May - Potawatomi Area Council

May 2015
P OTAWA TO M I A R E A C O U N C I L
S COUTING P ROGRAM N OTES
BSA Acquires
Scoutbook
From Bryan on Scouting
The BSA announced it
has acquired Scoutbook,
the revolutionary web
app that makes tracking
advancement easier,
faster and more fun. That
means more time for you
and your Scouts to enjoy those life-changing
experiences they can’t
get anywhere but Scouting.
Imagine updating your
Boy Scouts’ progress
toward a rank or a merit
badge with a couple of
taps or clicks. Or letting
Scouts input and provide
proof for their own advancement progress. Or
seeing at a glance which
adventures your Cub
Scouts lack for the next
rank. Or knowing which
of your unit leaders still
need to complete BSA
training. Or getting an
automatically generated
shopping list to make
your trip to the Scout
Shop a breeze. Or never
again wondering whether
you’re using the most upto-date BSA requirements.
And imagine doing it
all wherever you are and
on the devices you use
every day.
Behavior of Boys and Girls
Parents and volunteers who work with
both girls and boys
have undoubtedly noticed that there are
differences in how
boys and girls behave.
Two books present
useful syntheses of
research that shows
that the difference in
behavior between
boys and girls is not
strictly due to upbringing or culture (how we
choose to raise sons
and daughters).
Leonard Sax’s book
Why Gender Matters:
What Parents and
Teachers Need to
Know about the
Emerging Science of
Sex Differences presents a summary of
strategies of how
strategies that work
with managing the behavior of girls fail to
work well with most
boys. It is of course
important to remember that social scien(Continued on page 2)
Guide to Advancement 2015 Updates
All Packs and Troops
should have a copy of
the Guide to Advancement, the official source
of BSA policies and procedures. It can be
downloaded for free at
www.scouting.org/filesto
re/pdf/33088.pdf.
Many updates are
included in this version.
A summary of these updates are listed below.
1. Merit badge worksheets not allowed for
certain requirements
Section: 4.2.0.1
What’s new: This language clarifies the offi-
cial policy on something
I’ve blogged about before: merit badge worksheets. Filling out a
worksheet will not be
allowed for requirements that use
words like “show,”
“demonstrate” or
“discuss.”
Excerpt from 2015
Guide to Advancement
(GtA): “In Boy Scouting,
advancement requirements must be passed
as written. If, for example, a requirement uses words like ‘show,’
‘demonstrate,’ or
‘discuss,’ then that is
what Scouts must do.
Filling out a worksheet,
for example, would not
suffice”
2. Scoutmaster conferences should be face-toface, not online
Section: 4.2.3.5
(Continued on page 2)
P age 2
May 2015
Guide to Advancement Updates
(Continued from page 1)
What’s new: New language says Scoutmaster conferences should
be held face-to-face and
not online. That means
Skype, which is great for
some purposes but not
as personal as a face-toface conversation, is
out.
Excerpt from 2015
GtA: “Scoutmaster conferences are meant to
be face-to-face, personal
experiences. They relate
not only to the Scouting method of advancement, but also to that of
‘association with adults’.
Scoutmaster conferences should be held
with a level of privacy
acceptable under the
BSA’s rules regarding
Youth Protection. Parents and other
Scouts within hearing
range of the conversation may influence the
Scout’s participation.
For this reason, the conferences should not be
held in an online setting.”
3. New Cub Scout program now included in
the Guide
Sections: 4.1.0.0 to
4.1.1.5
4. New Venturing
awards outlined
Sections: 4.3.0.0 to
4.3.4.0
5. Sea Scouts
aren’t Venturers
Section: 4.4.0.0
6. Unit merit badge
counselor lists shouldn’t
be available to Scouts
online
Section: 7.0.2.3
What’s new: Units can
establish a list of registered merit badge counselors. But Scouts
should get those names
and contact info from a
Scoutmaster, not from a
list made available
online.
Excerpt from 2015
Guide to Advancement:
“Due to concerns about
merit badge counselor
privacy, and since
Scouts should receive
the names and contact information from
the Scoutmaster, unit
counselor lists should
Behavior of Boys and Girls
(Continued from page 1)
tists study average
behavior, so not every
single boy or girl will
react the same way. It
is also worth noting
that behavior strategies shown to be specifically effective with
boys or girls was not
at all correlated with
sexual orientation.
While the book
goes into much more
detail, a quick summary would be that
when teachers or volunteers try to use a
strategy of “how would
it make you feel if this
was done to you?”
with boys, it was found
to be ineffective. This
strategy was found to
be effective with the
vast majority of girls.
Instead, the research
found that boys most
often respond best to
(1) not discussing the
issue right away, rather give them a physical task (to use energy) that is productive
(not punitive), (2) afterwards discuss how
to behave better in
the future. This is not
a guaranteed recipe
for success, but it
might be worth trying
in your den or troop
with boys.
not be made available to
Scouts online.”
7. Merit badge instruction
should be small in scale
Section: 7.0.3.0
What’s new: Rather than
large merit badge classes
reminiscent of a boy’s
time in high school, the
BSA encourages smallerscale instruction.
Excerpt from 2015
GtA: “The sort of handson interactive experience
described here, with personal coaching and guidance, is hardly ever
achieved in any setting
except when one counselor works directly with one
Scout and his buddy, or
with a very small group.
Thus, this small-scale approach is
the recommended best
(Continued on page 3)
Another useful resource is Michael Gurian’s The Minds of
Boys: Saving Our Sons
From Falling Behind in
School and Life. It
summarizes a lot of
research into how the
preferred learning
styles of boys differ
from girls. Not surprisingly, these correlate
with adventure-based
Scouting. This is a
good reminder to make
sure that your Den,
Pack, and Troop meetings are not traditional
classroom-style learning. The new Cub
Scout advancement
program was designed
with this in mind.
S c o uti n g P r o g r a m N o te s
P age 3
G U I D E T O A D VA N C E M E N T
(Continued from page 2)
practice for merit badge
instruction and requirement fulfillment. Units,
districts, and councils should focus on
providing the most direct merit badge experiences possible. Large
group and Web-based
instruction, while perhaps efficient, do not
measure up in terms of
the desired outcomes
with regard to learning and positive association with adults.”
8. Merit badge prerequisites get explained
Section: 7.0.4.11
Excerpt from 2015 GtA:
“Some merit badges
appear to have
‘prerequisites.’
The Emergency Preparedness merit badge, for
example, requires the
earning of the First Aid
merit badge. But since
the requirement does
not state that First Aid
must be earned before
beginning work on the
other Emergency Preparedness requirements, it
is not, by definition, a
prerequisite.
9. Youth observers
aren’t allowed at boards
of review
Section: 8.0.1.0
10. Guidance offered for
boards of review conducted through videoconferencing
Section: 8.0.1.6
Excerpt from 2015 GtA:
“From time to time, however, as Scouts go off to
college or the military, or
live in very remote locations, for example, it
may be virtually impossible to hold in-person
boards of review. In
those rare situations
where it is unreasonable
to expect a Scout to travel long distances, or to
wait several months, it
is permissible to use
videoconferencing.”
11. The official Eagle
Scout Rank Application
is the only one to use
Section: 9.0.1.3
What’s new: A clarification explains that the
official Eagle Scout
Rank Application (512728) is the only one
Scouts should use.
Excerpt from 2015 GtA:
“Scouts must submit
the official Eagle Scout
Rank Application, No.
512-728, found at
www.scouting.org/adva
ncement.
12. Crowdfunding for
Eagle Scout projects
explained
Section: 9.0.2.10
Excerpt from 2015 GtA:
“Typical unit fundraisers
with which unit leadership is familiar, such
as car washes, are the
best options. Another
alternative, contingent
on local council approval, is the use of
‘crowdfunding’ via the
Internet. If this method
is used, however, then
all concerned, from the
Scout and his parent
or guardian to the unit
leader and those approving fundraising at
the local council,
should be aware that
fees may be involved
and that fundraising
for something like an
Eagle project may or
may not comply with
the website’s terms of
service. There can be
other issues as well,
such as what to do if
more — or less —
than what is needed is
raised. It is important
that someone in a position of responsibility
reads and understands
the website’s ‘fine
print.'”
13. Request for Registration Beyond the Age
of Eligibility form
created
Section: 10.1.0.2
What’s new: A new
form is used to register
a youth member beyond the age of
eligibility.
Suggested Cub Scout Pack Meeting Themes
2015–2016
September: Clean –
“Cubservation”
October: Brave –
“Super Cub!”
November: Helpful –
“Cubs In Action”
December: Reverent –
“Winter Wonderland”
January: Trustworthy –
“The Great Race”
February: Friendly –
“Friends Near And
Far”
March: Thrifty –
“Cubstruction”
April: Cheerful – “Strike
Up The Band”
May: Kind – “My Animal
Friends”
June: Obedient – “It’s A
Hit”
July: Loyal – “Scout Salute”
August: Courteous –
“S’More Cub Scout Fun”
2016–2017
September: Helpful –
“To The Rescue”
October: Kind –
“Creepy Crawlers”
November: Courteous–
“Cubs In Shining Armor”
December: Cheerful –
“Celebrate”
January: Obedient –
“Cub Scout City Council”
February: Reverent –
“Passport To Other
Lands”
March: Loyal – “Our
National Treasures”
April: Thrifty –
“Power Up!”
May: Clean – “A Picnic With Pizzazz”
June: Brave –
“Roaming Reptile
Alert”
July: Trustworthy –
“Let The Games
Begin”
August: Friendly –
“#CUBSCOUTS”
P o ta w a to m i A r e a C o u n c i l
We Cultivate Leaders
Northern Lights District serves
the communities of Brookfield,
Butler, Colgate, Elm Grove, Erin,
Germantown, Hubertus, Lannon,
Menomonee Falls, Pewaukee,
Richfield, and Sussex.
Onatah District serves the
communities of Big Bend, East
Troy, Mukwonago, Muskego, New
Berlin, North Prairie, and Waukesha.
River Trails District serves the
communities of Ashippun, Delafield,
Dousman, Eagle, Genesee Depot,
Hartland, Johnson Creek, Lac La
Belle, Lebanon, Merton, North
Lake, Oconomowoc, Okauchee,
Pamyra, Rome, Stonebank, Sullivan,
Wales, and Watertown
Web: pacbsa.org
Twitter: @pacweb
Facebook: pacbsa
Potawatomi Area Council
Program Committee
Please contact with any
questions
Vice President of Program
Matt Vick
mevick@wi.rr.com
Advancement
Tom Sisson
sesh@sesh.org
Camping
Jim Murray
jpmurray@jimmurrayinc.com
Training
Kathy Boyd
onmyonr@sbcglobal.net
Civic Service
Mark Nelson
milwnelson@aol.com
Order of the Arrow
Brad Singer
brad.singer@live.com
The Potawatomi Area Council serves Waukesha county and portions of Jefferson, Dodge, Walworth, and
Washington counties. It was founded in 1931 when community leaders sought a separate council from the
then Indian Trails Council headquartered in Janesville. Over 7,000 youth from ages 7-20 were served by
221 units in 2011. The council operates due to the generous efforts of over 2500 volunteers and a dedicated full time staff of seven professional Scouters, a Camp Ranger, and six staff.
Camp Long Lake is the council’s 200 acre camping property that hosts six weeks of Boy Scout Resident
Camp, three sessions of Webelos Resident Camps, seven sessions of Cub Scout Family Camp, and various
unit camp outs and adult leader training sessions. Camp Long Lake was purchased in 1946 in the
midst of the celebration of the young men and women who changed the world through their service in World
War II.
Mission Statement of the Boy Scouts of America: The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young
people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.
Vision Statement of the Boy Scouts of America: The Boy Scouts of America will prepare every eligible youth in
America to become a responsible, participating citizen and leader who is guided by the Scout Oath and Law.
Pack Meeting Plans for 2015-2016
Pack meeting plans
aligned to the new
Cub Scout advancement program are
now available to be
downloaded free at
www.scouting.org/scout
source/CubScouts/Lead
ers/DenLeaderResource
s/DenandPackMeetingR
esourceGuide/PackMee
tingPlans.aspx. The
themes are listed on
page 3.
What’s in the pack
meeting plans?
 Opening ceremony
script
 Audience participation activities
and songs
 Script for presenting recognition
items and rank
advancement
 Cubmaster’s
minute idea
 Closing ceremony
Six tips for using these
pack meeting plans
the right way
Pack meeting plans
do not have to be
done in any special
order, but it is recommended that you include all of the points
of the Scout Law each
year.
There are pack
meeting plans for multiple years posted on
the website. It is your
pack’s choice of which
one to select from
each point of the
Scout Law for each
year.
Pack meetings
should not last longer
than an hour. Research and experience
tells us that Cub
Scouts have a hard
time sitting still for
that long.
The following required adventures
have a requirement
that suggests or requires completion at a
pack meeting. Work
with your den leaders
to plan when these
activities will take
place.
Tigers in the Wild,
Requirement 5
Games Tigers Play,
Requirement 3
Wolf Council Fire,
Requirement 6c
Bear Grin and Bear It,
Requirement 2
Grin and Bear It,
Requirement 3
Webelos Stronger,
Faster, Higher,
Requirement 5
Arrow of Light
Building a Better
World,
Requirement 10b