Thinking ahead

[Cubmaster Randy]

Sometime I get ahead of myself, but I wanted to be ready. As a former Boy Scout and now a scouter (A scout is prepared)

My son crosses over next March and I just finished up the last part of my SM/ASM training by attending our district's ITOLS course this past weekend. It was a blast. We got to learn, relearn or in my case remember all of the skills needed for a Boy Scout to get to First Class.

I did SALT last spring so I am now a fully trained ASM. I did committee training last spring too, but don't think I want to be on the committee. I would prefer to work front line with the boys.

Any suggestions for a new Boy Scout leader?

 

 

[theysawyoucomin']

Randy,

I am about one calendar yr ahead of you as a Dad/cub Scouter turned Boy Scouter. imho do the following:

 

1. Take Wood Badge

2. Spend the first year on the troop committee. Attend a few boards of review. Enjoy some camping where you are not vital to the trip. Observe. Observe. Observe.

3. Learn the new program you are joining with your boy.

4. Improve your skills(camping,outdors, dutch oven cooking etc.)

 

 

Enjoy. Learn from the TRAINED Scouters that are doing a good job. Read the Guide to Safe Scouting. Read it again.

 

PS> Take Wood Badge is #1 for a reason.

 

Good Luck.

[Eamonn]

Hi Randy,

Glad that the training went well.

If you are going to read anything twice, please let it be The Boy Scout Handbook and the Scoutmaster Handbook (When I think I need something from the G2SS I look it up on line.)

Two really hard things for an Ex-Cub Scouter are to remember that the Lads you are now working with are no longer Cub Scouts, they are Boy Scouts. When they ask you something you need to practice saying "Have you asked your Patrol Leader?"

The other hard thing is to keep in mind that you serve the Troop the whole Troop and nothing but the Troop.

One sure way of ruining the Boy Scouting experience for your kid is to treat him as something special. He will always be your son and you can take pride in what he does, but he has to do it.

If you start treating him differently than the other Scouts, they will resent it and he will become "The Leaders Kid".

I had a hard time, when a group of Lads were doing something that maybe the oughtn't to have been doing I tended to yell at my kid. OK part of it was I could remember his name!!

But over time I did learn that he when he was at Scout functions was a Scout and just like all the other Scouts.

Some other things I learned are.

Be careful what you say when your son can hear what you say. While you might think that the COR walks like a duck, when you say on the phone and he over hears you saying it, you are not setting a very good example.

Buy and wear the full correct uniform, even if no one else does -Who knows you might start a trend?

Training and training's are good and wonderful, but it might just be that the Troop you are going to serve, might not do everything as the training said it should be. If you try and change everything. Chances are that it's not going to happen. This will leave you feeling frustrated, upset and looking for a new Troop, which isn't going to go over well with your son. Change takes time. One day when you are the SM you can remember all the great stuff from the training's and really make changes, but no one likes to see a new guy trying to change everything all at once.

The real big thing to remember is that this organization is fueled by fun. When it's not fun the kids quit and all the good stuff and all the differences and character building we might have been able to do are lost.

KISMIF.

Eamonn.

[Lisa'bob]

I second the idea of joining the committee for a year or so, even if you ultimately plan to be an ASM. Particularly if the troop your son joins isn't absolutely desparate to get another ASM signed up (they have sufficient help in this area for now).

 

In the troop my son joined, there is a fair amount of cross-over from year to year, between committee and ASM positions. (It isn't excessive, but most of our ASMs have served on the committee in the past too) I think this is healthy because it also allows the ASMs to understand and appreciate what the committee does. And of course vice versa.

 

Being on the committee DOESN'T have to mean you are barred from working with the boys. Again using my son's troop as an example, the majority of our committee members attend at least a couple of campouts each year, and some are staples at almost all the campouts. They help out as requested by the SM/ASMs, and depending on their individual strenghts. But it does mean, you have the opportunity to get a feel for the troop's culture and see where your unique talents can be applied most effectively, from a little bit of a distance. And of course it means you'll be less tempted to get overly involved in your former webelos den's activities once they are scouts - which can be tough at first! - because if you're not an ASM you probably won't be asked to work as directly with those boys on many occasions.

 

Here's hoping you and "your" boys have a great final few months in the webelos den and a smooth transition into the troop.

 

 

 

 

[Eagledad]

Hi Randy

 

I wrote this on another forum a few years ago for someone who was jumping strait from CM to SM. But I think much of it applies to everyone in your position. One other thing, relax and watch for at least six months. Relax and watch.

 

This is a little long

 

__________

 

Moving from Cubmaster to Scoutmaster

 

Our troop has several past and present CMs as adult leaders. I also went from straight from CM to SM, but I was an ASM for three years while a CM, which made a big difference. I can honestly say a CM is a terrible Troop leader until trained.

 

A CM usually leads boys in songs, skits, and cheers. That's the SPL's responsibility in the troop with the SM quietly looking on.

 

A CM sets rules and enforces behavior. In a troop, the scouts do that with the SM teaching and guiding the scouts on their performance--always behind the scenes, not during the action.

 

A CM needs to be outgoing and have the skills of an entertainer. A SM needs to appear introverted and lazy.

 

The CM is responsible for some managing of the pack adult leaders, the SM tries to keep the adults busy, yet out the scouts' way.

 

A CM gives badges to honor scouts. A SM gives responsibility to help scouts find their honor.

 

A CM leads his boys on a hike so they have a wonderful experience. A SM follows scouts to allow them to find the wonder in their experience.

 

I am not saying the CM role is any less important to the scouting program. On the contrary, like a student who learns to respect teachers for their education as they go out in society, scouts learn to respect adults for their wisdom as they move into the self independent troop program. Without that respect, a scout is less likely to seek guidance during his time in the troop.

 

The SM needs to have a good knowledge of the troop program. He needs to understand how it offers boys what few other youth organizations do--courage of conviction. Each boy has dreams, and our goal is to motivate him to strive for his dreams, not force him to fit in ours. It is important to know how scouting makes a difference for a boy. Each one of us is born with a temperament that drives our emotions. It cannot be changed or taken away because it is part of us. We need that temperament or emotions to set us in action when we are hungry, confront danger or challenged. But without the character or logical part of us to balance our temperament, we might react with anger or fear instead of reason. We are not born with character, it is something we develop from life's experiences. Our personality (what others see in us) is the balance of character and temperament working together.

 

As we grow into adults, we develop character by watching the behavior of people we respect, and by habits of behavior we develop in our environment. This is why a troop works so well, it provides a fun and adventurous environment that encourages scout to practice positive habits of behavior guided by the scout law. The challenging nature of the program sometimes pushes the scouts to struggle beyond their normal behavior where temperament overrides logical thinking and dominates their actions. Adults (and other scouts) are there to help the scout identify mistakes and guide him to learn better habits of behavior. This is how we reinforce character. If we protect our youth from struggles that show the ugly beast of over-reacting emotions, they never learn how to control themselves in those situations. Scouting is safe because we adults can monitor the boys when they are pushed to the limit. The job of the SM is to be ready to guide the change in the right direction. This is where a boy learns to be a man of character.

 

Training is a must for Scoutmastering because it gets you in the right frame of mind and gives you some leadership habits for leading a Troop. Just like boys who may overreact to emotions in struggle, adults do the same in situations they are not prepared to deal with in the troop. Start reading. First get the Scoutmaster Handbook. Learn the three Aims and the eight Methods of Scouting. Remember that you are responsible for the Aims, the Scouts are responsible for the Methods. If you start to confuse that, you're likely to focus on the scouts destination, not their journey. The destination, which is the scouts goals and dreams are the scouts responsibility. The journey, which is the troop program is the SM's responsibility. That is why you don't see any objective goals in the Aims of Scouting. You must learn to understand how the methods get you to the aims.

 

Get in the mind of the original SM by reading anything you can find on Baden-Powell and William Hillcourt. There's lots of stuff on the Internet. There is also an old publication called "Principles of Scoutmastership in Relation to Developing the boy" which is a great resource that combines the wisdom of Baden-Powell with the Aims and Methods of Scouting.

 

Practice to understand how learning to tie knots in a duct tape society can make a better man of character. Learn how good followers make great leaders. Don't set goals for any scout because that makes him follow your visions, not his. Teach the boy to set his own goals so he finds himself as he pursues them. Don't build a bunch of you, guide them to find themselves. Build a quality program for the scouts journey so that their goals are challenging, but not impossible. Help them build habits that keep their temperament in check during struggle, and use their emotions for noble motivations. Be humble in your leadership. A CM stands proudly with his scouts, a SM is the shadow behind his young men standing proud of their accomplishments.

 

Your rewards are not immediate, but come when you least expect them. Your stature will give you instant respect, but your relationship with the scouts will build lasting memories. You will have many opportunities with youth in your community as a coach, teacher, or cheering spectator. Scoutmastering is all of that, and more. You have just been given the opportunity to build men of character and leaders of integrity. You are the Master Scout.

 

If all goes well, the scouts will go home saying "I like myself when I'm with the Troop".

 

I love this Scouting Stuff.

 

Barry

 

 

[orennoah]

Yeah. What Eamon said. Couldn't have said it better.

[Beavah]

Yah, what da wise old Owl said.

 

Good on yeh for gettin' training. Keep it up. But remember that trainin' ain't the same as experience. Training only moves you from a raw beginner to a beginner. If yeh think that a couple of parlor sessions and a weekend make you competent, you don't belong in a leadership role.

 

When you enter a troop, you are a beginner. Be humble. Watch and learn. A good troop won't even consider you for an ASM position until they spend at least a year gettin' to know you, and you gettin' to know them. You need to step back, be an observer, and give your boy some room to make it his troop before you become more involved. You need at least a year as a quiet supporter to get yourself out of thinkin' like a Cubmaster. Really. You've spent years as a CM, eh? It's hard to break those habits overnight.

 

So your job is to attend committee meetings, but not speak for the first year. Keep a diary to write down all the things you think they're doin' wrong, rather than sayin' anything. You'll be amazed how silly some things are in your diary when you read it a year later. Go on no more than 1/3 of the campouts, as just a visitor. Spend your time with the experienced adults as a student, not with the boys as a leader. Watch and learn.

 

 

 

 

 

[Cubmaster Randy]

Thanks for all of the replies. I am looking forward to reading them , but I have not been able to see them for some reason cannot read them as there is a server issue and I can't see anything past the second message. I am replying blind here as all I see is this and a black spot and this error message

 

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[FScouter]

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