The heart of the Scout Law is Helpful, Friendly, Courteous and Kind. All the points of the Law are equally important and vitally important to Scouting. These four points, however, define the basics of how we interact with each other in the Scout Troop. Scouts who live by these four points of the Law will find their time in Scouting to be enjoyable and will avoid many troubles in life after Scouting....
It ain’t ignorance that causes all the trouble in this world. It’s the things people know that ain’t so. Edwin Armstrong , electrical engineer and inventor of FM radio. Sometimes in Scouting tradition and long practice usurp the way things ought to be. We tend to accept things unquestioningly as they are given to us. I am reminded of the story of the fellow who always cut the ends off a ham before he put it in the oven....
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” Steve Jobs commencement address at Stanford University in 2005 Parents of my Scouts are on an uncertain journey....
I’m a preacher’s kid, so I’ve sat through a lot of sermons, pretty much all of them longer than a minute. When it became my turn to talk at the close of the troop meeting, I tried to use some of what I’d learned in all that time. My dad was a really good preacher, but he got even better after a short post-graduate course with Dr. Reuel Howe at the Institute for Advanced Pastoral Studies....
EDITORS NOTE: This is an excellent example of carpe minutea or ‘seizing the minute’ from contributor Larry Gieger. It also gives us all a look into the thought processes and keen observational skills of a veteran Scouter. What are you seeing when you are out camping with your Scouts? I, for one, am anxious to hear exactly how far a Gieger Mile is – do you use a Gieger counter to measure one accurately?...
The Scoutmaster minute is a tradition for sharing a thought or idea at every troop meeting. There are books and websites replete with lots and lots of minutes (here’s mine) but I have never really used them all that much. Many years ago I tried to have a formal Scoutmaster minute prepared for each meeting. I soon sensed that my Scouts were enduring rather than enjoying my orations evidenced by the many unmistakable signs of adolescent behavior that indicate you are being politely ignored; the rolling eyes, the vacant stare, the shuffling feet....
Here’s a Scoutmaster’s Minute on the subject of experience: You don’t lack intelligence, fortitude, motivation or common sense; you lack experience. You get experience from trying things out, from EXPER-imenting , from experiencing the results of your actions. How do you think the wild mushroom called the Death’s Cap got it’s name? Experience. Somebody told me that orange and chocolate tastes pretty good together. I think they do too. How do I know?...
This post on Doug Stowe’s The Wisdom of the Hands blog discusses the hand-brain connection: “The way to the brain, goes through the hand” This isn’t a new thought, but it is particularly relevant to Scouting. (If you take the time to look at Doug’s writings you’ll soon discover that this isn’t just a saying; it has a scientific basis.) Are we at our best when we are telling, showing or doing?...
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832) is an important writer in the German language and Western culture. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, literature, theology, philosophy, and science and continue to be an inspiration. His wide-ranging thinking lends itself well to defining the twelve points of the Scout Law: Trustworthy Trust yourself, then you will know how to live. Loyal Love can do much, but duty more....
Nine years ago as the full extent of the terrorist attacks began to unfold a group of passengers aboard a hijacked plane made a choice. By chance they were on a very ordinary flight together, by choice they became heroes and arguably averted massive loss of life had their flight gone on to reach our nations capitol. In minutes they chose action over fear in the knowledge they may not come out alive....
From Seth Godin’s blog; A toddler wants what she wants, now. That’s a win. A little later, when we’re more mature, we might define winning as getting what we want at the expense of someone else. I win when you lose. And yes, winning still means now, not later. A demagogue cares so much about winning that he’d rather wreck the system itself than lose… What happens when you define a win as getting closer to someone who wants the same thing?...
The advice of their elders to young men is very apt to be as unreal as a list of the hundred best books. Oliver Wendell Holmes I take Justice Holme’s thought as a simple statement of fact rather than a derisive evaluation of the vicissitudes of youth. Note that he qualifies his statement with ‘apt’ – he is not ruling out that some young men will take advice. When we sew a leader’s patch on to our uniforms we accept a few things about working with young people....
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) was never a boy scout but no one has ever written more poignantly about boyhood. His contrarian, cross grained and curmudgeonly persona could not completely conceal his humanitarianism. Here are some of his thoughts applied to the scout law: Trustworthy “I am different from [George] Washington; I have a higher, grander standard of principle. Washington could not lie. I can lie, but I won’t.” Loyal...
The Rudyard Kipling poem “if” is a source of inspiration for Scouts. If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too: If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated don’t give way to hating,...
Scoutmaster Podcast 6 Moving from Adult to Youth Leadership In This Podcast What is a Scoutmaster? [2:22] Humor – Moccasin Telegraph [9:35] Moving from Adult to Youth Leadership [13:29] Scoutmaster’s Minute – A Scout is Cheerful [20:18] Podcast Notes The Inquiry NetAsk Andy Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
February 22nd is Founder’s Day, the birthday of Lord Robert Baden-Powell the founder of the Scout Movement and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). Nearly all National Scout Associations throughout the world celebrate Founder’s Day as an opportunity to learn more about B.P.’s life and his work. In 1922 Baden-Powell spoke to the 3rd International Congress on Moral Education in Geneva, Switzerland. His speech laid out a vision for Scouting as an education in peace and love in the aftermath of the ordeal of the first world war....
Scoutmaster Podcast 5 In This Podcast Webelos Den Leader to Scoutmaster [2:47] Hiking story [10:01] 5th in the series Instructional Methods for Scouts [14:17] Scoutmaster Minute; Founder’s Day [21:21] Podcast Notes Ask AndyDownload Instructional Methods for Scouts.pdf (65.6K) Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Scoutmaster Podcast 4 In This Podcast Merit Badge Quality [1:58] Humor – Bevis & Butthead [9:04] 4th in the series Instructional Methods for Scouts [14:38] Scoutmaster Minute; A Scout is Trustworthy [22:02] Podcast Notes Download Instructional Methods for Scouts.pdf (65.6K) Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Scoutmaster Podcast 3 Centenary Observance In This Podcast Centenary Observance [2:58] An Approach to Policy [9:51] 3rd in the series Instructional Methods for Scouts [19:28] Scoutmaster Minute; A Hot Mess [25:49] Podcast Notes The DumpInstructional Methods for Scouts PDF file Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Scoutmaster Podcast 2 Make the Most of Being a Scouter In This Podcast 5 Things to Make the Most of Your Opportunity as a Scout Leader [1:10] Humor – Father Fred [7:34] 2nd in the series Instructional Methods for Scouts [10:04] Scoutmaster Minute; Cliff Young [15:17] Podcast Notes Download Instructional Methods for Scouts.pdf (65.6K) Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS