Reviewing, Retesting, O.A., and Webelos More questions and answers about the Scoutmaster’s conference and our review process. In addition we’ll discuss Webelos woes; how can we get them excited about being in a Scout troop?, encouraging cooperation between Order of the Arrow and the troop when it looks like O.A. responsibilities may be cutting into Scout’s responsibilities […]
Working With Scouts
B.P.’s Blog- Cheerfulness
During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters. Each Sunday I’ll publish a selection from his writings in the hope that you’ll draw inspiration and understanding from his timeless ideas. The calmness and the cheerfulness of trained Scouts when doing their work has often […]
How to Instruct Scouts
Classroom methods are one way to instruct Scouts, but they are the least effective, (and least fun) way to get the job done. Many of us just don’t know how to instruct Scouts without the classroom approach. Baden-Powell encouraged us to do better; Our aim is merely to help the boys, especially the least scholarly ones, to become personally enthused in subjects […]
Scout’s Energy, Eagerness, & Anticipation
Boys can hardly wait to go on hikes, sleep in tents, and cook meals in the open. They are eager to master the skills of Scouting and to put into practice what they are learning. They want to share experiences with their friends. They anticipate challenge, adventure, and recognition for their achievements. Troop members look to […]
Celebrating Independence Day (s)
We set aside today to celebrate the United State’s 238th year of independence. Have you considered the individual “independence day” that is the aim of a Scouter’s work? It’s independence day when Scouts stand on their own two feet, overcome obstacles, best challenges, and take the initiative to set their own path forward. These strides forward into adulthood may look small to us, […]
Scouting in a Dirty Old Duck Puddle.
In Aids to Scoutmastership Baden-Powell writes: The Scoutmaster guides the boy in the spirit of an older brother…. He has simply to be a boy-man, that is; he must have the boy spirit in him: and must be able to place himself in the right plane with his boys as a first step. Boy-man? That’s […]
Does Every Scout Have “Special” Needs?
Don’t all of our Scouts have special needs? Each has an individual way of seeing things, individual talents and shortcomings, in one sense don’t all of us have some special need? The sport of Scouting is discovering how to best deliver the promises of Scouting to Scouts with different needs. It’s not so much about “special” needs, it’s about individual needs. When we throw quotes around “special” […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 216 – Peer Pressure
Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers In this week’s podcast I discuss building positive peer pressure and answer email questions about direct donations to Scout Troops, immediate recognition and the Eagle Scout rank, and the appointment of youth positions of responsibility in a Scout Troop. Listen to Scoutmaster Podcast 216 Podcast Archive Podcast: Play in new […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 215 – Reflection
Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers We all want Scouts to reflect, and to use the product of reflection to grow and develop as useful people. Scouts are action oriented, their capacity for reflection is developing, and you have to align your expectations to their level of development. If you think about it at that age you […]
The Overprotected Kid
In her Atlantic Monthly article, The Overprotected Kid, Hanna Rosin writes: It’s hard to absorb how much childhood norms have shifted in just one generation. Actions that would have been considered paranoid in the ’70s—walking third-graders to school, forbidding your kid to play ball in the street, going down the slide with your child in your lap—are […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 212 – Contracts? Troop Size?
Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers In this podcast I catch up on a number of email questions that have accumulated over the past few weeks. Do Scouts need contracts? What’s the ideal Troop Size? How do we resolve problems between brothers? Can A Troop be welcoming and helpful no matter what limitations a Scout may have? […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 206 – Listening
Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers Scoutmaster Podcast 206 Listening is, perhaps, the single most important yet neglected skill any Scouter can use to better serve their Scouts. I talk about why and how we ought to listen to our Scouts. A listener asks if I support Scouting organizations other than my own. And another question bearing […]
John Thurman on Scouters
John Thurman was the Camp Chief at Gilwell Park and had an important role in shaping Wood Badge training. He authored many Scouting books (his three pioneering books are great resources). In his 1950 book Pioneering Projects, he offers some reflections on the Scouter’s role. Scouting isn’t easy to get at first, and it never has been. […]
How Should We Respond to a Scout Who Wants to Quit?
There he is, waiting for our reply; how do we respond to a Scout who wants to quit? Not every boy is going to maintain an active interest in Scouts, it doesn’t automatically mean that anything is wrong with them, the program, or ourselves. I expect that every Scout will have a tough time once […]
How Scouts Listen
Understanding how Scouts listen should help us figure out how we best communicate with them. There’s never enough time to get your message across. Even Fidel Castro, famous for giving six-hour speeches, had plenty more to add. If you’re given 8 minutes, take 8 minutes minus 7 seconds, not 9 minutes. The extra minute is […]
Assume Goodwill
Sometimes all we need to solve our biggest problems is a slight shift in attitude. What would things be like if our first assumption was goodwill? The patrol leader who forgot to do something may have honestly forgotten to do it, not just ignored their responsibility. I forget all kinds of things! Assume goodwill. The Scout […]
Scouting’s Positive Rites of Passage
Carrying backpacks for the first time, Scouts leave the familiar comforts of home and strike out on the trail. Following flashlight beams through unknown territory, they arrive at the campsite with their friends. Tents are set up, a fire is lit and they gather around trying to shake off the cold. They talk excitedly about […]
Relentless Encouragement
Instead of worrying about what Scouts aren’t doing look for what they are doing. Exchange your expectations for their aspirations. If we look for problems, we’ll find them; there will always be plenty of room for improvement. If we look for effort and initiative we’ll find them too. Your encouragement of the good you find […]
Scouting’s Ulterior Motive
Keep before your mind in all your teaching that the whole ulterior motive of this scheme is to form character … Baden-Powell Scouting’s ulterior motive, our goal as Scouters, is forming character. The methods of Scouting , (the patrol system, outdoor adventure, etc.), are the tools of character development. We track this development using reflection, […]
Look for “Red Lantern” Moments
The fastest musher in the history of Alaska’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race ran the 1000-plus mile course from Anchorage to Nome in just under nine days. The longest time to finish the race is 32 days. Each year the last musher to finish the Iditarod earns the Iditarod’s symbol of perseverance, the Red Lantern […]
Are you Serving Scouts or Expecting to be Served?
As a camp director one summer, years ago, several Scouters complained that our dining hall steward was getting out of hand. We served all our meals family style and Scouts served as waiters. Waiters arrive before the meal to set the table, serve the food during the meal, serve their table during the meal, and […]
Breakthrough Scouting and Numbers
Organizations that do nothing but measure the numbers rarely create breakthroughs. Merely better numbers. Seth Godin via Seth’s Blog: Colors or numbers? One responsibility of every Scouter is keeping track of numbers. We track advancement, participation, membership, and fundraising numbers at the individual, unit, district, council, regional, and national levels because these numbers are indicators […]
Mike Rowe at the National Jamboree – Work Smart and Hard
Mike Rowe at the National Jamboree telling scouts to “work smart and hard” encouraging something I have been trying to tell Scouts headed to college for years – find something you love and don’t ignore the idea of working with your hands as a career. Mike hardly needs any introduction; he’s a distinguished Eagle Scout […]
Ask for Authority – Take Responsibility
Frustration in organizations begins with someone saying “If I only had the authority to I’d … (fill in the blank)”. When someone says this one of two things are happening ; they are either expressing a strong propensity for leadership, innovation and initiative, or just cloaking a complaint in language that doesn’t make them responsible […]
