A Scoutmaster's Blog

The post I wrote a week ago about how our troop plans its yearly program seems to have created a little buzz with some of you. I have received a few comments and emails asking about the form we use to rate our troop. So, being the swell guy that I am, I created a pdf file to share with those of you who are interested in seeing this. Keep in mind that this is a troop form, not something that was created by the national office. It has come in handy to give the Scouts a guide to looking back and seeing how the program and troop is doing. I have even used it with the parents a few times.

The form can be found here:
http://melrosetroop68.org/forms/TroopRanking.pdf

I would be interested in hearing what you think of it. You can leave me a comment through this blog or email me at webmaster@melrosetroop68.org.

“What time is it?”, is a question asked in a song during the hit television movie High School Musical 2. But in today’s addition to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast the Boy Scouts of Melrose ask the question, “Is it time yet?”

This is actually an easy skit for any Scout troop to perform, but it does take a little practice to get the timing done well. The only props needed are a chair for each participant, or a couple benches placed before the skit begins. When the troop first saw this skit performed at summer camp it was done with 5 or six people. We decided to take it a little further when the troop performed it during one of their Laughs For Lunch Shows.

I like this skit. It builds up the anticipation in the audience, and then has a punchline that is unspoken. There are not very many skits done in that manner. Have you ever scene this skit performed at a camp you attended?

Please leave a comment here using the link below, at the iTunes Music Store, or at the PTC Media forums. Or drop me an email at webmaster@melrosetroop68.org

Click here to DOWNLOAD this Podcast
Subscribe to Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast through iTunes.
or at http://feeds.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Check out the other Scouting podcasts at PTC Media.

Here are some news releases about Scouting that have been recently found online. It is great to see Scouts making a positive impact on their community, and the financial support from some major corporations.

Eagle Scout Paul Banwart from Shakopee, Minnesota, awarded American Legion Award:

And now, this Shakopee teen is being honored nationally this month as the top Eagle Scout by the American Legion, which also gave him a $10,000 college scholarship. “Paul Banwart represents the best in scouting, and the American Legion is proud to have selected him as its Eagle Scout of the year,” said Commander Marty Conatser, the national leader of the organization.

http://www.startribune.com/local/south/26223804.html

AT&T Donates $3 Million To BSA To Kick-Off 100th Anniversary

The Boy Scouts of America announced today that AT&T has donated $3 million to kick off nationwide support for the youth organization’s 100th Anniversary Celebration. The announcement came during the opening of the BSA’s Annual National Leadership Training Conference in Nashville.

AT&T is the first major donor to step forward with a multi-million dollar contribution and will serve as Scouting’s official communications partner during the 100th Anniversary celebration. Feb. 8, 2010 marks 100 years of Scouting in America for one of the country’s largest youth-serving organizations.

http://www.scoutingnews.org/2008/08/05/att-donates-3-million-to-bsas-100th-anniversary-celebration/

Top Ten Reasons Why Scouting Beats TV (from Lone Star Scouter)
No batteries required
Commercial-free
Strengthens families
Burns more calories
Grows character, not potatoes
Offers college scholarships
Violence-free
Develops leaders
Prepares kids for real life

#1: It’s the Ultimate Reality Show!
TV shows like Survivor, Fear Factor and the Human Race have nothing on Scouting. Just ask a Scout.

http://buffaloeagle.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/top-10-reasons-why-scouting-beats-tv-hands-down/

Have a great Scouting Day!

The Yearly Planning Session (YPS) is an activity held by the Patrol Leader Council of Troop 68 the first weekend of each August. During this session the PLC, under the supervision of the scoutmaster, will plan the troop’s program for the next twelve months.

Boy Scout Troop 68 has conducted these sessions in different ways over the last twenty six years. Sometimes they are weekend events held at a resort or cabin. Sometimes they are a simple one day event that ends with a movie or game. However we do the session, we always try to mix in a little fun with the work.

The troop usually begins the session with the Scouts rating the troop on how it has done during the past year by filling out a questionnaire. The form covers about twenty-plus areas and gives us a good look at where improvement is needed and where we have been doing well.

The PLC will take several minutes to review the previous year’s program. What went well? What did not? What were the popular outings? Which ones had low participation, and why? Were any activities canceled? If so, what was the reason? Based on these evaluations the junior leaders will set goals for the next year. These goals will be incorporated into the next year’s program.

By this point the guys usually need a break. If we are conducting a weekend session the break may be followed by some leadership training.

Now it is time to brainstorm ideas for monthly themes and activities. Each junior leader will make a list of ideas he thinks should be part of a great program. The patrol leaders include any ideas from the patrol members. All these ideas are then written onto a white board for the whole PLC to see.

This list of dozens of ideas for activities and monthly themes must now be narrowed down to twelve months of program. This will take two or three rounds of voting. During the first round each Scout will vote for twelve activities and themes. Ideas that receive no votes or only one vote are eliminated from the list. During the second round the boys will only vote for eight ideas. If a third round is needed they will vote for six ideas.

Once this list is narrowed done it is time to place the themes and activities into a monthly schedule. Dates are chosen for meetings, activities, fundraisers, service projects, and other events. This new program is then reviewed one last time and tweaked a little if it needs it. The final step is for the senior patrol leader to present the program to the troop committee at their next meeting for their stamp of approval. The committee then calls for a parents meeting to review the program and find chairpeople for each event.

This is a very brief description of the process in Troop 68. It has worked well for us. How does your troop plan its program year? Do you have any other ideas to share?

I have written in earlier blogs about how I feel the Boy Scouts of America’s national office should be doing more to promote the Scouting program to the American public. It the past, it seems as if they have relied more on the local units to promote the program then trying to do it nationally, and I can understand that, up to a point. During the last five years it has seemed that the national office has disappeared into a cave, ignoring much of the negative press Scouting has received over recent issues, and allowing many people to bad-mouth a great and established program to help boys and young men without making any statement what-so-ever.

Things seems to be changing now that we have a new national Chief Scout Executive, Robert “Bob” Mazzuca. He does not appear to be afraid of talking to the media, and has already done a few interviews promoting the Scout program and letting the public know what Scouting can offer their boys and families.

The BSA has produced some good video commercials during the past ten years or so. Unfortunately, I have not seen many of them on national or local television. The only place I see them is at council roundtables, award ceremonies, and a couple websites. That is a shame, but I realize it costs money to air them during a television show.

So, with this podcast, I am hoping to get some of these commercials seen by more people through the internet. After all, I can not afford to air them on television either, although I have aired them on our local cable access channel as part of our troop’s courts of honor.

This podcast posting includes five commercials produced by the Boy Scouts of America. Each commercial uses a point of the Scout Law as its theme: trustworthy, helpful, obedient, thrifty, and reverent. I hope you enjoy them as must as I did when I first saw them.

Please leave a comment here using the link below, or at the PTC Media forums, or at iTunes. Or drop me an email at webmaster@melrosetroop68.org

Click here to DOWNLOAD this Podcast
Subscribe to Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast through iTunes.
or at http://feeds.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Check out the other Scouting podcasts at PTC Media.

Well, here is the final comic that I am aware of that features Calvin and Hobbes as members of a Cub Scout Pack. I think by this time they realize that Cubbing is not for them and they decide to leave the Cub Pack, never to return. I hope you have enjoyed these comics as much as I have.

Aquatic activites are a huge part of Boy Scouting, at least here in the land of 10,000 lakes. The aquatics beach at summer camp is probably the busiest area of the camp. You will find Boy Scouts swimming, sailing, rowing, canoeing, and snorkeling. Water polo and greased watermelon are two popular team activities.

Safety first is always on the beach staffers’ minds. Safety Afloat and the Safe Swim Defense are the rule, not just something to think about. The number of staff members at the beach front is probably greater then any other area of program activities.

Since these rules are enforced it can leave Scouts who are not good swimmers out of some of the activities. For example, if a Scout who has not passed his “swimmers” test wishes to go canoeing with the troop he will need a canoe partner who is a certified lifeguard. If a troop has a few non-swimmers then this could create a logistics problem.

So what happens if your scoutmaster is a non-swimmer? Well, I can talk about this from a first person perspective because I am that non-swimmer scoutmaster. (Yeah, I know. A scoutmaster in the land of a quadrillion lakes who cannot pass the BSA swimming test. Pretty bad huh?)

Let me explain. I like swimming, but I have never been a strong swimmer. I probably could be a stronger swimmer if I would actual go swimming more often then once or twice a year, but I really do not see that happening any time soon.

I have a “condition” that usually keeps me out of the water. No, it is not a skin condition or something that others can catch from touching me. My body temperature drops very easily. I only go swimming when it is a hot day, with little wind, and in very warm water. All three conditions need to be met by Mother Nature.

When my body temperature drops I begin to shiver uncontrollably. My muscles tense up through my body. Sometimes, in the worse cases, it becomes painful. And it takes a while to warm back up again. So, I seldom go swimming with the boys. I know my limits.

Unfortunately, this means I miss out on many of the aquatic activities at summer camp. I will swim with the troop on a nice hot day but usually I am found in the non-swimmers areas. I can only go canoeing with the Scouts if there is a staff member available to be my partner. I have never gone sailing with the boys.

Yes, it bothers me that I cannot participate in these activities. I understand the reasons for the BSA’s policies, but to tell you the truth, it does make me feel worthless as a scoutmaster at times. I have even though about resigning the position of scoutmaster and let someone else take over who could be with the Scouts through all these activities. But then the troop moves on to the climbing tower, or the archery range, and I forget all about what I missed, until the next time we go to the beach.