SM Tip - Put Down That Firewood, and Nobody Will Get Hurt
Put Down That Firewood, and Nobody Will Get HurtHere in Kentucky, we’ve been entertaining an unwelcome visitor in the last few years: the emerald ash borer. This Asian invader has killed more than 25 million ash trees in the eastern United States and will likely kill millions more before it’s done. The only way to prevent infestation is to treat an ash tree with insecticide every two years—at a cost of around $200 per treatment.... [More]
By: Scott Robertson On: 2015-08-06SM Tip - What Really Attracts Boys to Scouting
What Really Attracts Boys to ScoutingSeveral years ago, I chaired my church’s youth minister search committee, and in that role, I thought a lot about what makes a successful youth program. In the process, I read a book (Choosing Church: What Makes a Difference for Teens by Carol E. Lytch) that really put this issue into perspective. I think the book’s lessons apply as well to Scout troops as they do to church youth groups.According... [More]
By: Scott Robertson On: 2015-07-30SM Tip - Facts and Filmstrips
Facts and FilmstripsBelieve it or not, YouTube is good for more than cat videos!In planning a session on the patrol method that I’ll be teaching at the Philmont Training Center next week, I came across a gem: a YouTube version of a 1978 BSA filmstrip called “The Patrol Method.” Some Scouting history buff recorded the filmstrip and its cassette-tape narration (beeps and all) and posted it to YouTube several years back.The funny thing is that... [More]
By: Scott Robertson On: 2015-07-23SM Tip - Let's Hear It for Columbusing
Let's Hear It for ColumbusingNPR’s Code Switch blog ran an interesting article recently on a phenomenon called columbusing, which it defines as “discovering something that’s existed forever.” Often, these discoveries happen across cultural or ethnic lines, and some meaning gets lost along the way. For example, the popular Color Run 5K races draw their inspiration from the Hindu festival of Holi.Not surprisingly, the people whose traditions are borrowed (stolen?) in columbusing tend to get offended.... [More]
By: Insane Scouter On: 2015-07-16SM Tip - How to Make Your SPL Quit
How to Make Your SPL QuitI've been doing interviews recently with Scouters for a forthcoming Scouting magazine article on the boy-led troop (or boy-run or Scout-run or Scout-led--you pick the term). The most remarkable quote I've heard didn't come from a Scouter, however, but from a senior patrol leader. He said, "Honestly, I think I would quit Scouting if my Scoutmasters cooked me every single meal. There’s just no fun in that."This quote struck me... [More]
By: Scott Robertson On: 2015-07-09SM Tip - Transformational Service
Transformational ServiceI spent last week on a week long choir/mission trip with 40 or so high-school and college students from my church, something I’ve been doing since 2000. During the week, our kids served in a homeless feeding program, built steps and porches for homes in an incredibly rundown trailer park, ran two vacation Bible school programs, and did a variety of landscaping and painting projects in a small Ohio community whose best days lie... [More]
By: Scott Robertson On: 2015-07-02SM Tip - Scouting in the Video Age
Scouting in the Video AgeWhile you and I may still be living in the 20th century, our Scouts all live in the Internet Age. They’re born with cell phones in their hands. They devote untold hours to instant messaging, texting, and social media networks like Facebook. And they often learn better from videos than lectures.Yet most of us probably don’t take advantage of modern technology. Let’s say you wanted to get your Scouts excited about... [More]
By: Scott Robertson On: 2015-06-25SM Tip - Requiem for the Preopening
Requiem for the PreopeningOne of my current projects is working on the BSA’s new Program Planning Features, which will replace the old Troop Program Features and will offer 48 updated themes to Boy Scout troops, Varsity Scout teams, and Venturing crews. In spending a lot of time looking at meeting outlines, I’ve been thinking about an old friend: the preopening.Now, I haven’t done a comprehensive survey, but I have a feeling that the preopening—that 15... [More]
By: Scott Robertson On: 2015-06-18SM Tip - A Scout Is ... Tech-Savvy
A Scout Is ... Tech-SavvyEarlier this month, Deputy Chief Scout Executive Gary Butler wrote a guest blog at Scouting magazine in which he compared cellphones to utility knives. His bottom line: “I guess if we can control the proper use of a pocketknife, it should be possible to do the same with a smartphone.” (I reblogged Butler’s comments here.)About 14 months ago, the leaders of Troop 96 in Grayslake, Ill., hit upon that same comparison,... [More]
By: Bob Meador On: 2015-06-11SM Tip - Don't Forget to Play the Game
Don't Forget to Play the GameScouters often complain about youth sports. They say that sports are all consuming, that coaches only care about building character when they’re winning, and that sports just teach kids to win at games while Scouting teaches kids to win at life.Be that as it may, there’s one thing coaches do better than Scouting. They remember to play the game.What do I mean by that? After months of conditioning and drills... [More]
By: Scott Robertson On: 2015-06-04