 |
Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS |
|
Interview with Mark Ray; author of the Scoutmaster’s Other Handbook and The Eagle Court of Honor Book. The Scoutmaster’s Other Handbook on Amazon |
Listen to this episode (00:28:50)
Get updates to Scoutmastercg.com by email
Thanks for the interview, and this is a great book.
I recommend that Scoutmasters skip the official Scoutmaster Handbook and read the SPL Handbook instead. That fills in some info that is missing in the SM Handbook and is much shorter.
My Scoutmaster reading list is here:
http://wunderwood.org/most_casual_observer/2011/05/bookshelf_for_a_new_scoutmaste.html
When you and Mark were talking about troops with unbalanced programs, I expected a mention of troops that focus everything on advancement and Eagle. That seems like a really common mistake, treating Eagle as an aim rather than just one of eight methods.
When I first saw this book I was getting ready to go to Philmont with 8 scouts and 4 dads. Marks chapter on Philmont was one of the early ones, and I devoured it. I read the whole book from cover to cover, and had discussions about it with the adults at committee meetings and camp outs. He covers all the topics adult leaders need to think about in concise, well reasoned, and superbly written chapters and sections. If I were talking to a new scoutmaster, I would recommend reading 4 books: The current scoutmaster handbook, Bill Hillcourt’s scoutmaster handbook from the 1930’s, Baden Powell’s Aids to Scoutmastership, and Mark Ray’s The Other Scoutmaster’s Handbook.