Ramblings Blog


  A Wing and a Scoutmaster's Minute

In case you haven’t noticed, kids today are fully immersed in pop culture. And they often learn better from watching videos than from hearing someone talk. So where does that leave you if you still give traditional Scoutmaster’s minutes that you heard when you were a kid? In the Stone Age, perhaps.A good way to bring your Scoutmaster’s minutes up to date is to tee them up with movie clips. Show a quick clip from... [More]

By: Scott Robertson On: 2014-06-17

  Old Hat, New Eyes

I recently participated in a campout with a dozen high-school students from my church’s youth group. We camped at a local state park, took a very short (two-mile) hike, and ate what I would consider pretty straightforward meals, including trail lunches, Dutch oven cobbler, and pancakes.But here’s the deal. Some of the students had never been camping beyond their backyards, and they were amazed. They loved seeing the stars at night, they loved exploring a... [More]

By: Scott Robertson On: 2014-06-14

  Mike Rowe’s Eagle Scout Letter

There’s little doubt that Mike Rowe, best known as host of TV’s “Dirty Jobs,” was the star of the closing arena show at the 2010 National Scout Jamboree, a role he reprised again this summer. But did you know that Rowe, an Eagle Scout from Baltimore, will send a personalized letter of congratulations to any new Eagle Scout?You can read the letter, and learn how to request a copy, at http://www.mikeroweworks.com/scrap-yard/eagle-scout-letter/. Quite different from the... [More]

By: Scott Robertson On: 2014-06-12

  Minute Judging, Part 2

In my last tip, I argued that no slide show at a court of honor should last longer than three or four minutes, the length of the typical pop song. Of course, you may have many more slides of your honoree that you’d like to show.If that’s the case, never fear. A great time to show additional slides is as guests arrive. It’s a great way to introduce your honoree in a fun way before... [More]

By: Scott Robertson On: 2014-06-10

  Camping and “Close Boys”

I recently came across a Scouter with an intersting problem that I thought I would share. Maybe you can gain some insight by what they are dealing with and some of the suggestions they received.I was baffled by some events at scout camp this past week. Attending with my troop were two 16-year-old boys. They tented together and are generally good boys.During the week, however, it seemed they may have been more intimate than what... [More]

By: Scott Robertson On: 2014-06-07

  Returning to the Summit

After two weeks at the National Scout Jamboree, I’m finally getting used to hot-water showers and a real bed again!Although it was not without its challenges, the Jamboree was a great event, and it showed the potential of the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia as a major new high-adventure destination. Programming at SBR will be very different from programming at the BSA’s other high-adventure bases, however.First, the trips will be shorter (just one week),... [More]

By: Scott Robertson On: 2014-06-05

  Minute Judging - Eagle Tip

One of my favorite impromptu Scout games is minute judging. It works like this: Everyone sits on the floor, and a judge with a stopwatch shouts “Go!” Without looking at their watches, the Scouts stand up when they think a minute is passed. Some pop up after 30 seconds; others wait much longer than a minute. The winner, of course, is the Scout who gets up the closets to the one-minute mark. So what does... [More]

By: Scott Robertson On: 2014-06-03

  Special Need Scouts

Todays post comes to us thanks to the great folks at the Scout-L mailing list. Bob Carlson started it off with this post:This article was FRONT PAGE on the St. Louis newspaper this morning, forwarded from our Special Needs Scouts Coordinator. It's the can do, rather than the can't do that counts.http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/troop-offers-haven-for-scouts-who-won-t-give-up/article_2d646403-e9ea-54d3-9325-346708adad73.html.<http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/troop-offers-haven-for-scouts-who-won-t-give-up/article_2d646403-e9ea-54d3-9325-346708adad73.html Barry Runnels has this to sayThat would be nice, but our troop had several special needs scouts and the challenge to give them... [More]

By: Scott Robertson On: 2014-05-31

  Guide to Advancement

The Advancement Team (professional) and National Advancement Committee (volunteer) will be doing updates to the education materials going forward, including the approved national advancement trainers, Advancement News articles, the advancement webinars and many other resources.For those who have concerns about merit badges, go see the changes to section 7 - quite a few changes that will address the most egregious issues. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf I found this to be an interesting rant that goes hand in hand... [More]

By: Scott Robertson On: 2014-05-29

  Thanks for the Memories

Last week in the mail, I received a nice surprise: a postcard from three Scouts in Milford, Pa., who’d used my book, The Eagle Court of Honor Book, to plan their court of honor. You can see the front of the card at the right.That card made me think of all the people an Eagle Scout might want to thank after his court of honor: the emcee, other presenters, the people who planned the reception,... [More]

By: Scott Robertson On: 2014-05-27


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