Perhaps you’ve asked for help, and folks let you down. Your Scout’s reactions to your efforts may be somewhat less than what you expected. You’ve tried to apply what you’ve learned and it falls flat. Welcome to the club! You already know what I am to write, you’ve read or heard it a thousand times before; but read it anyway. Disappointment is a lonely feeling, because we see it as evidence that nobody actually understands what’s important to us....
I’ve headed up a number of Scouter training events, and been trained in several different volunteer positions. Scouters are typically gregarious, good-spirited folks; but the dedication and single-mindedness required to be a good Scouter sometimes makes us difficult trainees. Here’s my do’s and don’ts for getting the most out of a Scouter training course: Do Expect to Learn. To get the most out of training you have to be open to new ideas and techniques, even those you have may have tried and rejected deserve a second chance....
The steps in training have become so absorbing and important that in many cases the aim has come to be lost sight of. -B.P Take a moment and step back from all of your roles and responsibilities and observe how simple Scouting is. The aim is simple: Providing opportunities for the development of character, fitness, and citizenship. The method is simple: We share ideals, express our unity by wearing uniforms, organize using the patrol method based on youth leadership in the outdoors, and recognize the resulting personal growth using an advancement system**....
It is scarcely necessary for me to go over the old ground of our principles; they have been the same ever since the Movement started. But when it started it was on a very simple scheme, and with the growth of years many new interpretations and many new side lines have been added to it, so that there is the risk of its becoming over-clothed with these and of the original ideal and method being lost sight of....
During the late Middle Ages the practice of a master craftsman employed laborers ten to fifteen years of age (apprentices) in exchange for food, lodging and instruction became a formal tradition. For a few centuries we passed our skills and knowledge of craft from generation to generation through apprenticeship. After the industrial revolution technology became increasingly complex and production was gradually centralized in factories. Apprenticeship of individuals was exchanged for training large numbers of people....
The author’s 5-year-old son, Gideon, playing at the Land playground in North Wales. (Hanna Rosin) In her Atlantic Monthly article, The Overprotected Kid, Hanna Rosin writes: It’s hard to absorb how much childhood norms have shifted in just one generation. Actions that would have been considered paranoid in the ’70s—walking third-graders to school, forbidding your kid to play ball in the street, going down the slide with your child in your lap—are now routine....
Is there really a difference between outdoor leadership and leadership in other situations? To my mind just about everything we do in Scouting hinges on how you answer that question. We are familiar with business or management-style leadership in our professional and business lives. Outdoor (or Scouting) leadership is different and understanding this difference is key to being an effective Scouter. Why do corporations invest time and resources in things like ropes courses and leadership retreats?...
If your Troop, Pack, or Crew assigns proceeds from fundraising to individual Scout accounts you may have been taken aback by this statement in the Fiscal Policies And Procedures For BSA Units FAQ I shared last week Can my unit credit amounts from fundraising to an individual toward their expenses? No. The IRS has stated that crediting fundraising amounts constitutes private benefit. However, the unit could use the funds (all or a percentage) raised to reduce or eliminate dues and various registration fees, purchase uniforms and Scouting books, and purchase camping equipment....
Decisive answers to questions about Scouting finances can be difficult to find. While researching an answer to an email question I found this PDF document: Fiscal Policies And Procedures For BSA Units dated August 2013, that provides answers to most common Scouting financial questions. The short story is there are very specific policies that are applied in concert with national, state, and local laws. Every unit committee should review their practices and make sure they align with the policies described....
There he is, waiting for our reply; how do we respond to a Scout who wants to quit? Not every boy is going to maintain an active interest in Scouts, it doesn’t automatically mean that anything is wrong with them, the program, or ourselves. I expect that every Scout will have a tough time once in a while, because I have tough times myself. If a Scout says they want to quit imagine what you would like to hear if you were in their place....
Sometimes all we need to solve our biggest problems is a slight shift in attitude. What would things be like if our first assumption was goodwill? The patrol leader who forgot to do something may have honestly forgotten to do it, not just ignored their responsibility. I forget all kinds of things! Assume goodwill. The Scout that earned three merit badges last month may just have worked hard to achieve something rather than trying to get around your standards....
Frank Maynard’s excellent blog ” Bobwhite Blather ” addresses one of the most common problems in Scouting: wearing too many hats! “An hour a week,” we were told, and soon found that it’s not always an accurate estimate, “but who’s counting?” we reason, because it’s for our sons and those of our friends and neighbors. … we realize that there are almost always more things to do than there are people to do them....
Instead of worrying about what Scouts aren’t doing look for what they are doing. Exchange your expectations for their aspirations. If we look for problems, we’ll find them; there will always be plenty of room for improvement. If we look for effort and initiative we’ll find them too. Your encouragement of the good you find leads to more good. Our goal is motivation by responding rather than dictating and suggesting rather than requiring....
A reader sent a link to a venerable work published many decades ago titled “Principles of Scoutmastership in Relation to Boy Development” prepared by a commission who set themselves the task of answering these questions What is this development we seek for the boy? What is the boy? How does he develop? What elements of the Scout program are effective in his development? What are the resulting principles for the guidance of the Scoutmaster?...
If I could change one thing about Scouting I’d do away with the term ‘adult leader’. Leaders are directive, they tell people what to do and how to do it. Advisors and mentors , on the other hand, are motivational – they help people develop skills and find the inspiration in their work. The greatest responsibility of an adult working with a Scout Troop or Venture Crew is engaging youth members in leading themselves using the patrol system....
As a camp director one summer, years ago, several Scouters complained that our dining hall steward was getting out of hand. We served all our meals family style and Scouts served as waiters. Waiters arrive before the meal to set the table, serve the food during the meal, serve their table during the meal, and clear up afterwards. Troops rotate this responsibility for a full week so at any meal there are Scouts who are new to the experience and they make mistakes....
The BSA has recently released their initial implementation resources addressing the change to membership standards voted on at this year’s annual meeting. Membership Standards Implementation Resources Upon approval of the membership standards resolution in May of 2013, the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America began reviewing its policies and guidelines through the combined leadership of volunteers and professionals. The resources here are designed to help our unit leaders continue to deliver the Scouting program to all youth....
I don’t think my friend Berk really cared too much about what other people had to say about the ceremonial campfires he built at our Scout camp (and they were some impressive campfires). What he really cared about was what he thought of them. I can recall some occasions where (at least to my eye and gauging the reaction of the crowd) the campfires performed perfectly. They lit easily and flooded the ceremonial fire circle with light, dying down at the appropriate time in the program like they were on a timer....
Scouting laws, like the laws of physics and those recorded by Murphy, reflect the way things are rather than the way we wish they were. Andy is a Unit Commissioner who answers Scouting questions though his online column, Ask Andy with a pithy, direct style that has helped many Scouters find their way out of difficulties. Here are 60 or so of Andy’s Scouting ‘laws’; Commissioners are responsible for everything and have authority over nothing....
A Scout Fundraising Project will help our Scouts get to Kandersteg International Scout Center in Switzerland next summer. We discussed lots of different ideas, did a bit of research and settled on selling coffee. We contacted a local coffee roasting company and set up an arrangement where we could buy coffee at their wholesale price and sell it for their regular retail price. Before we do anything, though, we will complete a Unit Money Earning Application to be sure that our efforts conform to B....