Information, Observation, and Inspiration for Scouters
Bobwhite’s Blog – my personal thoughts on Scouting
The Boy Scouts of America’s Scouting Magazine blog posted an article this week on using Google’s Morse keyboard and flash cards to teach Morse Code to Scouts.
Morse is a requirement for the recently introduced Signs, Signals and Codes merit badge. It’s an expansion of the original Signaling merit badge, one of the first ones offered at the founding of the BSA in 1910. Continue reading “Teaching Morse Code to Scouts”
I’m reading a book by an up-north Wisconsin author that I happened across at one of my favorite bookstores, Between the Covers in Harbor Springs. The Hearts of Men is a novel about a young man coming of age in the 1960s. The protagonist in the just-published second novel from author Nickolas Butler is a Boy Scout, and the story tells of his relationship with his family, the bounds of morality and redemption, and the struggle to make lifelong friendships.
I expect that I’ll write a more thorough review once I finish the book, but one paragraph leapt off the page in light of this week’s events at the National Boy Scout Jamboree Continue reading “You are this nation’s knighthood”
Summer camp is one of Scouting’s great traditions. For youth and adult alike, it’s great to get away for a week or more, camp under the canopy of trees, enjoy the fine summer weather (yes, even the liquid sunshine!), and get back in touch with the great outdoors and what’s really important.
However, most camps are set up just like school. Scouts are up and off to breakfast, then fill their days with a schedule of classes. There’s a short break for lunch. Dinnertime comes around, and there are more merit badge opportunities in the evening. If a Scout wants to work really hard, he can earn seven or eight merit badges.
Is that the point of going to camp? Continue reading “Summer camp, or merit badge factory?”
This week I attended the quarterly court of honor at my old troop. The troop is doing well with a healthy youth membership, youth leaders in charge and supportive adults. While I think things were pretty good when I was active and serving as committee chair, the current adult leadership has continued the tradition of excellence and improved on it in the years since I left “active duty.”
One thing that has changed is the makeup of the Scout membership. I recognized a few of the Scouts but there is a whole new crop of boys whom I had never met.
What struck me as unique is how the troop has kept up with our community demographically. Continue reading “This is the Boy Scouts. This is America.”
“This is America. Go back to Mexico!”
“Build That Wall!”
These words are all too familiar today. You might expect to hear them at a rally for the current Republican presidential candidate. The outrageousness is reported by the news media for all to see and hear.
But, in this case, it wasn’t at a Donald Trump rally where the words were shouted.
It was at a Scout camporee.
Seriously.