Sep. 26, 2008 - More Problems with Partials
 So, I jumped the gun entering in Seijitsu's cooking badge into the finished column. It was an easy mistake. He came home from camp with all but two requirements signed off. Just cook three meals at home, and let me see your backpack menu. That's what the troop MBC said. He felt he didn't really complete one of the requirements signed off at camp, so redid that as well. Turned in his paperwork a month ago to the counselor. Earlier this week, she gives him back his worksheet, all marked up. Made him go through the whole badge over again, and decided she didn't like his menus.
In truth, they weren't very good menus. But the camp counselor had signed off on them, and Seiji prepared them as required. I can understand her wanting him to do them again. But the whole badge? "If I'm going to sign off on it, I want to make sure it's been done correctly." That was a waste of camp time. She's within her rights, but it's maddening.
S is so frustrated. He's had run-ins with her before. She just doesn't like him, and the feeling is mutual. She's told me more than once that he is disrespectful to her. I haven't seen it, and he's not the disrespectful type. I have a feeling that with her, disagreeing is considered disrespect. She is an "interesting" person, to say the least.
So, yet another partial that's going to remain so. Seiji wants to just forget it, and do it another time with someone else. As much as I hate partials, I think I'm going to agree with him on this one. |
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Sep. 14, 2008 - A Merit Badge Clinic done RIGHT! Evergreen Aviation
S & S went to a Merit Badge University at the Spruce Goose Museum over the weekend. If you live in the Northwest, I highly recommend it. Sometimes these end up to be mills; couple hour sessions where the boys are 'awarded' the badges simply for showing up. (Not really, but as a homeschooler, it sure feels that way.) This one was not. In addition to requiring a substantial number of prerequisites, the classes were meaty and taught by enthusiastic counselors.
I love it when something gets done the right way!
Merit Badge clinics are an especially good idea for badges that aren't easily available in your area. Maybe you don't have a counselor for the badge, or it's one that you'd have a difficult time finding a buddy for. That was the case for Farm Mechanics. Seijitsu took this and said he learned a LOT. I'm glad I wasn't watching the hands-on portion as they used grinders and other machinery that would've made me nervous.
Soumei took the Orienteering class that he missed at camp because he was still trying to master his knots. It surprised me to hear that he thought it was the best class offered.
Scouts in our group also worked on Indian Lore, Cooking, and Nature. More than 350 Scouts and leaders participated. We've been to several clinics and this one was definitely the best run so far. |
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Sep. 5, 2008 - The Problem with Partials
Ugh. It's one of the phrases that makes me cringe. "I got a partial for [x]."
It isn't that I want the boys to be handed badges they haven't earned. Quite the contrary. And there ARE some badges that just can't be completed in a day, even with pre-requisite work. But some CAN. We've learned the hard way not to assume that a merit badge counselor at a clinic has arranged for all the requirements to be met, even if there's no listing of prerequisites.
We're *trying* to get our Scouts to do the badges before clinics; to come prepared and ready to do the hands-on and discuss portions with the counselor. When the boys signed up for Genealogy at a clinic, we noticed that part of the requirements were an interview with a relative and a contact with a genealogical society or repository. We didn't know for sure whether the counselor had arranged an off-site visit or not, so we took a trip to our local courthouse the week before the class. And they had a great time interviewing Grandma. Although they learned a lot from the family history specialist who taught the class, they had already learned a lot filling out their worksheets in preparation. And they didn't get 'stuck' with a partial.
You may be wondering why it would be any more difficult to complete the worksheet after the class. I don't know why, but it is. Seijitsu & Soumei have a page in their notebook that's full of partials. Well, Soumei's is full; Seiji hates them as much as I do. The problem with partials is that they usually stay partials. That, or they stay open so long that the counselor moves away and the new counselor wants them to start all over again. Or the boys lose interest, or don't want to do the paperwork for something they've already covered.
Back at the end of July, more than a dozen of our troop's Scouts did the hard parts of the Archaeology badge. All that is left is paperwork. Granted, it's about four hours' worth, but it's all stuff out of a book or on the Internet. When Seiji finally finished his and turned it in a month after the dig, he was the only one who had done so. The rest of the boys are still sitting with partials. And most of them will probably sit there forever.
Other than having them do their requirements before clinics, does anyone have a good suggestion on keeping the 'partials' away? |
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Aug. 15, 2008 - Stacking Badges
The troop's Court of Honor is tomorrow. S & S will be awarded about a dozen badges each. They have earned them all. One way they have been able to earn so many is by stacking badges.
AKA, derisively, as "Double-dipping."
Every MBC differs on their view of stacking badges. Most are pretty clear that the exact requirement must be fulfilled, and that "close enough" isn't. But just how many times does Senji need to take CPR?
The boys have gone to stacking. Different badges, but requirements that can be done at the same time.
Stacking (or integrating) badges is simply working on those that share requirements at the same time. I prefer to think of it as working on different parts of a tapestry. They're all woven together. Here are some of those Seijitsu and Soumei plan to or have stacked.
They recently worked on Archaeology. It stacks nicely with Indian Lore. Many of the requirements are very similar, especially if the dig they're working on is an Indian one. Choose American Indians as one of your three cultures for American Cultures, and have a head start on that badge.
Citizenship in the Community and American Labor both have a photo essay as an option. Photography fits well. Mail one of those photos to a friend and complete a Computers requirement.
Nature is one that can be stacked several ways. Think of Nature as the house, and these badges as rooms in the house: Bird Study, Mammal Study, Insect Study, Geology, Forestry. I'm not suggesting doing all of them at the same time; just opening the blue cards and documenting the work so that when your Scout IS working on Forestry, he can look back and see that he fulfilled requirement 1 with Nature requirement 4g.
American Labor is almost a sub-badge of American Business. While you're at it, plan out your business according to the Entrepreneurship guidelines.
Public Speaking requires several speeches. Make the best use of your time, and keep it interesting by fulfilling the speech requirements from the following badges: Citizenship in the Community (optional), Communications, or Oceanography (optional) .
Animal Science - Choose the Horse Option, and do the Horsemanship badge at the same time.
Crime Prevention - If you choose option 7c, visiting a detention facility, you should be able to easily arrange a long enough session to earn your Fingerprinting badge at the same time.
First Aid - Get this badge as soon as you can. Many counselors will simply accept that you've done the requirements for other badges because you've satisfied the First Aid requirements. Otherwise, you'll get to demonstrate over and over again (which may not be a bad thing, after all). Badges that require First Aid components include: Athletics, Camping, Canoeing, Climbing, Cycling, Emergency Preparedness, Hiking, Orienteering, Pioneering, Skating, Small-Boat Sailing, Snow Sports, Sports, Swimming, Waterskiing, Water Sports, and Wilderness Surivival.
Soil and Water Conservation - Req 4 (watershed) is closely related to Environmental Science req 2, and to Forestry req 3b. Req 7a6 is the same as Public Health req 5a, a visit to a wastewater treatment plant. Req 7a2 is the same as Forestry req 5a, a trip to a managed forest.
Home Repairs - This is a great one to do at the same time as Family Life Req 4, a project around the house that benefits your family. Req 5 is all about Plumbing, so do that badge at the same time.
What badges has your Scout stacked? |
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Jul. 26, 2008 - Archaeology: the Dig
 I love homeschooling for the opportunities it provides, and for the ability to teach our children as we see fit. Part of that is knowing when I'm out of my depth. Archaeology is one of those times. Seijitsu knows more about it than both parents combined. It's one of the reasons Scouting is such a great program. S & S are working on their Archaeology badges. Part of that is a dig at an archaeological site. Because they are a Scout troop, the local archaeologist was accommodating. I'm not sure that would have been possible as simply two boys interested in the dig.
Wow, oh wow! This was so much more than I could have anticipated. Nine of the older Scouts went to the dig. I had expected it mostly to be observing, but they were allowed to fully participate. The archaeologist was amiable and an excellent teacher. So were the students who were in the summer field study class. They were invited to come back to the lab to work on cataloging and preservation. This was a real treat!
I'm amazed at the knowledge they came away with. Seijitsu was so enthralled that he would like to sign up for next year's dig through the college -- they allow high schoolers to participate with dual enrollment. He will need to do quite a bit of fund-raising before then ;-).
They still have quite a bit of work to do before earning the badge. Finding a dig that would allow them to participate was the most difficult requirement. The others may be more time-consuming, but the hard part is actually over. Now comes the paperwork and the presentation to the troop. Then one "die-hard" badge will be finished!
Archaeological Digs in the USA
Archaeology Merit Badge requirements |
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Jul. 14, 2008 - "Gimme" Badges and Summer Camp
 I spent this past week at summer camp with the boys. It was great fun. I highly recommend it to parents - so long as you can restrain yourself from hovering. There's nothing like being branded a "Mama's Boy" to dampen the spirit of a Scout, not mine, of course :-).
The Scouts all worked very hard, and the Scoutmaster's wife did an admirable job of having all the back work done so that they didn't have to bother with busy work. One industrious Scout from our Troop came home with ten completed badges! Most earned three or four. Seiji had a lot of work done beforehand, so he ended up with eight and two partials. Soumei is a little more of the slow-and-thorough type. He earned four plus one "gimme".
I know that Art is the second easiest badge there is (after Fingerprinting), but it should take more than ten minutes. I suppose the instructor (if he can be called that) thought he was doing him a favor by rushing him through.
- Render a subject of your choice in FOUR of these ways:
- a. Pen and ink,
- b. Watercolors,
- c. Pencil,
- d. Pastels,
- e. Oil paints,
- f. Tempera,
- g. Acrylics,
- h. Charcoal
- i. Computer drawing or painting
Soumei brought back his 'rendering'. A simply 2" x 2" face in four different ways: pencil, pen, crayon, and marker. It left him in a dilemma. He really wanted to earn the badge, had a signed blue card, yet knew the spirit of the badge had not been upheld. Fortunately, he discussed it with his SM, who agreed to accept the card with the caveat that he redo it at home. A compromise that is satisfactory to all.
While the summer camp as a whole was fantastic, there was another more serious "gimme". One of our Tenderfoot Scouts camp back with a "complete" on his Swimming Merit Badge. I'm sure that there ARE a few 12 year olds who are fishes in the water and can do this badge. D is not one of them. He's the most out of shape kid in the whole troop. More importantly, when asked, the instructor admitted that he didn't get the CPR doll, so just practiced using a "pretend" victim. That's not going to be a fun discussion with the Scout.
I'm sure that MBCs who sign off on badges without their being properly completed THINK they are being kind to the Scouts. They're not. It teaches a Scout to cut corners, that the rules don't apply to everyone, and that there are shortcuts to hard work. Seijitsu assures me that he earned everything he got, but I'm glad to redo the Art badge with Soumei. |
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Jul. 5, 2008 - Fish and Wildlife: The Blind Leading the Blind
 Requirement 5d: Design and construct a wildlife blind near a game trail, water hole, salt lick, bird feeder, or birdbath and take good photographs or make sketches from the blind of any combination of 10 wild birds, mammals, reptiles, or amphibians.
Sounds pretty straightforward, right? S & S both designed their blinds. Seiji's was a lot simpler, so we went with that. Probably not the best decision. The concept sounded good - and frugal. Using PVC pipe and camo cloth. Since we had most of the materials, I was definitely for it. They cut the PVC to size, fitted the pieces together, stained a screen, stretched the camo material tight (and cut away the part for the screen), and fastened it. Ready to go!
Once we got into the field, however, we quickly realized the problems:
* We needed to glue the pipes together
* The blind needed to be larger
* Either we needed more duct tape, or to sew the camo cloth. Clipping and taping didn't work too well.
It was a frustrating experience. The boys definitely made the attempt. Whether the MBC will accept the photos they took remains to be seen. If you look closely, Soumei is in the middle of the photo with the blind.
Even though it fell apart, I still consider their endeavor a success. They know what went wrong. Next time, it shouldn't. Soumei, of course, says that if we'd used HIS design, there would have been no problems. Is there a HUMILITY badge? |
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Jun. 27, 2008 - Environmental Science Revisited
 Soumei and Keitaro worked on their Environmental Science experiments today. Hint: You MUST have the book for this badge. Some of them the boys can do without the booklet. Not this one. I bought another copy because getting the one from the Scout library means waiting until a meeting. Found another source, however! Merit Badge Online has several of them scanned in and available as .pdf files. Very useful! Of course, for badges that require a lot of field work, not as practical as the booklet :-).
It was very cute watching them try to blow oil off the surface of water. It is, of course, written around the Valdez spill -- and it neglects to mention the rapid recovery and the record harvests of pink salmon since the spill. No, not arguing that it was a good thing. Just that God in His wisdom knows and has a plan. Can we, as mere mortals, actually do something unrecoverable? Doubtful. We are to be good stewards of the earth, but I would never put the burden of "save the earth" on a 12-year old! Okay, off soapbox for now.
The nice thing about the badges is that they give us jumping-off points. I'm not the science-geek type, and these are nice overviews for further study. The class is Saturday. Wish I could be a fly on the wall! |
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Jun. 23, 2008 - Sports
Sports used to be Eagle-required. Now it's an elective. Considering the *cough*character*cough* of many of the sports figures of today, I'm glad it's no longer required (but happy that it's available).
Seiji is pretty interested in this one. Some of the merit badges are a lot easier for homeschooled Scouts to earn (Scholarship, for instance). For others, they are more difficult. Sports is one of them. It's the requirement to participate in two competitive sports for a season each that can be sticky. Because we're rural, the time and cost of gas means driving to the homeschool sports league in the next county isn't practical for us.
The solution:
4. Take part for one season (or four months) as a competitive individual or as a member of an organized team in TWO of the following sports: baseball, basketball, bowling, cross-country, field hockey, football, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, water polo. Your counselor may approve in advance other recognized sports, but not any sport that is restricted and not authorized by the Boy Scouts of America.
There's a huge list at Wiki. Some of the sports that might be available to most people include: bowling, billiards, dancing, geocaching, and competitive eating (you might have a difficult time getting your MBC to approve THAT one!). Seijitsu and MotoOyaji are training for a half-marathon. And S is still shooting competitively. The MBC was happy to approve those two. He's on his way. |
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Jun. 23, 2008 - Camp
I dropped Seijitsu off at NYLT camp today. That was rough. I'm not sure if it's all parents, or homeschooling parents especially, but I have a very hard time leaving him. As is his nature, he gravitated toward the roughest looking boy there -- the one whose parents had swear words on their bumper stickers, who was yelling disrespectfully at his father (who was yelling back), and whose mother's ample bosom was barely held back by a flimsy see-through top. Oh joy!
I started praying. I firmly believe if you put a clean boy and a dirty boy together, you end up with two dirty boys. "Hey, did you know Seiji and Hajime are going to be in the same patrol this week? They didn't have enough for them to be separated." Hallelujah. Wonderful news from Haji's dad. Hajime gave me a wink and mouthed, "I'll take care of him." 17 and well-grounded in the Word, I wouldn't mind if he ended up my son-in-law some day :-). For now, guardian of Seiji's 15 year old innocence is a great role to be playing.
The house was really quiet today, even with the other three. It's going to be a strange week!
A week after he gets home, we leave for summer camp. Yes, we. Soumei's not ready to go alone. He might think so, but his overprotective parents do not. The boys picked out their badge choices (it's a pre-registered camp). If they do as planned, Seiji will come home with 7 and Soumei with 6. That's assuming they do all the book and paper work beforehand. A big assumption. |
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Jun. 22, 2008 - Indian Lore: the MB Book and the Plan
 Kudos to the BSA for not succumbing to political correctness in the Indian Lore requirements. The requirements show a respect for American Indians, their way of life, and their contribution to our nation. Without the rhetoric.
Seijitsu and Soumie have been working on this, in conjunction with their Archaeology badges. Yes, in conjunction. It's a stacked pair.
Archaeology requirement
10. Do ONE of the following:
- Research American Indians who live or once lived in your area. Find out about traditional lifeways, dwellings, clothing styles, arts and crafts, and methods of food gathering, preparation, and storage. Describe what you would expect to find at an archaeological site for these people.
fits in nicely with Indian Lore
2. Give the history of one American Indian tribe, group, or nation that lives or has lived near you. Visit it, if possible. Tell about traditional dwellings, way of life, tribal government, religious beliefs, family and clan relationships, language, clothing styles, arts and crafts, food preparation, means of getting around, games, customs in warfare, where members of the group now live, and how they live.
Bonus: The dig they're doing is uncovering artifacts from the Indian tribe they're studying.
Double Bonus: Our state history requirement is substantially satisfied by what they're learning about the area tribes.
Archaeology requirement
9. Under the supervision of a qualified archaeologist or instructor, do ONE of the following:
Use the methods of experimental archaeology to re-create an item or to practice skills from the past. Write a brief report explaining the experiment and its results.
fits nicely with
Indian Lore requirement
- Do TWO of the following. Focus on a specific group or tribe.
- Make an item of clothing worn by members of the tribe.
- Make and decorate three items approved by your counselor used by the tribe.
- Make an authentic model of a dwelling used by any Indian tribe, group, or nation.
- Visit a museum to see Indian artifacts. Discuss them with your counselor. Identify at least ten artifacts by tribe or nation, their shape, size, and use.
Each of the requirements is satisfied on its own merits, but they can both be done at the same time. I think I prefer the term 'integrating' rather than stacking or double-dipping. It better captures the spirit of their work.
Seijitsu is planning to make a model of a teepee while Soumei hasn't yet made up his mind. For the place names (another requirement), I'm having them actually label a state map rather than simply list them. "No more" may apply to their SCOUT requirements, but that doesn't mean it applies to their SCHOOL requirements  |
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Jun. 20, 2008 - Archaeology
    
Has anyone ever done this? I mean, outside of summer camp where they create a "mock dig" that looks like a whole 20 minutes went into it. This is listed on the Merit Badge Review site as a "die hard" badge. We'll see if S & S think so after they're done :-).
I'm very excited. There's a dig going on an hour or so from here. The local college is sponsoring it as a summer field class, and the archaeologist has agreed to let some of the older boys from the Troop work with him. Now they just need to find a merit badge counselor (none in our troop).
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Jun. 18, 2008 - Badges that take *FOREVER*
Seijitsu and Soumei are FINALLY finished with their Family Life badges. I say "finally" because it's been over a year since they opened them. Yes, a year. Why?
I've asked that myself a hundred times. True, there's 90-day chore chart requirement. So what. In our household, they're all doing chores every day anyway. That should have been a breeze. I think it's the projects that took so long. Not the doing, mind you, but the thinking. "I don't know what to do for a project." "Look around, open your eyes. There are a million things that need done around here." Auggh! Sometimes boys make me want to scream.
They finally settled on what to do for their projects, then it was actually getting to them. The merit badges are THEIR doing; I don't want to become the pushy parent -- even if it costs me tons in dental bills from gritting my teeth. Seiji painted his bedroom. It looks great. Not exactly what I would've done, but not black, either. Together, we put up a closet pole and shelf, and thus far they haven't fallen down. Soumei redid the front bathroom. Painted the walls and the trim, put up a new mirror, and took some of the extra grout off the floor. For the family project, we detailed my father's car. The detailing cost more than the bathroom once we added in all the cleaning products, but it was worth it. The inside looks like new.
I think another of the sticking points for this was the 'family meeting'. I suppose this has benefit for families that are going a dozen different directions and rarely see each other. For those of us that are together pretty much 24/7, it seemed silly. Especially when the requirements state to include substance abuse and premarital relations. "Don't do it." That was about the extent. For the first, the kids already know about good choices. For the second, none of us felt that a family meeting with adults and children, boys and girls, was the proper place to discuss this at length. Fortunately, our merit badge counselor agreed, and she was willing to sign it off on our word that it had been discussed in private. They fulfilled the letter of the law by discussing that it should be discussed in private. They fulfilled the spirit of the law by actually having those discussions.
With the family meetings over, the badges are DONE. Finished. Moved from the "in progress" portions of their notebooks to the "waiting for signatures" area. This has been the longest one yet. The boys said they enjoyed the badge. It wasn't drudgery, even though it took a long time. It didn't have to takea year, but the get up and go is something they're growing into. Slowly. As in molasses.
Seiji says it is a relief to have it done. Amazing how much a little blue piece of paper can weigh. He's gotten a little smarter from it, and started a few of the others that take a long time - Sports and Personal Management. More on them later. |
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Jun. 18, 2008 - Environmental Science
 Ah, Environmental Science. The name makes me cringe. Fortunately, the badge does not. Soumei's been working on it this week, and actually enjoying it.
There are a few PC questions on it, but not as many as I expected. "Explain what is acid rain. In your explanation, tell how it affects plants and the environment and the steps society can take to help reduce its effects." Wonder what the counselor is going to think of Soumei's answer. It's likely different than what he's used to seeing :-).
Since he's such a science geek, he's taking the more difficult route - doing experiments for each of the options. I'm fairly certain when Seijitsu did this at summer camp, he chose the discuss and describe options whenever possible. I appreciate that there ARE options to cater to different boys' personalities.
Soumei has a week and a half to finish the requirements before the merit badge clinic. Before? Yes, before. We try not to do "mills". This one certainly isn't. The boys do as much as possible beforehand, then spend the 8 hours of class time going over their results and learning from a professional -- in this case, a marine geochemist. I love Boy Scouts -- people volunteer their time to teach classes that I would otherwise never be able to afford for S & S.
I'll update after the class. Look for the merit badge. |
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Jun. 17, 2008 - Word for the Day: Zealot
 Zealot... as in "This merit badge counselor is a zealot!"
So, Seijitsu took a surveying course at a clinic two and a half months ago. Fantastic class! Four hours of hands-on practice with five professionals in the field overseeing three Scouts. What more could he ask for? Well, apparently another thirty or so hours of homework in order to complete this badge (S is up to 9 already). Not simply reading-type things, but "send away" for this, "shell out the money to get a certified deed for your house", "find this other professional because it's more advanced than I know", etc. I looked at the material, and can't figure most of it out, yet my 15-year old is supposed to.
He's at the point of frustration, but it's his nature to see it through. That's a good thing. When he finally finishes it, I'm sure he'll have a great sense of satisfaction. And a conclusion -- this is definitely NOT something he wants to do with his life. |
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