Scoutmaster Musings

In order to evaluate performance and begin to plan new direction, scouts should use Start, Stop, Continue. Other similar evaluation tools are Thorns & Roses, or Highs & Lows. The difference is that those only present the positive and negative reflection of what we've already done. Start, Stop, Continue looks towards the future to take our results and make a new plan.

• Start - What should we start doing to improve? Any new behaviors, activities, or directions to take? What should we do next to continue getting better? Was there anything we could to that would make things more fun or useful?
• Stop - What are we doing that is preventing us from being as successful as possible? Do we have bad habits or behaviors that we need to stop? What didn't work in this activity? Was there something that made it not fun?
• Continue - How were we successful? What went well that we want to keep doing in the future? What did we enjoy about this activity?

Start, Stop, Continue should can be used to reflect after any activity, campout, meeting, or event. It's a good way to promote continual improvement in the troop or patrol.

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In a couple months, you'll start seeing all those business christmas cards by the water fountain at work or pinned to the employee bulletin board. They're a nice way for organizations to touch base at the end of the year and thank clients for a year of business.

I think the same is true for troops and packs. The end of the year is a good time to send a card to every family in the troop, the chartered organization representative, maybe the district executive, and others that have helped make the troop's year a success. Including a newsletter of the year's adventures and accomplishments makes the communication more meaningful. You might even mention the coming year's plans and how the program is growing in both offerings and expenses.

Sending cards to other troops and packs in your community wishing them a successful year to come would also be a nice gesture.

Those cards don't just magically appear. Someone has to plan ahead and order them - right about now. The Gallery Collection is a publisher of greeting cards with a wide selection of styles, one of which should suit the scouts in your troop. They are also holding a design contest which could be a way for one scout to help with college.

The contest prize is a $10,000 scholarship for the best designed greeting card. We have a few scouts that are really into computer graphics and I could see one of them having a chance at winning. The contest is open to high school and college students and the criteria are:
1. Overall aesthetic appeal
2. Quality of execution
3. Creativity and Originality
4. Successful incorporation of design elements
5. Appropriateness for use as a greeting card
6. Attractiveness to The Gallery Collection’s corporate and consumer customers
7. Suitability as a design in the Gallery Collection greeting card line

The official rules and entry are available at their web site.

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The new SPL led his Troop Leader Training session last night and today. Last night, just the Patrol Leaders were present to review the 12 month troop schedule and add another 6 months.
In March, the scouts started coming up with themes for their campouts instad of just skiing, climbing, shooting, ... They kept that thought process going this time with no prompting from me! In a year, we'll be doing "Ice Wars", "Winter Survival", and "Nifty 50s" campouts. Nifty 50s is tent camping but we'll go to a drive-in theater for a late show instead of a campfire. Ice Wars is a bunch of competitions like largest snowball, catapult target shooting, fastest hole drilled through the ice, ... and whatever else gets planned.
Surprisingly, the highlight of the night for some scouts was Balloons. I handed each scout a balloon and said the task was to come up with an activity for a patrol to do using just balloons. I figured it would take 10 minutes, but after playing with the ballons for about 50 minutes it was time for bed.

This morning, all the troop leaders joined us for the Training session. Three Life scouts helped present EDGE and other skill instruction sessions. It went very well. Each scout has a couple very good goals for their term which will make a big impact on the troop. We finished with lunch and sent everyone home.

Now, we just need to follow through with the commitments made.

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At our Troop Leader Training this morning, the topic of electronic devices came up again followed by the discussion of allowing them on campouts or not. It was pretty amazing how many of the scouts now have iPhones, iPods (Nano, Shuffle, Touch, Video, Photo, Mini), cellphones, and the like. From 6th graders on up, everyone had some device - in the past it has usually been one or two of the older scouts.

A few of them also mentioned that they had destroyed a device from rain, dropping, or losing it. That's another good reason to leave them at home when camping. But, I found online that there are a lot of iphone accessories and other supplemental gear to help protect these expensive gadgets - everything from cleaning kits to aluminum cases. Maybe some ideas out there for your scout's Christmas.

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When teaching is done in our troop, the scouts are always expected to use the EDGE techniques. At every Troop Leader Training session, these skills are covered and the Troop Guides and Instructors are continually reminded of the importance of this process.
We also have guidelines that teaching is done to groups no larger than 8 but preferably smaller, materials are prepared and available before the training, and every session has a short reflection time for feedback.

The EDGE technique is:

• Explain - describe what is to be accomplished and how it is done. Possibly more detailed background explanation of how something works. For example, using a compass to find a direction and explaining how a compass needle points north.
• Demonstrate - show the skill or task being done so the audience can see a correct way to do it. At the same time, explain what you are doing so your actions tie back into the Explain step. For example, hold the compass flat, turn until you are facing north and make sure everyone sees the needle pointing the way.
• Guide - let the learner try the skill while the teacher helps him as needed. This may need to be done multiple times until the learner can perform the skill unaided. For example, each scout locates west on his compass and turns until he is facing west.
• Enable - each learner performs the skill unaided while the teacher watches to ensure correct technique. For example, tell everyone to find southwest on their compass and face that direction. If any are facing incorrectly, the teacher needs to go back to Guide with them.

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Our troop is planning a Lock-in at the church for a Friday night in November. The scouts bring movies and watch them on the TV in the youth room. Unfortunately, with 40 or 50 scouts, a TV doesn't cut it any longer. We need something bigger.

An LCD projector hooked up to a DVD player and sound system would be perfect. We can show huge movies on the gym wall and it's like being in a movie theater. I have an LCD projector in my basement and my sons have had their patrols over to watch movies. But, I don't know if I really want it around the whole troop on the loose since it is quite expensive.

Instead of risking personal equipment, there are companies that rent and ship projectors around the country. For about $140, you can have a projector for the weekend. With 30 scouts, that's just $4.50 each for movies all night long. Actually, it arrives on Thursday and you return it on Monday, so you have access to it for four nights and three days.

If you are thinking about your own home theater like I have or something for troop presentations, then renting is a way to try it and see if it will work out before making a big investment.

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The plastic "Progress Towards Ranks" piece of the "Immediate Recognition Kit" (Item No. 01804) is being recalled by the manufacturer, Kahoot Products, Inc. The item may contain lead levels in excess of U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission standards in the paint on the totem badge. This is a voluntary recall and, pending formalization of the recall details, all consumers are urged to remove the Cub Scout Recognition Totem Badge from the child's possession and kept in a safe place where only adults have access. Detailed instructions for returning the product for replacement will be provided by the manufacturer and posted as soon as they are available. The manufacturer has received no reports of any injuries resulting from the use of the kits, but are urging this action as a precautionary measure. Please share this information with the other leaders and parents of Cub Scouts. You can read Kahoot's Recall Letter.

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When a scout takes on a leadership position, he needs to identify goals for his term in office. Whether he's an SPL, Quartermaster, or Bugler, he should have a few goals that he will complete before the next scout takes his spot. To help scouts create and meet these goals, BSA training uses the SMART acronym.

• Specific - know exactly what completion of the goal will look like. Use Who, What, Where, When, How, and Why to define the goal. Rather than "Make the troop more fun", a specific goal would be "Have each patrol leader pick a troop meeting and have his patrol present a new skit at it to make meetings more fun."
  Specific goals help to focus efforts and minimize wasted time and effort.
• Measurable - know how you can tell when the goal is accomplished. Answering questions like "How many?" or "How much?" means the goal is measurable. A goal about improving the rank advancement of new scouts could be measured by how many advance at least one rank during my term. Larger goals may have measurable milestones so tracking of progress is possible while the goal is not yet complete.
• Attainable - believe that the goal can actually be accomplished given your resources and time. That doesn't mean it needs to be an easy goal - stretching abilities helps raise the belief in what is possible.
  It should be possible to describe what resources are required to reach the goal and show that they are, or will be, available. Setting a goal of a high adventure trip to Spain this year may not be attainable, but planning it for 1 or 2 years away could be.
• Relevant – make sure the goal relates to the job and has importance to the organization. Having the SPL plan a Cycling campout in a troop where only 2 scouts have bikes wouldn't be relevant. Having the Scribe design a more professional newsletter format would be relevant.
• Timely - know how long the goal will take to achieve. Without a deadline, a goal doesn't get finished. Every goal and task should have a finish date attached so progress can be tracked.

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As a leader, a scout will be called on to resolve conflicts between other scouts. Conflict isn't fun, but having a few skills to deal with it makes a leader more effective and able to keep his team unified towards the goal at hand.

The BSA youth training provides conflict resolution training. The EAR acronym emhpasizes the value of listening and then working to fix a situation.

EAR - Express, Address, Resolve

• Express - each person should be given the opportunity to tell their side and express how they view the situation. Equal time is given to all sides and no jumping to conclusions or prejudging should happen.
• Address - after listening to the involved parties, the leader voices the concerns so everyone understands the issues to be resolved. This ensures everyone is trying to work through the same problem, even though from different views. Acceptable changes to the situation that will ease concerns are discussed.
• Resolve - a plan evolves that will effectively resolve the conflict. This may be an obvious decision or may require each party giving up something to meet a compromise for complex issues. The leader needs to work so each side feels as good as possible about the solution.

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I found a site called pyramydair.com that is having a contest for blogs like mine. If enough of my visitors click this air guns link, then I will win my choice of items from their catalog, under $150. Pretty simple, huh?

So, I looked through their site and it's amazing how many pistols and rifles there are available that shoot pellets, BBs, rubber balls, darts, and even biodegradable ammo. There are air guns manufactured in USA, England, Czech Republic, China, Italy, Germany, and on and on - not just the old Daisy or Crosman choice.

But, that's still what I plan to go with when I win. I'll get the trusty old Red Ryder rifle by Daisy. It's a classic and my sons still enjoy watching 'A Christmas Story' where poor Ralphie will surely 'shoot his eye out' if he gets his own "official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and 'this thing' which tells time" - to quote Ralphie.
The current model holds 650 BBs rather than just 200 but it still has a leather thong on the handle and an engraved stock. Besides, since the price is so reasonable on the Red Ryder's I'm hoping I can get 4 of them so the scouts can use them on our next Shooting campout. Being that 'thrifty' kind of guy, the Red Ryder is on sale to boot, so that makes it even more attractive.
I also have two nephews that are at least as dangerous as Ralphie and probably WOULD shoot each others eye out. :-)

The folks at Pyramyd Air have an imaginative way to get visitors to explore more of their site and report any problems, typos, or mistakes they encounter. In the upper right of the screen, there is a link that says "Want to get 5% off?" If you click that, it gives you more information about the program, but basically you tell them about an error you found or just a suggestion to make the site better and they'll send you a 5% off coupon. So, if you decide to buy a few air guns for Christmas gifts, get that coupon first and knock off $15 off a $300 order.

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The theme of Youth Leadership Training Continuum (YLTC) is Be-Know-Do. The BSA has reduced the leadership position training to these three core concepts in an effort to streamline the training and cover what is critical to successful leadership.

• Be - the values and attributes needed for a character of leadership. This is the internalizing of the Scout Law.
• Know - the skills needed for successful leadership. This includes technical scouting skills as well as interpersonal, communication, and planning abilities.
• Do - applying the character and knowledge to a specific position or situation. The leader uses his abilities to influence, motivate, direct, and participate to have his team complete a goal.

By focusing on Be-Know-Do, training covers character building, skills development, and teamwork necessary for a scout to create and lead a successful team.

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The Boy Scouts of America has a vision to be the foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training in the country. To support that vision, a Youth Leadership Training Continuum has been developed. It currently consists or three courses that work together to develop leadership in scouts.

The material in these courses is taken from the very best leadership courses available in many settings, even corporate executive training.

The courses are:

• TLT - Troop Leadership Training should be conducted by every boy scout troop with each change in troop leadership. This three-hour course is led by the SPL and Scoutmaster to train every youth leader. The three main sections focus on troop organization, methods of leading and teaching, and specific leadership position responsibilities.
• NYLT - National Youth Leadership Training is a week-long camp offered by each council to further build on the concepts introduced in TLT by simulating a month in the life of a troop. Participants learn about team development, leadership skills toolbox, and application of skills back in their home troop.
• NAYLE - National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience provides practical application of NYLT skills in a wilderness setting at Philmont. It includes COPE, GPS, WFA, LNT - got that? :-)

If you've used the 'old' JLT troop training program that was a complete course, the new TLT is just a couple page outline with very little direction. It is up to the SPL and Scoutmaster to make up and present the training they feel is important. TLT is specifically intended to quickly tell new youth leaders what they need to do and its success relies on the SPL having NYLT experience. If you have an opportunity to acquire an old JLT program, I recommend you get it so you can have more ideas available.
Since our troop does TLT twice a year and have been doing it forever, it goes smoothly and gets the new leaders ready for their jobs.

The NYLT course in our council is great according to the 6 scouts that have attended from our troop - 2 each summer. The troop pays for their camp in exchange for their commitment to use their new skills to guide the troop. The expanded understanding of EDGE, EAR, SMART, SSC, and Be-Know-Do is helping to bring the troop to a higher plateau of overall skills and leadership.

I don't have experience with NAYLE, but there is a web site with more info.

Hey, don't worry about all those TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) I tossed around. I'll be blogging about them over the next few days.

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