Sensitivity training for staff needed at scout camps?

[RememberSchiff]

"Bryan Feather, chief executive of the Boy Scouts’ Mayflower Council (MA), which runs the Camp Squanto, said that after Vogel complained, the organization abolished the awards ceremony, spoke to the staffers responsible, and instituted sensitivity training. He said the council has also sought to communicate an apology to Vogel through its attorneys."

Details at source link:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/03/07/boyscouts/wqFyQUPoS8SKIucGr7dfPM/story.html

[HashTagScouts]

My council.  I know those mentioned by name in this article. Exceptionally sad day for many of us.  

My son is camp staff at a camp outside of Mayflower, and they had sensitivity training as part of their staff week activities.  He also is staff for NYLT outside of Mayflower, and they too have sensitivity training as part of their staff orientation.  Why not work with some experts in the field and create age appropriate trainings to be used with all scouts? Similar fashion to how we implement cyber chip? 

[RememberSchiff]

10 hours ago, HashTagScouts said:

My council.  I know those mentioned by name in this article. Exceptionally sad day for many of us.  

My son is camp staff at a camp outside of Mayflower, and they had sensitivity training as part of their staff week activities.  He also is staff for NYLT outside of Mayflower, and they too have sensitivity training as part of their staff orientation.  Why not work with some experts in the field and create age appropriate trainings to be used with all scouts? Similar fashion to how we implement cyber chip? 

Maybe, but wouldn't that be like hiring consultants to teach us the Scout Oath and Law? 

 Camp leaders, standing in front of 70 other counselors, senior Scout leaders, and campers, gave Vogel, the only black staffer, the “Evil Monkey” award.

Apparently Courteous and Kind were not in camp that week.  

My $0.02,

[desertrat77]

1 hour ago, RememberSchiff said:

Maybe, but wouldn't that be like hiring consultants to teach us the Scout Oath and Law? 

 

RS, right on the money.

As a youth, I staffed at Camp Gorsuch, Alaska.  Scott Powell was the camp director, a truly magnificent gentleman and scouter.

Be it staff week or the opening campfire each session, this was what he shared with all scouts:  "I don't believe in a long list of rules.  The 'rules' at Camp Gorsuch are the Scout Oath and Law.  Life by those principles and we are sure to have a great summer."

That's all he said.  And it worked.

[SSScout]

39 minutes ago, desertrat77 said:

"I don't believe in a long list of rules.  The 'rules' at Camp Gorsuch are the Scout Oath and Law.  Life by those principles and we are sure to have a great summer."

Amen, brother. 

[HashTagScouts]

Perhaps- unfortunately, each year at the camp my son has staffed, there are staff who get dismissed for various reasons, inappropriate language, vaping seem to be the chief reasons.  And from discussions with other scouters, seems to be not just isolated to a couple camps based on their observations.  I'd love to be able to say the Oath and Law are universally being followed by all who wear a uniform, but I would also favor any other avenue that reinforces it.

[Eagledad]

I don’t think this unusual, my dad said he saw such things happened both in scouts and sports in the 1940s. It’s a cross between boys-will-be-boys and right of passage hazing. It’s being rooted out today by a change in cultures. Of course that being said, I never experienced or witnessed such behavior in my lifetime. While it may have been going on for a long time in some places, I don’t think it was ever generally acceptable to the population.

Barry

[Saltface]

@HashTagScouts

As someone close to the situation, do you have any more information about what occurred? When I read the article yesterday, I pictured some 14-15 year old junior staff members who watch Family Guy (Evil Monkey is a character on the show) giving him the award/nickname without realizing that it was racist.

Am I anywhere close to accurate in my guess?

[HashTagScouts]

18 minutes ago, Saltface said:

@HashTagScouts

As someone close to the situation, do you have any more information about what occurred? When I read the article yesterday, I pictured some 14-15 year old junior staff members who watch Family Guy (Evil Monkey is a character on the show) giving him the award/nickname without realizing that it was racist.

Am I anywhere close to accurate in my guess?

From what I have heard, it was another senior staff member that "made the nomination" for the "award", and it was something like what you reference and not intended as a racist slur.  The other "award" using the term Nazi was also significant- there are several members of staff that are Jewish, so you can understand that was pretty charged term to use.  

Choice of words is significant, and that's where I was going with having a greater conversation with our youth- they are generally innocent, and generally are not out to be malicious, but if those who are young adults (and in the case of this issue, where older adults- including our SE- was present) can make these error in judgements and we don't stand up to let them know why it is important we choose our words, people get hurt.