What is the most dated scouting skill requirement?

[John-in-KC]

IM_Kathy... once upon a time (1968-74 or so) Swimming was THE Eagle Required physical activity merit badge. Others will have to tell you the history of how Hiking and Bicycling got into the matrix.

[vol_scouter]

Knots are one of the most important elements in the early parts of scouting. All boys see knots as easy until they attempt to tie one only to fail! FAIL at something. Our society tries avoid failing for children even though it is an essential part of life. They fail but with some effort can rather quickly learn. That is valuable in that the youth fails then learns to succeed. If the troop is doing its job, the youth will be retested in a week or two and will likely tie some knots but fail at others. This teaches the importance of practice. These things are all valuable especially in these PC times.

[asm 411]

When I was awarded my Eagle an older gentleman, an Eagle himself, told me that Eagle Scouts are the biggest failures. The reason is to achieve something so demanding a Scout has to fail many times and learns from each of the failures to ultimately achieve success. He said it is not the successes that build us up but recovering from the failures. I have never forgot that.

 

Eagle Scout - 1980

[Frank17]

Just to stir the pot a little more, I found this on the web: TF-FC Requirements in 1911. Interesting compared to today. Looks like swimming, knots, and first aid have been with us since the beginning.

 

Tenderfoot

To become a scout a boy must be at least twelve years of age and must pass a test in the following:

1. Know the scout law, sign, salute, and significance of the badge.

2. Know the composition and history of the national flag and the customary forms of respect due to it.

3. Tie four out of the following knots: square or reef, sheet-bend, bowline, fisherman's, sheepshank, halter, clove hitch, timber hitch, or two half hitches.

He then takes the scout oath, is enrolled as a tenderfoot, and is entitled to wear the tenderfoot badge.

 

 

Second-Class Scout

To become a second-class scout, a tenderfoot must pass, to the satisfaction of the recognized local scout authorities, the following tests:

1. At least one month's service as a tenderfoot.

2. Elementary first aid and bandaging; know the general directions for first aid for injuries; know treatment for fainting, shock, fractures, bruises, sprains, injuries in which the skin is broken, burns, and scalds; demonstrate how to carry injured, and the use of the triangular and roller bandages and tourniquet.

3. Elementary signaling: Know the semaphore, or American Morse, or Myer alphabet.

4. Track half a mile in twenty-five minutes; or, if in town, describe satisfactorily the contents of one store window out of four observed for one minute each.

5. Go a mile in twelve minutes at scout's pace about fifty steps running and fifty walking, alternately.

6. Use properly knife or hatchet.

7. Prove ability to build a fire in the open, using not more than two matches.

8. Cook a quarter of a pound of meat and two potatoes in the open without the ordinary kitchen cooking utensils.

9. Earn and deposit at least one dollar in a public bank.

10. Know the sixteen principal points of the compass.

 

First-Class Scout

To become a first-class scout, the second-class scout must pass the following tests:

1. Swim fifty yards.

2. Earn and deposit at least two dollars in a public bank.

3. Send and receive a message by semaphore, or American Morse, or Myer alphabet, sixteen letters per minute.

4. Make a round trip alone (or with another scout) to a point at least seven miles away, going on foot or rowing boat, and write a satisfactory account of the trip and things observed.

5. Advanced first aid: Know the methods for panic prevention; what to do in case of fire and ice, electric and gas accidents; how to help in case of runaway horse, mad dog, or snake bite; treatment for dislocations, unconsciousness, poisoning, fainting, apoplexy, sunstroke, heat exhaustion, and freezing; know treatment for sunburn, ivy poisoning, bites and stings, nosebleed, earache, toothache, inflammation or grit in eye, cramp or stomach ache and chills; demonstrate artificial respiration.

6. Prepare and cook satisfactorily, in the open, without regular kitchen utensils, two of the following articles as may be directed. Eggs, bacon, hunter's stew, fish, fowl, game, pancakes, hoe-cake, biscuit, hardtack or a "twist," baked on a stick; explain to another boy the methods followed.

7. Read a map correctly, and draw, from field notes made on the spot, an intelligible rough sketch map, indicating by their proper marks important buildings, roads, trolley lines, main landmarks, principal elevations, etc. Point out a compass direction without the help of the compass.

8. Use properly an axe for felling or trimming light timber; or produce an article of carpentry or cabinet-making or metal work made by himself. Explain the method followed.

9. Judge distance, size, number, height and weight within 25 per cent.

10. Describe fully from observation ten species of trees or plants, including poison ivy, by their bark, leaves, flowers, fruit, or scent; or six species of wild birds by their plumage, notes, tracks, or habits; or six species of native wild animals by their form, color, call, tracks, or habits; find the North Star, and name and describe at least three constellations of stars.

11. Furnish satisfactory evidence that he has put into practice in his daily life the principles of the scout oath and law.

12. Enlist a boy trained by himself in the requirements of a tenderfoot.

 

[TwoXForr]

Wow, what an accomplishment to make 1st Class.

 

I particulary liked the

 

"2. Earn and deposit at least two dollars in a public bank."

[raisinemright]

That could actually be a difficult task for some boys. $2.00 in 1911 is worth about $50.00 today. However, wages were far lower. In 1914, Ford introduced $5.00 a day wages which was double to previous rate of $2.40 a day.

 

So in essence, for a first class Scout to earn $2.00, it was the same as earning a full day's pay for a grown man. For someone earning $50,000 a year now, it would be the equivalent of $200.

 

That is quite an accomplishment for a young lad of 13.

[sheldonsmom]

I asked this of my highly-opinionated, teen-age Eagle Scout. Please understand that he was a Tenderfoot for two years because he could not pass the swimming requirements. His answer to the question was NO skill is dated or lacking in relevance because they are skills that may be needed in the real world later. Even the swimming skills he so struggled with are necessary. I think he is prouder of the effort to pass those requirements than almost any other. He taught himself to swim and overcame a life-long phobia of water to make rank.

On the flip side, he feels there should be a merit badge (Eagle required) for etiquette since "every boy will have to meet his girl's parents in a restaurant!" I think he may be on to something.

 

[Frank17]

sheldonsmom: When I moved up here to the Yankee north, I was concerned that formal etiquette training was dead. Fortunately, we fould a local cotillion that we sent both our kids to for training in 6/7th grades. My daughter hated it, my son loved it! Equally funny were older boys who were taking the class (they did not want it when they were younger) when they realized they wanted to act appropriately so as to impress the girls in high school.

[SctDad]

I have to say that I think that there are no out-dated skills.

 

Just unseasoned leaders, who need to see the true meaning of scouts

(even if that means heating them up to 500 degrees and rubbing cooking oilon them)

[vol_scouter]

I agree - there are no outdated skills. I would bring back Morse code and make swimming a required MB. Tracking would be good to bring back as well.

[SctDad]

vol_scouter

 

Tracking. Now that would be something that would not only be useful, but you can make it a great game.

 

Yes tracking can be helpful and useful to some people. Some of the scouts may go onto a career in Rescue services. Land Tracking/Search and Rescue is an important skill.

 

I have been thinking about playing some tracking games with my Cubs.

[Eagle1982]

Quote, "Mountains usually look the same, and magnetic north doesn't shift".

 

Actually, magnetic north does shift. Declination in my area has "officially" changed by more than a degree since I was a kid. The history of the Earth shows that the poles have actually flipped more than once.

 

For fun with your scouts, go to the web page below. You can put in your zip code and a date and it will tell you the map declination.

 

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomagmodels/struts/calcDeclination

 

 

 

[SSScout]

Magnetic North has changed (declination) almost 5 degrees in my area since 1965, from 7deg to almost 12deg east.

 

 

[Bob White]

If by dated you mean a skill that has been in the handbook for a long time and is coming to the end of its usefulness I would offer the hand ax.

 

The use of ground wood is widely prohibited, large parts of the country do not even allow wood fires. Fueled stoves are in abundant use. In most cases a small saw is of greater use than an ax. And axes are rarely carried by backpackers due to their weight. I would not be surprised to see axes removed from the handbook before too long. Like semaphore it is a skill that has become interested but has few applications.

[asm 411]

Before I start I want to make clear that I am talking about BSA camps with fire rings.

 

In our area for a while camps discouraged using ground wood for fires. It is best to leave it to nature they said. Now the camps are saying that the ground wood is more of a problem if there should be a forest fire because it helps fuel the fire. So we are now encourage to use the ground wood and not bring our own. Moving firewood in Ohio right now is a big no-no anyway because of the Emerald Ash bore anyway. So from my point of view the use of woods tools in our Troop is on the rise not the decline.