Julian Kulski was a Polish Scout when the Nazis invaded his nation in 1939. He was only 10 years old when the war began. After the invasion the Nazis directed that all schools be closed and that any patriotic clubs and organizations be disbanded under penalty of death. Concerned about his son’s safety, Kulski’s father urged […]
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The Left Handshake
A reader recently inquired to the origins of the left handshake as a greeting for Scouts. After researching the question the short answer is that, while no one can really determine who first started the tradition, the left handshake is a tradition older than Scouting. Baden-Powell (the founder of Scouting) may have adopted the left handshake from author, illustrator and co-founder […]
What’s a Scout Hour?
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 […]
Rule Number 54
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 […]
Cubmaster Jack Lemmon and Den Mother Doris Day
‘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 […]
Rule of Thumb Attention Span
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
Ounces and Pounds
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”
Things Overheard at Scout Camp
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 […]
Take care of all the small things…
“Take care of all the small things, and the big things never show up.” From Sippican Cottage
What Would You Do? – Commanding Respect
Here’s the latest question posed by Scouting Magazine’s ‘What Would You Do‘ column: Commanding Respect Our troop has just seven Scouts who are 14 or older, including me, and then 15 to 20 younger Scouts. On camp-outs, the younger Scouts don’t listen to us, and they give us attitude when we ask them to do […]
What Would You Do? – Asperger’s Syndrome
From Scouting Magazine’s ‘What Would You Do?’ One of our Boy Scouts has Asperger’s syndrome. He does well learning Scouting concepts by reading, but he has struggled with camp-outs and activities that are not highly structured. What can we do as a troop to help him succeed? Also, it is taking him a long time […]
Scoutmaster’s Lexicon – Adventure
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.
The Scouting Party
I have spent some memorable hours reading an advance copy of David C. Scott and Brendan Murphy’s new book The Scouting Party… … a thoroughly researched, unflinching account of the founding and first decade of the BSA focused on the lives of Earnest Thompson Seton, Robert Baden-Powell and Daniel Carter Beard. To my knowledge no […]
Pettifogger
Pettifogger: n, a disputant who quibbles; someone who raises annoying petty objections. pettifogging, pettifoggery
The Scoutmaster’s Lexicon – Voluntold
Voluntold /vol-en-told/ adverb; Taking on a responsibility normally assumed voluntarily under some from of compulsion (typically a withering look from one’s comrades). “Edward was voluntold to be the patrol cook.”
Handling physical fights between Scouts
‘What Would You Do?’ AKA ‘Front Line Stuff’ question for the next issue of Scouting Magazine; During free time on a recent troop camp-out, a Scout from the Fox patrol thought it would be fun to steal the Rattlesnake patrol’s flag. One boy punched the other, and the fisticuffs continued for several minutes. In the […]
Boy, the Scout Handbook Keeps Changing
From an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal; Boy, the Scout Handbook Keeps Changing by Tony Woodleif, a succinct and thoughtful evaluation of what Scouting means to a Scout and his family: I suppose a handbook won’t determine whether my sons have an enriching Scout experience. Their troop’s leaders will. And I will. “Troops,” says an Eagle […]
What Would You Do? – Using Nontraditional Communications Means
The current question for the What Would You Do? feature in Scouting Magazine: Phone calls, snail mail, and even e-mail seem antiquated to many of our Scouts. We’re exploring nontraditional communications forms such as Twitter, Facebook, and mass-calling systems, but we need guidance. How do you manage such systems, and what guidelines do you follow? […]
Front Line Stuff – Dealing with troop election results
From Scouting Magazine’s ‘What would You Do?’ department (formerly called ‘Front Line Stuff’) a question about a recent troop leader election: We recently had our troop leadership elections, and the Scouts elected a senior patrol leader who is inexperienced, uncommitted, and has no real sense of responsibility. I am worried about the direction of the […]
Quotes from Scouting Founder Robert Baden-Powell
Over a century volumes of guidance has been offered to Scoutmasters yet none is so effective as that of the founder of the worldwide Scouting movement Robert Baden-Powell A boy carries out suggestions more wholeheartedly when he understands their aim. A Scout is never taken by surprise; he knows exactly what to do when anything […]
Encourage Scouts to complete merit badge requirements
Scouting magazine’s feature once called ‘Front Line Stuff’ has been renamed (I think) ‘What would you do?’ Here’s the current question; Many Scouts start and finish merit badge requirements in a reasonable amount of time, others do not. Often, at summer camp, boys begin badges but return home with partial completions. Some of these partials […]
Double Your Troop?
The current question at Scouting Magazine’s Front Line Stuff How Would You Manage Rapid Growth in Your Troop? Over the past few years our troop has doubled in size due to good programming and good promotion by our committee chair. Although this is a great problem to have, it’s hard to keep youth and adult […]
Getting Cub Scouts to be Serious
The current question at Scouting Magazine’s Front Line Stuff Getting Cub Scouts to be Serious I am a den chief, and my father is a den leader. I play games with the Cub Scouts and try to have fun, but when it’s time to be serious, they just want to keep fooling around. How can […]
Parents Talk About Scouting
Before you read any further please promise not to comment on this post as if I personally made any of the comments below. Promise? Okay, then read on. The comments listed here are responses to a question posted on an online parents forum: One of my brothers kids is now a Boy Scout. I remember […]
