Scoutmastercg.com

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 change while maintaining our goals and principles. It’s not impossible, but it can be hard […]

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 policies in the Guide to Advancement. This week I’ll answer three Scout advancement questions you’ve emailed […]

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 found two simple, relatively easy and effective methods for recruiting Scouts – listen in to find […]

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 to get them doing the kind of thinking that fosters leadership development. If you are looking […]

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, and see if they have trail names yet. The picture above, Wade on the left […]

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 service means, and the service they perform, are both vitally important building blocks in the […]

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 me from their “zero day” about fifty miles into a 2000 mile quest to reach the […]

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 decided who would be responsible for Scouts and money. I do think there’s some return in […]

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 for a one sentence definition of Scouting. Something we can tell ourselves that focuses us […]

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 for it and be prepared, or to learn by experience. I do tell parents that […]