Scoutmaster Podcast 298

I'm Paul Farley and I'm a Webelos leader with PAC 525 in Peach Tree Corners, Georgia. This edition of Scoutmaster Podcast is sponsored by Backers Like Us.

And now the old Scoutmaster. We were at the climbing tower at camp and one of my fellow scouters kind of knew to the game.

Right, He was a little nervous and he looks at me and he says, wow, how many times do the scouts fall off of that tower? And I said usually once is enough.

Hey, this is podcast number 298.. Hey, Hey, Hey, welcome back to the Scoutmaster Podcast. This is Clarke Green. Let's take a look in the mailbag. Let's see Ed Bruce is the Scoutmaster, Troop 38 in North Falmouth, Massachusetts, And Ed wrote in to say your blog and podcast has been very helpful. But I really appreciate the personal attention you've given me on several occasions over the past couple of years.

Your advice has always been spot on and you've made me a kinder, gentler Scoutmaster And I'm sure my scouts would be grateful to you for that. Well, Ed, I'm sure I will have some small part in making you kinder and gentler. My scouts would probably be amazed that I was able to help anybody be kinder and gentler.

But you know, there you go, oh well, Also in the mailbag we heard from Alan Green before. I read that though: hey, it's 2016.. And we're back after a holiday break. We played three weeks of Encore presentations, and I mentioned that because Alan refers to podcast number 297..

He says: do you have any plans to expand on the idea of one aim, one method you discussed in podcast 297? Maybe you could do an essay or something on it.

I would pass that kind of thing out to everyone I know in scouting because I think it's right on. Thank you.

Well, thanks, Alan, And you know what I'm happy to do that. I don't know that I want to expand on it too much, because you know like the whole idea was getting a one sentence job description for Scouters. And if you haven't listened to that, go back to a podcast 297 and you can listen to it. And in the post that contains this podcast, I'll have a link to a brief overview of exactly what I said there.

And if, like Alan, you think it'd be useful to print that out and share it, Well, there you go, Like most Scouters, after a few years. Right, you've been to training and you've read stuff.

You've got probably a bookshelf full of stuff right, Or a filing cabinet drawer, at least one, just packed with papers and things like that, And I think that's fine. I think those resources are probably pretty valuable, But I'm a little contrarian when it comes to paper, And so I'm always interested in how little paper can we get away with.

So, Alan, the the write up that I did is one side of one sheet of eight and a half by 11 paper And I'm very proud of myself. If you couldn't tell, There it is, That's the source. That'll be in the post that contains this podcast And I hope you all find it useful. Hey, before the holidays we had a couple of chat sessions I wanted to catch up on.

We have live chat over at ScoutmasterCGcom, usually Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Watch the Facebook feed, watch the Twitter feed and I'll announce when I'm going to be there live, And a lot of folks sign in and we have a nice chat. Sometimes it's about important, weighty matters and sometimes it's about the weather.

You know, just before the holidays Shane Adams checked into the chat and he's an assistant Scoutmaster, who soon to be a Scoutmaster, probably already is, because he said it was going to be at the turn of the year for Troop 99 in Yorba, Linda, California. Peter Belize checked in. He's from New York and he's a 24 year old Eagle Scout who turned Scoutmaster. And Peter, you got to know I was a very young Scoutmaster over 30 years ago because I took over as Scoutmaster at the same age of 24.. Avery Moore checked in and he's a Scoutmaster for Troop 11 in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina.

So, like I said, keep an eye on the Facebook feed and the Twitter feed. Usually Tuesday and Wednesday mornings we'll have a few hours where you can come over to ScoutmasterCGcom, sign in for a live chat And, hey, we'd love to hear from you Now. I hear from a lot of folks every week and it's very heartening to know I'm able to lend them a hand. And what I ask for in return that, if you're finding what we do here useful, that you support the podcast by becoming a ScoutmasterCGcom backer. It's pretty easy to do: Just go to ScoutmasterCGcom, click the support link at the top of the page. You're going to find a number of options on making a voluntary, one-time kind of subscription payment to help me keep things up and running.

And I want to take a moment to personally thank Michael Dormer, Greg Leslie, Roy Hollis and Greg Barnett, who've become backers since our last podcast. Thank you very much. And I'll take the time to tell you too that this is podcast number 298..

So that means in two weeks, podcast 300 is coming up And I've got a couple of projects, a couple of things to announce during podcast 300 because, hey, that's going to be six years since we started the podcast and obviously, the 300th edition and it's the new year. So, hey, it's a good time for new initiatives and new things happening at ScoutmasterCGcom. Make sure to tune in and we'll tell you all about them In this week's podcast. While we're coming off the holidays, we're going to take it easy and answer a few email questions, And that takes up the remainder of this week's podcast.

So let's get started, shall we? You were always on the beat boy, beat boy. Yeah, you were always on the beat boy, beat boy. I'll hang it in the sweet boy, sweet boy. We re-dancing to the beat boy, beat boy. Write me a letter.

Send it by name Email. That is, folks.

And here's an answer to one of your emails. This question comes from Scott Pulaski, who is with Troop 778 in Wood River, Illinois, And Scott says: thanks as always, for the awesome podcast.

That and the so far, so good book that you wrote have been a great help As I've worked at getting our Troop to be youth-led. I was actually made Scoutmaster of the Troop I grew up in at the first of the year And I was looking for a meaningful and memorable first Scoutmasters minute. I looked at a few sources but nothing really appealed to me.

Do you have any suggestions for what I should do for my first Scoutmasters minute? Well, Scott, I'm always happy to hear the podcast is helping folks And thank you so much for your kind words And congratulations on being a new Scoutmaster too. If I asked you to tell me why you wanted to be a Scoutmaster and how you wanted to help your Scouts, what would you reply- And, by the way, you only have two minutes to tell me. I mean literally 120 seconds maximum. Whatever that answer would be,

Scott, I think that's going to be your most meaningful and memorable Scoutmasters minute, Because the most meaningful and memorable ones aren't ones that you know we got out of a book somewhere or you got off my website. No, it's the ones where you speak from your heart about things that really matter to you.

Now, if you're like me and you can talk the horns off a billy goat or the feet off of a Dutch oven, well, that means you're probably going to benefit from writing those ideas down and practicing them a little bit So you get it down to a point where you're not boring your Scouts to death right, 120 seconds is pretty bearable for most Scouts, especially, like I said, if you're talking out from the heart, right to them. I think that'll be a pretty memorable one.

What do you think, Scott? The next email comes from James Eisenwein from Troop 104.

And he said, now that the year has turned in, 2016 is here. Can you repost your information about the change in rank requirements? I'm specifically looking to answer the question into what Scouts are allowed to work on with their current handbooks and when they need to get a new Scout handbook.

Ah well, James, that's a great question, And what I did is I took the time to set up an infographic about when you have to apply the new rank requirements, And so check that out at scoutmastercgcom. I'll link to it in our podcast notes.

And as to the question: do Scouts have to get a new handbook in order to have the new requirements signed off? The answer is no, And that comes directly from the BSA. Specifically quote: a Scout may continue to use his existing handbook as a reference and a resource. However, he should also have a list of the new requirements for the purpose of sign-offs, And that list is available as a PDF that you can print out. You can put it right in the handbook from the BSA And I will have a link to that in the podcast notes too.

And so Scouts don't have to run out and get a new handbook. You don't have to wait for the new handbook to apply the new requirements. And I'll say the last little bit of information here is- and it's going to be a lot clearer if you'll look at the infographic that I made- Any Scout who joins after January 1, 2016 begins using the new requirements right away. Scouts who were registered before December 31, 2015 use the old requirements until they reach first class, after which they begin using the new requirements. Or, if they have already passed first class, they can complete the rank that they're working on with the old requirements, Then they must move on to the new requirements And if you have a Scout who was registered in 2015 who doesn't reach first class by the end of 2016,, in 2017, everybody uses the new requirements. It's really not as complicated as it sounds.

Like I said, the infographic will help you out, so check that out in the podcast notes. And thanks for asking the question, James. And this next email is from Tony Hooker, who is a Venturing Advisor with Crew 222 in Concord, North Carolina. And Tony wrote in to say I listened to the One Aim, One Method podcast And if you were listening earlier, that was podcast number 297.. And Tony went on to say: I'm involved as a dead leader for the pack and I'm an assistant Scoutmaster for a troop and an advisor for a crew. I really emphatically agree with your importance of the patrol method for Boy Scouts And I also understand it within the Cub Scout den, as you said, at an age appropriate level, But I'm a little confused about how to apply it in Venturing.

I can understand how a group dynamics can be similar to that within a patrol for most crews, But there's really no patrol equivalent in Venturing in a Venturing Crew with a large number of members. I'm an advisor for a new crew and I'm struggling to understand how aspects of the patrol method can be integrated into that program.

Our crew focuses on STEM activities and we have about 20 members. What are some ways we can integrate the patrol method into a larger crew or into a crew that is less focused on camping and outdoor activities?

There's really no form of permanent small groups within a crew, so I'm welcoming any advice you can give. Well, Tony, I think it's pretty easy to have the patrol method active in a Venturing Crew.

You just kind of make up small groups and there's no reason that these need to be permanent small groups. They can be formed around whatever activity you're pursuing.

I mean, working in the STEM NOVA environment as an emphasis is one thing, but I've got to say you know, I know it's going to be debatable, but it's not really scouting. STEM NOVA is not scouting. Scouting is outdoors, camping and adventure. It's important to achieving our aims And I understand that a crew might be interested in STEM NOVA stuff and if that's what you want to do, that's what you want to do And you can have some aspects of the patrol method active in that. But, like I said, scouting focuses on adventure in the outdoors- camping and trekking and that sort of thing. For a reason That's our field of play, That's what we do.

Those are activities where the patrol method flourishes. I understand the interest in the value of STEM NOVA stuff, but things like that and team sports and debate and music and theatricals are also a valuable thing, And making STEM NOVA an emphasis for a Venture Crew is kind of like having the debate team play handball in my mind.

So I guess I would have to question whether or not that was a really good place to put your emphasis. And in a lot of ways this question kind of bounces back to you. Tell me what the benefits of the patrol method are specifically, Have some understanding of those benefits and you'll perhaps how to see to put them into action in the activities that your crew is doing. If you have a question or a comment or you need some answers, you can get in touch with me, just like these folks did. It's easy to do and I'm going to tell you how to do that in just a moment.