Scoutmaster Podcast 96

And now it's the old Scoutmaster. We don't record live or anything like that. I like to edit this and make everybody sound very intelligent And with Larry on, it takes hours. Hey, this is Podcast 96.

Music playing. Welcome back to the Scoutmaster Podcast. This is Clark Greene. Thanks for listening in and getting in touch.

Heard from Bill McFarlane this week about last week's podcast and in last week's podcast we were discussing this. The patrol leaders, council and Bill had this to say. He said that podcast was spot-on. Good work, Clark.

Well, thank you, Bill, I appreciate it. Larry Geiger wrote in what you're gonna hear from Larry later. He said: I don't tweet, I don't face, I don't plus.

Yeah, that's okay, Larry. However, I do enjoyed a blog. That was an excellent summary of the PLC in the last podcast. Currently our PLC meets once a month at a diner around a big table in the back corner and the Scoutmaster stops by and chats for a minute. Then he goes and has some sweet tea or dinner with the other parents who are eating and socializing. I agree no adults should be at the table with the scouts.

They're learning to report upwards and reporting is an important part of leadership training and they get used to reporting to the Scoutmaster in the committee. It also sets up accountability. I'm not really fond of the idea of turning a monthly meeting into a business meeting with the patrol leaders council and the Board of Review and everything, but I'm not opposed to it either. If it works, it works. I want my senior patrol leaders, patrol leaders and instructors on the ground with the guys 48 weeks a year. We take two weeks off at summer camp and two weeks off at Christmas, but that's just me.

Well, Larry, it's wonderful that we all have different ways of making this happen and that we can find the right combination that works for the particular group we're working with. That is one of the geniuses of scouting, isn't it?

Over on Twitter, okay, see, scouter tweeted. We were doing interviews for Jambo leaders last night and one person mentioned your blog as the one tool that has helped him the most.

Well, that is great to hear. I certainly do appreciate that is very kind for you to bring that to my attention.

So in this podcast- oh my gosh, this podcast, this podcast almost didn't happen. So, folks, every once in a while, when you think you have it all swept into a pile, nice and neat, something comes along to remind you that you ain't.

You know, we record this Scoutmasters panel discussion via Skype and you would think I've done about a dozen different panel discussions and interviews and things with Skype and I seem to have to learn it all over again every time. I, every time I try to use it- I'm getting a little better, and you know- and then recording the whole thing. That can be a bit of a trick and I missed part of our panel discussion. I missed recording part of it, apparently, or it is lost somewhere within the bites of this computer that's sitting in front of me.

I mean, I'm gonna keep looking for it but happily, happily, one of the better parts for the discussion was a call-in question that we had and that's there and that's there in its complete range and I probably didn't even have to tell you about the mistakes that I made because you know you wouldn't have even noticed if you just listen to the podcast. We're going to have a discussion about welcoming new Scouts into the troop.

We're going to talk about Scouts that crossover as we blows, as well as boys that join the troop- you know, kind of cold- who don't have a Cub Scout background, and it's a great panel discussion and I think you'll enjoy it. So let's get started, shall we?

Hey, it's time for another Scoutmaster panel discussion. Joining me for this discussion is Tom Gillard from Tolahoma, Tennessee, Larry Geiger from the era of Florida and Walter Underwood, all the way out in Palo Alto, California.

So joining us on the phone is Mike back, and Mike is a Scoutmaster, Scoutmaster Troop 61.. Is it Mike?

That's correct, and and where in the world are you? Well, Troop 61 meets in the Presbyterian Church of Bloomingale in Valerico, Florida.

Sometimes it's in, it's right near Brandon, so I get confused and sometimes I say it's Brandon. Oh okay, Valerico, all right.

Well, let me introduce you to one of your neighbors down in the era of Florida, Larry Geiger. Say hi, Larry, hi, and from Tennessee we've got Tom Gillard, hi, Mike, and we also have Walter Underwood, howdy and Walter's out in Palo Alto, California. Mike, you wrote in with a question for the panel.

Yeah, well, you know, relatively new Scoutmaster, had we blows come in the troop for the for my Scoutmaster for the first time this last year and I realized that we didn't prepare him, you know, and I didn't have a clue how to welcome a man and get him transition into Boy Scouts, and so I was wondering: how do you, how do you welcome and kind of prepare these new Scouts and even their parents as they come into the troop? In our troop we have a an hour long just the whole parent orientation.

We have a booklet that we give them that we've prepared about the troop and just kind of what we do. We give them a new calendar.

We have an annual plan. If the Scouts transition in February then they get the annual plan. They see the whole year.

We talked to them about summer camp, introduced the parents to the committee and then I sit down. Usually I sit down and talk to the dad or the mom and dad and a Scoutmaster and usually I'll open up the book and show them a few things: where the Scout rank is and the advancements. Of course the SPL puts the guys in patrols and off they go. That sounds like it.

I mean, do you do that during a meeting or what we usually have? The parents when during the meeting the committee chairman and a couple of people that camp out regularly go off to another room with the parents we have and some other parents will come, some of the moms will come, and so when mom start asking questions, another mom will say: yeah, Mike, I went through that when my son was 11 and here's kind of how we handled it and it was, it's great.

You know he's 15 and he's six foot four. And look at him now and you know they kind of talk through some of that mom-to-mom and some of the dads obviously kind of get hooked into the adult group and so they start camping. We tell stories for good or for good or bad, whatever, and they kind of get in that way.

So I would agree, yeah, I would agree, that getting the parent-to-parent connection is great. We we typically have a meeting where we organize a couple of meetings for we blows to come to, but we end up where with one where most of them come and we have a separate thing for the parents during that meeting and then we talk to them about how Scouts is different and a little bit about gear and a lot of Scouts is different and and then, but having other parents there to start that connection, to say this is a group of people that you want to be with as parents as well as adults, and have the Scouts come in and have having an older scout and say you know, my four years ago, this guy was just as hopeless as your sons. And look at him now. That's, that's a big thing.

And then we do, and then we do it again because we do have our our committee meeting, as a parent meeting, during the scout meeting, and so they get that kind of again and again exposure to the program. What's going on.

We do basically the same thing, but we catch them when the, when the packs or the, the dens come to visit the, the troop, we we say, yes, the parents, we really want the parents there and we will get, like like I'm, both of them said, we'll get one of the dads that is now helping helping. He was a new dad last year and he's really going home.

We'll get him to help talk to the, these new parents, and tell them how different it is and, just you know, go into quite a bit of detail, but what we're really doing is we're standing off, either up on the stage or off in a corner doing this and letting them watch their boys interacting with the troop and that, look, there are no adults out there in the, in the floor, it's all them- and let them see what's going on, while we're telling about the equipment and giving them the flyers and and then we'll, like Walter said, we'll do it again once they- once they do- cross over and join the troop. But they've. They've seen this once when they just visited us.

We we have them hopefully sign up for summer camp too and we start them at least thinking about collecting the money you know, saving up for that. We do that as early as we can and I also often take one, pick parents aside and just say: you can watch the meeting, you can come, look, you know, talk to the parents, you can go back and forth whatever want, whatever you're comfortable with. But also say this whole thing of bringing parents aboard and making them feel comfortable and introducing them to scouting. It begins at the weeblers visit, when they come visit with the troop. But you don't stop there. You have a much more protracted, longer process once they've made a commitment to come and join your troop.

Well, another thing that we do is we give them a lot of phone numbers so they don't have to just feel like they're just going through. The Scoutmaster. We usually give them the outdoor coordinators phone number, the advancement chairperson- she says that's okay- the committee chairman, the Scoutmaster- we give them a whole bunch of phone numbers and they call any of these people anytime you have a question. Seems like you've.

You've already got this well-oiled machine of you know, committee members assist the Scoutmasters and- and you know, last year's new parents, and they just spring into action. I mean, is that take? How do you- it hasn't always been this way, it's not always been this way- you have parents.

Now you grab a couple, say would you like to talk to the new parents? And you know- and there are standard things you need an answer for either, like four questions.

It's like: when do you meet? You know, what does it cost when you, how much do you camp and how many kids get eagle your new guy?

And over the next couple years, you know you're going to be building a story inside your head and as you tell that story, as you talk about your troop, as you talk to your committee chairman, to your committee members, and they're going to be telling your story to some new parents and you're going to go and it does take a while sometimes, but as you learn the program and as you tell your mic story about your troop- it's not that the committee chairman or whatever, but it's kind of a thing about Scoutmasters that that's kind of what we do. It's the vision, right, that thing, you know, it's that thing that you're talking about and you will see it happen as you and eventually the people will get on board with that, with with you the new scout, I mean. I mean it's like I kind of get thrown in and they just kind of start doing stuff.

But is there a SPL patrol leader side of the of the process? Let me ask you a question about that: are your guys, are your older scouts, invested in making these guys feel welcome? We are known as a friendly troop.

I was one of, you know, when someone- a young scout- told their parent who told me the reason we joined is because they treated me nice. That's good.

Well, that's, that's real good. So that means you don't really have to create anything at the same time.

You know, sometimes the, the older guys have the- I don't want to babysit the younger guys attitude. You know quite, catch on, you know, to the mentoring training mindset. That's, that's your job, right there, that's right. You just stated the job of the Scoutmaster. Right there, it's your job to get them to the point where they're leading those guys and and how you do that, how you train them, how you teach them to lead, train and inspire the scouts the first class.

You know that's that's your job: lead, train and inspire him. The first class is a very succinct way of putting it. It doesn't sound like Mike. You got to really create that attitude. You're just gonna have to. You're gonna have to highlight it and nurture it.

You know how well he's you always toughest on yourself. We've all definitely experienced that.

Where the older guys can be very reluctant, you know, until we give them a little bit of a nudge and we encourage them in that direction, they're obviously they're going to be reluctant to get in and deal with the younger fellows also and you walk them through. What is our monthly theme to get the new guys going?

What is our, what's what we're gonna do in this camp out, plan for them and then they plan for them. They're doing those things and are you- our guys are very, very sensitive to like looking at making sure we've got the upcoming level of leaders to take over from them and they've got really, really settled in on this.

So you say in: what I think are you saying is: maybe I'm sure you work through your PLC and annual planning to do this, if I've got it right. But yes, you kind of tailor your program based on you know it's crossover season.

Therefore, after crossover season, we want to do certain activities. Don't just, don't just jump to the- you know the hike, the Appalachian Trail or whatever.

In March we have a family camp out and everybody comes in. In April we have what's called an advancement camp out or whatever, where we just do skills and they set up the axiard and teach the guys knife and axe and totem chip and we and we do introductory cooking and teach them how to use the stove, the camp stove and stuff. Yeah, that's that. That's what I was gonna add to was in the planning.

We know that March is crossover time, so April we have an advancement weekend where they get to, they get to go teach, teach and then spy are in all that. So that that's the way, that's the best way to try and do. That is then and they get to go camping and do all that stuff.

Let me ask you, let me ask you this time: you've now been a Scoutmaster for how long? Ten years, okay, let me ask you that again.

And now sound like you're happy about 18 wonderful years. This didn't happen in a year or two, absolutely not. It didn't happen in 17 years either. Yeah, it took some building.

Yeah, and it's, it's constant, because every year you're, you've got new kids and you've got, and you know it's, it's ongoing. What do you kind of communicate to the- you know- the parents as far as expectations go from for maybe for them, if the parent shows interest, we will try and get them signed up real quick. We've we've got some, some dads that just cannot make it to all the stuff that they would like to go on with their son.

So we, we let them pick and choose what's best for their schedule in our troop. What I've always said is is that Scoutmaster and the committee chairman in charge of everything and any, and we do everything. And if you want to help, tell us what you want to do, because what I want is parents that are doing what they want to do.

Now, when you talk about, when you talk about getting parents of new scouts involved, you guys are all asking them that right. The other, the other things we we encourage for the kind of to get, just get people kind of folded in without a committing to something, is going on a camp out or sitting on a board of review, because, yes, sitting on a board is easy, your scouts are already at the beating, you're but and but. You get to see the older scouts and it's a really, it's a really neat thing. Yes, that's excellent. We always have a pile of applications whenever we do transition and we always hand out applications. Of course, they don't have to fill them out, but we give them one.

You can. You can tell when they walk in the door, when the new parents come with their kids where they're going to be. Sometimes they they're sort of standoffish and you can talk to them and they they may come right out and tell you that they just don't have time, but some of them are really gung-ho. We've got a couple from last year that there are. There are best advertisement right now. Yes, they come.

If they come from cub scouts in uniform, absolutely, yeah, played or have toyed with the idea of to encourage or require if they want to go camping, to take. This is scouting.

You know, some adults come in. They just don't understand boy scouts and I'm trying and I'm trying to get them to become part of the program. Anybody who is interested in being a uniform leader being an assistant Scoutmaster or who's going to participate in campouts. I kind of give them a short: this is scouting according to Clark, and you better do it my way, kind of speech.

Does anybody else do something like that? Actually, I don't guess I come right out and say that, but I, we put them down as committee members first and they do the online- the first online training and youth protection- and we've sort of gotten to the point where if they don't- I don't know, if they don't- go through OLS, they're really not full assistant Scoutmasters, right, they really need at least that basic level to understand what the whole the big picture is. Yeah, being committee members, fine, because that way they get to sit on the boards.

Well, this weekend we had 14 scouts and 10 adults and um and I, I trained them sort of like Clark does and I do the wandering around taking them by the collar and say: no, don't go there, come back over here and just: key, I, I'm the, I'm the- whatever you call it- the lineman that blocks them from the scout area- and um, as a Scoutmaster. And, and after a while the other dads kind of get into that and they're like: no, here, let's go talk. And you kind of have to work that with new parents.

We have one guy that this morning he wanted over to his son's tent twice. The Scoutmaster finally said: uh, look, why don't you come over here for a minute?

You know, um, he's been hard to train and if you can get your committee chairman, so you're a pair. There's two voices going in each ear and they see you guys are a team, or, or your outdoor chairman, or whatever the other committee side is, the two of you can work together telling the same story. I guess, or what do you want to call it, they'll get it after a while.

It's appropriate for the Scoutmaster to safeguard the program and to keep you know, make sure that the new parents figure out that they're not. They're not running the show.

We tell the new parents that if any scout, including their son, comes up to them with a question, that the only appropriate response, unless it's a safety issue, is: do I look like your patrol leader? One of the new dads that came over across over last year. I was sort of like larry I'm always having.

I was having to pull him back, pull him back, and now he is telling the story of how, of how he had to be pulled back and that you know that's the best, that's the way to do it. It's not cub scouts anymore, it's boy scouts and we don't.

So he is telling that story now about himself. That's, that's very helpful. I one thing I'm dying to ask. We've mostly been talking about crossovers. I'd say a good 20 percent of our scouts have come in straight to boy scouts. Cool, sometimes they're over.

You know, they're 13 years old. Our great walk-ins- that's pretty good. Yeah, it's exciting.

Yeah, and I'm one of those- my me and my boys walk straight in and so we knew nothing. It was a difficult transition because we were constantly finding out things that, oh, that's what we do.

How would I know- because you're kind of your methodology or approach- does it change for that kind of parent, a new scout? In the past, when I've had guys come in, we've done we have the parents booklet and and it tends to be more one-on-one, but we've done some of the same kind of thing with those guys you probably would have in my troop probably would have gotten a little better introduction.

Well, I think the the big difference- because I'm thinking of one, one older scout we had joined. Is that the way the scouts?

They've got someone coming in who's 13 and they want to get him up to speed because he's ready to be a patrol leader in terms of maturity, and so it's like, okay, let's get you to the first class and let's do some stuff. Those new scouts, they, like you, say they don't know anything, but they do know some of the kids.

So we they try and place them in a patrol where they already know some. They got some familiar faces and it's a lot easier to work in that kind of atmosphere than a totally don't know anybody atmosphere.

So that that will help. That helps a lot. The cub scouts have seen a scout book.

When they get a boy scout book, the parents kind of: oh, this is you know, but a new guy, he doesn't know any of that stuff. And I sit down with the parents like that and I kind of go through the book and I tell them: it's all in here. You read the book.

You know, it's not just for your son. If you want to find out, read the book even if, even if you're brand new to it.

Well, that makes it even better because with a new parent you can say: listen, you know I'm still figuring things out too. It can be a little strange with older guys coming into the troop because they don't want to look as though they don't know anything. They haven't had the four or five years of cubs to kind of warm up to the whole idea.

So I think you just go straight out, say: I'm sure you know we, we came in in the same way and- and I'm sure you have a lot of questions and you won't be able to think of them all right now. But you can always get in touch with us and we'll, we'll fill you in as best we can.

Was that help, Mike? It does. It is.

I'm actually processing and I'm sitting here thinking: well, I'm gonna have to listen to this podcast. I think it's gonna be a really good one.

I might learn something, I guess I really I want to. I want to have a note that a process, so that you know they won't be.

You know learning something new every time. So this is real helpful.

I, like you, know you're welcoming, informative, and you know I tell your story, say this is why I'm here and that's, that's the great, a great start. And then you do fill in as you go the rest of the information, I have one takeaway.

I mean, you know it's really important, I think, to be available to answer questions. Yeah, and you'll have a general approach and it will change slightly every time. You use it right and you can't. You can't think of and answer all the questions all at once anyway.

So that's, yeah, you're right, that's answering questions help you, helps you figure them out. At the same time, when you're first doing that, after a while there's about six things or something that you want to tell them. And right, if you're the kind of guy that's welcoming, like your senior patrol leaders, welcoming the scouts, people sense that if you're, as you work through that, it's a goal of yours. You'll figure that out.

I, you know I didn't know too much what I was doing. I decided one day we had to have a parents book.

I said: you know there's some stuff that needs to just be written down so the parents will know about it. So we made a booklet. Ever since then, the troops I've been in we've had a parents book. Mike, I really appreciate you having joined us.

Well, I, first up, I really appreciate this. It's kind of an honor, if you will, to get to be included. I really, I really have listened to every one of the podcast, from number one. You told me read the book.

You know right, hey, there's a Scoutmaster handbook. Oh, I gotta get one of those. I read it. Other than Boy Scout policy. Uh, learning from guys like y'all has uh been tremendously helpful and I really thank you very much.

Well, thank you, Mike, that's very kind of. Well, in your next book is the SPL handbook, which I find even more useful than the Scoutmaster handbook. Yeah, it's um actually tells me how to run a program planning conference. It's amazing. And a PLC. Thanks again, Mike.

Gentlemen, really thank you very much and uh look forward to hearing, hearing this and I'm gonna take notes. Fellas, really appreciate you joining us again this week. Thank you, Walter. Good evening, good evening sir. Uh, thanks very much, Larry. You're welcome Clark.

Thank you, and thanks very much, Tom. You're welcome Clark.