Information, Observation, and Inspiration for Scouters
“They turn them upside down when they get their Bear badge??”
My wife incredulously asked me that as she showed me a picture that a friend of hers, a parent of a Cub Scout, had posted on Facebook. His son was dangling from his ankles as the Cubmaster pinned his badge on.
It sounds fairly harmless and a good bit of fun. Continue reading “Stop flipping them!”
The troop committee has many responsibilities and functions that facilitate a well-run troop. These include equipment, finance, advancement, training, transportation, helping to provide camping opportunities, and generally supporting the Scoutmaster.
We know the Scoutmaster’s number-one job: to train and mentor the youth leaders so they can run their troop effectively.
But what is a committee member’s most important responsibility? Continue reading “The committee’s most important duty”
If you have children in school, you have undoubtedly noticed that they are learning more complex subjects than you did as a kid, and are encountering concepts earlier in life. The stuff I learned in college – organic chemistry, calculus and nuclear physics – are being covered in high school, and our middle school students are learning about math and physical science subjects that were high school-level classes just a couple decades ago.
It seems like on many fronts we’re accelerating the learning curve of our young people. Continue reading “Giving kids what’s lacking in school”
Every school day, our Scouts get up in the morning, have their breakfast, gather their belongings and head off to school for a day of learning. Important subjects such as history, English, mathematics, science, music and art are taught, with the aim that our young people will acquire a well-rounded set of skills to give them a starting point when they head out to college and a career.
Trouble is, they aren’t learning the important stuff. In fact, what they actually are learning most likely works counter to their future aspirations. Continue reading “What aren’t they learning in school?”
Meetings are almost universally despised. For most people, unless they absolutely have to be there (the committee chair, for example), they either attend grudgingly or find a reason to skip out. Unless a meeting is compelling and productive – and participants are engaged in the process – you might as well go home.
So how do you slog through the routine of a monthly committee meeting without causing your committee members to “check out” and put you on mute? Continue reading “Is your committee on mute?”