Whose Troop is it?

[SR540Beaver]

Sorry, I've been gone to Wood Badge and have missed out on all the fun. Well, not sorry that I've been to Wood Badge, it's been great. Sorry, I missed the fun here while gone to Wood Badge. Although I had a blast at Wood Badge. Gee, trying to keep my words straight to please everyone is getting confusing! I hope everyone understood what I meant to say.

 

A question......is it permissable for a scout to say "my patrol leader" or "my scout master" or "my leadership"? He owns none of them. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Are we going to correct the scout each time he refers to something as "my" that he actually does not own? Should he not refer to the SM as "he who serves me"?

[Rooster7]

kwc57,

 

Evidently that is what some would prefer...after all, we do lead by example. We should set this example elsewhere too. Like at home... I'm going to make my children refer to me as "the male parent who I must serve", instead of "my dad". It's not quite as warm, relationally speaking, but they'll get use to it. My next stop is the public schools. Im going to scold all of those horrible teachers that like to refer to our boys and girls, as my students. From there, Im hitting the baseball fields and the basketball courts. There must be countless coaches that use the phrase my boys or my girls or my team. We must stomp out this disgusting attitude of which millions have fallen plague to. Why cant people just learn to speak awkwardly so the rest of us can sleep well at night, knowing that no one owns anybody else. Despite my best efforts here, Im afraid there will a be few who will still miss the point. For some reason, there will always be folks who dont take these kinds of issues seriously. Im so frustrated. If this keeps up, I'm going to call "the doctor who's boat I'm paying for", and get a prescription.

[Eamonn]

Have to admit to sometimes falling into the "My Trap"

I really try not to, but it happens.

When it does, I remind myself that I only serve in whatever position for a little while.

My district is not mine, I have the great honor to serve the District Chair from year to year and then only for three years.

The end of this year my service term as the Council Training Chair. Will be over and then it will in the hands of someone else.

I do have to admit that when I was a young Scout Leader, I did think of the troop as being mine.

My ego was such that everything the Scouts did was a reflection of me.

If we won something, it was me - I trained them. I picked the team.

When we didn't do well the Scouts felt that they had let me down.

How wrong I was.

I think back to boys crying and I feel like a real louse.

One great thing about this program is that it gives us all the opportunity to grow.

I hope that I have grown. I know that I can never undo the harm that I caused. But I have grown.

As many of you know I am very goal oriented.

Still as I age the way that I perceive the goals is different.

As to Whose Troop is it?

It is our Troop. We all each and every one of us have a stake in the youth we serve.

We all are aware of the mission of the BSA,we are all working towards the same goal.

Get on a bus at the Jamboree and chat with the Scout sitting next to you. That Lad is no different then the Scouts in your unit, district or council.

Just like you -He is a Scout.

Eamonn

 

[SR540Beaver]

I just had to throw my two cents in earlier. Now I do want to make one more comment on a more serious note. There are two sides to this issue and they have been expressed in clear terms. Bob is right in that we serve the troop and we do not "own" it. Most of us get into scouting because we believe in the program and process, because we want to help develop boys into fine men and because we are just big kids who think scouting is fun too. Scouting is like anything else. We grow as we do it. Our understanding increases. Our committment deepens. We got into it with a little knowledge and might have seen it is "my" troop and somewhere along the way realized that it is the boys troop and we are facilitators to them. So yes, we serve the troop and we don't own it. Now, having said that, from our beginning as a scouter until we gain a deeper insight with experience; we have always had a vested interest in the troop. Otherwise, why would we have registered as a volunteer in the program. It is that vested interest we have in the troop that let's us include ourselves when we speak of "my" troop. I think Bob understands that and I think those that are arguing the fine points with him understand exactly what he is saying too. There are folks on here who enjoy a good peeing contest from time to time. Pardon my French. I think Bob's point would make a good Scout Master minute at a roundtable, Wood Badge, leader cracker barrel, etc. A reminder that would be a little nugget of thought for scouters to chew on.....we serve the troop, we don't own it. Remember that each time you use the word "my" so you don't get the urge to start feeling big headed. Then, leave it at that. Just as important as the words you use is how you present the words. Sometimes we become Pharisees on this board and nitpick the minute detail. Bob is right, we don't own the troop. Others are right in that we have a vested interest in "my" troop. Either way you choose to say it, the vast majority will know what you mean.(This message has been edited by kwc57)

[packsaddle]

10-4 KWC57.