Working with Adult Leaders on ScoutmasterCG Archive

The Role of Scouting Parents

Thu, 13 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Scouting works in concert with the parents of our Scouts to achieve the main aim, and we rely on parents who become Scouters to support the Scout’s program. How do we define this role so the scouts are able to do what they need to accomplish with this much-needed support yet without undue interference? The “More September 2006” column at Ask Andy addresses the question of too many parents involved in troop camping. He replies in part: The Boy Scout outdoor program is for boys and young men of Scout age to be among themselves away from “civilization” in woods, fields, streams, rivers, lakes, deserts, and mountains, to learn from one-another as they gain woodsman’s skills and knowledge, and experience personal growth, while under the safely watchful but not hovering eyes of their Scoutmaster and his assistant–camping, cooking, learning the ways of the woods, playing among themselves, and being led by one another. This is what builds teamwork, leadership and—most importantly—emotional and intellectual backbones. If, on the other hand, well-intentioned but equally misguided Scouting parents of whatever gender and number undermine this method and its goals by somehow turning what was to have been a 99% boy-to-boy experience into some sort of “family camping” experience, they clearly don’t “get it” and are doing irreparable damage to the plan Scouting’s had in place for nearly 100 years. Are the parents in your troop playing an Extraneous or Intrinsic role? “Extraneous” by definition is an influence coming from the outside that does not form an essential or vital part of the whole and has no relevance to the program.

Another Eagle Scout Imbroglio

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

I’m not going to go into all the particulars here. It’s really all too familiar. A Scoutmaster with a diseased ego browbeating a Scout. The district advancement chairman won’t stand up to the bully. The Scout and his parents have decided to move ahead and appease the Scoutmaster. The real problem is that the Scoutmaster has said some pretty mean things and the Scout is agonizing over them.

Your mom and dad and I have been exchanging emails over this whole Eagle Scout thing. Here are some thoughts that I hope will help you make sense of the situation.

Committee Chair Conflict with Scoutmaster

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

Our Troop Committee Chairman has stepped down and another parent has volunteered. This is fine and I look forward to working with her. The problem is with her husband is a military man used to having people answer to him. He’s already commented loudly when something displeased him at a meeting “there are going to be changes next year”. He called me the other night wanting to make changes to the program for our next Court of Honor and changes to our openings at troop meetings.

Differences or Dysfunction?

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

Scout units,like families, have their traditions.

Visit ten different homes at Christmastime – each one will have some interesting family tradition peculiar to themselves yet, most likely, there will be several common threads. Like making coffee the exact method is not as important as the result – whether prepared by perking, dripping, steeping in a French press the result was a cup of coffee.

Packs, Troops and Crews all play by the same rules and use the same program but each has a unique character.

Resolving Conflicts Among Scout Leaders

Sun, 08 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Anyone who spends several years as a Scoutmaster will probably experience a disheartening conflict with a fellow leader, committee member or parent.

While these conflicts aren’t inevitable they are unfortunately probable. What follows is plain-spoken advice from Ask Andy, a fantastic resource for Scouters with questions or difficulties.

Having weathered several of these conflicts I can assure you that this is solid advice.

Study it carefully and follow it faithfully – it will save you a great deal of heartache. In the course of many years of service as a Commissioner at many levels, I’ve seen far too many cases where wonderful and dedicated people serving in the same unit, committee, district, etc., have come to differences in how their visions of Scouting are to be executed.

Term Limits for Scout Leaders?

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

This post is a bit of a bait and switch. You think this is about term limits for Scout leaders and it is – kind of.

Thing is I don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other.

I can see good arguments for and against the idea of a limited term of service for a Scoutmaster, Cubmaster, or any key leadership position. It really depends on the person and the situation.

How to Save the BSA

Wed, 27 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

What follows is my three point plan for reversing the membership decline we have witnessed for the past ten years. This is written with the clear knowledge that it represents one point of view (your plan may differ) and is purely an exercise in seeking resolution to some difficult problems.

MEMBERSHIP STANDARDS Allow chartered organizations to determine the suitability of Adult Volunteers according to their organizational goals and reading of the Scout Oath and Law. The GSA has already got this figured out .

Scout Unit Leadership Structure

Wed, 27 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

BSA Scout Troops, Packs, Crews and Teams are currently administered by separate committees under a chartering organization. (Chartering Organizations are the entity that ‘owns’ the unit such as a Church, Civic Organization or similar group).

Scout Units, even under the same chartered organization, are required to have separate administrative infrastructure.

I think that this tends to make Units into islands that makes sharing resources difficult. The United Kingdom’s (Great Britain) Scout Association has a much different structure that bears some examination. (Don’t plotz on me and scroll down to the comments yet!

Taking Direction from Youth Leadership

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

Sometimes the goals of youth leaders and adult leaders diverge to the point that we may be duplicating efforts or working at odds with one another. In the interest of aligning forces these goals should be examined periodically.

Maintaining the integrity of youth leadership means they have the opportunity to plan and act independent of adult micromanagement and coercion. This exercise will help define the roles of adult and youth leaders while balancing the oversight and involvement of adults.

Zero Tolerance, Zero Responsibility

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

Two Scout-related stories of the application of zero tolerance policies ( here and here ) have been making the rounds of late so I am taking the opportunity to comment on the concept of zero tolerance. ‘Zero tolerance’ became a familiar term in the 1990’s as an outgrowth of a belief that the inflexible enforcement of minor laws would prevent the commission of major crimes.

While this theory of law enforcement has been largely discredited the remnants remain in our school systems and in the wider society. At first blush the concept behind zero tolerance seems reasonable; knowing that the consequences of a minor offense are certain and irrevocable is a strong deterrent. Zero tolerance seeks to classify human behavior as definitely good or bad without the consideration of extenuating circumstances that constitute the vast gray area between the two extremes. To my thinking adoption of zero tolerance policies is a cowardly abdication of responsibility for those who are subjected to them by those who impose them. When a school district or scout troop or soccer league equates specific actions of a student, scout or player with irrevocable sanctions they have shirked their responsibility to consider the motive and nature of the actions or to offer any path of redemption.

Troop Problems

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Time and again I read of difficulties within Scout Troops on web discussions. The most serious difficulties involve a Scoutmaster or other adult leader who is perceived as being dysfunctional or wrongheaded. The complaint often comes from a fellow leader who is frustrated with the way the Troop operates or the experience their child is having.

Sometimes they are the only one who sees a problem.

I have to ask myself when I am a ‘voice in the wilderness’ if perhaps my isolation isn’t self-imposed.

Don't be a 'Dog in the Manger'

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

A dog in the manger guards the manger (where hay is put for animals to eat) not because he wanted to eat the hay but to prevent the other animals from doing so. In the context of Scouting I think of a few instances that illustrate the point; Volunteers who get so stuck in one way of doing things they refuse to let anyone else help them, let alone share their responsibilities. “Its easier for me to do this than to explain it to someone else.”

The Curmudgeonly, Cane Waving, Old Scouter

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Once in a while a young, energetic Scout leader bounds up on my front porch here and says: ‘I have a great new idea!’ I grip my cane, stare over my bifocals and reply ‘There is nothing new – now get off my porch!’ They walk away muttering under their breath ‘ What a curmudgeonly, cane waving, old man!’ No one has actually called me that (at least not yet). But sometimes I do feel a bit like those old guys I ran into again and again when I was a 24 year-old Scoutmaster 27 years ago.

Scouting's First Responders

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Dial 911 anywhere in the United States and a call center answers ready to send help in the event of an emergency. Who are Scouting’s first responders when there is a problem?

Scouting has problems? Yes it does.

Hopefully they are small and infrequent, but when a real difficulty arises where does one look for help?

Serious cases like evidence of illegal conduct on the part of a Scouting Volunteer or evidence of child abuse that occurred inside or outside of Scouting demand immediate action. Both should be referred to the Council Executive. Why?

Six Commandments

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

Unto the Troop did they come and a patch did get upon their arm. And the Scoutmaster did shake their hand. And all the troop saw and said it was good. Then there were thunderings, and lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the Scouts saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And the Scoutmaster spake unto the adult leaders and said: “Have I not seen Scouts and leaders without number? Have I not grown old in wisdom?