Scoutmaster Podcast 260

I'm Jeff Cavista at Scoutmaster of Trude 965, Kuwait City, Kuwait. This edition of the Scoutmaster podcast is sponsored by backers like me.

And now for you, Scoutmaster, Here I am. I'm sitting in my chair in the campsite, I'm having a little nap.

I hear the crunching of leaves and here comes a scout. I try to play possum for a while, but it doesn't work, And he says I burned my finger.

And so I open my eyes and I say: well, do you have any ointment? And he looks at me and he says: no, I didn't know I needed an ointment.

Hey, that's the way it goes sometimes, right?

Hey, this is podcast number 260.. Hey, Hey, Well, welcome back to the Scoutmaster podcast. This is Clarke Green. Let's see. Look at the mailbag here. Kyle Burkholder is with Troop333 in Peoria, Illinois, And he said: thanks for all the work you've been doing.

I first found your blog and podcast on my Facebook newsfeed. Being an Eagle Scout, I clicked on one article about Eagle Scouts, wanting to know what your thoughts were, And I was hooked on listening to your podcast. I've gone all the way back to the beginning. I've been listening to them all. I'm currently up to number 210.. We're going to have a race, folks Who can start at podcast number one and make it to 260.

The fastest Ready set go. Kyle went on to say this past week I've been having trouble with your Android app.

Oh yes, you have Kyle, as have a lot of folks- And I think I mentioned this on last week's podcast- just having a problem with the Android app for ScoutmasterCGcom. That should be resolved in a very few days. I'm changing app providers.

I am really really sorry And I appreciate everybody's patience with this, but we should be up and running with the new iteration of the app very, very soon. Over on the blog this last week we had a post about developing or training youth leaders And I heard from Mike Rossender about that post And he said: in your driving example- and part of the post is an example of how I taught my steps on to drive behind the wheel of an old standard transmission Honda Civic. But Mike went on to say you provided some critical training. Specifically, You shared some new vocabulary that made it easier for him to understand the cause and effect of what was going on. While I agree training can be easily overdone, no training at all can leave novices with no mental handles, no easy way to get a grip on the problem. With a little bit of vocabulary, they can think more efficiently about their experience.

The training you provided was minimal, targeted and delivered exactly when it was needed. That training should not be discounted, because I strongly suspect that tiny bits of training made the experiential discovery even more powerful, engaging and fun.

Well, Mike, I think we probably agree more than we disagree. Now I'm a really hard sell on event based training, simply because I have very little evidence that it's a very effective tool for developing leaders.

I think most of the event based training- and I'm talking about hey, let's sit down and we're going to train you how to be a leader, kind of things- I think, if we're brutally honest with ourselves, it's driven more by the desire of adults to explain things than anything else. I think we're more comfortable when we can explain what's going on, and you know, we want our youth leaders to know everything that we know about leadership all at once while they're sitting and listening.

And we want to introduce a vocabulary to them And I don't think that's all that helpful, frankly. If we begin with discovering the concepts behind the vocabulary, then they'll pick up the vocabulary as they go along, but the definitions will really stick because they'll understand experientially what they mean.

Now, explaining things isn't objectively bad, of course, but I just think it's the least effective method for helping people understand or develop skills in things like leadership. Some explaining may be helpful from time to time- and I think I pointed that out in the example in that post- But experiential discovery is a much more powerful way to begin to develop and attain these skills.

So if we take all of the things, all of the concepts and ideas that are in our event-based kind of formal training and we make that part of the experiential process, in giving our scouts limited and timely explanations as a part of an experiential process, then all of the content of the formal training is going to be built in, but they're going to get it exactly when they need it as they're actually doing the work. Everybody's mileage is going to vary on that. I'm talking about the style that I prefer and that's why I get to have a blog in a podcast. But I really appreciate it, Mike, I appreciate your thoughts. I do. Let's see.

On podcast number 259, last week's podcast, we talked about the Socratic Method and I heard from Rob Karagman who said Thanks for the podcast about the Socratic Method. I used it last night while we were instructing and the new scouts were excited to show they knew all the answers and the older scouts were excited to show they knew it all.

So yeah, if you haven't listened to that podcast- and the discussion of the Socratic Method- which I won't go into trying to explain here, but basically it's asking questions- is all in last week's podcast, podcast 259.. We had two or three live chats this week. It was great fun and let's see here, In addition to our wonderful frequent flyers who show up for live chats, we had some new folks sign on: Jay Brant from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where he's an assistant scoutmaster. Justin Sypes from Washington, Iowa. He's the scoutmaster of Troop 242.. Richard Blackman is in Bethesda, Maryland, who's just getting back into scouting.

He filled out his form and he got put on the district committee right away. Well, that'll show you right. Randall Cox is a commissioner in Huntsville, Alabama. Brian Frey is the committee chair for Troop and Crew 212 in North Glen Colorado. Eric is an assistant scoutmaster of Troop 33 in Laurel, Mississippi. Jeff is an assistant scoutmaster in Omaha, Nebraska.

Alan is in Gurney, Illinois, where he's an assistant scoutmaster for Troop 671.. And last but certainly not least, Dan White is in Birmingham, Alabama, and he is an assistant scoutmaster, So thanks to everyone who came and joined in the fun on the live chat. Keep an eye on our Facebook feed and our Twitter feed and you'll see announcements for when we're going to have a live chat at ScoutmasterCGcom, Usually weekday mornings. Come in and join one of the live chats. It's great fun. Check in and I'm always happy to hear from folks.

Hey, I've got great news. Here's what's happening with our trip to Condorsteg, Switzerland, in July of 2016..

Now I've been feeling a lot of inquiries about this and a lot of serious interest, So let's go through the steps here. Step one will be to review the basic information about the trip that is available at ScoutmasterCGcom. If you go to the website, you will see, prominently featured in the menu right at the top of the website, Condorsteg 2016.. Follow that link and you'll get the basic information, And I've also got the videos of my group's 2014 trip. That'll give you a very good idea of what it's all about And you can take that information and begin to promote that with your folks and put a group together. Then we'll get you a group contract.

We've made our arrangements over in Switzerland and we're going to need deposits no later than September 15th of this year. Now, as interest in the trip grows, I've decided on setting a maximum of 45 participants. I'll accept group reservations on a first come, first serve basis until we reach that maximum.

But, as I said, over the past couple of weeks, there's been a lot of very serious interest in this, So you don't want to wait, And then, once we have a group contract figured out, I'll share an activity guide that explains all the activity options in greater detail so that you and your group can start discussing your options. We'll get an activity schedule mapped out for you and we'll be ready to go in July of 2016 to Kondersteg, Switzerland, the home of Kondersteg International Scout Center. Check out the trip once again at scoutmastercgcom. Look for the link at the top of the page, Get back in touch with me and we'll get your group signed up. Hey, if you are a regular reader and listener and if the resources at scoutmastercgcom have helped you, you can return the favor by becoming a backer.

Now, the funds we get from our backers go towards the expenses of doing what I'm doing right now- Producing and publishing blog posts and podcasts and all that type of thing- and keeping those resources freely accessible to scouts all over the world. It's really easy to do: Go to scoutmastercgcom, Look for the support link at the top of the page And you can choose any level of support, and some of them entitle you to premiums like autographed copies of my books.

And I want to take a moment to personally thank Malcolm Bliss, Trip Wycoff, Fred Glover, David Shoup, Tom May and Brett Buck, who have all become backers since the last podcast. So go to scoutmastercgcom, become a backer this week and I'll be sure to thank you personally during our next podcast.

And I want to reiterate: thank you so very much, those of you who've become backers. It's what keeps things moving and makes all of this possible This week. I have a few email questions to answer, and that's going to take up the remainder of the podcast.

So let's get started, shall we? Cat came back. The very next day. Cat came back. They thought it wasn't gonna, But the cat came back, it just wouldn't stay away. Email that is: folks,

And here's an answer to one of your emails and one of your email applications you're gonna be able to use for your next podcast, And I'll see you in a bit. Okay, so let's get started, Get started. Craig Dixon is the scoutmaster of Troops 682 in Poa, California, And Craig wrote in saying our camp and committee recently went to a semi-annual permission slip but they still want a form for each scout for each trip. Get their paperwork done.

I want to help ease their pain, but I'm not willing to set a rigid deadline, like you can't go if your parent didn't give us the form two weeks in advance. In a way this affects our attendance, which I'd like to see increase, but we're having a lot of frustration with this.

What does your troop do and do you have any advice? Well, Craig, you know paperwork and scouts are kind of like oil and water. Sometimes Everybody I know have and I know in our own troop we're chasing papers all the time.

I think we'd like to maybe imagine that there's some kind of foolproof method or a way to design a system that's absolutely trouble-free, where parents give us permission slips exactly when we need them or far in advance of when we need them. But I gotta tell you I doubt that that kind of system exists.

I've tried a number of different ideas and things like that and they work to a certain extent, but when it comes down to it, I think just once in a while we run up against human nature and we either roll with the punches or we punch back, and if we punch back, human nature counter punches us a little harder sometimes. Now I know some folks would disagree, but I think you're right.

We ought not to make scouts suffer for things they can't control, and they can't control what their parents are gonna do when it comes to turning forms in right, I bet every single troop that's listening to the podcast right now has a deadline for permission slips that is rigidly flexible. I know we do.

I think we want a permission slip, as you suggested, like two weeks ahead. But we also understand human nature and people do what people do and we'd rather have a scout go camping than have them sit at home because of a piece of paper.

So, understanding, Craig, that this is kind of a non-answer answer, I don't really have a solution for you. Let's ask everybody out there if what they do as far as permission slips and deadlines and things like that are folks tell me about any successful practices that you've had that seem to help out with this problem.

I'm sure everybody understands exactly what the problem is. Get in touch with me at Clark at scoutmastercgcom and let me know if you've got a better answer for Craig. I heard from Steve who said I have three new scouts who've just crossed over from Weebelos and they are planning to attend summer camp. Our camp is four and a half hours away.

I'm prepared for everything, I think, except possible bouts of homesickness. Do you have any articles you can suggest? It would be greatly appreciated. Steve, I do. I have a couple of articles about dealing with homesickness. I won't go into every single detail here, but hitting the high points.

Homesickness is not uncommon. It's not a fair complete either. Just because a younger scout is going to travel a distance and go to a week of summer camp doesn't immediately mean that you would expect them to be homesick. But naturally you want to be prepared if they are. And you'll find, if you take a look at these articles- and I'll have a link to them in the post that contains this podcast- that there are some strategies that parents can use ahead of time If they suspect their scout might be homesick while they're away from home. There's some strategies parents can apply ahead of time.

More about this particular thing ends up in the hands of parents than it does of scouts. If you read these articles I also have some very specific strategies for scouts to employ if they encounter homesickness. But with homesickness an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

So you want to review that, share that information with the parents of your scouts and get them utilizing some of those strategies that are explained in those articles And that way you'll get to summer camp and hopefully you won't have any bouts of homesickness and everybody will have a great time. Here's an interesting question from Bob.

Where do you put merit badges on the uniform without a sash? Well, it's a pretty easy answer: Go to the guide to awards and insignia and I'll have a link to a PDF version of that on the post that contains this podcast And on page 31, you will see an illustration of where merit badges can go on the scout uniform. It's on the right sleeve in what is called position four. It's limited to six merit badges.

Now it'll only work on a long-sleeved uniform shirt, Otherwise you'll have to get a sash. But I hope that helps. Bob Had a question from Greg Gotcher, who is with Troop 372 in Waterford, Wisconsin, And Greg said I followed five Webelos into a Boy Scout Troop and they've asked me to become the new Scoutmaster.

So into the volcano I go. Well, good for you, Greg. I'm really excited to see a transition into a patrol based Troop. Our first activity was this past weekend.

We were out camping with the Troop and I was encouraged to see that it's somewhere in the middle of adult lead and scout lead and leaning closer to the scout lead side of things. So I'm encouraged at taking over as a new Scoutmaster. But I have a few questions about youth leadership.

Well, Greg, it sounds like you're having a great time. Let's see if we can answer your questions.

So Greg's first question was: is the senior patrol leader and the assistant senior patrol leader part of a patrol? Well, Greg, if you look in the Scoutmaster's handbook, you'll see that the senior patrol leader and assistant senior patrol leader are not patrol members.

Now, there's really not a definitive statement that I could find when I was looking about the senior patrol leader status, But it does say this: during his tenure as assistant senior patrol leader, the scout is not a member of a patrol. Greg goes on to ask: are there any other positions of responsibility that aren't part of a patrol?

Well, at, once again looking in the Scoutmaster's handbook, it says scouts serving in any of the following troop positions. Then it goes on to list all of the positions of responsibility within a troop, like scribe, quarter, master, things like that- will also continue to be active members of their patrols.

So other than the senior patrol leader and assistant senior patrol leader, everybody with a position of responsibility is still an active member of their patrol. Greg then asks: so if the senior patrol leader and assistant senior patrol leader aren't members of a patrol, are they not participating in any patrol activities?

And I think that depends, Greg. If they're invited to participate by the patrol, they certainly could, But just the nature of things, I wouldn't see them as being participants on the same level as a member, where they're expected to be there all the time or to be a part of the patrol team. They're gonna have their hands full and they'll interact with the patrols and the scouts a whole lot.

So whether or not they're a formal member or not, I don't think that makes a great deal of difference. And Greg brings up one very practical question.

So do the assistant senior patrol leader and senior patrol leader can't by themselves and do their own cooking and things like that? Well, I think that they could if they wanted to. I know that our tradition has been that our senior patrol leader and his assistant camp and cook along with the adults seems to work out pretty good for us, And the scouts who occupy those positions of responsibility don't seem to mind.

I'd be curious to know if people who do that any differently anywhere, but one of my aims in that arrangement is keeping them out of the patrol campsite so that they don't become the default patrol leader. And then the final question that Greg asked: how do you see all this working for a group of 16 boys?

Well, I think it's gonna work just fine. Of the 16, two won't be members of a patrol, So you have 14 scouts remaining. That sounds like a planning for two really good, strong patrols.

Now I say two, but you might end up with three, You don't know. Let's see what the scouts wanna work out so far as setting up their patrols.

So when that question comes up, don't answer that question for them. Put that question to the patrol leaders council and say: how do you wanna set this up And see what they have to say. We'll give them our best advice on what makes a workable patrol and things like that. Let's see what they come up with. Let's see what answers they have.

So, Greg, I hope those answers helped you out a little bit, and congratulations on jumping into the volcano here with the rest of us. Hey, if you have a question for me or a comment and you'd like to get in touch, it's pretty easy to do, And you're gonna find out how to do that in just a moment.