SSScout

Safety pins. Worked for me until I "grew into it".

Plastic, wood, cardboard, all these "pretend" knives really beg the point. A knife is a knife. The boy should learn the proper, safe handling of a real knife and the respect any tool deserves. Start with small, paring knife, demonstrate the safety circle, the passing , the carving with it. Remind them that this is the way workers treat the tool in foundries and garages. This is not a toy, you can be hurt by it. Treat it in a grown up way. Whittlin ' Chip is a "permission", gained after the Cub has demonstrated he knows how to treat the blade with respect and care. This grants "permission" to carry and use a pocket knife, with the parents OK, at a Cub Scout Activity. It does NOT give permission to take the knife to school, or to your buddy's house or anywhere else. Serious Business. A bar of Ivory makes a good transition and graduation project. I have seen some really credible cars and animals and things come out of an Ivory bar. When I teach Whittlin' Chip, I have a bag of small folding pocket knives I loan out for practice and soap carving. AND... you can bet that one of the best Boy Scout recruiting show is a Den Chief (or other Scout) doing the W/C demo for your Den! Your Cubs should see their adults dealing with blades in the same manner, at all times. The first time YOU fail to pass the knife correctly, or cut toward you rather than away, or not close the blade with an open palm, you better believe your Cub is going to tell you about it! There are lots of good W/C curricula on line. If you PM me, I can email you ours.

No, I don't know him "personally". I have known many home schoolers, and there are many different reasons why they and we chose to go that route. The MB programs lend themselves very easily to a school subject, as I noted before. We are , after all, only making suppositions about this particular situation. The parents (who are in charge of the "home school") decide the how and when and why of the childs tutalege. Maybe they used the MBs maybe not. But if their Scout decided to go the whole route, hey, let's get on that band wagon and use it to our advantage. Does the boy take music lessons? Play the trumpet? There's a MB for that. Is there a community actors company nearby? There's a MB for that. Does the local community college have some non-credit classes in, oh, I don't know, pottery, ceramics, sketching, auto mechanics, there's a MB for that. The home schooler uses the community as an extended classroom. Nothing is outside the realm of a lesson to be learned. As the HSer gets on in years and can exhibit some advanced knowledge, it is not unusual for the community college to allow the older high schooler to take the entry level courses, with or without scholastic credit. Does the parent "control his every breath"? No more or less than the other average parent, except that the HSer is much more connected to the parents and the rest of his family . They tend to know where their kid is and what he is doing moreso than many other parents. They assign and correct and praise and critique and guide more than the other average parent, who demonstrably leave alot of their kid's upbringing to others: nanny, teachers, soccercoach, SCOUTLEADERS...... So if the kid... ANY kid... decides to pursue the goal of earning each and every MB, I say more power to him. If he does less than the posted requirements and is passed on, I say that is not our look out. Maybe someone there knows about that , but we can only guess and , maybe, if we meet this Scout , we can get him into a conversation about the subject important to us. "Hey, I got that Aviation MB a long time ago! Did you have any trouble with the VFR guides?" and see what he does....

Folks, calm down......You're not hearing me.... This Merit Badge Maven WAS in school. The MBs were no doubt his curriculum. Depending on his personal family situation, (the parents arrange the tutorage, either they teach and assign or some other arrangement) a home schooler may be under the aegis of a "central academy" that gives justification and accreditation for his learning. This "academy" awards a state approved diploma. With very few exceptions, every MB can be given some academic credit. Name me a MB, I'll give you some academic credit for it. Scoutson went to Philmont and Seabase, wrote essays about his experiences (english, geography, natural history). Smallboat Sailing at Summer Camp? Used that for pieces of phys ed and physics.(force and simple machines, bouyancy, ) , Orienteering (magnetism, maps and geography, geometry), Physical Fitness (ditto), . True, Scoutson did not pursue all the MBs, but rest assured, them he earned , we used 'em for his schooling. He is now pursuing a certificate at the local Community College AND working AND paying his own tuition doing it. Many of his professors (i've met some of them) comment on how mature he behaves compared to some of his "normal" schooled colleagues of similar age.. A hundred MBs in 3 years? I might have spaced'em out a bit more, but , hey, it is possible. Did the parents become the MBCs? Maybe, but the allowing of THAT is not in question. Who would 've allowed that? Will the Scout remember much of the MB stuff? Do you remember much of your seventh grade history? Oh sure, I do remember and use alot of my Scout stuff and Scoutson has made note of that as we tie things on the cartop, or work around the house, or deal with an otherwise disagreeable neighbor. Maybe, just maybe..... this scout will claim some skill he learned at 14 , later on in life when needed.

"Because it is there." And "because I can".

Catapults. Minecraft.... Go to youtube and ask for "Trebuchet" and "Onager".and "ballista" Make a SMALLER version... set up wooden blocks, knock'em down. Do this OUTSIDE, in a big enough field.

"Sufficient lead time".... I ordered some special patches from a local embroidery shop, emailed them the design on a monday morning, recieved the recept an hour later, received the hundred patches in the us mail Friday later from a shop in Hong Kong.

It rained the last day. The last night. The morning of departure. Camp staffs were instructed to help the troops pack everything away in the pods, wet or dry, get'em in, as they had been packed originally. We were told the Jamboree had a "contractor" whose job was to take all the gear and refurbish/clean/repair anything and everything. If you bought it from BSA, and it was damaged when you opened it, return it and ask for a refund. There were occassions of tents being damaged by the Scout and the Scout being charged the price of the tent. Maybe that Scout took that tent home? I don't know... Alot of the hard gear (cook kits, stoves, etc.) were to be kept to make up the high adventure bases on Summit site. Tents, dining flys, they were to be "treated" and sold, that's what I heard when we asked about that. Send it back and get a refund.

Oh it's not so unbelievable. Takes some planning, some denial of other activities (tv, video games, dance lessons, ) and some effort at finding the proper MBC and time limits ("be the Troop Bugler for three months")..Home schoolers are like that. Chemistry MB is a middle school curriculum. Astronomy is a two week science curriculum. American Heritage is History lined up! If Scoutson had been more attentive to things, and mom and dad had been more pushy , he could have earned the Citizenship in the Nation in a week instead of two months...... I hope he finds (and deserves) the scholarship to the school of his choice. OR, invents the alternative to the internet.

Thank you. This will get passed on.....

????? What happened to the posting about the Miner Tent???? I came back here to referernce it and it's GONE!! It mentioned an american company that makes canvas historically accurate tents, what happened to that entry? I like the brit company (excuse me, Scottish company) and their products, but What Happened To the Other Entry????

"The million questions"... I assume they are from the Cub Parents. Here's where your dedication kicks in. If you don't know the answer, or don't want to make a "Command Decision", you can do one of three things (actually, you can do either of these even if you DO know the answer) :\ One) "I don't know. I'll find out and get right back to you." Two) " I don't know. What do you think? Maybe we can work together on that. Call me when you have an idea." or Three) "Hey, good question. I bet Jeff and Mary would like to work with you on that. Let's go talk to them.... Hey Jeff!"

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. " = Frederick Douglas=

Ha! It's the old "I didn't think adults talk to each other " thing, eh? Had the same surprise with my daughter when she was about 14.....

What is that old saying? .... You can lead a Cub to the museum, but you can't make him learn? No, that's not it.... Anyway, as I have learned in my subteaching and Cub Scouting, the best you can do is give them the opportunity. Sometimes, SOMETIMES, you hit the right docent or guide, and they make it fun and the kids come away saying "cool" and humming the song, so to speak. It will stick with some, slide off of some, make some think, make some go ho-hum. That's the luck of the draw. As to the boy whose dad is a "let boys be boys", I have sometimes had to get RIGHT DOWN IN THE BOY'S FACE and tell him how things will be. Then they listen. Later, the dad comes and says, "I don't know what you did, but he was different after that meeting"....

Must be related to that well known society commentator, Anna Notherting, who got her reporters training from the editorializing writer, Stella Lottaschist.

You can expect that any Eagle Application Review Person at Council will look at the overall report, see monies and "stuff" being bought and/or donated and ask " how was this done?" Things are tightening up all over. Check with your local District and Council Eagle BoR folks about the specifics they might want. I would suggest an addendum reporting that Johnny Scout handled no money, that discounts from merchants were negotiated for the project beneficiary's benefit, and that the beneficiary collected and handled all the "stuff". You can (truthfully) mention that Johnnny Scout helped in the discount negotiations, but that the beneficiary supplied the matrerials for the project to proceed. True? I know that Scoutson worked with his beneficiary (he would not have called them that, but never mind) and never bought or collected any materials. He just made sure the ben'ry obtained the supplies needed. This was reported in the Eagle Project book, hence, no fundraising form needed.

The IOLS is not just to help unexperienced old guys learn how to be a Scout. It involves cooperating with other Scouters, making new friends, learning Other Ways To Do It, correcting Wrong Ways Of Doing It, being reminded of The Scout Way To Do It, and , heck, it's another time to go camping. Why would an Eagle Scout NOT want a good excuse to go camping? Just because he's an Eagle (Mucho Congrats!) doesn't mean he Knows It All.... A good Scouter, I find is also a humble Scouter, and is always eager and open to Learn Something New and Share His/Her Knlwledge and Experience with others. If your Eagle truly does not think he belongs in the IOLS class, I will suggest that he will have a hard time every time somebody else says "you need to take this training to be this postion". Take the Training. Have fun. Show us your Scout Stuff....

Whittlin Chip is definitely a local thing . Note that there is no "requirements", as in "do this, then this and make this", one is expected to teach the safe techniques and skills like an Uncle might to his nephew. There are lots of good curriculum on line, some more "academic" some more "hands on". PM me and I can send you our W/C Curriculum. It is important that boys learn how to use tools safely, not only sharp edges. The confidence one gains in using tools to DO and MAKE spills over into other activities. If I can do THAT, then no reason I can't do THIS. Helping around the yard, helping in the kitchen (RAW ingredients), even holding and handing him the wrench while dad tightens something, all these add up over the boys lifetime. I am always amazed at the lack of dexterity today's young boys exhibit in CSDC. It's as if they never have a chance to pile blocks up and knock them down. And the parents are often so eager to NOT have their boy take ANY risk . We had a Webelos Cub at one of our Camporees (visiting Webelos) want to do the W/C, but was scared to TOUCH a knife. One of our Scouts found a knife shaped stick in the woods and worked with this Cub using this substitute until he was ready to borrow the Scouts pocket knife. Eventually carved a credible auto out of the soap bar we gave him. I kept that knife-stick and point it out when I teach IOLS to nascent SMs. What a good recruiting tool! Big brother teaches young Cub about carving! I hope you have the pleasure of watching and hearing your Scout hand his mother a knife in the kitchen and insist she say "thank you" before relinguishing his hold on it.

Welcome to the neighborhood. Try the PM function, I live just down the road in White Oak. TTurtle has the right idea. Include the parents. Give them ideas, suggested places to "go see", give each a month for which to plan , and keep at them to make it work. It is (and never should) just be you.

"Speak for thyself, Stosh Alden..." Dawnjo, pull up a virtual log, sit ye self down and welcome to the ecracker barrel.

WCS: Have you had a sitdown with these folks? Who is the CO? Is it a viable entity or is it a "Friends of" CO? What role does it play in this? What are the boys' ages? Ranks? Is this one of those "My son makes Eagle and I'm done" kind of things? If so, these folks are really not being fair to the other boys nearby who might Actually want to be a Scout but this "Troop" isn't even trying to play fair. I would say to them, "here are the requirements to have a REAL Scout Troop: 5 (or 10?) boys, 5 seperate adults in various roles, etc. etc. " and if they can fufill the charter requirements, let'em pay the dues and have fun.... Otherwise, drop the charter, urge them to re-up with another Troop and move on. If this is the worst of your problems in your DIstrict, be thankful....

If he is asked to give a "Scoutmaster's Minute", he speaks for ...one minute. When he went to Philmont, he gave the Tooth of Time a root canal..... His Eagle Project used real eagles...... He is.... the most interesting Scouter. "I do not always go camping in the rain, but when I do, I get wet." "Keep hiking, my friend."

Camp Theodore Roosevelt:: Chesapeake Bay.... 100 feet long pier, buoy waaaay out there.... row boats circling 'round.... Sea Nettles (jelly fish).... rub vaseline ALL OVER legs and chest... jump in off end of pier, swim to the buoy, swim back... rub alcohol ALL OVER sea nettle stings (vaseline didn't help that much).... don't need sharks.... No more Camp Roosevelt ( now the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant)....

Yes, the ACLU has defended many religious tolerance cases. And the one Jblake notes has nothing to do with religion, as far as I can see. And our athiest friends often do not get the understanding they deserve. And the so-called Christian right often does not allow for other types of faith. We still have a better time of it than , I think, any other country in the world. We do have the means to discuss (not just cuss) and, depending on what Holy Script you follow (and often what PART of that script), the basis for finding out where we agree and where we part company. And for that, I give thanks.