Scoutmaster Podcast

I get lots of email questions about… … troop conflicts. It may be volunteers arguing with each other, parents arguing with Scouters, volunteers arguing with Scouts, they all have a common thread, and most have a common answer. I also offer my simple advice for welcoming girls into troops, so simple you may not like it very much! I also talk about what’s next at Scoutmastercg.com Listen to this week’s podcast This podcast is brought to you by Patrons & Backers Podcast Notes...

Create shared expectations and you’ll have a happy troop. In this week’s podcast I answer an email question about a behavior problem. A problem that would never happen if those involved shared expectations. Ask Scouts to analyze their behavior in light of the Scout oath and law. Listen carefully, ask questions, listen more, share your thoughts, and leave this discussion with a very clear set of shared expectations. The same applies to evaluating the “judgement call” requirements like Scout spirit and active participation....

When thinking about Eagle Scout advancement … .. we ought to ask “what is an Eagle Scout?” rather than “who deserves to be an Eagle Scout?” The answer to the question “who deserves to be an Eagle Scout?” is easy; any Scout who completes the requirements. That’s it. No more and no less. There’s no Eagle-plus, and no Eagle minus, only Eagle. When you understand that Eagle Scout Advancement becomes less stressful....

Webelos dens as patrols and more older Scout issues … Catching up on email questions this week I’ll talk about Webelos dens working the patrol method and discuss the causes of at least some older Scout problems. (If you listen very carefully you may detect a rant this week). Over thirty years ago I had 18 Webelos in my Webelos den. I survived that year (as did many of the Webelos)....

What’s the difference between Patrol system and Patrol method? I have never found any actual difference between those terms in Scouting literature, but I will share acouple of thoughts to differentiate between patrol system and patrol method in a way you may find helpful. Over the next three podcasts we’ll continue our foundations series by examining three main things about Scouting: Patrol System, Advancement, and Youth leadership. Scouters spend the most time working with these three key pieces of the game....

Some aspects of the Scouting game look like flaws… … but they are features we must not alter. Games restrict or constrain play through rules, the laws of physics, or human limitations and Scouting is no exception. We Scouters often expend lot of effort trying to fix things that don’t need to be fixed, or smooth over things that are intentionally challenging. When you get to know the game, the dynamics, and understand the field of play things become clearer and you become a better coach....

Thinking of Scouts as players … … fills out the analogy of Scouting as a game. Players volunteer to participate in the game. The most important volunteers in Scouting have more power and influence than the highest official. Without their participation, Scouting would come to a complete halt. They bring endless energy, resources, and real transformational power to their role. They are the only volunteers we simply cannot afford to lose....

Thinking of Scouters as coaches … … can help us understand our role in the game. These are just analogies – we aren’t actually coaches, and Scouting isn’t actually a game. Analogies are not exact copies, they only resemble what they represent. What a Scouter does may be similar to coaching, but Scouters hold an unique role in a young person’s life. We are part parent, part coach, part counsellor, part mentor, and part friend....

We’ve heard this before, right? Baden-Powell employed the “Scouting is a game” analogy long before anyone else, and it is the best analogy I’ve found for explaining the wonderfully complex, intriguing, idea that is Scouting. We have to be careful because analogies break down at some point. While Scouting is a game in many ways, it’s actually something far more than that. In this podcast I’ll kick off a series of foundational talks about Scouting....

Thank you for being a Scouter! Today I have a short story to share (with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore) I first read on Podcast 248 to wish readers and listeners happy holidays. The story includes Scouters in neckerchiefs, silence imploring, settling ourselves for a long winter’s snoring. Next week is Christmas and the following is new year’s, so for the next two weeks the podcast will be on vacation right along with you as you enjoy the holidays with your friends and family ....

Imagine two Scout troops, troop A and troop B. Both troops have “average” Scouts (whatever that means) who do what average Scouts do. Both have a well defined procedural approach to discipline and misbehavior. Troop A publishes a guide that defines the rules, how they are enforced, and penalties for breaking them. Troop B has no written rules, so they don’t have any measures for policing them or penalties for breaking the rules....

Scout advancement is not adults judging Scouts… … it’s Scouts meeting requirements with the support of adult volunteers – in Scout advancement we are all on the same side. We did not write the requirements. We don’t personally embroider patches to present to them. It’s tiresome and self-defeating to devise our own hoops for Scouts to jump through or impose our judgement on Scouts. Most advancement requirements are defined metrics, a few are judgement calls....

Kevin Callan is here, it’s time to go winter camping! Canada’s Happy Camper, our friend Kevin Callan, author of the new Complete Guide to Winter Camping joins us on this podcast with his welcoming way of sharing his knowledge of the woods in winter. You’ll see right away how Kevin has earned the name “happy camper”, he’s a passionate, devoted outdoorsman. Whether it’s your first or 101st winter camping trip you’ll find the guide a fantastic resource....

Expertise and experience are overrated Scouts need Scouters with energy and vision more than Scouters with expertise and experience. Scouts don’t care what you know, they respond to who you are. In this podcast I answer three email questions. The first (begins at [1:05]) comes from a new Scouter contemplating becoming a Scoutmaster, but is concerned they are inexperienced. I was a very inexperienced Scoutmaster, so I know you can do this....

What do I do now? A Scout misbehaves, makes a mistake, or even consciously does something wrong, and things spin out of control, now what? If you hang around long enough your Scouts misbehave, and you’ll will be confronted by this sort of incident, so what is your plan? I’ll discuss an incident shared with me some time ago to illustrate some core ideas about the crucial things a Scouter ought to know....

Should gender define Scouting? This week I want to discuss responses to a post I published last week about gender in Scouting: Girls in the BSA. The post garnered lot’s of responses both for and against the idea of the BSA becoming a co-ed organization, and I’ll discuss some of the objections in this podcast. The question of gender and Scouting can be an explosive one since gender issues have caused much consternation and disagreement over the years....

I’ll be brief, well, kind of… … join me as I talk about two key ideas for Scouters I hope you find helpful . This podcast condenses into one talk the answers I wrote to several common email questions I had this summer. I want to share two key ideas I have talked about many times before, but I think are always important to emphasize. You can’t talk too much about these two ideas for Scouters, I hope!...

Hey! I’m still here, are you? My summer break stretched into the fall a little! Spend some time catching up with me in this briefer edition of the podcast, lots to talk about! We had a great trip to Kandersteg International Scout Center in Switzerland, the troop had a great week at summer camp and have laid the foundations for a great year of activities for our Scouts. The BSA began a listening campaign around the idea of “serving the whole family” and allowing girls to register in all of our age divisions, hooray!...

Some Scouting problems are just nettlesome… … they aren’t discipline problems, or particularly disruptive, just nettlesome, irritating, like stinging nettles. Everyone thinks it’s the Scoutmaster’s responsibility to fix nettlesome Scouting problems, truth is it isn’t, at least not directly. Most Scouters run into a situation like this, it bothers them, and then they create a rule thinking this will fix things. It doesn’t. Rules are powerless to change underlying attitudes, they can only compel compliance....

Who “owns” the pack, troop or crew? Scouting Charters are held by a chartering organization owns all of the assets of a Scout unit. As for whether or not they will dictate how the money is spent; the chartered organization is responsible to make sure finances are administered properly. In practice most chartered organizations do not get very involved in the management of the finances or the program, they entrust those decisions to the volunteers involved....