Friday, September 17, 2010

Gadget building with X-patrol 188

The boys at work..

Trainer Bob (centre), lending some supervision

The experimental patrol at work on the school ground..


There is an old Malay saying that goes: "Belakang pisau di asah, lama-lama
pun jadi tajam
" (sharpen the spineof a knife, you will get an edge).I can say this with the experimental patrol that was set up for the purpose of
preparing them for their King Scout badge.Trainer Bob Lew had set three years as the deadline for the boys to complete
all their merit badges (three stages) beginning with the most basic
requirement: the Lencana Keahlian (Tendrfood badge as we knew it).We began with Kem Usaha beginning this month and proceeded by giving the
boys some assignments.During the camp, I gauged the performance of the kids and found that two out
of four of them had potential to be groomed.The remaining lot were weak.As far as Scout craft is concerned, they have a long way to go.I was tasked with edged tool education and axemanship, an area that is
familiar to me.Earlier today, I made at trip to their training ground and found them
constructing a gadget for their pioneering project.Leading the pack, is a 15-year-old boy. Two others followed suite while
another was on holiday in the United Kingdom.My initial assessment showed that the UK-brat is the weakest of the lot and
there's plenty to be done to toughen him up for the later stages.The other weakling is a talkative youngster. This small guy has the ego the
size of a soccer stadium.Coming back to the gadgets, I think they will take at least two or more
sessions to complete the project.On other development, I am happy to report that the kids are getting a cabin
for their King Scout activities. Bob showed me their new domain and I am very pleased with the progress.

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