Scouting’s policies and procedures, the rules that create the Game of Scouting, are not intended to check the ardor, interest or inventiveness of Scouts but to guide their efforts towards the aims of Scouting and to keep them safe A common problem arises when we misunderstand the place of a specific Scouting procedure or policy. Sometimes they […]
Understanding Scouting
Ten Skills Scoutmasters Need
Ten skills Scoutmasters need based on The Ten Essentials of Scoutmastership penned by William ‘Green Bar Bill’ Hillcourt were part of the Scoutmaster’s Handbook for many years. 1. A belief in boys that will make you want to invest yourself and your time on their behalf. As Plato said “Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable”. But […]
Look only at the individual Scout
… Our charge as volunteers in the movement is help to create tomorrow’s productive, responsible, happy citizens. We can’t do that if we don’t keep our doors and arms open to these young men, understanding that the “ultimate volunteer” isn’t us: It’s the Scout himself. If he gets sick and tired of our nagging him […]
Do your Scouts Share Your Ambitions?
Do your Scouts share your ambitions? You may be pulling in different directions if they don’t. How can we align the ambitions of our Scouts, our adult leadership and those of the Scouting program? One way to find out is to make three lists: List number one; adult leader ambitions Sit down and make a list of […]
Scouting Methods – Youth Version
In an earlier post, I reported on a poll and discussion of how the eight methods of Scouting are applied in our troop. We followed that up with a poll during the youth leadership training. It was great for discussion in that setting, and there were some interestingly different views on how our troop is […]
Providing Opportunities for Scouting
Our central work, our focus, as Scout leaders is to create opportunities for Scouting: to create chances, approaches and advantages : OPPORTUNITY: A combination of circumstances favorable for the purpose; a good chance or occasion to advance oneself. Favorable circumstances: an opening, event, probability, possibility. A suitable time, occasion, moment. CHANCE: The happening of events without apparent cause, or […]
Eight Methods of Scouting?
This post introduces a new contributor to Scoutmastercg.com; Walter Underwood. You can learn more about Walter by reading his profile. I really like the idea of a regular, brief and focused discussion amongst the adult leadership to air any concerns or ideas; we’ll be having one of these discussions in our troop pretty soon! – Clarke A couple of […]
Are You Promoting Limits or Potential?
This recent post from Seth Godin encourages us to think about the way we approach our work as Scout leaders: We train kids to deal with teachers in a certain way: Find out what they want, and do that, just barely, because there are other things to work on. Figure out how to say back […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 1 – Why Scouting?
Why and how does Scouting work? What’s our role? How do we best serve our Scouts? I’ll discuss my answers in this first edition of the Scoutmaster Podcast. You can also listen to a story about the first (and last) appearance of the “fire Snake”, instructional methods for Scouts, and some ideas about coaches and […]
Cooperation rather than Competition
Is Scouting really competing with sports, clubs and similar activities? Aren’t our goals somewhat similar to those of organized sports, performing arts, debate, and the many other extra-curricular activities available to our Scouts? I’ve adopted the attitude that we cooperate with these other activities in offering our youth every advantage in learning something about the […]
What is a Successful Scout?
If we are to focus on the success of our Scouts what evidence do we have that they have achieved success? There are a few simple questions in the introduction to the Scout Handbook that serve as excellent benchmarks for success; Are you ready to become an expert hiker and camper, to explore the natural world, […]
Focus on the Success of Scouts
Scouting shares that paradoxical combination of simplicity and complexity found in a round of golf or a game of baseball. The goal is simple, the means direct, yet the process is complex. Scoutmastership, like properly swinging a golf club or baseball bat, takes a few minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. Skilled Scoutmasters […]
Language of Scouting
I don’t think of myself as particularly a persnickety or doctrinaire so what follows is probably out of character. I do like to write therefore I strive to observe the rules of grammar and rely greatly on my spell checker. As someone who regularly writes about Scouting I have developed my own rough and ready […]
Scout Troop Manuals, By-Laws and the Like
What would your Scout Troop look like without a manual, by-laws or a reasonable facsimile thereof? Would anybody notice? B.S.A. literature, to my knowledge, does not mention such documents so one wonders where they came from? In my case as a young Scoutmaster I encountered the usual litany of problems and disappointments. I hit upon […]
The Most Important Volunteers in Scouting
Who are the most important volunteers in Scouting? They have more power and influence than Council Presidents, Commissioners, Scoutmasters and Cubmasters all put together. Without their participation and support Scouting would quickly come to a complete halt. They bring endless energy, resources and real transformational power to their role. They are the only volunteers we […]
Scouting Methods, Rules and Joy
Scouting has long been a positive, constructive influence in the lives of young people. This vast potential for good lies in simple Scouting methods that have been applied effectively across widely different cultures and systems of belief. These methods need little adaptation, modification or complication – they only require application to create opportunities for Scouts to exercise […]
Scale and Scouting
Scouting begins with an individual commitment expressed in the life of the Patrol and Troop. Troops form districts, districts form councils, councils form regions and regions form our national organization. I’ve for years felt strongly that, in all training, we spend too much time on “how to” and vastly too little time on WHY. I […]
Just What Does ‘Scoutmaster’ Mean?
Andy (at Ask Andy) offers this excellent analysis of one of Scouting’s biggest problems- If you’re a regular reader, you already know about the tyrants and tin gods, renegades and recalcitrants, bullies and belligerents, dictators, martinets, and “world’s oldest Patrol Leaders” masquerading as Scoutmasters. Thank goodness that, for every one of them, there are a thousand or more dedicated […]
Scouting’s Progressive Program
Scouting’s progressive program is built on the idea of developmental stages. Tiger Cubs work hand in hand with their parents, Wolf Cubs build on the relationships with their family, Bears build on the concepts of community, Webelos on self-reliance and independence. The Scout Troop and Patrol builds on all these skills as Scouts progress through the ranks. Every so often […]
Cultivating Scouting
What we do as Scouters is more like gardening than management. Cultivating Scouting brings better results than managing Scouting. Cultivating means preparing the soil, planting the seed, and allowing the plants to grow. As they grow we keep the weeds away, and see that there’s adequate water and sunshine. Think about tomato plants, if you don’t stake then out they’ll fall over and sprawl around […]
Essential Scouting Skills
John Kennaugh in a discussion from uk.rec.scouting makes the case for essential Scouting Skills; The skills Baden Powell (BP) instinctively identified as Scouting skills were based on the skills of our ancestors, making camp, putting up a shelter, cooking over a fire, exploring our surroundings without getting lost, learning about the natural world and how […]
Troop Organization Chart
Scout troops are built on patrols, and patrols are built on the natural way boys for a gang of friends, that small group is where Scouting happens. We have categorized and complicated this simple principle with overlays of military discipline, management science, job descriptions and flow charts that put the Scoutmaster at the top and the boys […]
What is Scouting Fun?
We can all agree that Scouting is fun, right? What is Scouting fun, and what isn’t? Young people are in Scouting because they crave an honest challenge. They don’t need any more “bread and circuses” (benefits or entertainments intended to placate discontent or distract attention). Scouts love to learn, but don’t like to be educated; Scouts like to work […]
Exclusive or Inclusive Scouting
A good friend in scouting who served as a scoutmaster and camp director for almost thirty years once pointed out to me that Scouting was inclusive, not exclusive. His point was that if 100 boys showed up on your doorstep wanting to join Scouts in the spirit of inclusive Scouting one welcomes them and then […]
