Scoutmaster Podcast 121

And now it's the old Scoutmaster. It's the rarest of occurrences, but we did have to call a scout's parents and have them pick them up from the camping trip last weekend. Yeah, it was unfortunate, It was because of poor eyesight.

Yeah, he was the only scout that didn't see the skull, Oh well, Hey, this is podcast number 122.. Hey, Music.

Well, welcome back to the Scoutmaster Podcast. This is Clarke Green Going into the mailbag for this week. Let's see One thing in the mailbag this week: another five-star review on iTunes from IB Play-Doh. IBEPLATO, IB Play-Doh.

Okay, Thanks, Play-Doh, Read all your stuff, Great stuff. As an assistant Scoutmaster for a brand new troop with 15 former Weebel-Os, I've found this podcast to be a fantastic resource for helping me make the transition from cub to boy scouts. Episodes are full of useful tips and information that has helped me much in my role. Thanks, Clark.

Well, thank you, and thank you for being in touch, and you can be in touch. As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say that you need to be in touch, And here's why This only works when it's a conversation. You can listen to me, talk all you want, but let's have a conversation about scouting. Get in touch with me, ask me questions, send me emails.

You can call, You can get aboard through the vast panorama of social media outlets And let's discuss scouting. That's what makes this work In Scoutmastership in 7 Minutes. Today we're going to talk about what a Scoutmaster must be, what they must know and what they must do, And one of the really important things is using the resources around you to develop your skills as a Scoutmaster.

And in order to do that, we've got to talk back and forth and you'll find out how to be in touch at the end of the podcast And we've also got a shout out and then a Scoutmaster minute. That's enough for any podcast.

When you say so, let's get started, shall we? Scoutmastership in 7 Minutes or less.

What's a Scoutmaster? Look at the term for a moment. I mean it's a good question.

What is a Scoutmaster? In the first part of the last century, when scouting was founded in Great Britain by Baden-Powell, the term for a teacher was school master And so Baden-Powell kind of adopted it to scouting, called us Scoutmasters And that term crossed the pond when scouting did and it was adopted here in the United States.

But in the intervening century the cultural and kind of societal look at what a Scoutmaster is has been fairly inaccurate And I think that those kind of cultural references sometimes make us into something that we're not. I mean, if you see a Scoutmaster depicted in the broader culture in a cartoon or a movie or something like that, he's kind of the guy at the head of the column with the flag leading a group of tiny little scouts through the woods And you know they look up to him and he does all of the leading and instructing and things like that. But really scouting isn't about that. Scouting is not about adults leading a bunch of boys through a series of activities And that is not the job of a Scoutmaster. A Scoutmaster is a facilitator. A Scoutmaster is a servant.

A Scoutmaster is a trainer, a mentor. A Scoutmaster is a coach.

I would probably think the best way to put it in our particular culture, the most accurate way to put it, would be that we're not Scoutmasters, we're scout coaches, And I think that would be a lot more relevant. So we're not going to actually change the term, But just in the way of thinking about it and answering the question: what is a Scoutmaster? Start thinking about yourself as a coach.

What are the key elements of being an effective Scoutmaster or an effective scout coach? Well, you do have to work well with boys and you do have to care about them, And then you have to teach and coach them how to do things for themselves, And the only way we can do that is by understanding the scouting program, the scouting process, you know, And we need to be a reasonably good example, and we need to be comfortable in the outdoors, because we're going to spend a lot of time outdoors.

So there are basically three things that we're talking about. A Scoutmaster has to be some things, he has to know some things and he has to do some things.

Now, to start out with, a Scoutmaster only needs to be a few things. He needs to be a decent role model. You can't be perfect- And I understand that, because I'm not perfect, neither are you- But we must set an example, because our example is going to be followed, and it's going to be followed unconsciously, and it is unavoidable. What you do is important to your scouts and they will follow your example. We're going to need to be approachable and we're going to need to be affable and we're going to need to have a good sense of humor and we're going to need to be friendly, Because a big, cranky kind of Scoutmaster who just barks and hollers at people all the time boys aren't going to deal with that, They're going to walk away.

And we need to be a good example of the scouting program. I mean, there are rules in scouting and there are procedures and policies and we need to be loyal and we need to follow those things. That's where you start. That's what you have to be.

You don't have to be highly skilled, You don't have to have a great deal of experience and knowledge about scouting, but you need to be those things And then you can move on to what you need to know. We need to have a lot of confidence in the scouting program.

Now, the scouting program, as it has been laid out through the Boy Scouts of America, has been around now for a century. It's changed, it's altered, it's been refined, and everything but the basic tenets, the basic core of what scouting is, has not really changed all that much, And that basic core is that boys are given the responsibility for being leaders of their troop.

That is the core, at the heart of scouting, And we need to know that, and we need to know that the best way for things to work is by using patrols and by leadership responsibilities. Whole, real, actual leadership responsibilities are given to our scouts.

We have to be fairly confident that we can develop the skills to make this happen and we have to know that we are not alone, That there are plenty of resources out there and they're very valuable resources. There are other scout leaders just like us. There are training opportunities. There is just a sea of literature out there. There are things like this podcast and scoutmastercgcom that may assist you. There is a lot of help out there.

I would say that that knowledge also infers that we are going to need help. We're not going to do this on our own, So it's important to know that there's a lot of help and support out there and it's important to be ready to accept that help.

Now, what does a scoutmaster do? Well, that's a subject for a lot of talk. I mean, we could spend a lot of time talking about that, but let's boil it down to a couple of things.

We need to help our scouts develop confident leadership skills and we do this through coaching and mentoring and making sure that we keep the responsibility where it belongs, right there with the scouts, And we have to have fun doing that. I mean, if it becomes a chore- and it does at times, if it becomes kind of a dead obligation- and it does at times- we lose a lot of enthusiasm.

But we have to really infuse that enthusiasm into our scouts and there's got to be a lot of good energy and a lot of fun around what we do. If all this sounds like a big, big challenge, don't worry. People have been doing it for a hundred years and when people are successful at this, it is because they are adhering to the core principles of what a scoutmaster must be, what a scoutmaster must know and what a scoutmaster must do.

What's at the heart of our mission? Well, the BSA puts it this way: we're preparing young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the scout, oath and law- And you know, there's probably 700 different ways of saying that, but I think that's a pretty decent way of saying it- And we do this through an active, well-rounded scouting program and by understanding our roles.

All-time Boy Scout, You are always on the beat boy, beat boy. Yeah, you are always on the beat boy, beat boy. I'll hang it in the street boy, street boy. We repounce it to the beat boy, beat boy. You make me wanna.

Hey, you know you can send a shout-out to your scouts, your fellow leaders or your unit by going to scoutmastercgcom. Follow the links to the shout-out page, call it in and it'll be featured in an upcoming Scoutmaster podcast. Here's this week's shout-out. Hello, this is Jamie Humphries from Flugerville, Texas. I'm a Vice Commodore of the Capillary Council and Scoutmaster of 242.77.. I'd like to congratulate Zachary for being awarded his quartermaster rank in the Sea Scouts.

Zach has also been awarded Eagle Scout, his earned drinks holder Ranger and his quest award. Also, the summer he is receiving his congressional gold medal. It has been selected to be one of 60 Scouts for ralination to sell from the US postcards, home shops and marquee. Congratulations to Zachary.

That's right. It's time for a Scoutmaster's Minute. The way to the brain goes through the hand. The way to the brain goes through the hand. That's right.

Now, a lot of times we think the way to the brain, goes through the ears, but not so with Scouts. Scouts like to get their hands on things. They like to try things out. They don't want to listen to you talk about things.

You know, a big part of the process of leaving childhood is, sadly, learning to stand and listen politely. Standing and listening politely is not natural for boys. It's not natural. Many concepts only become real to us at that age by trying things out, getting hold of them, rather than just quietly observing or listening. Scouting's a verb, It's active, engaged, it's moving. It's not something to watch, it's something to do.

Scouting goes through the hands, into the brain and into the heart as well. So are we at our best when we're telling, when we're shelling or when we're doing? To my mind, it's doing The direct experience, Getting your hands on stuff, Trying things out. That's the most important part of our work and the most valuable.