The information presented here covers a wide area of unit leadership topics, including Junior Leader, Adult leader, and troop operations.

Contents

Articles Of Special Note

DELTA Handbook Materials

Developing Ethical Leaders Through Action

by Beth Emshoff, Viking Council, Boy Scouts Of America, Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Center For Youth Development And Research, University Of Minnesota, St. Paul

Training material, games and activities designed to help teach ethical decision making to your scouts. A complete teaching guide, with initiative and skills games/activities, youth development information, and MUCH more. A real treasure trove for youth leaders. Formatted for on-line reading.

"Ethical development is a major aspect of a youth becoming an adult. DELTA is a method of enhancing the ethical development of a special youth - a Scout; a person who values justice, caring, and service to others.

"This book represents a very special possibility: ethically sensitive and ethically courageous Scouts and adult leaders. DELTA will show you how to make this possible.

"We invite you to join us in helping Scouts learn the skills that will prepare them to become the ethical, servant leaders of tomorrow."

- from the DELTA Handbook forward

Right, Wrong, or What? Problem Solving for Scouts

Handbook for helping Scouts to learn how to make ethical decisions. A series of exercises and real-life situations, with suggested reflection questions to stimulate discussion. In HTML for online viewing.

"The stories in this book are about kids like you who find themselves involved in difficult situations. The characters have to make tough decisions, often very quickly. As you read the stories, think about some ways that these characters can solve their problems. And try to imagine how they could have avoided the problems in the first place. There are several questions at the end of each story to help you."

- From the Handbook introduction

DELTA Materials - The "DELTA Handbook" and "Right, Wrong, or What? Problem Solving for Scouts". In Word for Windows 6.0 doc format, ready to print. zipped, (111k)

NOTE:  These books are no longer available on a regular basis. Viking Council has done special printings in the past, but this is uncertain for the future. They have never been available from the BSA.

The Importance of Training Youth Leaders

Why training your unit's adults is important.

Junior Leader Training

Working With Scouts

The "Who"

Understanding more about the boys in our Scouting units, who they are, how they learn and develop, and what motivates them helps us provide a better and more effective program.

How Cubs Learn - Learning concepts that will help us plan our programs to be more effective.

Helping Boys Grow. - Keep these guiding principles in mind when working with Scouts.

Why Scouts Join Scouting - And why they stay.

Why Boys Quit Scouting. - The other side of the coin.

The "How"

While the Patrol Method, and a Scout-run program, is the foundation of an effective Scouting program, it is not always easy to implement and get it working. The following articles have some ideas and information that may give some help.

Getting Boys To Lead - Some tips and ideas.

The Scout-run Program - Ideas on how to implement it, and getting the Scouts to lead.

Patrol Leaders in Action - A Junior Leader Training weekend.

Troop Planning - getting the methods to work. from scouts-L

Making Patrols Work - Ideas from scouts-l.

Troop Junior Leader Problems - Help from scouts-l mail list.

A Troop Guide's Job Description - Make a contract with your Troop Guide.

Follow the Leader - How to be a good Follower, as well as a Leader.

The Ideal Patrol Size - Factors connected with patrol size.

The "Why"

Spiritual Emphasis in Scout Groups - An excellent monograph on "A Scout is Reverent".

Reviving Spiritual Emphasis in Scouting.

For Those Little Bumps in the Highway of Life.

Cope With Bad Weather - How to help your Scouts on campouts.

Cub Scout Discipline - Tame your meetings, accomplish more, while having more fun. Help from from the front lines (scouts-l)

Boy Scout Discipline - Behavior issues in the troop. from scouts-l.

When the Fur Flies - A conflict resolution process for working with scouts. The Leader.

Dealing With Problem Kids.

Attention Deficit Disorder 1 - The nature of the condition and strategies for coping with it. From Scouts-L.

Attention Deficit Disorder 2 - A Scouts-L message thread dealing with many ADD issues.

Working With Adult Volunteers

Working With Scouting Volunteers - Ideas on how to keep your volunteers and make effective use of them.

Becoming an Effective Committee Member - How to take on a new committee job and function effectively. An excellent article for all volunteers in general.

Working With Scout Parents - If a unit is to survive it must have the active support of the Scout's parents.  Get the parents involved and make effective use of your resources.

Scouters + Kids + Parents = Great Program - A great article about working to get parents involved in your unit's program. By Colin Wallace.

Cub Pack Adult Signup Ideas - Signup job posters and other ideas to encourage your unit parents to get involved.

Unit Leader Topics

Cub Scouting Promotions and Cub Scout Recruiting Ideas. - Attract new Cubs to your pack with these recruiting ideas.

Webelos to Scouts Transition - A packet of information, including several BSA Pamphlets, with plans and a wealth of good ideas for having a successful crossover every year.  Zipped, In Word for Windows format.  126k

Publishing an Effective Unit Newsletter. - Communicate and promote your troop activities effectively.

Newsletter tips from an expert - Put a little pizzazz into your unit's publication.

Balancing Your Other Life & Scouting - Setting priorities for adult Scouters.

Scouter Burnout - Take the Burnout Quiz. Scouts-L

The Rumors of Scouting - A Scouter's reality check for new or prospective scout leaders.

Some Thoughts on Adult Leadership.

Books About Leadership - Also useful for leadership training material.

Developing Successful Leadership Methods. - A look at some of today's knowledge about leadership, and how to apply it to become an effective leader.

Tax Deductions for U.S. Scouters. - Is it April already?!? Updated for the 1996 tax year.

Scouting forms - Forms I have found useful. In Word for Windows format, zipp'ed. (25K)

Dealing with Death - A file from the Scout-L archives with Scouter's ideas and experiences on coping with death among unit Scouts and Scouters.

The Scoutmaster's Notebook

Some useful odd's 'n ends that are useful for the Scouter to have handy.

Scouting's Founders - Biographical summaries of the men who started The Movement.

The Aims and Methods of Scouting - The BSA pamphlet in electronic format.

Troop Program Planning - The BSA Guide to yearly program planning session.

Settummanque's 4-lb Binder - Scouting materials for every occasion. By Mike Walton.

Adult Leader Training

Scout Leader Training information - Woodbadge, Pow wow topics.

Trained Leaders and how to use them. - Harnessing the enthusiasm of newly-trained leaders

District Roundtable Ideas - Tips on how to make your Roundtable worthwhile.

Webelos-to-Scout Transition - The role of the Unit Commissioner in the transition process.

Leadership Skills - A summary of the 11 points from Leadership Training.

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