Conflict management and unit parents

We’ve recently discussed some situations you might run into on your troop or pack committee where members have a difference of opinion and you, the committee chair, need to step in and help resolve it. What happens when one or more of your parents blindsides you with a gripe?

Parents who aren’t as involved in Scouting as you are sometimes don’t understand the program as well, and can see a unit working normally as being dysfunctional. Friction can also develop among parents, or even between boys, and the people “in charge” are looked to for a solution.

Frequently, these problems arise as the result of an incomplete understanding of Scouting’s mission, aims and methods. Continue reading “Conflict management and unit parents”

Is Scouting invisible?

When perfectly-engaged and enthusiastic Cub Scouts just don’t make the transition to Boy Scouts, opting for heavier involvement in sports or other activities instead, you have to wonder why.

Is it because of something they didn’t get out of Scouting? That’s probably not the case, because they stuck with Cub Scouts all the way through.

Do they lose interest? That may be part of it, because either they or their parents can’t see doing another six or seven years of field trips to the fire station or overnight sleepovers at the science center. Continue reading “Is Scouting invisible?”

The committee chair: Primary responsibilities

A recent article aimed at the new committee chair listed a few things that I’ve found to be helpful when starting the job or any job in Scouting. But what are the actual responsibilities of the committee chair?

Hopefully if you’ve been to training, or taken it online, you can answer that, according to the handbook. The committee is generally responsible for the mechanics of the unit, and while a lot of miscellaneous items fall to the committee chair, the main points include: Continue reading “The committee chair: Primary responsibilities”

New training awards for Cub Scout leaders

Last year, the BSA’s national training team announced it was revising many of the training awards, or “knots,” that Scouters earn for service, training and performance in their volunteer roles. Chief among the changes is the revamping of the many knots that a Cub Scout leader can earn, which we wrote about last fall.

Now, the specific changes have been put into effect and the sunset dates for the previous awards announced. Continue reading “New training awards for Cub Scout leaders”

When it’s “time to tell”, will your Scouts know what to do?

Big headlines were made last year when allegations of child sexual abuse came forth against former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. The failure to maintain accountability when faced with the allegations led to the dismissal of the beloved head coach Joe Paterno and the university president, Graham Spanier. As this article is written, Sandusky is standing trial in Pennsylvania on the charges that he molested several teenage and pre-teen boys within the structure of the Penn State football program and through his youth foundation. The testimony has been graphic; read some of the news accounts here.

As we are told in the BSA’s excellent resource, A Time to Tell, sexual abuse is all too common in our society, and it isn’t always perpetrated by those who you’d think. Continue reading “When it’s “time to tell”, will your Scouts know what to do?”