The Scouter in Practice on ScoutmasterCG Archive

No Hazing

Sat, 19 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

On our backpacking trip this weekend we adults were reminiscing around the campfire.

Three of six of us had either not been scouts or had been scouts only briefly. The two who had been scouts for a brief time said that they left Scouting because they were being hazed.

Hazing may be ritual or other activities that use harassment, abuse or humiliation as a way of initiating a person into a group. It can be expressed in practical jokes, bullying, unwanted physical contact or a number of other methods. All hazing is antithetical to the spirit of Scouting. If an activity is intended to humiliate, trick, abuse, or harass is hazing and such activities should be immediately put to a stop.

A Little Misdirection

Fri, 13 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Scouts need a lot of latitude to operate independently and make decisions on their own.

Scoutmasters have oversight and must, on occasion, engage in subtle course correction.

I am no Jedi Master but I do think of this classic exchange when encouraging my Scouts to abandon a misdirected course of action. Non-violent, unobtrusive and slyly powerful it reflects the tone and attitude that one sometimes needs to redirect focus. Hand gestures are optional.

Ten Common Scoutmaster Mistakes

Wed, 03 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Making things more efficient Changes that compromise the responsibility of the scouts to do for themselves may make things more efficient, but they are inimical to the spirit of what we want t accomplish.
Applying uniform standards “Our standard for badge earning—as I have frequently said—is not to attain a certain level of quality of work (as in school), but the AMOUNT OF EFFORT EXERCISED BY THE INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATE.”
Applying metrics The answer is not in numbers of camp outs, number of hours or contracts; not snap judgments or fits of temper.

Keeping the Trail to Eagle Clear.

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Reaching the rank of Eagle Scout is a laudable and challenging goal for any boy, and we ought to keep the trail to Eagle clear. In many instances the process has been clouded by a self-appointed priesthood pledged to ‘maintain standards’ and ‘the integrity of the award’. They most often do this by unethically and incorrectly adding to the requirements in subtle and not so subtle ways.

Perhaps it is a local anomaly but we seem to have an inordinately difficult time with the approval of projects, conduct of boards of review and a high degree of nit picking.

3 Rules of Scouting Leadership

Sat, 11 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The three rules of Scouting leadership are simple: delegate delegate delegate.

I’m a Scoutmaster so I concentrate on the work I am supposed to be doing. I don’t do these jobs:

Outdoor Coordinator – he takes care of ALL camping trip logistics, phone calls, online reservations to support the annual plan that the Scouts prepared.

Committee Chairman – I go to committee meetings each month for about 10 minutes. Then I leave and return to the Scout meeting. (I strongly recommend having committee meetings during the regular troop meeting.) Treasurer – I have absolutely nothing to do with the troop funds and I don’t need to.

Criticism and Change

Thu, 09 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Sometimes we get so involved and so closely identified with Scouting that we bruise easily.

Perhaps the sharpest criticism is when our Scouts seem disinterested or uninvolved. Boys are Scouts because they like the idea of Scouting yet battle with some of the things that Scouts do. In a period of life when they are intent on forming an individual identity they sometimes despise those things that make them a part of a group. At the same time, paradoxically, they want to be accepted, to fit in, to fully be a part of the group.

Which Scout Summer Camp?

Sun, 31 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Two troops, same Scout summer camp, same week; one troop has a wonderful time and goes home smiling, one has a difficult time and leaves unhappy. Some of my fondest Scouting memories come from the years I spent working on our Scout summer camp staff and serving as a camp director.

After observing hundreds of troops and thousands of Scouts for a dozen summers I learned there’s one thing that makes or breaks a week at camp. Is it the facilities, location, staff, or program? Can these things assure that your stay at camp this summer will be a positive one? The short answer is no, evaluating a camp’s facilities, location, staff, or program actually has very little to do with the experience you’ll have once you are there. The most reliable predictor of the sort of experience you will have is what you bring with you.

Recognize effort, not just results

Sat, 23 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Earl Miller, a neuroscientist at MIT says, “ Success has a much greater influence on the brain than failure .” Ned Hallowell comments in Shine : While of course mistakes need to be acknowledged and, one hopes, learned from, it may be more likely, from a purely neurological point of view, that a person will learn more from a success than a failure.”

Hallowell points out that acknowledgment or recognition serves two important functions . Of course there is the familiar purpose of giving the recipient encouragement, motivation and greater confidence, but recognition also promotes moral behavior through connection.

A Scoutmaster's Day At Scout Camp

Sat, 12 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Clarke, Great summary, and your experience largely mirrored mine this past week with my troop.

After several years of being a smaller troop that was largely adult-run, we have finally gotten to a very nearly fully youth-led troop with 51 boys attending summer camp. The SPL was in charge and had a strong corps of ASPLs to assist him.

Patrol leaders took responsibility for their patrols, including the PL for the new-scout patrol, the Nighthawks, who worked closely with his Troop Guide.

Evaluating Scouting Positions of Responsibility

Sat, 12 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The new Guide to Advancement repeatedly emphasizes that we are charged with helping individual Scouts succeed.

Mentoring, coaching, advocating for the Scout, establishing and defining reasonable expectations are all aspects of Scoutmastership the guide mentions again and again.

I am convinced that anyone who follows the polices and procedures in the guide carefully will strengthen their program and be a real force for good in the lives of the Scouts we serve.

Troop Program Death Spiral!

Sat, 29 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Perhaps “Troop Program Death Spiral” is a gratuitously dramatic title but it describes something that does happen. Got your attention, though, didn’t I? How and why do troops get off track and lose Scouts?

There’s a predictable sequence of events that spiral down into a crash.

Scouts are never the problem, it’s the way we work with them that causes problems. When we sign on to volunteer and one of three things happen – We attend training, work at understanding our role and evaluate current practice against what we learn. We don’t get trained, don’t really learn our role, and/or adopt bad practices that were in place when we signed on. We assume that we know our role and carry on regardless or we are working with people who assert that they know what they are doing and we follow along.

A Scouter's Summer Camp Schedule

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s a Scouter’s summer camp schedule:

6:45 AM Awakened by the SPL and PL’s. Flag is raised and all Scouts go to polar bear swim as a group.

I used to get up and go to Polar Bear swim years ago (like 15 or so) but I think it’s important for the Scouts to do this on their own.

7:15 AM Scouts return from polar bear swim, get changed and begin cleaning up the campsite. Some adults are up this early for a shower or out of habit.

Adult and Youth Leadership Ratios on Scout Outings

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Adults keep an eye on things from a respectful distance and Scouts lead themselves. When we talk about boys planning, preparing and leading Scout outings some folks reply “Good grief, how can you leave the Scouts in charge when the troop is going on a strenuous hike to Jones Mountain and they have no experience? As Scoutmaster, isn’t it my responsibility to be closely involved in each Scout’s preparation for every activity?” The answer to these questions hinge on a number of variables.

Mistakes Scout Leaders Make and How to Correct Them

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Sometimes it seems we are doing all the right things but the results we are hoping for never materialize. When Scout leaders grow frustrated with their work it’s usually because they are making one or more of the following mistakes: You’ve heard the term ‘helicopter’ applied to parents, teachers and Scout leaders who are over-involved in children’s lives.

Scout leaders can over-plan, seek to control too many of the variables and reduce the Scouting experience to something more like a carefully guided tour rather than an open-ended adventure. We can become too driven by the concept of educating Scouts to the exclusion of real growth. Our honest, good intentions can cause exactly the opposite results they were hoping for. In our efforts to protect our Scouts from uncertainty and adversity, to optimize the productive use of their time, to develop balanced and healthy personalities we can undermine some important natural developmental processes that actually drive the results we are so fervent to obtain.

Patrol Method in Practice - The Adult Role

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

This is post number two in this four part series on the patrol method-1. The Character School ,

Objections ,
Making it happen Imagine a bus tour of some important city where, seated in the air-conditioned comfort of a motor coach, we listen to the guide explain each landmark in detail so we won’t miss anything. The guide sticks to the script, we sit behind the tinted windows of our bus dutifully turning our heads to the left, then to the right.

Troop Policy Manuals

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Early on in my tenure as a Scoutmaster I wrote a Troop Policy Manual.

Truth be told I wrote it out of frustration with some perennial discipline, attendance and logistical problems. As it turns out establishing written policies did not solve any of these ‘problems’.

Ultimately I realized that the problems I was trying to solve were actually the price of doing business as a Scoutmaster; as soon as a hard and fast set of rules was written there were many compelling reasons to modify or ignore them. A brief review of about twenty different Troop Policy Manuals or similar documents reveals that my fellow Scouters are wrestling with the same issues, and occasionally trying to reinvent Scouting. Some manuals were mercifully brief, others were 20 plus pages of boilerplate (the winner was 70-some pages long!). The three most prevalent and often the most lengthy sections of these manuals deal with youth leadership, attendance and discipline. YOUTH LEADERSHIP Many troops have instituted a contract or similar document to be signed by the youth leader accepting a position of leadership.

Scouting Ceremonies

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

When humans participate in ceremony, they enter a sacred space.

Everything outside of that space shrivels in importance. Time takes on a different dimension. - Sun Bear Every ceremony or rite has a value if it is performed without alteration. A ceremony is a book in which a great deal is written.

Anyone who understands can read it. One rite often contains more than a hundred books. - George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff Scouting ceremonies for the presentation of awards, raising or lowering of the flag, opening or closing a meeting are “a book in which a great deal is written”.

Three Keys to Scoutmaster Survival

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

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. Your Scouts can only do so much, they have limitations and they have a breaking point.

Focus on building their enthusiasm and vision for the possibilities in front of them.

Stop doing rank requirements.

Sat, 12 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

That’s fine with me if the Scout is working out his “recognition” and “progress driven” goals within the Troop. By that I mean within the Troop which is his fellow Scouts.

I think that Clarke and I are both nervous about the statement, “but without a focus on the requirements”. In my experience, this almost always implies adults meddling in the Scout’s program.

Adults should not be focusing or meddling or interfering. They should be training and sometimes coaching, and usually only the Troop leadership. If the Troop leadership drops the ball and Scouts aren’t advancing, then it’s not time to focus. It’s time to train some more. It’s time to emphasize the Oath and Law to the older Scouts. It’s not time to focus on the requirements but time to focus on training the Troop leadership, whose job is to Lead, Train and Inspire Scouts to attain First Class rank. As Scoutmaster, along with the other adults in the Troop, I didn’t focus on advancement or uniforming or adult association or outdoor program.

Adults Attending Scout Camping Trips

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Every so often adults attending Scout camping trips just don’t get it (Scouting that is).

I walk into camp and find them sitting in their son’s tent organizing their son’s gear and maybe the tent mate’s gear also or over in his son’s patrol area getting involved in making scrambled eggs or grilled cheese sandwiches. This really sets off the alarm bells in my head.

Scout camping is about Scouts and Patrols operating independent of adult interference and ‘help’.

Contribution Syndrome

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

David Axson, author of the The Management Mythbuster , asserts that successful leaders ask great questions.

I am big fan of Scoutmasters asking questions and not doing a lot of talking. The problem is I talk way too much.

I am conscious of this as I natter away and watch the interest and engagement in my Scout’s faces turn into despair.

After reading Axson’s description below I have diagnosed myself.

Avoiding Eagle Scout Problems - Part 3

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

So far we have determined that needless Eagle Scout problems can be caused when a Scoutmaster seeks to impose his ideal vision of an Eagle Scout on the advancement process. In addition we have discovered Baden Powell founded Scouting on the idea that it would offer Scouts a way to challenge themselves towards achievement on an individual basis rather than against an ideal standard. As a rule of thumb if there is no numerical metric applied to a requirement it is improper and against policy to create one. So how in the world can a Scoutmaster evaluate Scouts fairly? If Scouts challenged themselves against an internalized standard then it is our task to learn how each Scout evaluates their individual performance. That’s why we have Scoutmaster’s conferences rather than Scoutmaster reviews.

Avoiding Eagle Scout Problems - Part 1

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

During my tenure as Scoutmaster I have worked with 50 Scouts who have earned the rank of Eagle.

Becoming an Eagle Scout is supposed to be challenging.

Unfortunately these normal difficulties are often compounded by totally unnecessary Eagle Scout Problems. All too often this drama is caused by the Scoutmaster.

Somehow there are a number of Scoutmasters who act like that they are the gatekeepers for the advancement system (especially the rank of Eagle) when they are supposed to be coaches, guides and mentors. Some Scoutmasters develop the idea that their personal standard of achievement is all important.They wield the Scoutmaster’s conference like a weapon making it a pronouncement of their often capricious judgment. Now this all sounds pretty dramatic because it really is dramatic.

Summer Camp! More Dos and Don'ts

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Summer camp is a big part of most Troop annual programs. A week of opportunity awaits and what follows is some advice on how to make the best of it.

Preparing Scouts for camp is relatively simple, preparing adults is somewhat more difficult and important.

Without wishing to sound like a broken record most difficulties in Scouting arise from adults who misunderstand their role.

Simply put the role of adults at camp is not any different than their year-round responsibilities; to enable the Scouts to plan, prepare and lead their own program. DO encourage Scouts to plan, prepare and lead their week at camp – DON’T impose your goals and aspirations on them.

The Scoutmaster's Son

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Scoutmasters usually have a son who is a scout in their troop. A parent with a wider role of authority over a group of children including their own offspring may encounter some difficult situations.

I know that one of the most difficult years I spent as a Scoutmaster was when my step-son was our Senior Patrol Leader.

Maintaining the parent-child and scout leader-scout relationship successfully requires thoughtful preparation Managing the scout/parent relationship is your responsibility. Call on your adult perspective, experience and maturity in an attempt to understand and remain mindful of the important differences between your roles as a leader and a parent.

Barking

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Ken was the long-time Scoutmaster of a troop 12 here in town who retired when I took over as Scoutmaster for our troop 24 in

The Scouts in Ken’s troop joined ours, and Ken stayed registered as an assistant Scoutmaster with our troop for many years. Ken never sat me down and told me how to do things. He showed me a thing or two, though.

I remember how he showed me the difference between yelling and speaking loudly. At the opening of one meeting the Scouts were milling around as the senior patrol leader tried to get everyone’s attention. Ken watched this for a long while. Then this soft-spoken elderly fire plug of a man barked-“BE QUIET, LINE UP”.

How Scouters Deal with Disappointment

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Perhaps help was requested and others did not follow through. Perhaps a Scout’s reaction to effort fell short of expectations. Perhaps an attempt to apply what was learned simply did not work.

This is common.

The core idea is familiar and often repeated, but still worth revisiting.

Disappointment feels isolating because it appears to signal that no one else understands what matters. In reality, it is a shared experience. Everyone encounters it at some point.