too busy at camp to advance?

[OldGreyEagle]

There is a difference between being a skilled outdoorsman and a skilled scouter. I will type that again slower for those of you who dont read fast. There is a difference between a skilled outdoorsman and a skilled scouter.

 

A skilled outdoorsman can brew coffee, make scrabbled eggs and biscuits in record time, but a skilled scouter allows his scouts, even the younger ones, to struggle through and learn how to cook even if it means burnt offerings are the dish du jour.

 

The goal of a campout isnt supposed to be about how many miles were hiked, or whitewater rapids ran or even the making of the best blueberry cobbler ever (though it helps), its the strengthening of charactor, the development of interpersonal skills through interactions of the patrol and foundation of self-confidence that is paramount.

 

Setting up boys to be disappointed becasue of slow advancement is as bad or worse than rushing them through. If the boys have studied and are ready, to make them wait because the troop has no time for them tells me the troop has no time for the boy at all and that is ludicrous

[Beavah]

Thanks for the longer explanation, Lisabob. It helps us understand, eh?

 

You are still thinkin' like a Cub Scout parent. You see an issue and you want to come to an adult solution by runnin' an adult event, gettin' ideas from other programs and pushing the SM to do things through the committee.

 

That is most definitely not Boy Scouting.

 

In Boy Scouting, we don't take the responsibility away from the boys. If your son and his buddies feel they're not getting what they needs, their job is to tell their patrol leader... loud and clear, many times. Or to elect a new one. My experience with PLC's has been that they only need a voice or two expressing a problem for the group to focus on it and come up with their own solutions, with perhaps some gentle hinting or suggestions from the SM.

 

Learnin' how to do that is far more important to the boys' future lives than being "signed off" on tying a bowline.

 

So what's your role in all this? To buck your son up and encourage him to talk to his Patrol Leader (and maybe SPL if there's a chance). And to be quietly supportive of the adult volunteers with experience in your unit, eh?

 

 

 

[evmori]

Excellent post OGE!!!!

 

I would agree 100%

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[MaScout]

Right on, OGE!!!

 

Now...how do we get our Scouts AND Scouters to become skilled scouters and help our new Scouts to become skilled outdoorsmen?

[FScouter]

As has been pointed out, a good chunk of Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, and 1st Class requirements must be done outdoors in a camping setting. These camping tasks are being done on every campout and there is no reason why they cannot be done by boys that have not yet earned the rank.

 

One of the primary responsibilities of a patrol leader is to help the patrol members complete rank requirements. From Lisas description, the boys either have not been given the responsibility, or the adult leaders seem to be OK with the boys failing to deliver what theyre responsible for. If the older boys do the cooking 9 out of 10 times, they are not figuring it out, they are failing. How many campouts are the skilled outdoorsman adults willing to sit by and watch the older boys fail to figure it out?

 

If a boy must wait until summer camp to learn first class skills, that reflects on the failure of the troop to provide opportunities in the troop and patrol setting. A adult Scouter with lots of outdoor skills isnt much good to the troop if the boys arent learning anything. And failure to advance is a good indicator that they arent learning anything.