Scoutmaster Musings

Day 63: The Robotics merit badge gets officially launched on Tuesday. I picked up the merit badge pamphlet at the scout shop today and it's pretty cool. You can see the requirements and worksheet on the Robotics merit badge page.

My weekend was spent presenting CPR and Wilderness First Aid to a dozen scouts and scouters from eight different troops and one crew. Now those units have fulfilled their high adventure training requirement, and we had good weather so most scenarios were done outside.

Tonight was the new SPL and his team's first PLC meeting and troop meeting. He did a great job. The ASPL, Troop Guide, and a PL are all Juniors in high school and I was very impressed how they supported the new SPL, just an 8th grader. Their experience and encouragement will be a big help. I thanked them publicly and privately for their leadership, even as followers.
My scoutmaster minute was Afraid and Brave.

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Day 59: Chatted with another hopeful Life scout about his Eagle project idea this evening. We talk about an idea before the scout puts hours into the project workbook only to find out it's not appropriate.
We discussed the main topics of:

• Who benefits from the project?
• What are the main parts of the project?
• When do you plan to execute the project?
• How will leadership be demonstrated?
• Why do you want to do THIS project?

After talking about those things, the scout usually has a good idea whether or not this project idea makes sense for him. Sometimes he discovers that his timeline is way too agressive or the project is too big to be realistic or it requires too much talent and skill rather than labor.
The key thing I try to promote is that he have a passion for the project or the organization. Otherwise, it will be torturous to complete. Installing benches at a dog park if you hate dogs doesn't make sense but does if you have an elderly neighbor that walks her dog there every day. Improving the backstage area of a middle school theater makes sense if you were in Theater Club, but not if you never went to a play. I believe a meaningful project is much more important than a 'big' project. As long as the scout can successfully lead others through the project's steps, it's good.

Here's some Eagle Project Ideas if you're interested. I find it amazing the breadth of projects that get done every year.

I also attended the district roundtable tonight. There was a presentation about the new Tour Plan, not Permit. The best part of the evening was the OA Chapter Chief sharing info about CYCLE. If everyone was loud, crisp, and to the point like that youth, our announcements would take less than half the time. :-)

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Day 57: Not a good day for crews preparing for Philmont treks this summer.
We have two crews excited to cover miles in New Mexico and they were supposed to put in for their trek choices on the Philmont Scout Ranch site today. Unfortunately, something went wrong and the site greets hopeful trek leaders with:

We are experiencing network problems, please be patient with us as we work to resolve this issue. No crews have been able to enter their selections and confirm an itinerary. In order to be fair to all crews we are shutting the system down for today. A new date will be determined once the problem has been resolved. An email will be sent to all crews alerting them of the new itinerary selection date. This new date will also be posted on this webpage. Philmont apologizes for this inconvenience. We know how important this is to you and your crew. We thank you for your patience.

Well, here's hoping the bit jockeys get things straightened out and tested soon so crews can continue their planning.

I got the monthly Boy Scout Trail contest prizes sent out.

I had a chat with my mom about barometers which led me to learn more online about how air pressure changes with elevation. There's about 21% oxygen in air no matter the elevation, but the density of the air diminishes due to less air above it resulting in less oxygen entering the lungs with each breath. Some info at Hiking Dude

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Day 56: The SPL moved his PLC meeting to next week since it's spring break here, so not much Scouting for me today.
Sent email to local scouters soliciting instructors for upcoming IOLS and SMS training.
And, sent someone the solution to Clove Hitch on a Tree activity.

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Day 55: Completed the ARC Wilderness   Remote First Aid training for the Engineers Without Borders group this evening. That pretty much wraps up the weekend without much direct scouting going on.
Spring Break started on Friday so most scouts are out of town and not looking for scoutmaster conferences or whatnot.

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Day 53: I got to present CPR/AED training to MN members of Engineers Without Borders. The MN Chapter has done water and sanitation projects in Ghana, Uganda, and Haiti. They are active in Honduras and Guatemala.

Talk about doing a "Good Turn"! EWB is a great example of how anyone can use their skills to make a difference in the world.

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I'm sure you heard by now that the Robotics merit badge comes out this month.

But, in a more subdued release, I saw that the Hunting merit badge is available TODAY at our local Scout Shop. I really like the badge design and I think the scouts that have already done Shotgun and Rifle will love this new badge. I know it's taken a long time to get it accepted and there's still some controversy about it, but I think it's a good opportunity for scouts that hunt.

One of the scouts in our troop is really (I mean REALLY) into hunting and he has entered the national sasquatch license lottery for the past two years. I wasn't aware of that since I'm more of a fisherman, but you can read more at the American Sasquatch Society site.

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April 1, 2011

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Day 51: Scouts are like cockroaches. They say after we destroy the planet in a nuclear holocaust, the cockroaches will survive. They get into everything and survive anything. They come in all sizes, about 4,500 species of them. Sounds like Scouts to me!

From wikipedia.org:

• Cockroaches live in a wide range of environments around the world. Cockroaches adapt readily to a variety of environments, but prefer warm conditions found within buildings. Many species prefer even warmer environments and do not fare well in the average household.
• They have specially developed legs for locomotion on difficult terrain. They help each other find food and water sources.
• Research has shown that group-based decision-making is responsible for complex behavior.
• Cockroaches are among the hardiest insects on the planet. Some species are capable of remaining active for a month without food and are able to survive on limited resources like the glue from the back of postage stamps.

You can replace 'Cockroaches' with 'Scouts' and you have:

• Scouts live in a wide range of environments around the world. Scouts adapt readily to a variety of environments, but prefer warm conditions found within buildings. Many prefer even warmer environments and do not fare well in the average household.
• They have specially developed legs for locomotion on difficult terrain. They help each other find food and water sources.
• Research has shown that group-based decision-making is responsible for complex behavior.
• Scouts are among the hardiest beings on the planet. Some are capable of remaining active for a month without food and are able to survive on limited resources like the glue from the back of postage stamps.

OK, maybe not postage stamp glue, but some of the camp meals I've seen are pretty close.

Cockroach On

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Day 50:
I got to spend most of yesterday doing my own other stuff, mostly researching long-distance backpacking and considering a big trek next year.

So, I thought I'd share some Other Stuff with you that this troop does to make its program a little bit different.

• Coup Beads: patrols receive pony beads to string from their patrol flag for scouting accomplishments. Some patrols have 4 or 5 stringers of beads, bells, and feathers now.
  The ASPL hands out beads at troop meetings.
• Patrol Spirit: patrols accumulate points over a 3-month period to determine the top patrol in the troop. The points are mostly for participation, so any patrol can win. The short timeframe allows many different opportunities each year.
  The Scribe tracks the points.
• Scout Challenge: each year a new set of tasks is presented as a challenge to the scouts. Those that complete enough tasks earn the patch and a pin for each year. This helps expand scouting to their everyday lives and promotes specific activities or behaviors each year.
• Troop Muster: Each January, a troop meeting is set aside for reviewing the past year and looking forward to the new. Each scout signs his 'Patrol Charter' indicating he will participate in scouting this year. Parents pay feeds. Volunteer roles are filled. Pictures are taken.
• Scout-o-rama: Webelos are invited to spend a day doing scout skills with local troops around Halloween. This troop has put on a scout-o-rama for six years, just last year opening it up for participation from other troops. It's a fun way for 5th grade Webelos to see what's ahead for them.
• Order of the Golden Pen: higher ranked scouts are allowed to sign off T-2-1 requirements in this troop. To remind them of their responsibility and make it more fun, I spraypainted some Bic Pens metallic gold and made up the Order of the Golden Pen membership cards. There is a little training that goes with it and assistant scoutmasters can be members as well. Now, I have new Star scouts asking to get their golden pen just as soon as they have their Star patch. :-)
• Tech Chip: the technology revolution is over and if you are still 'banning' electronics in your troop, you've lost. We've embraced the digital age in this troop and use the Tech Chip program to educate scouts on expectations of proper use. We seldom have problems now, and when they do occur, the scouts take care of it rather than adults confiscating items.

Does your troop have fun, unique programs to liven things up? Give a shout.

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Day 49: Met with the outgoing SPL to review his term.
He led the court of honor tonight as his last meeting. For the Communications merit badge, he ran the entire ceremony and had his ASPL hand out badges. I just got to sit and watch. Not much left to teach him.
Sat down with the last new scout after the meeting and went through his Joining requirements.

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Day 48: Yesterday and today I presented CPR/AED training to two troops in preparation for their summer outings. Also had a Girl Scout leader in the mix.
Met with the new SPL tonight getting prepared for his first PLC meeting next month. He's got some good ideas for fun activities and new games. Signed him up for the council's NYLT camp (Grey Wolf) which will be an great experience for him.
Printed a stack of blue cards for Pioneering merit badge applicants.

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Day 46:
Three weeks until your taxes are due. Remember to consider the miles driven for scouting as a tax deduction. Your Friends of Scouting contribution and other expenses you had for Scouting may also be deductible.

My Exped Synmat 7 DLX sleeping pad arrived!
Last summer, another adult on the first week of backpacking in Wyoming had one of these. He let me use it the second week when he returned home with the first group. Wow! It's like sleeping on a bed. So, I got one for my birthday last October but just finally got around to actually purchasing it since I was hoping for sales. I got it at Campmor.com for $124 (ouch) - now REI is having their 20% off any item sale, so I could have saved another $6. Oh Well. I keep thinking I could buy 20 blue closed-cell foam pads at Wal-Mart for the same price. :-(

This is the 77X26 inch version rather than the 72X20 so my feet and arms don't hang off. It weighs 1/2 pound more, but that's cool. Now I'm ready for my two weeks at summer camp and 50-Miler 5-day backpacking trip this summer. It really is a nice sleeping pad.

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