Your second full-time job?

A lot of us were drawn into Scouting as adults with the assurance that “it’s only an hour a week.” We’d be hosting a fun activity, we were told, using the published handbooks and planners, so we don’t have to work through it ourselves. We’ll have help – the other parents will pitch in. We can get trained so the job is even easier. And that’s all there is to it!

It’s only later that we find we take on a second hour, then a third, because we like the way that things are going. Continue reading “Your second full-time job?”

Remember when you were a kid?

Ah, summer. The weather has finally gotten nice all over the country. School is out or almost done for most, and our kids are looking forward to having a couple months off from the daily grind of classes, homework, projects, term papers and study sessions.

If you’re of a certain age, your summers were probably made up of long days where you’d set out in the morning with friends to go nowhere in particular, roam the neighborhood or town, play in the yard or relax in the woods or by a nearby pond, only coming home for lunch, dinner or bedtime.

But if yours is a typical “modern family” your kids can probably look forward to days being driven to day care, math, sports or church camps, organized “play dates” or other activities that have replaced the freedom to roam that we enjoyed as youth. Continue reading “Remember when you were a kid?”

Order in the troop! Order in the troop!

You’ve heard the sayings.

Order is Heaven’s first law. (Alexander Pope)

Good order is the foundation of all things. (Edmund Burke)

Order is power. (Henri Frederic Amiel)

Henry Miller also had something to say about order:

Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood.

Clarke Green recently posted an article on his blog ScoutmasterCG titled The Jedi Scoutmaster in which he discusses the issue of boy behavior, our perception of it, and how to handle it in our troops. Continue reading “Order in the troop! Order in the troop!”

Who’s steering the ship?

One of the hallmarks of Scouting that sets it apart from other youth activities is its emphasis on youth leadership. Boys form their own patrols and hold elections, govern themselves within the framework of Scouting, decide and plan their own activities, and are generally supposed to be running the show, with adults in the background.

Of course, there are very few boys who are completely capable  of doing all this in a vacuum, let alone an entire troop’s worth. Scouting has always had adult supervision to coach and mentor the youth leaders, all the way from Baden-Powell’s vision, through “Green Bar” Bill Hillcourt’s patrol method resources, to today’s youth leadership training. Continue reading “Who’s steering the ship?”

Book review: Beginning Boy Scouts

Every year, our troops usually pick up some new members as they cross over from Cub Scouting and set out on new adventures with us. At the same time, their parents, weary from several years of running everything from pack meetings and outings to fundraisers and banquets, make the decision of whether or not to become active in the troop. Part of that transition involves making what amounts to a 180-degree shift in the adult role, along with a completely new way of doing things for the boys as they go from being led by adults to by their peers. It can not only be extremely bewildering for the new parents, but difficult for those of us in the troop to try to explain it all to them. We try holding parent orientation sessions and writing parent handbooks or new member checklists, but invariably we miss a few things or don’t do a very good job of introducing our new families to Boy Scouts.

Enter a new book by the husband and wife Scouter team of Jeremy and Heather Reed titled Beginning Boy Scouts: An unofficial practical guide to Boy Scouting for parents and new leaders. Continue reading “Book review: Beginning Boy Scouts”