Category: Boy Scouts/ScoutsBSA

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Scouting from the inside out

donut_chocolate_sprinkles_with_bsa_logo_200Ask 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”

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What’s up with Cub leaders’ kids?

bo-01_200Cub 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?”

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Helicopter Scouters

coptermom_200We’ve all heard the term “helicopter parents.” It seems to be the parenting affliction for the 21st century. These are parents who want their children to succeed so much that they involve themselves in their children’s lives to the point where they don’t let their kids learn and do for themselves. Or that they fear that their child will make a mistake, no matter how small, that they don’t even give their children the opportunity to learn from failure, even when it’s safe to do so. I wrote about the subject a few months ago. Humorously, a Capri Sun commercial from earlier in 2012 illustrates the point quite well.

As adults and Scouters in the Boy Scout program, we often want the boys in our troop to have a good experience in Scouting. Continue reading “Helicopter Scouters”

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Keeping it going

Green_Bar_Bill_signatureMost troops seem to operate under a more or less faithful version of Baden-Powell’s patrol method, where the boys are in charge of their troop, plan and conduct the meetings and activities, and enjoy their success along with a good measure of fun.

There are many, however, where the patrol method is merely given lip service. The senior patrol leader may be elected, but has no real authority. Patrols may be organized by the adults rather than the boys. The Scoutmaster or committee may plan the annual calendar and decide on the activities, or even run the troop meetings. In essence, it’s a big-boy Webelos den. Continue reading “Keeping it going”

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Are you a tougher leader than your Scouts?

raftingIf you picked up Scouting magazine this month, you undoubtedly read the cover story about the National Geographic Channel’s reality-competition series Are You Tougher than a Boy Scout? which airs this spring. It pits current Scouts against adult former Scouts in tests of skill and strength typical of high-adventure activities.

The article describes shooting the first day of competition, in which participants rappel down a cliff, jump into waiting whitewater rafts and navigate rushing rapids. As the story goes: Continue reading “Are you a tougher leader than your Scouts?”