Terasec

On 2/26/2019 at 5:11 PM, Eagle1993 said:

Just venting, but I am extremely disappointed in my son’s elementary school.  He is a member of the school newspaper and one of his “beats” is recommendations.   He wrote an article (unprompted by me) recommending Cub Scouts.  I saw the article, it was well written, talks about some of the outings we do.  The school pulled the article.  They told him he can not recommend outside groups.  Video games, fast food, movies... no issues, but they draw the line on Cub Scouts. 

most public schools have similar policy, whether its promoting scouts or any other similar after school activity

its not just your school, 

also such policy is generally set by the district not the school,

6 minutes ago, carebear3895 said:

At the end of the day, mixing dens is a better experience for the youth, and isn't that why we are all doing this?

 

What's National going to do? Send guys like me out to revoke charters if a boy and girl associate with each other at a Den meeting? 

disagree

BSA programming is based on age and gender appropriate activities

mixing dens whether by age or sex, contradicts the basis of the programming

whats best for the kids is instructing them based on individual sex and age,

I have taught both male and female from toddlers to teens, to be effective they each require a different teaching method, what works for boys doesn't work for girls, and vice/versa

boys require a more hands on experience, more trial by error, with guidance

girls require more instruction verbal and visually

8 hours ago, awanatech said:

It's too bad that as Scouters, some pretend to go by the rules (on paper), when in reality, so many dance around the rules that are set in place.  And then we wonder why our youth take it upon themselves to decide which rules to follow and which ones are ok to just pretend that we follow. Either we have co-ed dens, or we don't.  If co-ed Dens are what BSA wants, then why do we have to whisper it?  If co-ed Dens are not what BSA wants, then why do we pretend to follow the rules, on paper, but really openly go against it? 

i agree,

BSA generally tend to only follow rules when its convenient for them

I asked council and BSA TX about clarifying policy on mixed gender dens,

it was like pulling teeth, they didn't want to acknowledge the issue, just referred me to bsa FAQ website

finally they acknowledged that mixed gender dens is against the rules,

yet they are not enforcing it.

looking the other way on violations is how they handled decades of abuse, 

I have lost all respect for BSA as an entity, 

19 hours ago, willray said:

I would suggest that it's appropriate to note that the requirement says to "Use GPS" - not an embedded GPS-enabled navigation system.  The requirement says to use the GPS to find and follow the route.  It does not say to use the embedded navigation system in a TomTom navigation system, or in Google/Apple's Maps/etc, to find the route.

Clicking the "directions to..." button on a GPS-enabled navigation system is to "Use a GPS to find and follow a route", as "phoning in an order for takeout" is to "planning and preparing a meal"...

does say "or other navigation system"

doesn't say anything about creating your own route, just following the route,

Demonstrate how to use a handheld GPS unit, GPS app on a smartphone or other electronic navigation system. Use a GPS to find your current location, a destination of your choice, and the route you will take to get there. Follow that route to arrive at your destination.

21 hours ago, Rock Doc said:

Barry,

You are correct, although this is a rank requirement not a MB. The text for 4b just seems a tad vague for a rank requirement. Would you give credit if a scout programmed a route into their parents/guardians car navigation system and were then driven along the route?

no,

no parental assistance

scout should do it on his own,

if he cant drive, he can bike, walk, or find some other method

On 3/19/2019 at 7:54 PM, Tenderfoot7083 said:

@John-in-KC  It really doesn't matter. You can do the same things (food wise) with a cub scout pack that you can with a troop.

not so,

Pack are youngsters more geared to family scouting, pack leaders more responsible for the meals, for the scouts and for the parents.

many times theres cabin and whole lot more gear, 

leaders planning meals for 10-40 people,

pack outing utilize cabins, refrigerators, coolers, etc

troop,  they are on their own, older scouts should be teaching the younger scouts about camp meals, food and equipment should comfortably fit in their packs to hike to the site.

patrol really shouldn't be more than 10 or so scouts,

On 2/20/2019 at 10:45 PM, T2Eagle said:

The quote from the scout was "what I did was take a knee against racial discrimination."  I would definitely not feel supportive of anyone taking the opposite of that position.

As to political statements on the other side of the political spectrum, I have a few scouts who regularly wear MAGA hats to meetings and outings, we don't have a uniform hat, and I don't feel like I have much standing to object to their wearing them even though they are clearly politically partisan.

A couple of them brought and flew a Trump 2020 flag at a campout.  I did make them take that down from the flag pole, I told them they were free to display it on their tent if they wanted to.  Of course at least part of their motivation for that was to tweek their liberal SM, but that's OK it's a long game and I'm a grandmaster.

maga hat would be allowed as its a general patriotic theme,

trump 2020 would not be allowed as scouts are not allowed to endorse any 1 party or candidate

if it was in jest to taunt the SM, that's funny but still not allowed, 

myself and another leader do joke among ourselves over issues,  but any such political chat is outside of scouting, 

I would tell the parents if that's how they feel then our pack/troop is not for them,

find another pack/troop

have your son go for detailed allergy test,

he might be allergic to Pine or some other species common around there,

pine and such are not part of routine allergy test, and has to be specifically requested

allergy to pine while rare can cause fevers,

5 hours ago, swilliams said:

I should probably say that I didn't peel bark from the standing trees, but took it from downed ones.   Unlike pine and some other trees where the bark crumbles as the tree decomposes, these left nice little tubes that were easily separated from the rest of the trunk.  Maybe the oils preserve the bark?  Which leads me to also wonder whether any species you find where the trunk is decomposing but the bark is relatively intact, would be good fire-starters with similar properties.

(My daughter says I'm spending way too much time thinking about bark.)

yes the oils preserve the bark, that's why can sometimes find a down birch tree that looks whole yet when you pick it up it falls apart as the trunk wood has already rotted out

also look for paper birch, bark peels off in flakes that's paper thin, makes great flash tinder, harder to find, but some parks plant paper birch as ornamental trees, can peel some off without harming the tree

16 minutes ago, DuctTape said:

I always referred to "kinds" as species, or in the least the genus. 10 different genus in the local area is not that hard, especially for first class. Just "coniferous" is way to broad IMO, as that refers to the phylum which on the taxonomic key is just below kingdom. Barely any different than identifying it as a plant.

If you look up kinds of plants most botanical reference sites equate kinds with types which is just general category

open to interpretation

scout requirements are usually quite general 

2 hours ago, AltadenaCraig said:

Very interesting topic.  Thank you @shortridge .  My $.02:

Biggest problem with youth skills instruction.  For me, it's First Class Nature; specifically 5a):

• 5a.  Identify or show evidence of at least 10 kinds of native plants found in your local area or campsite location

I interpret "kinds" as "species" within the plant kingdom.  I'm terrible at it.  I find guidebooks difficult.  What I need/want to do is get a local botanist to really train a few of us adults in the field so that we can in turn train our senior scouts.  After that it's purely monitoring/mentoring as the scouts can take it from there.  I'm comfortable monitoring/mentoring all other First Class skills (Navigation, Knots, First Aid, etc.), but First Class Nature 5a is really tough for me.

 

 

You may be over thinking “kinds” of plants

i equate “kinds” with types

more general than species

evergreens conifors btoadleaf flowering moss algae fern etc

even veteran outdoor folks generally dont learn 10 species at a time 1-3 new species per year would be more like it

1 hour ago, qwazse said:

For kids? Their direct-contact adults are not held to the same level of skill mastery as the youth. Ideally, if someone asked me how to find an SM/ASM/Advisor who knows his/her stuff, I could say, "Ignore that trained patch. Look for the one with the first-class-rank oval on his left pocket."

For adults? They are not held to the same level of skill mastery as the youth. A weekend of IOLS for a trained patch? Give me a break. What scout of yours do you know get any rank patch just for toddling along on a camp out? My SM was rightly embarrassed and stomped off when I tossed him a line and said, "Tie it off around that trunk, a timber hitch will do." He knows how to tie a timber hitch now.

Want to solve your training problem?

• Ditch IOLS and "Trained".
• Have an SPL or JASM or crew officer (if you're a new troop, it may be a seasoned SPL/JASM from another troop) sign off on each wannabe direct-contact leader's rank requirement.
• Let skilled leaders sew on their ovals, maybe with a service star sewn on it to say they tested/retested as an adult.

The problem with modern skills instruction is the presumption that there's this thing called "adult leader" from which skills emanate to this thing called "youth." That's not how the real world works. Anybody, youth or adult, can let skills lapse. Anybody, youth or adult, can help somebody else get those skills back. It just takes a little humility in recognizing who might need to get that skill from whom.

disagree with the skills mastery aspect for leaders,

first what exactly is mastery,

to me mastery of a skill set takes many years, decades of practice,

a good leader can learn and lead, without being a master of such task, 

if we relied on those who mastered a task, there would be a very limited group of people to turn to for guidance.

to me a master of a skill set is one that lives by the skill set on a daily basis

not a weekend recreational warrior as most of us are.

I have spent decades in the woods, +10 years as almost a minimalist,

wouldn't consider myself a master of any skill set,  

experienced yes, master? heck no.

yet 4 years in scouts I am learning the scout ways which is different, much different than my solo experiences in the woods

1 hour ago, FireStone said:

Who says that's not what is already happening here? A leader could post a photo with that hashtag and leave the scouts out of the discussion entirely.

then they should promote it as such and leave the kids out of it,

instead its just another pat yourself on the back promo

4 minutes ago, FireStone said:

Part of our membership numbers struggle is public relations, and making people aware of what scouts do. Like it or not, informing the public about scout activities, accomplishments, and service to the community is important.

If someone undertakes a service project entirely for social media posting, obviously that's the wrong motivation. But if it happens that there is an opportunity for some good PR while doing something positive, I see no issue with taking advantage of it.

We often invite the press to scouting events, Pinewood Derby, etc. This is just the modern day version of that.

such marketing should be left up to the org and leadership to coordinate behind the scenes

not for the scouts to feed their ego, look what I do.

task should be performed for its own merit not for acknowledgement.

let them be kids,

its natural, monitor them from a distance,

when it reaches a certain point, then break it up and say that's enough, 

I generally give them a warning, when they ignore the warning and continue that's when I take sticks away,

and 99% of the time after I take the stick away they are out on the hunt for replacement sticks

for youth

not enough practice time at skills,

spending 1 meeting on a skill then waiting months, or year for next step is way too long between skill sets,

too many variances in kids, skill set can be introduced as a group, but needs to be worked on continuously on a more personal level,

for the adults,

interest, I don't mind lack of knowledge, we are all learning, I do mind lack of interest in the subject at hand,

many parents see scouts as just another after school activity, just more arts and crafts projects to do.

love for the outdoors and outdoors skill sets starts at home.

disagree with such a tactic

scouts and everyone should be doing such tasks because its the right thing to do, not for additional attention or recognition

its ok for orgs to promote such programs, but leave such marketing out of the kids

such things will just give the impression that things are not worth doing if they don't get enough likes, responses

On ‎10‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 10:55 AM, Tired_Eagle_Feathers said:

So I dug my old backpack out of the attic and discovered that the nylon straps are disintegrating.  The frame is aluminum and the bag part is fine.  I can probably make new straps from leather.

I looked online at REI and all the backpacks today look like a giant duffle bag with straps.  Not at all what I grew up with.  How do you attach a bed roll, sleeping bag, and tent to these new kinds of backpacks?

 

if your pack has a brand name, search online and send them an email concerning repair of the bag,

even if a manufacturer does not have a lifetime warranty many times they will try to repair it or give you credit on a replacement,

also if your frame is a common size they sell replacement bags without the frame,

also if your pack does pinewood derby, the wheels come in little tubes that make great first aid kit containers

first aid kits for cubs are pretty basic,

we discuss first aid, and provide 2 bandaids and 2 alchohol wipes in a small ziplock bags

for our den of 15 I basically pulled the bandaids and wipes from my current kits, 

at dollar store 1 box of bandaids and 1 box of wipes should be enough for most dens, 

also as others mentioned can have someone come in and discuss it, many police/fire departments will send someone out for such,

also some hospitals have such programs, and red cross has numerous programs like that

you can also reach out to parents see if any parents are involved in such, or know someone willing to come in for a lesson

depending on how large your den is, difficult to get most to attend an all day Saturday event

most likely you will have to repeat the activities for those that couldn't make it

all day outdoor activities are great but shouldn't be the method for requirements,

as for monthly meetings, that would actually make it difficult for those with busy schedules, if someone misses 1 meetings its then 2 months between meetings

more frequent meetings is more opportunities, easy to make up a missed weekly meeting, not so easy to make up a missed monthly meeting

parents are always encouraged to pursue the requirements with their kids,

that is different than lone scout program

there are technicalities BSA has not worked through,

as you mentioned no gender mixing of dens,

also 2 scout leaders in attendance, 1 has to be a female leader for female scouts,

as idiotic as it sounds bsa has not included a provision in YPT for when that leader is a father of the female scout,

for your discretion, in my communication with council and bsa texas, while technicalities are against written rules, bsa does not care, and is leaving it up to individuals discretion on how to handle such scenarios. 

a good alternative to candles and flashlights is solar powered lights,

I use a luci solar light all the time, 

full charge lasts me for a week of camping, only time it ran low is when I left it on during the day, still wasn't a problem just left it out in the sun and was charged when I got back.

on a rainy  trip once we also used the lantern as a makeshift campfire, where scouts did skits around the lantern, worked great.

also works better than a flashlight when out doing tasks as it lights up an area, not just spot its pointed to.

solar light should be part of everyones gear kit

11 minutes ago, ParkMan said:

I think the BSA's National marketing today is in line with what you'd expect.  Marketing is expensive, so they limit it to specific locations and times.  Today I think this means more and more online marketing.  While this is fine, It strikes me that what Scouting needs is something with bigger impact.  Something designed to change the conversation about Scouting and help get scores of youth excited about it.

I don't know how it's done in other countries and would be interested to learn more.

I think it would be interesting for the BSA to do some sort of marketing experiment with 10 of the best marketing firms in the country - even perhaps national corporations that do marketing just for their company.  Places like Apple & Disney.  Get them each to produce one advertisement.  Keep the BSA marketing folks largely out out it (not because BSA marketing has bad ideas) so that these experts in marketing are not restrained by traditional thinking about how to market the program. 

I'd also have the BSA then put the challenge out to local councils.  Have troops around the country develop and submit their own BSA advertisements that can be released on social media.  Get real Scouts selling the program to their peers.  

Perhaps doing these things around the World Jamboree would be a good reason.

 

Problem i see with bsa marketing is for decades bsa had a monopoly on scouting so they didnt need to market the program

national campaigns are geared toward existing members selling activities and such

local councils rely on the individual units to do the marketing

councl strategies will vary 

see alot more emphasys on stem activities, all the posters and flyers we receive stress stemm programs

even in vision and mission statements national and councils have removed word outdoors in their statements ficusint solely on youth developement

i am leaving scoutint for this reason too much arts and crafts

lack of emphasys on outdoors

my son learns more about the outdoors without scouting

scoutint has actually diminished his outdoor knowledge/experiences