Balancing Adult Relationships Method

[SR540Beaver]

Well, I just happened by this thread and found that my comments were what started this thread. Beavah, I never said we don't practice adult relationships in our troop. Life isn't always black and white. The fact that our adults operate as a "model" patrol on campouts does not mean we do not interact with the scouts. Month before last, we were climbing and rappeling at a wildlife refuge. Who do you think ran the program? We didn't send 18 newly crossed over scouts out with the older boys and tell them to have at it. The older boys taught skills in the troop meeting leading up to the camp out, but the adults rigged everything and ran the climbing.

 

Our 18 new boys are split into two new boy patrols. Each patrol has two troop guides who are older and experienced scouts. I am one of three ASM's overseeing the new boy program. I step into their skill sessions, patrol meetings and campsites very often to see how things are going. We do that with the other patrols too, just to a lesser extent.

 

We have enough uniformed adults at meetings and campouts that a boy can hardly turn around without running into one of us. There is a lot of adult interaction, but we do try to use the patrol method and let it work. We do expect our older boys to lead and return what they learned from other scouts to the newer scouts.

 

Our troop (boys and adults) learn something new all the time, but I like to think we have a few things figured out too.

 

Along with the patrol method and adult association, another method is Leadership Development. "The Boy Scout program encourages boys to learn and practice leadership skills. Every Boy Scout has the opportunity to participate in both shared and total leadership situations. Understanding the concepts of leadership helps a boy accept the leadership role of others and guides him toward the citizenship aim of Scouting."

 

A boy can't lead if the adults are always in the way.

 

 

[dan]

It must be me, I must not be getting my point across.

 

EagleinKY

One question is why have the older boys do the teaching, where are the instructors?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Beavah]

Yah, SR540 and fellow Beavah, I wasn't meanin' to pick on you, eh? It's just your comments and the ones in the Venture Patrol thread about how Venture Patrol kids tended to form into an "elitist clique" and stop helpin' their juniors kind of intersected in my addled brain.

 

But the discussion is interestin', isn't it? We're talkin' about how "Adult Relationships" applies to the troop leadership in terms of leadership development/trainin'. But when does it apply to the 1st year boy? The 2nd class boy? Does he not get our friendship and attention except at SM conferences?

 

How do we model the "servant leadership" of NYLT if we are off in our own high-class adult clique?

 

Yah, we have to let them lead, and that sometimes does mean gettin' out of the way, particularly if we make 'em nervous. But sometimes it might just mean that we follow them, and demonstrate good followership. Or perhaps we teach leadership by friendly collaboration and shared responsibility, as though they were real adults, or...

 

I'm curious though why you didn't have the boys do the rigging and run the climbing (naturally with appropriate supervision where needed). Those are skills as easily taught as fire-building. Taking over that kind of safety-related task is not what I was talkin' about - indeed, I think kids should be learnin' how to handle that kind of safety-related task.

 

What I was talkin' about was climbing with them, encouragin' the scared boy, celebratin' the skills of the strong climbers, thankin' the youth climbing leaders, sittin' on the rocks and hangin' out. Then goin' back to camp and helpin' 'em clean up, sharing chores, spendin' time with the PL consoling the acrophobic boy who didn't get too far, playin' Euchre with a group, etc.

 

The message shouldn't be that the cool people only come out to take charge of the cool stuff. It should be that the cool people share our life, sometimes as helpers, sometimes as friends and fellow participants.

 

How do yeh develop adult relationships?

[Eamonn]

I think we maybe need to think about balancing the need for adult relationships to fit the needs of the group.

While I suppose some might argue that a Adult Patrol might be seen as a example of how things should be. I have never seen the need.

We did use the Patrol Method,the Patrols cooked their meals and the adults cooked their meals, but depending on what we were doing or had been doing?? Even this wasn't hard and fast.

More often then not the adults would prepare the late night snack and if the Scouts had been out all day maybe even the dinner. Of course if the theme of the weekend was Patrol cooking, this wasn't going to happen!!

While I'm all for adult interaction with Scouts, I also think that it is important that we know that we are not always needed.

I have a bit of a problem with adults who have big ears!! They hear things that they are not supposed to hear, which isn't as bad as when they act on what they have heard.

Scouts can and do have a way of sorting things out for themselves if we allow them. We do need to be on hand when they don't.

I really like the idea of being more along the lines of being a big brother to the Scouts.

When I was a young SM I was happy to join in with most of the activities, sadly I'm not as young as I used to be and some of the parts don't work as well. I still am there but no longer playing Scout.

For example this weekend we were practicing some of the events for the upcoming regatta. One event is the Boatswains Chair lift.

I worked with the Crew Leaders to make sure they knew how to tie a double bowline. They taught it to their Crews.

I explained how the race was run, they practiced. But I was on hand to check the knot, man the stop watch and make sure that they didn't come down too fast (Coming down is easy!!) In the good old days I might have demonstrated the entire race, but now I'm happy to do what I can.

Later in the day I noticed a few Scouts working on their own timing how long it took to tie the knot.

That night after dinner we loaded all the Scouts in the van and went out for ice cream with them, I sat with the Scouts and we just chatted. We talked about everything from next years summer trip to the joys of rap-music.

A lot of the method is just being there for each Scout as and when he or she needs.

Eamonn.

[alpineer]

Many years ago when stationed out west I started up a troop and had a young lieutenant as my assistant. Neither of us had boys in scouts yet and we only had 6 boys in our troop. We had more fun and interaction in that small troop than you can imagine. Nowadays I'm involved in a troop that is made up of 25 boys and 12 adults. The adults hang out by themselves as do the boys. I'm the only adult that seeks the company of the boys. I don't see any clear way of changing this trend and think I will eventually strike out on my own again when my younger son is ready for scouts.(This message has been edited by alpineer)