Scoutmaster

Handi Vac

The Reynolds  Handi Vac looks like a promising and inexpensive way to pack food and other gear for backpacking or canoeing.

The Handi Vac works removes air from special  quart or gallon sized freezer bags and is intended to increase the storage life of foods. The added benefits of waterproofing and compacting the contents suggest decreasing the size of food, clothing or other suitable gear.-

- Pack clothing in a gallon bag and have a waterproof change of clothes.

- Compact, waterproof first aid  and survival kits.

- Pack a days meals in a gallon bag to save space.

- Incorporate the Handi Vac with freezer bag cooking methods.

Insignia Guide now Online

The BSA Insignia Guide is now on line:

The Boy Scouts of America has always been a uniformed body. Its uniforms help to create a sense of belonging. They symbolize character development, citizenship training, and personal fitness. Wearing a uniform gives youth and adult members a sense of identification and commitment.

This insignia guide presents detailed information to enable our members to wear the correct complete uniform on all suitable occasions.

Essential Scouting

John Kennaugh in a discussion from uk.rec.scouting makes the case for essential Scouting Skills;

The skills Baden Powell (BP) instinctively identified as Scouting skills were based on the skills of our ancestors, making camp, putting up a shelter, cooking over a fire, exploring our surroundings without getting lost, learning about the natural world and how to use what it provides, constructing things with pieces of tree and rope, tracking, and finally gathering socially around a fire. Things which are part of our natural heritage which our brief period being 'civilised' has not had time to erase and which, without our knowing it we miss. Old fashioned pursuits? Yes about 4 million years 'old fashioned'. Touching the spirits of our ancestors perhaps. Being part of a more natural social group than our modern complex society. Indulging in the natural play patterns of the man cub.

Rubbish you might say. I don't think so. Why do perfectly sane people abandon a modern fully equipped kitchen and light a BBQ at the bottom of their gardens? It is not a logical thing to do but it is a natural thing to do.

Scouting skills represented a different and separate set of skills/values to those of everyday life. When I was at school my playground status was rock bottom. The pecking order in the playground depended on how good you were at football (among other things some less savoury). Scouting had an entirely different set of values. The skills required to be a good Scout required practice and dedication rather than natural aptitude. In the BP scheme a 'Scouting skill' was a special skill you needed, and frequently used, when Scouting, when doing Scouting activities. You took pride in that skill, you tried to hone
that skill and your status as a Scout depended on it. A badge showed what skills you had mastered and could, when asked, reproduce, and teach others.

As far as I am concerned the traditional Scouting skills are underrated and devalued by those who never mastered them and can't be bothered to try. I personally have always found them exceedingly useful.  I
had a pleasant week camping in a wood. I could get a kettle of water boiling quicker starting from scratch and lighting a fire than using the gas cooker I took. If I only wanted enough water for one cup of coffee the cooker won but then there was no fire to sit by while I drank it.

By importing into Scouting every aspect of modern life the values inside Scouting are identical to those outside of Scouting. It ceases therefore to be a natural alternative to the artificiality of everyday life and it ceases to be somewhere young people who don't fit in can take refuge and be equal to the rest. Some of the best Scouts I have known have, in one sense or another, been misfits outside of Scouting. It was Scouting which gave them self respect.

Scouting is belonging, it is a community where young and old share a common purpose.

Scouting is a code of honour.

Scouting is about self reliance and helping others.

Scouting is about learning to think ahead and work as a team.

Scouting is about being trusted to act responsibly and to take responsibility for oneself and others.

Scouting is about learning skills which help you play the game of Scouting, and earn you the respect of other Scouts.

Scouting is about passing your skills on to the next generation and taking a pride in using them well and reaching the highest standard you can.

Scout activities are different to those activity providers provide in that they are, or should be, aimed at building up and encouraging the above. Cooking on a fire scores quite highly. There is a lot of skill involved and teamwork. It can result in considerable pride and satisfaction when done right.

The adventure in Scouting is not in being dangled from a rope over a cliff nor being taken to some spectacular mountain top with expert guides. The true adventure is finding oneself in the
middle of open moorland with no adult to help and having to rely on ones own skills. Being trusted to take responsibility. Unfortunately the population as a whole, and a lot of adults in Scouting believe that
trusting young people is being irresponsible. I agree with the DC who says "Train them! Trust them ...and keep taking the pills". Trusting young people is scary but it is (or was) what we do in Scouting.

Scouting is going the way it is going. I wish it success but it is not my type of Scouting any more. I suspect that in 20 years time some bright spark will come up with this terrific new idea. "Let's junk
all this high tech stuff, build a shelter in the woods and cook on a real fire".

Maintaining the Integrity of Youth Leadership

Scouting, by definition is youth led but this does not mean purposeless anarchy - I have seen a few troops were the adults excused poor performance and un-Scout like behavior by claiming "we have a boy led Troop."

Instead of laying out rules for youth leadership it is easier to describe the role of Scoutmasters and other adults in facilitating a youth led Troop. Their role is simpler and defines the role of the Scouts.
Here are several concepts that can be easily put into place -

Maintain Definition and Focus - The definition and focus of Scouting is described in the introduction to the Scout Handbook (a passage we would all do well to commit to memory). There are five promises listed. Every function of a Troop and Patrol should be defined by fulfilling these promises as should the focus of all Troop and Patrol activities. Our role is maintaining this focus.

Guided Discovery - When they become part of the discussion adults should guide their youth leadership to their own answers. If they get stuck then ask enough questions that they can find their own way out. Help them define the goal or the problem and then let them seek a plan or resolution. Don't provide answers - provide guidance

Autonomy - The autonomy of the youth leadership must be protected. If they are focused on fulfilling the promises of Scouting it is unlikely that they will make poor decisions when it comes to choosing activities or administering their Troop and Patrol. They must be given the latitude to fail within the bounds of safety and propriety.

Cooperative Success - If a PLC feels that they are in an adversarial relationship with their adult leadership and or the Troop Committee they will see every decision as a win or loss.Their innate sense of fairness will be outraged if they detect coercion or hypocrisies.  Their ideas must be protected and supported. If, in someones opinion, they are way off track then return to the first principles of definition and focus through guided discovery. Conflicts of opinion must be handled carefully - as in baseball a tie goes to the runner. In other words the boys win if there is no evidence that their ideas are off base).

Coercion free Leadership - I have the advantages of age and guile, I suppose I could pull whatever strings I need to force the hand of the PLC. There have been rare instances When I will insist on something over the objections of the PLC.  If this is the case it should be stated openly and without coercion. I have, on occassion, told our Scouts that we are going to participate in a given event or make a decision based on my authority as a Scoutmaster. I explain my reasons and they generally accept what I have to say. I'd rather do  this than coerce them into making a decision my way.

A boy led Troop or Patrol is sometimes inefficient, inconsistent, inexperienced  and messy. It is a wonderful thing.

Seven Blunders - Ghandi

In human society, all violence can be traced back to these seven recurrent blunders: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, and politics without principles.
- Mahatma Ghandi

Associated Posts on Scoutmaster
Mohandus Ghandi

Why Leaves Change Color

Autumn's crisp temperatures, fall colors and clear nights make for great camping. Every Scoutmaster should know the answer to the question "why do leaves change color?". Here's some information from the United States Department of Agriculture:

During the growing season, most tree leaves are green because they are full of chlorophyll. Plants use chlorophyll to capture sunlight for photosynthesis, the process that enables them to manufacture their own food. The amount of chlorophyll is so high during the summer that the green color masks all other pigments present in the leaf. As the days grow shorter in the fall, chlorophyll production slows down and eventually stops. The carotenoids and anthocyanins that are present in the leaf then become visible.

More information available at the USDA website

10 Year Old Girl Finishes Pacific Crest Trail

Zero Days is the tale of a family adventure that required love, perseverance, and the careful rationing of toilet paper. The trio, who adopted the trail names Captain Bligh (Gary), Nellie Bly (Barbara), and Scrambler (Mary), hiked for 168 days and took a total of nine “zero days”—days off from hiking, so-called because the backpacker travels zero mileage on the trail itself that day. In addition to weaving an engaging narrative, Barbara incorporates actual pages and drawing from 10-year-old Mary’s journal.

Along the way, they weathered the heat of the Mojave, the jagged peaks of the Sierra, the rain of Oregon (and paradoxically the lack of water sources there), and the final long, cold stretch of the Northern Cascades to Canada. They met trail angels like the Dinsmores and their salty-mouthed parrot, Topper. And they discovered which family values, from love and equality to thrift and cleanliness, could withstand shin splints, an abscessed tooth, aching legs, failing knees, bad water—and a long, narrow trail and 137 nights together in a 6-by-8-foot tent.

Zero Days available at Amazon

Making Patrols Work

In response to the post Patrol Method a reader commented:

I have been an assistant scoutmaster for some time and was recently asked by the committee to be the new scoutmaster. I have had only one meeting as the scoutmaster so far. However, that being said, one of the things that concerns me is the patrol setup in our troop. We are setup as the Scoutmaster Handbook says - Webelos that cross over together and new boys form a "new boy patrol" - we have "regular" patrols, then we have a "venture" patrol. My question is (and we use the Troop Guide the best we can) - why does the mixing of ages in patrols not work? I have noticed that as the boys grow older they stick to themselves, the new boys are coming in lost. Wouldn't it be nice to have them integrated into the patrols when they first come in? When they went on a campout then they could rely on the experience of the other guys in their patrol, the ranks would be spread out across the patrol and the could help teach the younger scouts? Does anyone have any feedback for me?

Yes - integrating the patrols by age is important. Any Scoutmaster would admit that encouraging Scouts of different ages to work together is an ongoing challenge. Here are some methods that you may find effective -

• The New Scout Patrol concept has some positive aspects and was formulated (I believe) in response to the concern that the greatest attrition of new Scouts happens within the first year. The old practice used to be that incoming Webelos were divided amongst patrols and some of them would be intimidated by the older Scouts.
• I hold that keeping Webelos together is important but perhaps not all of them in a single patrol. The den leader or, ideally, den chief may have some insight on how the Webelos should be grouped together into Patrols - it is entirely possible that the Webelos would prefer being split up. Ask them what they would like to do.
• Make serving as a Den Chief the path to becoming a Patrol leader. While I understand the idea of having a Troop Guide it doesn't seem necessary if, during their first year in the Troop, new Scouts are lead by their former Den Chief. Ideally the Den Chief should take over from his Patrol when the new Scouts join the Troop and the current Patrol leader moves on to another leadership position. That way there are a few older boys still involved with the patrol when the new Scouts arrive.
• When Webelos join the troop they don't want a Patrol with training wheels - they want a full fledged Patrol free from the stigma of being the 'little kids' Patrol.
• Expect and require that older Scouts involve themselves in leading the younger by making it an inevitability. They must instruct, lead games, train and mentor the new Scouts. If adults do these jobs then it is little wonder that older Scouts gravitate to their own corner.

How do you get started? How about sitting down with your youth leadership and sharing the concerns expressed here and asking them for ideas. Sit back and listen and see what they come up with. Keep them focused on the goal of building strong patrols and you will be surprised with what they can do.

One periodic event that causes a great deal of excitement and Patrol spirit is the Inter-Patrol Scoutmaster's Challenge.

Associated posts at Scoutmaster:
Webelos to Scouts
The Patrol Method

Freezer Bag Cooking - Worth a Look

Last December I came upon the Freezer Bag Cooking Blog after reading a post in Tom Managan's Two Heel Drive.

I finally got down to business and tried it out. Freezer bag cooking is easy, inexpensive and an especially great way for Scouts (or anyone for that matter) to prepare food on backpacking trips.

The ingenious technique 'boils down' to this ;  measure ingredients into a 1 quart freezer bag and add hot water, wait a few minutes and viola! - a great-tasting meal.

Most of the recipes consist of ingredients you can find on the grocery store shelf Add a home food dehydrator and the possibilities really expand.

In preparation for a backpacking trip I prepared a freezer bag cooking demo for our Scouts and they were impressed by how easy and how cool it was to cook something better than a brick of ramen noodles. (Jeeze, they really love ramen noodles too - yuck.)

Blogster and author Sarah Svien offers a book, home made cozies (an insulating fabric envelope for freezer bags) and a few hard to find supplies in the Freezer Bag Cooking Store. Her website features a blog and quite a few recipes.

The Gear and Techniques features basic "how to" instructions and advice.

Related Posts on Scoutmaster

Freeze Dried Food

Baking for Backpackers

Two  of my favorite freezer bag recipes (the brownies are truly amazing) are included after the jump.

Eneloop Batteries

Eneloop batteries by Sanyo are getting good reviews:

Jonathan Coupe at Cool Tools:
I've been using them for six months and during this time, one of the little buggers maintained power in a key ring torch for the entire period. I can definitely say that a normal NiMH would not have made it that long. Some people know this, some people don't, but standard rechargeable NiMHs self-discharge, constantly losing energy (even when not in use), so people often end up with powerless cameras at weddings or powerless radios or flashlights in survival situations. I've found it's quite possible for the energy in them to have halved after a month or two, and with some older cells I have, the dive can be much faster. Although Eneloops have a quoted total charge capacity that can be smaller than the best premium NiMHs, they lose their charge at a much lower rate - the company says as little as only 15% a year.

The reviews are overwhelmingly positive at Amazon too.

Related posts at Scoutmaster
Low Impact Scouting