The Scouter Role on ScoutmasterCG Archive

John Thurman on Scouters

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

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. The “small voice” inside us says “this will be great fun, let me at it!”. Our success as Scouters hinges on what we do next: John Thurman It will be a poor day in Scouting when any Scouter or Scout can pick up a book and all he has to do to achieve success in some subject or activity is to copy exactly what he finds in a book, because Scouting is not like that.

Leadership, Power, Responsibility, and Service

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Anyone who takes on a position of responsibility as a leader will feel pretty self-important at first.

After all, you have been chosen, or you stepped in when no one else did. It’s a big ego boost to have a title, to have people follow your directions. That’s a pretty heady feeling isn’t it… all that power?

Power scratches an itch, and some leaders never quite lose their addiction to power. We can even convince ourselves that we are something special, someone who is deserving of respect and recognition. A lot of times we don’t like to be challenged or questioned – after all we are the leader , right? We know better!

Lucky? Not Really.

Thu, 01 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Saw this comment today: “He’s got a bunch of older Scouts who run his troop for him, he’s lucky!”

Lucky? Not at all, that’s how Scouting works. “He’s got a bunch of older Scouts…” Yes, we have a bunch of older Scouts, when I think “older” I think about any Scout over thirteen.

Younger Scouts are often just as capable, they just need someone to believe in them. “… who run his troop for him …” There’s a couple of problems with that.

What is a "Boy-Led Troop"?

Thu, 18 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Many Scouters claim; “We have a boy-led (or youth-led, or Scout-led) Troop,” but what does that really mean?

Official literature mentions this sort of thing often , but how is do we really define “boy-led”? We’d like to think what the Scouts do and how they do it defines “boy-led”, but it doesn’t.

Young people lead themselves all the time, it comes quite naturally to them. What adults do is just as important to a boy-led troop as what adults don’t do.

B-P's Blog - Leadership

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters. Here’s a selection from his writings.

LEADERSHIP is the keynote to success– but leadership is difficult to define, and leaders are difficult to find.

I have frequently stated that “any ass can be a commander, and a trained man may often make an instructor; but a leader is more like the poet– born, not manufactured.”

B-P's Blog - Reluctant Scoutmaster

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters. Here’s a selection from his writings.

Only to-day I heard of a case where a man had been an interested spectator of certain boys at play, and one day they met him on the road and announced that they had made up their minds and were all ready. “Ready for what?” “To be Scouts, sir.” “Very good. And who is going to be your leader?” “You, sir; we elected you anonymously .” “But, damn it all– Oh well, I suppose one mustn’t swear if one is going to be a Scoutmaster– well, you see, I’ve got a lot of other things to do– and– oh, all right, I’ll have a try.” (To-day nothing would induce him to give it up.) There are loads of men who would join us if they only knew how valuable their assistance would be, and how natural and attractive our work is. You might put it somewhat in this way to your fly when you have got him into your parlour, but wording it according to the requirements of the particular case: “Up till now you have been a busy or an idle man all your life. Any doctor will tell you that to knock off all work suddenly in the one case or to continue to vegetate in the other is the sure and short cut to the grave.

Maintaining the Integrity of Youth Leadership

Fri, 16 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Scouting, by definition is youth led but this does not mean purposeless anarchy – I have seen a few troops were the adults excused poor performance and un-Scout like behavior by claiming “we have a boy led Troop.”

Instead of laying out rules for youth leadership it is easier to describe the role of Scoutmasters and other adults in facilitating a youth led Troop.

Their role is simpler and defines the role of the Scouts. Here are several concepts that can be easily put into place – Maintain Definition and Focus – The definition and focus of Scouting is described in the introduction to the Scout Handbook (a passage we would all do well to commit to memory).

No Jerks

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Much of what I write in this blog is a search for the essential qualities of great Scoutmastership. In truth these qualities are so simple that they can prove to be elusive and so transparent that we are in constant danger of missing them. We are, after all, just people and thus subject to distractions, missteps and regressions. A considerable amount of effort is required to keep things pointed to ‘true north’.

Bill" - Looking Back at a Great Scoutmaster

Sun, 20 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Here is a great tribute to a fine Scoutmaster from one of his former Scouts from b.Andy at AskAndy bearing the simple title “Bill”

April 1953, a brand-new Boy Scout, I walked for the first time into a troop meeting. I’d been a Cub Scout, earned my Webelos Badge (Arrow of Light, it’s called today), and had just turned 11 years old. I was taller than most boys my age, and more shy than most.

Focus on the Success of Your Scouts

Sun, 20 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Scouting shares that paradoxical combination of simplicity and complexity found in a round of golf or a game of baseball. The goal is simple, the means direct, yet the process is complex.

Scoutmastership, like properly swinging a golf club or baseball bat, takes a few minutes to learn and a lifetime to master.

Skilled Scoutmasters concentrate on one thing – the success of their Scouts.

Individual Scouts will have individual standards of success so Scoutmasters have twenty or thirty different (though likely very similar) standards to work towards.

The Pace of Leadership

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

As we have for the past several years our Troop participated in the local Memorial Day parade. As I was walking along the parade route a couple of ideas came to mind that help define our place as Scoutmasters.

Three adults walked behind the Scouts this year. We adults don’t wear our uniforms for this, we wear a troop tee shirt.

Before you tell me why this is wrong allow me to explain; this is one of the most publicly visible things that we do as a Troop and the most common public misconception of Scouting is that adults are in charge. It seemed to us that the Scouts out front in uniform and us in a less visible support role was an accurate public presentation of how the program really works. So there we were, walking behind our Scouts, carrying water for them both literally and figuratively, while they carried the flags forward, called the cadence, and led themselves. An occasional expression of encouragement or advice was all that was needed. We adults wear our uniforms with pride, we are glad to be associated with our Scouts in particular and Scouting in general. We were even more proud to walk behind them as inconspicuously as possible and watch them lead themselves. I’ve quoted Lao Tzu’s thought on leadership several times over the years on the blog but it bears repeating: The Leader is best when people are hardly aware of his existence, Not so good when people praise his government Less good when people stand in fear, Worst, when people are contemptuous. Fail to honor people, and they will fail to honor you. But of a good leader, who speaks little When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, The people say, ‘We did it ourselves.’

B.P.'s Blog - Listen

Thu, 02 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters. Here’s a selection from his writings.

A FURTHER way of discovering activities that will appeal to the boys is for the Scoutmaster to save his brains by using his ears. When in war-time a soldier-scout is out at night and wants to gain information of the enemy’s moves, he does so to a large extent by listening.

Cultivating Scouting

Wed, 11 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

There is too much “management science” in Scouting. We should stop trying to manage programs, Scouts, patrols, and troops.

Scoutmastership is much more akin to gardening than management. If we spend our time cultivating Scouting rather than managing it we’ll get better results.

Gardeners prepare the ground, plant the seed and the plants do the rest. Keep the weeds away, make sure there is plenty of water and sunshine and you can’t fail. If I don’t stake my tomato plants they fall over and sprawl around on the ground. If I trim and tend them they grow into productive plants.

Scout Troop Manuals, By-Laws and the Like

Fri, 06 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

What would your Scout Troop look like without a manual, by-laws or a reasonable facsimile thereof?

Would anybody notice? B.S.A. literature, to my knowledge, does not mention such documents so one wonders where they came from? In my case as a young Scoutmaster I encountered the usual litany of problems and disappointments.

I hit upon the idea of legislating – I’d just write down the rules and things would be clear, my Scouts, their parents and my fellow leaders would all fall in line once they read my pronunciations. Once I had legislated a complex code into existence I then had to appoint myself to the judiciary in order to interpret and apply the law. For some reason my Scouts were underwhelmed with my impression of the Magna Carta. They responded by paying very little attention to it. The sole satisfaction of having created the rules was referring to them whenever a problem arose. Soon after a problem arose so did compelling reasons why the rules, as I had written them, should not apply.

Just What Does 'Scoutmaster' Mean?

Tue, 20 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000

If you’re a regular reader, you already know about the tyrants and tin gods, renegades and recalcitrants, bullies and belligerents, dictators, martinets, and “world’s oldest Patrol Leaders” masquerading as Scoutmasters.

Thank goodness that, for every one of them, there are a thousand or more dedicated Scouting leaders who get it right! But how did this happen? How did we get so far away from True North?

Aside from warped mentalities seeking out this position in order to foment their brand of meanness, is there some sort of cultural error or acquiescence that has abetted this?

B.P.'s Blog - Standard Cloth

Sun, 28 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters. Here’s a selection from his writings.

No need of it for Scoutmasters I AM writing this in the train, crowded up with eleven others in the carriage; no room for luggage, no porters, or taxis at the station to carry it if I had; and I am starting off on a trip of at least a week.

A Scoutmaster is Patient

Sat, 18 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Patience and fortitude conquer all things. - Ralph Waldo Emerson The Scoutmaster’s job may be frustrating and irritating at times. An adult who looses their temper and yells is extraordinarily unsettling to Scouts. On the one hand it can frighten them, on the other it portrays weakness of character. It is imperative that Scoutmaster’s learn to control their temper.

Verbal explosions are no less inappropriate than physical ones, and can do as much harm. We must also learn to control our reactions to the thousand challenges that confront us and our Scouts.

Measuring Tapes?

Sat, 18 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

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 it rather than transferring measurements from a tape as it is more likely to achieve a better fit.

Milestones

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

I started blogging here to talk about Scouting in general rather than chronicle my particular experiences.

However today was memorable in several ways.

I had the honor of presiding at a Court of Honor and presenting four of our Scouts with the rank of Eagle. But before the Court of Honor got off the ground to my utter surprise my fellow leaders took over the proceedings for a few moments to celebrate my twenty-fifth year as Scoutmaster.

Troop Organization Made Simple

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

Scout troops are built on the principle that “(the) unit is the natural gang of the boy, led by its own boy leader.”

Baden Powell, Aids to Scoutmastership. We have categorized and complicated this simple principle with overlays of military discipline, management science, job descriptions and flow charts that put the Scoutmaster at the top and the boys on the bottom; opposite of the order intended.

Turning the chart upside down better represents the roles of leadership; The Scoutmaster is the base of a pyramid of shared responsibility and service to the apex of the pyramid; the Scouts. This responsibility (and the attendant authority) flows upward to serve the goal of advancing the aim of scouting. From a practical standpoint is is helpful to remember that a patrol is a little troop, and a troop is a big patrol.

B.P.'S Blog - Playing the Game

Sun, 12 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters. Here’s a selection from his writings.

IN making our young citizens, therefore, it is essential to try to get into them the habit of cheery co-operation, of forgetting their personal wishes and feelings in bringing about the good of the whole business in which they are engaged — whether it be work or play. One can teach the boy that it is exactly as in football. You must play in your place and play the game; don’t try to be referee when you are playing half-back; don’t stop playing because you have had enough of the game, but shove along, cheerily and hopefully, with an eye on the goal in order that your side may win, even though you may yourself get a kick on the shins or a muddy fall in helping it. But the best form of instruction of all for a Scoutmaster to give is by the force of example. It is essential if he is going to succeed in putting the right character into his boys that he should himself practise what he preaches. Boys are imitative, and what the Scoutmaster gives off, that they pick up and reflect.

Are you Serving Scouts or Expecting to be Served?

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

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 clear up afterwards.

Troops rotate this responsibility for a full week so at any meal there are Scouts who are new to the experience and they make mistakes. My dining hall steward (just 16 years old himself) was growing increasingly frustrated with these mistakes . He knew exactly what needed doing, the Scouts did not, and it was trying his patience. He started getting angry and resentful, he yelled at them and this made his inexperienced waiters even more jumpy.

What are Your Expectations?

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

‘Don’t cast your pearls before swine’, don’t put things you value in front of people who reject the notion it has value. That’s just a little peevish, isn’t it? It’ smacks of taking your ball and bat and going home. What if we didn’t attach a personal value to the acceptance of our work, but only to the work itself? How would that change our approach? If we didn’t allow our personal expectations get in the way of the program, what would happen?

Scout's Energy, Eagerness, & Anticipation

Tue, 09 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

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 their Scoutmaster as the person who will help them realize the promise of Scouting. They will not be disappointed. The Scoutmaster Handbook Take a moment and step into the world of a young Scout’s energy, eagerness, and anticipation. Do you remember being like that?

Why We Have Scoutmasters

Sat, 30 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

I offer it here to spark your imagination, and to answer the question ‘why do we have Scoutmasters?’; In the early days of Scouting boys from all over the country, and later from all over the world, bought the book Scouting for Boys and formed themselves into Patrols.

I want to repeat ‘formed themselves’. This means that someone, a leader, not appointed by anyone in particular, but chosen by other fellows because those same other fellows were willing to follow him, gathered round himself a crowd of chaps who wanted to be Scouts. They formed a Patrol and they started to train themselves, using the book Scouting for Boys as the only guide, but they found, as Patrols have always found, that there were many things they did not know, many things they could not find out and many things they could not do without the help of some adult, and so the practice grew of a number of Patrols getting together, forming a Troop, and usually finding their own Scoutmaster. It was some time in the year 1908 that a gang of boys saved, up their pennies and managed to purchase two or three copies of the 4d. booklet Scouting for Boys. They met together in an old barn and tried many of the things that B.-P. suggested they should do. They had a lot of fun and learned a great deal and they got into quite a few scrapes. One day they came across the chapter on Camping, and as they had tried all the things suggested, they were not going to be defeated by one which seemed a little more difficult. Of course, none of them had ever been to camp and they didn’t know the first thing about it, but they had what I hope your Patrol has – a real spirit of adventure. They were prepared to try anything, not only once, but until they got it right, and so they talked it all over and devised all manner of means to get the things they thought would be suitable. Bill, Jack, and Tom were to get the food – just how, nobody told them – Martin, the Leader, was going to get the tent, and Alec, the youngest, said he thought he could get a cart. The Leader also said he would look after the cooking-pots, and each boy was made responsible for getting his own bedding. So it happened that one Saturday afternoon in early June they duly assembled at their barn and started out on their travels. No questions were asked, although young Alec did indicate that it had been very difficult to get the toy cart away from his baby brother and Jack was not very complimentary about the very old tarpaulin that the Patrol Leader said was to be the tent, but they were all amazed and delighted at the quantity of food that had been produced, which, by present-day standards, would have been enough for a month. Well, they packed what they could into the cart, and after the food was in there was not really much room for anything else, so the rest was carried. They did not know where they were going; they had no map, and I doubt if they could have read one, in any case. They set off, literally into the blue, out of the village and over the hill and across country, because they were not the sort of fellows who walked on roads if they could avoid them, but all their preparations had taken a long time and it was quite late in the evening when they settled on a place to camp; a pleasant enough site between a by-road and a stream. They decided the stream would do for washing and water for cooking. It was all very unhygienic, but they did remain alive for many years to tell the tale. They lit a fire as they had already learned to do, although they used more than two matches, and it was a very large fire, as they had never heard the Red Indian saying – ‘Red man he make little fire and keep close; White man he make big fire and have to keep away.’ They then set to and cooked the food. They mixed some very queer concoctions and they burned quite a lot, but food had never tasted better to those particular boys. Then, rather late, they tried to put up the tent. The Leader had a knife and cut down two saplings, and somehow, with string and ingenuity, they rigged up the tarpaulin into some sort of tent and, as it became dark, very tired, but very happy, they crept into the tent and got into bed.

A Rambling Wreck, A Hot Mess, A Joy to Behold

Mon, 25 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

One would rarely call my Troop a well oiled machine or a model of efficiency. That’s the principle reason I love it so. A dear friend who was a very successful artist worked out of a studio that was best described as a hot mess. Not just typically messy – we are talking breathtaking disorder. Even so he produced art of penetrating simplicity and beauty.

There’s a point during any Troop meeting or outing when I look around and see the same breathtaking disorder. From my perspective youth leaders are slacking off, adults are interfering, Scouts are blandly disinterested – it’s all a few seconds from falling apart, spinning out of control. In these moments I imagine my artist friend laboring over a painting.

Scoutmaster Longevity

Sun, 24 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred. And he said unto them, He that has ears to hear, let him hear. The Gospel of Mark New Scoutmasters tend to throw themselves into their position with great energy. One or two years later they will , more or less, find themselves in one of the four scenarios in the parable above. The decisive factors are subtle. Some are enthusiasts and run a bit hot and cold.

Justice and Force

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

Pascal’s ideas are important for anyone in a position with the force of authority. The authority of Scoutmasters, parents, managers, and leaders is only legitimate when it is just.

Justice, force.–It is proper that what is just should be obeyed; it is necessary that what is strongest should be obeyed.

Justice without force is helpless; whereas the use of force without justice is tyrannical.

Justice without force is futile, for there shall always be the wicked; but force without justice is always to be condemned. It follows that we must always combine justice and force and, to this end, what is just must always be made strong, or what is strong just. –Blaise Pascal (June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662) From Wikipedia ; Educated by his father French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher Blaise Pascal was a child prodigy.

The Benefits of Benign Neglect

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

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. The Scouting movement was born as a simple response to the inherent need of boys to have some direction and structure to their lives as they go about becoming adults. That the most fundamental ideas of Scouting has been adopted to vastly different cultures and locales witnesses its universality and genius.

B.P.'s Blog - Uniform for Scout Officals

Sun, 17 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters. Here’s a selection from his writings.

I HAVE said before now: “I don’t care a fig whether a Scout wears uniform or not so long as his heart is in his work and he carries out the Scout Law.” But the fact is that there is hardly a Scout who does not wear uniform if he can afford to buy it. The spirit prompts him to it. The same rule applies naturally to those who carry on the Scout Movement — the Scoutmasters and Commissioners; there is no obligation on them to wear uniform if they don’t like it. At the same time, they have in their positions to think of others rather than of themselves.

B.P.'s Blog - The Need for a Refresher

Sun, 20 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000

During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters. Here’s a selection from his writings.

THERE is one point to which I specially want to draw the attention of Scoutmasters and Commissioners. It is this: I find that unless one occasionally looks up one’s book of instructions, whether it be the Gospel, or the King’s Regulations, or the rules for one’s guidance in any time of life, one is apt to get into a groove of one’s own original reading of them, and to act rather on the memory than on the actual spirit of them. One needs an occasional “refresher” course of reading.

B.P.'s Blog - Training Scouts

Sun, 13 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000

During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters. Here’s a selection from his writings.

WHEN I visit a district to inspect Scouts a big parade of them is held at which as many as possible are present, but though this is the only way in which a large number can be seen at one time, I think we must all feel — Scouts, Scoutmasters, and myself — that it is, after all, a formal affair which really does not give very much opportunity of testing the individual qualities of the boys or the officers.

Association with Adults - A Method of Scouting

Sat, 10 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Clarke, I would like to hear your thoughts regarding association with adults as a Scouting method, and how Baden Powell’s own statements are applied in the context of the Patrol method.

I think some leaders have a hard time striking the right balance, because the adults are not supposed to be affecting what Scouts are doing at meetings or on campouts.

I know we train and mentor leaders, and conduct Scoutmaster conferences; is there other aspects of association that we are missing? As I was studying this I found these Baden Powell quotes: “The Scoutmaster teaches boys to play the game by doing so himself” “Scoutmasters need to enter into boys’ ambitions” “Boys can see adventure in a dirty old duck puddle, and if the Scoutmaster is a boys’ man he can see it, too” “When a boy finds someone who takes an interest in him, he responds and follows.” “Success in training the boy depends largely on the Scoutmaster’s own personal example.” “There is no teaching to compare with example.” “The Scoutmaster guides the boy in the spirit of an older brother.” “To get a hold on boys you must be their friend” I am trying to figure out exactly what he is trying to say – can you help?

Effective Scouters don't let Competence Obscure Possibility

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Effective Scouters are alert to possibility, to the challenge of the moment. If we aren’t watchful, though, those transient moments of possibility become obscured by our preoccupation with competence.

There’s no inherent virtue in being an experienced Scouter, after all if you stick with something long enough you become experienced.

Hopefully experience leads to competence, but competence shouldn’t obscure possibility; As we get more experienced, we get better, more competent, more able to do our thing. And it’s easy to fall in love with that competence, to appreciate it and protect it. The pitfall? We close ourselves off from possibility.

Honest Effort - Honest Reward

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

A bit of planning, a lot of work, and the result! From Seth Godin You don’t get to just do the good parts. Of course. In fact, you probably wouldn’t have chosen this path if it was guaranteed to work every time. The implication of this might surprise you, though: when the tough parts come along, the rejection and the slog and the unfair bad breaks, it makes sense to welcome them.

35 Years Later Scoutmaster Gets Her Due

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

35 years ago, Kathy Hall was a single mother of three in search of a male role model for her then 7 year-old son. She decided to enroll him in her neighborhood Boy Scout troop, under the Grand Towers district. When she found out that there were no parents whatsoever involved in the troop, she took it upon herself to carry the gauntlet, and became the den mother to about 15 young cub scouts. Her son left scouting after three years, but she stayed.

Fifteen Thoughts for Scout Leaders

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s fifteen thoughts for Scout leaders that I hope you find helpful.

Trust the Program. 100 years of proven results – Follow it! Seek to understand and embrace changes.

Conduct Activities that are Age Appropriate.

Respond to the specific needs of each developmental stage: don’t push Scouts into activities for older, or hold them back in activities for younger Scouts 3. Be prepared to work with different family standards and expectations. The way you were raised and the way you raise your children aren’t the only ‘right’ way.

Discipline and Accountability in Scouting

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

There is discipline and accountability in Scouting but Scoutmasters are not disciplinarians.

We are volunteers in the game of Scouting and our job is to mentor and train youth to lead themselves. When there is a question of accountability – a Scout who is not doing what he is expected to do – Scoutmasters can speak to them and encourage them to rise to the occasion. If they don’t it is not up to the Scoutmaster nor the troop to discipline or punish the Scout.

Adultism in Scouting

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

‘Adultism’ can be a loaded term but I think it would be useful to consider it in the context of our work in Scouting.

Adultism is the broadly defined as valuing the ideas, initiatives and direction of adults over that of youth. If Scouting is to stay true to its foundational principles we ought to make an effort to understand the place of adult influence and guidance. That we commonly call ourselves “adult leaders” is an sign that we are in danger of misunderstanding our role in Scouting.

Scoutmasters from the Scout's Perspective

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Enoch is an active 17-year-old Scout and blogger at Scouting Rediscovered I asked Enoch to write about his experiences with adult volunteers in Scouting: When I first joined my Troop, I really didn’t know what to expect; I was never a Cub or Webelos, and my family had not really been involved in Scouting. All I knew about Scouting came from one short camping trip with a family friend and Scouter who gave me a used Scout handbook. He was the first adult who inspired me in Scouting.

Quality of an Eagle Scout

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

One of the more common emails I receive concerns the frustrations of Scoutmaster’s who are faced with a boy they just don’t consider has done enough, cares enough or is good enough to become an Eagle Scout. They want to know what to do.

There’s a big difference between my idealized Eagle Scout and what’s required to earn the rank.

I realized this after twenty or thirty of my Scouts earned Eagle and none of them perfectly matched my expectations. The next twenty or thirty haven’t either. So it goes. In the end my expectations (and yours too) are unimportant – when a Scout meets the requirements he is an Eagle Scout. Each does it in their own way, on their own terms. Some are terrifically frustrating and nonchalant about the way their selfishness affects other people but they somehow complete the requirements anyway.

The Aims of Scouting

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

‘Aim’ is a particularly well chosen word to describe our focus as adult volunteers in Scouting.

Scouting has three specific objectives, commonly referred to as the “Aims of Scouting.” They are character development, citizenship training, and personal fitness. One definition of ‘aim’ is “A purpose or intention toward which one’s efforts are directed”. As a shooting sports director for our camp years ago I learned a great deal about aiming. It’s not as simple as leveling a bow or rifle at the target and hoping for the best.

Leadership Lessons From the Shackleton Expedition

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Earnest Shackleton set out to cross the Antarctic on foot in 1914. When his ship Endurance became trapped and subsequently destroyed Shackleton and his crew spent the next two years rescuing themselves.

Shackleton’s leadership has been closely studied in recent years as an example of adaptation to tremendously difficult circumstances. We’re unlikely to experience anything near the physical privation, harshness and length of Shackleton’s misfortunes as Scout leaders. What we will share is the mental and spiritual challenge to adapt, to seize opportunities and to make good.

1928 Principles of Scoutmastership

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Published in 1928 “Principles of Scoutmastership In Relation To Boy Development” begins by defining the development we seek for our Scouts, how Scouts think, how they develop, what Scouting does to effect that development and what the Scoutmaster can do to further the process. This nearly 80 year-old advice is a sound now as the day it was written; some things never change.

I found the following excerpts particularly inspiring; Not Change but Growth Someone has asked, “How much can the boy be changed? Who would want to change him– this tousled-haired, noisy, fun-loving, vigorous follower of our footsteps?

What Don't People Get About Being A Scout Leader?

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This article at the Atlantic got me to thinking about what people don’t understand about the work of being a Scout leader. (I am not really interested in what you think of the article. You can comment to the author on their website if you like – let’s not discuss the article here please.) Scout leaders have to explain themselves and dispel certain persistent misconceptions pretty often. Here’s a few things I think people don’t get: 1.

A Scout is Resourceful

Sat, 14 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it. – Samuel Johnson If the Scout Law was ever expanded I would vote for the addition of ‘resourceful’.

Elements of resourcefullness are reflected in the ninth point of the law ‘thrifty’: A Scout works to pay his own way and to help others. He saves for the future. He protects and conserves natural resources. He carefully uses time and property.

Productive Chaos

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Over time, processes that seek to decrease entropy and create order are valued, but improving them gets more difficult as well. If you’re seeking to make the organized more organized, it’s a tough row to hoe. Far easier and more productive to create productive chaos, to interrupt, re-create, produce, invent and redefine. Seth Godin Most of our work as Scoutmasters is like hiking a trail; start here and end up there. But things are not always that simple and organized. It’s not always a steady pace forward. We start, stop, regroup, retreat, advance, turn around, sit down, stand still, walk, run, crawl, limp, saunter; but at least most of the time we are doing something.

Seton's Ideas of Leadership

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Earnest Thompson Seton’s Birch Bark Roll ( Link to PDF version ) was first published in 1902. Many of his ideas were adapted by Baden-Powell in his Scouting for Boys Here Seton outlines his idea of leadership of the camp; When two or three young people camp out, they can live as a sort of family, especially if a grown-up be with them, but when a dozen or more go, it is necessary to organize.

Transition from Adult to Youth Leadership - Introduction

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Placing the leadership of a Scout Troop squarely in the hands of the Scouts themselves and keeping it there is the single greatest service a Scoutmaster can offer his Troop.

Before this can happen the adult leadership must understand exactly what they are trying to accomplish, define their relationship to the Scouts and overcome the reservations that they have with investing the Scouts with leadership.

Perhaps the single most important concept to grasp is that a Scout Troop belongs to the Scouts, not the adults who are there to help.

Big Picture" Thinking

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Selected for it’s 10X zoom my digital camera has recorded many Scout outings over the past several years.

Every once in a while I wish it had a wider minimum angle to capture more of a big scene.

I repeatedly find that I must zoom out to the widest angle in my approach to Scouting too – to take in the whole scene and gain a better perspective of my place in it.

1913 Scoutmaster's Handbook

Tue, 26 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0000

The 1913 edition of the Handbook for Scout Masters is available on the net archive.

To be an effective Scouter we ought to continually assess our understanding of first principles, and there’s much food for thought in this edition of the Scoutmaster’s handbook.

It’s also an interesting glimpse into Scouting history.

The intentions of Scouting;

The Scout Movement is not antagonistic to any civic enterprise, but rather seeks to cooperate with all other good movements in the interest of the boy. The Movement is wholly non-sectarian and plans to work with every sect and creed alike; it is non-military, and seeks to promote Peace Scouting and to develop educational character-building for good citizenship. It is wholly non-partisan. It cannot favor one interest against another and cannot countenance interference on any debatable questions, whether social, religious or political. It seeks to make the boy a more useful and appreciative son to his parents or to those to whom he owes his home comforts, a more diligent and obedient student in his school life, a more valuable aid to the community in promoting its material progress and protection, and a more efficient and better prepared young man in development for future citizenship and the pleasures and hardships of mature existence.

Scoutmaster's Mission Statement

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Frankly mission statements (and the other magic spells of the management alchemists) make me a little nauseous. As a reference point, an expression of intentions and goals, they are useful reminders to stay the course. Sun Tzu’s observation is a succinct expression of good leadership and hardly needs elaboration: As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate. …When the best leader’s work is done the people say, ‘We did it ourselves!’ To lead the people , walk behind them. - Sun Tzu But I elaborated anyway; As a Scoutmaster I will; Create and nurture an environment for learning leadership and developing a sense of direction.

Management or Leadership?

Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0000

There is a difference between a manager and a leader.

Management is maintenance of a system, leadership is guiding a group through a process. When management is over-emphasized we miss the higher elements of leadership: empathy, guidance, flexibility, adaptability.

Concentrating on the goal is important but we should not miss the process. On the surface scouting is goal oriented but it is all about process. If the goal is the attainment of a rank or merit badge as an end in itself good management dictates that the process of attaining it should be as efficient as possible. If the goal is developing skill, competence and maturity the efficiency of the process is immaterial to the effectiveness of the process.

Why Scouting?

Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Observe a community or classroom anywhere in the world and you will conclude that boys instinctively form groups, adopt uniforms, establish standards, develop a credo and create initiatory challenges.

While most educational systems battle these instincts scouting gives them a means of positive expression. Boys yearn to belong, to gain acceptance and approval outside the confines of their family.

Their imperfect search for guidance and understanding is often met with suspicion and misapprehension. In adolescence they try on lots of attitudes and poses paradoxically seeking approval from the adult world in their very rebellion against it. It can be a tough time for everybody. We all more or less hammered our way through adolescence in whatever way we could. Some had it easier than others.