I want to be Scoutmaster while my son is in Scouts

[scoutingtexas]

I want to help with Scouts by being ScoutMaster. My son is in Scouts and I want to help him and all the boys advance to the best potential. How do I put my name in to be Scoutmaster?

[Liz]

Unless you're aware of a local troop that doesn't already have a Scoutmaster, your best bet is to volunteer as an Assistant Scoutmaster in your son's troop. Just go with him and talk to the Scoutmaster or a member of the Committee. They can get you the proper paperwork. If they already have plenty of adult volunteers and don't need any more ASMs, then I would suggest starting out with counseling some merit badges or making yourself useful in other ways.

 

Each troop only has one Scoutmaster, and honestly I don't think it would be a good idea to jump right in and be a Scoutmaster without having considerable experience in other Adult Leadership capacities first. Possibly, if there were an active troop whose Scoutmaster just moved away, retired, died, etc., and they were really desperate, *maybe* someone without any experience might be better than nobody at all; but even then that's questionable.

 

If you're only going to commit to Scouts as long as your son is interested, Scoutmaster isn't for you. A troop needs more continuity than that, if possible. If, once you're involved, you decide you want to make a longer-term commitment to Scouting, be sure to take advantage of as much of the Adult Leader training opportunities offered by your Council as you can. Then you'll be prepared to volunteer when a Scoutmaster position is vacated in one of your local troops at some point in the future.

 

Best of luck!

 

-Liz

 

 

[BeaverIII]

To answer your question the Chartered Organization approves all adult leaders and the Scoutmaster works for the CO. However

 

Ya know theres an old saying. Be careful what you wish forfor you may surely get it.

 

Im a little confused about your posting. You say you want to help your son and others "advance to the best potential. Does that mean you want your son and the other boys to advance in rank as far as they can, even as far as Eagle Scout? Or does it mean that you want to help deliver the promise of Scouting using the aims and methods, one of which is advancement. As Beavah put it so well in another thread; advancement is part of the game with a purpose, not a purpose unto itself. After all one boys best potential is not the same as his peer.

 

Im also curious as to why you feel that you are the best person to help these boys. I get the feeling that there is information that you are UNWILLING to share about the troop.

 

 

[ScoutNut]

If your Troop's Charter Organization and Committee Chair are happy with your current SM, the most you can do is to mention to your COR that if the current SM ever decides to step down, you would like to be considered.

 

 

[Beavah]

Yah, scoutingtexas, welcome to the forums.

 

How do you put your name in to be Scoutmaster in an existing troop?

 

Simple answer. You don't.

 

Scoutmaster is a "by invitation only" position, eh? If there's a need for a new Scoutmaster, the COR and troop committee will discuss the need, consider possible candidates, and then approach da best person for the job with an invitation.

 

I agree with Lisa'bob and BeaverIII, eh? If you are interested in the position to help your son (first...and also other boys...), then you'll never be a good SM. A SM works for the Organization and the troop first, and then for the leadership boys and the boys most in need of his/her attention. If a parent as SM can't put the program and other boys ahead of their own son, they'll be neither a good SM nor a good scouting parent, eh?

 

Might be best if yeh take a step back and give your son room to have fun and grow. Big trees can protect little ones from da rain and wind, eh? But they also block out the light needed for the saplings to grow.

 

Beavah

 

[John-in-KC]

A good Scoutmaster embraces the 3 Aims of Scouting, for the sake of all the youth in a Troop. A good Scoutmaster then embraces the 8 Methods of Boy Scouting, to serve all the youth in a Troop.

 

A good Scoutmaster follows the call of Tom Peters: Train and retrain constantly. New Leader Essentials, Scoutmaster Specific, and Outdoor Leadership for Scouters are only the beginning. He or she then seeks out Wood Badge, faithfully attends Roundtable, getting to know other Scoutmasters, the District Committee, and the Commissioner Service.

 

A good Scoutmaster is a mentor first to the Senior Patrol Leader, then to the Patrol Leaders Council, then to the Troop as a whole. Listening is a classic skill of the Scoutmaster, then being able to distill the problem, huge in a child's mind, to a simple (not necessarily easy) solution.

 

1 hour a week? More like an hour a week per boy, plus additional time for each member of the PLC.

 

The Scoutmaster also recruits, ensures training for, and coordinates the work of the Assistant Scoutmasters. The Scoutmaster must earn and retain the loyalty of those assistants.

 

You're already an Assistant Scoutmaster, from the earlier thread about visitor forms. If you are fully prepared, when the time comes for your Scoutmaster to step down, you might hear the call from your COR and Troop Committee.

[Gunny2862]

You may want to be the SM while your son is in scouting, but I can't really see the advantage if you are already functioning and trained as an ASM. ( I am currently in the position you seek and to add to the issue my son is currently a First Class Scout who won the last election and is the SPL.)

 

I am going to assume that you currently work with a patrol other than the one your son is in, to avoid any appearance of favoritism and that you do not sign off on his advancement.

 

As the SM you can avoid being involved in most of his advancement (the only things I deal with for my son is the SM conference and his POR performance - with the blessing of the committee) but when he hits a POR you then tend to be involved with his effectiveness in that position.

 

Not that everything the SM does(or doesn't do) isn't already called into question but as the SM EVERYTHING that involves your son gets more scrutiny and because you are SO visible you wind up ensuring that your son occasionally may not get a "free" opportunity that you wouldn't deny another Scout in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety. And Baden-Powell, prevent the day the Boy screws it up and has to answer to the Committee for a BAD judgment call - because as the SM's son he might not get a break that would be given to another Scout - to avoid looking like they were giving favorable treatment.

 

And finally, it's hard for both of you to remember that some of the time Dad is DAD and some of the time Dad is Scoutmaster and some of the time Son is Scout and some of the time Son is SON - and because of this sometime conflicts at Scouting play out at home and Conflicts at home play out in Scouting. It's not the bed of roses you might think it is and I would say that my son and I do very well in this department(so far) - much better than a couple of other local SM's have said they did when in the same position with their sons.

 

I have the position you want, I won't abandon it but I didn't seek it(available warm body who didn't turn it down) and would have been very happy to have continued on in the ASM role. It has it's rewards but consider the drawbacks for you and your son before you press on in seeking it.

 

A couple of additional considerations (I didn't read your message history) Is the current SM doing a good job? - is he looking to leave? - are you fully trained?

Is there someone else in the queue for the position who would be better for the Troop?

[prairie]

For your son to get the most out of scouting he needs to work with other adults. I'm usually more impressed with a Star or Life scout with little parrant involvement than a Eagle whose dad is SM.

[scottmphoto]

As a Scoutmaster who's Scout son just turned 12 years old. I applaud your interest with wanting to help out. Sometimes, a Scouts parents just don't care enough.

It is hard to be both a SM and a Scout parent. You have to work hard to make sure that nobody can say that you are giving your son any special treatment. Sometimes, the boy may get treated harder than he would be if he was not the SM's son just so that nobody can claim that he's getting that special treatment.

It is very hard sometimes to act solely as a SM and not as a parent. If you really want to help out, try volunteering as an ASM or in some other adult position. Give your son room to grow on his own (with the help of the older Scouts).

I love being SM and wouldn't want to give it up for anything in the world. I want to be able to give to every Scout (especially my son) what my old Scoutmaster passed on to me...the joy and love of being a Scout.

 

 

[jtswestark]

Great advice from Gunny & Scott! I returned to Boy Scouting when my son was in Webelos. I wasnt an ASM long, but was lucky to have the outgoing SM mentor me for over a year.

 

I would suggest you get signed up as an ASM and get trained right away. But then learn patiently: Scouting is a journey for us as it is for the Scouts. If I had a buck for every new leader that came in blazing guns about doing this or that, only to find that six months later theyre onto the next shiny object that caught their eye and Im stuck finishing up their incomplete projects. Dont be that! If the situation is good, you will know it. If the committee sees that you bring good and stable leadership to the troop, they may ask you. You can drop some subtle hints that you would like the role, but unless theres a reason to change the committee and the SM wont be very interested in making one. Dont start undermining a situation that is working well. Now that said, he needs a break every now and then. Without one he will burn out much faster and end up leaving. You can really help by being a strong backup to reliably be able to let him miss some meetings and campouts here and there. Youll find your comfort place, be content and accept what is best for the Troop.

 

As far as being your sons SM, its not all that its cracked up to be. The SM I replaced taught me a huge lesson for leaders: you watch my son, Ill watch yours. And I tried to always do that. My son has never come to me for a SM conference (but I've playfully been accused 'he probably gets one every evening going home after Scouts!); and Ive always been able to keep an arms length away from him during Scouting events. In fact, in the beginning he probably had a harder road because of my expectations. Proudly, they arent my expectations anymore, they are his own. Hes succeeding in Scouting because of himself, not me, and his Scouting resume will rival most (way past mine). I dont want crap like Prairie stated to be said about him. He values and lives this stuff, way more than I ever did as a kid. Lesson learned and goals achieved: what more could a SM or a Dad want?

(This message has been edited by jtswestark)

[John-in-KC]

For all:

 

From posting history: scoutingtexas is the Assistant Scoutmaster who opened the thread on Visitor Forms.

 

I thought you might want to know.

[Gold Winger]

I guess she(?) figures that if she becomes SM, she can keep the intimated hank-panky to a minimum.

 

 

[BrotherhoodWWW]

So you'd like to be a SM? Yet in the other topic you started you were asked several times to end the guessing game and failed to respond. Follow through is an important skill that a SM needs to have. How is your working relationship with all the other Adult leaders in your son's unit? How's your relationship with the youth in his unit?

 

As others have posted the best Scoutmasters are sometimes those without sons in the program. A SM committment should be a 5+ year committment IMHO. Stable adult leadership helps the troop's program.

[scoutingtexas]

I did answer this once but it didn't post.

 

I have been in scouts many years, been to many trainings. I was in this same troop many years ago when the previous SM was asked to leave from poor performance. I still talk to this man today and he said he was tired but didn't know it and glad we helped him out. So sometimes from the outside looking in, I took three years off, you see the light more than when you stand in the light. We have people that are okay with the way things are going and people that have left the troop because they don't like the way things are going. Am I better maybe maybe not. Our troop has not grown but we have added boys and lost boys which will happen in all.

As far as the current SM some like the way things are run some don't, his sons are gone now, did they get Eagle yes, were they involved in the troop to get that Eagle, one some the other no, not only my opinion, but another ASM. So I see where the SM without sons can make better SM's. But when you see the troop slowing down instead of picking up is this what we want for the boys?

So would it be good to talk to the COR and the CC and ask to have my name put in for SM?

[Beavah]

So would it be good to talk to the COR and the CC and ask to have my name put in for SM?

 

In a word?

 

NO!

 

At least, not if there isn't a current or anticipated vacancy, eh?

 

For me, someone who is "pushy" about being a SM or an ASM is a red flag, eh? That says that da person for some reason really wants to have contact with kids, rather than just help the program. Creepy! Possible predator behavior, or at least someone who is goin' to be a risk and disruption.

 

As a CC or COR, I would listen to yeh, check up on things, and then gently move you out of any committee or leadership role because you're sending up red flags. There's nothing worse for a program than disruptive adults with their own agenda. If yeh didn't get the message, I would invite yeh to consider the merits of the exit door.

 

Again, Scoutmaster is a "by invitation only" role. You don't put your name in. If there is an anticipated vacancy and those in charge of making the appointment believe you are the best person for the job, you will be invited. If not, yeh won't be. Think of it like being high school football coach. You don't get to "put your name in" because you want to be your kid's football coach. Yeh don't get to decide whether the coach current coach is retained. Da school considers candidates when it has a vacancy, and looks at qualifications and fit for the program. Scoutin' is the same.

 

Beavah