InquisitiveScouter

Although nothing has been announced, I believe they are going to axe this one. There are so few Scouts who earn it, so National may be taking the stance that the demand has not justified the expensive of production and marketing. Dad brag: My Eagle Scout son completed this late last December (completing Wilderness First Aid training was his last hurdle). Most people have no idea how challenging this award is... When we went to order the medal, we hit the same wall... our local Scout Shop folks said there were none available from National Supply, and it appears to be discontinued. So, I had to call up the most knowledgeable supply person I knew (she works in another council we used to be in). She had the ability to query other inventories of shops, found one in stock in a distant council, and had it shipped to us. (I wish Scouting had more people like her.) Yeah, the medal and ribbon are a bit flimsy. But, IMHO, there should be a knot for this one...

Probably nothing that would have helped... good on you for wanting to dive in and potentially set things right. Many times, "discretion is the better part of valor."

The patch and the medal are two different awards. The patch is the National Outdoor Achievement Award (NOAA), and it has six separate areas of requirements for which you may earn a segment: Camping, Aquatics, Hiking, Riding, Adventure, and Conservation. The National Medal for Outdoor Achievement (NMOA) is much more difficult, and includes several NOAA (with devices) as requirements.

It's PA law here. All volunteers must have that, a PA State Police check, and a PA Child Services check. All three documents must be on file at the council office (and with your CO), and be renewed every 5 years.

Just keeping feed in the trough...

FBI fingerprint background check, $23.25 for volunteers. https://www.dhs.pa.gov/KeepKidsSafe/Clearances/Pages/FBI-Fingerprinting.aspx Now, this is a result of the state of PA contracting with the company to do state employee fingerprinting at $25.25 a head. Volunteers (who pay for their own) get a $2 discount.

Just another rotation in the death spiral towards Chapter 7?

Sounds like what we do with Unit Scouter Reserve already, but now the fee could be less... Expect units to latch on to this one for money savings until National & Councils find a way to close that loophole, as MBCs are district/council positions, and do not require approval by the COR. P.S. Look for the "Adults registered solely as Merit Badge Counselors may not accompany units on overnight events." prohibition in the near future...

OK, so, does this mean membership fees will be un-coupled from the unit re-charter process? I'm thinking through that one, and do not really see a down side, yet... But wondering about the implementation of it.

Wonder what the impact will be to our local MBC rolls? I expect minimal, as most MBCs I know are already registered as leaders. But I am sure those folks who are not involved with Scouting in other roles will not pay for being a MBC.

I ran into the former Scout one time not knowing who he was. I was surprised he was awarded an Eagle, until I was informed of the situation. There... fixed that for you 😜

Our Troop assists our local American Legion in placing flags for Memorial Day in those cemeteries in their district. It's a great history lesson for our Scouts as well, as we have some markers here from the French and Indian War!! In fact, just the day before yesterday was the anniversary of the first battle of that conflict, out near @qwazse's way (or what we here call western Pennsyltucky) Battle of Jumonville Glen (a skirmish, really)... where 40 Provincial Troops (accompanied by 12 Mingo natives, including two boys) ambushed 35 Canadiens (French Canadians). The provincials were from Virginia, and under the command of a 22-year old Lieutenant Colonel named... George Washington, and it was his first time in combat. We also talk a little about each conflict we see markers for ... the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War (with Grand Army of the Republic and Confederate States of America markers), the Indian Wars, the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan were all in cemeteries we placed flags in this year.

I'd bet YOU are the evil one 😈

This is great wisdom.

Key 3 and Training Manager (functional position designated by Key 3) can also see exactly what courses everyone needs in your unit. Post if you want a tutorial...

Agreed, but not all state police or state child welfare records are shared in national databases. https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/xreporting.pdf

Your council should have a DVD or thumb drive with YPT on it, as there are many who do not have a computer at home to use for the training. You can borrow this from them to do your training in-house. If your Key 3 grants you Training Manager functional rights in my.scouting.org, you can enter the training courses for your unit without having to file paperwork with the registrar!!! The only restriction is that you cannot enter training for yourself. Other avenues you can pursue to be a trainer that will be helpful for your unit: - You can do in-person Merit Badge Counselor Training - If you have a STEM background, you could do NOVA and SuperNOVA Training - Get certified as a First Aid/CPR/AED Instructor and teach classes to your unit - Get certified as a Swimming and Water Rescue Instructor and teach Safe Swim Defense, Safety Afloat, and Swim and Water Rescue https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/Outdoor Program/Aquatics/pdf/430-505.pdf - Take the Leave No Trace Master Educator Course and teach all kinds of LNT curricula - Take the TREAD Lightly Master Educator Course and teach those skills also etc, etc, etc These are also offered sometimes at Summer Camp or Resident Cub Camp. YMMV.

Talk with your Council Training Committee Chair, or your Staff Advisor for Training (a paid professional with that additional duty) It depends on your background. I'll elaborate if you wish. Plus, IOLS is a fairly trainer-intensive program. It takes several instructors and a course director with support managing things to get through the syllabus well. Train-the-Trainer (Fundamentals) D70 Trainer's EDGE H96 ...are two courses your council may wish you to take to designate you as a Trainer.

It's a play on corporate sponsorship. The Bad News Bears were a misfit baseball team that had no uniforms. Probably like a few Troops you might know... the coach took any sponsor he could get to pay for uniforms. It's a joke on the thread 😜

No, you are not the only one.

I have been to camps where the policy is that Scouts must be within sight of adults at all times. How ludicrous! And ignored... It is a balance depending on activity, age, and skill level. And you will never get it 100% right. Will you take risks, or will you eliminate all risk? If you take appropriate risks, Scouts will experience responsibility and personal growth. If you eliminate all risk, you will have a Cub Scout-level program. I have taken too much risk in some instances (with near misses), and not enough in others (with too much "parenting"). Sometimes, I nearly hit the mark. When we do, Scouts get it, and really appreciate it. (They appreciate the greater risk situations, too, but only when there are no negative consequences 😜 )

There is a difference... when you completed your Masters, you did so through an accredited program. When you learned your statistics, and did your ANOVA (Analysis of Variance, for inquiring minds...), did EDGE... your professor explained and demonstrated (hopefully), then guided you through a problem set. Finally, you were enabled (or evaluated, which I think would be a better use of the letter 😜 ) through a test, and on a final exam. You showed a level of proficiency, at the time. I still have to open my Scout Handbook to review and refresh skills. If you needed to do an ANOVA, you'd be able to brush up pretty quick, I'm sure. What I am getting at is that many Scouts never even learn the skills! Here's an example with orienteering... The First Class requirements say "Using a map and compass, complete an orienteering course that covers at least one mile and requires measuring the height and/or width of designated items (tree, tower, canyon, ditch, etc.)." Most camps and units I have observed doing this give the Scouts a map with all the points already on it, with courses, and distances, driving you to take a selected route. When you do that, it is not orienteering... that is using a map and compass, but it is not orienteering. For our orienteering, there is a master map. Each Scout gets a basic map. He has to copy the points from the master map onto his, and figure out what route to take to visit all the points (if that is the objective, which it usually is.) When he visits each control point, we have a code on an orienteering marker which he must copy down and bring back to show he visited the point. During the course, at one control point, there will be a height/width problem. Younger Scouts have to do a simple height problem (stick or felling method) My favorite for the older Scouts is to do the distance across a stream or road (without being able to cross). That is probably the most difficult measurement to solve from the Handbook. (The Handbook shows equivalent isosceles right triangles. Once they master that, and if they have the math skills, I teach them similar triangles as shown, because it is quicker, requires less space, and can be done without a compass. ) I have seen no other unit or Scout Camp that teaches to that standard. (Even Orienteering MB is usually watered down.) Yet, if you read the Scout Handbook, and see what they are getting at, this is how it should be. I taught all those skills at IOLS, and most unit leaders loved it, because they had never been to that level of exposure or knowledge before. If your unit does this, kudos! P.S. For a real challenge, I sprinkle fake markers throughout the course, too, to make sure they are actually map reading and using paces for distance, rather than just hunting for markers...

This, and even then, we are giving the advancement away. Many Scouts are not earning, they are just attending and getting a badge. I see this in several units, and definitely at Summer Camp. Whenever our Scouts are challenged in a badge program at camp, and actually complete the requirements as stated, I go out of my way to thank that instructor/counselor (not the same thing... a 16 year old is NOT a merit badge counselor) for their program. I wish there was a better way for "quality control" or standardization/evaluation of these things...

Yes, Chapter 7 (liquidation) is still a real possibility, IMO.