Scoutmaster Podcast 13 Scouts make mistakes, and those mistakes can be valuable learning experiences. In This Podcast Scouts make mistakes Hunter Stew Eagle Scout Drama 2 Tour guides or leaders? Podcast Notes Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS Listen to this episode (0:21:20) Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave […]
Working With Scouts
The Natural Genius of Children
Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. has more than thirty years of teaching experience from the primary through the doctoral level. He has authored many books related to learning and human development. His writing on the natural genius of children is an excellent endorsement of Scouting; Essentially, the real meaning of genius is to “give birth to the joy” that […]
Mistakes Were Made
Mistakes are always made. Although our aspirations and expectations are high we rarely bring a project to completion without a misstep or difficulty. With the responsibility for planning and presenting Scouting is in the hands of the youth leadership the way we react to mistakes is important. If, in the midst of a football game, […]
Forms and Scouts
Here’s an exchange from Ask Andy about forms and Scouts. Hi Andy, I’m a relatively new Assistant Scoutmaster. I’ve been instructed that Scouts seeking ranks beyond First Class, in this troop, are required to complete a “Scoutmaster Conference Worksheet” before their actual conversation with the Scoutmaster, which they then submit for their board of review. […]
Einstein The Beast of Prey and Inquiry
IT IS, IN FACT, NOTHING short of a miracle that the modern methods of education have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail. It is a very grave mistake […]
Process Intelligence
Gather wood, prepare tinder, kindling and fuel. Strike a match (maybe two) and we make fire. Preparing, building, lighting and maintaining a fire involves interdependent skills, knowledge and actions that constitute a process. Comprehending and executing a process requires process intelligence. Process intelligence is a combination of experience, vision, persistence and inspiration; all fundamental leadership […]
A Scouter is Patient
Patience and fortitude conquer all things. – Ralph Waldo Emerson Scouters must be patient. Scouting can be frustrating, even irritating, but an adult who shouts at Scouts portrays a weakness of character. Yelling is almost always an irrational, impulsive reaction. Verbal explosions are no less inappropriate than physical ones, and can do as much harm. Bringing a bad temper […]
Social and Emotional Development in Scouting
From an emotion development article at Edutopia: Social and emotional learning can help students successfully resolve conflict, communicate clearly, solve problems, and much more. Whether it’s in the boardroom or the classroom, individuals need the skills to communicate, work in teams, and let go of the personal and family issues that get in the way […]
The Benefits of Benign Neglect
It may be that the most difficult thing to get about Scouting is figuring out what it isn’t. It is not a boys club, a baby sitting service, an academic system, an ideology, or a program of activities. The Scouting movement was born as a simple response to the inherent need of boys to have […]
Scouting’s Progressive Program
Scouting’s progressive program is built on the idea of developmental stages. Tiger Cubs work hand in hand with their parents, Wolf Cubs build on the relationships with their family, Bears build on the concepts of community, Webelos on self-reliance and independence. The Scout Troop and Patrol builds on all these skills as Scouts progress through the ranks. Every so often […]
Measuring Tapes?
Measuring tapes are an essential tool for a carpenter; eight feet will always be ninety six inches. But measuring tapes are not indispensable and sometimes cause more problems than they solve. An experienced carpenter will tell you that they would prefer making a cut by holding a board in the place it belongs and marking […]
Teenage Brain
For most of us adolescence is a difficult, chaotic and confusing process. Whether we are going through it ourselves or watching it unfold in others relatively new research on adolescent brain growth sheds light on an otherwise mysterious set of circumstances. It is now understood that our brains undergo significant physical changes in adolescence that […]
Thorns and Roses
Dave Wortendyke, ASM of Troop 78 in Boulder, Colorado – Longs Peak Council — has to say about the value of “Thorns and Roses,” and how to do it… (from Ask Andy ) “While many Scout Troops/Venture Groups either attend National High Adventure Bases, or conduct their own long-term adventures, and almost all Scouts have […]
Helping Homesick Scouts Recover
Night falls on the first day at summer camp; the big opening campfire is over, the troop has returned to the campsite, the Scouts are preparing for taps. Just after we end the Patrol Leader’s Council a young scout, at camp for his first time, is wandering around the edge of a pool of lantern […]
What is Scouting Fun?
We can all agree that Scouting is fun, right? What is Scouting fun, and what isn’t? Young people are in Scouting because they crave an honest challenge. They don’t need any more “bread and circuses” (benefits or entertainments intended to placate discontent or distract attention). Scouts love to learn, but don’t like to be educated; Scouts like to work […]
Prodigal Scouts
I have known a troop who has a sign posted in their meeting place that reads “make good or make way”. They send letters to scouts who don’t attend regularly threatening them with removal from the troop. Part of Scouting is dealing with our prodigal Scouts who disappear from time to time without any explanation. […]
