Expertise and experience are overrated Scouts need Scouters with energy and vision more than Scouters with expertise and experience. Scouts don’t care what you know, they respond to who you are. In this podcast I answer three email questions. The first (begins at [1:05]) comes from a new Scouter contemplating becoming a Scoutmaster, but is […]
Merit Badges
Podcast 329 – Merit Badges
There’s always more questions about merit badges… … then I have useful answers because the vast majority of problems with merit badges are structural rather than procedural. But I hate missing an opportunity for a good, old fashioned rant. Listen in while I climb on my soapbox and opine about what I think the problem […]
Podcast 296 – Choosing a New Scoutmaster
How do you decide who is right for the job? I think it’s a mistake to select a new Scoutmaster as you would hire an employee with interviews, applications, etc. This is something very, very different. I wouldn’t choose a new Scoutmaster based on knowledge of the outdoors, training, or experience because those are very insignificant aspects of […]
Scout Requirements and “Double Dipping”
Can a Scout fulfill more than one requirement with a single activity? The answer is always clear after a careful reading of the Scout requirements and the directions in the Guide to Advancement 2015 – 4.2.3.6 Fulfilling More Than One Requirement With a Single Activity From time to time it may be appropriate for a Scout to apply what […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 269 – Parents and Summer Camp
We prepare our Scouts, but how about their parents? How can we help parents make it though the first week of summer camp? Entrusting the full-time care of your child to someone for such a long time, for the first time, can be challenging for parents. In this podcast I offer some ideas you can share […]
Stop Being a Merit Badge Counselor
“Merit Badge Counselor”, taken literally, describes someone who counsels a bit of cloth called a merit badge. I know nobody actually counsels inert bits of cloth, but it makes you think doesn’t it? We don’t counsel merit badges, we counsel real, live, individual Scouts. Scouts may have a lot in common, but each deserves individual attention. Merit badges are much more than […]
Podcast 259 – Socratic Scouting
Can a Scoutmaster save their brains by using their ears? Baden-Powell thought so! In this podcast we’ll explain and discuss the art of Socratic Scouting. I’ll also answer email questions about merit badge blue cards (there’s always a question about them!) and who can or should be conducting Scoutmaster Conferences. LINKS Merit Badge Blue Card Infographic Kandersteg 2016 […]
Podcast 257- Who Leads Who?
… if we have youth leading Scouts who do we lead? Find out who the Scoutmaster leads and directs in this podcast as well as answers to questions about merit badges, Webelos wearing sashes, and adult supervision of patrol meetings or activities. Links in this podcast Blue Card Infographic The Big Three Resources every Scouter […]
Podcast 254 – Behavior Problems
Behavior problems can be challenging, but… … understanding the basic principles behind addressing difficult behavior helps us resolve them in the best interest of the Scout. I’ll answer an email about bullying and another about concerns over merit badge counselling. Scoutmaster Training Syllabus – see appendices G and H for information on the Scoutmaster Conference […]
Podcast 252 – Merit Badge Books?
What do you think? In this week’s podcast I’ll answer email questions about anxious Scouts, liability insurance, cell phones and whether we should be using merit badge books or unofficial work sheets and workbooks. The Big Three Resources every Scouter should read BSA statement on liability insurance Article on merit badge workbooks and worksheets. Sponsored By […]
Podcast 246 – Classes, Chow, and More!
Another agonized alliteration! In this podcast I answer emails about merit badge classes, patrols cooking their own chow, a Scoutmaster worried about Scouts who change troops, Scouting’s chimeras (or urban legends), and a little troop leadership election chicanery. Hows that for one jam-packed alliterative podcast? Here’s the first chapter of the narrative: A New Scoutmaster. Here’s the […]
Podcast 242 -Campaign, Conduct, Camping, & Content
Campaigning, Conduct, Camping (with Webelos), and Content of troop meetings. Listen to my answer to the question: should we be teaching Scouts conflict resolution? (spoiler- yes and no!) In addition we’ll discuss campaigning for youth leadership elections, what standards apply to Webelos camping with troops, and whether or not merit badge instruction is the right content […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 203 – Merit Badges at Meetings?
Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers Scoutmaster Podcast 203 In this podcast we share thoughts on merit badges at Troop meetings, an email question on Troop elections and crickets in the mailbag! Links Podcast Archive Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS Listen to this episode (00:20:16) Apple PodcastsGoogle […]
New Cooking Merit Badge Requirements Released
Here’s a Cooking Merit Badge infographic that you may find helpful: Download a printable PDF of the Cooking Merit Badge Infographic The Facts: As of January 1, 2014 Cooking Merit badge is required for Eagle. A new set of requirements have been published and new book will be available in January. During 2014 Scouts working on […]
How I would Change Eagle Required Merit Badges
Reading the requirements for sustainability merit badge got me to thinking about merit badges as tools to achieve the aims of Scouting in general and Eagle required merit badges in particular. Faithful readers will understand that I like to think about these things and write about possibilities, take it all with a grain of salt. […]
Changes to Eagle Required Merit Badges
Before long (January 1, 2014) the list of Eagle required merit badges will change slightly with the addition of cooking as a required merit badge and the new sustainability merit badge as an alternative to environmental science. Here’s an overview of the current and new lists: Current list of Eagle-required merit badges Earn a total […]
Rethinking Summer Camp Merit Badges
What are your expectations for summer camp merit badges? To most of us and to nearly all of our Scouts the central feature of the week at camp is earning merit badges. But what if it wasn’t? What if Scouts exchanged earning summer camp merit badges for learning and doing the things that actually interest them, the kind […]
Merit Badge Blue Card Infographic
The merit badge blue card serves many purposes: Certifying the unit leader has helped the Scout locate an approved counselor. Tracking requirements completed Checking that the badge was recorded and presented Serving as a record for the Scout, counselor and unit that the badge has been earned Here’s a basic look at the process of earning a […]
Merit Badge Blue Card Change
The old merit badge blue card; The new merit badge blue card; This announcement from the latest Advancement News is self explanatory: Merit Badge Blue Card Revised A new version of the “Application for Merit Badge,” No. 34124, commonly referred to as the “blue card,” is being released later in January 2013. The availability of the new […]
Why Chess Merit Badge?
Judith Bruner was the love of my life in second grade. Miss Bruner was a young, idealistic new teacher who played guitar. In 1968 she taught me how to play chess. I will never forget her for it. I was on our high school chess team and played a great deal during those years. Now I play chess […]
Merit Badge Days – Good or Bad?
This email came from a listener/reader. I answered it in Podcast number 4 as well as in this post; Hi Clarke- I really enjoy your thoughtful blogs and podcasts, and I’m interested to learn about your views on merit badge days. Your podcast item about BP’s view on badge-hunters vs. badge earners was timely as […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 4 – Merit Badge Quality
Scoutmaster Podcast 4 In This Podcast Merit Badge Quality Humor – Bevis & Butthead 4th in the series Instructional Methods for Scouts Scoutmaster Minute; A Scout is Trustworthy Podcast Notes Download Instructional Methods for Scouts.pdf (65.6K) Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS Listen to this episode (00:25:36) Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer […]
Is your Advancement Program Aimed at “True North”?
Is your Troop’s advancement program aimed at ‘true north’? Here’s some statements derived from Andy’s (at Ask Andy) answer to a Troop where the Scoutmaster is seriously off course: Every Scout can advance in rank according to each Scout’s preference for velocity, and no one will attempt to either slow him down or speed him […]
Scouts Earn all 122 Merit Badges
Every once in a while a Scout reaches the extraordinary achievement of earning all 121 merit badges. I can imagine few other ways to gain experience in a crazy quilt of interests like American Business, Archeology, Bird Study, Cinematography, Dentistry, Entrepreneurship, Farm Mechanics, Genealogy, Geology, Journalism. Music, Nuclear Science, Pottery, Railroading, Surveying, Textile, and Whitewater. Here […]
