A Scoutmaster's Blog

It is not a secret. Some Boy Scouts get nervous when it is time to do a scoutmaster conference for a rank. As a scoutmaster I do my best to put the Scout at ease and we usually get through it without a problem. Although there was the time when I held my first Eagle Scout conference back in the late 1980’s. That young man was so nervous that he could not recite the Scout Oath, even though he had repeated it at troop meetings for over six years. Ah, the memories.

One of the Boy Scouts recently came to the house for his Star Rank scoutmaster conference. He was accompanied by his mother. It did not take long to realize that he was nervous, and that having his mother sitting across the room from him was not helping matters. In fact, I think it was making it worse.

Let me set the stage for you. My front door opens into my living room. To the right, in front of the picture window, is the sofa. Across the room are two rocking recliners. At one end of the room is a gliding rocker chair. At the other end is the television and bookcases. When the Boy Scout arrived he sat down on the left end of the sofa, near the door. His mother sat in one of the recliners. I grabbed the troop record book and sat down on the sofa to the Scout’s right.

Like I said, it did not take long to realize this Scout was a little nervous. I also noticed that he kept looking at his mother as he answered several of the questions, instead of answering to me. I moved to the other recliner across the room. This helped in that he now had an easier time looking toward me but he still looked toward his mother, as if looking for approval of his answers and comments. His mother was also commenting on some of the subjects we were discussing.

I thought it might be better to make a few changes. I asked the Boy Scout if he was a bit nervous. He replied that he was. I asked him if having his mother sitting across the room was adding to his nervous. He said yes so I offered a new seating arrangement. I asked his mother to sit in the gliding rocker at the end of the room. I had the Scout sit in the recliner his mother had been using. This put the Scout between me and his mother, thus putting his mother out of his line of sight. I also asked his mother not to respond to any questions unless they were directed to her. She understood and pulled out her smartphone to play with.

The seating arrangement did help. Once his mother was “out of the picture” the Scout was more relaxed and had an easier time talking to me. He may have still been a little nervous but the discussion moved along much better. He passed his Star Rank scoutmaster conference and his now ready for his board of review.

Have you had any interesting experiences during a scoutmaster conference? Leave a response and tell us about it.

This month’s troop outing was to be one day filled with several activities. The LPMRB, as it has become known by the Boy Scouts of Troop 68, starts with rollerskating and laser tag at the Skatin’ Place in St. Cloud, about 35 miles from Melrose. After a stop at Godfather’s Pizza, we would arrive at the Parkwood 18 movie theater to watch the latest flick. We end the day back in Melrose at Melrose Bowl for a few games of late night bowling. We gather at noon and the day ends about 1:00 am.

We had a problem this year. A snowstorm moved into the area Saturday morning. By the time the Boy Scouts arrived at my house we had received reports that I-94  was closed near Albany, about 15 miles away from town, due to an accident and cars that had slid into the ditch. Parents commented that the road conditions were not very good. They had reached top speeds of only 35 mph on the rural roads.

It was time to come up with a Plan B for the outing. Obviously, we would not be going to St. Cloud. We were not going to completely cancel the outing because everyone had already arrived. We gathered in the living room and discussed our options. It did not take long to come up with a new agenda.

The boys would spend the afternoon at my house playing ping pong, darts, Wii games, and other games. For supper we would head uptown to John Dough’s, a local pizza house. We would go to a movie (Puss In Boots) in Sauk Centre which was located only 8 miles away. The evening would still end at Melrose Bowl. We would miss rollerskating and laser tag, but the rest of the outing would still take place.

The Boy Scouts received a bonus after watching the movie. The movie theater manager took the troop into one of the projection booths to see the film and digital projectors. He explained how they worked and then answered the Scouts’ questions. I believe it was the first time that most of them had ever seen this type of equipment. I think they enjoyed the quick tour.

By the time 1:00 am arrived at the bowling alley the boys were ready to go home. It had been a long but fun filled day. And to tell the truth, I do not think they missed rollerskating.

I found this promotional video on Youtube. It is time to “Be A Scout”. Be a Cub Scout. Be a Boy Scout. Be a Venturer. Serve your community. Learn new things. And just have fun. This video was posted to Youtube by BSA100Years in July 2011.

In 1996, following a September court of honor, the troop surprised me with a little ceremony for the fifteenth anniversary of being the scoutmaster of Troop 68. After a few speeches by committee members and Boy Scouts I was presented with a book of letters from former and current Scouts, and from some of the parents. For some reason I was a little nostalgic tonight so I pulled out that book and looked through it. I had to smile to myself when reading some of the letters from the younger Boy Scouts. A few memories were brought back when I read the letters from the former troop members.

One of the letters stuck out in the way that it was written. It was a poem. It covered so much of this young man’s years as a Boy Scout of Troop 68, including times he worked with me on film productions at Mel-TV and the times we played a little roll playing game you may know. I could tell he spent some time trying to get things in this poem just right. Here is that poem:

Steve, Scoutmaster, Film Director, and Friend.
Here is a few words about you and Scouting,

It was fun going to movies in your gray Citation
and messing around waiting at the Cimmerron train station.
Bobby’s Biking Blunders and Warning of the Ring,
All those campfires we would act out skits and sing.
Monday night meetings at the Jaycee park,
and in St. Mary’s gym in the winter when it got dark.
British Bulldogs, Dodgeball, and Capture the Flag too,
it was rough at times but we managed to pull through.
Playing D&D and eating snacks till the wee hours of the night,
Climbing Mount Baldy at Philmont sure was a sight.
From Star Trekking across the universe
to selling breakfast tickets. It could be worse.
Looking back, I sure am glad
at all the exciting adventures we have had.
Without looking too far it is easy to see
that “Watchamagumee is the camp for me”.
I still try to do a good turn daily.
Being prepared has always helped me.
As for pushups… Let’s just say…
I don’t swear that much anyway.

Thanks for everything and all the memories.
Happy 15th year of Scouting and a good job.
Josh

The Atlanta Area Council has posted a promotional video on Youtube titled “I Am Scouting”. I like it. A lot! It not only does a good job of showing Boy Scouts participating in outdoor activities, but it also features boys from all races and backgrounds. It really showcases the diversity of young men in the Scouting program.