDS. I talk about safety, passing knives, sharpening and care, use ( yes, a folder can collapse on you), closing a folder not with a fist but with open palm. all that stuff. For some adults, it keeps coming back to why not a small sheath knife? How small? In my small experience, the boy can learn to respect the blade with a 4" folder, make fuzz sticks, whittle , and even cook. The sheath knife often is more a matter of machismo and bragodaccio to the boy. (Crocadile Dundee not withstanding). Each Troop culture is unique. I knew a Troop that limited younger boys to knives under 4" blade (?5"? I forget). Boys older than 14 AND First Class could carry a 6" blade sheathed knife, after a VERY strict Totin Chip class. And that was taught by the older boys. The Troop culture insured that the rule was respected, and the reasons were explained. Younger boys make mistakes without the experience and example and tutilege of the "elder" boys. When we KNOW you've had the benefit of all that, we'll be glad to let you "carry". What type of knife does a Scout need? And for what? I speak about how a Patrol on the AT MIGHT need one hatchet among them, (a felling axe on a weeklong trek?) and maybe a couple or three pocket knives. But the boys need to be a team and share. This way, extra weight is avoided. Does every Scout need his own tent or cooking set or stove? We learn teamwork and responsibility to the group by such decisions . Long, big knives have a use and purpose. Do your Scouts have such need? Or would they lead to more problems further on?

I think Eagledad makes a great point. We aren't just trying to teach the scouts technical skills, but we are also modeling behavior. Take for example the (very bad in my opinion) practice that some troops have of making a scout sing to get lost property back. What behavior is it modeling? If a scout is out in the street and sees the man in front of him drop his wallet, which should he say: "Excuse me sir, you dropped your wallet." or "Hey mister, I got your wallet. Sing a song and I'll give it back to you.". If the second is not acceptable to a stranger, how is it acceptable to a fellow scout? "Mr. Jenks? Has anyone found a pocket knife? I think I dropped mine somewhere around the bulletin board last night". "Well, Jimmy, what kind was it?" "It's a Case , with a canopener and two blades, one short one long." "Ummm. Does it look like..... this?" "Yeah!" Gee, great!" "Okay, Jimmy, wait a minute... ((ties a looooong string onto knife loop)). Here. Maybe this will help you, eh? . I lost the knife my uncle gave me. I know where it is too." "You do?" "Yep. I was a Scout about your age. It's somewhere between Harpers Ferry and Pine Knob Cabin on the AT. " " Oh. Thanks Mr. Jenks. "

I like Twocubdad's comments.... Each District is different, but the idea is the same. The project can be discussed whenever the Scout has the idea (?Tenderfoot?) and wants to talk about it. The project needs to be APPROVED after the boy makes Life, and commenced whenever he has gained the approval and signatures of whomever the District requires. In our District, after he has the "approval" of the agency the project is to benefit, it is "suggested" that the Eagle candidate make his presentation first to the Troop Committee. Any adjustments are made, and then the Scout makes his presentation to the Eagle Coordinators for our area. This is the group that also arranges and schedules the Eagle BoRs . When the EC signs off on it, he may begin actual "construction" or whatever. Best of wishes for your soon-to-be Eagle! YiS

Burn out can happen at any time to any one. Lions Club, teaching, bus driving, Scouting.... Some things to remember: Number one: "The work is done by whoever shows up." If you show up, you can do the work. Show up enough, eventually, you will be one of the one(s) saying "welcome, friend" to the others that show up. Do not allow the present "others" to define who can or who cannot "show up". If necessary, introduce yourself to the Charter Org. Representative or Institution Head (not necessarily the CM or CChair, but might be) and talk about your desire to make the Scout program work. Look up your District and Council websites , and take the training for the appropriate leadership positions. Presto! You have the "credentials" to speak with authority. Number two: "It's for the kids". You will often meet Scouters who have forgotten this, and seem to be in Scouting for their own self aggrandizement. Look at the (often called) south american generals, with more bling showing on their uni's than tan cloth. If you keep that in mind, "KiSMiF" will be your mantra in Cubs and "BoyLed" will be the goal in Boy Scouts. If your kids are not having fun, or are learning what YOU think is the wrong thing, speak up. I once had to speak to the dad of a Scout in my son's Troop about some language I overheard. Guess what? The boy became one of the Troop leaders, and began to set the right example. Number three: "Its the way we've always done it" is a good place to start, but not necessarily the best place to end up. Any program or activity that cannot stand criticism and defend itself as to fulfilling Scouting's purpose and ideals NEEDS to be questioned, and corrected. Number four: "If you don't have a connection with your boy at age twelve, you won't have one when he is eighteen". Remind your Cub parents this. If they are in the "soccer syndrome" ( drop the boy off and come back in two hours), they do not understand this. The Cub program is intended to suppliment the ability of parents to guide and know their boy. Help them to understand this, and the Committee will be more likely to be functional. What kind of a "gang" do you want your boy to be a member of? Thank you for your service to our youth. Years from now, your boy , and many others I wager, will remember these years. YiS

Indeed, we are here to have our collective experience picked and to benefit from YOUR time in the trenches... KiSMiF,, YiS.

The work is done by whoever shows up. If the folks that want to do it say 4pm, then that's the time. I am in agreement with you, the ceremony loses some of its panache by doing it FIRST, and in daylight too. Our local camp had a "Grand Opening Campfire" with the opportunity "to add your Troop's campfire ashes to the new fire circle" and later to collect souvenir ashes to take home. Billed to start at 4pm and last to 8pm, . when we arrived at 5pm, it was already done and all 25 people were cleaning up. 25 people from the whole council. No skits, no ceremony, when I offered our ashes, they said the fire was already out and thank you. Sad, we thought.

Evan: You may well be podiatrially pummeling a nonresuscitainable equine. Sit down with the wife, without the boy(s). Make a list of the adults/parents, all of them. Honestly check off the ones that have given ANY , and I mean ANY help or support in the last year. Then cross off the rest. Call up the checked ones, and ask for a meeting at your local Starbucks. Include the COR and, if possible, the IH. Take over the back area. Buy the lattes. Put it to them that THIS is now the Pack committee. Tell them that one of them (THEM!, Not you) must take on the role of Committte Chair. If no one does, then tell them the next Pack meeting will be your last. Point out that the success of the Pack depends on THEM. Point out that their Cub is only 9 years old once, and that if they do not have a connection to their son by the time he is 12, they won't have one when he is 18. If they see Scouting as a worthy activity for their son, it MUST be a worthy activity for them also. Pass out some training calenders for your Council. Point out that they are not alone, that there is lots (I hope) training available, that the quality of their son's Scout career is not wholely your responsibility , but you are there to help. Tell them that as of the next meeting, this is no longer a "soccer" Pack (drop off your boy, come back in two hours). Good Luck. Believe it or not, if the Pack does not survive, the boys will remember you. Your boy(s) will go on in Scouting and some of the other Cubs will continue, and you will see them years on, when they appear at Camporees and make Eagle. Boy Scouts can move on with or without the parents support. Cubs cannot move on without it.

If I didn't have so few hours in my day already, I might be tempted to apply as an adult leader just to see if a Quaker could Qualify. We are definitely not "trinitarian", and some of us might not be as Christian as some, but then I'd have to discuss the Light within (mt 5:16?)

Maybe I am trying to get a sense of how the kids today operate versus what fuzzy memory I have of how the kids in my way back when operated. The kids in the classes I sub teach , even the "advanced" classes, seem to not want to get it for themselves. They mostly (20 out of 25) seem to expect to be told what to say, not have an opinion of their own. I get alot of "is this gudnuf?" from them. Math, english, reading, it is a rare class where I get more than a absolute minimal answer. Case in point: Last week, 8th grade algebra. My instructions were to "review" the last nights homework and go over the worksheet in preparartion for the test friday. Write the probs up on the Promethean board (no more chalk board), ask for answers (they did this last night?) . you could hear the wood in the chairs shrinking. 2x+y=6 ? anyone? I had to pull it out of them. Were there kids that never grasped algebra in my day? Sure, but SOMEBODY would attempt an answer. Not here. "well, what should the answer be, Mr. SSScout?" I ultimately had to pick out a student for each problem, and even then I thought it was strange how slow these kids were. Same with every class that day. Similar to many other classes. I don't have these kids every day, don't know them. Sometimes there is an "a-ha!" moment but oh. so rare. One can google almost anything. The big encyclopedia or dictionary on the stand is not even considered. It is expected that ANY answer to ANY question (even in fifth grade) will be given, at finger tip, why even bother to learn HOW the answers in Wikipedia were originally found? So with today's Cub and Boy Scout.... when did it become necessary to reward them NOW, rather than a little later? How is it that we learned our reward would come, but our kids today need it NOW? I like Sentinels take on what I tried to say. I guess I am still trying to define what I sense...

I think many Councils who have local campgrounds or nearby parks sponsor "Son and One" or "Dad and Lad" or "Parent Cub" overnight camp outs. It is a fun, good thing. The trick is making it a "sleepover" in a tent. Yeah, pillows, Teddys, nite lights, (from outside the tent?), knowing Gdad or mom is close by. Dress warm, bring extra socks and shoes (they get wet, even when there is no rain!) and a frisbee or two. Sing the old camp songs (don't be afraid of acting silly, dad, have fun), have skits, play cards. . Make it fun and make it possible for folks to want to do it NEXT year! Don't forget the Cub Mantra (repeat after me) "KISMIF, KISMIF , KISMIF"

The present philosophy is that kids (Cubs) want/deserve/should be rewarded NOW for what they accomplish. Beads, patches, RIGHT NOW! Permit me some nostalgia and reminiscing. I hope there are a few of us here, that might remember doing the "stuff" in our DL's recroom/basement, going to the zoo and fire house, and being "rewarded" by our DL's smile and "good job!" and then our mom and dad's smiles and hands on our shoulders. The key holder was cut and painted, the birdhouse was nailed together, albeit a bit crooked. The book was signed, and kept where I could see and read it. The patches and arrow points didn't arrive until the Pack meeting weeks or months later. I was working to become a Bear (f''rinstance), and the goal was being met, gradually, as indicated by the books signatures. My folks and DL made sure I saw that , reminded me of it. sat down with me and reviewed it with me. I knew it was coming (like Christmas?). My generation knows that the mortgage is a gradual thing. We (and the bank) own the house, and eventually only we will own it, after alot of self denial and putting off and score keeping. Now, young folks seem to want everything RIGHT NOW. There is very little sense of working toward a goal. Don't worry about research, wikipedia it. The kids I sub teach to wait for me to tell them what the answer is, heaven forbid they should figure it out for themselves. When did this change? When did we start teaching our kids to EXPECT their reward right now, and not to work for it for later? The internalization of the approval of our parents approbation was, I think part of our generation's education. Putting off the reward for our efforts til later, because we knew it would come, it would be there, later. Taking pride in what one can do alone, rather than taking pride (?) in what one can repeat...... Could this be part of our societal troubles? The need to see the result of our efforts and desires RIGHT NOW ? Then too, I wonder if my memory of things past is really that much different from things present. Is the percentage (amount? number?) of kids having trouble in school doing math the same as way back when? It can't be all that harder. Geometry and Algebra hasn't changed, only the imposed need to learn it RIGHT NOW... By tuesday..... Any sense in my ramblings? What am I trying to say?

AKd: You may meet a few old timers, such as myself, who can remember making the pen holders and cork thunderbirds in the Denleaders rec room, and all we received "immediately" was a "good job!" from our mom or dad. The book got signed,, the smiles from the DL and our folks, THAT was immediate. The Arrow Points or Bear badge came at the Pack meeting two or three weeks or a month later. We were having fun and seeing the pleased look on our folks face and my dad's hand in mine was our "immediate" reward. When did a plastic bead become more important than that?

http://www.scoutsongs.com/ and http://www.virtualcampfire.co.uk/#Fiddler%27s+Green for some mp3 choices. AND the theme for "Follow Me Boys" : http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/followmeboys.html

Theme song for "Follow Me Boys" ?

Any chance of the PM function being re-instated? I went to the "Messages" button, pushed "compose"and that page told me I was "not authorized to view this page". Ummmmm?

Kudu: you seem to be the man with the knowledge here. Am I to understand that Trail Life is a "purely" Christian/protestant/evangelical scout organization? From reading the previous stuff,do I have that right ? No Jews or Hindus or Mohamadans or Catholics need apply?

"Unvoluntold"? Does that mean you were TOLD (by whom?) you were no longer needed, gold watch, put out to pasture, etc.?? Just because you no longer have a son in Cubs (next one coming along?) doesn't mean you can't be supportive to the Pack. Ask the Cubmaster , maybe he/she needs an ACM. Take on a task: The B&G, the PWD, the next BALOO training, there is something out there you can help with, sans Ms Alpha... I might look to become a Commissioner. Ask your DE or call Council office to find out how and why! Thank you for your support of Scouting! Keep us informed how things go, "inquiring minds want to know".