A Scoutmaster's Blog

We all like to brag about the great things that Boy Scouting can provide our boys and young men. I firmly believe that it is one of the best organizations in which a boy can be a member. However, it is not always and easy time for an adult leader.

Like any other club or organization, people do not always agree on things. Conflicts can arise. Shouting matches occur. And once in a while, there may even be a fight. As adult leaders in Scouting, we need to be referees, stop the arguments before they go too far, and in extreme cases, break up a fight.

I will never forget the first time I had to break up a physical conflict between two Scouts. It was in the early eighties. I was a twenty year old assistant scoutmaster at the time. Two older boys started argueing aboout something during a troop meeting held at a local school gym. It soon escaladed into more then shouting.

As their arms began to swing, I went into action. Before I realized what I was doing, I had grabbed both boys by the front of their shirts and was holding them up against the wall. I held them for a few moments until they cooled off. I looked up at them and told them to to stop it. Then I let them go.

Oh yeah, you read that correctly. I looked up at them. Both of them were taller then me. I think either one of them could have taken me down if he would have wanted to. I just acted, without thinking about my own safety, you might say. They needed to be stopped, so I stopped them.

I think I surprised the boys more then I scared them. I know I surprised myself. But no one was hurt and the conflict was now over. As we went back to our troop meeting, we keep a close eye on those two boys.

There have been several conflicts during the last 26 years. Luckily, they have been few and far between. And they never became something more then we could handle.

One of the best things we can do as adult leaders is to teach the boys how to handle disagreements and how to solve conflicts. The best way we can do this is by being a good example for the Scouts to follow. After all, how can we expect the boys to listen to us if we cannot control ourselves?

It began on May 18, 2006. There was this scoutmaster (me) who thought it would be a great idea to start an online journal (blog) about his career as a Scout leader (only one hour a week). Since then he has posted 45 entries (this one is #46) covering a variety of topics.

Now, the question is…. is it worth it?

One of the frustrating things about writing a blog is wondering if anyone actually reads it, and what they think about it when they do read it. During the last eight months I have received approximately a dozen comments left on blog entries. I have also received several emails from people relating to the blog. I get the impression that these people have been enjoying the blog.

There have been a couple high points. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the “Ten Reasons To Be An Adult Leader” was popular enough to be linked to from a couple other websites. Recently, I was reading one of the Scouting forums in which I am a member, when I noticed that someone commented that this blog was a “must read for all”. I smiled to myself a few days after reading that one.

I do not consider myself to be a great writer. I know I will never make a living from writing. I have had people tell me that I write like I speak, and that is just fine with me. I have no intention to be anyone other then who I am.

Now, I have a few questions for you, the reader of this blog. Who are you? Where are you from? Do you hold a position in Scouting? Are there some topics you would like to see covered in this blog? Do you like it just the way it is?

Answer the question. Leave a comment or two. I would love to hear from you. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read “A Scoutmaster’s Blog”.

The Boy Scouts of America began in 1910 when the US Congress approved its national charter. Did you know that the motion picture industry started near that time? I think it is amazing that there has not been more films about Scouting during the last hundred years. The number of Scouting related films that I have seen I can count on my hands.

The first movie I saw about Scouting is probably the most popular Scouting-related movie of all time, Disney’s “Follow Me Boys“. I saw it in 1984 during a trip to Philmont Scout Ranch for a week long scoutmaster’s training course. I thought it was a great movie and was in awe of Len Siddons’ twenty year tenure being a scoutmaster. It is my favorite Scout movie and I own it on DVD. (A-)

I saw the movie “Mr. Scoutmaster” on television in the early 1980’s. It is a 1953 black and white film about a television star who becomes a scoutmaster to get in touch with teenage boys who watch his television show. Of course, things do not go well for him because he is actually quite out of touch with the young men. I have not seen it aired on television very often so I am glad I taped it back then. (B)

“Scout’s Honor” was a made-for-television movie that aired in 1980. It starred Gary Colemann as a young orphaned boy who joined a Cub Scout Pack and became a hero. I have not seen it since it aired but do remember it being a cute movie. (B-)

“The Wrong Guys” is a comedy released in 1988. It featured several stand up comedians who played grown members of a Cub Scout den who have a reunion and go out on a camping trip. It was a humorous movie but did not become a big hit in the box office. (B-)

Two Scouting related movies were released in 1989. “Troop Beverly Hills” starred Shelly Long as a leader of a Girl Scout troop who’s idea of camping involved staying at a plush hotel. (B) “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” was not a movie about Scouting, but it did feature a young Life Scout Indiana Jones during the opening scenes. (A-)

The latest Scouting movie was released in 2005. “Down and Derby” is a film about how obsessive some fathers can be about a Cub Scout pack’s annual pinewood derby. It was well done and gave a humorous look at the world of derby races. (B)

I am sure there has been more movies about Scouting made over the years, but these are the only ones I have seen. I bet it will be another five to ten years before I see a new movie about Scouting.

I recently received an email from a troop Scout leader asking for help in a few areas in which they are having some difficulties in their troop. Two of the questions were about troop meetings and having a boy planned program. As I wrote my reply, it occurred to me that this might be a good blog entry for other leaders, especially newer adult leaders. So here it is, the letter I wrote in reply to this Scout leaders questions.

Okay, first of all, I am no expert, but I do have quite a few years of experience (over 25 years as scoutmaster.) I can tell you what works or not in our troop, but that may not be the case in yours. That being said….

Melrose is a community of 3300 people. Troop membership has varied over the years. We peaked at 41 boys a decade ago but membership has been in a decline since then. We are currently down to ten boys, nine active. Part of this is due to the Cub Pack having a rough 5-6 years, barely surviving at times. Of course, most of the boys graduated from the Cub Pack. During the last 5 years I think only 3-4have graduated from Cubbing.

I blame parents for a good portion of this because it appears that many parents do not want to get involved in Scouting anymore. I think many parents are blind to what Scouting can offer their sons. Of course, and I hate to say it, there are many lazy parents also. But I also think some of them do not understand what Scouting is all about.

Our troop meets year round. Many of our boys have been involved in sports over the years. I encourage them to attend the meetings as often as they can. It works pretty well until the parents pull them from Scouting to concentrate on sports instead of Scouting. (I could right a whole column on how I feel about high school sports. Maybe a subject for a future blog entry.)

The troop meets the first three Mondays each month except July (summer camp month) and December (only two troop meetings), from 6:30 to 8:00. Once in awhile we make take a month off, but that does not happen too often. There are too many activities the boys want to do during the year. We begin the meeting with an opening ceremony involving something Scouting and something patriotic. Then we have skill development taught by older Scouts,adult leaders, or special guests, depending on the subject. This is followed by 15 minutes of game time or patrol competition, which is the highlight of the meeting for the boys. After patrol meeting time we end with announcements and a quick closing ceremony.

Just try to keep meetings fun. We try to keep the skill development portion of the meeting hands-on if possible so the boys are actually doing something, instead of just sitting there. Boys like to do something, not sit around like in school. You just need to be sure to bring enough “props” for everyone to work with.

The patrol leader council plans the meetings during their once a month meeting held on the last Monday of the month. They plan the opening, closings, games, and the skill development sessions. They decide who does what and if guests need to be brought in.The PLC also plans the details for the outing each month, and the agenda for courts of honor. Of course, there is always a bit of training involved after each election, but the boys ARE capable of doing the planning, so LET THEM. Just be there to help them out when they run into problems.

Also, the boys are more willing to participate if they planned the program instead of being adult planned. Once a year the troop has a weekend “yearly planning session” in which the boys brainstorm and plan a program schedule for the next twelve months. In is interesting to watch the boys in action, but can be a bit frustrating at times. It would be quicker for the adults to do it, yes, but then it would be the adult’s program and not the boy’s program. It is important for the boys to plan their own program. The adult’s job (troop leaders and committee) is to help the boys carry out that program.

You can see some of my troop’s yearly programs at http://melrosetroop68.org/yearlyprogram.html Okay, this email has gotten long enough. I will write back about more later.

YIS

Steve B
Scoutmaster, Troop 68

I was playing around the internet today, checking on some various Scouting related websites, and came across one that I thought would be a handy site for all Scouting leaders to check out. The page is called “Scouting Urban Legends” and discusses many of the falsehoods that are a part of Boy Scouting and sets them straight. There are very interesting Scouting legends to be found there. Check it out at:
http://www.scoutingthenet.com/UrbanLegends.htm

The Boy Scout Law states that a Scout is physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. The Scout Oath states that a Scout is Clean: in body, mind, language, and environment.

So why are so many Scouts using bad language and swearing? It is not too bad in my own troop but I have seen it pretty bad in some troops. I hear Scouts swearing. I read bad language on their messages left on internet forums and on their myspace pages. I see it in the sign language they use.

I put a lot of the blame for this on the adults, the parents, and yes, even some adult Scout leaders. I firmly believe that if adults use bad language then the youth they are associated with will also use the same bad words. After all, if the youth hear it from adults then what is to stop them from using it.

During the last twenty-five years that I have been a scoutmaster I have enforced a policy of “no bad language” in the troop. When a Boy Scout swears during a troop meeting or activity he gets to do fifteen push-ups, right there and then. I have had Scouts do push-ups at meetings, on campouts, in parking lots, and various others places.

When a boy joins our troop I sit down with him and his parents and explain several things about our program, including the policy about bad language and push-ups. You know, in twenty-five years I have never had a parent complain about it.

Of course, boys will be boys, and sometimes someone will start teasing the Scout who is doing push-ups. All I have to do to stop him is to ask him if he would like to get down on the floor to join the other Scouts. That usually quiets them down quickly.

I expect all adult leaders and parents who attend activities to follow the same rules as the Scouts. They are usually happy to comply. In fact, there have been several times when a father gets to show the boys how to do push-ups after he has a slip of the tongue. Yes, I even remember there has been two times that I have done push-ups over the years.

It is truly amazing. The Scouts in our troop watch their own language doing troop activities, and they listen to everyone else’s words. They also tend to watch what they say outside of Scouting when they know I am around. It just serves as proof that if an adult refrains from using bad language, and expects the youth to do the same, that they will usually rise to the challenge.

A case in point… I was bowling with a few Scouts one Saturday afternoon. In the lane next to us was Brian, a former troop member, and a few of his teenage friends. When I heard one of his buddies swear after a bad throw I glanced over to see who said it and caught Brian’s eye. Brian immediately turned to his friends and told them they should not use language like that.

I smiled. I had not said a word to Brian and his friends about it. In fact, I had not even looked sternly at the group of friends. But Brian took it upon himself to correct his friend. He rose to the challenge.

Set a good example for the boys and they will follow it.