The Bloggers
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Meetings are almost universally despised. For most people, unless they absolutely have to be there (the committee chair, for example), they either attend grudgingly or find a reason to skip out. Unless a meeting is compelling and productive – and participants are engaged in the process – you might as well go home. So how
Your Blue & Gold Banquet is tomorrow and you're fully prepared. You've planned, checked and re-checked every detail. Your committee, den leaders and parent helpers have everything taken care of, and you're ready to step up and run a successful event. Or so you wish! Bearing in mind that a visit from Murphy isn't out
OK, the big day is approaching and you're hoping your Blue & Gold Banquet turns out all right. You're concerned that the boys will have fun and the parents won't be disappointed. The good news is that by following the Scout motto – Be Prepared – you can improve your chances of having a smooth
Sometimes, it seems that the Boy Scouts of America gets in the way of fulfilling their own aims. Here's an example, inspired by a post on Google Plus's Scout Nation group, which featured a photo of rank advancement and merit badge insignia and cards ready for the Scouts to be awarded at the court of
If there is one event in the Cub Scout year that could be considered the high point, it's the Blue and Gold Banquet. Every winter, Cub Scout packs hold a celebration of Scouting's anniversary. Scouts gather, along with their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins for food, fellowship, recognition, entertainment and Scout spirit. And the
When I started as the committee chair of our troop, one of the things that went through my mind was how many things I'd need to be responsible for. I had a pretty good handle on advancement (or so I thought), matters of finance and the rules of safety and youth protection. But what about
The cog that turns the wheels of Boy Scouting is the patrol method, and the grease that lubes the axle is something nebulously called patrol spirit. Just what is patrol spirit? It's the sense of friendship and cooperation that exists between members of a patrol. It's the competitive nature and persistence that propels a patrol
A few weeks ago I answered a question about whether a unit should rearrange its adult roster to take advantage of points available on the Journey to Excellence. By registering a den leader as an assistant Cubmaster instead, the pack would qualify for additional JTE points and possibly a higher level.
As the Christian world prepares to celebrate Christmas, I thought I'd devote this week's article to a few reflections on our founder, Sir Robert Baden-Powell, and his wife on the subject of Christmas. Baden-Powell was an accomplished artist who produced his own special-occasion cards.
You have likely heard the fable about the blind men and the elephant. It's a tale that's told in many of the world's religions as a means of explaining how everyone views the diety differently. One version of the story is told: Six blind men were asked to determine what an elephant looked like by
While helping a couple Cub Scout packs in my district with their rechartering this fall, we were trying to figure out how to juggle the few adult volunteers so that all the positions are filled. The Cubmaster doubles as the den leader for his son's den (definitely not a recommended practice). They still needed an
A commenter on a story in The New York Times made the observation: Belief is the conviction that one already knows; learning, in contrast, requires an awareness that one has yet to know. This is what happens when a mania for belief takes over your life. Eventually, you become incapable of learning. New information goes
As a unit commissioner and Friends of Scouting presenter, I have the opportunity to visit many troops and packs and get insight into how they operate. We commissioners also talk among ourselves about problems and issues in our units. One of the troops had an observation about a recent campout: …the boys were separated by
On one of his first episodes of the Scoutmaster Podcast, my friend Clarke Green offered an essay in tribute to Extraordinary people. I found it to be one of the most true-to-life descriptions of the kind of person who becomes a Scouter.
I heard from a pack committee chair, who asked me: Our unit commissioner was helping me with our charter renewal and suggested that we register one of our den leaders as an assistant Cubmaster instead. He could still function as den leader, but it would make our Journey to Excellence numbers better. We'd get another
The rise over the last several years of social networking in the form of online services like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have revolutionized the way we communicate. Regardless of where we are in the world, we can keep in touch with our network of friends back home or anywhere else. Networking is not new to
If you're a den leader, you realize that successful den meetings are planned in advance and have a variety of activities for the boys. The new Adventure program puts everything together so you don't have to try to figure out for yourself how to run your den meetings. The goal is engagement, with advancement as
Scouters seem to be addicted to meetings. In your unit, you either conduct meetings with the youth (den and pack meetings, for instance), or hover way in the background during troop and patrol meetings. We have meetings of our own, too – committee and leader meetings, district committee and commissioner meetings, Roundtable, and all sorts
A Scout is helpful. It's the third point of the Scout Law. And to help other people at all times is part of the Scout Oath. Scouts help others every day. Service is part of our rank requirements, and troops and packs do service projects regularly. Service to an organization outside of Scouting is a
The question came up recently on one of the forums about how different troops handle registration for monthly campouts, and I was intrigued to read the replies. Many respondents had well thought-out procedures, ranging from e-mailed permission forms to Google documents and the BSA's new Scoutbook. These systems aim to add some level of reliability
Something drew you in to be a Scouter. Maybe it was your son bugging you to let him join the Cub Scout pack at school. Maybe you were a Scout as a kid, and you remembered the good times and wanted your son to enjoy them too. A friend might have suggested you get involved
Prepared for Life. It's not just a slogan – it's what Scouts become as a result of being Scouts. For most of our Scouts, life after Scouting begins at college, and for many, it means living away from home for the first time in their lives. It's true of their classmates as well. Most high
As we approach the end of the year, packs, troops and all other units are working to compile their statistics for the 2015 Journey to Excellence evaluation tool. Yes, it's best to think of it as a tool to help your unit identify its strengths and weaknesses, and guide you to make the changes necessary
A lot of pressure is put on boys in our society to develop and exhibit characteristics and behavior that many view as typical masculine traits. Many people would give as examples of such traits toughness, perseverance, determination and confidence. Boys are told to "man up" or "be a man" when faced with confrontation or just
It seems like we live our life by rule books. We have policies and procedures to follow at work. The clubs and organizations we belong to have by-laws, rules and regulations. Every sport has an official rule book, and most sports teams have a policy manual of some sort for parents and participants. How about
You've probably seen the t-shirts that read (Fill in the blank) is life. The rest is just details. Put any activity in the blank: Football, softball, soccer, cheerleading, golf, snowboarding… and you can probably find a shirt with the slogan.
The way we handle and manage money has changed significantly with the information age. Cash will always be with us, and checks are still in use, but electronic funds transfer is becoming the way we move money around. Should a smallish enterprise like a Scouting unit take advantage of these innovations? Let's look at some
You've probably heard that many people fear speaking in public more than almost anything else. But it doesn't have to be that way – and as a Scouter, you are in a perfect position to learn how to ease that fear. I had never spoken to large groups very much until I became a Cubmaster.
Anyone who serves on a troop committee has most likely participated in a rank advancement board of review. To me, it is an honor and a pleasure to serve on one, for it is through this process that we can gain insight into the youth experience. That is, if we ask the right questions and
Hopefully you're rested up and ready to head back into another year of active Scouting. Along with it comes our monthly committee meetings – pack, troop, crew, district – there are lots of meetings we have to endure and survive! There are ways to make meetings run more smoothly and be more productive. Here are
Fall is approaching, and as the temperature goes down, the pigskins go up. Every Friday night at high schools and Saturday afternoons at colleges all across the country, players take to the field to see who can dominate a one-hundred-yard patch of turf. Winners and losers emerge, along with the attendant lessons of sportsmanship, humility,
If you have ever taken an online course, you know how cumbersome they can be. Usually it just involves watching some video clips, or reading text (sometimes with pictures) and possibly taking a quiz. At best, it's a one-way introduction to a topic; at worst, it's a nightmare that never seems to end, as the…
Consider:
To continue our series of articles on unit finance, we'll discuss a couple issues that can be complex: whether your unit holds non-profit status and its implications, including sales tax liability. Bear in mind that I am not an accountant or tax lawyer. The information presented here is from personal experience. Also, rules and regulations
That's the subject line on an e-mail advertisement I received this week from a popular athletic gear company. (I won't say which one.) They're known for making high-quality apparel that keeps athletes comfortable in hot and cold weather, and their lines have broadened to include casual clothing as well. The e-mail pictured a young man,
School starts in most places in just a few weeks, which means we're heading into our big recruiting season. Packs will be going out into the schools to spread the word about Cub Scouting, enticing boys with the thrill of adventure, exploration and fun, and hoping they'll run home to tell their parents that they
What's that hash tag doing in the title of this article? It's the latest initiative to spring forth from this year's historic centennial National Order of the Arrow Conference at Michigan State University. Conceived by a handful of Arrowmen and their adult advisors and unveiled by national chief Alex Call during the arena show Wednesday
More than fifteen thousand Arrowmen – Scouting's best – converge on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing starting today to take part in the largest Scouting event in the United States other than the National Jamboree. The National Order of the Arrow Conference, or NOAC, gives these young men the opportunity to
By now, you have heard that the Boy Scouts of America has lifted its ban on employment and volunteer registration of openly gay individuals. The executive board followed the lead of BSA president Dr. Robert Gates, who in May told the national meeting that it was time for the BSA to deal with "the world
Life skills. Just about every youth activity touts that it teaches "life skills." Baseball teaches life skills. Karate teaches life skills. Dance teaches life skills. Church groups teach life skills. And Scouting teaches life skills – but ours are different. Most other activities teach the game or activity they play as their primary aim. Their
The first of two volumes of the long-awaited Troop Leader Guidebook is finally available through theBSA Supply Division's ScoutStuff.org website and at many Scout Shops in local councils. The Guidebook, priced at $12.99, replaces the Scoutmaster Handbook and is a wide-ranging manual that explains Boy Scouting to an audience that includes not only the Scoutmaster…
In the first article in this series, I offered some recommendations on being prepared financially through creating and following an annual unit budget. In this post, we'll look at some banking best practices for your troop or pack. Let me first say that I am not a lawyer or a CPA. The points that follow
In one of the Scouting circles on Google Plus, a member asked for advice on going to summer camp for the first-time as an adult. "What one thing should I bring, or not bring? Or what should I absolutely do?" Circle members offered a variety of recommendations. Some of the "what to bring" ideas were:
Fall is approaching, whether we realize it or not, and with it comes our most productive recruiting season. School starts back up, and our Cub Scout program kicks into gear. Each year, packs need to form new Tiger dens and add to the others, replacing those who aren't returning or have moved away. We also
Most troops start off their meetings with the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a usually speedy recitation of the Scout Oath and Scout Law: Okay, so Frankfurter patrol, Scout Oath! Scout Sign! A Scout is Trustworthy Loyal… NO! Scout Oath!
Time for answers to a couple more questions from readers. This time, the questions deal with older Scouts and patrol organization, and what to do about cell phones at summer camp. Engaging older Scouts We have a number of older Scouts, mainly high school age, who form a patrol of their own, the Falcons. They
One of my favorite magazines, The New Yorker, has a recurring column titled Notes from All Over, a collection of miscellany that are interesting in and of themselves but don't merit an entire article. Today's article is like that, so I'm borrowing the title with apologies (and a tip of the campaign hat) to the…
Although the print edition of the Guide to Safe Scouting gets updated each year or two, the information in the Guide is revised quarterly when changes are made. A printed or downloaded copy should be part of every Scouter's kit, and while traditionally published as an 8 1/2 x 11 stapled booklet, recent paper editions…
The Golden State Warriors won the championship of the National Basketball Association this week. The team is led by an experienced basketball man – as a player, general manager and television commentator – but a rookie coach. Steve Kerr, in his first coaching assignment, took on a different style of leadership than those he played
Talking with the Cubmaster at a Blue & Gold banquet recently, I found out that her son is crossing into Boy Scouts this spring. In fact, he (and she) have already been on a campout of the troop that he is joining. Among other tales of the adventure that lies across the bridge, I gently
