Adult involvement, Bobwhite Blather, Page 13

July 25, 2011

Who’s the leader of the club?

I’m about to date myself.Â Seriously date myself.

One of my fondest childhood memories was sitting down in front of the Zenith black & white television set in the living room with a glass of milk and a cookie and watching The Mickey Mouse Club.Â When the theme song would come on, I’d jump up out of my little chair and march around in a circle, just like Mickey Mouse did, and sing along “Who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me?” I can still see Jiminy Cricket dealing out the cards that spelled M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E, and Donald Duck trying to steal the limelight. Continue reading “Who’s the leader of the club?”

June 22, 2011

Are you paying your volunteers well?

In the world of work, we hopefully have a job we enjoy and are prosperous at. The primary reward is a paycheck. But when people volunteer, they do so for many reasons – they believe in the organization and its mission, they want to help provide an experience for their kids and others (like Scouting) or do some good for the community.

So how do we “pay” our volunteers?

Continue reading “Are you paying your volunteers well?”

June 12, 2011

The antidote for self-centrism

Last week, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote an op-ed piece titled It’s Not About You as a rebuttal to the countless college commencement addresses that implore our newly-minted Bachelors of Whatever to go and blaze a trail in the world, motivated by their own inner dreams and passions. Go ahead and read the column now, if you wish, and then come back here (the link will open in a new window or tab). As you read, think about your role in Scouting and how what we do could apply. Continue reading “The antidote for self-centrism”

May 10, 2011

Recruiting committee members and getting them active

In the final part of this series, we’ll look at ways to recruit new committee members, and keep them, as well as your current members, active.

Continue reading “Recruiting committee members and getting them active”

March 8, 2010

Adults and the PLC, revisited

Earlier I posted my opinion that the PLC is for the boys and that the only adult who attends is the Scoutmaster, and not members of the troop committee or parents.

Recently, a post to the Scouting Magazine blog touched on this topic, where one of the parents (who also happened to be the Committee Chair) stated that the Scoutmaster told her she was not welcome at the PLC meeting, and she felt this was in violation of the “no secret meetings” policy of the BSA. Continue reading “Adults and the PLC, revisited”