Scoutmastercg.com

Scoutmastercg.com episodes:

• 09.11.2018

  Podcast 374 – What’s Next, Email Questions

  I get lots of email questions about… … troop conflicts. It may be volunteers arguing with each other, parents arguing with Scouters, volunteers arguing with Scouts, they all have a common thread, and most have a common answer. I also...

  
• 05.08.2018

  Podcast 373 – Create Shared Expectations

  Create shared expectations and you’ll have a happy troop. In this week’s podcast I answer an email question about a behavior problem. A problem that would never happen if those involved shared expectations. Ask Scouts to analyze their behavior in...

  
• 04.30.2018

  Podcast 372 – Eagle Scout Advancement

  When thinking about Eagle Scout advancement … .. we ought to ask “what is an Eagle Scout?” rather than “who deserves to be an Eagle Scout?” The answer to the question “who deserves to be an Eagle Scout?” is easy;...

  
• 04.23.2018

  Podcast 371 – Webelos Patrols and Older Scout Issues

  Webelos dens as patrols and more older Scout issues … Catching up on email questions this week I’ll talk about Webelos dens working the patrol method and discuss the causes of at least some older Scout problems. (If you listen...

  
• 04.16.2018

  Podcast 370 – Working With Older Scouts

  Working with older Scouts between the ages of 14-18 … … is both challenging and rewarding. What interests keep them involved? Simply turning up the ‘wow’ factor doesn’t do much to keep them engaged, because they are looking for much more than...

  
• 04.12.2018

  Podcast 369- Patrols and Planning

  Email questions! I’ll answer email questions concerning patrols and planning in this week’s podcast. I think what most of us want is patrols with long storied histories, stable membership, and high functioning Scouts. It’s my suspicion these kinds of patrols...

  
• 03.26.2018

  Podcast 368- Constructive Discipline

  Scouting discipline is constructive…  … because it builds character through applying the Scout oath and law. When we think of discipline we often think of  systems of rules and punishments. These things are more familiar to our Scouts than open-ended situation...

  
• 03.19.2018

  Podcast 367- Developing Youth Leadership

  Why is Scouting designed around youth leadership? Most Scouters think a youth led troop is the brass ring of Scouting. What exactly do we mean when we talk about youth leadership? There’s much confusion and misunderstanding of this than nearly...

  
• 03.12.2018

  Podcast 366 – Scout Advancement

  How does Scout advancement achieve the main aim of Scouting? Todays talk about advancement continues our foundations series. I’ve written extensively in detail about many aspects of Scout advancement, but this is different. In this podcast I ask how Scout...

  
• 03.05.2018

  Podcast 365 – Patrol System or Method?

  What’s the difference between Patrol system and Patrol method? I have never found any actual difference between those terms in Scouting literature, but I will share acouple of thoughts to differentiate between patrol system and patrol method in a way...

  
• 02.27.2018

  Podcast 364 – Playing the Scouting Game

  Some aspects of the Scouting game look like flaws… … but they are features we must not alter. Games restrict or constrain play through rules, the laws of physics, or human limitations and Scouting is no exception. We Scouters often...

  
• 02.13.2018

  Podcast 363 – Scouts as Players

  Thinking of Scouts as players … … fills out the analogy of Scouting as a game. Players volunteer to participate in the game. The most important volunteers in Scouting have more power and influence than the highest official. Without their...

  
• 02.05.2018

  Podcast 362 – Scouters as Coaches

  Thinking of Scouters as coaches … … can help us understand our role in the game. These are just analogies – we aren’t actually coaches, and Scouting isn’t actually a game.  Analogies are not exact copies, they only resemble what they represent. What...

  
• 01.29.2018

  Podcast 361 – Scouting is a Game

  We’ve heard this before, right? Baden-Powell employed the “Scouting is a game” analogy long before anyone else, and it is the best analogy I’ve found for explaining the wonderfully complex, intriguing, idea that is Scouting. We have to be careful...

  
• 12.18.2017

  Podcast 360 – Happy Holidays!

  Thank you for being a Scouter! Today I have a short story to share (with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore) I first read on Podcast 248 to wish readers and listeners happy holidays. The story includes Scouters in neckerchiefs, silence imploring,...

  
• 12.11.2017

  Podcast 359 – A Tale of Two Scout Troops

  Imagine two Scout troops, troop A and troop B. Both troops have “average” Scouts (whatever that means) who do what average Scouts do. Both have a well defined procedural approach to discipline and misbehavior. Troop A publishes a guide that...

  
• 12.04.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 358 – Scout Advancement Judgement calls

  Scout advancement is not adults judging Scouts… … it’s Scouts meeting requirements with the support of adult volunteers – in Scout advancement we are all on the same side. We did not write the requirements. We don’t personally embroider patches...

  
• 11.27.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 357 Kevin Callan and Winter Camping

  Kevin Callan is here, it’s time to go winter camping! Canada’s Happy Camper, our friend Kevin Callan, author of the new Complete Guide to Winter Camping joins us on this podcast with his welcoming way of sharing his knowledge of...

  
• 11.20.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 356 Energy and Vision

  Expertise and experience are overrated Scouts need Scouters with energy and vision more than Scouters with expertise and experience. Scouts don’t care what you know, they respond to who you are. In this podcast I answer three email questions. The...

  
• 11.13.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 355 When Scouts Misbehave

  What do I do now? A Scout misbehaves, makes a mistake, or even consciously does something wrong, and things spin out of control, now what? If you hang around long enough your Scouts misbehave, and you’ll will be confronted by...

  
• 10.09.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 354 Gender and Scouting

  Should gender define Scouting? This week I want to discuss responses to a post I published last week about gender in Scouting: Girls in the BSA. The post garnered lot’s of responses both for and against the idea of the...

  
• 09.25.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 353 Two Key Ideas for Scouters

  I’ll be brief, well, kind of… … join me as I talk about two key ideas for Scouters I hope you find helpful . This podcast condenses into one talk the answers I wrote to several common email questions I...

  
• 09.18.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 352 Catching Up

  Hey! I’m still here, are you? My summer break stretched into the fall a little! Spend some time catching up with me in this briefer edition of the podcast, lots to talk about! We had a great trip to Kandersteg...

  
• 06.05.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 351 Nettlesome Scouting Problems

  Some Scouting problems are just nettlesome… … they aren’t discipline problems, or particularly disruptive, just nettlesome, irritating, like stinging nettles. Everyone thinks it’s the Scoutmaster’s responsibility to fix nettlesome Scouting problems, truth is it isn’t, at least not directly. Most Scouters...

  
• 05.22.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 350 Scouting Charters

  Who “owns” the pack, troop or crew? Scouting Charters are held by a chartering organization owns all of the assets of a Scout unit.  As for whether or not they will dictate how the money is spent; the chartered organization...

  
• 05.15.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 349 – Scout Contracts?

  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...

  
• 05.08.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 348 – Who Leads Scout Leaders?

  If the Scouts are leading themselves who is leading the Scout leaders? This week I’ll field a couple of email questions that ask the question “who leads the Scout leaders?” Scouting is a team sport, while we all work to build...

  
• 05.01.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 347 – Scouting is an Iterative Process

  You’ve used an iterative process before … … whether you know it or not. Iteration means trying something out in a slightly or wholly different way if it does not succeed when first tried. I have some email questions to...

  
• 04.24.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 346 – On The Appalachian Trail Again

  Another visit with our favorite through hikers … … from a third of the way through their quest to complete the 2000 mile Appalachian Trail. Wade “Nutshoe” Bastain, Bucky “No Name, Buckminster” Kellorg, and their fellow Eagle Scout and hiking companion...

  
• 04.10.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 345- Active Scouts and Scouters

  We encourage active Scouts a number of ways … … but at the heart of the matter there’s only two things that make a difference, and  I’ll discuss those two key points in this week’s podcast. The same things that make active...

  
• 04.03.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 344 – Patrols and Schedules

  Personal schedules are just one of the things that affect a Scout patrol … … and we can’t do things as if it were 10 years ago, much less 100. One of our challenges as Scouters (and human beings) is adapting to...

  
• 03.27.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 343 – Scout Advancement Questions

  Scout advancement questions are often easy to answer … … if you simply take things at face value. It’s actually all pretty easy to understand. Problems arise when Scouters don’t challenge their own assumptions after they have read the requirements or directions and...

  
• 03.20.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 342 – Recruiting Scouts

  There are two ways of recruiting Scouts that actually work … … and I’ve have tried just about everything, special meetings, special trips, flyers, etc. None of those things has ever netted us one single new Scout.  Over the years I have...

  
• 03.13.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 341 – Leadership, Asking, and Telling

  Telling has limited usefulness in developing youth leadership … … asking is what really gets things moving along. This week I’ll explain how to ask questions in exchange for offering advice or telling Scouts how to do things. This is a powerful tool...

  
• 03.06.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 340 – On the Appalachian Trail Again

  Another visit with two Eagle Scouts on the Appalachian Trail … We visit, once again, with Bucky Kellorg and Wade Bastian as they make their way north along the Appalachian Trail. We’ll see how things are going , talk about gear,...

  
• 02.27.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 339 – Service Rank Requirements

  Service Rank Requirements are one thing… .. but helping other people at all times is a key concept we hope to build into our Scouts lives. To make that happen we have to look beyond the requirements. Scouts discovering what...

  
• 02.13.2017

  Eagles on the Appalachian Trail – Podcast 338

  This should be fun! This week there’s no deep dive into policies, no procedural advice or philosophizing, just a conversation with two of my old Eagle Scouts who headed out for a hike last week. Bucky Kellorg and Wade Bastian join...

  
• 02.06.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 337 – Scouts and Money

  We ended up drawing a kind of dividing line … … between adult and Scout responsibilities, and it has a lot to do with Scouts and money. In this podcast, in answer to a listener’s question, I’ll discuss how we...

  
• 01.30.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 336 | One Sentence Scouter Job Description

  I am often asked … “How do I get my troop’s adult volunteers to use the patrol method?” I’ll answer that question with a one sentence Scouter job description. Over the past decade of writing the blog at Scoutmastercg.com I’ve been looking...

  
• 01.23.2017

  Scoutmaster Podcast 335 | The Opportunity Business

  I have had plenty of Scouts seize the opportunity to be cold, wet, and miserable… … but that usually only happens once or twice, then they learn not to be cold and miserable. When it’s raining they have the opportunity to take your word...

  
• 01.16.2017

  Podcast 334 – Do Parents Understand Scouting?

  How well do Parents understand Scouting? Should we expect them to? Most of us didn’t understand it either for our first two or three laps around the track. There’s an understanding that comes with having things explained, and an understanding that...

  
• 12.13.2016

  Scoutmaster Podcast 333 Scout Parents

  Do you have quarterly Scout parent meetings? I’ll answer an email question about parent’s meetings in this podcast. On our quarterly Scout parent meetings that include a court of honor. Everyone arrives at about 7PM, the Scouts go outside to play a...

  
• 12.05.2016

  Scoutmaster Podcast 332 – Shared Expectations

  It is our responsibility to assure there’s a shared expectation… … and our Scouts understand them. Scout aged children are not going to interpret gentle reminders, they’d prefer to have to have things clearly spelled out. They are literalists, they don’t take...

  
• 11.28.2016

  Rules and Scouting Ideals – Podcast 331

  We aren’t working to control the conduct of young people. We have a greater challenge; to form their character as defined in the Scout oath and law. Are the Scouting ideals in the Scout oath and law a code of conduct? Is...

  
• 11.21.2016

  Podcast 330 – A Scoutmaster is not…

  A Scoutmaster is not… … the boss of a company and youth leadership are not employees we discipline or hire and fire. A Scoutmaster is not a commanding officer and Scouts are not soldiers who can be disciplined for “conduct unbecoming” a Scout,...

  
• 11.14.2016

  Podcast 329 – Merit Badges

  There’s always more questions about merit badges… … then I have useful answers because the vast majority of problems with merit badges are structural rather than procedural. But I hate missing an opportunity for a good, old fashioned rant. Listen...

  
• 11.07.2016

  Scoutmaster Podcast 328 – Carts and Horses

  If things aren’t moving along the problem may be obvious… .. like our understanding of the relationship between the program, advancement, and positions of responsibility. The Scouting program is there, ready to go, but it can’t go on it’s own can...

  
• 11.01.2016

  Scoutmaster Podcast 327- Scouts on probation?

  Thank you for your patience and support… … over the past several weeks I’ve been away. I’ll explain the situation in the introduction to this week’s podcast. In addition I’ll spend some time addressing two major questions raised by a recent...

  
• 08.29.2016

  Podcast 326 – Advice for the Senior Patrol Leader

  My son was frustrated, decided to change troops, and was elected senior patrol leader in his new troop. The Scoutmaster is a man of good intentions but with a commanding presence. Over time he has taken to leading himself because it’s easier and...

  
• 08.22.2016

  Podcast 325 – Email Answers

  I hope you had a great summer… The picture for this week’s podcast is one of my favorite campsites on Proulx lake in Ontario Canada’s Algonquin Provincial Park. We took twenty people in three crews this year and had a great...