JohnScout

I appreciate all the hits I’ve received from folks searching for Scoutmaster Minutes.  You’re probably like me, scrambling for a few last minute words of wisdom.  Not too much, not too little, knowing you’re the only thing between your Scouts and the door home. I’ve adapted quite a few SM Minutes fr

SM Minute—An Indian Boy’s Training Excerpts from Charles Alexander Eastman‘s 1902 book, Indian Boyhood. Very early, the Indian boy assumed the task of preserving and transmitting the legends of his ancestors and his race. Almost every evening a myth, or a true story of some deed done in the poast, w

SM Minute—Your Hunger Games Many of you have read, or may have seen the new movie based on the teen novel, Hunger Games.  Not to give away the end of the story, but the trilogy follows a teenager in a future dystopia—a future in which most everything that can go wrong has gone wrong.  In [...]

SM Minute—Persistence Ahead of the Presidents’ Day holiday, I’d like to share a quote from Calvin Coolidge, who was our thirtieth president, serving from 1923 to 1930.  He was known as a man of few words—one of his nicknames was “Silent Cal,” but here’s one thing he said: “Nothing in the world can t

Four Winds Ceremony for Arrow of Light Den Leader:  Our Pack is gathered to recognize some of our brothers who have achieved the highest rank in Cub Scouting, the Arrow of Light. Second Year Webelos Scouts, please step forward with your parents. The Founders of Scouting learned many things from thos

SM Minute—The Founders Next Sunday is Scout Sunday, when we celebrate the founding of the BSA by William D. Boyce on 8 February 1910.  Boyce, as you know, brought Scouting to the US from England, where the movement was started by Robert Baden-Powell. Robert S.S. Baden-Powell As a youth, Robert Baden

SM Minute—Parable of the Toothpaste Have you ever squeezed too much toothpaste out of a tube of toothpaste and tried to put it back in the tube? It can’t be done, can it?  No matter how hard you try, the toothpaste is out of the tube forever. When you think about toothpaste, think about the [...]

Yes, Scouters, JohnScout didn’t fall off a cliff without 2-deep leadership.  Just been a bit pre-occupied with Rechartering two units (Internet Recharter hates me!), helping my den of Webelos Cubs complete their Arrow of Light, and a bit of distraction that is Presidential politics.  What a year 201

Scoutmaster Minute—The Strong Link From the TransAtlantic Council, Resources for Scouters: These pieces of rope are a lot like individual Scouts. You can use these ropes for knot tying practice or for tying a small package, but they’re not big enough for really big jobs. (Call up two or three Scouts

Scoutmaster Minute— 3 Uniforms Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda, retired manager of the Los Angles Dodgers, says that he has worn three uniforms in his lifetime, and that all three were very important to him. The obvious one is that of Dodger blue, as he managed the Dodgers to many pennants and two World