Topic
What it takes to lead a troop week after week. Scoutmasters and assistant Scoutmasters wrote openly about vision, patience, mentoring youth leaders and the occasional rainy campout.
200 posts · 2007–2020
24 posts
Fourth in a series of articles about the four steps to Scout Advancement. Articles will be published each Tuesday beginning November 20, 2012 After a Scout has completed all of the requirements for any rank he is reviewed twice; once in a Scoutmaster conference and once at a Board of review.
Scoutmaster survival can hinge on these three P's – proportion, perspective and preparation, every Scoutmaster should know: Proportion You can only do so much, you have limitations and you have a breaking point. Having a sober estimate of these things about ourselves is important.
One of my favorite things to do as a Scoutmaster is sit with a Scout and have a Scoutmaster Conference. It is not only a requirement for the Scout to advance, but a great opportunity to learn. I learn so much each time I sit down with a Scout and listen to them during the…
Here's a Scoutmaster minute idea - Sometimes we need to slow down and concentrate on what we are doing. Sometimes we rush because we want to save time and we actually end up spending more time. What's interesting is that taking more time to begin with actually saves time in the long run.
Here's a Scoutmaster minute idea – See Preaching the Scoutmaster Minute and Seizing the Scoutmaster Minute and other Scoutmaster Minute ideas How do you put out a fire? Adding more fuel is not the answer. How do you
In the last post, we got a pretty good feel for the general attitude toward the "Merit Badge Mill" for a lack of a better term. It seems that there is not a lot of support for this style of merit badge earning.
Rule No. 86: o Opinions are never substitutes for facts. ________________________________________ Dear Andy, About the question posed of caravans and convoying on Scouting trips, I was also surprised to not find this in the GUIDE TO SAFE SCOUTING. But I teach a BALOO course and the no caravan rule is part of the curriculum.
Personal items have been packed. The troop gear has been loaded. The freshly uniformed Scouts have chosen their rides. The vehicles have left town. Boy Scout Troop 68 is on its way to a week of camping at Many Point Scout Camp in northern Minnesota.
Boy Scout Troop 68 has a problem. We are looking for someone to become the scoutmaster. Unfortunately, no one seems interested in the position at this time. Having a small troop does not seem to be helping matters. Being in a community that has not been interested in having their boys in the Scout program…
For those of you new to Boy Scouting, please understand that it is not an advanced Webelos Program. Indeed, it is quite different. Unlike almost every other youth program, Boy Scouting is youth led and youth run. That's right, adults do not run a Boy Scout Troop.
As I think about what makes a good scouting program really work, I see it as a Three-way effort between the Scout, his parents and his adult leaders. If these three pieces don't work together like a three-legged stool, the program really struggles.
Here's a new one: An East Coast troop's uniform policy involves telling older Scouts not to wear their uniforms in public. Yep, it happened in Scouter B.C.'s troop. Here's how B.C., who asked me not to use their full name, explained it in an email to me last week: I have recently become the assistant…
Now don't let the word personal get you. Yes we want each and every Scout to grow, but we want them to find this growth within the context of Scouting's values (found in the Oath and Law). Personal growth is a tricky method in that it will sneak up on you as the Scout develops.
Your have seen the presentation in the first video. You have heard from the former members of Boy Scout Troop 68 during the next two videos. Now it is time to hear from the retired scoutmaster. In this, the final of four parts of the retirement party, we finally get to hear what Steve has…
You've got 60 seconds; make them count. After a pack or troop meeting filled with learning, fun, and fellowship comes the grand finale: the Scoutmaster's or Cubmaster's Minute. Consider it a closing argument to your Scouts - one last chance to inspire before they head home.
If you have been following this blog and the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast you know that two of the four parts of the scoutmaster retirement party video have been posted. Here is the third part. It features more alumni of Boy Scout Troop 68 as they step up to the podium and share their memories…
Larry Geiger has served as a Scoutmaster for two different troops so that means he has transitioned in and out of the Scoutmaster role more than most of us. I asked him to write about these transitions and offer his advice.
I had been curious for a couple of weeks what the committee had planned for the retirement party. They had been very quiet whenever I was nearby. A great example of this was at the February committee meeting. I make the agenda so I listed the party under old business thinking they night bring up…
You have been reading about it in the blog. Now you can watch it happen. This post to the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast features the first of four videos taken from the troop's retirement party for Scoutmaster Steve who stepped down after 30 years of service.
I realize that many of you would think that I have gone overboard about the subject of "Why Scout Camp is Important" but I still have covered this topic in its entirety. Basically what I am doing is that I am trying to give you as Scout Leaders, Youth Leaders, or parents enough information in…
The Ten Essentials of Scoutmastership penned by William ‘Green Bar' Hillcourt were part of the Scoutmaster's Handbook for many years. 1. A belief in boys that will make you want to invest yourself and your time on their behalf. As Plato said " Of all the animals , the boy is the most unmanageable ".
Adult leaders often say things like; "I don't override the boys decisions at all. " "I asked them what they wanted to do." "This was their decision." What most of us fail to recognize is that many of these ‘boy led' decisions were probably coerced, at least in part, by the presence of adults when they…
Scouting's One Essential Feature - Scoutmastercg.com At our council camporee in December I walked around the entire camp and saw only two troops that had identifiable patrols. Most troops were set up as one unit, with all the tents lined up and no discernible internal division into patrols.
At our council camporee in December I walked around the entire camp and saw only two troops that had identifiable patrols. Most troops were set up as one unit, with all the tents lined up and no discernible internal division into patrols.
