Here’s this month’s ScoutCircle, a solo appearance! Here’s the resources we discussed The New Parents Quick Guide Webelos_to_Scout – BSA information webelos-to-scout-transition-plan-1 Heart of America Council WebToScout Webelos to Scout Transition: A Parents’ Guide
The Boy Scouts of America Statement: “For 103 years, the Boy Scouts of America has been a part of the fabric of this nation, with a focus on working together to deliver the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. “Based on growing input from within the Scouting family, the BSA leadership chose to conduct an additional review of the organization’s long-standing membership policy and its impact on Scouting’s mission....
National Executive Wayne Brock’s message on the policy resolution; Anticipation and emotions are high as we prepare for the membership standards vote this week. Regardless of which way the vote goes, the important question for each of us is, where will we stand after the ballots are counted? To help provide some perspective, I’d like to share a letter from Ray Capp, chairman of the National Order of the Arrow Committee....
After it’s founding Scouting quickly and spontaneously spread around the world. Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of this burgeoning worldwide movement, would look back at those years and recall*: Scouting was not a year old before other countries had formed their branches. In twenty-one short years the Scout and Guide training has spread to forty-two different countries about the world, and has proved its potentiality as a factor in world peace....
After reviewing this BSA Membership Standards Review Information on Thursday, May 23, approximately 1400 voting members representing 265 local councils will vote on a resolution that, in short, removes the stipulation that boys can be excluded from membership in the BSA based on sexual orientation alone. The BSA has prepared a Voting Member Information Packet (PDF file) that describes the voting process and includes the findings of the membership standards review....
On April 19 the B.S.A. released the Membership Standards Study Initiative Executive Summary and the Membership Standards Resolution to be voted on in our May national meeting. Like many people on both sides of the question my first impression of the membership standards resolution was disappointment and frustration. (My opinion of the question of inclusion is explained here). As someone who supports inclusiveness I was disappointed that the resolution did not end the policy of excluding adults based on sexual orientation but I was heartened to see that the resolution removed the ban for youth members....
Via Curious, Useless, or Simply Interesting Scout Knowledge What is authentic Scouting? 52 Scout leaders from 16 countries in the European Scout Region replied to a survey about the retention of young people in Scouting conducted by the World Organization of the Scouting Movement (WOSM) during the World Scout Jamboree in Sweden. Their responses indicate that Scouting everywhere shares common challenges. Here’s some key thoughts offered in answer to one survey question that I think are particularly important;...
This email about one Webelos crossover to a troop needs little introduction or explanation, but one part bears repeating; Meetings don’t cut it, selling the parents on how great a troop is doesn’t cut it, your “reputation” of being a strong troop doesn’t cut it. What does? Read on; Clarke – I recently stumbled across your podcast and blog. I have been listening my way through the podcast archive. I just listened to one show about visiting Webelos....
Thanks to Frank Maynard for joining us to discuss the troop committee this month! Here are some links to material he referenced in the webcast – “So, what is it that you do?” that Clarke quoted in a recent article on his blog At a recent troop meeting we were welcoming a parent of a boy new to Scouting and discussing how the troop and Boy Scouts all works, and in the process of explaining which committee member takes care of dues, or membership, he asked me what my position was, and what I do in the troop....
Here’s the latest ScoutCircle presentation on the troop committee. Every month the virtual round table at ScoutCircle.org features a presentation and question and answer period. This month our guest was Frank Maynard , committee chairman who maintains a blog at *Bobwhite Blather.*Frank touches on many important troop committee issues in this presentation including setting up the committee, finances, working with micro-managers, resolving disputes and much more.
Our guest is Frank Maynard, a long-serving Committee Chair for a troop of 65+ boys in Michigan who also serves committees at the Cub Scout and District levels. Here are some links to material he referenced in the webcast – “So, what is it that you do?” that Clarke quoted in a recent article on his blog “The captain of the ship” talking about committee chair responsibilities “Which lane are you in?...
Yesterday a Boy Scouts of America review of ‘Values and Membership Polices’ was announced on the Scouting Magazine Blog where a link to this B.S.A. website with comprehensive information about the review is available. I’d suggest reading the information available there for a pretty thorough understanding of how the membership policy of excluding people based on sexual orientation is being addressed. Here’s my summary of the information on the site:...
I asked Jay to write about his experiences in Scouting because I think it’s important to get to know and understand each other, that young men like Jay, a gay Scout, are not new to Scouting, they have always been there – Clarke To all my fellow Scouters – We are all engaged in a conversation about whether or not to keep a policy in place at the national level that keeps gay people from active service in Scouting, as either adults or Scouts....
This statement concerning the BSA membership policy decision was released today from the Executive Board (Link): For 103 years, the Boy Scouts of America has been a part of the fabric of this nation, providing it’s youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. In the past two weeks, Scouting has received an outpouring of feedback from the American public. It reinforces how deeply people care about Scouting and how passionate they are about the organization....
Are BSA membership policies about to change? No doubt you’ve heard about or read the following statement from the Boy Scouts of America: Monday, Jan. 28, 2013 Attributable to: Deron Smith, Director of Public Relations “For more than 100 years, Scouting’s focus has been on working together to deliver the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. Scouting has always been in an ongoing dialogue with the Scouting family to determine what is in the best interest of the organization and the young people we serve....
Just last night we hosted a Webelos troop visit. While the visiting Webelos went off with the Scouts we asked the parents to come with us into another room and meet with the troop’s adult volunteers. The committee chairman talked to them for a bit about the basic functions and administrative things involved with having a son in the troop. When I was introduced to the parents I said a brief hello and explained that the best way for them to learn what our Scouts do and experience would be to talk to the Scouts rather than me....
Keeping older Scouts active and involved is a perennial concern. Scoutmasters wring their hands over losing older Scouts and many troops do have a problem keeping them around. The standard response is amping up the ‘wow’ factor of the program but I have never been very fond of the “bread and circuses” approach to Scouting. (If you aren’t familiar with the metaphor ‘bread and circuses’ refers to placating real concerns with superficial means of appeasement like diversions or distractions without getting to the heart of the matter....
This announcement from the B.S.A. is nothing new but I’ve had questions about it recently – here’s the way the college reserve works: Does your troop or team have a Scout who has turned 18 and is away at college, on a mission, or in the service and wants to stay registered in the unit? That situation occurs quite often, and until now the choices were to register them as an assistant Scoutmaster, register them with the council as College Reserve, or drop them....
Podcast Episode: Listen on Apple Podcasts Scoutmaster Podcast 110 | In This Podcast | Scoutmaster panel discussion about the Troop Committee with guest Frank Maynard | Links | Bobwhite Blather Frank’s Blog |
Do we meet key indicators of program health? Generally accepted standards for assessing unit programs do give some indications of the program health but we should take a closer look. Metrics report adult leader training, youth recruitment and retention, parent participation, youth advancement, outdoor program participation, program planning. Meeting these indicators is somewhat like having a pulse – the unit is alive and kicking. Problem is a unit can meet these criterion with a program led and administered by adult leadership as well as one administered by youth leadership....