A Scoutmaster's Blog

The Scoutmaster Conference. There seems to be a lot of conversation, in some circles, about what this should actual be about, and what it should include. The BSA books seem to be a little vague about it and only give a few general thoughts on the subject. Some new Scout leaders seem to be confused when it comes time to have a conference with a boy.

I have been doing them for 25 years. I would like to share what I do during a conference. As you read this you may agree with some things, and you may disagree with others. The way I do it works for me, and it has worked for the Scouts who have done a conference with me. It helps them to think about some things, and helps to prepare them for their board of reviews. My assistant scoutmaster usually does the Tenderfoot through First Class Scouts, while I take care of the Star, Life, and Eagle candidates.

Okay, before I begin, here is a couple points I want you to keep in mind. A Scoutmaster Conference can be held at any time a Boy Scout needs one, not only when he is finishing a rank. The points I list here are my points for the conference requirement for the ranks. Another requirement for any rank is “Show Scout Spirit”. I take time during the scoutmaster conference to cover this requirement also.

When I do a conference with a Boy Scout it usually goes for more then the 15 “recommended” minutes. I try to get the Scout to discuss ten points (which I am about to discuss). And sometimes, actually many times, he will have something to say. It is our job as scoutmasters to encourage that dialog and try to keep our mouths shut while he is talking. Listen to him, and then guide him. It is not uncommon for a conference to last an hour or more when I am with a Scout for his Eagle Rank scoutmaster conference. The boys are okay with this, they know what to expect. (So don’t write me about holding such a long conference.)

That being said, here we go…

A) The first two points of my conference are actually five things. The Scout should know the Scout Oath, Law, Motto, Slogan, and Outdoor Code. He should be able to recite them. He need to know what they mean, and be able to explain to me what they mean. I will ask him what two parts of the Scout Law he finds difficult to follow, and which ones he finds the easiest to do. What did he do for a good turn that day? What should he “Be Prepared” for?

B) We will look at his attendance at meetings and his participation on troop outings. Our troop recommends that a Scout attends two thirds of troop meetings and at least half of the outings. If he has a great attendance record I compliment him on doing well. If he is lacking, then we discuss why he has not been attending, and what he will do about it. Each rank has a participation requirement after all.

C) A Scout is thrifty. Are his dues paid up to date? Has he participated in troop fundraisers? Does he do his duty to the troop by doing his best when the troop has a fundraiser, or does he sit back and let the other guys do the work? Raising money for the troop is the whole troop’s responsibility, not the job of just a few.

D) Attitude, and setting a good example, is another point that we cover. Does he like being in Scouts? If not, then why is he a member? Does he set a good example for other boys in the troop? Or is he a Scout who needs to work on that area? Older Scouts can set good examples for younger Scouts, but younger Scouts can also do the same for the older boys.

E) Is his uniform up to date? I often have the uniform checklist and conduct a quick inspection. I ask him to correct the incorrect things on his uniform before he attends his board of review. Our troop does not expect a boy to be full uniform from head to toe. However, we do expect him to pass the inspection with a score of 75 (out of a 100) or higher.

F) Service to others is an important part of the Boy Scout program. Has he participated in troop service and community projects? What has he done outside of Scouting to help the community? Did he just do his hours of service as required by the rank, or did he continue serving in other ways?

G) We will check his advancement progress. How long has it been since he finished his last ranked? If it has been quite awhile, we will discuss the reasons for it. Has he taken advantage of advancement opportunities when he has had the chance? We also review the requirements for his next rank and check how far along he is along that trail.

H) Leadership is a very important requirement of the last three Boy Scout ranks. We will look back and see how his leadership has been. I ask him how he thinks he has done. How can he improve? What did he do in his last troop office? Does he think he completed the tasks of that office? Did he do them well? What other leadership responsibilities does he have in the troop?

I) The final point is setting goals. When does he plan to attain his next rank? What smaller goals are needed to meet the larger goal. Were his previous goals met on time? If not, then why weren’t they? Does he have any goals outside of Scouting? Can Scouting help him achieve those goals?

Of course, like many conversations, we get sidetracked a lot during a scoutmaster conference. I don’t see a problem with that. It gives the Scout and Scoutmaster a chance to get to know each other a little better. Maybe share some points of interest. After a few minutes I try to guide the conversation back to the things we need to discuss.

Well, that pretty much sums it up. I hope this gives you some ideas as you conduct your own Scoutmaster Conferences.

It is that time of year. Boys around the country will be joining Boy Scouting for the first time this month. And new parents will be asked to help their troop by becoming an adult leader. There are many reasons not to be a leader, but let me give you ten reasons why you should become a Scouter. (These are not in any sort of order.)

1) Be a positive influence in a boy’s life. I think we can agree that there are many youth out there who can benefit from more of this in today’s world.

2) Learn new skills. You are never too old to learn a new skill. And to tell the truth, I don’t think a person can ever learn too many skills.

3) Teach boys new skills. There are few things in life that will make you feel more proud then when you watch a boy or young man using a skill that you have helped them to master.

4) Make new friends. Not only will you form friendships with the boys, but you will also form new friendships with other Scouters.

5) Help your community. You provide this service through your unit’s service projects and by helping boys grow up to be better adults.

6) Spend time in the Great Outdoors. You really do need to get out of that recycled-air, stressed-filled office environment at least once a month.

7) Have a good laugh. Working with Scout age boys can be fun and funny in many ways. Just remember to laugh with the boys, not at the boys.

8) Go traveling. There are thousands of places to go that provide a great Scout Outing. And do not forget the opportunities to go to a National Jamboree, Philmont, or the other high adventure bases.

9) Get some exercise. We could all use more exercise. Just try keeping up with a group of Boy Scouts.

10) Be a kid again! Scouting gives adults the chance to have just as much fun as the Scouts themselves. Make sure that you do!

Well, those are ten of my reasons for being an adult Scout Leader. I am sure that some of you reading this could add some more to the list. I invite you to leave a comment and add those reasons.

I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of heavy rain falling on the canvas tent. “Boy, it is raining pretty hard,” I thought as I rolled over on my cot and fell back to sleep.

I was with the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 for a week at Many Point Scout Camp. We were staying in the Tyler Campsite in Buckskin Camp. Tyler is located at the north end of the road that runs through Buckskin. It is the campsite that is furthest away from the dining hall and beach. Due to it’s location, it is also the most quiet campsite in Buckskin, which is one of the reasons we like it. The campsite is located on a hillside so it has wooden platforms for the tents.

When we woke up that morning we noticed everything around camp was soaked. A couple of the Scouts complained that they had some wet gear, but nothing too serious. We also noticed that there was water in the deep ditch along the campsite. Due to the sandy soil we had very seldom seen standing water in the ditch. We thought it must have rained a couple of inches during the night.

Little did we realize how wrong we were.

As we walked through Buckskin on our way to the dining hall for breakfast we began to realize how much it had actually rained overnight. The lower-lying campsites had been flooded. Dozens of campers has drenched gear and soaked sleeping bags.

The worst damage had been done to Ten Chiefs Camp, located south of Buckskin. The road through Ten Chiefs crossed streams on each end of the camp. Both of these creeks had overflowed their banks during the night and had washed out the road on both ends of camp. Ten Chiefs had, temporarily, become an island. Food had to be brought to the campers by boat on that day.

The camp had received seven inches of rain during the storm. The water level of the lake had risen two inches.

The Boy Scouts and adults of Troop 68 that were staying in Tyler were very grateful that we had slept on a sandy and hilly campsite that night.

Spending a week at summer camp has been an annual event for the Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 since 1981. The summer of 2006 was no exception. Seven Scouts and two adult leaders from Troop 68 attended Many Point Scout Camp during the week of July 16-22. Attending camp were Jonah, Zach, Chris, Dakota, Alex, Jeff, and Chris. Steve and Eymard were the adult advisers.

Upon arriving at Many Point on Sunday the Scouts went to work setting up the campsite that would be their home for the next six nights. Then it was off to the beach for swim checks and other parts of the camp for demonstrations. The Many Point Buckskin staff really kicked the week off on a high note with an enthusiastic opening campfire program in the evening.

A typical day of camp was divided into three parts. The mornings were used to work on new skills, earn merit badges and other advancements. Afternoons were used for troop activities. All program areas were opened in the evenings for Scouts to freely roam from one area to another, or they could sit back in camp and relax.

The Scouts from Melrose kept themselves very busy during their stay at camp. On Monday, three boys took part in Project Cope, a team building program. The other Scouts spent the afternoon making and eating an apple cobbler at Scoutcraft, shooting 22 rifles at the range, and playing water polo at the beach.

On Tuesday the boys tried their skill at sailing, worked on a campsite project, and then headed to the beach for the Iron-man triathlon which consisted of canoeing, swimming, and running.

Wednesday afternoon was spent at the beach. The activities started with an hour of rafting and canoeing, following by several DELTA games, and finishing with an hour of free swim.

The troop left camp Thursday afternoon for a field trip to Itasca State Park to see the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Not only did the Scouts get to do some site seeing and walk across the headwaters of the mighty river, but they also got to meet Smokey the Bear.

Three Scouts from Melrose had an afternoon of wild wet fun when they attended the Huck Finn raft on Friday. The rest of the troop had a blast at the climbing tower and bouldering wall, and the archery range.

This year was the 60th anniversary of the opening of Many Point Scout Camp. In honor of this the Many Point staff held a medallion hunt. Campers were given one clue per day if they participated in a special activity in the evening. The Melrose Scouts set their sights on finding the medallion. They beat the other 200 campers that week by finding the silver lantern on Wednesday night.

The week of fun came to an end Friday night during the evening’s closing campfire program. Almost every troop in camp performed a song or skit. The Melrose Scouts did the “How to spot a Pickpocket” skit to the delight of the other campers and staff. Troop 68 was also recognized for finding the medallion and for earning the Super Troop Award.

The Scouts learned a few new skills while they were at camp. They also had a lot of fun and came home with a lot of great memories. Plans have already been made to attend Many Point Scout Camp Next year.

The idea was first discussed in the fall of 1994 (I think). The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 had decided it was time to do a campfire-style program for the local community. The troop had become known in the council for performing at campfire programs. The boys thought it would be a good idea to show people outside of Scouting what they could do.

The school auditorium was reserved for a Saturday in late January, 1995. A few of the boys got together in December to plan an agenda for the program. Various ideas for songs and skits were discussed. The boys chose many of their favorites, but also added several they had not done before. After the songs and skits were chosen the boys decided the order of the performances. They also talked about how to advertise the program. It was decided to place posters around town and in school, and get some coverage in the local newspaper and the local public access television station.

By the time they finished their planning, the troop had a show that would be nearly two hours long. That included a ten minute intermission.

The decision was made not to charge admission. However, people would be asked to bring a non-perishable food item for the local food shelf. Thus, the show was named “Laughs For Lunch”. The audience would provide the lunch for the needy in exchange for the Boy Scouts providing the laughs. Hopefully.

Our three meetings in January were used to practice for the show. The meetings were lengthened from our usually one and a half hours to two hours long. Since many of the songs and skits we had already performed at campfires we just needed to practice them a little to polish them up. However, the new skits needed a little more work.

I, the scoutmaster, became the director of the show. After our three practices I began to wonder if we could really pull this off well. I was thinking we could use another couple of meetings to get the kinks worked out. Alas, we were out of time.

Saturday night had arrived. It was time for the show. Approximately one hundred people were sitting in the audience. The boys were excited, and a little nervous. I have to admit, I was too. I was the master of ceremonies. I would also be performing with the Scouts in a few of the songs and skits.

The curtain opened. The show began. And so did the laughs. The audience had a great time. So did the Scouts. The show was a success!

This year we held our tenth “Laughs For Lunch Show”. We now hold four practices instead of three. People still enjoy coming to the shows, and we have had a lot of fun doing them. The boys receive a lot of compliments after the shows. I think the best part of the show is seeing the smiles on the Scouts when they realize they have done well.

Some of the skits from the Laughs For Lunch Show can be scene on this troop’s website at http://www.melrosetroop68.org/campfirestuff.html

In the mid-1980’s one of the Boy Scouts from Troop 68 happened to record a radio program called Dr. Demento. One of the songs on the tape was called “Star Trekking”. He knew I enjoyed Star Trek so he brought it over so I could listen to it. I thought it was a great spoof of the television show.

A couple of years later I was with the troop at summer camp. We needed a “new” song or skit for the campfire program. Our troop had become known for its “original” songs by this time. For some reason I thought of the song “Star Trekking”. I thought we could work it out where each person would take one verse and we would all sing along on the refrain. We came up with actions for each character, and added a verse for Chekov.

It took time to practice and get it just right. The hardest thing to do was to keep a serious expression throughout the song. I thought it would be funnier if we did not smile or laugh during the performance.

We invited several members of the camp staff to our campsite one evening to see the new skit. One staff member, Paul, and old scouting friend of mine, was a big Star Trek fan. I thought he would really enjoy the skit. Unfortunately, Paul was not able to come to our site that evening. The staff that did attend really liked the new skit. They told us to follow them as they led us to were Paul and other staff members were preparing for a campwide activity. We performed the skit again. Paul and the staff roared with laughter. It was then decided that we would do the skit during the Friday night closing campfire for the whole camp.

We practiced hard over the next two days. It had discovered that it was tough to keep a straight face while other people laughed at us.

The campers loved the skit Friday night. Hearing the laughter of a couple hundred boys and their leaders was fantastic. The standing ovation we received at the end of the skit really made the boys and I feel great.

The “Star Trekking” skit became Troop 68’s most popular skit. We performed it at summer camps, district and council camporees, and our own Laughs For Lunch Shows. After a few years we knew it had reached “cult” status when another troop spoofed us and the skit during a campfire at a district camporee.

Those Scouts of the 80’s and early 90’s have all moved on with their lives. The current Scouts still do the skit once in a while. I know I will never forget the fun we had performing it through the years.

In 1990, the Scouts and I performed the skit during a local television show. You can view this performance on our troop’s website at:
http://www.melrosetroop68.org/campfirestuff.html

In the last blog I wrote about Cwazy Rabbit Patrol and how they earned a pizza that was paid for by their scoutmaster. This turned out to be the first of three instances in which the spirit of the Cwazy Wabbit made itself known to the Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68.

The troop went to a week long summer camp adventure at Many Point Scout Camp in 2005. Four boys attended along with myself and my assistant scoutmaster. Also attending camp that week was Paul, a friend of mine, with his troop of boys from Minneapolis. Paul has been a Scouting friend of mine for over twenty years.

Paul and I planned a few activities for our troops to do together during the week. One activity was a medallion hunt. Paul brought the coin, gave it to me, and put me in charge of the activity. I hid the coin in a public area of the camp and wrote ten rhyming clues which would be given out and meal times. The first few clues were pretty vague, of course, but then they started getting more helpful.

After they received the ninth clue one of my Scouts was sure he knew were the medallion was hidden. He ran to that place in camp and looked for it but was not having any luck finding it. Then a rabbit caught his eye. As boys will be, he momentarily forgot about the medallion and began following the rabbit. He followed the rabbit until he was behind the trading post. Then the Scout glanced up and noticed the medallion taped to the back of the 2×4 on which hung the trading post sign.

The Cwazy Wabbit seemed to have helped the boys from Troop 68 win their second competition.

In 2006, we attended Many Point Scout Camp for summer camp as it celebrated it’s 60th anniversary. This year, the camp staff had hidden a medallion as a special activity for the anniversary. Three clues would be given to the Scout campers during the week. The troop that found the medallion (actually it was a silver colored lantern) would receive a special prize at the Friday evening closing campfire program.

Wednesday night, after receiving the third clue, the Scouts from Melrose Troop 68 thought they knew the location of the medallion. The rushed off the that area of camp in which they thought it had been hidden. They searched the area. Just as they were about to give up one of the boys found the lantern. When he yelled for the other boys to join him he saw a rabbit hop out from under the nearby building. The spirit of the Cwazy Wabbit had made itself know once again.

Unfortunately for me, the scoutmaster, I had made a deal with the boys that if they found the medallion we would stop on the way home on Saturday for pizza, and that I would pick up the bill. I think the spirit of the Cwazy Wabbit enjoys emptying the wallet of the deal-making scoutmaster.

The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 have had an interesting connection with rabbits during the last three years. In fact, I think rabbits could become the troop mascot if things continue…

It began late in the winter of 2004. The troop attended the council’s annual Ripley Rendezvous which takes place at Camp Ripley in Minnesota. Five Scouts from the troop attended. Two of them were newly graduated Webelos Scouts, two were boys who had not yet reached Second Class, and one was an experienced Scout.

The program at Ripley is based on patrol competition. Each of the twenty-some stations would test the patrols on their Scout knowledge, teamwork, and patrol spirit. The top three patrols of each of the four districts, along with the top three patrols overall, are recognized for their achievement at the Saturday evening program.

This year the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 were actually from three different patrols so they formed a new patrol for the outing and called themselves the Cwazy Wabbit Patrol. The came up with a pretty good patrol call before they left for the stations Saturday morning.

I knew this was a very inexperienced patrol so I made a deal with them Friday night. If they would take a spot in the top three patrols on Saturday night then I would buy the pizza on the way home Sunday morning. I thought I had made a pretty safe deal. I was sure there would be no way this patrol would take first, second, or third place.

It is amazing what boys will do to make their scoutmaster buy pizza.

When the Saturday night program began I was not very worried. Yes, the boys had done well at the stations during the day, and most of the station captains were impressed with the patrol’s call and spirit, but there were a lot of patrols at this year’s event.

It was time in the program to announce the winners. I am sure my jaw dropped when the Cwazy Wabbit Patrol of Troop 68 took first place for the Scenic District. The boys were very excited and were grinning from ear to ear as they went to the stage to accept their ribbon. I have a vague memory of someone saying how good the pizza would taste on the way home as they left me to approach the stage, or maybe I just imagined that.

The second shock came when the Cwazy Wabbits were called on again to come to the stage to accept the ribbon for second place overall. I knew then that it would be a long time before I would hear the end of this from the Scouts. But my smile was just as big as theirs was as the received their honors. They had made me proud. The boys’ faces were smiling the whole time they ate their pizza on the way home Sunday morning.

The spirit of the Cwazy Wabbit had made his first contact with the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 from Melrose.
(to be continued…)