Youth to Adult Transition

[TheScout]

I have been recruited to teach a class to junior leaders at a University of Scouting on "Youth to Adult Transition."

 

I am having a little trouble coming up with a syllabus for what to teach. So far I thought of talking about the different adult leadership roles and youth protection guidelines.

 

Does anyone else have any other ideas about what to discuss.

 

Thank You!

[OldGreyEagle]

One of the hardest things there is in scouting has to be the transition from scout to adult. In some way the scout has to be conflicted, after all, the scouts are his guys and buddies and friends and now he is an adult. The key is making sure everyone knows that things are different, but that the person is the same. Did I lose you? I almost lost myself. Here is a ceremony you can use to show the that the scout is now a leader

Bridging a Scout to ASM

 Scoutmaster: Tonight, we are saddened to say farewell to one of our Scouts whom has reached the age of 18. As you know, Boy Scouting officially ends for our youth at the age of 18. I have asked our Commissioner (name), to be present this evening in order to assist (name), our Troop Committee Chairman and myself with this presentation. Will (rank of Scout) (name) come forward at this time and please stand in front of our Troop's flag.

(all participants move toward the flag. The Scout should be in front of the flag, the Scoutmaster and others behind the flag but still visible to the audience.)

Troop Committee Chair: (Scout's Name), we have seen you grow physically from the time you became a member of this Troop on (date that Scout became a member of the Troop). We witnessed your progress from boy to man through our program. We are proud to have had you serve as a member and leader of this Troop and we would like to present you with a small token of our pride in you and your progress. May you wear it as you make your way through this world, remembering the good times you have had in this Troop and the great friends you have met while here.

(Troop Committee Chair pins the small Universal emblem on the shirt of Scout. He salutes the Scout, and then shakes hands with him. The Troop Committee Chair stands back and the Commissioner steps forward.)

Commissioner: (Scout's Name), your involvement in the Scouting program is noteworthy and your progress along the Scouting trail has been noticed by those outside your Troop. As you know, your Troop is one of several belonging to the Council, and we are proud to have been able to provide you with this great and valuable experience. You have learned as much as you could about this great land-its people, its past, present and your future within it. You participated with other Scouts, under leadership from others; and later, under your own leadership, to complete service and conservation projects to benefit others. Your citizenship in Scouting was only a subset of your citizenship as a member of this community, this state and this wonderful nation of ours. We will miss your enthusiasm and willingness to serve. On behalf of the Council, I take pride in presenting you this Certificate of Service. May you continue to assist others and "Be Prepared" for the rest of your life.

(Commissioner presents opened certificate to Scout and reads the certificate. The stock certificate reads "The Boy Scouts of America takes pleasure in recognizing (space for name, Troop number and city and state) who has (four lines for "served honorably as a member of Troop (number), (city, state) from (starting date) to (date of his 18th birthday), his final day in which he could serve as a youth member.") the Date is the date of presentation. The line on the left is for the Council Scout Executive, with the person's name and title (Scout Executive, Council Executive) below. The line on the right is for the Council President or Commissioner, with the person's name and title (President, (name) Council, BSA or Commissioner, (name) Council), BSA ). (the certificate number is BSA #3714). After reading the certificate, he closes the cover and presents it to the Scout. He salutes the Scout, and then shakes the Scout's hand. Then the Commissioner moves back and the Scoutmaster comes forward.

 Scoutmaster: (Scout's Name), Anytime a Scout leaves my Troop, I feel a little sad for them and myself. Sad, because I too, remember the great times we have had together and will miss your company here. More importantly, I feel sad because I feel that perhaps I did not have enough time in order to further develop you along character lines. I hope that my personal example to you have given you ample opportunities to see the way I live and apply the principles of Scouting to my personal life. (The scout and Scoutmaster shake hands and the scout leaves the room, the scoutmaster and all in attendance watch the scout leave the room, close the door sharply for extra effect, everything should be silent, the sign could be used to maintain silence)

Scoutmaster: It is indeed an honor to introduce the newest Assistant scoutmaster of Troop XXX. (The scout who left the room, re-enters with an ASM patch pinned to his shoulder)

[vmpost]

Ponder...what is the difference between being a Scout & being a Scouter? What responsibilities are there for the young Scouter? Consider reviewing the training available, discussing the SM Conference & BoR, program planning steps, how to mentor the Scouts... Oh, the ideas are limitless...think about what the adults do & how they SHOULD do those things, then tell your young adults about it. What roles are available to 18-21 year old leaders, how to help create youth leaders, ideas on how to help separate themselves as adults without alienating their friends... Good luck!

[Lisabob]

We have several young men in the troop who have turned 18 in the last six months or so. Most express an initial desire to stay on as new leaders. Seems like those who actually do stay are those who have specific, defined roles to play. Those who don't have specific roles seem kind of lost and don't stick around for very long. So maybe this is something to discuss - how to carve out a specific role to play in the troop.

 

Lisa'bob

[Prairie_Scouter]

According to my wife, I've never quite made the transition from youth to adult

[taamland]

Our troop has five assistant scoutmasters (myself included) that have made the jump from youth member to adult leader. It is truly an asset having leaders who fully understand the program from the scout's perspective and are fully trained in scouting skills. It usually takes most parents about a year to truly "get" the program and even begin learning scout skills. The way we have recruited our adult leaders is we include an adult application in the eagle award gift pack for our 17.5 yr old eagles and as one of our scouts ages out we ask them to stay on as ASM's. The trick to keeping them is to make sure they have defined responsibilities. Most of them become patrol advisors to the patrol leaders and our old QM now runs our equipment room as an adult. The only problems we've had is at times it is hard for young leaders to make the distinction between being an adult and being a scout. We usually remedy this on campouts by giving them lots of work for the adults. Call it the initiation process to becomming a full fledged ASM.

[SeattlePioneer]

Good ideas, here.

 

 

Another that I would suggest as a possibility would be to give your new adult leaders responsibilities for providing leadership to your adult "rocking chair patrol" on campouts ---even being the Rocking Chair Patrol Leader.

 

 

 

Seattle Pioneer