This book is about how to start your troop's own Scoutmaster' Minute Program.
Hopefully, when you have read most of this, you will have a sense of what a Scoutmasters' Minute Program feels like. Each is unique, bearing the stamp of the person giving it week after week. What is a Scoutmaster's Minute? It is a short speech by you at the end of the meeting. It should last no more than two minutes. It should be about something larger than the day to day of Scouting. Hopefully, it will entertain or teach or give the Scout something to ponder.
I hope you do not come away with the sense that success means giving the minutes in this book and, bingo, a whole year of Scoutmasters' Minutes are done. Each Minute you do will be a struggle internally. How do I phrase it, What do I aim to teach, inspire, motivate tonight? I hope to reduce that for you by giving you a direction, with guideposts, to assist you along the path. Hopefully after 20 or so, it will be second nature to you.
Those first 20, even the first 5, are usually the toughest. Those firs minutes are the one I hope to help you through. But first, an important question. Why do them at all?
Several things can be accomplished by the use of a Scoutmasters' Minute Program (Hereafter called SMP). One, it transitions that meeting back to you. In theory, the boys have been running the meeting. They have done their business and they are itching to leave. You have them right where you want them. Now, you can make a point and maybe, give them something to think about. Tow, it gives you a change, over a sustained period of time, to put your values on your troop. Most of my minutes are about my values.
How do you get started you might ask? Well, read this book for 25 pages or so.
Hopefully, if you want to really start or improve your SMP, your mind will be swimming with ideas. That is the starting point, an idea. Now write down the following acronym on a piece of paper:
I'M A SCOUT
It stands for:
I dea
M ethod
A im
S imple
C reative
O bserve
U understanding
T title
IM A SCOUT is the basic framework of writing and delivering a successful SMP. I'll speak more to generating ideas later.
I try to center each minute around one of the Aims and Methods of Scouting. Some Aim (Citizenship, Fitness, Character) or Method (Outdoors, Uniform, Ideals, Patrols, Advancement, Adult Association, Personal Growth,and Leadership Development) is in each minute. Please see the Aims and Methods chapter in the Scoutmaster's Handbook for more information about each Aim and Method.
Where possible I use my own experience also. Since I was a scout, I can give a sense of perspective to the scouts that you may not be able to do. You have other experiences and, I assure you, the scouts will find them fascinating in the right context.
Keep it simple. Life is complex enough. Don't let them guess about what your point might be.
As yourself, what point would be good to make at the end of the meeting? It can be about anything, really. Now add that bit of your experience or perspective to the point you are trying to make. Last, you'll need a framework to use to structure your point. My minutes make the point at the end, not at the beginning. You need to draw them in usually, and close with your message. Old storytellers crafted the point into a moral and left it completely outside the story. Where you put the point is up to you. Be flexible. Use what is available, the obvious works better than the obscure usually. Take some chances as well. You need to be creative to avoid monotony.
Observe your scouts while you give each minute. You can gain a sense when they are losing you. I'll give some techniques later to succeed with this.
Kids today have so many messages thrown at them. They look to you for leadership. Showing them that you, too, have had some of the same douts, fears, thrills as they have and look forward to having, is over time very valuable. Building a bridge between the meeting and their life outside of Scouting experience is the goal of a good SMP.
I strongly suggest that each one have a title. Announce the title when you begin. This is so the scouts know that the mood is changing. Then open the minute by starting the scouts down a path, slowly adding details until you reach a crescendo, wrap up the details and make your point. This will take practice. The first five are the worst. But somewhere, after the first five, you are going to do a really good one. That first really good one is usually enough to keep your SMP going indefinitely. How will you know when you do your first really good one? You'll know.
This book has 49 minutes, broken into seven chapters. Is that because seven is my lucky number?? No, my lucky number is well, you'll find out later. The first chapter is called Survival. These minutes deal with looking at the deepest part of yourself at a time of perceived crisis. Chapter Two is called Innovation. It deals with the spontaneous acts or well crafted plans that changes one self. Third is called Action. This chapter deals with putting Scouting skills to work. Fourth is Fellowship. Who you know and what they mean to you is the goal here. Next is Humor. Funny thing happen all the time in Scouting, seven minutes will hopefully show that. Sixth is Connection. Seeing that many things interrelate, no man is an island, etc. Last is The Bigger Picture. What does all of this mean, if anything.
That's it. Seven chapters in all. Time's a wasting. A look now at our very first Scoutmaster's Minute.
It leads off the chapter called Survival.
Chapter one
SURVIVAL
The first Scoutmaster Minute is the worst, usually. At least it seems that way until you give it. After your done, it will seem better but the main emotion is relief. Right then, you should start thinking about your next one. Don't be too harsh on yourself about what you did or say, your gestures, the reaction of the troop. It will be easier as you go along. But that first one, what to say, how, what is the point, is not easy.
I suggest making your first one a personal story. Since you lived it, it will be easy to recite. Make the point simple. Have it at the end. Say it and think of a new one, after your heart rate goes back down to normal. If you get stuck even at all, use one of the ideas in here.
You will find well over 100 by the time you finish the conclusion>
Sadness is an effective tool. Brad, the first minute, is about that. The second minute is about Safety Merit Badge, or at least, so it seems. Number three in this chapter is about Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge. It also shows how you can take the theme of the minute and move it to a completely new point. Number 4 is still tough for me to read. It concerns a Scoutmaster of mine as a child. Mr. Ernst. Number 5 lightens the mood considerably, it explains what my favorite number is and how it got that way. Number 6 is called D-Day. But it is about more than that, I hope. Last in this Chpater is called I Will Do My Best. It is about the Scout Oath and what I thing the Scout Oath really means.
Of course, most of these minutes are about personal experiences. but Scouting is a personal experience. Your Scouts will have doubts. Doubts about their skills, doubts about their courage, doubts about their resolve. It think it is better to face those fears. A good Minute is a great way to get them started being able to deal with those doubts.
Sample Minutes
BRAD
Brad was a good scout. He was sick a lot. He was slow to learn things but he tried hard.
His doctor told him that Scouts and Little League might be dangerous. Brad thought about that for a few seconds and told the doctor, "thank you".
He went ahead anyway.
He had a heart attack at age 13. His parents buried him in his Little League uniform with his Scout uniform laid along side him. His parents had a hard time deciding which one he should wear.
Moments of bravery usually appear right in front of you. You don't think, you act.
Brad had plenty of time to think.
He knew the risks. He was the bravest Scout I knew.
I WILL DO MY BEST
It is the second part of the Scout Oath
I will do my best refers to two things.
Most important is Scout spirit. Effort is a major component of Scout Spirit.
Last is using one of Scoutings' methods. There are eight.
You all know at least one, The Patrol Method. Doing your best points to the Personal Growth Method.
Doing your best gives you confidence, which allows you to grow as a person and a Scout
Remember, we don't and you don't swear to do the best that can be done.
You swear to do the best that you can do.
The book JUST A MINUTE can be obtained from Michael North,Sr. Send him a e-mail if you are interested in obtaining a copy.
