New scoutmaster advice

[NeilLup]

Hello Dan,

 

I in no way object to the stones you are throwing. That happened a LOOONG time ago.

 

I had met with the SPL previously to try to set up the meeting. I had told him about the exciting opportunities that being SPL represented and the great leadership challenge that he had and how much he could learn and do. We talked about the planning meeting and how to run it.

 

The next day, he phoned me to resign as SPL stating that he didn't want to put that much time into Scouting. His father also spoke with me stating that his son didn't want to put that much time into Scouting and he supported that decision. The boy transferred out of the Troop soon thereafter to a Troop where we was a Troop Instructor.

 

There were LOT of problems with that Troop and its culture. It took awhile to get things going OK, but we got there.

 

But the lesson I learned, and I stand by it, is that the book is great if you have a well organized Troop with Scouts that have some idea of what youth leadership is who want to be leaders. However, if you take a random group of boy, or even worse, a Troop that is used to having the adults do everything, building youth leadership is a multi-step process and there will likely be some missteps.

 

I don't believe that we do nearly as good a job of telling you how to get from a Troop with poor or no boy leadership to one with good boy leadership.

[andrewcanoe]

Nei1Lup: Thanks that's what Ive been trying to get out of you guys ,Stuff you tried and that went belly up and created a learning moment for you and one you could pass on.

[dsteele]

So, you want to hear a Mr. Steele screwed up as Scoutmaster story, eh?

 

Alright. I'll tell you one after I get done entering popcorn prizes into the Trails End system.

 

DS

[dsteele]

I promised a story and it took me six hours to remember the promise.

 

Here's a story of an early screw up I did as Scoutmaster. Young and new Scoutmasters screw up a lot and as long as they learn from it and no one dies, I guess it's okay.

 

I became, through stories told in ealier threads on this board, a Scoutmaster at the same time I was the district executive.

 

Early on, my troop (I wouldn't say it that way, but if I had not stepped on board at the time as Scoutmaster, the troop would have died) consisted of 5 boys: Brian, Vikash, Stephen, Michael, and a new boy, Andy.

 

The district camporee weekend came up and my Scout Executive insisted that the DE be the first one to the camporee and the last one to leave. The camporee was a cool one. The troops would camp Friday night at the beginning of the new "rail trail" that ran along uprooted railroad tracks. They would all hike or bike down the trail to a park and have some activities. At the park on the same day was a Cub Olympics -- also a district event.

 

The troops would then hike or bike back -- as it happened they could also canoe each way, although none did.

 

As it happened, my troop couldn't come to camp Friday night, but would meet at the park and hike to the camporee from the park. They would camp Saturday night and leave Sunday morning.

 

I asked my bride of 5 minths to lead the troop from the park to the camporee. After all, she was a fully credentialed teacher and they were only 5 boys. She has her Gold Award from Girl Scouting and they would be hiking with about 35 other troops on their way back to camp. I figured that this would leave me free to do the DE thing at the event and still be Scoutmaster.

 

No sweat?

 

Wrong!

 

I met up with my little rag-tag troop at the park and my wife and sent them on their way -- after confiscating one boy's video games and telling Vikash that I didn't think he needed his full backpack, but letting him carry it anyway.

 

Turns out that NO other troops were hiking back and my wife set off on this incomplete trail along railroad rocks (no ties, they had been torn up) with Vikash and the new boy stopping for a rest every 40'.

 

I returned to the camporee site at about 5:30 PM and wondered where my wife and my troop was. All the other troops were back.

 

Eventually, I started going south on the trial where my troop was headed North. I found them about 3 miles down this 5 mile trail. It had taken them 6 hours to go the 2 miles on the trail.

 

My wife was fuming mad -- at me. The boys were exasperated. I thought "I've got my work cut out for me." I think I was referring to the wife (hoping she would forgive me) and the troop (hoping to get them above the .3 miles per hour trail speed.)

 

Fortunately I accomplished both. The troop turned out fine and Mrs. Steele is still Mrs. Steele -- although she does the Appalacian Trail every year, she avoids Boy Scouts like the plague.

 

I'd rather deal with expidition hats.

 

DS

[KoreaScouter]

Everything you've been advised to do, has come your way in most cases because the person advising you did the opposite and paid the price in blood pressure, gray/lost hair, or both.

 

In my case, I made the mistake early on of placing the "Leadership Development" method on a pedestal or in a "supernumerary" position over the other 7. You know, the admonition to "...let 'em fail, it'll teach them how to be leaders". Sure, and in the meantime, if those failures include failure to execute the monthly program, failure to delegate within their patrols, failure to instruct younger Scouts, then your other methods will suffer, or you won't be using any methods if Scouts quit because they're not getting what they were promised on page 1. I saw that happening at first.

 

So, while Leadership Development is an important method, it's no more important than Advancement, the Outdoor Program, the Uniform, etc. I won't allow a Scout's shortcomings in Leadership Development to adversely affect other methods. Even while providing all the BSA training, stand-up PLCs, reflections, etc., I keep a "safety net" stuck in my backpack so that a Scout's stumble or oversight doesn't knock the rest of the Troop over like bowling pins.

 

In a nutshell, don't confuse "boy led" with "boy led into the ground", or subordinate the other methods in order to say you have a "boy led Troop". Adult Association's a method, too...

 

KS