Individual active instruction and personal evaluation are at the heart of Scouting but classroom style instruction is the universal default method of sharing knowledge. Please don’t mistake what I am about to say as denigrating Read More →
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Parents (especially mothers in my experience) are the keepers of the family calendar and maker of schedules. We need a direct, accessible and detailed line of communication with parents (again, in my experience, especially mothers) if we expect to Read More →
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That’s right, stop doing requirements for ranks. Instead focus on doing the things Scouts do. What do Scouts do? Scouts go camping and while they are camping they- Cook the food that they selected, purchased and packed Light campfires Read More →
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Larry Geiger has served as a Scoutmaster for two different troops so that means he has transitioned in and out of the Scoutmaster role more than most of us. I asked him to write about Read More →
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We are all working towards the troop where Scout leaders are not leading, up front, talking much ( if at all). Our aim is that , the vast majority of the time, Scouts are leading Scouts and Read More →
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What follows is a collaboration between Larry Geiger and myself. Larry has a great deal of insight on why and how Scouting works; he sent me a couple of different writings and ideas and I saw some connections that Read More →
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Scouting’s policies and procedures are not intended to check the ardor, interest or inventiveness of Scouts but to guide their efforts towards the aims of Scouting and to keep them safe A common problem arises when Read More →
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THE REASON They don’t appear to know how to lead. WHAT’S HAPPENING Scouts are elected to leadership positions but are doing a lackluster job. They don’t seem to appreciate the opportunity and are very slow to take things on. THE Read More →
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The Ten Essentials of Scoutmastership penned by William ‘Green Bar’ Hillcourt were part of the Scoutmaster’s Handbook for many years. 1. A belief in boys that will make you want to invest yourself and your time on Read More →
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When I served as a camp director I got some complaints about our dining hall steward’s attitude towards Scouts setting or clearing the tables. Scouts rotate the responsibility of serving as a waiter at our Read More →
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Scouting is outing but Scouting is not just an outing club or another activity. Scouting is aimed at “preparing young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values Read More →
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Adult leaders often say things like; “I don’t override the boys decisions at all. ” “I asked them what they wanted to do.” “This was their decision.” What most of us fail to recognize is Read More →
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Essayist and Critic William Deresiewicz delivered a lecture to the plebe class at the United States Military Academy at West Point in October 2009 concerning Solitude and Leadership. What follows is my condensed version of his key ideas: … Read More →
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