Working With Millenials

[LeCastor]

As we transition into a period where 20- and 30-somethings are becoming parents and are approached regarding registering their children in Scouting or who are asked to become adult volunteers in Scouting, we begin to see the dynamics of this newer generation coming to the forefront and it ruffles some feathers. Admittedly, I'm in my late-30s now and what I hear from some 20-somethings really irks me.

 

Some of the things I've noticed:

 

* Younger adults are less willing to give their time and/or money to Scouting

* What's in it for me?

* Why should I?

* Lack of commitment and tendency to back out at the last minute

 

It's going to become much harder to recruit new blood if this "me" attitude prevails. Scouting isn't about the "me" so much as the "help other people at all times" thing.

 

How have you all dealt with this dynamic?

 

LeCastor

 

[Sentinel947]

This. Is. My. Moment. Hahahaha...

 

All joking aside, as a 20 something ASM, I've had some of the same issues with older parents in their 30's or 40's. Lack of commitment to things is extremely annoying. As a disclaimer, I'm nowhere near having a Scouting age kid.

 

I think with any parent, asking them directly with a specific need your Troop has is the way to go.

 

What issues are you having that are specific to millennials and not to parents of any generation?

 

Most parents put their kids in Scouting because their kids want to have fun, they want their kids exposed to Scouting's values. This will probably always be the primary reasons.

 

I don't know if younger adults are less willing to give their time or money to Scouting. I have no idea what being a parent is like financially or time wise.

 

What's in it for me? Hasn't this always been an issue with recruiting new members? I'd imagine millennial/parents aren't significantly different than previous generations in this regard. My parents are baby boomers and weren't involved in my Scouting career much. They weren't asked, so they rarely volunteered. Those of us who have been Scouters for a while know what's in it for us. (The Scouters paycheck hahaha...)

 

Why should I? Well its the chance to watch your kid grow up, and contribute to him having a better experience.

 

Lack of Commitment... again, I'm not sure this is specific to Millennials or not.

 

I tend to think Millennial as a whole are willing to volunteer and get involved. A lot of millennial are hungry to contribute and belong to something. All of the social media usage my generation is famous for is really just a bad attempt to make friends, communicate and belong.

 

Sentinel947

 

 

 

 

 

[skeptic]

Not long after I became a SM, I had similar problems at times, and it was very frustrating. That was in the late 70's. I was on visit to my parents and asked my dad about it, as he had been involved with my brother and me in the 50's and early 60's. He just laughed and said that it was a problem back then too. Some people simply are not willing to go outside their personal focus unless seriously prodded. And, they get away with it because we do not make it obvious we need them to help. Of course, there are a few that are simply takers, and you will be lucky to have their kids regularly; and those often are the scouts that are most in need of direction in their lives.

 

Still, if you do not ask directly, many will assume; and you know the story about that word.

[LeCastor]

LOL, yeah, I know, I know. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose...Some things never change, eh?

 

In fact, at our last council-wide Pow Wow (supplemental training course), we had a session on understanding Millennials and one of the attendees said much the same thing (and I paraphrase):

 

--> Each generation looks at the youngsters and thinks they're a bunch of idiots. $%^& flows downhill, he said...

 

The texting, Facebooking, video-gaming generation is proving a tough nut to crack for some of the older Scouters, who, by the way, tend to be District Commissioners, District Committee members, etc.

[Stosh]

Since the 60's Me Generation, this has been traditionally passed down to each subsequent generation. One does not help out with a program that they are paying for. One can drop them off at the doors of the YMCA and not worry about them until suppertime. One goes into the outdoors only so far. The campground needs a game room, pool, showers, flush toilets, small grocery store and have entertainment within a 10-15 minute drive. With the motorhomes and 5th wheelers out there, no bugs, no dirt, no inconvenience to go camping.

 

For the past 50 years we have improved our ability to get away from nature and it's ill effects. Hunters, fishermen, campers? Well they are not the norm, they are the rugged left overs from days gone by. YMCA, karate, youth sports, are now the norm. Ice hockey is now played indoors so the parents don't get cold watching. The world has changed and BSA now caters to only the few hard-core outdoors people.

 

My daughter and son-in-law made the conscious choice to have mom stay at home, raise the kids, home school, live on a subsistence farm and dad will run the farm after being trained in welding, carpentry, electrical, plumbing skills. Most of their "friends" think they're nuts. My daughter's coming over tomorrow morning to go through seed catalogs with me so we can plan out next summer's gardens. My son-in-law came over last night to finalize plans for a canoe/kayak trailer he's building for me as a project for this welding class. Have I got it made or what?!

 

Stosh

 

[NJCubScouter]

I have never put much stock in the arbitrary divisions of people into "generations", the definitions of which seem to vary from one person to the next. "Generations" really exist within families, and the concept has been twisted around to try to fit society as a whole, and I don't think it really tells us much.

 

And I agree with Skeptic, the idea that "this younger generation is only interested in themselves and don't get involved" did not start with the "Millenials."

 

Another thing is that I don't usually ask other parents how old they are, so I don't know who is necessarily in which "generation." If we are talking about people in their early 30's and younger, I doubt I have seen many with Boy Scout-age children yet. It is probably more of an issue in Cub Scouts at this point.

[LeCastor]

Here's an example of the time commitment thing. I asked a group of six Eagle Scouts in their mid- to late-20s if they'd like to get involved in Scouting. Specifically, I asked them if they would consider helping start a Cub Scout Pack in a community that hasn't had a unit in over ten years. When I originally asked if they would be willing to give back to Scouting they were all very enthusiastic, but when it came time to actually fill a role they were less-than-willing to commit.

 

They're idea of giving back was to be merit badge counselors and that's super important work! But I had given them a specific need and they really balked. Now, I know that's not a "generational" thing; in fact, we know how hard it is to get older parental types involved as DLs and CMs.

 

NJ, perhaps this is cyclical thing where the "old guys" sit around and come up with a way to complain about the youngsters? I agree that it's hard to accurately lump people into neat categories.

 

******************

 

Another example I've been hearing from fellow membership chair folks in our council is that, when recruiting new Cubbies, the moms will stop the Scouter and say, "just tell me how much money and how much time". It sounds--and, of course, this is second hand--that the moms/dads don't give a flip about the "Ideals" or the "Outdoors".

 

*******************

 

I'm not sold one way or the other on "Millennials", btw. But I like this discussion. Some things stay the same even if technology advances or societal norms evolve.

[packsaddle]

"Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers."

Did Socrates really write this? Doubtful, since he didn't write much of anything as far as I can tell...the writer was usually Plato. Anyway, I suspect that it WAS the lament that Socrates might have had regarding youth of the day. At least it seems plausible. People haven't really changed much. But we, individually, have gotten older and where we once complained about our elders, we now complain about the youth.

[NJCubScouter]

Another example I've been hearing from fellow membership chair folks in our council is that' date=' when recruiting new Cubbies, the moms will stop the Scouter and say, "just tell me how much money and how much time". It sounds--and, of course, this is second hand--that the moms/dads don't give a flip about the "Ideals" or the "Outdoors". [/quote']

 

I have heard things like that, first hand - and this goes back about 15 years. I am not sure how much most parents ever really cared much about the "ideals", or were even specifically aware of them. I think this is especially true for people (both moms and dads) who were not youth members of Scouting themselves. Especially with Cub Scouts, it kind of surprised me sometimes how little people really knew about the program they were considering enrolling their son in. As for the "outdoors," at least in "my day", Cub Scouting was not really being promoted as an "outdoor" program. Maybe it is different now. By the time the kids reach Boy Scouts, everybody understands it is an outdoor program.

[SeattlePioneer]

Our pack has a Den Chief who has been doing an excellent job this school year!

[SeattlePioneer]

Most people need to be INVITED into Scout leadership positions. And they usually need to be asked to start with small, simple things to do, and then graduate tomore complex activities if they do the simple ones.

 

I don't see that changing with a change in generations. You have to GROW new Scout leaders all the time.

 

As they see the things they do are rewarding for themseklves and others, they train themselves in the values of Scouting.

 

Isn't that what Scouting has always done?

[LeCastor]

I hear you all saying this is nothing new. However, it looks like BSA is doing the research to "understand" these Millennials:

 

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/marketing/ppt/ConnectingWithMillennials.ppt

 

 

[qwazse]

Here's an example of the time commitment thing. I asked a group of six Eagle Scouts in their mid- to late-20s if they'd like to get involved in Scouting. Specifically' date=' I asked them if they would consider helping start a Cub Scout Pack in a community that hasn't had a unit in over ten years. When I originally asked if they would be willing to give back to Scouting they were all very enthusiastic, but when it came time to actually fill a role they were less-than-willing to commit. ... [/quote']

 

Why would they ever want to do that? None of them were ever assigned a pack/den of cubs to manage as a kid. (Look it up in any BSA rank advancement ... ever: Den Leader is not a position of responsibility.) Eagles have never been obliged to lead moms or dads. Most Den Chiefs never set curriculum.

 

Now, find 6 young adults who've been working church ministries (home or overseas) and ask them if they want to try to start something like this as an extension of their ministry. Tell them you know some Eagle Scouts who might assist them. Let us know if you get different results.

[LeCastor]

 

Why would they ever want to do that? None of them were ever assigned a pack/den of cubs to manage as a kid. (Look it up in any BSA rank advancement ... ever: Den Leader is not a position of responsibility.) Eagles have never been obliged to lead moms or dads. Most Den Chiefs never set curriculum.

 

Now, find 6 young adults who've been working church ministries (home or overseas) and ask them if they want to try to start something like this as an extension of their ministry. Tell them you know some Eagle Scouts who might assist them. Let us know if you get different results.

 

 

Hey,Q! Yeah, I get that. I saw their deer-in-the-headlights look and said they could be the "experts" to help guide the parents and other folks who the new CO find to be the unit leaders.

[walk in the woods]

We aren't alone in this, but that's been said here before.

 

My experience with young millennials is they turn out well for short-term (i.e. 1-day or few day) service projects. There's a group in my office that puts together a couple of them every year. It's a social experience and a feel good experience. Turning out for a long-term commitment kind of thing doesn't seem to be in the cards for them.

 

One of the money lines from this article, to me anyway: ~~Most millennials or Gen Xers, however, would never dream of joining a club that seems geared toward their grandparents. That’s the general crisis the Kiwanis Club and other fraternal or service organizations are facing.