But, that little bit of doubt creeped into my mind. 

“Will the SPL be able to do it without me?”

“Will he do the right week using the program?”

“Is he prepared?”

So, I called him…and got his dad, my ASM, on the phone. The SPL was at baseball practice. “Oh, I guess that he won’t be at the meeting and that I have to head over there to help with the meeting?” I asked

“Well, he’s not prepared, but he can wing it, I guess. We are just doing the first week of Camping program, right?” was Mark’s reply.

“Yes, does he have the papers or should I drop them off? Maybe I should just skip RT and come to the meeting” I said

“Whatever you want to do.” said Mark

“You know what, there is a copy of the papers in the troop library. He can use that. I am going to RT, and I will be there later to pick up the guys and give them rides home”

“Okey-dokey,” said the ASM

So I went to RT, had a good time. I left in a hurry, as I had to get back to the lodge to relieve Mark…he was the only adult leader there, and he had to leave for work at 8 PM. I got there, and he was already gone. The CC was sitting in the corner, reading a book, and the boys headed outside to do something. They came back in, set up their tables and were done about 20 minutes ahead of time…enough time to talk about the menu for next weekend’s campout. 

In the end, this Scoutmaster learned to trust his scouts, and they can do the things that they set out to do. 

Read some of the posts on G+ or any other forum, about how some other unit has it worse than your unit. It’s not that I thrive on misery, but I thrive on opportunities that may come up from a scouter that needs some direction.

-OR-

Reply to a post from a scouter, who has a question about parental summer camp attendance. The question was

“With summercamp coming what is your guideline on requiring parents to attend due to high energy scouts that create issues. Usually start fights and cause injuries.”

My replies

“If you don’t come to camp, I can’t guarantee that your son won’t come home broken…”

“Any un-escorted children sent to camp will be fed a 1-liter bottle of Mountain Dew, M&Ms, Skittles and given a puppy before being dropped off”

“You don’t have to come to camp with your son…but don’t be mad at me when he nominates me for Father of the Year“

“Sure, I will take care of your son…is he allergic to dirt?”

“No, I completely understand that you can’t attend with your son…just sign this hold harmless document”

“Sorry to hear that you can’t attend camp with your son…this was the year that the Swedish Bikini Team was doing a demo of Winter Camping…but with out the parkas”

-OR-

Go to BING and find your troop’s campgrounds, complete with the firepit and all. Realize that the “eye in the sky” is always aware of what’s happening. While doing that, pull up pictures from Facebook and look at pics of your First Class scouts when they were in the 2nd grade and boast to your co-workers that these guys are still in the program, even though he is telling you that you shouldn’t be on Facebook during work hours.

That scouting spirit came rushing back to me after all of that, so much that I called the CC and told him that we need to hit this hard, and keep going with it. I don’t have the time to look back anymore…we have to stop driving the car by looking in the rearview mirror.

Have a good day, True Northerners….

One thing that I found is that as much literature and training that we take, there is one thing that the BSA doesn’t account for…and that’s the Human Factor.

Why don’t they? It’s really one thing that is a constant. Heck, they should teach that at all courses!

But alas, they can’t. How can the HF (human factor) be taught? There are so many things that come into play, that there is no way to teach it. Think about every scenario that comes up in scouting. In the planning process for a pack camp-out, everything is done by the book. The week of the camp-out comes, and the only BALOO trained leader can’t attend. Now what? We use our human element to overcome and adapt. You have options as a unit. And those options are what we need to make our units run. Cancel the outing, find someone else to attend, or move the weekend on short notice.

A friend calls you and says that a scout from your troop came “out” on Facebook. Per the BSA, you must inform that scout and his parent that the scout can no longer be in the troop due to their homosexual policies. This is what the training tells you. But what the training doesn’t tell you is that someone hacked his Facebook account. The scout isn’t gay, but a spiteful former girlfriend compromised his account and started spreading the rumors. This is the HF…we aren’t trained for that, nor is it any literature that the BSA prints. How do we handle this? First, we have to deal with the scout and his feelings. Then we have to help him recover from the damage that this has caused.

I say this, and it may be a strong example, but I think that we get the point.

When it comes to outlining how the BSA wants the program to be run, and how the program is actually run, you will find they are two different things. We can’t always jump to the first thing that the BSA says to do, but we cannot dismiss the guidelines that are laid out to us in the literature and online. We have to find a common thread, one where we stay the course by using the BSA guidelines, but still are able to decipher right from wrong, and make sure that in the end, we are using the one thing that we all have….

The Human Factor and a caring for our scouts and our programs.

It’s a no-boundary thinking…I let my mind roam so that I may get to understand and maybe find what I am truly looking for. One thing that I have been thinking about lately is where my troop is going. 

I talked about it on True North, Show 43. Using the methods, as outlined by the BSA, has really done wonders for my troop. Now, don’t get me wrong…I have been using them from the first day of the inception of the troop. I just didn’t realize that using them would pay off the way they are. 

Stay the course…I know that I have said it in many blogs, many shows and many conversations…if you do things the way that it’s laid out, you will have success. No, everything is not a steadfast and hard rule…you can make the tweaks to what is going to work for your unit. 

Let’s take for example, Scouting Ideals. One definition that I found from just Googling “8 methods of Scouting” came up with this little tidbit:

The ideals are those outlined in the Scout Oath and Law, the Scout Motto and Slogan, and the concept of “Scout Spirit”. The ideals define what a Scout should strive to be: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, reverent, mentally awake, morally straight, physically fit, always prepared. 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.

This method permeates everything Scouts do, defining acceptable behavior, challenging the Scout to do his best, and even to do better than his best. Scout spirit describes the level of commitment a Scout has toward these ideals, and challenges him to do what needs to be done.

So, talking about Ideals…

We instilled the Oath and Law into the scouts as Cub Scouts…in the pack that they came from, it was evident that the leaders were using the tools and their knowledge to instill that in the boys in blue…once they became Boy Scouts, they saw that all the things that they were taught as Cubs, is still being used as a Boy Scout. The new Boy Scouts realized, now, that the Oath and Law were not just words, but words to live by. Now they live it, and it’s evident in their actions, words and mannerisms. 

I could go on and on about “how the scouts act”, but that would be moot…I know how they act. I have had many a parent-teacher conference where I have told the teacher that Ethan is a scout, and then the lightbulb comes on…”he’s well-mannered” or “he’s always willing to help”. I will then go further and tell them about the other boys that are in the troop. The teachers are surprised, but pleased at the same time, and they know that the Scouts are still a good thing.

I hit “record” and finally got a show done…first time in a long time, and one of many more that I hope to get done in the upcoming weeks. Feedback is a gift, please send me gifts!

Thanks for listening

This show is brought to you by ALPS Mountaineering, makers of fine camping gear.

“No, what is the schedule for the day?” asked the SPL.

Here I realized that I didn’t forward that information onto him from the Camporee director. So I gave them what I had from the email

Activities start at 9, new scouts work on advancement, older scouts talk to MB counselors about any MBs that they may want to take later on. Then lunch at noon. After lunch, camp-wide Capture the Flag tourney, then dinner, with a Dutch Oven contest and potluck. Then Chapel service, followed by Campfire program at 8 pm, back to your site by 9, lights out at 10. Up the next morning to eat, pack up and be out of camp by 9 AM.

“That’s it? So for $9, plus whatever our food costs, that’s it? I think that we can do our own more exciting thing for cheaper, and make sure our guys learn the 1363 way” stated one of the PLs.

The other PL and SPL looked at him and they agreed. “OK, but we can’t cancel an outing…we need to get out” said the SPL.

So I offered up some guided questions…

“Well, if the new guys need to learn those skills in an outdoor environment, how can we accomplish that? If we don’t go to Camporee, where should we go on short notice?”

I then asked “How does a quarterback get good at his job?”

“Practice” they said

“OK, so how can we get the new guys some practice?”

They kind of looked at me, and I said ”What about making next weekend a day event? And have the new scouts practice. You guys can use my house and my backyard, if you want. Since we are behind the grocery store, it may be a great chance to get the new guys some practice into not only planning, but buying, then cooking, then eating their meals, and then the cleanup…it’s just a thought.”

That sounded good, and then I let them know that my house was open for whatever. They put the preliminaries together of what they wanted to do, and I told them that they should put the program together for the event. The plan is to meet at my house on Saturday afternoon, then do some fire building stuff, then dinner, then tent-work, campfire, then crash in my backyard. The next day, make breakfast, clean up, knots and the break out to home around noon. It’s a simple plan, but the key is that when presented with something that didn’t work for them, they came up with an alternate plan.

The next comments that came were, “we still need to camp out in the woods”…um, ok…

So I made a suggestion…have a camp-out a couple weekends later. Here’s a couple weekends that we can do something, but if you need me to make some calls, let me know.

After that, they discussed some places to camp, and I said that I would call them the next day. The SPL came to me and said, “can we go to Dunbar?”

“We sure can…I don’t think that I will have to call and make sure it’s available that weekend,” and I laughed. *note: Dunbar is the troop’s campground, 100 miles north of Green Bay. My mother owns the land and she has donated use of it to the troop.

So, I am really proud of what the guys accomplished…with a little guidance, the boys made plans for 2 weekends of getting outdoors.

The tide is turning, big time….

2 times per year, the troop gets “booted” from the lodge to allow the hunter’s safety group to come in and teach their classes. We take the opportunity to go bowling. Now, we aren’t like Bryan’s troop where we would need a whole bowling alley, but we have pretty good turnout every time we go. Tonight, we had 11 of 13 scouts, one sister and one scout that brought a friend, me, and my 2 ASMs.

As usual, we bowl, eat some fries or pizza or hot dogs or cheese curds (it’s a Wisconsin thing) and the scouts encourage their troopmates to bowl well and to have fun. For the most part, that happened tonight. One scout, who has a down opinion of himself due to some bullying issues, got down on himself and got upset…he was thinking that the other scouts were teasing him and being sarcastic when they told him “good job” and “you can do it!”…

I saw him upset, and went to talk to him. He said that he hates bowling, so I said, “why come if you hate it?”

“Fine, I won’t come again…”

“Well, that’s your decision…you aren’t hurting my feelings by not coming. You will be missing out on hanging out with guys that want to do things with you, not do things that embarrass you. It’s been fun, but if you don’t want to bowl, then don’t” and I walked away. His Dad went over, and the scout got a little more upset…that’s going to happen…the old father-son conflict that’s been happening for millions of years.

He sat there for the rest of the game, and once one game was done, I went over and asked him if he was going to try again…”fine” and he tanked. “See? It’s not like Wii bowling! I can’t do this!”

“Of course it’s not…a Wii remote weighs half a pound, and you don’t really control it…it’s a bunch of ones and zeroes that are telling you that you are doing well. This is a 7 pound round rock getting tossed down a real 50 foot lane, hitting 5 pound blocks of wood…it’s not the same.”

So, wouldn’t you know it…he goes up and tosses the rock…gutter…

He takes his second shot…they all go down…spare. Now he’s happy. I walked over, patted him on the back and said “See? It’s not Wii…but it is practice, and you will get better. Way to go…”

It was one of those moments, a good feel moment…

Oh, and by the way, he won that game against 4 other scouts, buy 7 pins…

Have faith in yourself, and you can do amazing things.

We are building a legacy, one that I hope will be there for years down the road. One step at a time, the foundation is getting stronger and stronger, and our program is getting better for it.

One thing that got me to thinking was how our vote went down…without getting too much into it, one of two scouts was elected, when I thought that both were shoo-ins. Now, before anyone gets on me about what I thought, realize that this was my first OA election…heck, I figured…we have 2 eligible scouts, they will both get 100% of the vote and that will help our program grow.

It didn’t happen that way, and only one got in…the boys spoke. The one scout that didn’t get elected is the son of one of the ASMs. The ASM thinks the results of the OA election was a bad thing for our troop. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him more about it, but I think that it’s actually a good thing.

It shows that the scouts truly have a mind of their own…one scout was deemed worthy, another wasn’t. I thought that both of them were worthy, but was wrong. Maybe this is the wake-up call for one scout…maybe there will be a new light shining on the troop…

Who knows, but things are certainly going to be different from now on…

We met at the Lodge on Friday night and trekked to our site…no, not outside. The scouts don’t think that they are equipped well enough, and a couple of them would like to take OKPIK before trying in out on the troop. I respect their decisions, so I was fine with staying indoors.

We drove to Camp Rokilio…the council’s Cub Scout Camp. Yea, back to where almost all of these guys started. We didn’t stay in one of the theme buildings, but instead, we stayed in one of the 3 room lodges. One center room, 2 bedrooms, a kitchen and a water closet. Not really roughing it, but the accommodations are not the point. We arrived to camp later, around 8 pm…about enough time to get set up, squared away and have a bit of cracker barrel. With our tummies full, the scouts went off to bed, and played the goof-off game for awhile. I poked my head in the room and recommended that they get some shut-eye, as we would have a busy day the next day.

We rose the next morning, and each patrol’s Grubmaster prepared breakfast and everyone ate. They got squared away and assembled in the commons. I pulled out our new Brunton Orienteering Education set. I went through the nomenclatures and handed out the compasses. We then went outside, out on the lake and practice pace counts and “Red in the Shed”…they did wonderful and were really into it when they realized that they made a square…not individually, but as a team.

The rest of the day was filled with designing their ideal patrol site and sledding. One scout wanted to earn his 2nd class, so we went out to the fire pit and he struggled to build the fire…yes, he didn’t need to light it, but even if he would have had to, it would have never lit. So with the help of the Scoutmaster, the SPL guided the scout to building a fire. We tried to light it later, but things weren’t going our way, and we decided cracker barrel and cocoa were better options.

The scouts played some games, but for the most part, they were ready for the sack…lights out and all sleeping by 9:30, with the adults soon behind.

I awoke first on Sunday morning. I decided to clean up all the food, and get breakfast ready for the scouts before we departed. Fruit, cereal, bagels and milk was placed out…the adult patrol, decided on Mountain Man. As I got the food out, one of the dads came in and asked why I was getting the boys’ breakfast…

“Well, it’s kind of my penance for what I am about to do…” and I started to hum Zippity-Do-Dah…

Let’s just say that the more experienced scouts knew what was going on, so they were awake…the rest of them got waken up to a rousing chorus of the song, along with what they must have thought was an earthquake, as their beds were shaken ever so gently.

Welcome to 1363, newbies…you are now “my boys”…

From Wikipedia

In its original sense, discipline is referred to systematic instruction given to disciples to train them as students in a craft or trade, or to follow a particular code of conduct or “order”. Often, the phrase “to discipline” carries a negative connotation. This is because enforcement of order – that is, ensuring instructions are carried out – is often regulated through punishment. Discipline is also believed to be one of the main pillars of our modern life, according to many different religious beliefs.

I had mentioned it before and have been talking about it with my other leaders. The reason that we have been talking about discipline in the troop was based on one of my last posts, the one with the decision of the scouts to go elsewhere. I was told that one boy went to the other troop because I have too much discipline in our troop…that’s not the case.

There are a set of rules, put in place by the PLC, that the scouts are expected to follow. Most of the rules are based on the Scout Oath and Scout Law. If you follow those, then there really is no reason to have any other kind of rules. Now, our troop has a couple of guidelines when it comes to behaviors, but nothing set in stone. Each case is going to present itself in a different manner, so each case will have a different outcome.

When I was told that we have too much discipline, at first, I took that to heart. No, we don’t…we don’t punish anyone or make anyone do something over and over again until they get it right. Then I realized the were may be too disciplined…in the true sense of the word.

Our scouts expect more from each other than their counterparts. They laid out the expectations, and they are the ones that want everyone to do the right thing. Some scouts are used to running around, goofing off, and doing whatever they feel like, and wait for one of the adults to step in and “ruin their fun”.

Our scout’s self-discipline has led to a higher quality program, and the scouts in the troop now, don’t expect any less, and I don’t think that they will allow that quality to get any lower. Through their high expectations and strong self-discipline, they have matured and learned many things that I wouldn’t expect boys of that age to do.

I am happy that we have too much discipline, it keeps the boy’s eye’s on the prize, and keeps me in my easy chair with a cup of coffee. Sure it sounds lazy, but why do for a boy when he can do for himself?