Scoutmaster Podcast 133

And now it's the old Scoutmaster. Well, listen, if you go up to Canada and you go to all that trouble, you'll want to see a moose. That's where we were last week canoeing Two crews from our troop. One crew- one of the adults was a very experienced guy and had been up there several times, and so he was being the advisor for that crew. I was being the advisor for the other crew And in my crew I had one adult who had been up there two or three times and I had one adult who this was his first time up, so he was anxious to see a moose. So we got together with the other crew at one point during the trip. They were camped on the same lake but a distance away, And the adult from that crew told the story of getting up in the morning, going retrieving the bear bag and having two moose just kind of step right up to him, You know, just dangerously close. He did not feel comfortable, But he got to see these two moose And the one fellow that was with me was a little jealous, you know, because he'd been looking for moose and the other guy, you know, they just kind of showed up. So a couple of days passed and then we heard another story where the guys were sitting in their campsite. in the other crew, right Moose comes right up out of the lake, you know, swam across the lake, comes right up, walks right through the campsite, doesn't seem to pay them any mind or anything like that. So they got to see this other moose And the guy with me is starting to get a little chaffed. You know why can't I find a moose. So this is what we figured. The moose all got together last week, you know, and they said: listen, there's these two crews coming up and there's one guy in the crew. you know, he's kind of medium, billed, dark hair, medium height, wears a tan shirt and green pants, And don't go near that guy, Don't go near him, you know. But the other adults with that, with those two crews, you know, just to kind of mess with that guy, just walk right up next to him. I mean, at least that's what seemed to have happened. But I've got to tell you the other fella, his name is Bill, He got to see his moose before we left and he was a happy guy. So you know, if you're going to go up to Canada, make sure to keep your eyes open. Moose might just scroll right into your campsite, You never know. Hey, this is by Cast 133..

Hey, welcome back to the Scott Master Podcast. This is Clarke Green And, as you heard during the intro there, we just got back from week in Canada. We had a splendid time. We brought a little rain up to Ontario. They were very happy for it. We brought some rain and cool temperatures And they were very happy for that. So you are welcome Ontario. wherever we travel, the rain follows. So let's look in the mailbag real quick. We had lots of comments and messages from folks last week while we were away. Here's a quick selection. Nick Smith said thanks for Podcast 132.. We're planning a high adventure trip next year, a 50-mile backpacking trip, and you need a mountains of Utah. I'm a Scott Master for Troop 1323 in the Great Salt Lake Council And I have been for four years and I'm loving every minute of the job. Thanks for putting out the podcast. I learn and get new insights all the time. Thanks again. Thanks, Nick, for being in touch. Sounds great. 50-miler, And you know, for anybody who'll listen, put together a high adventure trip. It doesn't have to be big, It doesn't have to be special. You know it can be right there. It doesn't have to cost a minute of money. Listen to Podcast 132. We talk a lot about that. Mike wrote in to say about a post that we put up for W Ben Hunt, the author and illustrator. He said thanks for writing this. I was always a fan of W Ben Hunt as a kid And I checked out his books from the library over and over. There was something about the detailed style of illustrations that appealed to me and most other boys and girls. My sisters liked the books too. If you didn't see the post about Ben Hunt, go to scoutmastercgcom and take a look at it. If you're old enough, you might remember one of those books. And thanks so much, Mike, for getting in touch. We also did a series of posts last week while I was away about what a new Scoutmaster needs, And Mike wrote in and said another great entry in this series. It's great to see a concise summary of how to start. I'm sure it would have had this a few years ago. Not sure if this falls under training or resources, but roundtables can be a great source of information, While the quality of the content itself can vary widely: being around other scouts to ask questions, hear ideas, et cetera, can be very valuable, especially to a new Scoutmaster. And you are exactly right, Brian, I should include that in my list of resources- Roundtables, and, you know, talking to other folks, It's a big deal and it certainly does help. Well, in this week's podcast, we're going to do Scoutmaster ship in seven minutes or less, And we're going to talk a little bit about that series of posts that we did last week about what a new Scoutmaster needs. So we're going to have our first installment about that and talk about some of the resources that you can use to sharpen your skills and improve your work as a Scoutmaster, And we're going to do that in just a moment. So let's get started, shall we? Ten, nine, eight, seven, Six, five, four, three, Two, one. let's start the fun.

So this is Bob Mazzucchi, scout executive of the Boy Scouts, and you're listening to my buddy, Clarke Green, on the Scoutmaster podcast and he is doing a fantastic job:

Scoutmaster ship in seven minutes or less.

Well, you've gone and done it. Somebody asked you to be a Scoutmaster and now you're a Scoutmaster. So what do you need? Well, first and foremost, you need to get trained. We're going to talk about that later on in another podcast. but training very, very important, And you also need to be able to supplement that training by your own reading and study. You're going to get just so much out of going to a training event. You're going to need to think and study your way through some things and then you're also, you know, going to benefit greatly from experience as you go. as you go by. Most of the time when scouting goes awry it's because we adults are ignorant of the program or we just misunderstand the way something works. You'll learn how the program works fairly quickly and spend as many years as you like perfecting your skills at presenting it. It's like a game of golf: moments to learn and a lifetime to master. You need to know confidently what is and what is not good. scouting Troops develop their own way of doing things over time and if you're taking over the Scoutmaster position in a troop, you know- I haven't seen a troop yet, including my own- They couldn't use some improvement and adjustment as far as program delivery is involved. When I say program delivery, I mean: why are you doing this? What are you doing? Why are you involved in scouting? You know these are all questions that you have to ask over and over again. You have to make that program prove itself. You have to take everything that you do as a troop and you have to examine it and you have to say, well, does this really work? Is this really working or is this just an old tradition that we have? I encourage you to study and to learn and to apply your knowledge, And I think you need to be courageous enough to change your mind when you learn something new. I know that's happened to me several times and I've had to. you know, let things go that sometimes we're closely held and venerated traditions and ways of thinking, But when you learn something new, you know it's time to change And that can be hard for us guys. It can be hard for us guys especially if you're, you know, past the age of 45 or 50. It becomes even more difficult Now. it's tempting to substitute our own judgment for 102 years of experience, and that's what scouting has. You know it takes a bit of an ego to be a scoutmaster And we like the way that we think and we like our own judgment sometimes. But when we come up against something in the program that is counter to our own judgment to our own judgment, we need to ask why, And 99.99% of the time you're going to go with the program because it's what makes sense. And I said you know, 102 years of experience is hard to beat. So my biggest piece of advice here is: stick to the program. You'll never regret it. Knowledge is power, And know what resources contain. Now, knowledge is power, right, Knowledge is good. So there are a number of resources out there that you know. you're not going to commit to memory, but you're going to know what they contain And whenever a question arises, then you're going to run to the resource. Just remember that little phrase: run to the resource. Don't substitute your own judgment for it. Go to the resource, mix your judgment with the resource and stick with the program. That's what's the most important thing. So here's what you'll want to read cover to cover, maybe with a notebook nearby ready to take some notes, maybe with a highlighter in hand ready to highlight passages. But it's really important to make sure that you've gone cover to cover through the following, And the first one is the Scout Handbook. Now, get your own copy- It's the 12th edition now- And get to know the handbook. You can teach yourself a great deal by just reading the handbook, And it's remarkable that many adults involved in scouting have not actually read the Scout Handbook. Isn't that something I mean? it really should be given a thorough going through And you should be reasonably familiar with everything that's in it, And it will help you immensely When it comes time for the boys to teach a given skill, or something like that. that's our first point of reference. We're going to start with the Scout Handbook and we're going to work with that. Is it the best single reference for every outdoor skill and every single thing in the world? Well, of course not. There are books and other resources that are going to take you deeper into subjects and everything like that, but don't substitute your judgment of what is a thorough treatment of the subject for what's in the Scout Handbook. Go with the Scout Handbook, Stick with the program. that's right there. The next one that you need to read cover to cover is the Scoutmaster Handbook. Now, this is like a big loose leaf notebook. It has lots of information and good advice, and I want you to read it very carefully. Take a look through it, take these things to heart. It really means what it says And it's a great resource. Now, after I posted this online, our friend who posts to scoutmastercgcom occasionally and we hear during the Scoutmaster Roundtables, Walter Underwood, pointed something out. He said that the Scoutmaster Handbook is great but it's kind of thin when it comes to talking about the patrol method. So he recommends- and I join him in recommending- the Senior Patrol Leaders Handbook. Have you ever seen that- It's a little spiral bound affair- that you can pick up at the Scout Shop and take a look at that, because that has a very thorough description of the patrol method from a boy's point of view. and Walter says that the Scoutmaster Handbook doesn't really give you like a job description for the Scoutmaster. very well, but you'll find it in the Senior Patrol Leaders Handbook. So how about that? So add that to your list of things to take a look at: the Senior Patrol Leaders Handbook. Next, one thing you need to read carefully is the Guide to Safe Scouting. Don't look at this as a set of restrictions. Okay, Even though some of the statements in there are going to tell you what you cannot do, Take this as knowledge that empowers you to keep your Scouts safe. At some point you're going to find something in the Guide to Safe Scouting that you don't like. Don't try to work around it. Don't look for a way out. Be loyal to what it says and keep your Scouts safe. Once again, don't substitute your own judgment for what that book has to say. Next, read the Guide to Advancement 2011.. Look at the relevant sections dealing with Scout Advancement. Read them carefully, Know what they say and know where to find the information when questions arise- And they will- about the way Advancement is managed and Boards of Review and Scoutmaster Conferences and stuff like that. The Guide to Advancement 2011 is a great resource. It will answer 99.9% of your Advancement questions, And these questions can sometimes cause an awful lot of heat in a Scout troop. So, knowing that stuff is real important, The Uniform Insignia and the Uniform and Insignia Guide is next. This answers a lot of those nitpicking questions that can actually develop into real problems. Now there are two basic proper patch placement problem people- People placing patches improperly and people policing improper patch placement painfully. How about that for alliteration? huh, Don't be either of those people. You know boys are going to sew patches on incorrectly and you might call their attention to it and say: you know there is the right place for that. But you don't want to be doctrinaire and mean about it. okay, The Uniform and Insignia Guide is going to tell you about neckerchiefs. It's going to tell you about patch placement. It's going to tell you about when you have to wear the uniform. Hey, it's a great resource and if it's not in there, it doesn't matter. You know, there are sometimes people who take some of the uniform rules of the military and they try to apply them to scouts and they get all upset about it. Uniform and Insignia Guide is going to solve those problems and calm the waters a little bit. Next, the AIDS to Scoutmastership by Baden Powell. This is kind of a pamphlet. I think it's about 40 pages long and I would read it. Now you're going to have to read an English military man's description of scouting and in that you're going to find some anachronisms. but you're going to read through that and you're going to get a very good sense from the founder of a succinct description of the movement that he founded. Scouting's essential concept will ring true a century later and it's well worth your time to get a copy of AIDS to Scoutmastership and to read it through, and it's widely available online. It's very easy to find in a PDF file online. I also have a Scoutmasters Bookshelf that you can reference through a link on the post. that contains this podcast at scoutmastercgcom. and let's talk about other sources of information: The official Boy Scouts of America publication or an official BSA online resource. it's not an authoritative source of information and that includes my podcast and that includes scoutmastercgcom. If what I say or write is not consistent with the policies and practices of Boy Scouts of America, I'm wrong. It's very simple. I think it's important to test every source of information through official resources before you act on them, and I've got a lot of online resources over at scoutmastercgcom that you want to take a look at. but once again, you want to test them against those official things like the Scout Handbook, like the Scoutmasters Handbook, the Uniform Insignia Guide, the Guide to Advancement and the Guide to Safe Scouting. There's lots of well-intentioned advice out there that may be outdated and it's fairly easy nowadays with the web and with the easy availability of all these resources, to check them out and to make sure you've got it straight. I hope that helps you if you're a new scoutmaster or an old scoutmaster, check those resources out and be ready to use them to answer any questions or to clarify anything in your mind. and remember, run to those resources when questions arise. then you'll have it right. you'll be sticking with the program. don't substitute your own judgment for 102 years of experience. learn what scouting is and how to properly deliver to program and you will be a successful scoutman.