Scouting Maverick: Scout Better

Author: Aren Cambre

  • UMC’s BSA shift is a blueprint, inflection, and opportunity

    UMC’s BSA shift is a blueprint, inflection, and opportunity

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    Aren Cambre
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    The United Methodist Church gave us a blueprint to ditch the obsolete chartered-organization model.

  • Scout units should never have bylaws

    Scout units should never have bylaws

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    Aren Cambre
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    (Editorial comment: Sacred cows are tasty. Apparently bylaws are some people’s sacred cows. Many comments are reacting to sentiments not expressed in this article. To be clear: it is good to document practices. It’s not good to turn them into formal bylaws.) While formal policy’s certainty may be appealing, it is a bad idea for…

  • Don’t renew inactive adult leaders

    Don’t renew inactive adult leaders

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    Aren Cambre
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    Scout units often have non-participating adult leaders. Renewing them is a poor practice. This is not a call to ingloriously kick them out. It is a call to conversation. After I share why inactive adults should not be renewed, I give conversation ideas. Why Being an adult leader means a high level of access to…

  • Scouting must be fun, adventure, and meaning

    Scouting must be fun, adventure, and meaning

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    Aren Cambre
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    I’ve talked to many who were in Scouting decades ago. Their best memories: fun, adventure, and meaning. Not badges. Do a two-point test on everything your Scout unit does: Is it fun or adventure, or does it get you there? Is it something meaningful that the Scout or family don’t get otherwise? (e.g., challenging family…

  • Upgraded Venturing Activity Planning Form

    Upgraded Venturing Activity Planning Form

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    Aren Cambre
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    BSA’s Venturing Activity Planning Worksheet hits the right topics, but it’s an old-school, print-only PDF. Here’s a Google Docs version: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q8gQJ3rNGPLvbPdtP2d__6uawclVRlx2kAcZADgzij0/edit?usp=sharing. Copy it, then change the red text. The Google Docs version helps with collaboration, sharing, and assuring access to current information. This follows BSA’s wording and structure, with light changes where needed.

  • Do they want to come back?

    Do they want to come back?

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    Aren Cambre
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    “Do they want to come back?” Leaders must ask that after every Scout event. “Do they want to come back?” Nothing else matters until that answer is “yes”! If they don’t want to come back, they won’t do advancement. If they don’t want to come back, they won’t come to the next campout. If they…

  • Deciphering BSA medical forms

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    Aren Cambre
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    (UPDATE: BSA updated its AHMR in December 2019. While some details are different, the big picture remains the same.) BSA’s medical forms are complicated! I made a guide to help leaders know how to check form completeness: AHMR review. To summarize, you have to make sure Parts A, B, and C are fully filled out.…

  • Linked-troop model is usually best for new girl-troops

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    Aren Cambre
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    UPDATE (2023-04-05): BSA used misinformation and toxic, racist, and sexist folklore to ban a coed-troop option. This is wrong and must stop. The right option is to allow coed. ORIGINAL: BSA’s Boy Scout program, for ages 11-17, includes girls starting February 1, 2019. It also gets a new name: Scouts BSA. While Scouts BSA troops…

  • Stop removing hats at meals

    Stop removing hats at meals

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    Aren Cambre
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    EDIT: Kudos to Camp Trevor Rees-Jones. At 2018, 2019, and 2020 Winter Camps, there was not once a prohibition on wearing hats at meals! Stop removing hats at (most) meals. It’s silly. This tradition may be centuries old. Back then, hats shielded you from grit and grime. Polluted air or dirty work made nasty hats.…