After summer camp our Scouts arrived home happily tired from having a great time and I have these merit badge thoughts to share. Merit Badge work is a big part of summer camp so there are usually some conversations about the quality of instruction and the effort extended by Scouts in completing requirements. There is talk of ‘merit badge factories’ of ‘giving away’ badges and so forth as if a merit badge was something the counselor could give away in the first place....
In his essay The Impending Demise of the University Don Tapscott defines linear learning; In the industrial model of student mass production, the teacher is the broadcaster. A broadcast is by definition the transmission of information from transmitter to receiver in a one-way, linear fashion. The teacher is the transmitter and student is a receptor in the learning process. The formula goes like this: “I’m a professor and I have knowledge....
Our nationwide organization of some 2.8 million youth and 1.3 million adult participants is defined by written Scout rank requirements policies and procedures. Individual understanding, subject to an individual point of view, can lead to some misinterpretations if we do not read requirements, policies and procedures with an open mind. As an example look at these Scout rank requirements: Scout Badge 7. Understand and agree to live by the Scout Oath or Promise, Scout Law, motto, and slogan, and the Outdoor Code....
Star, Life and Eagle rank all require leadership tenure. For each rank the requirement states: “serve actively (x) months in one or more positions of responsibility ” The word ‘actively’ can be a pinhead on which many angels dance. In my experience Scoutmasters often read this word and start instituting metrics to evaluate the term. But the official interpretation of “active” is much simpler than that:A Scout is considered to be active in his unit if:...
Scouting courts of honor are crucial elements of a good troop program. Understanding the intention behind them and shaping the presentation to reflect these intentions is crucial to their success. Here are some ideas on the subject; Andy at “Ask Andy” writes in the post More Eagle Scout Thoughts; On “coronations”… A Court of Honor recognizes advancements that Scouts have earned since the last court. Courts of Honor, in my opinion, need to remain this way....
Is your Troop’s advancement program aimed at ‘true north’? Here’s some statements derived from Andy’s (at Ask Andy) answer to a Troop where the Scoutmaster is seriously off course: Every Scout can advance in rank according to each Scout’s preference for velocity, and no one will attempt to either slow him down or speed him up–this is entirely each Scout’s personal decision. Any Scout can apply for any merit badge any time he wants—whether Eagle-required or not—and upon informing the Scoutmaster of his preference or preferences will immediately be given a Blue Card and the name and contact information of a local Merit Badge Counselor....
Andy at Ask Andy shares these Eagle Scout thoughts: In 1931, Jane Addams, founder of Hull House, received the Nobel Peace Prize; she was 91 at the time.Former US President Jimmy Carter is also a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize; he was 78 when he received it. Theodore Roosevelt, the only US President to receive this recognition while in office, was a mere 48 on receipt. But he wasn’t the youngest....
Ask Andy answers a question about the 13 year-old Eagle and “delaying the earning of Eagle till Scouts are older and more mature… ” A bit of ancient history: I made Eagle at 15; my brother at 14; both of us stayed active in our Troop and in Scouting right up to 18, and then became ASMs (I went on to become Scoutmaster of the same Troop I’d earned my Tenderfoot badge in!...
In the past I have been guilty of griping about Scouts who ‘don’t know their skills’ and troops that were ‘Eagle Factories’. This put me on a mission to fix whatever I saw as wrong, to tighten things up and be darn sure that my Scoutsearned their way. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I spent a few years discouraging Scouts by throwing every possible impediment in their path. I was the worst kind of Scoutmaster- a self appointed guardian of an unattainable standard of perfection....
Making realistic wounds for first aid instruction is great fun. Here’s a set of instructions that will give you professional and reusable results. LINK via MAKE Texas Troop 502 has a great page with instructions on how to do first aid moulage – Lectures are boring. Providing a complete picture of an accident scene improves the Scout’s ability to learn First Aid, and by associating the accident to the situation teaches safety and prevention....
Every once in a while a Scout reaches the extraordinary achievement of earning all 121 merit badges. I can imagine few other ways to gain experience in a crazy quilt of interests like American Business, Archeology, Bird Study, Cinematography, Dentistry, Entrepreneurship, Farm Mechanics, Genealogy, Geology, Journalism. Music, Nuclear Science, Pottery, Railroading, Surveying, Textile, and Whitewater. Here are three who have achieved this remarkable distinction recently: Here’s an interview with one Scout...
How do we determine if we are working with an active Scout? Here’s the answer from Ask Andy: In the advancement arena, one of the BSA’s most practical, intelligent, realistic, compassionate, and youth-sensitive decisions was to not attach percentages, numerics, or any other sorts of rubrics to the term “active.” Instead, the underlying principle of “active” is simply “Do Your Best.” In the same arena, one of the biggest mistakes a troop can make is to attempt to make up their own “rules” for this, and, further, to fail to understand that “active” extends well beyond mere troop and/or patrol meetings and outings....
Reaching the rank of Eagle Scout is a laudable and challenging goal for any boy, and we ought to keep the trail to Eagle clear. In many instances the process has been clouded by a self-appointed priesthood pledged to ‘maintain standards’ and ‘the integrity of the award’. They most often do this by unethically and incorrectly adding to the requirements in subtle and not so subtle ways. Perhaps it is a local anomaly but we seem to have an inordinately difficult time with the approval of projects, conduct of boards of review and a high degree of nit picking....
The basis of developing instructional methods for Scouts begins by determining who instructs. If adults are doing all the instruction they are denying their Scouts the opportunity to develop some important skills. Our role is to empower our youth leadership to instruct by training them in the methods of Scout instruction. All of the skills and methods discussed here can be applied to instructing the methods themselves. Gather your youth leadership together and use these methods to train them in Scout Instruction....
Good instruction is based on good instructional methods for Scouts and the preparation by of instructor. Instructors should begin with a clear goal, a thorough understanding of the subject and the resolve to keep the session active, focused and brief. An instructor with a plan can always adjust to discoveries made during the session. Without a plan we are likely to digress, drift, yield to distractions and generally loose our way towards the goal of the session....
Good instructional methods for Scouts are based on where the instructor stands, and what the Scouts are doing. Neither the Scouts nor the instructor should be seated unless absolutely necessary.Keeping everyone on their feet in a circle, has several important advantages Standing requires more alertness than sitting. Scouts all have the same perspective when they are standing in a circle. Instructors can see all the Scouts faces, and the Scouts can see the instructor....
Rudyard Kipling’s 1901 novel “Kim” is the story of the orphan son of an Irish soldier in India. Kim, plays a game of observation and memory as a part of his training as a spy. Kim’s teacher, Mr. Lurgan, runs a jewel shop as a cover for his real work as a British secret agent. Lurgan places jewels on a copper tray and says: “Look on them as long as thou wilt, stranger....
Developing the leadership skill of training or instructing means applying instructional methods for Scouts, not students in a classroom. Using the coach-pupil method has the twofold result of perfecting a specific skill and developing teacher/leaders. Scouts are paired up into coach-pupil teams. The instructor first guides all the teams through the basic components of the skill as a group. For a set period of time one Scout coaches and one practices the skill....
Instructional methods for Scouts means guiding them to discover skills or knowledge on their own. Keeping with our example of tote’n chip skills here is an example of a guided discovery- The instructor has all of the gear required to practice the skills associated with safely handling and maintaining a pocket knife. When the scouts arrive he begins asking questions; What are the different things I have in front of me on this table?...
Apply instructional methods for Scouts to create small groups, 10-15 minutes of instruction at each station, lots of activity. Example – Instructing Tote’n Chip (axe, knife, saw) skills. Three stations are set up, one each for knife, saw and axe. Three groups of five rotate through the stations at ten or fifteen minute intervals where they are shown the equipment and led through the demonstration of the associated skills. Round robins are active and teach small groups rather than a large group all at once....