Author: Frank

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Roses, thorns and adults

rose_credit_parvin_flicker_creative_commons_200An essential part of youth leadership development is the reflection that follows a youth-led event or activity. It gives the boys a chance to talk about what went right and what could use improvement, and how to better plan for next time.

In our troop, as in many, we call it “Roses and Thorns.” It’s simple: at the next troop meeting, every boy who went has a turn to reflect on the experience. “Roses” – good things – are encouraged. “Thorns” – not-so-good things – are also OK, but the rule is that every thorn needs to be accompanied by a rose, to keep it from being overly negative. And no names. Continue reading “Roses, thorns and adults”

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Motivating volunteers to commit

MotivateHas this ever happened to you? You spot a parent at a troop meeting, chat with him or her and decide they’d be a good fit for a particular task you have in mind. After discussing it, they agree to take on the job, and you give some basic direction. Later that month at the committee meeting, they either don’t show up or report that nothing much has been done. We tend to brush it off as “everyone’s busy” and let it go, but as the weeks go by, there really isn’t any further progress. You really hate to bug them – they did volunteer, after all – but something has to move forward.

Sound familiar? Continue reading “Motivating volunteers to commit”

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Placing process before results

checklist_200A smooth-running troop is the dream of every Scoutmaster. Every Scout doing what he should do, youth leaders firmly in charge, and the senior patrol leader taking direction from the Scoutmaster and leading the other youth.

Most troops don’t fit that image, however. Patrols seem to vary from adequately prepared to barely functioning. It can be frustrating for a Scoutmaster to not see the Scouts getting anything done.

The same can apply to the troop committee. You see committee members not doing things the way you’d do them. You’re tempted to micromanage or just do things yourself.

When this happens, it’s time to step back and understand the real aim and the best approach to let the process take its course, rather than trying to fret about the end result. Continue reading “Placing process before results”

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More on “helicoptering”

helicopter_200I’ve written before about the so-called “helicopter parent” phenomenon. Some parents are so concerned with keeping their child from failing that they practically do everything for them so they won’t fail at the tasks at hand, but with adverse consequences. Helicopter parenting often results in children who are ill-equipped to handle situations on their own once they finally break free of their parents’ influence – if that is even possible. Tales abound of parents who go so far as to represent their children in college, calling professors and registrars to intervene in what their kids really should be doing.

So what’s so bad about making sure your child is successful? Don’t we all want to have children who are successful? Continue reading “More on “helicoptering””

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This is not a cliché

camping_250You’ve undoubtedly heard the clever saying Scouting is three-fourths Outing or something similar to that. You’ve also thought “yeah, sure… we go outside and go camping but that’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

Well, it’s not a cliché, and in fact, there is a lot of truth to it.

Scouting was intended to be conducted in the outdoors. Sir Robert Baden-Powell based Scouting on his military experience leading British troops in the Boer War. He helped to bring the strategic skills of observation of the enemy into civilian life by turning it toward nature, along with the survival skills needed to live in the outdoors without proper shelter and indoor comforts.

Today, the program largely consists of weekly meetings, giving rise to the thought that the outdoor aspect is overrated. But it’s not Continue reading “This is not a cliché”