Should we ask Scouts to sign “leadership contracts”?

A couple of decades ago I tried Scout contracts, it was a mistake.

I guess at the time that I would teach my Scouts a thing or two and demand that that sign a Scout contract before they took on a role of responsibility. Of course they signed it and then they did not behave any differently, they missed meetings and trips just like before. I don’t know what I was going to do with that contract other than make Scouts feel bad for being teenagers, there are plenty people who do that in their lives anyway, so why not join in?

What I came to realize is that the Scouts were volunteering their time just like I was. I was not there to be their employer, their boss, or their drill Sergeant, I was there to make the opportunity to be Scouts possible.

In This Podcast

0:19 A wisk he was willing to take.

1:23  Mailbag, Intro 

8:03  A Scout who hates camping.

11:59 Leadership contracts.

17:16 Parents on boards of review?

Podcast Notes

In the mailbag Jeremy refers to my Ten Essentials PDF

Get the song Sasquatch by Bucky’s band Los Festingos.

Happy Wanderer Opening Music

Get my book The Scouting Journey

Get my book So Far So Good