Scouting Fundamentals

This is the fourth of twelve installments in a story that follows a new Scoutmaster, Chuck Grant, attempting to use the patrol method in a troop that has forgotten how. *I’ve based this work of fiction on the stories shared by readers and listeners, questions they have asked, and the advice I commonly share in reply.*Scoutmasters can expect to encounter challenges and setbacks along the way. I’ve tried to avoid being unreasonable optimistic, or overly pessimistic about the progress we can make when we stick to the basics....

This is the third of twelve installments in a story that follows a new Scoutmaster, Chuck Grant, attempting to use the patrol method in a troop that has forgotten how. *I’ve based this work of fiction on the stories shared by readers and listeners, questions they have asked, and the advice I commonly share in reply.*Scoutmasters can expect to encounter challenges and setbacks along the way. I’ve tried to avoid being unreasonable optimistic, or overly pessimistic about the progress we can make when we stick to the basics....

This second of twelve installments is a story that follows a new Scoutmaster, Chuck Grant, attempting to use the patrol method in a troop that has forgotten how. *I’ve based this work of fiction on the stories shared by readers and listeners, questions they have asked, and the advice I commonly share in reply.*Scoutmasters can expect to encounter challenges and setbacks along the way. I’ve tried to avoid being unreasonable optimistic, or overly pessimistic about the progress we can make when we stick to the basics....

This first of twelve installments is a story that follows a new Scoutmaster, Chuck Grant, attempting to use the patrol method in a troop that has forgotten how. *I’ve based this work of fiction on the stories shared by readers and listeners, questions they have asked, and the advice I commonly share in reply.*Scoutmasters can expect to encounter challenges and setbacks along the way. I’ve tried to avoid being unreasonable optimistic, or overly pessimistic about the progress we can make when we stick to the basics....

The Patrol System was published by the General Council Boy Scouts of Canada in 1960 and is available in PDF format here (do make sure to check out The Dump). The principles of the Patrol System were first introduced by the Founder, Baden-Powell, when he was with the British Army in India. The system he devised enabled soldiers to operate in small groups and use their own initiative within the overall plan of campaign … the Patrol System became one of the basic elements of Scouting....

More than once, out hiking or paddling, I followed my instincts (the campsite is right over there!) rather than my map and ended up off course. Good pilots and navigators trust instruments over instincts. Compasses point at magnetic north. Scouters have assumptions or impressions about Scouting. Meridians of longitude on maps converge at true north. Scouting aims and principles are the Scouter’s map. To follow a true north meridian on a map with a compass we compensate for the difference between magnetic and true north....

Before you read these ten common Scouting mistakes, let’s agree that being a Scouter means always moving towards the ideal, but we never truly arrive. Ideals are like stars: you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the ocean desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them, you reach your destiny. – Carl Schurz 1. Making Things More efficient Would things would go so more smoothly if we just made a few changes?...

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 results of the Boy Scouts of America Fall 2013 Voice of the Scout survey have been published in this executive summary and infographic. You can also access the published results of all VoS surveys. How it Works A Voice of the Scout (VoS) survey is conducted every six months. Invitations are emailed to seven different audiences (Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts/Ventures, Cub Scout Parents, Boy Scout /Venture Parents, Youth Facing Volunteers, District/Council Volunteers, Chartered Organizations....

There’s a lot of discussion about who makes decisions about what activities Scouts put on their schedule. What do Scouts decide? Should adults be part of that process, or must we always allow Scouts to make these decisions? Some would argue that who makes these decisions is a good test of whether a troop is youth-led or not. ‘Youth led” is a key component of the patrol system, so the question we ought to be asking is if we are applying the patrol system....

A ripping good yarn from John Thurman’s Patrol Leader’s Handbook was aimed at helping the Scouts of 1950 catch the spirit of their work as patrol leaders. I offer it here to spark your imagination, and to answer the question ‘why do we have Scoutmasters?’; In the early days of Scouting boys from all over the country, and later from all over the world, bought the book Scouting for Boys and formed themselves into Patrols....

Patrols are much more than a convenient way to divide a large group of Scouts into smaller, more manageable groups. Patrols are the single unique feature of Scouting and the indispensable method for achieving the aims of Scouting. Most of us became Scouters as Cub Leaders. During the Cub Scout years the program depends on a lot of adult involvement and leadership in response to the age of the Cubs. We often mistakenly carry these habits and ideas into Scout troops....

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....

Clarke, I would like to hear your thoughts regarding association with adults as a Scouting method, and how Baden Powell’s own statements are applied in the context of the Patrol method. I think some leaders have a hard time striking the right balance, because the adults are not supposed to be affecting what Scouts are doing at meetings or on campouts. I know we train and mentor leaders, and conduct Scoutmaster conferences; is there other aspects of association that we are missing?...

What are Scouting Skills? Can you throw some things in a pack, step off the road into the woods and live comfortably for a few days without getting lost? Can you build a fire, lash a tripod together, set up a shelter, cook your food, stay warm and dry and leave no trace of your presence when you leave? If the answer is yes then you possess what I would call some basic ‘Scouting Skills’....

What, precisely, is the promise of Scouting? No one would know better than William Hillcourt: Your Life as a Scout You are an American boy. Before long you will be an American man. It is important to America and to yourself that you become a citizen of fine character, physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. Boy Scouting will help you become that kind of citizen. but also, Scouting will give you fellowship and fun....

Perhaps “Troop Program Death Spiral” is a gratuitously dramatic title but it describes something that does happen. Got your attention, though, didn’t I? How and why do troops get off track and lose Scouts? There’s a predictable sequence of events that spiral down into a crash. Scouts are never the problem, it’s the way we work with them that causes problems. When we sign on to volunteer and one of three things happen –...

During our camp retreat ceremony we fire a 12 gauge signal cannon as the colors are lowered. I asked why we did this (was it some tradition in American history, a military observance?) . I learned that we used to have a flag flying at the highest point of camp and the signal cannon let a group of Scouts stationed their to strike the colors while the rest of the camp saluted in a field far below....