Boy Scouts/ScoutsBSA, Bobwhite Blather, Page 25

June 17, 2013June 11, 2018

The adult role at summer camp

Soon our troop heads off to summer camp, as does just about every troop. This week I sent out the following advice to our troop parents:

Summer camp is coming up in just a couple weeks. Summer camp is a criticalÂ time for our youth leaders to put the leadership they’ve been practicingÂ into action. It’s what they’ve been working toward all year and lookingÂ forward to.

If you are planning to attend summer camp, please keep in mind that this is a time that the boys can manage their own affairs during the week. Continue reading “The adult role at summer camp”

May 27, 2013

Committee chair timeline: June

Many troops scale back a bit during the summer months, so in the coming weeks the list of things to pay attention to will shrink somewhat. There are still several things you need to ensure get handled before the break. Continue reading “Committee chair timeline: June”

May 20, 2013

Professional education at a volunteer price

Where can you get professional quality leadership development training, worth many thousands of dollars, for a bargain price?

One of the perks of our serving as Scouting volunteers is the opportunity to learn and improve our own leadership skills as we mentor our boys to do the same. The BSA provides these opportunities so that we can see for ourselves what servant leadership and personal development is all about, and use that experience to set an example for, and help guide, the boys as they learn the beginnings of what it takes to be a leader. Continue reading “Professional education at a volunteer price”

May 13, 2013

Advancement educational presentations

One could argue that uniforming is the most visible of the eight methods of Scouting, even though a lot of boys would rather be invisible while in uniform! The method of advancement, however, certainly has a lot of impact and affects just about every aspect of what we do. Scouts like to advance and earn badges for the things they do. Much of the Scout handbook is devoted to rank advancement requirements and ways to get there.

To define exactly how advancement is handled, the Boy Scouts of America provides us with an excellent publication, theÂ Guide to Advancement. Issued in 2011, theÂ Guide covers nearly every conceivable aspect to advancement across all programs of the BSA. But one book can’t do the job by itself, so there are supplemental educational presentations that help Scoutmasters, committee members and merit badge counselors navigate the maze of administering the advancement program within the unit. Continue reading “Advancement educational presentations”

May 6, 2013

Whose authority is it, anyway?

As leaders in the Scouting program, we sometimes think that we have the ultimate authority in how our troop runs. But do we?

Yes, we are responsible for ensuring that things are done safely, and that the Scouting program is followed. The committee provides essential support in the form of equipment, finance, and administration. A Scout troop, however, is meant to be led by the boys, not by the adults, and this means not taking the authority away from the boys when it comes to running their troop. Continue reading “Whose authority is it, anyway?”