Scoutmaster Podcast 41

And now, for you, Scoutmaster.

So by now you've heard the... You've heard the one about the lumberjack who just couldn't cut it. Yeah, they gave him the axe. Oh. Okay, this is podcast number 41.

Hey!

Welcome back to the Scoutmaster Podcast. This is Clark Green. You know, some time ago on the blog, I put a copy of the letter that Mike Rowe sent to an Eagle Scout. Mike Rowe is the host of that TV show, Dirty Jobs. I'm sure many of you have either seen the show, and probably most of you have read that letter, because it got circulated pretty widely in the scouting community. If you haven't, I'll have a link to it on the blog. But I got a comment about that letter this past week from Colin, who says, I'm on the home stretch to becoming an Eagle Scout. And Mike Rowe's words define the attitude that all Scouts should have. There is no reward or satisfaction in life for almost completing something. The gratification comes from knowing that you have worked your hardest, and for no other reason than to become a better person and to better those around you, and became an Eagle Scout. Achieving Eagle takes all the perseverance and commitment a boy can give, but nothing gives as great a reward. You go, Colin. Glad you're in the home stretch. And I know that you will finish the race there, become an Eagle Scout. Here's another comment from our last podcast from, I hope I get this name right, Jalus, J-U-L-U-S, left me a comment. He said, I thank you, sir. I am transitioning from Cub Master to Scout Master this year, and have been somewhat nervous. I am working with the current Scout Master in this boy-led troop, so hopefully my transition will be easier, and Cub Scouts is quite different than Boy Scouts. I found your last three podcasts very helpful, and applaud your great work here. I especially like the simplicity of the Court of Honor you suggest, as the SPL will have no problem presenting this type of program. I also like the idea of starting with the parent meeting, too. By chance, would you share your list of tried and true items that you tend to order from Campmore? Well, I did manage, I talked about this a little bit last time, but I did manage to post our list of things that we order from Campmore, and a little bit more about how to set up a Scout account with them, and you can find that right there on the blog. I think I posted that, I think, maybe last Tuesday or Wednesday. So do look that up. And thank you for the kind words. Do appreciate it. Soon-to-be Scout Master Doug had this to say. He says, thanks, Clark. The resources you're providing get better every week. Very much appreciate the blog and podcast. Very much appreciate having you comment, Doug. Do appreciate that. Last week we had an interview with the fellows who have written the book Working the Patrol Method. Once that hit Facebook, I had a couple of comments there. Rick says, this is a great book, and I used it when I taught troop leader training this week. Chad says, just bought it. Any help to help the boys realize their calling and scouting will be a help. Well, that's helpful. Thanks, guys. Yeah, it is a great book. There was a comment on the blog. I most definitely need to get a few copies of this book for me and my fellow assistant Scout Masters, and that was from Jason. Alan said, great show. I, too, went to Wood Badge and caught the vision of how patrols were to operate within a troop. I do not hear a whole lot about the patrol method, other than people saying, oh, yes, we have patrols. I bought a copy of the 1942 Scout Masters Handbook and read it from cover to cover. Bill Hillcourt really knew his stuff. I expect to keep working the patrol method close with my 1942 Scout Masters Handbook. Yeah, that's high praise for that book. And, Alan, that was from Alan, and I think you're going to find that that's a good idea. Larry Geiger has this to say about our interview last week with the authors of Working the Patrol Method. At one point we were kind of talking about that it's sometimes easier for adults to run a troop themselves. Larry says, Larry's differing with us. He says, no, it's not easier to do it yourself. It may seem that way at first, but it's not true. If it seems that way, then you don't know what your scouts are capable of. Right there with you, Larry. If you're having trouble with leadership, challenges cure things. Take them out and challenge them. Talk them into climbing, canoeing, rafting, backpacking, etc. Usually they're eager for that kind of stuff. And the natural challenges of these types of events will cause real leadership to rise to the top. Cool stuff, Clark, and the patrol guys. Keep it coming. Well, thank you, Larry, for another good comment there. Will said, what a fun show. I really enjoyed the interview and the format. It always is good to know we aren't alone in our mission to hear how others are meeting the promise. That's right, Will. And thank you for your kind words. Another post that went on the blog this week is a YouTube video of an old film strip. And I think that most of you remember film strips. Yeah, they had them when I was in elementary school and on. And boy, take a look at that. Make sure you see that film strip because it's an old training film strip about the patrol method. Irv had this to say. It was definitely a part of the seven-phase scout leader development course I took back in 1980. Everything was on film strips back then. Some were still on vinyl records. But they were progressing through to cassette tapes. How far? We've gone in 30 years. But the message doesn't change. The patrol method is still it. And I've got to agree with you, Irv. Got to agree. Well, we've got a lot of things lined up for you on the podcast today. In just a moment, it will be Scout Mastership in seven minutes or less. In Scout Mastership in seven minutes or less, we're going to be talking about the place of our duty to God and our pledge to be reverent. And a couple of ideas for working that into the program and some definitions for it. And then I have a couple of emails to answer. So let's get started, shall we? Scout Mastership in seven minutes or less. There are many ways to build into our scouting program. That part of the Scout Oath in which we pledge our duty to God and the 12th point of the Scout Law, a scout is reverent. Perhaps it's best to know that there are some policy statements that kind of help us shape and identify what those things are. Let me run through them with you. The activities of the members of the Boy Scouts of America shall be carried on in conditions which show respect to the convictions of others in matter of custom and religion, as required by the 12th point of the Scout Law, reading reverent. A Scout's reverent towards God, he is faithful in his religious duties and he respects the beliefs of others. In no case where a unit is connected with a church or other distinctively religious organizations shall members of other denominations or faith be required, because of their membership in the unit, to take part in or observe a religious ceremony distinctly unique to that organization or church. The Boy Scouts of America recognizes the religious element in the training of the member, but is absolutely non-sectarian in its attitudes towards that religious training. Its policy is that the home and the organization or group with which the member is connected shall give definite attention to religious life. So, what do we take away from these things? Well, most of the places that I've experienced scouting, the scouts and leaders, as is the general demographic in the United States, identify themselves as Christians. It's more common for us to see a non-denominational Christian observance in our troops and our camps than it is to see a non-sectarian or inter-faith observance. What's the difference? A non-denominational Christian observance is based on the assumption that all present identify themselves as Christians, although they may be Catholic, they may be Protestant, and they may be one of the many flavors of Protestantism. They might be Methodists or Presbyterians or Baptists or whatever. Yet, all of the members of those different denominations share a few common touch points in Christianity. A non-sectarian inter-faith service understands that not all the members present identify themselves as Christian. There may be Buddhists, there may be Muslims, Hindus, there may be members of many different faiths present. So, the service needs to be conducted with a sensitivity to that fact. For example, in our troop right now, while the vast majority of the scouts and leaders would identify themselves as being Christian, we also have ones that would identify themselves as Muslim and as Buddhist. And I have had Jewish families participate in the troop in the past, so we go to great lengths to make sure that our observations of our religious duty are designed so that all who are members of our troop can participate. What we generally do is, every weekend that we're camping, is we have a brief Vespers service. Vespers is Latin for evening, and it's a very familiar term, I think, to many Christian denominations who have evening services. And we use the word Vespers very advisedly because it indicates that this is something special that is set aside for the observation of our duty to God and the twelfth point of the Scout Law, that is reverence. Vespers opens, once the troop assembles, with a short reflection. It might be something very simple like, you know, today on our hike I watched as you followed the trailblazes along the way. These blazes help us follow the trail, alert us to changes ahead like turns and road crossings. And I couldn't help but think that while they might not be painted on trees like trailblazes, there are signs and blazes that we follow as we live our lives. The Scout Oath and Law is kind of like a set of blazes that guide us, as are your families, your friends, and your beliefs. Can any of you tell me a trailblaze that you follow? Now that's an example of a very open-ended brief reflection that encourages the Scouts to participate. And then what follows is, is any of the Scouts and leaders can add to that reflection as they see fit, focusing on the exchange of ideas. And then once everyone who desires to has spoken, we'll go ahead and close with a moment of silence. The moment of silence is a pretty familiar thing to most of us. And it consciences all faiths because some faiths don't pray in the same way that Christians pray. For instance, Buddhists don't say prayers. So that gives us a moment. And then the Vespers' observance is concluded. It's very brief, usually about 15 or 20 minutes. And it doesn't task everyone's powers of concentration. It's held, like I said, usually of a Saturday evening. And so it is a brief, succinct observance that serves as a reminder of our duty to God and our pledge to be ready. Thank you. Email, that is, folks. And here's an answer to one of your emails.

Hey, it's always nice to hear from listeners and readers. And here's a couple of emails that came in this week. The first one says this. Hello, Clark. Your blog and podcast is a place worth visiting for some great information. And I enjoy reading and listening very much. It's been very helpful to my own work in our troop. And it has encouraged me to give and do more with scouts. That's why I'm writing this to you. I want to tell you about the Good Turn iPhone application that I've developed to encourage doing Good Turns. Perhaps your readers and listeners will find this application and website of interest to them. If you would consider mentioning it either on your blog or podcast, I would appreciate it. The application is free and is my own good turn, so to speak. Thank you for your time in reading this and considering helping. And P.S. The jokes. Keep the jokes coming. They bear listening to. Ouch. Yeah, I'm not going to try to explain that. If you listened to the last few podcasts, you heard that joke. And, yeah. Hey, but that was from Stephen Hauser. And he's a scoutmaster in Buxton, Maine. So I checked out the application. It's really cool. It's very simple. And what it is, is it's like a picture of one of the old Good Turn coins. Right? And if you remember the Good Turn coin, which I think you can still get, actually. It was just like this about half dollar size coin that says do a Good Turn daily on it. And you're supposed to flip it over when you do your Good Turn every day. You know, carry the coin in your pocket. Well, what Stephen's done is he's just taken that into the 21st century. And the app has the picture of a Good Turn coin on it. And you double tap on it and it flips over. But what it does more than the coin does is it records the date and the time. And if you're using a GPS-enabled device, it records the location of your Good Turn. And then you can take that information and you can load it up to the Good Turn website. And it will show anyone who wants to see where you've done your Good Turns. And you can also see that the Good Turns that other scouts have done. And thus be encouraged to, you know, keep up with it. And I think it's just a really interesting idea. If you're listening from outside the U.S., you can still get the app because the Good Turns are all recorded on a giant interactive world map. I encourage you to give it a shot. I think it would be fun for the guys. Most of them are carrying a cell phone. A bunch of them are carrying iPhones. And it's free. It's free. Steve created it, put it up on the web, and it's free. And we sure do appreciate that kind of thing. Thank you very much, Stephen. Best of luck with the application there. Here's another email. And it says, in podcast three, wow, now we're going back a ways, podcast number three, you talk about not requiring a scout to wear his uniform for a board of review. And then you went so far as to challenge anyone to find a statement in national policy that said a scout was required to own or wear a uniform. And I found this. A board can expect a scout to be neat in appearance and properly uniformed. Now, I wouldn't expect a scout who didn't own a uniform to show up in one. And I've never made it a requirement to join scouts. But, I mean, shouldn't we expect them to wear a uniform to a board of review? I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm just looking for a little clarity. I've learned that there's a lot in scouting that is kind of a gray area. And I'm learning that there are probably very good reasons for that. I want to feel like I'm doing right by the boys and the organization in the grand scheme of things. If we encourage uniforms at all, shouldn't we encourage them to be worn at a board of review? And that's from Heidi in Indiana. So, first off, Heidi, thanks for getting in touch, sending me an email. Glad you're listening to the podcast. And I do remember talking about this. And what I was attempting to illustrate was that we, and that includes me, tend to accept certain traditions and practices in scouting as though they were a matter of formal written policy. At one time in my troop, we would turn a boy away from a board of review if he didn't have his uniform on. Now, I questioned that policy. I just got to thinking about it. So, I did a little studying. And I could not find any official statement that said a scout must be in uniform to qualify for a board of review. And not only that, that scouts were actually never required to own or wear a uniform as a matter of official policy. Now, the policy that you quote, Heidi, reads, a board can expect a scout to be neat in appearance and properly uniformed. Which is a much different statement than a board can require a scout to be neat in appearance and properly uniformed. And, you know, I read exactly that statement actually when I kind of made this discovery for myself. Once I understood that we shouldn't be turning boys away from a board of review if they didn't wear their uniform, I didn't just kind of line up the scouts one evening and say, Hey, by the way, I found out you never have to wear a uniform. So, just do whatever you want. No, not the way we handled it. What we did is we talked with our adult leaders and said, Hey, you know what? Here's what real policy is and why does it say this and how should we react to it? And the reason that the policy is the way that it is, is that we don't want to deny scouts participation in any part of scouting based on a uniform or a lack of a uniform. Now, we really encourage it. And boys want to have a uniform. Yes, that's exactly what I said. They want to have it and they want to wear it. That's been my experience. They complain about it. They don't, when they're younger, they don't like wearing it in front of other people. But they want to have a uniform. And I would say we have, you know, 80, 90% of our scouts are in uniform at meetings and boards of review and outings and all that stuff. If they're out of uniform, we try not to make a big giant deal out of it. Now, there's a number of reasons why a scout might not have a uniform. I mean, it might be his own fault. He might be, you know, being forgetful or irresponsible or just plain willful. None of these are surprising in a scout age boy. But there's also a number of reasons why a scout wouldn't have a uniform that are beyond his control. Maybe his parents can't afford a uniform. Maybe his uniform's in the wash and it didn't get clean. Maybe his parents are being forgetful or irresponsible or just plain willful. You know, there's all kinds of reasons. But the broad underlying concept of all this is that we don't ever look for reasons to penalize a scout, especially reasons that are demonstrably beyond his control. We're always looking for ways to express positive reinforcement and encouragement and building our scouts up. I mean, that's what really works. And that's what we're supposed to be doing. So, Heidi, you are doing exactly the right thing by encouraging uniforms at boards of review and any other scout function. And you've got also the broad underlying concept that policies are written to encourage and support scouts. Now, unfortunately, there are a few leaders, and I used to be one, who can misread policy and penalize and discourage scouts. But it does some good to keep talking about it. And I'm glad you sent me this email. And we're just going to keep talking and writing about a better approach.

Well, thank you for listening to Scoutmaster Podcast number 41. You can read the Scoutmaster blog at scoutmaster.typepad.com. T-Y-P-E-P-A-D. Scoutmaster.typepad.com. You can follow us at Scoutmaster blog on Facebook and ScoutmasterCG on Twitter. You can subscribe to the Scoutmaster Podcast on iTunes. And when you do, feel free to leave a comment or a review or a rating. You can email me, Clark Green, with your comments and questions at ClarkGreen at gmail.com. C-L-A-R-K-E-G-R-E-E-N at gmail.com. Just a reminder, the Scoutmaster blog and the Scoutmaster Podcast are not official publications of the Boy Scouts of America. Oh, no, no, no. Nor are they endorsed or sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America. No, of course not. Nope, it's just me talking into a microphone, trying to lend a hand to Scout leaders and maybe have a little bit of fun along the way.

Hope you enjoyed listening. But before we go, we want to hear from our founder, Sir Robert Baden-Powell. Sir Robert, what can you tell us this time around? Good luck to you and good champions. Why, thank you, Sir Robert. Until next time. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. guitar solo guitar solo guitar solo