Author: Frank

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Prepared for college – and life

graduation_250Prepared for Life.

It’s not just a slogan – it’s what Scouts become as a result of being Scouts.

For most of our Scouts, life after Scouting begins at college, and for many, it means living away from home for the first time in their lives. It’s true of their classmates as well. Most high school graduates going away to college may be prepared academically, but it’s likely that they aren’t ready for the new adventure that independent living brings.

Unless they were Scouts! Continue reading “Prepared for college – and life”

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Journey to Excellence 2016

JTE-White_250As we approach the end of the year, packs, troops and all other units are working to compile their statistics for the 2015 Journey to Excellence evaluation tool.

Yes, it’s best to think of it as a tool to help your unit identify its strengths and weaknesses, and guide you to make the changes necessary to improve your service to youth.

Each year, the team of volunteers that manage the Journey to Excellence process evaluate the previous year’s statistics, correlate the results with the aims and goals of our movement, and make adjustments to try to help move closer to the ideal goal of a well-run unit. Continue reading “Journey to Excellence 2016”

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A proving ground for manhood

manhood_200A lot of pressure is put on boys in our society to develop and exhibit characteristics and behavior that many view as typical masculine traits. Many people would give as examples of such traits toughness, perseverance, determination and confidence. Boys are told to “man up” or “be a man” when faced with confrontation or just everyday situations.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of sports, where winning is the goal and it takes a hundred and ten percent – or more – to realize it. And football seems to rank above all other sports in the perceived toughness factor.

Football in America is not just popular, it’s practically a religion. Continue reading “A proving ground for manhood”

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Do you need a policy handbook?

parent_handbook_250It seems like we live our life by rule books. We have policies and procedures to follow at work. The clubs and organizations we belong to have by-laws, rules and regulations. Every sport has an official rule book, and most sports teams have a policy manual of some sort for parents and participants.

How about your troop or pack? Do you need a policy handbook?

It’s not always necessary for a Scouting unit to outline all of the policies and procedures that it might feel are necessary. This is because we already have a master policy, if you will, that governs everything we do: the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Continue reading “Do you need a policy handbook?”

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Is that all there is?

eat_sleep_playbball_200You’ve probably seen the t-shirts that read (Fill in the blank) is life. The rest is just details. Put any activity in the blank: Football, softball, soccer, cheerleading, golf, snowboarding… and you can probably find a shirt with the slogan.

I came across a picture the other day that espoused how life is simple, and gave the three steps: Eat, sleep, and play basketball.

Is that it? Is that really all there is to life? Take care of the basic human needs, and play whatever game you happen to enjoy?

We pretty much know better. Continue reading “Is that all there is?”