And the Teens Shall Lead

[RememberSchiff]

"The best way to learn how to not get lost is to let yourself get a little lost once in a while. "

Nice story about scouts leading and adults stepping back.

https://highlandscurrent.org/2019/10/15/out-there-and-the-teens-shall-lead/

[qwazse]

I was wondering about the author's tone of amazement, then he got down to his scouting experience:

Quote

When I was in Boy Scouts, we did not get to make decisions. We didn’t pick the route. We were not granted the responsibility of choosing our menus on campouts and cooking the meals for everyone, even if it resulted in being served, as one parent, John Pieza, put it, a “not-quite-baked potato” or burned ramen.

It breaks my heart every time I hear of adults sacrificing the promise of scouting on the idols of lossless hikes and perfect meals.

[Eagledad]

3 hours ago, qwazse said:

I was wondering about the author's tone of amazement, then he got down to his scouting experience:

It breaks my heart every time I hear of adults sacrificing the promise of scouting on the idols of lossless hikes and perfect meals.

I was lucky, in both my youth experience, and as a leader, our scouts had the freedom to screw up. 

Oh, I cringed as I watched the guardian adults stand next to their youth leaders during their activities in other Troops, youth leadership courses, AND OA. I have passion and their ignorance of what they were doing hurt a lot. Many of these adults are friends, and I didn't know how to change them.

This is a romantic article of what scouting can be for boys growing into young adults. I do struggle a little on how the adults are still credited with the nobility of allowing the scouts to learn. Oh, I shouldn't be that way, I know we adults struggle a lot with how far is too far. But, I remember reading a Boys Life article a long time ago from a middle aged author reflecting back on the Beaver patrol of his youth. While a SM was probably implied somewhere, he wasn't given any credit, directly. The Beaver patrol had to scurry up any gear they used for camp outs and figure out how acquire food. They weren't poor, they just had to figure it out because that was how it was. The  article talked of surviving the rainiest backpacking hikes and cooking in the hardest conditions. The article didn't say it specifically, but because the Beaver Patrol watched other patrols at a very rainy Camporee, they realized that the  hardest conditions might not had been so hard for them in a different troop. And that made the Beaver Patrol all the more proud of being a Boy Scouts in their troop with their Scoutmaster. I know, the Scoutmaster wasn't mentioned directly, but, well, you know. 

It's a good article. Thanks. 

Barry

Edited October 16, 2019 by Eagledad

[desertrat77]

I made a bunch of mistakes as PL and SPL.  I'll always be thankful to my SMs and ASMs for allowing me the leeway to do so.  Sure, I didn't appreciate the wire-brushing they gave me on some occasions.  But I'm grateful now they did. 

[Eagle94-A1]

Was talking about this topic last night at the meeting. SM is having a hard time sitting back and letting the Scouts screw up. But he knows that mistakes are the best learning opportunities. I told him that it was because the adults did not follow the Scouts at camporee and coach or tell the Scouts how to do stuff that most impressed my wife. Watching the troop in action removed reservations she had about them.

 

[Eagledad]

2 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Was talking about this topic last night at the meeting. SM is having a hard time sitting back and letting the Scouts screw up. But he knows that mistakes are the best learning opportunities. I told him that it was because the adults did not follow the Scouts at camporee and coach or tell the Scouts how to do stuff that most impressed my wife. Watching the troop in action removed reservations she had about them.

 

Who would have thought that not following scouts was unusual. 

Tell your scoutmaster that just like the scouts have to learn to make good decisions, adults have to learn how to stand back. It takes practice.

Reminds me of a parent waiting to ask me a question after a troop meeting. At least a half of dozen scouts swarmed me, each needing to ask me their important question. The adult finally slotted in and asked me how I manage to respectably give each scout his time in the middle of the chaos. My quick answer delivered with a laugh was "Practice".

The adult leader job in a troop where scouts are given the freedom to make bad choices is the hardest job in scouting because every sense in their body is telling them to do otherwise.   

Barry