The H&S Support Committee would like to see mental health issues addressed within the program. They are requesting feedback on the proposal. Their desire is to weave it into the advancement process. SME’s are available to support this effort.

While scouting incorporates a good many aspects of physical health maintenance and injury/crisis management in its advancement process, aspects of mental health are not. Yet there are a number of aspects of mental health and illness that could be articulated and incorporated in the scouting education and advancement program.
A colleague talked about this matter with his nephew, who was an active scout. When asked about a scouting program to assess competencies in mental health, that scout suggested it would be a “great idea” to include this in the content of a merit badge. Indeed, he thought that Boy Scouts should be asked to have the following mental health competencies:
1. Have the ability to recognize signs of good and poor mental health in oneself and others
2. Know strategies for helping others with mental health problems
3. Be able to provide first aid for acute stress (“psychological first aid”)
4. Be familiar with different types of mental disorder
5. Recognize drug and alcohol abuse and their complications
This scout agreed that knowledge of drug and alcohol abuse and prevention are important, but he thought that material presently is covered fairly well. He suggested that material about mental health could be learned through a combination of reading and meetings with a mental health professional. He thinks that competency could be demonstrated through the combination of a written test and discussion or demonstration (i.e. role playing).

Currently, the majority of the votes are in favor of this idea. I’m not that supportive not because I don’t think mental health isn’t worth knowing about, but because I think it’s a very difficult concept to learn, damage can be done if mishandled, and almost everyone tries to meddle when they have a small amount of information. Not only that, but I’m not convinced that the majority of mental health professionals are up to the task of helping others. Sorry. It’s my bias. I’m thinking that adding what sounds like it might be a compulsory mental health component in the advancement program could suppress our shrinking recruitment results.

Like I said, it sounds reasonable, but I’d have to have a convincing argument to keep me from thinking this would turn into a “I’m smarter than you” kind of change to the program.

You have got to check this out. Mike Rowe, the star of the television show Dirty Jobs, recently wrote a post to his blog in response to a letter written by a parent of a Boy Scout who wants to quit Scouting because it is not “cool” to his friends. Mike, who happens to be an Eagle Scout, wrote an excellent article.

I’ve recently started reflecting on the fact that the Eagle Rank, when properly earned, isn’t really the cumulative effect of all those hours we spend teaching boys knots and telling them to lead and so on. More often, it seems by the boys I’ve seen who earn it, the rank simply reveals the character that was already there as molded by the family and the boy himself. Sure, we have a part in that, but I haven’t often seen kid I thought wasn’t ready, even if they had all their badges and offices earned, turn around and blossom into the kind of man people will assume is an Eagle Scout. The only heartbreak is when you see a boy who is a hard worker and dedicated miss this rank simply because he has spread himself too thin. So, I have to say I kind of agree with Mike that if a boy has to be forced to become an Eagle, maybe it’s not the right goal for him.

I’m not so lucky, though. I don’t have all the patches on my uniform which I consider terrible, but I’m just so bad at sewing. Since my wife does about 10 times as much stuff as I do I wasn’t about to saddle her with a responsibility that is all mine. By the time I was ready to go to the picnic I was too late to eat there. On the positive side I didn’t get any of my blood on my uniform.

My Tiger son was raring (or roaring) to go see his friends at the picnic. Cubs were invited by the troop to develop that bridging up bond. Also, the Scoutmaster and Committee Chair have boys both in the troop and the pack so it was a done deal. We got there in time for the games and he went off with his Girl Scout big sister while I went to sign advancement cards and take pictures.

All of the games were fun, but the biggest hits were the sled races (wooden panels with Cubs on them pulled by Boy Scouts) and the balloon stomp where everybody has a balloon tied to his ankle and then tries to defend his balloon while stomping on everyone else’s.

After the games we had our court of honor which was fine. Some of the presentations were serious. Some were silly (that was me). My son was presented with his Life rank. We had raffles and my Tiger won a Rubik’s cube. In fact so did another Tiger in our den. What a coincidence!

Although the wind blew down our flags a few times until we had someone literally sit on the flag stand the court went fairly well. We had most of the families there and a good number of Cub stuck around to see the awards, too, which is unusual.

As we were leaving I saw my son’s partner in next weekend’s outing and told him that if they were serious they needed to get things finalized and call everyone to ensure they knew all about it. Then I went home and gave the same message to my son.

My wife was present for the rank advancement, but had to go home to prepare for the Girl Scout meeting which is going on right now! It was a beautiful day at the park and there was fun and laughter shared and boys recognized. What could be better?

Advancement, one of the eight methods by which the aims of Scouting are achieved, has four steps through each award level.

First, the Scout learns. Much of his learning comes from other boys in his patrol or troop and by active participation in troop program. His patrol activities are directed toward the skills he needs. Every troop hike, camping trip, or other activity offers potential learning experiences. A Scout learns to pitch a tent by pitching one, to use a compass by finding directions, and to cook a meal by having to prepare and eat it.

Second, the Scout is tested. The specific requirements determine the kind of testing. Verbal testing is sufficient in some instances. In other instances, a Scout must demonstrate his skills by doing.

Third, the Scout is reviewed. The purpose of the review is to ensure that all requirements for advancement have been met. This includes a check of the Scout’s attitude and practice of the ideals of Scouting, in addition to his Scoutcraft skills. The decision regarding whether a Scout has met the required standards to qualify for rank advancement begins with the troop and, for the Eagle Scout rank, is approved by the district, local council, and finally, the National Council.

Fourth, the Scout is recognized. The final step in advancement involves presentation of the badge, usually at a ceremony before the entire troop.

Ensuring requirements have been met is ambiguous if you’ve been trained in Scoutmaster Fundamentals the way I was. No wonder so many Scouts get retested as part of their Scoutmaster conference or Board of Review. We treat these meetings as opportunities to let the Boy Scout give us information about he troop program and what he likes and can be improved. Rarely is a Boy Scout downchecked and that’s only because he is blatantly unable to say what the Oath and Law are or how he is able to live it. You can’t live it if you don’t know it. Otherwise, the review is a general review and we explain to the boy that we’re trying to get him used to the process of having to answer questions and explain himself because that’s what he’s going to be doing in life. Job interviews are the most specific example we give him. It’s a wonder to see a kid who comes in as a mumbling, fearful Tenderfoot confidently chat with the board when he’s applying for Life rank. I always enjoy the opportunity to sit on a board. You get a chance to learn more about a boy and find out how to improve the troop program based on his experience.

There’s so much good stuff in that advancement process, but as it states itself, you learn best by doing so go out and help a boy advance and you’ll learn the process even better yourself.

Justin Silver was recently selected as one of 48 Eagle Scouts from across the country to receive a $1,000 scholarship provided by the National Eagle Scout Association.

Over 5,000 Eagle Scout scholarship applications were submitted for different Eagle Scout scholarship programs. Silver’s selection as a scholarship recipient represents recognition of his superb record of accomplishments.

All of the 2008 recipients are listed at the National Eagle Scout Association website here, by region. They were notified of their awards in July, but the story is timely now because the 2009 application window has just opened.

Know an Eagle Scout who wouldn’t mind some help going to college? Send him over to the NESA’s application page here so he can print out and send in an application. Let’s help these great young men continue their advancement as adults.

Perhaps because of their outdoorsy image, few realize that money management is a part of scouting. To earn what’s called the personal management badge, boys must know the difference between simple and compound interest and how mutual funds differ from CDs.
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The purpose of the badge isn’t to transform scouts into investment whizzes, but to get them acquainted with the fundamentals of personal finance. It’s the kind of background many Americans may wish they had today, as they scramble to understand the impact of the financial crisis on their savings.
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Many adults today could have benefited from such early exposure to finance, said Ellen Siegel, a certified financial planner and president of Ellen R. Siegel & Associates in Miami.

We can thank Candice Choi for letting the public know the important news that Boy Scout lessons don’t end at the forest’s edge. Getting a little more honesty and character into the financial markets sounds like good news to me.

Click here if you want to go to national’s website to see the details on this or any other merit badges offered by the BSA.

A requirement for every rank advancement in Boy Scouts is Demonstrate Scout Spirit in your everyday life. This requirement is handled in many different ways, from being an automatic sign-off to requiring scouts to write essays on what they’ve done to fulfill it.

It’s a difficult one for a Scoutmaster to sign unless you see the scouts outside of scouting. Looking for opportunities to interact with scouts away from the troop is a good idea. Maybe you’re lucky and go to church with some scouts, or maybe you’re a school teacher or coach, or work in a popular store. Other than that, it might take a bit of work to track ‘em down.

Although I am a lowly Committee Chairman for my Boy Scout troop I have a good relationship with most of the boys. I haven’t been on every outing or even every troop meeting. What I have found is that when you talk about the boys’ interests outside of Scouting and ask about it in subsequent conversations they start to realize that you do care about them as people and don’t think of them as one of many Scouts in the troop. The idea above sounds great, but what a load of extra time it sounds like. Finding a way to make it work will be the challenge each Scoutmaster needs to work out for himself.

In several of the Girl Scout journeys there are some special items: designated pages for copying; songs for the girls to sing; the LiA award for Cadettes who help the Brownies in their Quest; and others. Please look to the level section at the left to see what is offered.

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Cadettes can take a leadership role with Brownies
LiA (Leader in Action) Award

Girl Scout Cadettes have an opportunity to put their skills to work assisting Girl Scout Brownies on their Quest. Brownies (and their volunteers!) will appreciate having Cadettes along on the journey, and Cadettes will benefit from having the opportunity to have a position of responsibility. The steps for Cadettes to earn the LiA are in the Adult Guide for ”Brownie Quest”

Let’s see… You believe in God, you respect the religions and religious habits of others, and you know yourself and your personal relationship with God. Hmmm… Sorta difficult to ask for more than that! If more people held your beliefs and practices, we’d be a happier country!

Now going to a church, synagogue, or temple regularly works very well for some people, but as you and your troop leaders know, the Boy Scouts is absolutely non-sectarian when it comes to religion. Moreover, regularly (or even irregularly) attending church isn’t a “requirement” for any aspect of Boy Scout advancement.

I feel comfortable with this view. Me and the Big Man talk nightly, but I rarely make it over to His house even though He’s left an open invitation for me. Not against it. Just busy with the whole family. I’m glad to have a perspective on why my guilt should be the only penalty paid for rare personal appearances.