It’s been some years since most of us lived under the regime of the secret laws of adolescence. Our Scouts know them pretty well and obey them most of the time. Here’s one section Scouters should review: SECTION I TALKING TO ADULTS 1. ATTENTION SPAN a. Maximum attention span of three minutes, no minimum attention span required. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ASKED BY ADULTS a. Reaction and “answers” (in order of precedence)...
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Scout camp has a number of benefits that we sometimes miss! For Better or For Worse Comic Strip, July 06, 2013 on GoComics.com.
(Historic fiction inspired by comments on this post – have you ever had a call like this?) After a weekend camping trip a twelve year-old Scout throws his pack into the trunk and gets in the car. His parent asks, “So, what did you do this weekend? Did you get a lot of work done? Was it fun?” He rubs his eyes, “It was great, we cooked a lot and then we ate, and we played some games and walked around,” he yawns, “Mostly we cooked stuff and cleaned up and kind of sat around the fire....
When someone starts with “I’ll keep this brief…” we all know what happens next. How few words can you use to get your message across? That’s the right amount. The length of what it said does not relate to the importance of what is being said. Most of the time Scouts stop listening before we are done speaking – they want the basic information and don’t really hear the rest.
Forty Phrases every Scoutmaster should know: “Ask your patrol leader.” “Well, ask him again.” “Well then, ask your senior patrol leader.” “I don’t know.” “Where’s your buddy?” “Who is your buddy?” “Do you do that at home?” “We don’t do that here.” “Stop!” “Go!” “What happens next?” “Why?” “Does that belong to you?” “Checking my eyelids for leaks. Why? What are doing?” “You can do it!” “Don’t do that.” “Are you sure you do that at home?...
I was asked to write a guest article for the Algonquin Outfitters Blog (these are the outfitters we use for our canoe trips in Canada) : Moose are sneaky. I could imagine them getting together a few days before we arrived and a big bull issuing some orders: “So next week there’s going to be two crews of Scouts up here. There’s one guy, his name is Bill, medium height, medium build, black hair; don’t anybody go near that guy okay?...
A dog in the manger guards the manger (where hay is put for animals to eat) not because he wanted to eat the hay but to prevent the other animals from doing so. In the context of Scouting I think of a few instances that illustrate the point; Volunteers who get so stuck in one way of doing things they refuse to let anyone else help them, let alone share their responsibilities....
This fanciful chain reaction pioneering project was found at the Ropes and Poles Blog Rain falls during the night and runs down the trough into the billy-can, thereby upsetting the balance of the guillotine and bringing the razor-sharp knife into operation… A signaling device and an ‘ingratiator’ at one go? – not bad eh?.
I posted this ‘study’ to Facebook earlier this week. The interest it created leads me to share news of research by hard-working yet little known Scouters who staff the Large Baden Collider at Philmont Scout Ranch. Some years ago Bernoulli (Harry Bernoulli, Pack 234) concluded Scout volunteers could fulfill their mission in an hour a week. This hypothesis has since been the subject of intensive study. I was able to find the most current formula that accounts for the ages of the Scouts (younger Scouts require more time) and the influence of other volunteers....
The Kybo, that humble wooden facility elemental to our camping memories, can be a little terrifying at first. Eventually all of us must go at one time or another. “Kybo” is a common name throughout world Scouting. A moniker that may hark back to filling Kybo brand coffee cans with powdered lime sprinkled in the facility to alleviate odor and promote decomposition. Have you heard toilet paper called “Kybo Tape” or “Kybo Wrap”?...
Rule No. 54 from Andy at Ask Andy : The more logical and simple the Scouting procedure or policy, the more it will be ignored. This isn’t simply a curmudgeonly observation – it’s true. True things ought to inspire us to think for a minute or two (at least). I see a similarity to a quote I posted earlier this month from Edwin Armstrong : It ain’t ignorance that causes all the trouble in this world....
‘It Happened to Jane’ (1959) starred Jack Lemmon and Doris Day. It’s an O.K. movie (Ernie Kovaks is the villain). This clip is a little long , but watch the first part. Note the reasonably realistic, chaotic group of Cub Scouts. Doris singing ‘Be Prepared’ as Jack strums the ukulele on backup. As a youngster I would have been a worshipful, attentive and enthusiastic singer if the lovely Ms. Day showed up at my cook out....
From Rules of Thumb : The most successful teaching lessons last 22 minutes, the exact length of the average TV sit-com. – Steven M. Keisman, New York City high school resource coordinator
What weighs an ounce in the morning, weighs a pound at night. An old soldier’s proverb, also mentioned in Earnest Thompson Seton’s “The Birch Bark Roll”
Scout leaders hear lots of interesting things over the course of a normal day (if there is such a thing) at Scout camp. Many times even the most contradictory versions of many of these phrases are heard minutes apart. Have you seen my (handbook, merit badge book, wallet, towel, water bottle)? You do know where the shower house is, don’t you? (This is, You are) the worst (counselor, patrol, troop, senior patrol leader, patrol leader, scoutmaster, tent, bunk, breakfast, lunch, dinner) I have ever had!...
Cartoonist Charles Schultz brilliantly depicted adult speech in his animated ‘Peanuts’ cartoons as unintelligible honking. As a child I certainly understood what Schultz was aiming at. As an adult I recall the different ways that adults talked to me when I was young and how I heard them: Yelling, Hollering, Shouting Sometimes (and only sometimes) it’s an adult’s job to raise their voice and get attention. Use this tone too often and you are likely to be avoided or ignored....
“Take care of all the small things, and the big things never show up.” From Sippican Cottage
“The Paper Chase” started as a novel, was made into a movie and, finally, a TV series in the 1970’s. The story follows a law student in his first year at Harvard. The student’s nemesis is the brilliant, dispassionate and relentlessness Professor Kingsfield. Kingsfield has an off-putting demeanor and, at first, appears to be indifferent to his students and their problems. What he knows, though, is that his relentless attitude actually serves the interests of his students....
An adventure is merely a bit of bad planning, brought to light by the test of a trial. Roald Amundsen polar explorer Camping when the weather is clear and sunny = great camping. Camping when the weather is ‘interesting’ = adventure.