Oak Tree

Typically knot, but for the bad ones, yes. Seems like a reasonable step to take.

What constitutes a closed fire? Tongue-in-cheek, I'm assuming, but nevertheless... http://bit.ly/hZhIPA

Eagle92, that section of the G2SS has been revamped. It now says For activity afloat, those not classified as a swimmer are limited to multiperson craft during outings or float trips on calm water with little likelihood of capsizing or falling overboard. They may operate a fixed-seat rowboat or pedal boat accompanied by a buddy who is a swimmer. They may ride in a canoe or other paddle craft with an adult swimmer skilled in that craft as a buddy. They may ride as part of a group on a motorboat or sailboat operated by a skilled adult. [emphasis added]

Relatively speaking, I live in a rain forest. My Scouts are still required to actually start the fire. I figure that's just verifying that they've correctly demonstrated how to build the fire.

singlemom - kudos to you for responding. I wasn't sure we'd hear back from you. I posted here because I am at my wits end how to handle this. I don't want to embarrass my son any more he is already embarassed and discouraged enough. HE does not want to go back because of how bad the SM's have already made him feel. I'm not sure why you are at wits end - it seems fairly straightforward how to handle it - I wouldn't force him to go back. I think that almost nothing positive results from forcing a boy to attend Scouts if he doesn't want to. If your son has a friend in another troop who'

Yeah, I think most of us agree the info is unnecessary for the council to require. There has been much more mixed advice on the "two signatures per check" - many of us have stated that that creates a logistical hassle for little/no benefit. Everyone agrees the financial information should be available at the committee meetings, there should be transparency, the bank statements should be available, and that significant purchases should be agreed on by the committee.

perdidochas, I don't disagree with you that EDGE in its most general form, as you list, does take into account at least #1, 2, and 3. I don't see anything about #4, 5, 6, or 7 - but I agree that there's nothing stopping you from adding these. But here's the thing. If the EDGE method says that you can combine E and D, or D and G, and that you can move back a step if you need to, then there's not much left of EDGE - because EDGE, as listed, strongly implies a linear progression through the stages. But now it's more like - here are the ways you might teach it: EDGE - straightforw

What deep hard questions can you ask about tying a square knot? A little bit tangential, and I know it was rhetorical, but I'll take a shot. Questions about the square knot:If you grab the ends of this knot and pull, will it hold together? Even if you're using slippery rope?What might make it hold better?What might make it hold worse?Can you tell the difference by looking at a thieves knot, a granny knot, and a square knot?Will this knot work well for connecting ropes of different sizes?Would this knot be easier to teach if the ropes were different colors?What places might you use th

SR540Beaver, I think the usual reason for not attracting wildlife is that we don't want to habituate them to coming to common camping areas to look for food. So assuming that you are hiking on a trail, or using a semi-regular campsite, you may find the advice reasonable. If you are out in the backcountry in the middle of nowhere I'd think there would be less concern about letting the animals eat the entrails.

singlemom, I'm curious. Have you been reading these forums all along? If so, you should realize that the leaders here would never accept that kind of behavior from either the adults nor the Scouts. What happened to your son is very unfortunate and the troop should address it. Did someone point you at this forum as a place to raise a complaint? If so, were you expecting any response? Or did you just want to lash out at Scouting and at men in general based on your frustration with both? I'm not sure what your son's experience has to do with your being a single mom - it sounds like a boy fro

Check out the detailed explanation here. http://leavenotracecommunity.blogspot.com/2009/07/fish-guts.htmlSpecial care needs to be taken when dealing with fish entrails. Many anglers follow the tradition of scattering entrails in the woods or out on rocks for wildlife, but this practice is no longer recommended. Today, the best disposal methods are determined by a number of factors including how long you will be out fishing, whether bears live in the area, if whirling disease is a concern, and what the local regulations dictate. When entrails are tossed into the woods, they attract wi

Ok, so what is the endowment fund used for? If it just generates interest, and the interest is used to fund the council operations, then it's really just that my donation is providing money over a set of years. So maybe this year's donation won't get spent on the taxes, but the interest from the donation might be spent that way next year. Still, good information to know about the endowment fund. At least it can't all get wasted at once.

Beavah, that's a great website. (As a short cut, the report is at http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practiceguides/20072004.pdf) They critique all the actual research done to say which studies show which methods to be effective. It's exactly the kind of thing you'd want to see - and they come right out and list a whole bunch of things that aren't shown to have a positive effect. As for the specifics of whether EDGE follows the guidelines, I agree, it does not. I think if you combine the Explain and Demo phases, then EDGE meets #4, and if you use pictures during that combined phase, EDG

So, for all you moral relativists out there, do you have any sort of moral compass? I thought that is what the Boy Scout insignia stood for--a moral compass pointing true north. I'd be curious to know what sort of behavior you deem "good" or "exemplary" My experience is that most people have some sort of fundamental principle(s) that they use as the basis for deciding whether something is good. They tend to be something like:Truth is good. The more people who believe the truth, the better.Suffering is bad. You should take the action that causes fewer people to suffer. No one should ever i

Their first example of EDGE in that presentation link, starting on page 11, uses a completely worthless first Explain step. In fact, the point there appears to be that explaining is not an effective step and you have to follow it up with a demo. I say, why even use the explain step here? You should just start with the demo. There are certainly times when I've seen some ineffective ASMs not be able to get a concept across. Some of them seem to think that Explain/Enable covers it. "I told you how to build a fire. You should be able to get yours going now. You must not be doing it right, th

I always viewed the references as being part of the "explain". For many skills, I think that using "explain" as a step by itself, before the first demo, seems pretty useless. Trying to explain three-dimensional movements to someone without using a demo...that cannot possibly be the most effective way. Check out this glossary of instructional strategies to see a huge number of ways of approaching instruction: http://www.beesburg.com/edtools/glossary.html Here's a book used by a graduate school: Title: Designing Effective Instruction Author: Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M. &

I guess if I made a James West donation, I'd assume the money was going to the council to fund their standard operations. Even if they keep "my donation" in a separate fund, it would just mean that they'd have to put less of their own money into that fund. If the council is terrible at managing money, then maybe I don't want to make the donation. But I do assume that some money is being used to pay taxes.

I'm really glad my son's merit badge counselor didn't require it as part of a troop activity. Our troop has never done a 20 mile hike in one day, and I can't imagine that there's going to be a plan for one any time soon. The counselor wanted the written trip report. And he talked with my son about it. You could also ask for photos, or a GPS track, or something else. Or maybe you say you need independent verification and you need a second adult on the trip, worst case. I can't see any justification for saying that it has to be part of a troop activity.

These hikes do not have to be at a Scout function, so G2SS rules would not have to apply. Even if the rules do apply, I don't think that a hike would necessarily be a "backcountry expedition". In fact, when my son earned the badge, we did most of our hikes at state parks, and those were certainly not what I would call backcountry. Most of the time we had four people, but one time it was just me and him.

In our unit, and I would guess in the typical unit, there aren't enough interested adults to fill the slots. We offer a nomination to everyone who is eligible. So there's no discussion of whether the adult will really be helpful or not.

John-in-KC, you're right. The selection of adult leaders isn't supposed to be for honor, so the comment may fit better on the other thread. However, the comment was most immediately in response to Eagle92's post, which was talking about electing Scouts, not adults.

Check out http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/darwin05.asp for the scoop on the truth here. Note that only the first one on this list would literally qualify as a "Darwin Award" - which is named for removing yourself from the gene pool. You can also check out http://www.darwinawards.com/ for some more entertaining examples of simply astonishing stupidity. Let's just say that none of the above stories seem beyond the realm of possibility.

Webelos would be in the Latin third declension, like flos (flower). Assuming that it is indeed a noun (which is the way it is commonly used), it would decline something like this: Case Singular English example nominative Webelos A Webelos can earn many awards. genitive Webeloris The winning car was that of a Webelos. dative Webelori The den leader gave the denner cords to a Webelos. accusative Webelorem The troop lifted a Webelos. ablative Webelore The den leaders hiked through the poison ivy with a Webelos. vocative Webelos Yo, Webelo

The problem with saying that Arrowmen need to be involved is that the election is presented partly as an honor. Otherwise, why vote? If it's just a service group, let anyone sign up. But because it is an honor society, people want to be recognized. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. When I joined, I think my chapter adviser estimated that 90% of the people were "sash and dash" members. I didn't really like the term, but I did recognize that it was a shorthand for people who never show up again, and as with most groups, there are ways of distinguishing between "us" and "them",

The participant may have heard someone discussing the advice for river canyons, but that is not generally applicable. From the Leave No Trace website (http://www.lnt.org/programs/principles_3.php)UrineUrine has little direct effect on vegetation or soil. In some instances urine may draw wildlife which are attracted to the salts. They can defoliate plants and dig up soil. Urinating on rocks, pine needles, and gravel is less likely to attract wildlife. Diluting urine with water from a water bottle can help minimize negative effects. Special Considerations for River Canyons: River canyons o