Scoutmaster Podcast 353

And now it's the old Scoutmaster. You know, when I go camping, I always throw a couple of coins under my pillow. Yeah, they're my sleeping quarters.

Yeah, it hasn't gotten any better, has it?

Hey, this is podcast number 353.. Hey,

Welcome back to the Scoutmaster Podcast. This is Clarke Green and another briefish visit this week as we cast about for what in the world to do with this podcast, But we'll keep up with things.

A lot of emails over the summer had some good discussions with folks who were asking advice, And I want to talk briefly today about two key concepts that may help you be a better scouter, because they condense into one talk several email questions I had this summer and things that, at least in my judgment, are really important to our work. The first idea is that scouting is non-academic, experiential learning, And I know I've talked about this many times before, but I think it's always important to emphasize- and I get questions about this all the time.

I think every one of us should look at our programs and judge whether or not we're employing academic or experiential methods. Now, you may be tired of me saying this and drawing this distinction, but we have to guard against applying the methods of schools and teachers to scouting.

Scouting is not a class, It is a game And there are rules to the game and they're deceptively simple. But turning scouting into an academic exercise is like trying to play football with a basketball.

Now, you can actually do that and it might be kind of fun, but you definitely sense that something is not quite right. You're not exactly using the right methodology or the right tools.

So I want you to try something. The next time you want to help your scouts obtain a given set of skills, aim at creating an opportunity to learn and use that skill. At the same time, You want to learn about map reading. Don't sit down and talk about maps. Hand them a map and ask them to follow it, to discover what the symbols mean and how a map works and how to find directions. And maybe a compass would be a handy thing to have.

How do compasses work? If you want them to learn to build a fire and cook something outdoors, hunger is a great incentive and scouts are always hungry.

So how do you build a fire? How do you cook outdoors?

What if it's raining? What do you use for tinder and kindling and things like that? Let them discover.

Let them work things out on their own And when they get stuck, don't share information, Don't say, well, this is what you do. Ask questions that lead them towards the answer.

Do you think that kind of tinder is going to work very well, Because you've tried three or four times and it hasn't worked very well? What other things could you possibly use?

Have you tried using this? Have you tried that Those kinds of simple questions help them get unstuck and can move them on to the next thing? And don't use your questions in a snide manner that derides or demeans a lack of knowledge. Encourage and build confidence in what they do know to help guide them towards the answers that they haven't found yet.

Now, in some ways, this kind of experiential learning is really slow and tiresome, especially when you know everything right. You're smarter than your scouts, I hope.

Maybe, maybe sometimes, But you know what I'm talking about. It could be really tiresome because it's so much easier just to sit down and give them a handout and say: this is the way you do it, But that way, that experiential way of learning things, is infinitely more exciting and fun and engaging. It might be frustrating at times for everybody, but, like I said, encourage and build confidence when they become frustrated. I tell you what they learn doing this will last longer, because they don't only learn this in their brain, right, They learn it in their hands and their feet.

And besides the satisfaction your scouts will derive out of figuring something out on their own, you will be achieving our main goal, right? The thing that everything about scouting is aimed at, and that is developing character by applying the patrol system- And yes, the patrol system.

That doesn't seem right here, does it? How does that apply to learning?

Well, scouts do things together, And in the thousands of small interactions that they have in doing those things together, they learn more about themselves and the world around them than they would in any traditional classroom environment. We are in the opportunity business. That's what scouts do. We create opportunities for young people to do things.

And that leads me into the second point that I want to share with you today. The attitude with which we approach our work is really all important, because we're believers in the ability of young people to make our world a better place. We do our work in a relentlessly positive atmosphere. That begins with the scout oath and law, Because the scout oath and law are about who to be and what to do not, who not to be and what not to do.

So look at the scout oath for a moment. On my honor, I will do my best- Not anyone else's honor, but mine. On my honor, Not anyone else's best, but my best. As scouts, we don't invite comparisons, but measuring ourselves against our own internal standard of best. And if we're going to do that- scouts being different standards from their family, their history, their religious upbringing, and when we are put in the position of questioning a scout's behavior, we ask them to explain their inner standard, The thought process that define their action.

Everything we say or do points back at us, right, What's driving and motivating us? What are we basing our actions on? And if you really listen, you have the opportunity to share things with them that may help them look at the world in a different way, Or you may learn to look at the world in a different way. Everything we say or do points back at us.

What's driving and motivating us? Categorizing or measuring are, in one way, a form of judgment that is inherently divisive and isolating. Listening is a way of understanding rather than making judgments. Insighting divisions is the weakest form of leadership. It's inhumane and damaging to everything the scout oath and law represent, And we incite divisions when we try to categorize scouts or measure one scout against another. Listening and trying to understand the motivations of others brings us together and draws people towards us rather than pushes them away from us.

So, on my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God in my country. And to be convinced of the rightness of your own convictions, of what is properly religious or patriotic, Can lead us towards a divisive approach that invites us to condemn others who don't act or believe as we do. Understanding that people of good will can look at the world differently can bring us closer together. We don't have to erase differences, only to respect them and seek the common ideals those differences express.

That's really the test of good will, isn't it? Looking for the ideals of the scout oath and law being expressed, even when the means of expression may not be one we would follow personally, Because you know I mean, there's no more lonely or inadequate form of leadership than demanding that everybody else be like you, believe like you and act like you.

I'm going to repeat myself by saying we need to look for the ideals of the scout oath and law being expressed, even when the means of expression we may have a difference with It may not be something we would follow personally, And doing a real, honest investigation of that is something that draws people together. So, on my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God in my country to obey the scout law. And the scout law begins with these three words, and these three words are real important. A scout is. A scout is Not a boy or a girl or a young person or a kid or an adult, but a scout, Being a good scout, is the ideal towards which we all strive. The scout law is a statement of aspirations.

These are things that I will strive to be. I will strive to be a scout, and this is what a scout is.

This may not be what I am right now, because I know that that's true of myself, right, That's true of you. You don't embody perfectly each one of those ideals, but you strive to be. A scout is. The scout law is in a yardstick we use to measure scouts. No, it's an encouragement to be fully awake and aware as a human being and contribute to your culture, your society, your country, your world, your family and to be true to yourself On my honor. I will do my best to do my duty to God in my country to obey the scout law, to help other people at all times.

Good leaders find a way to help others. That's what we do.

That kind of leadership is what we want to model for our scouts. We don't try to tear others down, We don't try and point out the differences that we have with others. We don't bully them or berate them, but we help them.

We help other people win Well, at all times. That's the default setting. I'm reminded of Fred Rogers' idea of looking for the helpers to calm a child's fears in the eyes of others in times of tragedy and loss. You may have heard this before. Right, Fred Rogers, that's Mr Rogers. He said: when it's upsetting to watch things on television like earthquakes and floods and things like that, we encourage children to look for the helpers.

Let's be that kind of helper when there's something tragic And tragedy and loss doesn't have to be confined to floods and hurricanes and earthquakes or earthquakes and things like that. It's what we go through, the difficulties we go through in our daily lives, In our families, in our cultures, in our schools, in our work. There are, like many tragedies all the time. Be the helper, Be the one who would be an example to children to quell their fears of that tragedy happening to them. On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and to people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight, To keep myself Nobody else but me Myself.

We tend to judge ourselves pretty harshly, I think, If we're true to ourselves, right, Especially when we're young, Our inner criticism is not always fair. It's not always our best friend.

So we have to practice the scout law for ourselves and loyal and friendly and courteous. We have to be kind to ourselves as well as kind to other people. Otherwise we're not going to get very far right. Weak and ineffectual leaders are consumed with the judgment of the way others live their lives and express themselves, And we don't want to be weak and ineffectual.

We need to remind ourselves in the scout oath we are keeping ourselves physically strong, Keeping ourselves mentally awake and ourselves morally straight, And never to use that encouragement as a way to divide and to look down on others. When I see a leader who's condemning and judgmental, I feel sorry for them honestly, Because I know all too well what that must feel like on the inside.

I've been there before To be so empty and unhappy with yourself that you have to draw divisions amongst others. I mean, that's what bullies do, right, In the vain attempt to cover their own prophecies, They draw divisions and they're mean and berating to other people. That kind of transparent self-hatred is painful.

It's so painful and I feel so embarrassed for them. So we want to look at the scout oath and law as something that we return to all the time to define our attitudes and action. Scouters champion common ideals that bring scouts together that doesn't divide them up into divisions of self-righteous people but into true forces for good, for positive, helpful friendships, to expressions of kindness and courtesy. And that work for a scouter is difficult and it's never done. It takes infinitely more effort and leadership to bring people together in a spirit of love and goodwill than it does to divide them with angry, judgment and incitement.

If you've worked with young people, you know how easy it would be to incite them to join forces in anger and judgment against nearly anything And you know, frankly, that's the chumps way out, That's shooting fish in a barrel when you're working with young people. It's how demagogues and dictators have reeked so much pain on the world, because the emotions and the proclivities of human nature that are the opposite of the scout law are very strong and they're easy to incite. But the saving grace for us as scouters is that young people are just as ready to be led in a positive direction based on love and goodwill, And when they are headed in that direction they'll do great things and become great leaders themselves if we create the opportunities for that and encourage them to understand the ideals of scouting that are expressed in the scout oath and law Music. I hope that's helpful and I'd love to hear your opinions and your reflections on that. And you can get in touch with me. It's very easy to do.

I'm always at Clark at scoutmastercgcom Occasionally. I can't say like exactly exactly when and what day, but occasionally I'm going to be able to get on the live chat and the best way to keep track of that is: I was always announced I'm going to be on the live chat on the Facebook feed and the Twitter feed, So if you keep up with that, you'll be able to catch us.

Well, thank you once again for listening and, Sir Robert, Good luck to you and good camping. Why? Thank you, Sir. Until next time, everyone Music.