As everyone that reads this blog knows, the BSA’s new(er) slogan is as the title reads… “Prepared. For Life”. I have often stayed away from advertising gimmicks and jingles.. “An Army of One”, and “Be all that you can Be” come to mind. But this one hit home as I thought about how Scouting does impact our lives. Yesterday was my first day back from vacation and so I spent a little time catching up on emails, reading my favorite blogs, and cleaning camping gear. My good buddy Adam posted a piece about his vacation last week. It is a great article and illustrated just how Scouting is Preparing us for life.
I was and I suppose still am reluctant to tell this story in light of Adams blog post, but once again I find myself in need of sharing this wonderful thing called Scouting.
Last week we spent at Glacier National Park. If you have never been.. GO! It is truly an amazing place. So as you can imagine when I go camping I go prepared. We are ready to sustain for a week in comfort and have a good time out in the woods. This time was no exception. Since it was family time, I went a lot heavier than I am used to, the big cabin tent, the big stove, the coolers etc. But I still had my day pack which had my 10 essentials in it and since we were in Glacier NP, a canister of Bear spray.
One afternoon as we sat in camp, a scream came from the road in front of our camp site. The boys were throwing a football around and one fell. HE ran straight into our site crying. Why our site and not to his parents.. I don’t know. Maybe instinct told him that I had just completed the Wilderness First Aid course, or that I was a Scoutmaster, or he had no idea where he was.. either way.. here he ran into our site bleeding from the hand.
I had him sit down and told him to look me in the eyes. Josh, my youngest son, had already got to my day pack and retrieved the first aid kit. I told this youngster to relax and that he was going to be fine. His alligator tears started to dry and I just kept talking to him. Found out that in three days he would be turning 9 years old and that he was from Canada.
All the while I gloved up and started treating his cut. He had fallen on his hand and took a good layer or two of skin off his palm. Cleaning the area and bandaging with non stick pads I was done with the bleeding part. Then I started looking for possible fracture. He asked why I was poking and pressing on his wrist and hand.. I told him I wanted to make sure he was ok. He was. Right about that time, his dad came into our camp. He said he had heard the scream and started heading in this direction. I told what I had done and that I think everything is going to be ok, keep it clean and if he needed I would change the dressing the next day.
He saw the Scouting stickers on the back of my truck and made a comment about them stating that his son had run to the right place. “Who else would be ready to anything”, he said referring to the stickers.
So all of this got me to thinking about just how we Prepare our Scouts for life.
It’s not just first aid and camping skills, but as the mission statement states, Making ethical choice throughout their lives.
I often talk in this blog about character and making choices. Being fit and healthy, being of service to others, and of course skills that will help them get through life.
Scouting is a great platform for this learning, discovery, and practice of the life skills that these young men will need as they go through it. Being Prepared for as Baden Powell said.. Anything.
So it’s not just about camping and fun. It truly is a game with a purpose and all of us should remember what that purpose it. This new(er) slogan.. Prepared. For Life. Is the Boy Scouts of America mission statement in three words. It is our call to action as Scouters. It is what we are here for.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Category Archives: comments
Honesty the best policy?
Well?
It appears that I am the one that loves to stir up the hornet’s nest on occasion.
This week I posted on a subject that has received mixed feelings. Most agree with what I said, some did not. I can live with that. I have since talked with parents and Scouters alike and got feedback on the “Skinny” issue.
Here is what I know for sure.
Honest is the best policy. If you are not good with that. Stop reading my blog today. I will not lie to you.
If the truth hurts your feelings. Stop reading my blog today. I will not sugar coat the issues.
As a Scoutmaster it is my duty to prepare young men for the world that is ahead of them. A partner with parents, clergy, teachers, sages, mentors, counselors, and yeah.. even the government. Life is tough and we only make it tougher when we don’t tell the truth to these young men.
Lets be honest. In my “Get skinny” post did I write anything untrue? Did I call anyone a name or abuse a Scout in any way, shape, or form? Nope. I simply pointed out that young people today are fat and its our fault.
Go ahead.. argue that point. They are not born fat. They are conditioned to be that way by the way they are raised. Eating habits, excercise habits etc.
But to some of the readers out there.. Honesty is not the best policy. They would rather keep their collective heads in the sand and the awful spinning of the world will just go away.
It is so much easier to take the easy way out, but then what do you accomplish? This rule applies in every part of your life.
When I was a kid.. OH NO! “When I was a Kid again!!!
Yes.. when I was a kid my Dad tought me that anything worth doing was worth doing right the first time. Yep, Dad had all the “Dadisms” down. But the truth is… they all work in life.
He also taught us that honest was the best policy and we grew up in a manner that we could not tolerate dishonesty. And to this day I can not tolerate it. I will never accept it. I will not accept those that think it is the best way to teach, train, coach, and mentor either. It is my business. And yep.. I am qualified to tell the truth. Who says so.. The Scout Oath and Law.. and that’s all I need to back me up.
So is Honesty your best policy?
Sometimes I am criticised because of my honest approach. At times, when I tell it like it is, people confuse that with me trying to be hurtful or rude. Not the case at all. When you break it down, it’s always just about the truth. The problem comes when we are talking with people who are not used to what we used to call Candor.
When they here the words come and it hits home or is not “PC” they cringe and find a good size hole to stick their heads in to. They come back with, “You can’t say that”. Why not?
I am not racist, sexist, or homophobic. I believe in live and let live and to each his own. But just do it honestly. I don’t have to agree with certain life styles, ways of life, political beliefs, religious convictions, or weird hair styles. Tolerance is all one can ask. Living the Golden Rule is the guide that should be applied. If I offer advice or coaching, then it is because I think that you need it. If you don’t, then move on. It was free and did not waste to much of your time. If it helped, you are welcome, the price is the same and I am glad I can help.
I am not an expert in much, but I know what I know and am a constant learner. I try to be the best man that I can be to my wife, my kids, the rest of my family, my Scouts, and the people who I make contact with daily.
Honesty is the best policy. For me, and for you.
I consider myself a good person. I consider my life one of service. I love to serve and I love to see Scouts learn and grow. I love to watch as they master tasks, develop into good citizens, and see their character shine.
They can not do that if we are not honest with them. When they fail.. we need to tell them they failed. When they have success, we need to pat them on the back and tell them they are a success. Not everyone wins, and life does not hand out participation ribbons. Life is hard and they need to be ready.
OR-
You can take a stand offish role in their lives, be a once a week Scoutmaster and a chaperone on the next outing. To me that’s not enough and if you spent a weekend with my troop, you would see that this is the prevailing mind-set. The Assistant Scoutmasters and I all believe in delivering the promise and that means giving 100% to these young men.
I do not apologize for having passion for Scouting and understanding my role in it.
Once again. You have the option to stop reading the blog if Honesty is not the best policy.
I would love to know what you think. Leave a comment here on the blog or shoot me an email. Those of you that do know that I return the mail and love the discussion.. honestly.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Captain Obvious
Earlier today I received an email from a “fan of the blog and podcast”.. his email is certainly appreciated and I am glad that he took the time to express his thoughts, but…
I will not post the email here, but let me share with you the part that got me to write this post.
“OK Captain Obvious, we all know the ‘Methods of Scouting’ and use them, please tell us something we don’t know.. after all, if it isn’t broke we are not going to fix it”.
Really now.. it isn’t broke. Well good timing my friend. Last night at the Top Team meeting our Scout Executive presented the 2011 Progress review to the District Chairman. I was floored by the results of the audit at both the National level and our Council. Let me tell you that we have work to do.. at both the National Level… and the Council level. Now our SE said we are going to “Celebrate our short comings.. and work to fixing the issues”.. I would suggest, strictly from “Captain Obvious’s” point of view that we need to work and work hard to get some of these things fixed. So, tell us something we don’t know he said. Let me tell you that the discussion on Methods is exactly what we don’t know.
Let me share some National numbers with you..
MEMBERSHIP- In my last post on the Outdoor program, I suggested that PROGRAM, PROGRAM, PROGRAM, and working the Outdoor program method was a key point in getting Scouts to join and stay in Scouting. It is what gets Webelos to cross over and invite their friends to join. When I was at the National Meetings last year in San Diego, Rex Tillerson the BSA President talked to us about “the Main thing”. that Main thing is delivering Scouting to young men. They can’t do Scouting if they are not in Scouting.
In our Council we are seeing a terrible trend in Cub Scout market share (market share is how the BSA measures growth). Our Council is pretty much average with the Nation, but here are the numbers from 2007 thru 2011. In 2007 we had 15,022 Cub Scouts in the program, 14,465 in 2008, 13, 902 and 13, 303 in the next two years and in 2011 we ended the year with only 12,600 Cub Scouts. That is a significant loss. The reason that I find this alarming is that without Cub Scouts you drastically reduce the ranks of Boy Scouts.
Boy Scout membership in 2007 in our Council was 11,960 and in 2011 it dropped to 11, 731. Now this may not seem significant but long term, the Cub Scout numbers will catch up. Boys are in the Boy Scout program longer than their Cub Scout years, so we have not felt the impact of the dropping number yet.
I would suggest that this is broke and the question first is why? Could it be programs? Could it be the lack of leaders not trained.. we will get into that in a second. Could it be that methods are not being followed? I wish I had the answer.. but Captain Obvious here knows broke when he sees it.
Now the good news is that our Retention numbers are looking pretty good.. but only pretty good. The National Average in retention is 70.6%. We have way too many Scouts going out the back door. Our Council’s retention rate is 76%.. still not a great number.. so why are they leaving? Is it that they don’t agree with our values? are they bored? are they not getting the bang for their buck?
The average size of a Boy Scout Troop in America is 21 Scouts and we recruit about 9 a year on average… so where are they?
Ok.. lets move on to Advancement.. yeah.. remember that’s one of the methods also.. How are we doing?
Only 39.8% of the Boy Scouts in the Nation advanced a rank last year. Need we say more? Captain Obvious says we need to work a little harder on this.
Now get ready to treat for shock.. TRAINING!
Only.. and I hope you are sitting down for this.. ONLY 34.4% of Direct Contact leaders, that’s Tiger Leaders, Den Leaders, Webelos Leaders, Cub Masters, Scoutmasters, and Venturing Advisors are Trained in their positions! As my daughter would say OMG! And we are taking these boys in the woods and asking parents to feel good about it. I would not allow my sons to be in a unit with untrained leaders. 34.4 % is the National Average of trained leaders and I would suggest this needs immediate fixing. There is no excuse what so ever for an adult to be un trained. NONE. In an age where the BSA has made Training easier than ever to access, District and Council training committees are holding multiple training events annually… why are we not trained? How do we have “Adult Association” and mentoring for “Leadership development”. How does an adult who is not trained teach, coach, train and mentor a Scout? Captain Obvious is shocked.
So once again, I would like to thank the reader for the email and suggest that we revisit the “Main thing” and the Methods of Scouting. maybe, just maybe we can fix some of these issues… nay.. we have to fix these issues and the methods will help you and your unit fix what you think is not broke. Here is what I think. Those that don’t know.. don’t know. Those that are untrained, will not know. There are no excuses for this. We all love Scouting and for the most part will do what ever it takes to deliver the promise of Scouting. Scouting is alive and well, but has some work to do to deliver that promise. It’s obvious what we need to do. ON MY HONOR I will do my part!
What are your thoughts? I am curious to know what you think. drop an email, leave a comment, or send me smoke signals.
Have a Great Scouting day!
Methods- Patrols
The Patrol is, like the ideals, the foundation of the Troop. The Patrol is where the Scout learns citizenship, it is where they practice democracy, leadership, and teamwork. It is where they find companionship, life long friendships, and a place where they belong. The Patrol is unit of Scouting. Whether for work or play, the Patrol is where Scouting happens!
In the Patrol you have democracy on the small-scale. The boys choose the leader they would like to follow, they plan their own activities and take part in activities planned at the Troop level. When they plan, they execute those activities together.
In a good Patrol, Scout spirit is steadily at work, prompting the participation of each Scout. The 1947 Handbook for Scoutmasters says, “The life in the Patrol creates in its Scouts a strong feeling of comradeship, of obedience to a common cause, and the willingness to help and share so necessary in life.”
The Patrol eats together, camps together, cheers together, and pulls together when the going gets tough. They share the joy of accomplishment, and put their heads together when they fail. They learn together and assist one another in their Scoutcraft and other skills.
The Patrol elects its own leadership. This is an important part of Patrol life. The decisions the Patrol makes in choosing its leadership is up to them and should not be influenced. The Patrol Leader grows as a leader and the rest of the Patrol develops strong skills at being good followers. Soon ever Scout gets his turn, and he will reap the benefits of good followers when he steps up to lead.
The Patrol leader is part of the Patrol Leaders Council (PLC). They run the Troop. Using the Patrol Method, the Patrol Leaders Council will make decisions that have the best interest in the Troop in mind. They will push the Patrols in directions of adventure, service, and committment to the Troop. The PLC along with help from the Scoutmaster is heart of the Patrol Method. When Baden Powell spoke of the Patrol Leaders Council he said, “… is not so much to save trouble for the Scoutmaster as to give responsibility to the boy- since this is the very best way of all means of developing character.”
I am a firm believer that the Patrol is the heart beat of the Troop. Patrols that demonstrate spirit and enthusiasm tend to be great Patrols and have a lot of fun getting the most out of Scouting.
A note on the Patrol method. There are NO ADULTS in Patrols. Adults do not participate with Patrols and aside from the Scoutmaster have no say in the Patrol Leaders Council. The Patrol method is not always pretty. It takes on many shapes and sizes and the level of struggle will vary from Patrol to Patrol. It is important for the Senior Patrol Leader to tackle as many of those struggles as possible. He, after all is the leader that Patrol Leaders look to for the answer.
I have a pet peeve about adults calling themselves a Patrol in the Troop setting (outside of Wood Badge of course). The Patrol method is to be led, practiced, and perfected by young men.
Give them a chance to run their Troop. This is an important method, with out the Patrol method you do not have Scouting.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Methods
Over the last couple of weeks Scouter friends and I have had numerous discussions about Scouting in our District. After the last Scoutmaster training session it became pretty clear that many Scouters have heard about the methods of Scouting, but do not really put them into practice in their units. Kind of like knowing that the BSA has a mission statement, but really it only applies at the National Level.. ahhh right? Ahhhh.. No.
We got to talking last weekend about the methods of Scouting and how we should be using them in our units. During the outdoor skills portion of the Scoutmaster training, it was unclear to many participants that the methods needed to be used to have a well-rounded program.. for that matter.. a Boy Scout Troop.
So I thought I would discuss the methods of Scouting over the next, lets see, 8 blog posts.
To quickly remind every one of what the methods are, they are: Ideals, Patrols, Outdoor Program, Advancement, Association with Adults, Personal Growth, Leadership Development, and the Uniform.
Those eight methods are the steps that we take to reach our goals of Citizenship, Character, and Fitness. The Boy Scout program (or the achievement of the goals) are dependant on all eight methods working at the unit level.
To start off the discussion we will dive into the IDEALS of Scouting. The ideals of Boy Scouting are spelled out in the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, the Scout motto, and the Scout slogan. The Boy Scout measures himself against these ideals and continually tries to improve. The goals are high, and, as he reaches for them, he has some control over what and who he becomes. These ideals are the foundation for everything that follows in the Boy Scout program. Without the ideals, it is just a club that goes camping. The building blocks for the Scouts character is directly tied to the ideals found in the Oath and Law. It is extremely important that every Scout learns the Oath and Law and practices these ideals daily. As a Scout advances it is a good idea for the Scout to do a self check on where he is in his character development. This is tough at times and some Scouts will understand or mature at a faster rate than his peers. That is why the self check is important. The Scout is not measuring himself against his peers, he is measuring himself against the Oath and Law which are lofty, but simple concepts that grow with the Scout as he negotiates his life. The basic understanding that he must be a person that strives to achieve those ideas outlined in the Oath and Law is important and should not be taken lightly by the Scoutmaster. It is ok to call out a Scout that is not demonstrating those values.
The other part of the ideals of the Boy Scouts of America are that they are not only an individual responsibility, but they are ideals, values, that are shared among the group. We all know and believe that the values expressed in the Oath and Law are good and true. We can all agree that every Scout, no matter what his background, education level, learning capability, or social status, can live up to the Oath and Law. It is hard, but it is attainable. Expecting that from every Scout and Scouter is reasonable.
These shared ideals are the foundation for the rest of the program. If they are modified or removed, there is no reason to continue. Character development hinges on the values found in the Oath and Law.
Dictionary.com defines Character as:
(noun)
1. the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.
2. one such feature or trait; characteristic.
3. moral or ethical quality: a man of fine, honorable character.
4. qualities of honesty, courage, or the like; integrity: It takes character to face up to a bully.
5. reputation: a stain on one’s character.
The Boy Scouts of America in setting one of its goals to develop men of Character considers this in its values. Time tested, tried, and unwavering values that shape a mans character.
The qualities of being someone who can be trusted, a man who is loyal to his family, friends, School, work etc. A young man who is helpful and works with a smile on his face, friendly, courteous and kind. Someone that is obedient to our laws, parents, employers and faith. A man with a cheerful spirit not someone who belly aches and brings down the morale of the team. A man who is thrifty with his money, time, and resources. This is the man who will develop a sound attitude of stewardship. Brave is not just for standing up for himself, it is standing up for other people, ideals, values, and that which the Scout believes in. Being Brave is important in the world we live in where our values are tested daily. And then the part of a man’s character that keeps him clean and reverent. These are matters of the mind, heart and body. The Scout should stay clean of mind and body. Spiritual health is important to for a well-rounded man of character. These values, when put in to practice demonstrate the attitudes of character. They are if you will.. the characteristics of character. I think we all can agree here that without them Scouting is not Scouting.
The method of our Ideals is the foundation of Scouting and the launching point for all of the rest of the methods. Everything ultimately comes back to the Oath and Law and as a Scoutmaster we need to continuously teach these values, not only with our words, but our actions.
St. Francis of Assisi said; “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” We should do the same with the Oath and Law.
Let me know what you think. Leave a comment or thought.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Delivering the Promise
At last nights Roundtable I was pleased to see a great turn out in the Boy Scout break out. Last nights attraction was Camporee and what units can do to get ready for it. We had about a half hour left so I thought it would be worth our while to talk a little District talk with the leaders that took their time to be at the break out.
Now first of all.. I have said it before, and I am sure I will say it again.. at Roundtable we typically are preaching to the choir, but there were plenty of newer faces in the room, so putting on my District Chairman hat, I stepped up front and spent a few minutes sharing some district news, reported back a little on the District Journey to Excellence Score card, and made myself available for questions.
Summer camp. This became a big subject last night. There are way to many units that still have not reported a summer camp sign up for this year. It is a fact that Scouts that attend summer camp stay in Scouting longer. We looked at the numbers. Only 1/3 of the scouts signed up for our council camps are from our council. That means that lots of units from outside of our council are flowing into our camps. That’s a great thing, except to say, that means that lots of Scouts in our council are not going to summer camp.
Retention. Summer camp leads us to retention. IF lots of Scouts are not going to summer camp, then its no wonder why they are not staying in Scouting. Our numbers show that we are doing well crossing Webelos into Boy Scouts, and we are doing a great job getting boys to join Scouts “off the street”. But we are not doing the best we can to keep them in Scouting. It is no surprise that boys leave the program when they are not engaged. If they are not having fun, or participating fully in Scouting, they will leave. I mean, why stay?
Program. Back when I was a new Scoutmaster, a mentor of mine shared with me that regardless of everything else the key to a successful unit is the program. He said Program, Program, Program! I have shared this here before to, my “Field of Dream” philosophy. If you build the program, they will come.. and stay. Monthly camp outs, Summer camp attendance, advancement focus, service opportunities all add up to great program. Youth leadership that is driven to lead to the next adventure keeps them excited and wanting more. A solid program at the unit level is the answer to most if not all of the problems we face in the Scouting movement.
Which brought me to the final point of the evening. What is the role of the Council and the District? Resourcing. It is not the role of the Council or the District to run units. They are there to assist in the administrative tasks, financial opportunities, and resourcing of program (materials, camps, etc). I think too many people wait around for the Council or District to do things for them. The unit is where Scouting happens. It is where Scouts become men of character, good citizens, and discover fitness. If you wait around for the council to do that, you will never be a successful unit. The council and district can not build you a program that is successful. They can assist with the resources that will help your success… but wait around and you will fail.
A question came up about the DE and his role. Again, he is a resource manager. He is there to raise funds, develop relationships in the community to build and grow scouting. He is there to assist units in training, growing, and ensuring that the promise of Scouting is being delivered in those units. But wait for him to do the work at the unit. You will fail. This is not a bad thing. This is the way Scouting was designed. Scouting is owned and operated by the volunteers that care to serve our youth. Bottom line. We are Scouting and we Deliver the Promise. We, the volunteer. Our District committee is made up of volunteers, our Council committee is made up of volunteers, but more importantly, our units, Packs, Troops, and Crews are made up of thousands of volunteers that every single day do something to deliver the promise of Scouting to the great kids that come seeking fun and adventure.
It was great to be able to talk with some of those volunteers last night. As I looked at the room and saw the faces of the BSA, people that really care. I know that all is well. The numbers are the numbers, and they will come around. The people care and will do what ever it takes to develop those programs to make Scouting the greatest.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Protecting your online identity?
Awhile back there was some discussion on separating your Scouting life with your “Normal” life. I argued that given the Scout oath and law there is no real way that (at least I) could separate the two. As we have negotiated our way through this online maze and many of us have developed an online presence protecting that identity is important. I am not talking about protecting bank accounts.. I am talking about protecting character.
It dawned on my today as I was checking my twitter account (@smjerry) and noticed some of the people who follow me. Now I am not going to go into a list of who’s who, I think that would be tacky.. not only that, but you can see it for yourself if you know how to use twitter. Based on twitter, I figured the same is true for Facebook and the blog. Now I know that the blog does pretty well. 73,960 views for the 857 posts. I have said it before that I am not a numbers guy.. but all of that is to say that people are reading what I write, watching the video’s I post on YouTube and checking in via twitter and Facebook. Sometimes I wonder why, but then I check my twitter account and note that I follow a bunch of folks and care about what they have to say. I read many blogs and spend a fair amount of time learning from other backpackers on YouTube.
So I feel it is important to watch what I say, post, type, and respond to. At the end of the day this all becomes a record of my character. Again, there is no separation between the various parts of my life.
Before I get slammed with emails… let me assure you I am not bucking for Sainthood. I am just a man, but I am a man that believes in the Oath and Law. As much as I believe in the Golden Rule and all of the other positive moral codes that have I have been introduced to in my life. What I know for sure is that people do watch what you do and what you say and on the internet, given an anonymous identity when responding, or at least the fact that face to face contact is limited, people will say and write things that will hurt you if you are not careful.
I received an email recently from a guy that asked why I did not post one of his comments. Well, the bottom line is this.. what he had to say did not add to the conversation. Politely saying.. it did not fit on my blog. I appreciate the guy taking the time to shoot an email my way, but I get to pick and choose how my character is going to be advertised.
You see, I control my character. I am the only person that can give it away or lose it. The things that I do, say, type, and post, tell my story and I need to protect my character, especially on the internet.
If anything all of this “exposure” has forced me to be more aware of how the Scout Oath and Law fit in my life. It is not that I am better than anyone, or looking for special treatment. I am just aware that my character is not for sale and I surely am not going to risk it on someone who has less control of their values and character.
I would rather have my bank account robbed than my character. I can always earn, I can not repair damage done on the internet.
Protect your online identity.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
New Tour and Activity Plan to Be Unveiled
From our Friends at the BSA Internal Communications via Scout Wire:
Dateline February 29, 2012
The new online tour and activity plan has been developed and will soon be ready for use.
When compared to the former tour permit process, the new plan will no longer require signatures or approvals. Rather, as the plan is completed online, the required prerequisites for that type of trip or activity will be displayed.
For any prerequisites that have not been met (for example, not having someone on a trip who has Hazardous Weather training where this training is required), and before being allowed to submit the form, the person completing the form will have to certify that all prerequisites will be met prior to conducting the trip or activity. Once submitted, an email notification will be sent to your council, chartered organization, committee chair, unit leader, and emergency contact to let them know that a plan has been submitted. Receivers of this notification can log in to MyScouting and review the plan.
Other tour and activity plan enhancements include the following:
- Because email notifications will be sent once a plan has been submitted, it is important to maintain current leadership information in the system.
- Links are provided to current program-required training and education.
- System prompts and warnings are included.
- You will be able to review and fix any deficiencies flagged by the system prior to submitting the plan.
- You can store, retrieve, copy, and reuse completed tour and activity plans.
- Files such as trekking plans and flight plans may be uploaded.
- Unit volunteers who currently have access to the tour and activity plan will be able to view and update all plans submitted for their unit up to the day before the scheduled tour date.
- There will be leader certification of the plan prior to submission.
For those who do not have Internet access or simply prefer paper over an electronic version, a PDF version can be found on the tour and activity plan FAQ page.
Tour and Activity Plan Demo
Before implementation to unit volunteers, we are providing a demo to familiarize you and your employees with this new tool. The demo will be accessible to councils on MyBSA until April 30. You will have the ability to create, edit, copy, or print a plan, but not submit one. On May 1, the new tour and activity plan will be activated for authorized unit volunteers to access in MyScouting. We encourage your employees to show the demo to key volunteers, but due to the need to protect the personal information of the membership, this must be done via MyBSA.
The demo may be accessed online. When the MyBSA login screen appears, enter your current MyBSA user name and password. It will take you to the tour and activity plan home page, where you can begin and create a new plan.
A training video has been developed that guides you through the application process and can also be shared with your unit volunteers.
Preaching to the Choir
During this last years recharter we had an extremely disappointing turn in of the Journey to Excellence form. As a District committee we chalked this up to a couple of things.. perhaps it was that many people were not aware of the change in program. Maybe some Scouters did not receive proper or inadequate training on the subject. It could have been that the program was not communicated effectively. Another reason may have been that some Scouters just don’t care enough to fill it out. Then again, it may have just been that there are units out there that really are not delivering the promise and would not fill out the form for any reason.
I will go on record and say that the answer is All of the Above. (In my opinion).
So rather than simply complain about it.. I figured that the right thing to do, because I love Scouting and believe in the program, would be to tackle the issues and start with training.
So I volunteered to teach about the JTE program and give out all the tools that would make a unit successful in at least getting the 2012 form in with their charter in November.
So back in January, I announced that we would hold a JTE session at the February Round table. I made arrangements with the Round Table commissioner and we decided that this would be a great class. We could have all levels of Scouting attend and present the information in a clear and easy to use format.
I made copies of all of the materials and even used my own Troop as an example. I made copies of our spreadsheet JTE tracker and our goals for this year. A sample budget was included as well as the Pack, Troop, and Crew requirements for 2012.
Last night at Round table, the room was set and I prepared to teach this subject of which I have developed a passion for. 7 people showed up for the training. 7. 2 of them were Assistant Scoutmasters from my Troop, 1 was a Scoutmaster of a high performance troop that is using the JTE tools and is delivering the promise of Scouting. 2 were Cub Scout leaders that I assume got a lot out of the class. They had great questions and seemed to be very interested in getting this ball rolling within their Packs. 1 was an Assistant Scoutmaster of another Troop that is always in the hunt for Troop of the Year, and finally a committee member from on of the LDS units in our District. She had never heard of JTE and took lots of notes. She informed me that she thought that this was all done at the Stake level.. but wanted to know more so she could get the program started with the Troops she worked with.
7 Scouters.
85 units did not bother to fill out and turn in the form during the last recharter process.
So essentially last night I preached to the choir… again.
As I drove home from Round table last night my mind was filled with disappointment which of course drove me to thinking about the other areas in which we fall short in our District, Council, and of course the BSA.
Mostly I think it comes down to training. We do a fantastic job of getting people to help. Just look at the numbers.
1.1 Million volunteers currently serve the youth of Scouting. 1.1 Million. Now I am no fool, and I know that in any population you will never get 100 % of the folks to do anything, but we need to try right?
So we have lots of Scouts that deserve the best, and we have lots of volunteers that have at some level made a commitment to give their best, and yet we don’t.
Lets assume that my District (which I consider a real great district) is representative of most if not all districts in the BSA. First, lets throw out some numbers again… bear with me here. Remember that I said 85 units in my district did not bother to turn in the JTE form. My district has 129 units in it.
In 2010 the BSA reported that there were 47,259 Cub Scout Packs, 40,099 Boy Scout Troops, 8,539 Varsity teams, and 18,856 Venture Crews. That would be a total (in 2010) of 114,753 units in the BSA.
So assuming everything is equal, 40,000 units within the BSA did not turn the JTE form this last year. Now I do not know this to be true.. I am just looking for a solution. IF that big a population within an organization that makes it its business to deliver the promise of Scouting to the 2 million (plus) Scouts that come to us allows this to happen.. then I think it is worth a review. Not a change in the Journey to Excellence program. It is rock solid.. after all its all about making every unit the best. It follows the methods and places its focus on what is important.. serving Youth!. No, it does not need to change. What needs to change is how we present, train, and work with units to ensure that the program (both the Scouting program and the JTE) are being followed. Units that are in need of help need to get it.
I think this is where the commissioner service comes in… and there again.. we are preaching to the choir… assuming again that your district is like mine.. where are all the commissioners? We are in need of good commissioners that are dedicated to making every unit a great one.
There are many ways that we need to attack this. I think that we have a huge disconnect here and it will not get better as long as we keep preaching to the choir. The choir is fine and is singing loud and clear. It is the folks that don’t want to sing that we need to reach. It is the people we never see, it is the countless applications that come through the council that never get a hand shake or a visit. It is the volunteers that are not reached by hands on training or a friendly invite to Round table.
As much as I am a big fan of computer based training.. I think we may have lost some of the contact by going away from class room training. We need to connect with the 1.1 million volunteers, or what ever that number is in your District and not only fix this JTE problem, but get more leaders trained, active, and taking on rolls that complement their skills, attitudes, and level of committment within the District. We need commissioners that actually pay visits to their units. Commissioners that do not wear multiple hats in Scouting. Commissioners that can take the time to work with and mentor unit leaders.
We need to get a bigger choir! I’ll have more to say on this later… I am curious to hear what you have to say about all this… leave a comment!
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Where worlds meet
For those of you that have followed the blog for any given time, you know that I am a fan of sports. I believe that sports do great things in the lives of youth and I also believe that there is room for sports, scouts, academics, and a normal life for our youth. I actually think that when youth participate in sports and scouts they become better young men and women.
This last weekend was spent watching my oldest son wrestle at a tournament with the High School wrestling team. John did real well this weekend, and as I sat and watched, and for those of you that have been to wrestling tourney’s.. you know that it is an all day affair. You have lots of time to sit and watch, think, write, or do as I do.. people watch.
I typically get into lengthy discussions with other parents. This year has been interesting as John is a Senior and many of the parents we hang out with we have known since the boys were all in kindergarten. So the discussions quickly turn to how amazed we are about our boys, future plans, college, and “do you remember when” subjects. This last weekend we got into a discussion about one of the boys that I have known since he was 7. He was in Cub Scouts with John, but when the time came to cross over, he made the choice not to continue with Scouting. He turned out to be a great young man and is a good friend of my daughters.
One of the other dads sitting with us said that his son had to drop out of Scouts because of athletics. He could not do both as Scouting and sports don’t mix.
I had to ask why he thought that way. The answer I got did not make sense to me. He said that Scouting was more for kids that were intellectual and could not make it in sports. He added that scouting takes too much time away from sports practice and social time. <insert record scratch>
I made mention that both of my boys were in scouts and they both are athletes, and they both are A’s and B’s students, and both have a good social life. He said it was the exception not the rule. Then I told him of the Scouts in my troop. In my Troop there are football players, baseball players, wrestlers, water polo, swim team, lacrosse, soccer, and golf team members. Of those guys, they are active in the Troop and are all either Eagle Scouts or well on their way to becoming and Eagle Scout. All of them are good students and very active with their Schools. Members of Student government or clubs, and are all really good young men.
Again, he said we are the exception not the rule. So I had to ask.. why do you suppose that is?
I believe that young men that play organized sports learn valuable life lessons. They learn team work and working with others. They learn that the team comes first and individual egos should be left at home. They learn that hard work produces great things and that when you lose you learn. They learn that effort pays off and that collective effort will eventually win.
I believe that sports push young men to stay fit and sports develop in them a sense of committment and accountability. The individual is driven to be there for his team mates, he understands that without every one pitching in and moving toward the same goal the team will not be a success.
I think far to many times parents and Scout leaders can not get past the old “Jock” stereotype.
Speaking strictly for my family Sports and Scouting go hand and hand. Sports and Scouting complement one another and help round out our kids. Add to Sports and Scouting good family values, strong faith, and a host of friends that have the same interests, and we have been blessed with three awesome kids.
The boys John and Josh have been active in both Scouting and Sports since they could be. Josh started playing Football in 3rd Grade. John and Josh both run Track and played Soccer. John took to Wrestling, Josh stuck with Football and Track. Katelyn played Soccer and volleyball for the Nike Club league team. She is talented in Band and is a great student academically. She tried Girl Scouts, but could not fit in with their click. So she stuck to a supportive role in her brothers Scouting lives.
The point here is that all three are great kids and sports and scouts have played a great role in that. It has meant long weekends, lots of travel time, and spending money on the kids activities rather than ourselves, but the result is that we have a great family life and kids that are healthy, smart, and ready for life.
Sports gave them confidence, good attitudes, and drive to accomplish anything. Scouting does much of this and more, but when the two worlds meet a great young person comes out the other end.
So this Dad that does not see the value in both.. or that its one or the other.. well, I think that comes from parents that see the hassle, Scout leaders that see the competition, and youth that go along with what they say.
Parents need to be supportive of a young man that wants to do sports and scouting. They need to make a committment to their son that doing both is possible. Scout leaders need to understand the value in having an athlete in their troop. They too need to be committed to the Scout and his needs and interests. Scouting and Sports can work together.
I am proud of the Scouts of my Troop that take the time to be athletes. I admire their dedication and committment, and I tell them that during Scoutmaster conferences or when they have an achievement on or off the playing field.
Here is what I know for sure.
It’s not 100% so I am not saying this for effect…
Young men that are Scouts and Athletes are better students, better leaders, are better fit, and have a higher confidence level. They stick it out to the end and do not let their Troop or their team mates down.
I’ll take that any day!
Have a Great Scouting Day!
*By the way.. the picture on this post.. Gerald R. Ford, 39th President, Eagle Scout, Football player at the University of Michigan 1933
