a forum success story (well, sort of..., or perhaps not)

[Proud Eagle]

I am actually most of a week late in posting this, but I figured it might still be worth while. The events I am about to describe are real and happened last Saturday. They involved my home troop and its members and leaders. It is possible I may incorrectly portray some portion of what happened and some of the characteristics of the People involved.

 

I showed up at the church's Fellowship Hall at 2:00 pm for the start of the 2004 planning meeting. When I arrived I quickly sized up the situation. The Committee Chairman was present and was obviously the key adult on site. Most of the youth were also present. They had divided themselves by sitting around two large tables. The "old" guys (mostly 15/16 year old Star and Life Scouts) and the "new" guys who had only moved in from Cubs just before the annual fund raiser began. (We sell Christmas trees so there really is no program from Thanksgiving until after new years. The flip side is we don't have to do any other fund raising.) There were also several parents sitting around looking like they were torn between wanting to stay and "help" and run for the door as soon as they could. (These were mostly mothers of new scouts.)

 

Soon the SPL arrived along with his older brother who is my age and probably an unregistered ASM. That set into motion the meeting. The CC explained to the parents what would be going on and without their ever knowing he had done so suggested they should leave and come back later. The CC then spoke briefly with the SPL to make certain he knew what was going on and then turned it over to him.

 

It was at this point that things headed down hill. The SPL decided we would completely skip the opening since the flags were down the hill at the Youth House. Then came the first big sign of trouble when the SPL asked the Scouts, "so, where do you all want to go this year?" He then proceeded for a few moments along that coarse until it was suggested that perhaps a review of the previous year would be in order before we started on the next year. The review that followed was a total and complete waste of time during which the SPL proved he neither knew how to conduct the most basic analysis of past events or thought that doing so would be of any use. However I bit my tongue and let the boys continue running the meeting.

 

I will skip ahead a bit and spare you many of the other painful and disappointing details of what followed. About mid way through the meeting it was decided that it would be a good time to split the boys into patrols for the first time since the new scouts had joined. I had discussed the idea with the SM before and he was leaning towards mixed patrols of the sort that were used when he was in Scouts. I had tried to gently suggest that there might be better ways, such as the current BSA model, but I guess I was far too gentle. So the new patrol groupings were unveiled. Each patrol was roughly half new and half old scouts. Then it was decided that we would use a highly... scientific... method of selecting PLs, APLs, and just for kicks, AAPLs. This was done by drawing the names of the older scouts out of a hat.

 

Now I must also sum up the planning process that transpired. It essentially consisted of the SPL dictating what the troop would be doing for the year. Any question about the wisdom of his plan was quickly overridden with a something like, "tough, that is what the rest of the troop wants" when in truth everyone else had given up on the entire process and was just letting the JLTC "trained" SPL carry on with his crusade to fill the calendar with Merit Badges and other activities that would be of personal benefit to him. The only time he listened to anyone was when he didn't "know" the answer or when the CC, SM, or I just couldn't take it any more and spoke up. Even then he couldn't look past what we spelled out and see what we were implying and hinting at.

 

In conclusion it was one of the most disappointing and frustrating things I have ever been through. It was certainly the worst troop planning meeting I have ever seen. It was also the worst example of someone misusing the command (or in this case little dictator) style of leadership I have ever seen. It was the worst meeting I have ever attended save only the SR6N Council of Chiefs meeting I attended that was chaired by Clay Capp. (Though that wasn't entirely Clay's fault, most of it was.)

 

 

 

-----------------------

 

So if anyone is wondering where the forum success comes in it is in the following ways. The forums have, both directly through what I have learned here, and through what they have caused me to seek out, greatly increased my understanding of the way the Boy Scout program should work. It was for this reason that I was able to so clearly see the train reck that was taking place. The forums also allowed me to be able to guess at what the likely outcome of this will be. (Old guys don't like the program or structure and start drifting away. New guys drop out because they don't like the SPL, and the program isn't designed for them.) The strenght of the "boy led" message on these forums also caused me to bite my lip when in times past I might very well have jumped in and taken charge in order to correct the problems I was seeing. That would have made me no less of a little dictator than the SPL (though I would have done it in a way that left far fewer hurt feelings, with the exception of the SPL's).

 

I wish I was closer to home to help try and set things right with the troop. However, all the wishing in the world won't change anything. So I take solace in the fact that I won't be close enough to things to get hit by the shrapnel when this thing does fly apart.(This message has been edited by Proud Eagle)

[acco40]

I believe your troop condensed what should be a thorough annual planning with having just a planning conference only.

The first task in annual planning is to DO YOUR HOMEWORK

a.) Gather district, council, school and CO dates for events that will effect the troop.

b.) Review resources needed to plan the annual program.

c.) Review the advancement status of each Scout.

d.) List goals for the troop.

e.) Review the program features available to the troop.

Second is to GET PATROL INPUT - Review proposed troop program plan first with SPL and then with PLC. Each patrol leader is asked to review this plan with his patrol members at the next troop meeting. The patrol leader should seek ideas from his patrol on what proposed programs they like or dislike and what additional programs they might be interested in.

Feedback, in writing, should be given to the Scoutmaster on a timely basis.

Third is a Program Planning Conference - The success of the program planning conference began when the Scoutmaster prepared the Senior Patrol Leader. The SPL should conduct the program planning conference. The conference is usually attended by the Scoutmaster, Assistant Scoutmaster(s), SPL, ASPL, PLs and Troop Guides.

Planning the annual plan is only the first step in planning the troop program. On a quarterly basis, the patrol leader's council (PLC) should review the annual plan and make any adjustments that are necessary.

Program features are available as a resource that provides detailed information on four weekly meetings, a monthly highlight activity, advancement requirements that can be satisfied, and some good skills suggestions. The boys should ask for them and use them!!!

Patrols (eachshould havean assigned Assistant Scoutmaster) are assigned the task of formulating the monthly troop meetings. Also, specific adult leadersmay act as the coordinator for the monthly outings.

 

[Fat Old Guy]

"Patrols (each should have an assigned Assistant Scoutmaster)"

 

To borrow from Dana Carvey portraying George I, "Baaaaad, very baaad idea."

[FScouter]

The boys can't do what they haven't been trained to do.

[KoreaScouter]

It must be tough to be "along for the ride" on something like that. Using all 8 methods, in balance or equilibrium with each other, is essential to doing this right, in my opinion.

 

I may draw fire for this, but I think it's safe to say we value the "boy led" Troop because it's the most visible manifestation of the Leadership Development method. That said, I don't think it's a good thing to confuse "boy led" with "boy led into the ground". In other words, if we're hanging our hats on one method at the expense of any of the other seven, we're doing it wrong. If we stand by and watch youth leader(s) who are improperly motivated, apathetic, have the wrong sight picture, etc., the result will be that Scouts get disillusioned, quit, or maybe worse, they think that what they're seeing is "what right looks like". Then, we're not following the ideals, the outdoor program suffers, the patrol method is derailed, advancement suffers, adult association is dysfunctional, and so on.

 

There's no hard/fast rule I know of that tells adult leaders when to step in. My personal rule of thumb is to intervene (as discreetly and unobtrusively as possible given the situation) when the methods are not in that equilibrium I mentioned above. That's a squishy definition I know, but the only way I can defend myself is that it's sort of like the Supreme Court Justice who couldn't define pornography, but he "knows it when he sees it".

 

I guess what I'm saying is I feel no obligation to watch a train wreck if I can throw a switch on the siding a mile ahead of the wreck that will prevent it. That switch can be any number of things, including training, reflections, planning, counseling, modeling "what right looks like", being nearby, or ultimately, a willingness to step in, whisper in an SPL's ear, and redirect his activities/attention.

 

True, all youth leaders need authority commensurate with their responsibilities. That can be given or withheld by adult leaders. But, what adult leaders can't give away is their ultimate responsibility to the CO (and to the families to whom we make a promise on page 1 of the Handbook) to use all 8 methods to achieve the aims and accomplish the mission. If my DE or COR wants to know why none of my first year Scouts are advancing, is he going to call my SPL?

 

KS

[Fuzzy Bear]

We had planned a Court of Honor and a Dinner. Each patrol had agreed to bring certain food items to the feast. The SPL was to make sure that all of it made its' way to the table.

 

I was the first in line as SM, a turn not always given but this just happened to my time.

 

I noted as I filled my plate that the dinner was to be sparse. It was obvious several had not done their job.

 

The speech after the dinner went something like this, 'the two hot dogs I ate were pretty good. I hope that everyone got enough because from my perspective, there really didn't seem to be enough to go around'. Yada, yada, yada about other items, hand out the awards, the end.

 

I saw consternation on some of the faces of the boys and the parents. Nothing was said at, during or after the meeting. The evaluation had taken place instantly and without further regard to judgment. The next COR/Dinner was superb and there was food aplenty all done using the same planning as the last one.

 

What had changed? The Scouts had begun to take responsibility. The trust in the Scouts to do their job worked. They saw that the jobs we gave them to do and the training all lead to them to take responsibility. The faith we had in them was now assured on this one point.

 

Had we not let them fail, little would have been learned.

(NOTE: Allowing failure can only be engaged within the confines of a safe environment. Nobody was going to starve to death over missing supper. There is a balancing act in doing this and as adults and reasonable, caring leaders we should know when somebody is going to be hurt and that is the limits of the lesson on taking responsibility.)

 

If you want the Scouts to take responsibility, you must be willing to let them mess it up. Once they learn that one lesson you hope they generalize it to others, if you are lucky. At the minimum, the topic of review will be the night that the SM let the troops go hungry. What a mean old man but you know what, if he says to bring food ya better do it!

 

FB

[Fat Old Guy]

"What had changed? The Scouts had begun to take responsibility. The trust in the Scouts to do their job worked."

 

Not to rain on your parade.. . . okay, just a drizzle . . . but couldn't it have been the parents who said, "Okay, this last one was embarassing. Give me more notice next time."

 

 

[EagleInKY]

KS -

 

I agree with you to a large extent. I occasionally "throw the switch" to prevent a train wreck as well. I've seen the "boy led into the ground" troop and it's not a pretty site. It can destroy a troop. One troop near us is struggling with that now. When our sons were Webelos and we visited their troop meeting, it was an absolute embarassment. I had heard stories about how out-of-control their meetings were, but I had no idea. We didn't join that troop, and few others have. The good news is that they are trying to get it straightened out.

 

We had a "controled failure" recently. Our boys wanted to have a campout where they just went to "have fun". They didn't want any organized activities. The adults tried to convince them otherwise, but they really wanted it. So we let them. By Saturday afternoon they were asking us what they could do. They complained of being bored. I used it as a lesson to them about planning a program and getting the most out of these opportunities. I don't think we'll have that idea come up again for a while. Sure, we "lost" an opportunitity to do something more productive, but that's less important than the lesson they learned about program planning.

[Fuzzy Bear]

FOG,

 

Please don't be so careless as to call it a parade either. I simply accept it peaceably and without judgment from whence it cometh. The less analytical I become in investigating my own meager efforts in this life, the easier it is for me to accept any and all favors. I simply and regularly fall to my knees and give praise to all powers above for any shred of help cast in my direction. I truly have come to an understanding of my limits, which do not extend far in any direction.

 

FB