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Reach out and touch someone

phone_200Years 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”

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Volunteering improves leadership

volunteer_standoutDid 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”

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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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Signing day

signingAs 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”

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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”