Another day that makes me want to take a walk

[ParkMan]

Reading the remarks here is interesting.  Rea

There are always worst case scenarios, problem youth, and problem parents.  But, for the most part, interactions like this are more often the case which can be resolved with a little explaining with a parent.  I continue to think the right approach here is to take this at face value, explain why you do what you do the parent, and then have a friendly conversation.  Maybe the parent has a different perception of what happened.  Maybe there is some extenuating circumstance.  But, before jumping to all kinds of more serious conclusions, have a chat with the parent.

 

 

 

 

[SSScout]

22 hours ago, mds3d said:

You have no evidence for any of this.  You are making assumptions about a kid you have never met. 

Well, only from the original post's description.   Sounds very familiar in many ways.

 

22 hours ago, mds3d said:

You have no idea what his motivation is (you offer a single possibility). 

Perhaps, but then neither does/did Mashmaster, but he must try to meet the Scout on his terms and deal with the problems the Scout creates.  The "motivation" ultimately , I guess, does not matter, only the result , and the ScoutLeader/Teacher/Coach must deal with that result.  Does the kid want to feel important, valued, successful, loved by his parents,  happy, less sad/depressed,,,,, what is the Scout's "motivation? Does it matter?  Only if the ScoutLeader/teacher/coach wants to reach that kid.... so some assumptions need to be made. What has "worked" in the past?  What lever/pressure can the ScoutLeader/teacher/coach use to obtain better behavior from the kid?

22 hours ago, mds3d said:

some parents do this with teachers no matter how bad their kid is.  You don't think scout age kids learn language from friends at school? I certainly did.  

Yep.  And yes, peer language education is always possible, depending on the kid's peers, who he chooses to hang out with and why...  There's that motivation thingy again.  Could the parents/family dynamics have anything to do with the problem?  Kids are pulled in many directions by many "motivations".  

22 hours ago, mds3d said:

I went through a similar stage around my early years in scouts.  I had a wake up moment during an interaction with some good friends and a good teacher who called me out.

You are to be congratulated to recognize this and use that recognition to your benefit.  Such honesty and personal admission is rare.   Let me know when the election is, and I'd vote for you. 

22 hours ago, mds3d said:

Assumptions without evidence is 90% of what is wrong with the discussion on the internet. 

of course.  Assumptions are only good in real estate.   But we must use the facts as presented in the original post.  Did I use any of those facts wrongly?  I used my own past experience, as did you , in your response to me.  Perhaps some of your experience would, if you could speak to this Scout, benefit him.   Good luck to you, mds3d,   see you on the trail.