Kudu

The good news is that we all agree that it is the business of government to pick the winners among corporations. So let us set aside our petty differences and get to work awarding monopolies on the word "Scout" to the remaining 110 genders!

From Ebay a few years back, http://inquiry.net/adult/bsa_vs_gsusa.htm This collection of typed documents is from the estate of Mark Jones who was an official in the Girl Scouts in the 1920s-30s with his name in pencil at the top of the front cover. The documents are marked "copy" but this might be the only copy left in the world. There are 37 typed sheets all typed on one side of 37 pages bound in a blue folder. The Boy Scouts Inc. sued the Girl Scouts Inc. and Winchester Arms over the use of the word "scout" in 1924 claiming it was an infringement on their trademark. Also, named in the lawsuit was Winchester Arms which made equipment for the Girl Scouts using the word "scout". The Boy Scouts Inc. also claimed that the use of the name "Girl Scouts" inflicted psychological damage on the boys and the name should be "Girl Guides" as Lord Baden Powell recommended.

What, too soon? 😎

Why so binary, @InquisitiveScouter ? My non-binary pronoun is simply "Majesty."

From Baden-Powell's 1938 POR (Policy, Organization, & Rules) http://www.inquiry.net/traditional/por/proficiency_badges.htm Wirelessman 506. (1) Have an elementary knowledge of how a thermionic valve works as- (a) H.F. Amplifier. (b) Detector. (c) L.F. Amplifier In a wireless set, and also how a "Westector" works (2) Know the functions of condenser, resistance, inductance, reaction and mains rectifier, transformer. (3) Know how to cure hum OR how to build a cheap mains eliminator. (4) Know how to locate and cure a simple fault in a wireless set. (5) Show a working knowledge of moving coil loud-speakers, both permanent magnet and mains energised types. (6) Draw a simple diagram showing the way to connect up a stage of "resistance coupled" L.F. amplification, and another to illustrate the connections of a "L.F. transformer," and show a knowledge of the principles involved. (7) Read a technical diagram and interpret all the symbols ordinarily employed. (8) Have assembled a simple wireless receiver which works satisfactorily and know all the distress signals. (9) Know the methods of charging and looking after accumulators.

I'm in favor of requiring Scouts to demonstrate virtue signaling, so long as it is done in Morse Code.

In a way, Scouter.Com was the birthplace of Traditional Scouting in the United States. Back in the 1990s Craig contacted me about an article I wrote for Scouter.Com's print publication. It featured the adventures of one of my Patrol leaders, a 12yo free range kid who took his Patrol into the woods most weekends. They lived on the rabbits and squirrels they hunted using a spear extender illustrated in one of the Patrol Leader's near-century-old library discards, Scouting for Boys. Craig invited me to join his fledgling movement. Scouter Terry then set up a list serve for us, that included the original founder of BPSA-UK and the current Chief Scouters of BPSA-UK, BPSA-AU, the Canadian provinces, as well as the head of WFIS-NA (North America). Welcome back Craig!

Thank you! I wrote the first edition of the Pathfinder Handbook for the Texas-based BPSA-USA about four years before BPSA-US was established. BPSA-USA was based on the 1965 PO&R (Policy, Organization, and Rules), which accounts for those "Senior Proficiency Badges," which were not a part of Baden-Powell's program when he was still alive. BPSA-US, on the other hand, is based on the 1938 PO&R, which was the very last version of the Scouting program that Baden-Powell himself approved. See: http://www.inquiry.net/traditional/por/index.htm Baden-Powell's equivalent to Eagle was King's Scout, which I renamed "George Washington's Scout." Like all badges in B-P's program, it is a measure of a Scout's current proficiency so (if you have the pdf version of the Pathfinder Handbook), you can find those requirements under "Additional Proficiency Badges." "Current Proficiency" means that all of the qualifying badges must be renewed every 12-18 months, so there is no equivalent to "Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle," in Baden-Powell's version of Scouting. BPSA-US has voted to cancel my term "George Washington's Scout," because the guy was a slave owner. To their credit (so far as I know), BPSA Rovers currently have no plans to milkshake my face with quick-drying cement for my role in the promotion of slavery. 😎

Depends on how you define "old school." 😎 Some Hillcourt fans would date the end of Hillcourt's version of Traditional Scouting at 1966 (the same year as "The Chief Scout's Advance Party Report" throughout the former British Empire), and the year that the BSA decided to replace Hillcourt's "Real" Patrol Method with a "Nine Leadership Skills" version of White Stag http://www.inquiry.net/leadership/9skills.htm . This "leadership skills" program was introduced in 1972. Purists like me would date Bill's demise a year earlier, 1965 - the year of his retirement, when the BSA introduced position of responsibility requirements for advancement. Thus "Patrol Leader" would became a revolving door entry-level position. A few of us began organizing the Traditional Baden-Powell program in the 1990s but, yes, WB for the 21st Century is the black lagoon from whence the two BSA Wood Badgers emerged to move BPSA-US training toward leadership skill Senior Patrol Leaders and even Assistant Senior Patrol Leaders, trust falls, and indoor blindfold walks . http://www.inquiry.net/leadership/index.htm

A Corporate CEO crawls to the throne of Lucifer, in cardiac distress, eyes bugged, nostrils flared, "Master, Master," he wheezes, "The Americans have discovered Baden-Powell's Traditional Scouting!" "Not to worry," replies the Angel of Light, "I'll send two BSA Wood Badgers up to the BPSA-US to organize it."

Looks like I buried the lead! 😎 The purpose of my post was to show how actual gung-ho outdoor kids in a BSA Troop can experience (if only for one weekend in their entire lives) a Free Range Patrol System as it was known to Baden-Powell and William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt. Absent this "mountain top" experience, I don't see how the material from Kudu.Net can help but sound like magical thinking (to paraphrase @dkurtenbach ). Just idealistic words on an electronic screen. Yes! Baden-Powell held in disdain the American invention of summer camps, calling them "Parlour Scouting" in "canvas towns." Render unto Caesar, but I wonder how many Eagle Scouts ever experience a single night of Patrol camping at Baden-Powell's minimum distance between Patrols?

Keep in mind that the above reference is to Baden-Powell's Patrol System, not the Patrol Method. Two relevant differences: 1) There are no middle managers in Baden-Powell's "System," no SPL, no ASPLs, no JASMs, no TGs, nor anyone other than Patrol Leaders with a vote in what Americans call the PLC. In other words, ONLY the Patrol Leaders run the Troop. This means that the most gifted outdoor Scouts rise (yes, are appointed to) the position of Patrol Leader, as opposed to the tendency in the USA to regard it as an entry-level "Position of Responsibility." In Baden-Powell's System, there are no POR requirements. 2) For Free Range outdoor kids the "Adventure" of Scouting is to get out on the trail, especially without adult helicopters. This is the fundamental experience in Baden-Powell's system, to get the Patrols out on Patrol -- and likewise for William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt's "Patrol Leader Training" http://www.inquiry.net/patrol/green_bar/index.htm and his Wood Badge http://www.inquiry.net/traditional/wood_badge/index.htm So, one secret "to just stand back and let the magic happen," is to a) Announce a rugged backpack campout. This will weed out kids who are in Scouts just to get Eagle on their resume, as well as their helicopter parents. b) If necessary, let the Scouts divide themselves into two ad hoc Patrols, the more rugged of which will hike to a set destination without adults. The other, usually less mature, might hike a shorter route to the same destination, but with adults trailing a mile or so behind. For the first time, I would appoint the two most gifted natural leaders to the rugged Patrol, and let them work out the actual dynamics between them as they go. Note that the more rugged Patrol will likely include a few gung-ho smaller Scouts. c) At the agreed destination, the two Patrols camp Baden-Powell's 300 feet apart, likewise for the adults At the end of the weekend these members of the Troop (including the adults) will have experienced the Patrol experience that once made Scouting so popular. Now, how to integrate these Scouts into a BSA Troop is a different question 😕 Yours at 300 feet, Kudu

"Sabattis Scout Reservation is located on over 2,000 acres in the heart of the Adirondack Park. It offers the premier wilderness camping experience in the northeast United States. Sabattis is a traditional full-featured patrol cooking camp" http://www.cnyscouts.org/camping/sabattis-scout-reservation/

Certainly Baden-Powell's First Class Award is the very definition of Free Range. The final requirement, the First Class Journey, is a 14 mile overnight backpack or canoe trek, alone or with one peer. No two-deep helicopters! > The tracking probably wasn't needed and while the plant and animal identification is nice, it's not really a core skill. > On the whole, it seems to be a bit obsolete Despite the significant controlled risk involved in the First Class Journey, not to mention the increasing challenges of the subsequent Journey and Expedition requirements of the more advanced Awards, Baden-Powell's program has some higher outdoor aspirations. > What skills would make a scout more adventurous? In addition to the practical skills a Scout needs to undertake his or her Journey, B-P's requirements include Observation Skills which, for some, are the whole point of outdoor adventure: These skills are known better in the 21st century as "mindfulness," with roots in secular Western versions of zazen and kinhin. "In the summer of 1898 Baden-Powell took a trip to Kashmir which convinced him that the outdoor life, enjoyed purely for its own sake without any military objective, was immensely valuable. Before setting out, he paid considerable attention to his equipment.…On this trip he adopted clothes that he would occasionally claim as the inspiration for the Boy Scout uniform; these included the Stetson he had worn in Rhodesia and a flannel shirt, but not the famous shorts. Yet in spite of all the planning, Baden-Powell viewed camping and walking in wild places as an experience which transcended practical considerations: 'Going over these immense hills - especially when alone - and looking almost sheer down into the deep valleys between - one feels like a parasite on the shoulders of the world. There is such a bigness about it all, that opens and freshens up the mind. It's as good as a cold tub for the soul'." http://www.inquiry.net/ideals/beads.htm Those who roamed the woods alone as teens may recognize this experience: Baden-Powell's "Religion of the Woods." Your mind chatter ceases, and your pupils dilate with interest in the subject of attention, causing the forest light to brighten and colors to saturate. It is a quiet clarity of mind that can last many minutes, similar to the experience of ceasing intense work on a problem, only then, seemingly from out of nowhere, the answer presents itself full-blown. Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://www.kudu.net Second Class: Observation: Describe in writing, 20 out of 24 well assorted articles, following one minute of observation (Kim’s Game). Follow a half-mile trail of at least 30 woodcraft signs, in 25 minutes. Read the meaning of a series of simple tracks made in sandy or other suitable ground covering at least 20 feet. Follow real animal tracks or a trail made for you by someone else. http://www.inquiry.net/traditional/index.htm (To the above, I would add the tactile feel of rope work and the mental flow of Signalling.)

Seems worthy of a new thread, "Natural Leaders."

My initial inclination is to encourage Free Range Kids to organize around the original fortnight edition of Scouting for Boys. As in the days before Troops were common, a Lone Patrol would seek out, as needed, adults in the community with expertise in the outdoor skills they wish to master. Perhaps a church, school club, hiking group, outdoor store clinic, local chapter of Let Grow, former BSA volunteers, etc. (I'd be interested in additional suggestions). Adult Led / Youth Led then becomes: Youth Led adults whose services can be terminated as needed. Some day I'd like to see a spin-off thread on the research behind @Eagledad's observation that only about 3% of the population are "Natural Leaders." In my experience Barry's figure is exactly right. In a Troop of 32 Scouts, typically I trust only one or two to take a Patrol out into the field with no adult supervision. And, like @qwazse, I do sometimes meet these 3 in 100 "Alec in Wilderland" kids, with a Patrol-size following. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXHCiIQtqoQ&t=11s Yours at 300 feet, Kudu Kudu.Net

Thanks everyone!

Thanks to @RememberSchiff @Sentinel947 @Eagle94-A1 @desertrat77 @willray and @DuctTapefor the warm welcome back. 😎 This summer I do hope to participate in a few threads like this, but with the goal of learning how to make short "explainer" graphs and videos for Free Range kids. What would be the pros and cons of joining a "Troop," if you are a Lone Patrol of kids encouraged by your parents to seek adventure on your own? Thanks again! Yours at 300 feet, Kudu Kudu.Net

And you as well!

Very proud, indeed! 😎 Kudu Flaming Fry Pan Patrol

We meet on Monday nights. Most Patrols shop the Wednesday or Thursday before the campout.

In my retirement I too volunteer in a one-Troop town! The local unit was an adult-led Eagle factory, far worse than any descriptions in this thread or elsewhere. No Scoutmaster in this Troop was ever even a Cub Scout as a boy, but every adult is an expert on Eagles. I don't want to be a Scoutmaster again, so changing Troop culture these days is more difficult than in my past. As I have detailed in other posts, my strategy was to establish a High Adventure program first. I used backpack trips to introduce the Scouts to a backwoods Scout-run Patrol Method under the Troop's two best Natural Leaders (300 foot Patrols, day journeys without helicopters, etc.). High Adventure attracts outside volunteers. Then thousands of backpack, canoe, climbing, and SCUBA photos on Facebook, Google+, etc. brings parents and Scouts from Troops in nearby towns that do not camp. I was lucky that one of the new moms on the Committee was a former Scoutmaster. She arrived just in time to help me transition into a PLC-run outdoor program. Even so, after six (6) years it is still a constant battle to save the outdoor program against the nasty side of indoor Eagle nature. For instance, one of my secrets (to get 20-25 Scouts out to backpack, climb, or canoe) is to require they pay $10 four (4) weeks in advance (before the Scouts and their families make other plans). But next month's Committee meeting includes a motion by an agressive indoor mom to reduce that commitment down to four (4) days! So, yes it is possible to change a Troop culture, even without being the Scoutmaster, but every Troop is different so you just can't tell in advance where the tipping point will be. Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

Eagledad, The Medium is the Message My thought was that Wood Badge was invented to teach indoor volunteers how to think like outdoorsmen: Specifically how to navigate through the backwoods. Before "leadership skills," a Scoutmaster's job was to teach his Scouts how to actually "scout" (the final test of every rank was a semi-solitary Journey), and to teach his Patrol Leaders how to actually go out on "patrol" (the purpose of a Patrol was to patrol the backwoods at least once a month). Since most of the promotional material for "Trail Life" features "trail life" in the rugged wilderness (always with snow-capped mountains looming overhead!), I would incorporate navigation into every aspect of their training. For a weekend beginners' course, perhaps each outdoor skill session a football field away, marked on a map...

I've been asked to help invent a weekend outdoor skills training course for local Trail Life Troops. Can anyone give me a general idea of how the week-long Backpack Wood Badge course of yester-year was organized? Thanks! Yours at 300 feet!