I hope you had a great summer… The picture for this week’s podcast is one of my favorite campsites on Proulx lake in Ontario Canada’s Algonquin Provincial Park. We took twenty people in three crews this year and had a great time. I am glad to be back, and this week I’ll answer some of the email questions you have sent over the break. In 30+ years as a Scouter I have been through difficult situations....
Scouts and paperwork can be like oil and water! In this week’s podcast an update on our 2016 trip to Kandersteg, I’ll answer email questions about handling permission slips (get in touch and tell me how you handle paperwork and deadlines), youth leaders, and avoiding homesickness. LINKS Working with Homesick ScoutsHomesickness on podcast 76Helping Homesick Scouts RecoverKandersteg 2016 MUSIC The Cat Came Back – Scott Bruffey Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers Podcast: Play in new window | Download...
Behavior problems can be challenging, but… … understanding the basic principles behind addressing difficult behavior helps us resolve them in the best interest of the Scout. I’ll answer an email about bullying and another about concerns over merit badge counselling. Scoutmaster Training Syllabus – see appendices G and H for information on the Scoutmaster Conference Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Sitting down, a sigh of relief, a cup of coffee, close your eyes, and think about a nap. What’s that? Somebody walking through the leaves. You open your eyes just enough to see the senior patrol leader striding purposefully in your direction, he stops a couple of feet away, wondering if you are awake. After playing possum for a few seconds, you look again. He’s still there. “Hey Mark, what’s up?...
Podcast Episode (00:43:43): Download MP3 Listen to Scoutmaster Podcast 238 | What, exactly, is the Patrol Method? Why did our founder emphasize the importance of the patrol method over all else in Scouting? In this week’s podcast the fourth of four installments that discusses how basic ideas to practically apply the patrol method. I also answer email questions on how to have Scouts form patrols, how to address bad behavior that happens outside of Scouting, and what positions of responsibility are elected, which are appointed, and if a Scout can hold more than one such position....
Podcast Episode (00:33:20): Download MP3 Listen to Scoutmaster Podcast 237 | What, exactly, is the Patrol Method? Why did our founder emphasize the importance of the patrol method over all else in Scouting? In this week’s podcast the third of four installments that discusses the typical objections raised when the patrol method is applied. Three different email questions on the theme of focusing on the individual Scout, one has an over ambitious parent and an attitude problem, one has special needs, and one is going through tough times....
Podcast Episode (00:32:18): Download MP3 Listen to Scoutmaster Podcast 229 | Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers Working with Scouts means dealing with routine behavior problems from time to time, but… While serious misbehavior, at least in my experience, is thankfully rare – we do have to be prepared to resolve it when it occurs. In this podcast I offer my best advice to Scouters who contacted me with about resolving two incidents involving serious misbehavior....
Have you ever had to deal face-to-face with a fellow Scout who was out of line? If your Patrol and Troop are doing adventurous and challenging things, you will have to deal with a situation like this sooner or later. I remember the hardest time I ever had camping was in the middle of July in Texas at record high temperatures. It was hot; you were laying down absolutely still at night with sweat pouring off and gathering in pools around you....
Podcast Episode (00:38:39): Download MP3 Listen to Scoutmaster Podcast 208 | Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers This podcast features the second and final installment of the two-part series started in podcast 207 discussing difficult behavior in Scouts. There’s also email questions about youth leaders roles and who decided how the program will be presented. All this and your messages in the mailbag. Podcast Archive Podcast: Play in new window | Download...
Podcast Episode (00:30:17): Download MP3 Listen to Scoutmaster Podcast 207 | Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers What causes Scouts to behave poorly? Are they just being willful and disobedient or is there something else going on? In this podcast the first part of a two-part series looking into the reasons behind difficult behavior and how we can respond to it effectively. There’s also some information about service hours for 2nd Class, Star and Life Ranks: what service is acceptable and how do we decide?...
Carrying backpacks for the first time, Scouts leave the familiar comforts of home and strike out on the trail. Following flashlight beams through unknown territory, they arrive at the campsite with their friends. Tents are set up, a fire is lit and they gather around trying to shake off the cold. They talk excitedly about tomorrow’s climb over a mountain peak to the destination on the other side. They strain their imaginations in anticipation, careful to mask the uncertainty and vulnerability they feel in the volume and bravado of the conversation....
If you are headed off to camp this summer it’s likely you will be working with one or more homesick Scouts. Understanding, preventing and treating homesickness ought to be approached like administering first aid for any other illness or injury. Homesickness is not imaginary, it’s not an indication of weakness or lack of character, it’s not a symptom of bad parenting or bad leadership and, thankfully, it’s reasonably easy to prevent....
Podcast Episode (00:20:22): Listen on Apple Podcasts In this edition of the Scoutmaster Podcast we talk about this month’s ScoutCircle, reiterate how Scouting cooperates with the family in matters of discipline and behavior, and answer a question about the Toten’ Chip card. All this and your messages in the mailbag! |
There is discipline and accountability in Scouting but Scoutmasters are not disciplinarians. We are volunteers in the game of Scouting and our job is to mentor and train youth to lead themselves. When there is a question of accountability – a Scout who is not doing what he is expected to do – Scouters can speak to them and encourage them to rise to the occasion. If they don’t it is not up to the Scouter nor the troop to discipline or punish the Scout....
The first two parts of this discussion deal with why Scouts make poor decisions and how we can help them decide well. **How do we react to bad decisions?**If we understand the way our Scout’s brains are working we know that reactive punishment is going to have little effect on their future ability to make better decisions. Anger or the punishments we employ may make them even more recalcitrant and drive them towards even more risky behavior....
Yesterday we looked at why otherwise intelligent Scouts sometimes make incredibly bad decisions. We understand that this has a lot to do with their developing brains. How do we help them? Asking adolescents to contemplate trade-offs between risks and benefits is ineffective because their decision making capabilities are underdeveloped. Stating the facts not only won’t help but may make them even less able to make good decisions because their decision making is skewed towards overestimating the benefits of an action....
Every once in a while a Scout does something so stunningly foolish and reckless we stop and ask; “He’s such an intelligent kid, why did he do something so stupid?” Emerging brain development research explains the sometimes stunningly bad choices adolescents make. Understanding how the developing adolescent brain works will help us help our Scouts avoid risky behavior and address the consequences of bad choices when they occur. **Why do they act this way?...
We are all working towards the troop where Scout leaders are not leading, up front, talking much ( if at all). Our aim is that , the vast majority of the time, Scouts are leading Scouts and we are far in the background. I am not advocating that adults should be continually present monitoring for bad behavior. This technique works not only for Scoutmasters but for senior patrol leaders and patrol leaders too....
When I served as a camp director I got some complaints about our dining hall steward’s attitude towards Scouts setting or clearing the tables. Scouts rotate the responsibility of serving as a waiter at our camp. They go early to set the table, serve the food during the meal and clear up afterwords. At any given meal there are Scouts who are new to the experience and they make mistakes. My dining hall steward was growing increasingly frustrated with their inexperience and yelled at them making them even more jumpy....
Scout leaders are constantly called on to resolve conflicts, make decisions and provide direction. We do these things better when we are able to be calm, non-judgmental and unbiased. I can be easily upset and that leads to getting upset about being upset and that leads to being reactive, judgmental and unpleasant. I admire unflappable people, I aspire to be unflappable. Unflappable people are not easily perturbed or excited or upset; marked by extreme calm and composure; remain levelheaded; are unswayed by adversity or excitement; don’t get frustrated or irritated easily; are poised, calm, and self-controlled....