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InquisitiveScouter

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Everything posted by InquisitiveScouter

  1. He is asking for you to educate him out of any potential ignorance... That is not "chosen ignorance"!! C'mon man!! A Scout is Kind!!
  2. Straining at a gnat, and swallowing a camel?? Love you, man... come be a part of our Troop!
  3. It is titled the "Guide to Awards and Insignia" IMO, anything that is a "Guide" takes a far back seat to common sense and judgement... ("Guide" to Safe Scouting anyone??) Here're some other examples... 1. Velcro... I put velcro on my uniform to be able to change patches when desired (like the yearly JTE, or the temp patch on the pocket, or the leadership position patch, etc). But, if you are a uniform martinet the "Guide" says "No alteration of, or additions to, the official uniforms, as described in the official guidelines or the Rules and Regulations covering the wearing of the uniform and the proper combinations thereof on official occasions, may be authorized by any Scouting official or local council." and that would strictly be verboten... 2. Wood Badge beads & woggle... Our PLC has selected a specific neckerchief for our Troop. Our unit leaders wear the same neckerchief as our youth when we are doing unit events. I wear my WB beads and woggle with my Troop neckerchief. Boy, you wouldn't believe how many people this has riled up... 3. OA Sash & ribbon without a flap... I wear my OA sash to OA themed events, without a lodge flap. I also wear my Vigil pin on the OA Pocket Device almost all the time, with no flap. Again, people have tried to "correct" me on this (even on this forum). I just smile and say "Thanks" https://www.scoutshop.org/oa-pocket-device-604942.html https://www.scoutshop.org/oa-vigil-of-honor-pin-604944.html
  4. Why not? Written correspondence is just fine
  5. There's more than one way to skin a cat... Among those ways... 1. You can call your insurance company and get a temporary policy increase. Make sure you activate it before driving the van, and make sure you remove it after coming home. That will keep costs down. (NOTE: make sure you look at your policy to verify you are covered by your primary policy while you are driving a rental car. Bring a copy of your insurance cards with you!! Some states allow you to use a digital copy (a file or picture of the card on your smartphone). Be Prepared! Bring both paper and digital.) 2. The rental car company may offer Supplemental Liability Protection (SLP). Call them to see if they do, and at what limits. (NOTE: SLP means your own insurance pays primary for liability!! If your primary policy does not cover you in a rental, you have a more complex problem to solve.) 3. If you rent the van with your personal credit card, your card may provide some additional insurance protections. Obviously, this is wildly variable depending on the card... https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/car/rental-car-insurance/#does-my-credit-card-offer-rental-car-insurance Good luck researching your options!
  6. The best source for current knot line up is the Guide to Awards and Insignia page 64-66 in the 2022 Revision. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33066/33066_Scouting_Honors_And_Special_Recognitions_WEB.pdf https://www.scouting.org/resources/insignia-guide/ To find the requirements for each knot, start on the official BSA Awards Central page, and look up by name... https://www.scouting.org/awards/awards-central/ I recommend you only use "official" BSA requirements sources (if you can find them). Requirements and criteria do sometimes change... As for the Wearing-of-the-Mentor-Pins on the uniform, I do not... my shirt would weigh about eight pounds 😜 I do like the "Proud Parent" type ribbons for displaying these. They are "non-uniform" wear, but I wear it with my uniform at Courts of Honor. (Here's my current...) https://www.scoutshop.org/bsa-proud-parent-multi-program-neck-ribbon-620092.html https://www.scoutshop.org/bsa-proud-parent-ribbon-643292.html (There are no parent pins for Summit or Quartermaster... that I know of) As for service stars... I kept losing them, so I don't wear them any more... the clutch (or back... we called them "frogs" in the military) would come off frequently. I have littered many a camp parade field with them 😜 I'll start correcting adults' (and Scouts') uniforms for those when 100% of them can do any First Class skill upon demand (knots/lashings/map & compass/first aid/swimming/lifesaving/etc). (I've been working for that goal many years... come close a few times, but then some newbie comes along and ruins it!!!)
  7. Ostensibly, it is to make sure the Eagle Scout candidate planned the project. A 16 year old's level of planning usually is not going to be anywhere near an adult's level of planning. Oftentimes, I actually let the Scout experience difficulty, and then let them figure out how they are going to deal with it. And, if they did not plan properly (did not have enough boards or bolts or cement bags, or whatever) they will learn from their mistakes. Once the project is signed off, isn't that sufficient to say that, at some point, the planning came together so that the Scout could finish his project? Leave that discovery for the EBoR. Finding out what went wrong, or what obstacles were encountered in a project, and how the Scout dealt with it speaks volumes more about his personal growth than how well he planned it. When I see a meticulously planned project, I also hold it a bit more suspect as having had too much parental or leader involvement anyway... in my experience...
  8. This Scout had put excruciating detail (as the district/council guy requested before approving) in the proposal section (number and dimensions of boards, exact cost, amount of fasteners required, perfect drawing of the bridge from three angles, exhaustive list of tools (nearly), complete list of supplies, job tasks to be done, number of people and manhours required to complete, etc., etc., etc...) Both his project coach and beneficiary went over his plans with him and were satisfied (IMHO, that should be enough). He did his project with the planning he had done, and was successful. (With a few minor changes, as is always expected.) He wrote up the after action and got it signed, and left the Plan Section blank, as a sufficient level of detailed planning was done and approved by the beneficiary. When he turned in the completed and signed Workbook to request his EBoR, the district/council guy writes back telling him (and I quote exactly...) "Your workbook has a blank Project Plan section. Please send me the Project Plan you completed with your Project Coach, Mr XXXX. This is an important document as it shows that you "developed the planning"." So the Scout called me, asking about what to do. I advised him to either write up everything in detail in the Plan Section, or report in the Plan Section something to this effect.... (the route he chose, and I think he nailed it) "My project will not be different from my approved proposal. My project coach and beneficiary believe there is sufficient detail on the project proposal and the project plan is not needed." (This after the Scout called his coach and beneficiary to tell them he was writing it this way... and they both concurred.) (Although, I think he should have written that last bit as "the Project Plan Section of this workbook is not needed..." Throughout the Plan Section, wherever there was additional detail requested, he simply wrote "See Project Proposal" or N/A When he re-submitted his updated workbook (again, the project was already complete and signed off in the Workbook as complete by the Scout, beneficiary, and unit leader), he got this answer back: "When I sent you the email the other day asking for the Project Plan, I assumed you had just not included what you had completed back in the planning stages of your project. However, it seems that you filled it out after I asked, which is not the point of the Project Plan, which is to thoroughly plan your project in detail, thus all the various sections pertaining to materials, supplies, logistics, safety, scheduling, etc." There are more details, but to shorten this... the Scout will now have his Board of Review and understands he must be ready to explain his planning verbally to the EBoR when/if requested. I do wish there was some way to avoid the four to five days of hand-wringing (on the Scout's and his parents' parts), re-writes, miscommunications, frustration, (and now tension between the council rep and our unit), etc. etc. etc., other than to have the Scout spend an unnecessary amount of time trying to satisfy one person's request for redundant information that is not required in the first place. It isn't supposed to be this hard. To quote @Eagle94-A1's son... HORRIBLE PAPERWORK.
  9. Is this helpful? https://seascout.org/advancement-central/ 33239 Errata 7 20220228.pdf
  10. Um, I think that was a simple mistake... take a breath and step back from the ledge.... But, nothing wrong with introducing a geocaching activity to Cub Scouts... the Den Leader puts in the coordinates and helps the Cubs find the treasure. If you wanna make it into a map game, then have at it. But, for Cub Scouts, hunting the treasure is fun. Roaming through the park to find the treasure is fun. Finding the treasure box is fun. Looking at the goodies in the box and picking one is fun. You are just creating interest in the activity. Tell them that, in Scouts, they will learn to use the device and put in coordinates and find the treasure on their own. I do think @5thGenTexan may have been confused for a moment, and not realized we were talking about Cubs versus Scouts when he mentioned the MB... let's give him a chance to clarify before we duck him at the yardarm...
  11. Unfortunately, in these parts, the district or council proposal reviewers are asking for more "planning" details in the proposal phase than are needed, IMHO. This is before they will green light the project (with a signature.) I think we should put in some way to restrict input/demand from the council advancement reps. In my seven years here, this has always been the hold up... often with a back-and0forth of two or three times requesting "sufficient detail" on the proposal in order to grant approval. So, the Scouts do the research... for example, drawing up specific plans for a 16 foot footbridge, including board dimensions and length needed, and the number of screws needed, along with a schedule of work, etc. Again, these are Planning details, not Proposal details... Around here, the phrase is "feed the dragon." With the Dragon being the council advancement rep who is approving the proposal. In the military, the joke went like this: The major says, "I want a rock!" The sergeant brings a rock. The major says, "That's not the rock I want!" The sergeant says, "What kind of rock do you want, sir?" The major says, "I don't know, bring me another rock and I'll let you know if that one is right!" That's kind of how the ESSP workbook process goes here...
  12. Have you looked at geocaching?? Younger Scouts tend to love this exercise! I always bring a map and compass, and have Scouts show me where we are on a map while geocaching.
  13. The comments other leaders put on the blog article are really good, too. Recommended reading. Thanks for your comments so far... the great majority of us are thinking along the same lines... Overall, there are two big problems with the ESSP Workbook... 1. Too much project detail required in the REQUIRED proposal section, which leads to little or no detail written in the NOT REQUIRED plan section. 2. The Plan Section is NOT REQUIRED. Both are easy fixes, IMHO. 1. Rewrite the proposal section to be just that... more of a proposal than a plan. 2. Make it a requirement that the Scout present his Final Plan to the beneficiary, and secure a beneficiary signature BEFORE work begins. A registered unit leader should be at this meeting (do we require that?), but IS NOT an approval authority. However, there must be a clear understanding that the Scouters providing the two-deep supervision requirement for the ESSP may AT ANY TIME stop work due to health and safety concerns. Thoughts??
  14. We have an upcoming EBoR (the first since I left as SM 18 months ago). The Scout, working with his project coach (not me) and the beneficiary, satisfied the beneficiary with enough detail in his project proposal and through discussions and site visits that the beneficiary did not request a more detailed plan, and gave the Scout the green light to do the project (last summer). Scout had a successful project and beneficiary is happy with the outcome, and signed off on project completion. Scout turned in his ESSP Workbook with that Plan section blank, as it is not required (although "highly recommended") Now Scout is getting pushback from Council Advancement rep that he has to fill out that section. I have advised the Scout not to do that. If the detailed written plan was to be done, it was to be done prior to the project. Basically, it seems to me that the council guy wants the Scout to write another after action report. I have advised the Scout that, if the question comes up during his EBoR about why he did not fill in that section, to simply explain that the beneficiary was satisfied with his level of planning, and that he was thrifty with his time in not filling out the unrequired section of the workbook. This is sort of along the lines explained here: https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2014/05/20/ask-the-expert-who-approves-the-eagle-scout-project-final-plan/ Any other tips for mentoring this Scout, who after a terse email interaction with the council advancement rep, will be scheduled for his EBoR shortly?
  15. LOL, had to use Google translate for that, but loved it. As to the rest, well, that's a topic for another thread 😜
  16. No, not a registered member. Yes, start with an adult application and YPT.
  17. NSF leaders ran the camp. The Scouts were there for four weeks total. We did Scout activities and games during the days, and there was a one or two hour Lutheran confirmation class each day for the Scouts. (during which time I had to peel about 50 lbs of potatoes... in fact, one of the first things I learned how to say in Swedish was "Jag skalar potatis!!" ) Saturday was usually a field trip (Vadstena, Tokern, Vattern, Gota Canal, the beach in Motala, etc.), and Sunday was a worship service in a wonderful nearby church, Röks kyrka https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Röks_kyrka This is where the Scouts had their confirmation at the end of camp as well. At the time (1987), the Lutheran Church was still the official church of Sweden. I think Sweden had a separation of church and state in the late 90's??? (Google says 2000.) But at our campfires, we sang the usual songs... I definitely remember Temperaturen!! They had words printed out for me, but I didn't speak any Swedish at all when I arrived. I knew lots of curse words by the time I left 😜 Scouts loved to hear me say dirty things in Swedish with my American southern accent, especially when I had no idea what they meant... I remember at one campfire, they were going around the circle singing verses. I thought they'd skip me, but no... when they got to me, the song leader pointed at me, so I just sang about the first 15 seconds of this... https://youtu.be/m2-gDQDYcTA Everyone literally fell over laughing. They loved it!! The cooks there made the most delicious salmon (lax) with dill sauce, and we ate lots of other fish dishes... tonfisk, torsk, forell... yummy!! And any red meat dish we had was smothered in gravy or lingonberry. But, I suppose hunger is the best cook, which, for a 19 year old means the food was always delicious 😜 But, the one food I absolutely detested, was pickled herring (sillen!!!) The older adults ate the stuff left and right....yuk!!
  18. I learned this one 40 years ago at our Nykterhetsrörelsens Scoutförbund Konfirmationsläger mealtimes. https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glädjens_Herre,_var_en_gäst Jag älskar svensk mat!!
  19. LOL, thanks! I HUGELY appreciate sarcasm 😜 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-surprising-benefits-of-sarcasm/
  20. And how much bigger is that file than the one where the injuries occurred on the first night? Correlation is not a cause.
  21. I teach map and compass skills, and an Orienteering MB counselor, among other things. @cmd gives perfect advice... The most important skill to have in navigation is map reading. Most beginner or intermediate orienteering courses can be done with map reading only. I use a compass most frequently to tell me one thing --- Which way is magnetic north? And I need to know that to orient my map. It does blow their mind when they put this together: Every day at noon (for those of us who live in the northern hemisphere above the tropical line), your shadow points true north. Use that to orient your map.
  22. Yes, well, you have to dig into that a little more... "bouldering" as you may know it is not the same as "bouldering" as the BSA defines it... (Kind of like the word "overnight" 😛 ) Most people outside of BSA know bouldering as this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouldering But BSA imposes some pretty stringent restrictions on the activity. (No more than 6', or no more than shoulder height, without belay, depending on where you are reading. Again, unclear guidance... imagine that.) https://www.scouting.org/outdoor-programs/cope/climb-on-safely/ In one place, this restriction applies: "Everyone must be belayed or tethered when within 8 feet of an edge where a fall of more than 6 feet could occur." In another ( https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/Outdoor Program/pdf/430-500_BelayOn_WB.pdf , this one: ".Other walls are horizontal rather than vertical, providing climbers with opportunities to practice traverses and bouldering moves while ascending no more than six feet above the ground." In another: "The key to safe bouldering is for climbers to keep their feet fairly close to the ground, never ascending higher than their shoulder height above the ground." In another: "Anyone engaged in bouldering must be protected by spotters. In addition to spotters, mats or pads should be placed at the base of indoor climbing walls to protect boulderers. Instructors and participants who climb higher than shoulder height above the ground must have a belay to protect them in case they fall." So, if you apply the most restrictive guidance, no one (from Lions to adults) can go over their own shoulder height without belay. The least restrictive guidance is no higher than 6 feet without belay. And tree climbing is prohibited. (LOL) "Extreme or action sports and associated activities that involve an unusually high degree of risk and often involve speed, height, a high level of exertion, and specialized gear or equipment. These activities include but are not limited to: Tree climbing" Q. Why can’t we climb trees? A. Falls are a leading cause of injury to members of our Scouting family and one of the top five claims against the general liability insurance program. Technical tree-climbing has been prohibited for more than a decade, due primarily to not being able to safely belay participants. Tree climbing has no belay; thus, it is prohibited. This is mainly a clarification rather than a new prohibition. Can you imagine being a kid and being told you cannot climb a tree? https://www.fatherly.com/entertainment/how-to-climb-tree-kids-instructions-stay-safe BTW... I let Scouts climb trees if their parent is present, they give permission, and I have another adult witness. I also tell the parent that BSA prohibits the activity, I do not assume any responsibility or risk, and that insurance will not cover a fall. They assume the risk. 😜 What is Assumption of Risk? The doctrine of assumption of risk is an affirmative defense that may be available to some defendants in personal injury lawsuits. The law has determined that certain activities come with an innate risk, and plaintiffs who voluntarily participate in these activities and become injured as a result cannot sue based on a negligence theory. In other words, the defense holds that people who choose to do certain dangerous activities can't turn around and hold others liable when they're injured as a result of those activities, especially if they knew of the risk of harm and assumed the risk by doing the activity anyway. In order for a defendant to invoke the assumption of the risk defense, the plaintiff must have: Known that there was a risk of the same sort of injury that the plaintiff actually suffered, and Voluntarily took on that danger (assumed the risk) in participating in the activity. Assumption of risk can either be an express assumption of risk or an implied assumption of risk. An express assumption of risk is often made in writing, usually in the form of a written agreement such as a signed waiver or contract. However, an express assumption of the risk doesn't have to be in writing, as it can also be made verbally. An implied assumption of risk, on the other hand, is not written or stated out loud. Rather, a plaintiff acted in a way that reflected an understanding of the risk and a willingness to take part anyway. An example of an implied assumption of the risk is if an amusement park patron stood and watched a roller coaster for several minutes before deciding to go on the ride. The patron's observation of the roller coaster suggests an understanding of the inherent risks and a decision to assume those risks by participating in the recreational activity.
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