TAHAWK

Population of deep pockets varies. As you know, not so many in Detroit, Cleveland, Gary, Youngstown, and Dayton as there once were. And these's a lot of us to target, being way above average in support of Scouting. I just wish the pitch would be honest about where the $$ goes (payroll) and stop the "Send a Scout to Camp" stuff. Our new SE says success is no longer measured in $$ raised, but in unit health. He has acted by changing performance metrics for his staff to unit health metrics, whereas his predecessor was more about $$. He stooped the former demand for a pad of 20% on every district event budget.

In California, part of the evaluation for approval of a patrol outing was the location of drug farms - locus of another type of pig. That WAS part of the topic, as well as avoiding the "camp" up Santiago Canyon where the drug-addicts, primarily alcoholics, "lived rough" in the California climate. Very local issues. Around here, now, the back of the shooting ranges would be considered vis-a-vis the route.

"2.0.0.1 It Is a Method—Not an End in Itself Advancement is simply a means to an end, not an end in itself. It is one of several methods designed to help unit leadership carry out the aims and mission of the Boy Scouts of America. See the inside front cover for text of the aims and mission. . . . 2.0.0.2 Advancement Is Based on Experiential Learning Everything done to advance—to earn ranks and other awards and recognition—is designed to educate or to otherwise expand horizons. Members learn and develop according to a standard. . . . Experiential learning is the key: Exciting and meaningful activities are offered, and education happens. Learning comes from doing. For example, youth may read about first aid, hear it discussed, and watch others administer it, but they will not learn it until they practice it. Rushing a Scout through requirements to obtain a badge is not the goal. Advancement should be a natural outcome of a well-rounded unit program, rich in opportunities to work toward the ranks. . . . Learning Scout skills and concepts through active participation is a vehicle for personal growth, but it is not the primary goal. For example, learning how to tie a knot, plan a menu, swim, or administer first aid may turn out to be critical in one’s life, but they are secondary to the goal of personal growth that comes with learning. As a Scout learns a skill and then is tested on it, and reviewed and recognized, he develops confidence. He comes to realize he can learn and do other similar things. The retention of Scouting skills and knowledge is important, of course; but for retention to take place, it will be because Scouting skills and knowledge are used in our programs. . . . Advancement is the method by which we promote and encourage the ongoing involvement and commitment that keeps members coming back for more. It works best when it is built into a unit’s program so that simply participating leads to meaningful achievement and recognition—and to a continually improving readiness for more complex experiences. . . . Advancement, thus, is not so much a reward for what has been done. It is, instead, more about the journey: As a Scout advances, he is measured and he grows in confidence and self-reliance, and he builds upon his skills and abilities. . . . The Merit Badge Program . . . 7.0.0.1 The Benefits of Merit Badges There is more to merit badges than simply providing opportunities to learn skills. There is more to them than an introduction to lifetime hobbies, or the inspiration to pursue a career—though these invaluable results occur regularly. It all begins with a Scout’s initial interest and effort in a merit badge subject, followed by a discussion with the unit leader or designated assistant, continues through meetings with a counselor, and culminates in advancement and recognition. It is an uncomplicated process that gives a Scout the confidence achieved through overcoming obstacles. Social skills improve. Self-reliance develops. Examples are set and followed. And fields of study and interest are explored beyond the limits of the school classroom. . . . Earning merit badges should be Scout initiated, Scout researched, and Scout learned. It should be hands-on and interactive, and should not be modeled after a typical school classroom setting. Instead, it is meant to be an active program so enticing to young men that they will want to take responsibility for their own full participation. . . . The sort of hands-on interactive experience described here, with personal coaching and guidance, is hardly ever achieved in any setting except when one counselor works directly with one Scout and his buddy, or with a very small group. B.S.A., Guide to Advancement (2017)[emphasis added]

Col, any pig issues in your area?

Concern, while important, may be less important than behavior, given the power of example, and behavior is not limited to a dichotomy between attempting to mentor boys to achieve their full potential and engaging in a "prohibited activity" with all that means. It is supposed necessity to reach the goals of Scouting that was cited to me for allowing an indoor video "lock-in" to count as a "weekend campout" for purposes of Journey to Mediocrity.

Pl has completed Basic Training for his position (ILST) (Wrongly named and insufficient Patrol Method content.) PL files written plan with SM and SPL Permission/equipment forms completed PL has designated second present if APL will not be there Activity complies with BSA policy

You have two Den Leaders and more than enough Tigers for two dens. Whazzup?

We have never had a patrol or the troop schedule a campout there, so "no."

1. Jump feet first into water over the head in depth, level off, and begin swimming..." The swimmer must be able to make an abrupt entry into deep water and begin swimming without any aids. Walking in from shallow water, easing in from the edge or down a ladder, pushing off from side or bottom, or gaining forward momentum by diving do not satisfy this requirement." BSA, Safe Swim Defense (2017)

And BSA may agree: "The test administrator must objectively evaluate the individual performance of the test, and in so doing should keep in mind the purpose of each test element. 1. Jump feet first into water over the head in depth, level off, and begin swimming..." The swimmer must be able to make an abrupt entry into deep water and begin swimming without any aids. Walking in from shallow water, easing in from the edge or down a ladder, pushing off from side or bottom, or gaining forward momentum by diving do not satisfy this requirement." BSA, Safe Swim Defense (2017) Although this language appears regarding the Swimmer Test, the jumping in requirement is the same for Beginner. Id. "The entry and turn serve the same purpose as in the swimmer test." Are the "goggles" mentioned in the 2011 BSA article an "aid"? Is a face mask? We ought to easily get an official answer. That is unlikely.

I hope this does not come across as "condescending," but the requirement is - and is only: "Demonstrate your ability to pass the BSA beginner test: Jump feetfirst into water over your head in depth, level off and swim 25 feet on the surface, stop, turn sharply, resume swimming, then return to your starting place." Seems to me that a PDA somewhat defeats the purpose of showing that you can swim and do a rest stroke when necessary. It would be the PDA keeping you afloat. BSA blog (2014): "Bryan, I have a question on the swimming requirement for First Class. I have at least three boys who are unable to complete the BSA swimmer test as one of the First Class requirements. They have a fear of jumping into the water over their heads. It is not just at the lake during summer camp but also at a swimming pool. I’ve reviewed the Guide to Advancement but don’t really see anything about this. Since they really don’t have a disability, there are no alternate requirements that fit the situation. Are they doomed to remain a Second Class Scout? . . . [response, in part] In his March-April 2011 Scouting magazine cover story, “Dreading Water,†author Jeff Csatari explores this very topic. If you’re having similar issues in your troop, give it a read. He also discusses the summer camp swim check, another source of anxiety for Scouts that you may be dealing with in a few months." "Dreading Water" "If summer camp swim checks twist your Scouts' stomachs into square knots, here's how to make the checks less stressful. By Jeff Csatari Photograph by Tom Hussey Photography 7 Ways to Make Swim Checks Successful Not all Scouts immediately take to the water. But when they show up for summer camp, they all have to participate in the BSA’s swim check. Many take it in stride. Others do not. Michelle Matowski remembers an especially difficult experience for one Scout who had a single goal for the summer: earn an aquatics merit badge. But the Scout’s plans were dashed when he didn’t receive a “swimmer†tag at the swim check on the first day of camp. 'When he took off his goggles,†recalls Matowski, a committee member who was attending Scout camp with Troop 1104 of Dearborn, Mich., “I could see that he was sobbing. I felt so bad for this Scout. His world just came crashing down. It was like someone took away his birthday party.' The first day of camp can be an overwhelming experience for boys for many reasons: being away from home, uncertainty about what they will experience, or thoughts of how they will measure up to their buddies. Not passing the swim check can be difficult, causing a disappointing or even embarrassing start to Scout camp week. You don’t have to let that happen. Unit leaders can help their boys both before and during camp to have a positive experience by preparing them ahead of time—in part by recognizing that swim checks can produce anxiety, especially for those who fear swimming in a lake or river where they can’t see the bottom. Still, the swim check is a vital demonstration of a boy’s ability to take care of himself in the water. And it’s important to remember that a member of the camp’s aquatic staff will work one-on-one with any Scout and recheck the boy during the week if he wants to advance from nonswimmer to beginner to swimmer. How can you reduce your Scouts’ anxiety about the swim-check process? Follow this advice from adult leaders, child psychologists, parent volunteers, and experienced swim instructors." The article goes on to suggest practical ways to reduce the stress of swim tests, and while the focus is on Summer Camp, many of the suggestions have a broader application. SOURCE: https://scoutingmagazine.org/issues/1103/a-dreading.html

Edit hours later. Thank you for more information. >Paint Ball is a pretty expensive activity. Who was going to pay? Some camps will only charge $50/day per participant, gear and ammo supplied. Were the parent going to be OK with the bruises that commonly result despite good protective gear? How did Scouting grow to include 2/3 of all boys without Paint Ball? >Water Tubing is expressly allowed. Who was your G2SS subject matter expert? >Four wheeling? How was that going to work? Does the Troop have its own vehicles? Loaners? Insurance? Expert supervision? (We had a kid killed last year on his family property. No Scouting connection, just dead.) Site? Or was this another pay-to-play activity? Did anyone price Council possibilities vs. alternatives? Five councils in an hours drive from us offer ATV activities, except when booked solid during Summer Camp or when the weather is prohibitive. >You have personal watercraft for the Troop to use? We do too, and use them when we run our own troop summer camp. As long as we follow Safety Afloat, our Council thinks its OK. What have we (Troop and Council) missed? >Towed Parasailing. That seems excessively risky. >Hot Air Balloons - ditto. Experts kill themselves. Lovely YT videos of flaming crashes. You forgot landmine removal and bull-riding, also thrilling. >Dodgeball is a regular activity at our Council camp. Sam Houston Council has an annual Dodgeball Challenge. I find no prohibition in G2SS. Dodgeball with rocks, or from hot air balloons or towed parasails or ATVs, is probably not OK. > Karate- What does "qualified" mean? Many martial arts teachers are stiffs who promote hyper-aggression. I had bloody teeth slide across a floor and into my feet at a karate tournament. The head judge, a very highly ranked master, walked out due to the violence (lack of control). There is not a nationally recognized accreditation program as there is for range masters. Instead many asociations offer their own, competing version of acccreditation. It is the case that, "In truth, there are no legal or business certification requirements preventing you [i.e. anyone] from declaring yourself a karate or martial arts instructor." How would BSA determine if Joe and Art will be safe managers of the fighting? My son is a 6th Degree Black-belt in Aikido after twenty years of learning and teaching. He teaches Cub-aged kids up to senior citizens. He is excellent with the little 'uns. His own two children participate. I should ask him if he thinks it would be a good casual activity for a troop. Who did you ask? Consideration of MMA? >Pioneering Lots of legend involved here, including in district and council publications. So far as I know, there never was a rule about the height of signal towers EXCEPT those built at council camps. Even that rule has been revised recently to allow greater height before safety gear is required. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/youthprotection/pdf/NCAP_Circular_2.pdfat pp 3-4 That is little more than the federal government, through OSHA, requires for adult workers working above six feet. Less for kids? But away from Camp, you have always been on your own. And the campers liked the zip line across the lake better than pioneering anyhow. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! There was a rule in the G2SS specifically about monkey bridges (just after the section on knives). It limited height of the foot rope to 4-5 feet and length to 25-40 feet, depending on the subjective experience of the Scouts, but it went away some years ago. There is a nice plan for a 20 ft signal tower in the current National Camping School Outdoors Skills Resource Manuel on p. 28. (But you can't parasail down.) BSA has "work height" restrictions - for "working" on "service projects" ( Working at Heights and Elevations ). They do not, by their terms apply to pioneering projects. If they meant pioneering projects, they could have easily said so, and thus the rules do not apply to pioneering projects by normal canons of construction. Who is your pioneering expert? At a council camp we attended eleven years ago, the Pioneering Merit Badge staff built a 20 ft+ tower with bailing twine when the Area Director was away. Happily, no one was badly hurt when it collapsed with four of the staff on its highest level. When planning a tower, we ask: How old are the ropes? How much grit in them? How exposed to UV? How long have tight knots been left tied in them. What load was on those ropes and knots? How heavy are the Wooden members? For what working load were the ropes rated when new? Are safety ropes nylon rather than less stretchy materials (like polyester that stops a falling person like a steel rod). How much will the planned knots and lashing weaken the ropes? I have met a couple of Scouters I would trust with my kid on a high tower (one ran the pioneering area at CJ'17.), but the Scouts could have had lots of fun on the 40 ft long, 5 ft high monkey bridge that G2SS expressly authorized under the withdrawn rule and that you might have suggested as a resource person. You could now build it 100 feet with a fortune in rope and lots of spars. Ever make THAT CALL to a Scout parent? I have not. Don't want to. But I got to tell a wife her husband would not be coming home from work. Thankfully for me, she had to tell the kids. He landed on his head from sixteen feet up because he didn't wear his safety belt and it unexpectedly became necessary. A passing mom with a stroller was in the splatter zone. It gives me a different perspective on silly ol' safety rules. Things rarely fail according to plan. Given choices like backpacking in the Whites or canoeing in Canada or on Isle Royale, I have a hard time feeling limited. My job, in part, is to offer choices, not to moan about the choices we don't have - much less about restrictions that are imagined.

Thank you. I fear we play "tag," if not with lasers, and have squirt gun fights - including with the staff at Summer camp this year. (They cheated by breaking out a garden hose. Dastardly!) Rules that have no support among the people will fail of their intended purpose and tend to create disrespect for rules in general.

"Each year our Scouts bring a list of activities to the PLC and annual planning, because those items are what they youth WANT in their program. Each year there are some request we must alter considerably or out right reject due to the Guide to Safe Scouting. And I am not talking crazy request, these are activities they already do with their families, church groups and other organizations. It is disheartening to Scouts and Scouters alike." To help my aged mind understand, might you give examples of proposed activities barred by the G2SS?

Good grief! Steve Miller!!

I guess that depends on what you mean by "needed."

"There is more to merit badges than simply providing opportunities to learn skills. There is more to them than an introduction to lifetime hobbies, or the inspiration to pursue a career—though these invaluable results occur regularly. It all begins with a Scout’s initial interest and effort in a merit badge subject, followed by a discussion with the unit leader or designated assistant, continues through meetings with a counselor, and culminates in advancement and recognition. It is an uncomplicated process that gives a Scout the confidence achieved through overcoming obstacles. Social skills improve. Self-reliance develops. Examples are set and followed. And fields of study and interest are explored beyond the limits of the school classroom. . . . Because of the importance of individual attention and personal learning in the merit badge program, group instruction should be focused on those scenarios where the benefits are compelling. [i have never - never - seen a compelling reason.] . . . There must be attention to each individual’s projects and his fulfillment of all requirements. We must know that every Scout—actually and personally—completed them. If, for example, a requirement uses words like “show,†“demonstrate,†or “discuss,†then every Scout must do that." Boy Scouts of America, Guide to Advancement (2017) . . .

A school of democracy, frustrated by authoritarians.

I have backpacked with tents like their Zephyr. Not ultra-light, but, then, he is aiming at practical for Scout units. Most Scout camping is car camping, just not the best camping IMO.

Gotta keep an eye on National. September Advancement News "Executive Board approves Limited Exceptions for Certain Swimming Requirements Swimming has been an important part of the BSA program for more than 100 years. For many years, it was necessary for a Scout to complete certain swimming-related requirements or merit badges to advance in rank. Today, advancement to both Second Class and First Class ranks requires completion of several swimming related requirements without allowing for exceptions. Unfortunately, in a few limited cases those requirements have become barriers to advancement rather than the challenges they were meant to be. Of all the individual requirements from Scout to First Class, only the swimming requirements have a resource requirement that can become a barrier to advancement and retention. To complete the swimming requirements a Scout needs access to a swimming pool or a safe outside body of water, which in some locations may not exist or be available within a reasonable travel distance. Geography often makes it difficult for Scouts to get to a place for safe swimming instruction or to be tested for rank requirements. Consequently, those youths have been hindered from advancing and may drop out of the program. Early last year a volunteer task force was established to review the current requirements and make a recommendation to improve advancement opportunities for Scouts in remote locations. After a thorough review and approval by the volunteer program and membership committees, the BSA Executive Board has voted to allow council Scout executives and advancement committees to grant alternative requirements where appropriate. Effective August 1, 2017 the following was added to Second Class requirements 5b and 5c and First Class requirements 6a and 6e: 'Under certain exceptional conditions, where the climate keeps the outdoor water temperature below safe levels the year-round, or where there are no suitably safe and accessible places (outdoors or indoors) within a reasonable traveling distance to swim at any time during the year, the council Scout executive and advancement committee may, on an individual Scout basis, authorize an alternative requirement. The local council may establish appropriate procedures for submitting and processing these types of requests. All the other requirements, none of which necessitate entry in the water or entry in a watercraft on the water, must be completed as written.' This exception for alternative requirements is intended to only be used in those limited locations where indoor swimming facilities or safe outside venues are not available or within a reasonable travel distance. This exception must not be used as a convenience to avoid the swimming requirements. Nor does it apply to circumstances where a Scout is having difficulty learning to swim or meeting the swimming requirements when facilities are available. 1. Who has authority to grant the alternative requirements? The council Scout executive and advancement committee is responsible for granting the alternative requirements. They must not delegate this authority to any other group or individual. 2. What alternative requirements are acceptable? That decision is made by the council Scout executive and advancement committee. Local councils are best equipped to make this determination based on any unique characteristics they may face. However, any alternative should provide a similar challenge and learning experience. 3. What is a reasonable travel distance? That is up to the local council to decide. Some geographically large or predominately rural councils face unique travel situations which larger urban or suburban councils do not. For example, councils in Alaska may have several locations where the exception is applicable but metropolitan councils may never have a situation come up where this exception applies. 4. Can the council grant alternatives for all or just some of the requirements? The council may only grant alternatives for the requirements that actually require the Scout to be in or on the water. Those include Second Class requirement 5b and 5c and First Class requirements 6a and 6e. Even if alternatives are approved for these requirements, the Scout still must complete all the other out-of-water requirements as written. 5. Must the Scout complete the out-of-water requirements first? No, although it does make sense to complete Second Class requirement 5a and First Class requirement 6b before doing the other requirements."

An Eagle who did not pass a swimming test would be an Eagle who, somehow, got there without earning First Class Rank. Oh, BSA is now selling seven different models of sheath knives.

"The Sam Browne belt is a wide belt, usually leather, supported by a narrower strap passing diagonally over the right shoulder.[1] It is most often a part of a military or police uniform.[2" The shoulder strap helps support the sword. Designed by Sam Browne, VC. It might be easier to get Scouts and Scouters "in uniform" is we had a uniform, instead of a clothing line.

"The scouts in my pack . . . ."

Yes. It did. I posted it here because it does a good job with a specific requirement (3c), and the candidates may also get a laugh.

From TheAkwardYeti.com Heart and Brain