blw2

What is your favorite lightweight Tarp Tent, and why? I've been reading and looking at these online for a bit, and the lightweight idea is appealing to me. But I'm in Florida and it can be buggy.... so while I like the idea of openness with a simple tarp (or less).... nope, not for me.... I hate biting bugs... I'd need something with a bug nest or with integral bug screening.... 1 man, or maybe two man size....

I personally suggest that this conclusion is a bit closed minded. As evidence by @@Stosh 's 7,645+ posts and his 120+ thanks and his 1,915+ "Excellent" (whatever those are).... I'd suggest that he has a lot of good good ideas and good experiences. I seriously dislike when anyone stands on laurels of time in service... such as a tradesman when confronted about doing a bad job pointing out that he's been doing that job X years.... my response or thought is always well maybe you've been doing it wrong all those years.... But I suspect that @@Stosh is not standing solely and only on his time of experience... but also his quality of experience. I've been on here long enough to see that..... I'd also suggest that we remember that everyone has a best fit role. For some it's scoutmaster and for others it's some other job. Sometimes we're thrown into jobs that aren't necessarily our best fit..... and that's not necessarily that person's fault..... Additionally, even the best fit person in the world for a given job needs others along with them for the unit to be a success...... a good SM for example also needs a good crop of boys, good parents, a good committee standing and working with him, etc.... I'd agree with this.... not likely the crux of the problem.... but it might be one small piece..... I've chaperoned a few elementary school field trips and band events..... & I'd say a similar ratio holds there as well...... and that's with skilled and experienced teachers running the show that clearly could have handled the group in their sleep and by themselves!

I'll have to ask my son about that Harry Potter reference. I zoned out through the few of those movies I've seen...... and I never read the books.

yeah, I suppose church youth groups deal with it all the time too, but on a more limited basis.

The other thing about CI is the near endless entertainment value..... There seems to be no end to the wives tales and various ideas about the rules and proper methods for CI use and cleaning.

This, I'm thinking for many (myself included), is maybe the biggest issue that nobody wants to wrap their heads around or want to mention.....or wants to deal with.

very true @@fred johnson. I don't disagree here either.... but showing some interesting coins and such and adding excitement and interesting, while teaching a trick or two perhaps isn't necessarily teaching the whole syllabus. There are certainly MB's that I know about but yet didn't register for for exactly the reason you described,so I think we're saying almost the same thing.... Shooting for instance. I grew up hunting, and shooting rifles, shotguns, pistols.... and have enough knowledge to teach any of it..... but currently I'm not a rangemaster and don't have easy access to a range. Safe bet the scout won't either, so it would be rather difficult to pull that one off. One thing about which I think we both would agree, is that the ideal perfect world situation would be to have a working expert in the field to council every badge.... even if they aren't literally teaching an Andrew Skurka ultimate backpacker type for backpacking a certified CFII for aviation an MD or RN or EMT for 1st aid and so on..... and the MBC would not be a person with little or no interest in the subject (notice I didn't write knowledge) But I'm thinking for the majority of the badges, a person with an avocation (which to me implies interest + some knowledge) is fine.

canoeing... nah. A boy could already know how to canoe going into it. Yeah, the MBC would need to go canoeing to check him out..... or at least spend some time at waters edge with the scout...... but not necessarily teaching. But I do concede that in the spirit of my question and in a similar way to shooting, the meeting is much more hands on and out of the classroom.... and the average scout would likely not know all the nuances of the requirements so a little demonstration might be necessary for an average scout. Lifesaving.... nah. A boy might already be a certified YMCA Lifeguard...... But again, ok I'll buy it for the average scout..... But I think the theme is average scout that is not completely prepared..... You could say the same for coin collecting too. ???

wel.... it was that... plus they had nothing else to do

In fact from my review, it seems to me that many of the merit badges, perhaps most of them, might fall into that category of things that the boy will very likely know about the topic going in, or will be easily self taught as he reads the book and studies it. and again my eyes key in on the term "mentor". teaching is of course an element of it, but to me it's not the entirety of it. Maybe this isn't the complete, correct, and proper usage of the term, but here's an example to hopefully illustrate what I'm thinking Imagine a licensed airplane pilot has a friend that is interested in learning the skill. Now this pilot isn't certified as an instructor, but he can surely be a great mentor to his student pilot friend. he can help his friend find an instructor that he likes and that is a skilled instructor pilot he can act as a trusted sounding board so that the student can gain a perspective a bit different than his instructor is giving him he can offer advice, tips, tricks..... perhaps in a different way than the instructor does he can encourage when the student feels like he's never gonna figure out the cross wind landing he can simply be an understanding ear over a beer, that understand the lingo his student uses as they share a beer after the lesson. Can the instructor pilot do most or all of these things AND be the teacher..... Sure that's possible.... but having a different person as a trusted mentor can be helpful too! By my thinking, the MBC can be the mentor and a very valuable part of the whole thing, while not actually be the teacher. So a question.... Which of the Merit Badges would actually require that the MBC be the teacher? The shooting sports come to mind..... because for the act of demonstrating you would need access to a range.... but even then, the MBC could in theory be a rangemaster while not actually teaching the boy to shoot. Maybe the boy's dad taught him.

to paraphrase Garrison Keillor, there's never an English major around when you need one!

reminds me of my initial thoughts when i first really getting into a scouter position a few years ago, looking for training. I kept thinking why don't they offer these courses I need like say in the summer, when as a cub scouter things are slow for me. I don't have time to sit through a day of balloo or whatever in the fall or early winter.... when I'm up to my elbows in pack program! Don't they know what we're doing?!!! Then I started noticing these events, as well as the cuborees and such are all totally ran my volunteers, who like me don't really have the time available to do justice to the work. I get the argument that I wouldn't want these professionals to do the training because they don't know the stuff.... but I argue that they should and if they don't they could help by facilitating a volunteer so the volunteer doesn't have to spend the hours of time planning, scheduling, etc... I understand these DE's and other pros are underpaid and overworked.... but the work really seems to be misplaced from my perspective. Make a better program and they will come, I say!

I can't say that I disagree with you on that. A MBC should have knowledge about the subject.... and @@Eagledad statement about the MBC wanting to get something out of it.... I agree with that too. IMO I think they should want to get satisfaction of helping a scout along in that scout's journey. I can't imagine a much better thing for a scouter than to be appreciated and remembered as a valuable mentor .... but that's not the goal really, is it? It's all about the Scout's journey in learning and growth, right?

Yeah, me too. wrong interpretation based on the wording I suppose. I'm on our CO's troop's email list and I get the same feeling from most all of the emails I get from them. It's never "the boys decided" or "Joe the PL asked me to..." or "please remind your son..." when it sounds like it's coming from the adults and to the adults it might be misleading. and as a leader and dad to 2nd year WEBELOS, I'm especially paying attention to this in trying to sense how well they are doing with boy led patrol method.....

This is what I have been getting at lately with my "One Program" idea. It's relatively simple but yet there are so many variations it's just not documented well enough.... or maybe it's documented too much so that its not clear and there's too many leaders and other scouters that are not trained well enough not vetted not on board with the idea or don't want to play by the rules that are too set in some old way or based on some old assumptions or short cuts. and that are not properly advised and supported If we were all singing from the same hymnal, and there was better vetting and training, I think things could be much better

ha, I love it @@Stosh! I said the same thing and beat you to it! except I'll admit you said it better.....

so are you planning to get back in at some level for the troop? or just enjoying being a parent?

I wasn't "up in arms" about it.... Actually what i meant was that i never thought it was a "top award". I personally think that even in the old system it was just the next award level. It wasn't hard to get. And I think all that top award stuff was just hype. Getting all the compass points would be much harder. How is that not the top award? I think that perhaps this business of being able to wear it on the scout uniform, or as a knot on adults, is what sets it apart.... when really it was never that big of a deal.

well said @@Stosh @@fred johnson, I get your point that some badges might warrant a bit more discussion or showing..... but I agree with Stosh, it's the boys' adventure not mine. You use swimming as an example so I pulled up the requirements. I see "explain", I see "Discuss", I see "show". I don't see anything that would necessarily require the MBC to be in the water. They would have to be present and watching to confirm that the tasks were done, but not necessarily in the water doing. I can perhaps see a need to demonstrate what is meant by b. Do a headfirst surface dive (pike or tuck), and bring the object up again. as an example but I think most scouts would already understand..... especially considering that they have read the book which clearly shows it. Does it make it somehow more fun for the fat old guy to be in the water with the scout? I don't get it if that's the case...... and for Astronomy I can imagine an initial meeting to discuss the requirements. Perhaps the MBC might show him his telescope. Just have a friendly side conversation about why the boy wants to earn the badge, how the MBC got into it, etc....... The MBC gives approval, and perhaps a little guidance as to who to contact or whatever for With your counselor's approval and guidance, do ONE of the following: Some time later maybe there's a call or a meeting to the MBC to clarify something for the scout. Then at a later date, I can imagine a meeting at night under a clear sky to walk through the items... the scout explains..... shows the required sketches he did, etc.... The MBC see that the boy can identify the required 10 constellations, maybe they have a conversation about a constellation that the boy identified last week that's not visible tonight.... they discuss the three career opportunities that the boy researched for Find out about three career opportunities in astronomy. Pick one and find out the education, training, and experience required for this profession. Discuss this with your counselor, and explain why this profession might interest you. etc.... But at no point is there a class or formalized "teaching" going on. It's about the boy doing the work, the boy showing the MBC that the work was done, and perhaps a bit of counseling and mentoring happening along the way.....

I agree with this sentiment from the point of focusing what you can control..... and what is important. If you decide to stay I think this a very valid choice. I was thinking the same thing. huge consideration is how much longer the problem scouters will be in play. If they're gonna stick around, or even just as long as you, then your choices seem to be 1) focus on the boys and the den and stay out of the unit politics 2) or take a hike to another unit with your son But if they're short timers, you've got a great chance at some fresh ideas and approaches. My unit wasn't nearly as bad as what you've described, but there were and are some parallels. I don't want to get into it much, but just to draw the comparison....Same thing, they don't play along with the system, don't bother with training such as it is.... just do what they always do. In our case the "old guard" were burned out and looking for an out, but a few were on their second go around with their older sons in a troop and their younger sons in the same den as my son. They wanted to go but can't let go. It really makes it hard for any new folks to come in and change anything....or even update to keep up with the new program. I stuck around trying to help. Stepped up. Our CO is my church & I Wanted to keep my son in the parish. In hindsight, I wish that I would have looked more closely at the unit that serves his school and considered moving. meanwhile they did nothing to support or help or guide my predecessor or me.... ultimately undermining and taking it back over because they didn't like the change. 3 pack meetings in this year & I think they're just now getting that there's a new program. I prepped the pack many times about the upcoming change last year.... they obviously weren't paying attention... so what was it they didn't like??? It's gotta be an ego thing, and I'm afraid that might be what you're up against too. How many of the new 15-20 scouts are in your den?

I agree with @@Hedgehog about the patrol boxes. To my eye they just perpetuate the "too much stuff" of plop camping like a bad habit. How about this..... suggest that the patrols decide what they want and need as far as cookware. On patrol may lean more to one way, the other patrol something else. leave it to them. Just an idea.

I found most of cub advancement that way. The boys didn't care about the advancement if they knew up front. Wasn't really a motivator. BUT when they earned something and didn't expect it, it was more exciting sometimes....

I'm in favor of instant recognition at the Cub level.... or within reason anyway... as soon as practical. I think that's one thing I did the old leaders in my pack didn't like. they barely knew what was going on, but heard me encourage the Den Leaders to present awards at den meetings when possible. They have this thing that it should be done at pack meetings. AOL was the big stinker. The Boys might earn it in December, but they are forced to wait for their last day in Cubs at the big B&G fiasco to receive the award under the old and now new leadership. I think that is just plain wrong! As Assistant Den Leader now, I'll be sure to right that wrong for our boys!! I agree that they should be recognized at the pack meeting, but nothing wrong with awarding it when earned at the den level i think. I suggest it this way.... If the DL can, but whatever awards are needed for the den meeting up front. If you can't get to the store in time, no big deal. Present them at the next den meeting. Just be sure to make note of any awards presented for recognition at the next pack meeting. As CM and defacto Committee Chair, i recruited a Committee Member to be advancement chair and tried to encourage the Den Leaders to work with her in getting the awards. She kept some inventory but needed some heads up to get to the store... sadly I don't think any of the Den Leaders took advantage of her service. Just poor planning and preparation is all. So its still happening today that some kids wait two pack meetings to get their awards. In the end though, I don't see that it matters much. The boys don't wear their uniforms very often, and so they don't really display the awards, and don't really seem to care about them. That's something else I was working to correct. Oh well, you can't win them all....

I'm not completely up to speed with the detail of the new requirements.... but my read is that if you consider it worthy, award them and count them He's new. It's cubs, He's making progress towards "adventures" so what does it really matter? This business about AOL being the "Top Award". It aint that way any more with the new program, and personally I think all of that was hype anyway. It wasn't that hard to get in the old program, it was just the natural thing to do after WEBELOS while waiting for crossover. My son earned his early on last year, with the exception of the time requirement after 4th grade, the troop visit, and the SM conference.... all not long after finishing the WEBELOS badge.... and honestly he wasn't really trying all that hard. To me earning the Compass Points would have been a much more challenging honor to claim.

.... and why the covert approach? Ok, direct question.... What is the youth organization referenced in the article?