What is the most important thing you have learned so far?

[Owl62]

I agree that service and trying to adhere to the standards of the Scout Oath and Law and what is in my heart are most important to me. Giving back to a program that has given so much to me....

 

And of service - and it comes in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. Remember those that are at nearly every activity - helping where they can. The activity quartermaster, the Scouter who volunteers to serve as director of an activity, those that empty the the trash when it is full rather than have it overflow, Ever notice that at training and other activities - it seems that the same people are nearly always there. Even attending training, unit committee meetings, roundtables, unit meetings, campouts, camporees, jamborees, helping with service projects, serving on Boards of Review, serving in ANY volunteer position for that matter, etc - is service.

 

I think that sometimes we tend to forget those that work, usually quietly and usually as discretely as possible, in the background. They seem to seldom be recognized and even try to avoid recognition. Most of them don't want medals or other awards, They get their greatest reward in knowing that their service and contributions are needed and important.

 

[WAKWIB]

I guess this is something I've known for awhile, but it's become more evident the longer I am a leader. Kids need a lot of challenging but positive affirmation. They need to be presented with a job to do, and to be told they did a good job...and sometimes a few positive suggestions on how they could improve. The "attitude" of good Scouting is maybe more important than the depth of skill.

[baschram645]

As a boy it was self-confidence, taught by a good SM.

As an Adult leader it has been patience and humility.

[Joni4TA]

The most important thing I have learned is that we are all volunteers in Scouting, and because of that, we all do what we can, not necessarily everything others want us to.

[le Voyageur]

My two key learning experiences

 

- The more you learn the less you know, and

 

- That mistakes are the trail markers to

success.

[EagleInKY]

le V - "mistakes are the trail markers to success. "

 

I like it. I feel a Scoutmaster's minute coming on. Thanks.

[KoreaScouter]

It's all about human relationships; the rules, the meetings, the bureaucracy, the uncomfortable uniforms, none of it matters. Develop, cultivate, and maintain the human relationships and the rest falls into place.

 

KS

[Fuzzy Bear]

I have told this story before because it spoke so directly and so deeply to me.

 

The Scouts in our Troop had chosen a project and performed poorly that year for the Scout Show. They received a Participant's Award and they tried to tell everyone what a good job they had done. I got up and showed them a rock that I had been given years ago and showed them how it sparkled with gold color. I told them that in past times people that had found this type of rock thought they had found gold but it was really only Fool's Gold. I pointed out that lack of preparation and poor results was allot like that.

 

I didn't say anything else to them because I felt they had let themselves down. The next year, there was great activity and preparation but I did not pay much attention. They received one of the President's awards for their good work. They ran, not walked but ran to me so they could tell me about the Gold they had just received. It had taken a year but those few words had impacted their choices as Scouts and then it had impacted me as a leader on how much value we can achieve with so little but that is real gold.

 

 

FB

[Fuzzy Bear]

I wanted to share another.

 

One year at Summer Camp, our Troop had camped on a ridge along a small valley. I noted that the hill up to our camp had ruts of many sizes and depths from the top to the bottom. I spoke to one of our leaders about doing something about it. He agreed with me and we decided that we would offer our six hours of service to the camp right there as our project. It was close and we felt it would improve the camp area itself. We spoke to the Ranger and he agreed that it did need work and offered any tools to assist. We began that hot July afternoon.

 

Soon one of the Scouts returned from his MB class and offered to help. He said that it was a good idea and wanted to know what he could do. Then another Scout showed up and offered to help. This kept up even after the adults had retired for coffee. Our entire unit took on the project and every Scout and leader dedicated their six hours of work to the hill. We told allot of jokes while we worked those few days in the heat and the on the hill . Before we knew it, everyone had expended their hours and it was covered in rock and wood check dams. They were in all sizes and shapes.

 

We left the camp that year with a kind of pride and joy about what we had done. It was a year or two later that I returned to the area and was standing on the far side of the valley. I looked over at the hill and was surprised at what I saw. The dirt had built up and there was plant growth. It did not look the same. I walked over to it and noticed that the results of our efforts had really paid off.

 

What were the results? We had not just changed the look of a hill but it had also subtlety over a period of time changed our unit, our leadership, the way we worked, what we did, how we did it, team effort, on and on. What had happened to the hill had also happened to us.

 

FB

 

[CA_Scouter]

oops, sorry, I fat-fingered the last post....

 

I'd like to break this down into two sections:

 

1) AS A BOY SCOUT

 

The most important thing I learned as a Boy Scout was to be self-sufficient. I had several very good scoutmasters, and very active Dad, who taught me all the skills that I continue to use every day in my adult life, from practical things like tying knots and first aid, to emotional and professional skills, such as patience and leadership.

 

2) AS A LEADER

 

The most important thing I learned as a leader is restraint. As much as I want to take over and show the boys the most efficient way to do things, I've learned to hold off and let them work things out at their own level. I/we try to give the boys guidance, but then we back off and let them have at it. We ( all the SM/ASM's ) feel this is the best method of learning.

 

This also holds true with dealing with committee members. I may have an idea or five :-) about how some things should be done, but ya know, I'm better off leaving them to handle their own assignments as they see fit...