ScoutMaster Musings

In Your Everyday Life

Tue, 7 October 2008 20:58 CST

A requirement for every rank advancement in Boy Scouts is Demonstrate Scout Spirit in your everyday life. This requirement is handled in many different ways, from being an automatic sign-off to requiring scouts to write essays on what they've done to fulfill it.

It's a difficult one for a Scoutmaster to sign unless you see the scouts outside of scouting. Looking for opportunities to interact with scouts away from the troop is a good idea. Maybe you're lucky and go to church with some scouts, or maybe you're a school teacher or coach, or work in a popular store. Other than that, it might take a bit of work to track 'em down.

At a scoutmaster conference the other day, a scout told me he's on the middle school cross-country team and they had a meet today. So, I took an hour off and went and watched. It was drizzling rain, but it was great fun! There were actually three scouts from our troop running and another 5 kids from my church so now I have something to mention when I see them next time.

I also helped set up computers for some quarterly testing at the middle school in the early morning for a few days. I finished just as the kids were arriving from the busses so I saw 5 scouts at various times. One came tearing around a corner in the hallway to get busted by a teacher right in front of me. I think sheepish would describe his look pretty well. :-)

When you ask that question of "So, what do you do outside of scouts?" at a scoutmaster conference, jot down the reply and then try to check it out. It shows interest on your part and gives you another view of the scouts.

Scout On

Troop Training Updates

Wed, 1 October 2008 9:50 CST

The newly-elected SPL ran the troop leader training and planning sessions on Saturday. He chose to do both in the same day and it worked out great - everyone was happy to get finished a little early.

This SPL just attended the council's youth leader training called Grey Wolf this summer so he has some new ideas to try. He added a short bit about Campfire Planning to the training day. A scout putting together a campfire should have a general theme to tie all the skits and songs together. He uses this theme for his MCing monologue. The idea is that the campfire is more of a running program rather than haphazard skits tossed in any old way. I'm looking forward to the results.

Another change he put in place is to have Instructors plan the skills training for troop meetings. We've had the patrol leader organizing the monthly campout decide which skills are needed to support the campout, but now the Instructors get to plan their own destiny. It sounds like it should make life easier for both positions and have a better skills program.

The biggest challenge in making the troop's program work has been getting permission forms for campouts turned in early so headcounts, drivers, and such can be planned. An emphasis this term is to have each Patrol Leader gather participation commitments from his patrolmates early. I'm meeting with each new patrol leader and a parent before the first week of his term is complete to ensure they both understand the responsibilities and goals of his role. I'm specifically giving the parent permission to help him remember dates and organize his duties since I think we've pushed "scout-led" so much it may have scared off some parents.

With the scouts doing such a good job running things, it's getting more difficult to find things to work on. :-)

Scout On

OA Conclave 2008

Mon, 29 September 2008 23:56 CST

A week ago, I attended the Totanha Nakaha Lodge's Mustang chapter conclave and it was one of the most educational experiences I've had in scouting.

I've been an ordeal member for a couple years, being selected as an adult and doing the Ordeal before either son was elected. When I was selected, I told the OA folks that I would not be doing any scouting activities until at least one of my sons was also involved in the activity. The next year, my son was elected and went through the Ordeal.

This year, my son and I both completed the Brotherhood requirements together so we now have the middle sash with the red bar on each end. It was pretty tough for an old dog like me to get through all the requirements, but I did! And, I got a lot more out of watching the ordeal ceremony and recalling the names and meanings of so many bits and pieces in the dialog. The time I spent memorizing information was well spent - I can almost pronounce some of the words now.

I strongly support the goals of the OA, such as promoting camping and cheerful service among scouts. The Brotherhood ceremony was very impressive and I appreciate all the work the scouts put into it. I could also follow along much more since I understood the general structure and meaning of the strange words.

My youngest son was just elected into the OA this year but could not do the Ordeal yet. He is planning to complete it at the spring conclave. We now have 10 scouts of the troop in the OA and I'm encouraging them to promote its goals into the troop more this year. Two of the OA members are taking responsibility to present Leave No Trace camping concepts to the troop so that is a great step in the right direction. There has also been a lot of talk about 'servant leadership' instead of just leadership, so there is another step forward.

I hope the OA is strong in your neck of the woods. If you're not very familiar with it, take some time to learn about it and promote it to your scouts, especially those that are moving along quickly and could use something more to challenge them and broaden their scouting experience.

Scout On

FastTracks Program for Cub Scouts

Thu, 25 September 2008 12:16 CST

BSA has expanded the FastTracks program of Cub Scout den meeting plans. This program provides more advancement opportunity in den meetings rather than each scout working with parents at home to complete requirements. Testing of the program the past two years has indicated that a scout retention improvement of about 20% occurs when using the program resources.

The program is a set of about 16 den meeting plans in PDF form for each Cub Scout rank that step the den through all the requirements to earn rank. The plans list materials and preparation needed, gathering, opening ceremony, advancement activities, and closing for each meeting - pretty sweet! Den leaders can just print off the PDFs, follow the schedule for the year, and move along. As long as scouts show up, they should all earn their ranks just fine.

Turn on your sound and check out FastTracks Site

Scout On

Den Chief Training

Wed, 24 September 2008 11:03 CST

BSA has developed a nice online Den Chief Training course for Boy Scouts taking on this important role. It is a good way to have the scout learn his job as Den Chief, both what is expected of him and what is NOT.

There are two First Class scouts in our troop who will begin their Den Chief roles on October 1, one for a 4th grade Webelos den and the other for a 5th grade den.

Having a Den Chief has a remarkable impact on the percentage of Webelos that continue on to Boy Scouts. It may not help with Boy Scout retention, but it at least gets more scouts in the door to try it out.

If your troop wants to grow in size or strenghten your ties with a "feeder Pack", supplying a Den Chief for the 5th grade Webelos is a great step to take. It certainly is a big commitment by the scout so be sure he understands the expectations before taking on the job. And, remember to recognize his extra work to the rest of the troop.

Scout On