Frank | Bobwhite Blather

March 11, 2013

Scouting from the inside out

Ask most people what they know about Boy Scouting, and the most frequent responses you’ll get are either “Are they still around”? or they’ll cite the negative attention BSA has been getting lately about its policies and past practices.

Ask most Scouting families, and they’ll tell you that Scouting’s purpose is to go camping, for the boys to earn merit badges, and that most eventually become Eagle Scouts if they stick around long enough.

Boys will respond along a range of reactions, anywhere from “my mom makes me go” and “we wear dorky uniforms and sit around in meetings” to “it’s fun!” or “we go camping and have gone on some great adventures”.

Aims and methods, values, mission and vision are rarely mentioned, yet these are at the core of our movement. Continue reading “Scouting from the inside out”

March 4, 2013

Reach out and touch someone

Years ago, AT&T, parent of the Bell Telephone companies, ran an advertising campaign which encouraged people to use their long-distance services to keep in contact with friends. The “Reach Out and Touch Someone” series of ads had everyone singing along and even inspired people to make a few more telephone calls.

The thought that we, as Scouters, should reach out and touch someone is a very good one, particularly when it helps us escape the closed world of our own troop or pack. Continue reading “Reach out and touch someone”

February 25, 2013

Volunteering improves leadership

Did you know much about leadership before becoming a Scout leader?

Perhaps you did, if you were a Scout as a youth, or you were a class officer, team captain, or president of your JA company. In the work world, you may have picked up leadership skills through job responsibilities or possibly even formal training. And certainly, the military develops leaders.

For many people, though, taking on a leadership role in a Scout unit is our first exposure to leadership. Continue reading “Volunteering improves leadership”

February 18, 2013

What’s up with Cub leaders’ kids?

Cub Scout leaders are among the most committed of our adult leadership. They way overspend their “one hour a week” planning and conducting weekly den meetings and field trips, planning pack meeting participation, scheduling meeting rooms, sending out newsletters, wrangling parents to do stuff, recording and submitting advancement, collecting dues and fees, arranging snacks, purchasing craft supplies, and giving up the hope of using their dining room table for dining, for a few years anyway. They are dedicated to seeing their Scouts have fun, advance, and get the most out of the program.

Then why is it that their kids don’t seem as likely to cross over to Boy Scouts? Continue reading “What’s up with Cub leaders’ kids?”

February 11, 2013February 4, 2015

Signing day

As this article is being written, we are in the midst of National Signing Day, the day on which the talented and sought-after high school football players announce their intentions on which college to attend and continue not only their education but the pursuit of their chosen sport. Fax machines in college recruiting offices start humming at daybreak. Fans of their favorite teams eagerly watch the Web or their Twitter feeds as the coach or athletic department announce which of the players they’ve pursued will shine on their program with their presence, and friends and families of the players are ready to congratulate them as they don their future school colors.

In sports-crazy America, this has become a rite of passage for those players who have devoted uncounted hours and resources to playing the game. Continue reading “Signing day”