Category: Boy Scouts/ScoutsBSA

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The new Troop Committee Guidebook

tcg_old+newYou may not have noticed, but earlier this year the Scout shops and Supply Division replaced the Troop Committee Guidebook with a new edition. The previous version, item 34505B, was originally published in 1998 and was reprinted several times since. The new version has a bright red and green cover with photos of Scouts in action, carries a stock number of 616928 and was published in 2013, though it didn’t become widely available until spring of this year.

Normally, revised publications have many changes and updates. Continue reading “The new Troop Committee Guidebook”

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How many coaches does a team need?

Casey Stengel
Casey Stengel

Despite the differences in aim and scope, we often make the comparison between Scouting and team sports in order to clarify the way something less familiar works (Scouting) in terms that most people can understand (sports). Each has the equivalent of players, coaches and spectators. Each has the rules and boundaries of the game.

Take a baseball team, for instance. The usual size of a team’s roster is about 35 players, divided into categories: outfielders, infielders, batterie, and reserve (relief pitchers and designated hitters). One of the players is usually chosen team captain by his teammates. Teaching and guiding these players are the various position coaches: the pitching coach, bullpen coach, hitting coach, base coaches, and the head coach or manager coordinating.

A Boy Scout troop has a very similar structure. Continue reading “How many coaches does a team need?”

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The Marshmallow Test

marsh_200If someone set a marshmallow in front of you, would you eat it?

If that person told you that if you didn’t eat it, but watched it for 15 minutes, they’d give you another marshmallow. Would you eat it or wait?

Now imagine you’re a kid. Do you think you’d have the patience to wait 15 minutes? Think of how much longer 15 minutes seems like to a child than it does to us.

You’ve probably heard of the psychology experiment conducted by Stanford professor Walter Mischel in the 1960s. Continue reading “The Marshmallow Test”

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How do I quell a parent revolt?

angry_parents_200Has this ever happened to you?

The following question was posted on one of the Scouting forums in the last few weeks. I thought it was an interesting conundrum and offered my comments. Since it’s unfortunately not an uncommon situation, maybe you can relate. I’ll paraphrase:

Last month at the troop committee meeting, I [a Scoutmaster] was told that “this boy-led thing” was not working. I was hurt and disappointed in the boys. The parents thought the boys chose their leaders poorly at the previous election, and they want a major overhaul. I’m not sure we did the right thing, but we had two boys express interest in being senior patrol leader. The assistant Scoutmasters and I picked between the two and chose a tenth grader as the new SPL.. We let him pick his staff down to the patrol leaders and assistant patrol leaders. The boy we chose believes in the patrol method and wants to continue to develop it. I think.he has chosen a good staff, but the parents are still calling for changes. What do you do to quell a parent revolt?

Continue reading “How do I quell a parent revolt?”

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Whose advancement is it, anyway?

firstclass+calendar_200A friend in a nearby troop sent me the following:

I was talking with a former Scoutmaster of our troop about how we have some Second-Class and Tenderfoot Scouts who would like to take part in a high adventure activity offered by our council which permits only First-Class Scouts and above. He mentioned:

“If we move the younger Scouts to First Class, they can go on the hike as crew members. In the past, the assistant Scoutmasters and I kept a list of the requirements each boy needed so when we met with the PLC we could help them decide what skills the troop should focus on in meetings and campouts. The boys didn’t know about the list, but it was helpful because of our aim to help the Scouts make First Class in the first year.”

This sounds like a good idea. It would help get them to First Class faster and let them experience our high adventure trek. What do you think?

Continue reading “Whose advancement is it, anyway?”