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Life Skills merit badge


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My Scout son was just taking the BSA survey regarding potential new merit badges. One that caught my eye was "Life Skills". It would include sewing, cooking, & I didn't see the rest of it.

 

It struck me as kinda different as the parts of the merit badge (potential) are already covered in other merit badges. Seemed like really a "fluff" mb.

 

What's your opinion?

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Yes cooking and dishes are covered elsewhere. Sewing is not. laundry and ironing is not. Basic automobile skills, MB in intense. Very basic home skills like running toilet, stopped toilet, finding circuit breaker.
1. Show that you know first aid for injuries or illnesses that could occur while asking a girl out including dry mouth, stuttering, cold sweats, heart attack, stroke, stopped breathing and incontenance.

 

2. Do the following:

(a) Identify the conditions that must exist before asking a girl out. Explain how such conditions are recognized.

(b) Demonstrate the proper technique for kissing using a training device approved by your counselor.

 

3. Do two of the following

A). Ask a girl out using semaphore

B). Ask a girl out using the line "I know how to light your fire..."

C). Using your stave club her over the head and drag her back to your tarp tent.

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Yes cooking and dishes are covered elsewhere. Sewing is not. laundry and ironing is not. Basic automobile skills, MB in intense. Very basic home skills like running toilet, stopped toilet, finding circuit breaker.
If it is Eagle required:

 

4. Do the following:

A) Take a girl out for a meal you cook yourself. Demonstrate good table manners.

B) Meet her parents.

C) Take her out dancing. Be seen physically dancing with her.

 

For years a mom and I had a running joke with a new scout that the "Dancing MB" was Eagle required. We told him it had ballerina slippers on it and the mom was the MBC. The final requirement was an interpretive dance--jazz, tap, or freestyle--at the Court of Honor.

 

After a few weeks of our cruelty the boy came up to us, sighed, and said "Well...if it is Eagle required I will do it."

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I was getting so frustrated about the boys never putting their POR patches on. Then it occurred to me--your term doesn't start until we see you with your patch sewn on!
* "No council, committee, district, unit, or individual has the authority to add to, or subtract from, advancement requirements."

 

:)

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I was getting so frustrated about the boys never putting their POR patches on. Then it occurred to me--your term doesn't start until we see you with your patch sewn on!
"serve actively 6 months in one or more of the positions of responsibility..."

 

I think the troop gets to determine when that service begins and what constitutes serving.

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Maybe a tie into the new marketing slogan "Prepared. For Life," which was introduced as "Life" being the opposite of the Scoutcraft defined by our Congressional Charter.
I like the slogan "Prepared. For Life." I believe that the scoutcraft we do teach is preparing scouts for life. I know that the scoutcraft I learned as a Scout back in the late 1970s helped to prepare me for life.

 

I don't think this is a bad badge, but I would like it if it replaced Family Life and Personal Management. That way the number of Eagle required remains the same (after the addition of cooking), and we get rid of a non-outdoors MB. I'd also like to see the Citizenship MBs reduced to one, and add two either/or badges--either Canoeing, Backpacking, or Kayaking and either Pioneering or Orienteering. My sons are currently Star and Life, and have gotten all of the "fun" Eagle required badges. The Star Scout has a bunch (all the Citizenships, Communication, Fam life, and personal management, for example). The Life has three (communication, Fam Life and Personal management).

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I'm thinking every boy should be able to sew a button on, patch torn uniform pants, hem them up, sew on a patch and sew a torn tent/pack.

 

Besides sewing, basic kitchen skills, laundry skills, plumbing and electrical are all useful skills. But so are scout craft skills. Anyone that can cook on an open fire or camp stove, can cook at a kitchen stove. Menus in camp can be the same at home. Of course it's a lot easier to do it at home, and that seems to be the elephant in the room. Making a bed in the woods is not the same as making a bed at home. Yep, Parlour Scout is a fitting definition. Of course there's not much adventure in kitchen cooking no matter how much Julia Childs says differently.

 

Stosh

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