Scoutmaster Podcast 149

And now it's the old Scoutmaster. Here's something I find a little confusing. The parents of my scouts will send them off with us on a wilderness survival weekend And you know, without a thought, Oh yeah, Yeah, go ahead, But they won't let the boys, like, go to the mall on their own. That's confusing. That'll make you as confused as a dog in a hub cat fact. Oh hey, this is podcast number 149..

Well, welcome back to the Scoutmaster podcast. This is Clarke Green. Well, let's take a look in the mailbag here. I got this message, Clark. I have to share a recent scouting encounter. It had to be my first for podcasting and blogging in this age of social media. I was attending a very large scouting event with over 800 scouts that is run by our neighboring council. Because I run a similar event for our council in the spring, a lot of people know who I am, So I was walking around talking to as many adult leaders as I could When an adult leader from my home council came running up to me saying: hey, you're James Chaplin. I saw the comments you put on Clarke Green's blog. I like the ideas you have. I never expected to become famous in scouting circles for a few comments I put on someone else's blog pages. What can I say? Thank you. And that's James Chaplin is in Haymarket, Virginia. Well, how about that, huh James? It's kind of strange when the streams of the virtual world and the actual world cross. Let's see. We also had this message from Bill McMahon from Troop 6 in Glen Falls, New York. How you doing up there, Troop 6?? I think the blog and podcast are two of the most useful tools for scouting the internet has to offer. It is now something our committee and leaders all share and helps us accomplish in defining the direction we want the Troop to go in. Thank you for all you do. Well, thank you so much, Bill. Those are very kind words and I'm glad you're finding the blog and the podcast useful, And Ed Bruce got in touch to say I really enjoy your podcasts and blog postings. Thanks for taking the time to help the rest of us out. You've been a valuable resource as I switch our Troop from mostly adult lead to scout lead. It's amazing what boys can do on their own if you just let them do it. It is amazing, isn't it? Ed? You know it really works. All you got to do is just give it a shot right Now, normally the second or third podcast of the month, we have our Scoutmaster panel discussion and I've got one, as they say in the can. It's recorded and I'm working on editing it, but I didn't want to break up the series that we're working on on advancement. We have the fourth in that series in this podcast, the fifth in the next podcast

and then we will have our Scoutmaster panel discussion for the month of December. Our discussion of the fourth installment on advancement will be coming right up here in Scoutmastership in seven minutes or less, which is going to go way over seven minutes, as usual. And then we've got an email question to answer, and that should be enough for any podcast, wouldn't you say? That's what I would say. So let's get started, shall we?

Scoutmastership in seven minutes or less.

Well, there are four steps to scout advancement: A scout learns, a scout is tested, a scout is reviewed and a scout is recognized. And in this podcast we're going to discuss step number three: a scout is reviewed.

Now, after a scouts completed all the requirements for any rank, he's reviewed twice. That's right, twice, because he is reviewed once in a Scoutmaster conference and once at a border review.

So let's start out by talking about the Scoutmaster conference, And I've got a couple of resources to share with you from the Guide to Advancement 2011.. In section four it talks about the unit leader or Scoutmaster conference, And it says: note that a scout must participate or take part in a conference. It is not a test. Requirements do not say he must pass a conference. Well, it makes sense to hold a conference after other requirements for a rank or met. It is not required that it be the last step before the board of review. The conference can provide a forum for discussing ambitions and life purpose and for establishing goals for future achievement, But work left to be completed may be discussed just as easily as what is finished. And then, if we go to the Scoutmaster handbook and read the section about the Scoutmaster conference, we'll find this: The Scoutmaster conference is a visit between the Scoutmaster and a scout Held each time the boy completes the requirements for a rank.

It's a valuable opportunity to discuss his activity in the troop and his understanding and practice of the ideals of scouting. Together they can set goals not only in scouting, but also in his family, school and community. A scout taking part in a Scoutmaster conference will be able to determine if he's ready to go before the board of review. The Scoutmaster can also encourage a boy's advancement in scouting by reviewing with him the requirements for his next rank.

The Scoutmaster conference can be used as a counseling tool at any time and for a variety of other reasons. So, to begin with, put yourself in the scout's shoes. A scout is going to be a little apprehensive about something called a Scoutmaster conference. right, He's going to look in his book and he's going to say, my gosh, I wonder what's going to happen next. I mean, how would we feel if the boss summoned us to a supervisors conference? or if we were a student, we got summoned to a teachers conference at school? Probably be a little apprehensive about either of those things. So we need to think about that. I'll bet that most scouts are not looking forward to the Scoutmaster conference requirement. in the same way, they are looking forward to fulfilling other requirements, you know, like building a fire or cooking or camping. right, What's going to happen? What is this old man going to ask me?

What if I don't know the right answers? So our first task as Scoutmasters is putting the scouts at ease and making sure that they understand that this is just a conference. This is- this is just a visit that you and I are having so that we can talk about scouting, And to do that, we're going to want to ask good, open-ended questions that require more than a yes or no answer, even though you may not get much more than a yes or no to begin with. But you know, give it a try. I think another really important aspect is the time that we spend in a conference. I think that you know 10 or 15 minutes is an eternity when you're a boy, So keep an eye on the clock.

So, within the Scoutmaster Conference, what we want to do is further establish the trust and understanding between the scout and a Scoutmaster. A conference, this is a give and take. This is not something where we're dictating things to the scout. This is something where we have a visit, where we talk.

We want to reinforce the ideals of scouting. You know there's there's a lot of great questions you can ask about school and home and family and church and things that will just give you an idea of whether or not a scout is weaving the concepts of the Scout oath and law into his life. And you know, another important goal of a conference is letting the scout and the Scoutmaster share ideas and ask questions of one another. I like to ask about school and what they like in school and what they don't like in school. It kind of gives me an idea of the boy's character and what he may like about scouts. And then one of the other goals of course is collaborating with the scout to set goals and outline steps for achieving them. Like I said, a tender foot through life rank Scoutmaster Conference. rule of thumb: 10 or 15 minutes at the most. Eagle Scout Scoutmaster Conferences might last a bit longer, maybe up to 30 minutes. You want to make sure that we're giving the scout our undivided attention. We need to be in full view of others, But we also need to be in a place where we can really hear and understand what is being said. And those open ended questions are an invitation for the scout to share And we have to be really good listeners. with that, I contend to filibuster a Scoutmaster Conference if I'm not careful. So I have to be very intentional about listening to answers and not jumping right in and offering advice or reflection on what the scout just said, but just really listening. There's really no set place in time for a Scoutmaster Conference. You can do these at troop meetings or outdoor activities or any time you have an opportunity. Like I said, we always follow youth protection guidelines. So while this is a one on one conference with a scout, we're always in full view of other adults and scouts. Another really important aspect is keeping the tone positive. Occasionally you'll have a Scoutmaster Conference with somebody who has some behavioral issues or attitude problems or things like that, And if a scout needs to improve on those things, be sure to bring up behavior and achievements that you can praise too. Scouts will hear criticism a lot louder sometimes than they will hear praise. You know, when we read the quote from the Guide to Advancement, it was specific in that scouts don't pass a Scoutmaster Conference, So they don't fail them either. Once we've conducted a conference with a scout, that requirement for his rank is completed. Now let's say we conduct the conference and we discover that there's a requirement that's not been signed off, that we're not going to complete in the course of the conference, or there's a behavioral or attitude issue or something like that that needs to be dealt with. You're going to collaborate with the scout. You're going to find out from him what he thinks needs to be done to remedy the difficulty, And then you're going to set some concrete ways for that to happen and schedule a time to talk again and follow up. And that way you're kind of pausing the Scoutmaster Conference and then you're going to pick it up again And in the meantime you're going to do everything you possibly can to help the scout remedy these difficulties. So the conferences are collaborative. This is not just a simple evaluation and a passing of judgment. This is a discussion. You can learn a lot about the scout and his experience in his troop and patrol. that will help inform the way that we present the program. Properly done, a Scoutmaster's Conference is an overwhelmingly positive experience for the scout. Even if he's found himself in a tight spot because behavior performance is causing him problems, he ought to leave the conference encouraged, energized and happy. Now, if you go to scoutmastercgcom and follow the link in the post that contains this podcast, you'll find a PDF resource I created. that's just kind of a one-page set of notes about Scoutmaster Conferences. So we said that scouts are reviewed twice and the next time that that's going to happen is something called the Board of Review. So let's go to the resources on this.

In the Scoutmaster Handbook. it says this: the purpose of the Board of Review is not to retest a scout, but rather to ensure that he has completed all the requirements, to determine the quality of his troop experience and to encourage him to advance towards the next rank. Every review should also include a discussion of ways in which the scout sees himself as living up to the scout oath and law in his everyday life, And then from the guide to advancement. the one reason for a Board of Review is to ensure that the scout did what he was supposed to do to meet the requirements. It shall become neither a retest or examination nor a challenge of his knowledge. In most cases it should instead be a celebration of accomplishment. Remember, it is more about the journey. A badge recognizes what a young man is able to do and how he has grown. It is not so much a reward for what he has done. So why isn't a Board of Review a test or a challenge of the scout's knowledge? The simple answer is: is he has any number of signatures as evidence that he has been tested and passed on the required skills and knowledge? I mean, he has that part of his handbook with all the requirements listed. they're checked and they're signed and dated, He's been tested. Another important thing is is that the object of the Board of Review is far more important than a test or an examination. The purpose of a Board of Review isn't to determine the quality of a scout's work. It's to gauge the quality of his experience in scouting. So, going back to the last podcast when we talked about a scout is tested, we only have one opportunity to determine if a scout has the prerequisite skill to pass a requirement, And that happens when he's tested. A scout's knowledge or skill is going to be challenged many times in the natural course of doing what scouts do, But he's only going to be tested and passed and have that requirement signed off once. When he's successfully completed the test, it's certified by a signature. he's not going to be tested on that particular requirement again. So the question of his qualification to advance as far as the requirements are concerned is seeing that his book is signed. The question of the quality of his experience is discussing the journey he took to get those signatures. Think about it this way. Let's say the scouts just arrived home from a long journey overseas. The signatures in his handbook are like an album of pictures that he took along the way. If we look at the pictures, we know where he went and what he did, but we really don't know much about how he experienced the journey. So we pose questions that ask about the journey You know. tell us about the camping trip where you're the patrol cook. How did that go? Can you point out one thing that you think was the most important thing you've learned thus far? Tell us about the people that you traveled with. What's your patrol like? How do you like it? How's everything going for you in the troop? Do you understand what goes on? Do you think the troop meetings are useful? Did you enjoy the camp out? Questions like that. Now a board that actively listens to the answers to those types of questions will learn about how the scout understands and experiences the journey, what might be causing him problems and also the strengths and weaknesses of the troops program. So the board of review is not so much a critical evaluation of the scout as it is a critical examination of the program he's traveled through. Properly managed boards of review are a terrifically powerful look into how well we're doing, how well the program is being presented. Just like going to a Scoutmaster conference. a scout will probably be nervous about going to a board of review. That little term is going to pop up out of the book, and it can be pretty daunting for some scouts, especially when they're going to their first or second board of review, right. So the atmosphere at the board can be formal, but it ought to be very relaxed. The members of the board should make a point out of putting the scout at ease and making sure that he understands the intention of the board of review. I don't want to talk a lot about the precise mechanics of a board of review, because they're discussed in detail very thoroughly in the Guide to Advancement 2011 in section eight. Before we close this out, though, I will go over four things that are said in the Guide to Advancement that are often misunderstood. First, a scout can't be denied the opportunity to have a board of review If he believes he's completed all the requirements, including a Scoutmaster conference. it's up to the unit leader and the committee to assure a board of review is held. We don't have the authority to expect a boy to request one, or defer to him, or ask him to perform beyond the requirements in order to be granted a board of review. Boards of review consist of no fewer than three and no more than six members and unit leaders, like Scoutmasters and assistant Scoutmasters, cannot serve on the board of review for a scout in their own unit. Parents or guardians may not serve on a board for their son, The candidate, or his parents or guardians shall have no part in selecting any members for the board of review either. Here's one that causes a lot of needed trouble sometimes. is preferred a scout being full field uniform for any board of review? He should wear as much of it as he owns and it should be correct as possible with the badges worn properly. Can we just go back there and note some of the words preferred? should, should, as possible. okay, If wearing all or part of the uniform is impractical for whatever reason, the candidate should be clean and neat in his appearance and dressed appropriately according to his means for the milestone marked by the occasion. Regardless of unit expectations or rules, boards of review may not reject candidates dressed to this description. Neither may they require the purchase of uniforming or clothing such as coats and ties. So that particular rule that might be a surprise to some of us. It was a surprise to me. okay, A uniform is not required for a board of review, It's preferred, but if it's impractical, for whatever reason, the candidate should be clean and neat in his appearance and, regardless of any rules or expectations we may have, boards of review can't reject candidates if they're dressed to that description. Finally, the unit leader can remain in the room, but only to observe and not to participate unless called upon. The scout's parents, relatives or guardians may not be in attendance in any capacity, not as members of the board, as observers or even as the unit leader. Their presence can change discussion dynamics. Now, if you go and you read in the Guide to Advancement, of course in scouting we have nothing where we absolutely exclude parents from observing. And if a parent insists on observing the board of review and after we've spoken to them about it and explained that there's a lot of people in there and we don't have parents or guardians in a board of review normally because we think that their presence can change the dynamics of the discussion. But if you insist, you may certainly sit in as an observer. You'll find that in the Guide to Advancement. You'll find it a very well written and concise set of directions on holding boards of review in the Guide to Advancement. So next time. we're gonna close this series up with step number four, and that is a Scout is Running Man. ["Scout is Running Man"].

Hi, I'm Kevin Callan and I'm listening to Scoutmaster iPod. No, I can't. What is it called again?

Hi, I'm Kevin Callan, the happy camper, and you're listening to the Scoutmaster podcast. Ah, beautiful. ["Scoutmaster"]

Email. that is, folks,

And here's an answer to one of your emails.

["Scoutmaster"]. I had this email come in this week. I'm interested to do your advice on record keeping. Our troop currently keeps no advancement records on any Scout and expects the Scout to maintain their own records. This came to a head recently when one of our young Scouts lost a blue card. The response he received was: you know, that's tough. You'll have to redo the merit badge. This is part of becoming a Scout. I think there are better ways and methods to teach responsibility than that. Do you have any suggestions? Not only are there better ways and methods to teach responsibility, we've got a couple of things happening here that aren't pointed at true north. Let's deal with them one at a time. If you go to the Guide to Advancement, you're going to find a list of unit advancement committee responsibilities, and one of them is keeping records. The idea that Scouts have to keep these records and maintain them by themselves and if they screw up or they lose a blue card or something like that, well, we're teaching responsibility through tough love and that's just too bad for them. I can see that that is kind of right in theory, but it is absolutely wrong in practice. You know, a Scout maintains his handbook and he has the signatures and things in it and every once in a while a Scout loses his handbook and we got to go back and see if we can recreate the signatures that he had and if we're keeping records on. that makes it really easy. If a Scout loses a blue card, all he has to do is get back in touch with a counselor and say: you know, I'm very sorry, I kind of screwed up here. I lost the blue card. I know you maintain the part of the blue card that represents that I completed the badge and if it'd be okay with you, I'd like to come and visit you and I'd like to get you to sign a new blue card. There's enough trouble in that that the Scout's going to remember not to lose a blue card the next time, right? This is a real good example of something that you know theoretically sounds great- teaching the boys responsibility and everything like that- but if that was a good way to do it, if that was what was intended in the program, we'd find it in the guide to advancement, and we don't actually, we find quite the opposite. So I hope that helped and you can get in touch with me with your email questions and you're going to find out how to do that