Scout uniforms: Uncool?

A few weeks ago I discussed the advantages of being a uniformed troop. Following this method of Scouting is important to keep your Scouts looking, feeling and acting like an actual Boy Scout troop and not merely a collection of adolescents who go camping.

But what if they feel it’s uncool to wear a uniform?

A recent post on Scouting Magazine’s blog considered the situation where older Scouts were not only reluctant to wear their uniforms in public, but were actually told by their Scoutmaster not to, Continue reading “Scout uniforms: Uncool?”

The new online tour plan process

After a couple false starts, the long-awaited revision to the online Tour and Activity Plan process is now live in most councils and can be used to file a tour plan for outings as required by your council.

The new process is really slick. Whereas the previous online process wasn’t much more than an electronic form which was then submitted to your council, the new system integrates your unit data with what’s on file in ScoutNet, so adult membership and training is verified automatically. Continue reading “The new online tour plan process”

Your unit’s complaint form

Regardless of how hard you try, you just can’t please everyone. The sentiment goes all the way back to the Greek slave Aesop, whose fable about the miller, his son and their donkey concluded with “he who tries to please everybody pleases nobody.”

I enjoy reading each issue of the Scouting advice blog Ask Andy as soon as it comes out, much the same way that I put other reading material aside to read through Scouting magazine when it arrives in the mail. Andy deals with a variety of thorny issues, many of which involve parents complaining about the way things are done in their pack or troop. (Andy does try hard to please everybody who writes in with questions, and while some may not like his advice, it always rings true.) Continue reading “Your unit’s complaint form”

Why are we still training?

“Every boy deserves a trained leader.”

“Train ’em, trust ’em, let ’em lead!”

If there’s one thing that’s everywhere in Scouting, it’s training. We train our youth leaders to run their troop. We teach Scout skills – that’s a form of training.   Even in Cub Scouts, we teach the boys to say the promise and the Law of the Pack in the course of “instilling the values” As adults, we take online training for youth protection, Cub Scout leadership, safe swim, weather hazards, and others. We attend Scoutmaster leader-specific training, outdoor skills training, BALOO training, and the list goes on. Continue reading “Why are we still training?”

Do you look like a Scout troop?

Every now and then, I have a chance to visit another troop, and when I do, I observe how they operate compared with other troops (and our own). I pay attention to who is leading – the Scouts or the adults; I look to see what the adults do during the troop meetings; I observe the structure of the troop meeting and how the patrols are organized. But one thing I always notice is the way the Scouts and adults are dressed. Continue reading “Do you look like a Scout troop?”