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 […]
Understanding Scouting
A New Scoutmaster – Chapter Two
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 […]
A New Scoutmaster – Chapter One
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 […]
Origins of the Patrol System
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 […]
True North or Magnetic North?
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 […]
10 Common Scouting Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)
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 […]
Simple Versus Complicated Scouting
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, […]
Scouting, Sidelines, and New Interpretations
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 […]
Scouting as Craftsmanship
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 […]
Fall 2013 Voice of the Scout Survey Results
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 […]
Andy’s Scouting Laws
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 […]
Association with Adults – A Method of Scouting
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 […]
What Are Scouting Skills, Why Are They (Still) Important and How do We Get Them Right?
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 […]
Keep the Promise of Scouting
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 […]
Order of the Arrow | June 2013 ScoutCircle
Andrew Coe is the Lodge Advisor for Octoraro Lodge 22, Order of The Arrow, in Chester County Council, Pennsylvania. Andy became an Eagle Scout, served on the Camp staff at Horseshoe Scout Reservation and was involved in a number of youth leadership positions in Octoraro Lodge. As advisor to Andy helps the lodge executive committee […]
Scouting Traditions and Scouting Habit
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 […]
Synthetic or Authentic Scouting?
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 […]
Adult and Youth Leadership Ratios on Scout Outings
When we talk about boys planning, preparing and leading Scout outings some folks reply “Good grief, how can you leave the Scouts in charge when the troop is going on a strenuous hike to Jones Mountain and they have no experience? As Scoutmaster, isn’t it my responsibility to be closely involved in each Scout’s preparation […]
Explaining the Voice of the Scout
Last fall’s Voice of the Scout results have been out for some time now. I have looked at it a few times but quickly grew frustrated with trying to figure out what it was saying or what it all meant. The documents I have read are cast in pretty tortured jargon and I don’t have a lot […]
Top-Down Organizations
Frank Maynard’s blog Bobwhite Blather is a must-read resource written form the perspective of a troop committee chair. Here’s his take on top-down organizations: The problems with a top-down organization are that its leaders never get the real picture because people tell them what they want to hear. They don’t get the benefit of the wisdom and initiative […]
Observation and Proximity
Two of the effects physicists describe apply to our work in Scouting: The Observer Effect Changes that the act of observation makes on the phenomenon being observed. A tire pressure gauge releases air from the tire thus changing the pressure we are testing. The Proximity Effect When two atoms come into proximity, the highest energy, or valence, orbitals of the atoms change […]
Scouting as a Game – Green Bar Bill
William “Green Bar Bill” Hillcourt is the man who wrote the book on Scouting, literally. His Patrol Leader’s Handbook is, without a doubt, his best and most influential work. His understanding of scouting was simple, but not simplistic. To an outsider, Scouting must at first appear to be a very complex matter. If it were only […]
Scouting is a Verb
On my honor, I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight Be Prepared Do a good turn daily How do Scouts advance? By doing the things […]
The Aims of Scouting
‘Aim’ is a particularly well chosen word to describe our focus as adult volunteers in Scouting. Scouting has three specific objectives, commonly referred to as the “Aims of Scouting.” They are character development, citizenship training, and personal fitness. One definition of ‘aim’ is “A purpose or intention toward which one’s efforts are directed”. As a shooting sports […]
