Scoutmaster Podcast 49

And now, to you, Scoutmaster.

You know why they didn't make two Yogi Bears? Well, they tried, but somebody made a boo-boo. Oh, man. Hey, remember what Yogi said. It ain't over till it's over. Oh, wait a minute. That phone hasn't run in a while. That's the clue phone. Let me get that. What? Oh. Hey, okay, thanks. That was Yogi Bear, not Yogi Bear, who said, it ain't over till it's over.

Okay, so now it's really over. Hey, this is podcast number 49. Hey, hey! Well, welcome back to the Scoutmaster Podcast. This is Clark Green. Over on iTunes, got this review this week. If you subscribe on iTunes, you can leave a review or a rating. So feel free to do that. But from Skater Brian, he said, I'm a new Assistant Scoutmaster and did scouting myself as a boy. I've been searching the internet for any help or resources to help me guide our new troop. And this podcast nails it perfectly. Tons of great information and from what I've seen, the perspective is dead on. I'm looking forward to learning more from the site and further podcasts. Thank you for your work and for sharing it with us. Well, thank you, Brian, for getting in touch and for leaving that review over on iTunes. By email this week from Jeff, who is the Scoutmaster of Troop 237. He says, thanks for the podcast and the jokes. I really do like them. Hmm. I guess he means both the podcast and the jokes. Yeah, another minority view there, Jeff. But that's okay. That's all right. I kind of like the jokes, too. The podcast helped me remember why I got involved with Scouts as an adult, even when things get tough, as they sometimes do. Best wishes? By email. Tracy wrote in. By email from Tracy. Dear Clark, thanks once again this week and every week for an informative and inspirational podcast. Just wanted to post a brief comment to tell you how much we appreciate your insight and also the great comments from other Scouters across the country. Well, thank you very much, Tracy, for your kind words. And I read that one as a reminder to everyone that this doesn't need to be a monologue. The Scoutmaster podcast can be a bit of a dialogue, a little bit of a discussion. So do get in touch. And the easiest way to do that is to email me at clarkgreen at gmail.com. And that's C-L-A-R-K-E-G-R-E-E-N at gmail.com. I heard again this week from Larry Geiger, who liked Green Grow the Rushes in the last podcast. Rather than that Boy Scout rappy thing that we had, I guess, in podcast number 47. He said, that's something I can understand and enjoy. Thank you, Mr. Scoutmaster, sir. And Larry is responsible, by the way, for the Yogi Bear joke at the beginning of this week's podcast. I don't have Larry's email address handy. But you can send comments about that joke to me. I'll see that Larry gets them. While back on the blog, I posted a YouTube video that somebody had gone to the trouble of recording from an old BSA film strip that was used for adult leader training 30-some years ago. And I remember seeing that film strip as part of, I guess, what at the time was called Scoutmaster Basic or something like that. I remembered the film strip because it was such a great expression of the patrol system, the patrol method, empowering youth leaders and the relationship between the Scoutmaster and his youth leadership. Brian commented on that post. He said, Very helpful and informative. The BSA has been teaching boys to become men for 100 years, and the method to the teaching and the movement are built on timeless principles. And this film strip was every bit as useful to me today as it was to Scoutmasters 30 years ago. Thank you for posting it. Anyway, it's honestly a big hole in our troop right now. And anyone has any advice for teaching a group of boys who have little to no experience with scouting how to lead their own patrols and troop, Brian, I think what you do is you just keep at it. You would be surprised. Even a group of boys who has little to no experience with scouting will pick this up right away. So what I've done is I've taken the audio part of that video, and I've cleaned it up a little bit. It still sounds as though you're listening to it in a tin can somewhere, but some of you are well under the age of 50, and you might not know what a film strip is. So let me tell you what it was. A film strip was kind of like a 35mm roll of film, and almost like slides, if you've ever seen slides. Maybe you don't know what slides are. Jeez. But anyway, there was a projector, and it had a little crank on it, and what you would do is you would advance the film strip frame by frame, and it wasn't animated or anything. It was just, you know, kind of like a PowerPoint presentation. And the audio section was usually on a, like a, um, an LP, a vinyl LP. There was a little boop signal. Boop! To change the frame. So when I did the audio, uh, portion of the YouTube video of the film strip, do I need to draw a diagram? It gets a little complex. But, uh, I took out all the boops, and I tried to improve the sound as best I could. The reason I went to the trouble to do this is because I think that this is probably one of the more quintessential, more effective pieces of training on the subject of youth leadership and the relationship of adults to youth leadership and the way the patrol system works, um, as any that's ever been produced. And so I thought it would be a good idea to have it here on the Scoutmaster Podcast for you to listen to and to share with your fellow leaders. Please. So without, uh, further ado, let's get started, shall we? It was a warm Saturday in May. Western District was having its camparee. From Truth 28's campsite came the sounds of vigorous physical activity and the joyous shouts of men and boys working and playing together. Come on, you guys. The inspectors will be here any minute. Anderson, tighten up those ropes. Colucci, you wash this pot. Yes, sir. Well, wash it again. We're not having a fire sale this morning. Where's the water for the macaroni, Schultz? Don't you think those inspectors might wonder how come it's noon and nobody's cooking? Relax, buddy. It'll come out all right. What? Oh, hi, Ben. Come on over to my place to relax a minute. Relax? Are you kidding? We're going to be inspected any minute. Thanks, but I can't come out. The troop looks fine, Rod. Really. Come on over. You don't have to be here every minute. Come on. Oh, uh, okay. Gee, your troop looks great, Ben. What time do the inspectors hit you? Oh, they haven't been here yet. What? And you're just taking it easy? I guess that's the difference between you and me, Rod. What's that? Well, you act as if that's you about to get inspected over there instead of a scout troop. Well, gosh, it is me in a way. I want my boys to win, and I certainly want to do everything I can to help them. Don't you think I want my boys to win, too? Well, sure you do. But you don't see me out there whipping them in a shape, do you, buddy? Well, you don't have to, Ben. Your boys are trained. My kids are... Your kids are just as well trained as mine are, Rod. Maybe better. You just don't trust them, that's all. What? Think about it a minute. Look at the way you have them set up camp. Do you always set up that way? Sure we do. Works fine. But how can your patrols work if they don't camp by themselves? Don't they automatically look to you for leadership? Oh, come on, Ben. And I'll bet you planned the menus for this weekend. Right? Well, sure. Where'd you get the menus? Scoutmaster's handbook, mostly. Right. And you're the only guy in the troop who can read? Well, I... Just now, I saw you chewing out a boy about a dirty pot. Doesn't that boy have a patrol leader? Well, sure. And that pot's a perfect example of his leadership. Is that it? Or is it that you don't really expect him to lead? Or want him to? What? Come on, Rod. I want to show you something. Well, you're not making much sense, but you make a good cup. See that patrol over there? Holy smoke, Ben. There's the inspectors. Sure. Aren't you going over? Why? They can find me if they want me. The point I'm trying to make is that I haven't spoken to anybody in that patrol since last night except to say good morning. They're doing this inspection on their own. After all I know, they're foaming on their faces. Don't you care? About inspection? No. If they want to win, they know what they have to do. If they need help, they know where to find me. What I do care about is whether they learn to do things like this on their own. I'm not a babysitter. Hey, what's with the calisthenics? You guys on a fitness kick? Nothing out of the ordinary. Just this patrol. And they're going hot and heavy. Something the patrol leader dreamed up with help from Charlie. He's going out for track. And you act like you don't really have much to do. For instance, what did you do this morning around here? Well, let's see. I got up, shaved, took the raccoon's invitation to breakfast. They had some questions about skill awards. Then I had a session with my senior patrol leader so he'd know what has to happen today. Then two guys in the Raven Patrol had a big fight about whether the eggs should be scrambled or hard-boiled. And I spent about 20 minutes getting them back in shape. You mean the patrol leader couldn't handle it? Oh, right. I get the needle. You know, I think the hardest thing about the patrol method is knowing when to step in. I thought that was a time to step in. And I did. I hope I did right. Let's see. Then I spent about an hour with a meek little tenderfoot showing him how to use a compass. You teach skills like that? Actually, I don't do much skill teaching except the boy leaders. But this little kid has no father at home, and I try to spend some time with him when I can. Gee, I don't have time for things like that. I know you don't. You're too busy being the great leader to everybody. Boy, are you giving me a hard time today. If it wasn't for your hospitality, I'd go sit in somebody else's tent. No, you wouldn't. If I hadn't dragged you away from your sight, you'd still be over there beating those kids into the ground. Let me read you what Bacon Powell says. You know, he's the fellow who started this business. The object of the patrol system is mainly to give real responsibility to as many of the boys as possible with a view to developing their character. Huh. Makes sense. The patrol system leads each boy to see that he has some individual responsibility for the good of his patrol. The main object is not so much saving the scoutmaster trouble as to give responsibility to the boy. To get first-class results, you have to give the boy leaders real free-handed responsibility. If you only get partial responsibility, you will only get partial results. Hmm. That's me, friend. Partial results. Huh. I guess you're right. Hey, it's late. I gotta get back to my trooper. Rod, do your kids a favor when you get back, huh? What's that, teacher? Go sit in your tent.

What's this, fellas? We're making a tripod for our pots and pans. Oh, good idea. Nice going, guys. Jerry, could I see you a moment? Okay, Mr. Gibson. Well, Mr. Senior Patrol Leader, how did we do an inspection? I guess we did okay, but they didn't like the way we have the tents lined up. They said it wasn't by patrol. Hmm. Guess we'd better have a patrol leader's meeting. Fellas, would you rather put your tents up by patrol the way they do it in the other troops? Sure, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, yes, sir. All right, now, now let's see. Now you fellas work it out with Jerry and rearrange them if you want to. All right. Yeah, great. Jerry, have the patrol leaders report to you when they're all cleaned up from lunch. Then you check them out. Aren't you going to? No, I, well, I have a very important meeting. Yes, it was at the Spring Campery when Scoutmaster Rod Gibson first began to understand what is meant by the patrol method. Slowly but surely, wherever he was, even at work, when he thought about the troop, he found himself thinking how he might make the patrol method work better. Spring became summer, and summer drifted into fall, and winter came in its turn. And when spring came around again, there was a familiar sight out on a certain field. Scoutmaster Palmer, you're working too hard. Oh, hello, Rod. How are you doing? Fine. Got time to chat? With you, anytime. Let's go. Here, Ben. Sit in my chair. Your chair? You use this? You bet I do. You know, Ben, I had planned to resign right after last year's Camperini. I didn't know that. Sure. I didn't feel I was getting anywhere with the troop. It had become a real grind. Then you came along and showed me the way you operate, and talked me into trying it, and I did. Well, I hate to admit it, but you were right. I never had really trusted my boys. Ben, I never had any idea what these kids could do until I really gave them a chance to. And here I was the guy who had been holding them back all that time. It's hard work, this patrol method, but it sure pays off. Gee, I'm sure glad this has worked out for you, Rod. But now that you've got the patrol method under control, there are a few other things you want to learn. For instance, did you know... Now it's noon and nobody's cooking. Relax, buddy. It'll come out all right. What? Come on over to my place to relax a minute. Relax? Are you kidding? We're going to be in... Oh, hi, Ben. Come on. Hi, Ben. Come on. Hi, Ben. Come on. Hi, Ben. Expect it any minute. Thanks, but I can't come out. The troop looks fine, Rod. Really? Expect it any minute. Expect it any minute. So there you have it. That's the film strip. It's a little dated in parts, you know? And it's a little cheesy in a delightfully kind of filmstrippy way. But it still has the right message. It has exactly what we're looking for. And I encourage you to share it. There'll be a link on the blog post that contains this podcast so that you can find the film strip in YouTube videos. And it should be part of everybody's training. It just really should. Well, I want to thank you for listening to this Scoutmaster Podcast number 49. You can read the Scoutmaster blog at 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. The easiest way to get in touch is to email me, Clark Green, with your comments and questions at ClarkGreen at gmail.com. That's C-L-A-R-K-E-G-R-E-E-E-N at gmail.com. The Scoutmaster Blog and the Scoutmaster Podcast are not official publications of the Boy Scouts of America. Nor are they endorsed or sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America. Nope. Hey, it's just me. You know? Talking into a microphone. Trying to lend a hand to Scout leaders and maybe have a little bit of fun along the way. So how does a bear stop a VCR? You just press the pause button. Well, before we leave you, let's make sure to hear from the founder of Scouting, Sir Robert Baden-Powell. Sir Robert? Good luck to you and good camping. Why, thank you, Sir Robert. Until next time.