clemlaw

Come to think of it, I'm too cheap to buy new tabs, so I'll just keep the current ones. 🙂

Our council has (or had, anyway) an event called Wali-Ga-Zu, which is a competition between patrols in different troops in various scout skills, such as lashing something together, first aid (adults from another troop serve as victim), knot tying, etc. There are a number of "academic" parts, such as identifying map symbols. Each year, one different subject is added, and troops are given that information beforehand to identify on flashcards. One year it will be constellations, one year it will be leaf identification, etc. I believe there are about eight events that they rotate through, and they are scored by adults from other troops. It's a little bit like Klondike Derby, but it's an indoor event on a weeknight. For many troops, I'm guessing it takes the place of their regular troop meeting that week. Surprisingly, I can find very little about it on Google. There were documents about it online on the district website, but since districts have been shuffled around, those resources don't seem to exist. I did find these photos on some troop's Facebook page which give an idea: https://www.facebook.com/ScoutsBSATroop9031/photos/?tab=album&album_id=784427974985223 I have no idea why it's called what it is, or what that name means. But it's been a longstanding tradition in one district, and seems popular.

I agree with you 100%. When I was a Scout, probably about half my merit badges were done through someone in the troop or at camp, which makes sense for ones like camping, cooking, etc. But the other half were with a counselor who had no apparent connection to scouting, and making a phone call to an adult to set up an appointment was an important skill. And there probably wasn't anyone in the troop qualified to counsel Atomic Energy, Coin Collecting, or a few of the other arcane ones I earned. I'm a counselor for Law merit badge, and if a scout wanted to earn that one (and I've been waiting next to the phone for years), when he met with me, I'd be dressed like a lawyer and not a scouter. But I'm also a counselor for Signs Signals & Codes and Radio Merit Badges, and those are often done as a scheduled session with a local scouting museum. Even though I'm not a fan of "classes," and I try to avoid that word, both of them can be meaningfully completed in one day in a group setting. And when I'm leading such a group, the uniform seems appropriate.

Until about 7 days ago, I was registered as ASM of my son's troop. But he'll be aging out this year, I haven't been very active for the last year, and it didn't make a lot of sense to renew. So as of September 1, I no longer have any troop position. My registration as merit badge counselor, however, remains, and there are a few occasions when wearing a uniform would be appropriate. So if there are any members of the merit badge police, here's my plan: I'll remove the troop number and ASM patch. Since MBC is a district position, I'll replace the shoulder loops with silver. Any other suggestions?

Bump! I've been counseling Citizenship in the Nation by telephone conference call, and I'll be signing off the first batch of blue cards next week. If anyone has scouts who need this badge, I'd be happy to add them to my next session. Or if you want to do it locally, my website will give some inspiration: http://richardclem.com/citizenshipnationonline.html The next session starts on May 19.

In my area, there are hundreds of places that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, so almost 100% of Scouts will have been to one recently. Some are pretty mundane, such as bridges, park buildings, libraries, etc. Normally, I would ask a Scout to just go see a new one for purposes of the merit badge, but under these circumstances, they could pick one out that they've been to recently and find out more information. So that takes care of requirement 2(a). Requirement 2(d) (national monuments) specifically does not require a personal visit, so that can be done online, even in normal circumstances. At my website, I have online resources for Citizenship in the Nation, so feel free to use that if you think it's helpful. Some of my links are only relevant locally, but most will be helpful anywhere. (I noticed I haven't updated it for a while, so I need to change our members of Congress.) http://w0is.com/scouting/CitizNation.html

I posted above about making masks for hospitals. For those of us (like me) who don't know how to use a sewing machine, I noticed that one local group was asking for volunteers to help by doing the prep work, such as cutting the fabric. Also, if you have any elastic or fabric left over from your Cub Scout craft projects, they can probably use it. My wife's Girl Scout group is in kind of a holding pattern as they wait to get the elastic that someone ordered. So if any Scouts are looking for a service opportunity, I would encourage them to check the websites of local hospitals and see if they are soliciting masks. Even if they can't sew, they could reach out (on Facebook, NextDoor, etc.) to see if those groups need any help.

I don't like the idea of "classes" or "teaching" merit badges, but I think I could meaningfully counsel all of the requirements for Citizenship in the Nation or Scouting Heritage. Citizenship in the Nation requires at least one in-person visit to a historic place. But the list of possible sites is so broad that, chances are, the scout has visited on recently. Under normal circumstances, I would ask them to go to a new one, but I think it would be OK. Also, many of those are outdoor spots, so if their family is OK with it, they could do that requirement. Or maybe that's the one requirement that would have to wait. Scouting Heritage requires scouts to play a game with a group of scouts. But a creative scout should be able to figure out some game that could be adapted to play online. The other requirements, such as interviewing old scouts, can be done by phone or online. I posted this idea on a district facebook page, and there didn't seem to be any interest. It would take some work on my part to set up online sessions, and I would need some help. (At the very least, I would need another adult to attend any webinar for two-deep purposes).

Some of our local hospitals are asking for people to make surgical masks. They're providing detailed instructions. I don't qualify, because I would probably hurt myself if I tried to use a sewing machine. But if any of your scouts can sew, this would be a real way to help. My wife's girl scout group will probably start on this (in their own homes, of course) very soon.

You have me beat by 2. 🙂 I've asked other counselors whether their phone has ever rung from a scout outside their unit, and the answer is almost always no. The exception was someone who counseled a required badge that generated a lot of partials at summer camp. He said he got calls occasionally for that one.

Hmmm. That sounds like a good way to get a free tower. 🙂 We did JOTA at the North Star Scouting Museum in Minnesota, http://www.nssm.org as K0BSA. The management of the museum has recently undergone some changes, and I think that's why the program didn't get very well publicized this year, so the turnout was very low. On a positive note, though, we have a permanent antenna at the museum now, which should streamline future JOTA's and other events. In previous years, I've counseled Radio merit badge. This year, for a change of pace, I decided to do Signs, Signals, and Codes, instead. Six scouts completed it, including two girls, the first girls I've signed a blue card for. They all did very well on both Morse Code and Semaphore. 73, W0IS

I forget which requirement it was for, but when I was a Tiger Cub leader, I had a Cub Scout from 1941 visit the meeting. He wasn't from the same pack, but it was still a big hit with the kids. And later, when chatting with someone at Roundtable, I learned that he had been a member of the pack, and I'm sure he would have been happy to come back and tell about what it was like back in the day. For a Boy Scout troop, I would encourage one or more of the scouts to work on Scouting Heritage Merit Badge. One of the requirements is to prepare a history of the unit, and this would be a good time to do it.

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned three important points: 1. If any scouts are working on Wilderness Survival MB, they should head over to the health tent and pick up some of the free emergency water storage containers. 2. In accordance with the G2SS, I hope someone reminds the scouts that they should not attempt to use these as water balloons and throw them at other people. 3. In accordance with Leave No Trace principles, if any scouts violate #2, they should be reminded to thoroughly clean up all residue after the water balloon fight.

My uniforms from 1973 (when I bought new ones for the Jamboree) until 1978 (when I got one that fit for the ECOH) also said "Scout BSA." It's the one thing about the "improved" scouting program that I actually think they got right. I always recall a remark I overheard my Scoutmaster make. My dad was talking to him, and he mentioned something about "that little boy," referring to one of the new scouts. My scoutmaster corrected him, saying, "they're not boys--they're scouts." IMHO, the whole point of what we're doing is turning out adults. They might start out as boys, but if we're doing it right, they'll quickly turn into something else, something which I prefer to call simply a "scout." I don't correct others, as my scoutmaster did, but I think he was right. That kid my dad was referring to wasn't a "little boy." He was a scout, and that's the word I use to describe youth members. Similarly, I don't expect to have any girls in our ranks. We'll still have scouts, some of whom are young women, and some of whom are young men. The "improved" scouting program of the 1970's tried to screw up a lot of things. But this is one that I think they had right, and I'm happy to see the name return. I have more thoughts on this at my blog: http://onetuberadio.com/2018/05/03/girls-in-the-bsa/

Our local GSUSA council just sent out a broadcast e-mail, which is also on their website: https://www.girlscoutsrv.org/en/about-girl-scouts/news/2018/girls_center.html Among the allegations: I suspect that #1, if it happened, was the result of the school employee misunderstanding some correct information that was provided. Rumor #3 doesn't make any sense, since there's no mechanism for a local council of the GSUSA to "merge" with the BSA. And I suspect that #2 is absolutely true. Some BSA volunteer asked some GSUSA volunteer to help create a good youth program. Last year, I (a BSA volunteer) was asked to help a GSUSA volunteer create programming. Not only was I asked, but I was happy to do so, and I did. If I do say so myself, it was very good programming, and I think the girls enjoyed it. The GSUSA did absolutely nothing wrong in asking me to do this. And the BSA did absolutely nothing wrong if some volunteer made a similar friendly request.