NC Scouter

I have looked at a lot of knives, and I concur with earlier recommendations for the Victorinox Tinker. I have had mine for nearly 25 years and I think it offers the best balance of useful features, quality, and affordability. No scout needs a corkscrew (which it does not have), but I do sometimes wish it had scissors.

I noticed today that the Bugling merit badge is still missing from scouting.org's Introduction to Merit Badges page, and the requirements for Music shown there still include specific bugle skills that were incorporated into it when Bugling was to be discontinued. Does anyone have any information about this? Has BSA reversed itself again? Or is BSA just slow getting its web page restored to include Bugling?

Also love the language for #7: "The troop is separated into patrols ..."

Will someone please tell them the plural is courts of honor, not court of honors.

Duh. Good catch Calico Penn. I'm embarrassed. But thanks to all for your replies nonetheless. I agree with the interpretation that it means Scouts aren't going home at night and coming back the next day, plus of course the distinction versus short term or weekend camps.

Eagle92, what is "the book" are you referring to? Thanks.

This thread is very timely for me. Is there a consensus about what qualifies as resident camping? A week of summer camp would count. So would the Jamboree. But how about 10 days on the trail at Philmont? Seems odd to me that BSA's premier high adventure site would not count, but the scouts were not in residence at any one campsite the required 5 nights. Believe it or not we have two scouts for whom this is a real question. Both attended summer camp in '09 but not in 2010, so their typical resident camp experience will be >2yrs past by the time we have our next OA election in March. They also both just got to First Class in the early summer in time to go to Philmont this year although one has been in the troop four years and the other three. (Yes, yes, I know ..., those are stories for another time.)

Despite Webelos being described as prep for Boy Scouts there is still a big leap. We all know one of the three aims of the scouting program is citizenship training. That is more than American history, government, and flag etiquette. The patrol is the citizenship incubator of scouting. It is in the patrol that scouts get to practice citizenship in a real, tangible setting. And among the T-2-1 requirements the cooking and meal prep items stand out as the ones that are not purely individual. As a new scoutmaster who has been the ASM for new scout patrols for the past 3 years I have two recommendations in addition to what others have said. 1) Find or create opportunities for the Webelos to get experience making plans and decisions for themselves, and working as a team (think duty roster). 2) Encourage families to give their sons opportunities to be involved in cooking at home. It is plenty difficult for new scouts to cook in the field even with prior cooking experience, but trying to learn cooking in the outdoors is doubly hard.

I'll second the comment that the Thermarest Z-Rest is great for scouts. I've found that it is very difficult for young scouts to do a good job rolling up a self-inflating pad so that it is nice and compact. For older scouts with bigger hands self-inflating might be fine, but my older scouts don't see the point and are happy to continue with the Z-Rests. It's just more simple.

What do the other scouts think about this fellow joining them? If they feel as a group that the trip is something they have "earned" they may not like the friend joining. Then again they may not care. Either way this is a teaching opportunity in practical citizenship. Initiate a discussion among the scouts. That said, I see no other reason to deny him the opportunity so long as the other scouts are okay with the friend going, and so long as he won't otherwise be disruptive to the group. If he joins now the scouts and the adults will have several months to get to know him better and to observe how well he exhibits Scout Spirit. Our role is to give boys opportunities, not deny them.

Just to recap, I did not mean to imply that instruction is delivered to 100 scouts at once. The boys have typically broken the troop into smaller groups, but those were still typically 20-25 scouts because there were typically never enough instructors working any given meeting to get down to patrol size. As for patrol leaders teaching, our troop is structured with new scout patrols so the PLs of those patrols are new scouts too. The steps Stosh set out are standard presentation steps. Those are understood by those of us who will be working with the scouts to teach the instructors how to teach. Thank you. In fact, please assume that all the faults I set out in the opening paragraph will be addressed - group size, hands on, adequate planning and prep. What I was looking for were some skill-specific examples of instruction that has worked well in your troops. Here's an example from our own experience that may illustrate the point. A new instructor was assigned to instruct knots at the last minute to a group of 20-25 scouts. He started by asking who among the group thought they already knew all the knots cold. When 4-5 scouts raised their hands he pulled them forward to teach the others, then divided the remaining scouts into the 4-5 smaller groups. The instructor then went from group to group critiquing his newly minted assistants. And of course because the topic was knots the interactive component was obvious. I guess this is maybe more of a group management technique than the kind of training idea I thought I was asking about. And maybe it is just a matter of applying the basics to any skill. Nonetheless, I'd still love to hear any T-2-1 knowledge or skill-specific instruction ideas that are maybe a little out of the box and your scouts enjoyed.

We are a large troop of about 100 scouts. Many scouts have been frustrated for some time by poor instruction. As an adult it is easy to see the reasons - lecture-style presentations to groups that are too big, no hands-on activity, all due to inadequate planning and preparation. Scouts get bored, and those inclined to goof off have no reason not to do so. We now have a group of scouts who have seen the dark side of instruction and would like to do better. Our ASPL for Instructors and the ASM who works with them are planning an instructor training session in a couple of weeks. We are looking for some good, specific ideas about ways to teach scout skills that work well for you in your troops. Any ideas?

Requirement #6 for the new Scuba Diving merit badge says "Earn an Open Water Diver Certification from a scuba organization recognized by the Boy Scouts of America scuba policy." What are your opinions about whether or not the PADI Jr Open Water certification should qualify for a scout too young to earn the adult certification? It is AN open water certification.

In another thread I asked about where to find wicking underwear in youth sizes but have so far struck out. Has anyone found a source, please? Thanks.

Does anybody on these forums know if Bear Grylls might be scheduled to make an appearance at this year's National Jamboree?

Okay, no politics or controversy in this thread (I don't think so anyway). I just want to know what the blue thing is on the Pets merit badge. http://scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges/mb-PETS.aspx I see the fish. I see the cat. But what is the blue thing on the back of the fish. Is it a snail? A hermit crab? A helmet? Creative answers are welcome.

I too had to back out due to a job change combined with the fact that I became uncomfortable committing so much time and cash while getting absolutely no information about an assignment. I expect that those willing and able to wait until the last minute for an assignment will get one; I was just not able to do so. I got great service from National. I had paid in full, and my refund was processed within a couple weeks, I recall. You can write to National at 2010jamboree@scouting.org, or call 972 580-2371. Remember, however, that staff assignments are decentralized. National just manages the pools of candidates based on the preferences listed by scouters on their staff applications. You can change your preferences by contacting National as noted above.

Has anyone found a source for wicking underwear in youth sizes? Our Jambo troop has a lot of young scouts for whom adult-size briefs or boxer briefs would be too large, yet we would like them to have the advantage of good polypropylene or other wicking underwear to be comfortable in the July-August heat and humidity in Northern Virginia. I couldn't find what I was looking for at Campmor, Walmart, REI, etc. Thanks.

Two words - wicking underwear. At least four pair. Need not be official BSA.

Has anyone seen or heard anything official about how the new LNT Trainer POR is to be implemented by troops? Our DE and council training chair have no information and I could not find anything at the BSA web site. If LNT.org is to be a guide, the troop LNT Trainer would take a two day class from an LNT master educator. I know BSA looks outside for CPR certification but it would be unusual for BSA to outsource training for a POR. (And are LNT master educators to be YP trained?)

Not to hijack the thread but is MDScoutMom correct about the First Class requirement to apply to attend the Centennial Jamboree? My understanding is that scouts must be First Class by the time they attend, not when they apply. My son was Second Class back when he applied and was accepted without anyone questioning his rank. He has since earned the First Class rank.(This message has been edited by NC Scouter)

We could express our sentiment to the Postmaster General via email.

Just like the others who have replied we do our best to give new scouts opportunities to complete the T-2-1 requirements by the end of their first 14 months in the troop (March crossover through May of the following year). We do that mostly as part of the general troop program but supplement that with a day hike or an overnighter. And as others have also said the results are a mixed bag. And that's fine. The boys progress at their own pace. Last year's group was generally not very focused and only one or two of the twelve are First Class even now. This year's group seems much more focused and I expect 4-6 to get there by next May with several others not far behind, probably getting there by the end of summer camp. There are several troops in the area that hustle all the new scouts through an advancement-focused program that appears to me to be more of a Webelos III experience. Whether or not the new scouts are focused enough to get to First Class they at least have lots of opportunities to develop and enjoy themselves, which helps retention. Advancement is only one of the Methods. (Someone was going to say it sooner or later!)

Thanks for your replies. I am not the person wanting to register as a counselor. A woman at a stable near where we live wants to be able to counsel Horsemanship. The stable is within a few miles of four different councils and she may see scouts from any of the four. I think I'll suggest that she start with the council from which she would expect to see the most scouts, and then add others as she sees fit.

How are merit badge counselors supposed to proceed if they want to be available to counsel scouts in neighboring councils? Should they register in both councils, or is registration in one council all that is needed?