Car Camping and Backpacking - two completely different animals! Since our Troop does a lot more of the former, it is a big deal for us to get prepared for a backpacking trip. On regular camping trips, where we get to bring just about anything we want, there are many opportunities to explore cooking and pioneering and a few other outdoor skills that benefit from the lack of gear restrictions. But other than a cold weather overnighter or a long rainy weekend, I don't think there is a whole lot of character-building. And there's always the cars parked nearby, that allow us as leaders to sleep a little easier knowing we could easily handle any little emergency that might crop up.
Backpacking is a whole different ball game. EVERYTHING you choose to have along with you on your venture must be carried on your back and then back home again. Even lots of very heavy water, which we always assume will be unavailable on the trail. I think this teaches so much to us all, especially the young boys involved. They understand to a limited extent what we mean when we say how important it is to bring the right equipment and the right amount of it. Too much weight on your back is a killer, but not having something you really need is an unhappy situation to be in. Before heading out, make sure you understand what your true needs are for a backpacking trip or ask someone for help. We have a lot of experienced backpackers in the Troop. Take advantage of their knowledge. It'll make you trip a lot more pleasant.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
A few words on the Merit Badge
Those of us who make a week at summer camp part of our activities for the year know that a large part of the experience is about earning a lot of merit badges. It has for some, become the way to acquire merit badges. I guess that's okay, but I have had personal reservations about that approach all along. I guess it would be more accurate to say I have mixed feelings.
I should preface my comments with a mention that it was much harder to get a merit badge when I was in Boy Scouts. First, we had to wait until we were First Class and second, we were subject to a standard Board of Review before the badge was considered earned. I am not about to suggest that this is how a merit badge should be earned, but it is hard for me to see them given out so easily at summer camp.
My comments are only relevant to what I have seen at Camp Yawgoog, where my Troop goes every summer. The counselors there are sometimes as young as 15 years old. Hardly what I consider mature enough or learned enough to be qualified for the job, but Yawgoog does have a very comprehensive training program, so I'm sure these boys have been tested. By week 7, they seem a little tired and worn down, so I fear they skim over things a bit from time to time.
Another merit badge issue I have is with counselors who sigh up only for the Troop they have a son in. Why do I have a problem with this? On one hand, it is a good way to have parents share their skills with their home Troop and get involved in the mentoring aspect of Scouting. If not for their own son, they probably would not consider signing up at all. But one very important aspect of earning a merit badge can be potentially lost on this approach. When a boy has to seek out and contact a total stranger, then make an appointment to see them, dressed in full uniform, prepared to discuss the merit badge, something very important is learned. It has to do with learning how to present yourself to a new person, an adult. It is about doing a little research and making a series of phone calls to sort out who might be the best choice of counselor. All that reinforces what Scouting is essentially about, building self-reliance, character and confidence.
Earning a merit badge is really about exploring a new skill. maybe one that a boy is already interested in or something he thinks he might want to know more about. When he does it with a friend from the Troop and with a person not previously known to him, the benefits are many.
I should preface my comments with a mention that it was much harder to get a merit badge when I was in Boy Scouts. First, we had to wait until we were First Class and second, we were subject to a standard Board of Review before the badge was considered earned. I am not about to suggest that this is how a merit badge should be earned, but it is hard for me to see them given out so easily at summer camp.
My comments are only relevant to what I have seen at Camp Yawgoog, where my Troop goes every summer. The counselors there are sometimes as young as 15 years old. Hardly what I consider mature enough or learned enough to be qualified for the job, but Yawgoog does have a very comprehensive training program, so I'm sure these boys have been tested. By week 7, they seem a little tired and worn down, so I fear they skim over things a bit from time to time.
Another merit badge issue I have is with counselors who sigh up only for the Troop they have a son in. Why do I have a problem with this? On one hand, it is a good way to have parents share their skills with their home Troop and get involved in the mentoring aspect of Scouting. If not for their own son, they probably would not consider signing up at all. But one very important aspect of earning a merit badge can be potentially lost on this approach. When a boy has to seek out and contact a total stranger, then make an appointment to see them, dressed in full uniform, prepared to discuss the merit badge, something very important is learned. It has to do with learning how to present yourself to a new person, an adult. It is about doing a little research and making a series of phone calls to sort out who might be the best choice of counselor. All that reinforces what Scouting is essentially about, building self-reliance, character and confidence.
Earning a merit badge is really about exploring a new skill. maybe one that a boy is already interested in or something he thinks he might want to know more about. When he does it with a friend from the Troop and with a person not previously known to him, the benefits are many.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Go Ahead and Ask
When a new Scout joins our Troop, we go out of our way to make it clear how Boy Scouts will be different from Cub Scouts. I think we sometimes throw the baby out with the bath water to some extent. In our effort to make it perfectly clear that Boy Scouts is boy run, we give the parents the permission to but out all together. Please don't! It's a tricky thing for us leaders to learn to balance on the fine line of letting them do for themselves (read: develop a sense of independence) and helping when needed. We learn, through both BSA Training and experience how to master this. There is a very effective model called E.D.G.E., which we teach to our youth leaders and adult leaders alike. E=explain, D=demonstrate, G=guide, E=enable.
As parents, we can EXPLAIN the importance of being on time to meetings (and demonstrate this by leaving home in plenty of time) and EXPLAIN that it is important to remember to bring home any information that you need.
You can DEMONSTRATE your support of Scouting by coming to an occasional Committee meeting or campout. Scouts with involved parents are most likely to stay with the program and even reach Eagle.
You can GUIDE them (especially for the first few years) by asking them if they have remembered to bring their handbooks to meetings and by making sure they get weekly calls.
Most important, you can ENABLE them by supplying them with proper uniform and equipment, by helping them prioritize their busy lives to include campouts. ENABLE in this case, means supply with the tools they need to be successful, whether that be gear or encouragement.
As parents, we can EXPLAIN the importance of being on time to meetings (and demonstrate this by leaving home in plenty of time) and EXPLAIN that it is important to remember to bring home any information that you need.
You can DEMONSTRATE your support of Scouting by coming to an occasional Committee meeting or campout. Scouts with involved parents are most likely to stay with the program and even reach Eagle.
You can GUIDE them (especially for the first few years) by asking them if they have remembered to bring their handbooks to meetings and by making sure they get weekly calls.
Most important, you can ENABLE them by supplying them with proper uniform and equipment, by helping them prioritize their busy lives to include campouts. ENABLE in this case, means supply with the tools they need to be successful, whether that be gear or encouragement.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Ready, set, Yawgoog!
It's just over one week until we head of again to Camp Yawgoog for what I like to call "seven days away from reality". It doesn't have to be that way. Some Scoutmasters head down to the lodge every day to read the papers and chat about the outside world. If something really big happens, like a major blackout of the entire East Coast, someone will let me know, but usually, I just "skip" that week as far as anything outside Yawgoog goes. Sadly, this year, I will be missing most of the Olympics, which I really do look forward to, but that's why there's DVRs!
What comes of this for the boys is something different. It's a week away from TV, parents, scheduled activities, friends and , for some, work. But it's truly good for them. I enjoy watching the growth in each boy over the time we have them, but Summer Camp is a condensed version of that growth process. In one week I learn every boys name, their ability to plan and follow through, what makes them mad and what makes them laugh. By the end of the week, 30+/- boys go from being a random group of boys to a disciplined, focused and more confident team. New leaders get a crash course and will be much more ready to handle their respective responsibilities when we resume activities in September. Someone will conquer his fear of insects, another will experience his first week away from parents. Still others will learn to swim, use a pocketknife safely and others will just learn to get used to living in tight quarters with his peers, friends and otherwise, for seven days. but it's all good. I dread it every year, but I am always glad I went. Someone will meltdown sometime late Tuesday, but we'll fix it and by the last Sunday, all will return smelly and with smiles on their faces. I guarantee it!
What comes of this for the boys is something different. It's a week away from TV, parents, scheduled activities, friends and , for some, work. But it's truly good for them. I enjoy watching the growth in each boy over the time we have them, but Summer Camp is a condensed version of that growth process. In one week I learn every boys name, their ability to plan and follow through, what makes them mad and what makes them laugh. By the end of the week, 30+/- boys go from being a random group of boys to a disciplined, focused and more confident team. New leaders get a crash course and will be much more ready to handle their respective responsibilities when we resume activities in September. Someone will conquer his fear of insects, another will experience his first week away from parents. Still others will learn to swim, use a pocketknife safely and others will just learn to get used to living in tight quarters with his peers, friends and otherwise, for seven days. but it's all good. I dread it every year, but I am always glad I went. Someone will meltdown sometime late Tuesday, but we'll fix it and by the last Sunday, all will return smelly and with smiles on their faces. I guarantee it!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Scouts with Cell Phones
It's late July, and for our Troop, that means all my focus is on get the Troop ready for Summer Camp. I spent my first week at Yawgoog eight years ago. In those days, few Scout Leaders and NO scouts had cell phones. If you had one, likely you couldn't get any kind of usable signal. A boy spending a week in camp was expected to be there to grow, and part of that meant going a week without mom or dad, save the exchanges of "care packages" and postcards home. Everything in Scouting has a purpose and the rules of Camp Yawgoog exemplify that philosophy. It was a RULE that scouts were not to use the pay phone to call home without permission from and knowledge of the Scoutmaster. Calls home were for emergency only. I remember the year the three boys from our Troop broke that rule, skipped out on lunch and went to call home. Guess what, they got sent home! I was not the Scoutmaster then, but those were the rules. In truth, the three sent home wanted to be sent home.
Now things are very different with regard to cell phones, though little else has changed at Yawgoog. I can only ask the cell phones are left home, but it's very difficult to enforce. My only choice would be to search every trunk and every pocket and lock the phones away until the last day of camp, but I have never taken that action and I don't think I should start. But I am STRONGLY against the use of cell phones in camp by boys. Leaders have responsibilities and businesses at home that they leave to spend time in camp, so they are excused from the cell phone ban. Officially, they are asked to use them discreetly and as infrequently as possible.
The use of ipods, Gameboys and cell phones is in direct opposition to what we try to accomplish by taking the boys to summer camp. If there is an emergency, they will have a phone made available to them. Please, please do not send them to camp with cell phones.
Now things are very different with regard to cell phones, though little else has changed at Yawgoog. I can only ask the cell phones are left home, but it's very difficult to enforce. My only choice would be to search every trunk and every pocket and lock the phones away until the last day of camp, but I have never taken that action and I don't think I should start. But I am STRONGLY against the use of cell phones in camp by boys. Leaders have responsibilities and businesses at home that they leave to spend time in camp, so they are excused from the cell phone ban. Officially, they are asked to use them discreetly and as infrequently as possible.
The use of ipods, Gameboys and cell phones is in direct opposition to what we try to accomplish by taking the boys to summer camp. If there is an emergency, they will have a phone made available to them. Please, please do not send them to camp with cell phones.
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