BANG. Right into that wall.

[Eamonn]

Scouting units seem to have peaks and valleys.

Even the "Best Troop" in the District ten years ago might be going through a rough patch today.

Starting a new unit or trying to breathe life into an old one can be really tough.

All the stuff we learn at Wood Badge really starts to make sense!!

Sure we start with high hopes and great dreams. The dream seems to touch everyone we come into contact with.(The Forming Stage)

While we might be a little less than comfortable with what follows (The Storming Stage) We need to know that not only is this normal, but is important if we are to see the unit grow and become a team.

The time spent in the Storming Stage can feel very much like "BANG. Right into that wall."

We as Scouter's can belong or be involved with different groups that at different stages. The Troop Committee, might be at one place, the Troop leaders at another, different patrols and the PLC somewhere else.

Some groups never leave the storming stage.

Some groups move through it fairly quickly.

If we are very lucky we will move on to the performing stage. These high-performing teams are able to function as a unit as they find ways to get the job done smoothly and effectively without inappropriate conflict or the need for external supervision.

Just when we think we have it down pat. Something changes and "BANG. Right into that wall." Again.

At times it's very easy to sit at the keyboard and offer advise about how it should work.

But the truth is we are not there in real time.

Sure we can offer what the book says or methods of Scouting. But if you are in a new unit where no one has any idea of what they need to be doing. You don't have much alternative but to use the directive style of leadership.

Right now with the Ship, we have a fair amount of new Scouts who are full of the dream.

Some of the Scouts who have been in for the entire ride (All six months!!) Are starting to show their true colors. We have had a couple drop out, they seen that this wasn't what they thought it was.

I have to admit that at times I'm fairly hard on myself and do beat myself up about some of this.

When this happens I try and work back-wards!!

First I think it's important that we remember that the journey is more (Yes more) important than the destination. Having the people we work with adults and Scouts know that we can work together, going through whatever comes along is very important.While the end result is what we aimed for is great, once we are there very little is learned. Still it's very nice!!

I fall back on the ideals of Scouting a lot. This tends to remind me why I do this and why at times I put up with things that just don't seem to ever work.

I really like and try to use the methods, but when all else fails I really like the idea that:

"In the future Scouting will continue to

Offer young people responsible fun and adventure;

Instill in young people lifetime values and develop in them ethical character as expressed in the Scout Oath and Law;

Train young people in citizenship, service, and leadership;

Serve America's communities and families with its quality, values-based program.

With this in mind I can make the methods goals and keep plodding along.

I also have a lot of faith in myself!! (I know how bad that sounds.)

I'm going to do what I think is best for the kids I'm trying to serve. I really couldn't care less what other people in Scouting think. My values are in line with the values of the BSA.

I really do care about each and every kid in the unit, I want them to get as much out of the time they spend in Scouting as they can.

Eamonn.

 

[Lisabob]

Thank you Eamonn, for putting things in perspective a bit.

 

Several posters have voiced frustrations with our respective units and I have been one of those lately. Sometimes that frustration gets overwhelming and you lose sight of the larger process. For me, putting it back into the forming-storming-norming-performing frame is helpful. Right now we're storming. I think we'll probably storm a little while longer and it is immensely difficult to work through that without wanting to throttle a few people along the way. But I am hopeful that we won't be stuck here permanently! I think I've voiced frustration here in part as a way to vent occasionally. Something I can't do in my own community because it won't be productive. I see it might not always be productive here either. Hopefully, in doing so, I haven't brought anybody else down with a case of the scouter blues. To borrow from Barry, I really do love this scouting stuff.

 

 

Eamonn, I know that if I lived in your area I would encourage my boy to check out your ship if he were old enough!!! Of course there will always be a few scouts who will decide that it isn't for them, but from all the things you've written here, it sounds like a really exciting and fun program. Same is true if we lived near several other regular posters. Keep telling us about what goes right (and wrong) with your units. It is nice to hear both sides of the coin.

 

Lisa'bob

[AvidSM]

I made up the following handout to explain to my new adult leaders what I think makes a strong leader in scouting. I think it is this strength that helps you when you hit that "wall". To me, SPIRIT is the key to a scouters strength.

 

*****

"A Sturdy and Strong Scout Leader"

 

The three things that make up a sturdy and strong Scout Leader are SPIRIT, TIME and TRAINING. These are like the three legs of a stool. If one or more of the legs are weak and wobbly, the stool will not stand sturdy and strong.

 

SPIRIT is the love of scouting and the desire to be involved. A person of good spirit has an overwhelming need to contribute. It is not something that is taught or learned through experience. It comes from the heart. A leaders good spirit is infectious.

 

TIME is what part of your life that you make available to Scouting. Sometimes, it is about making scouting a priority over other activities. Care must be given to balance the time you give to scouting with the other needs in your life.

 

TRAINING is the special knowledge that you must obtain in order to make the right decisions. It is knowing all the important rules and regulations. It is knowing what your job is, and what your job isnt. This knowledge should not be confused with experience - which is learning from your own mistakes. Through training, we learn from the collective mistakes of all of those who have gone before us.

*****

 

[Eamonn]

We had at one time a very gifted Scouter posting in the forum.

I posted something that I'd done wrong.

He PM'd me asking me to stress the point that what I had done was wrong.

He thought that I had a responsibility to ensure that others in the forum got the message that what I'd done was wrong.

I did what he asked.

I know that some of those who post feel that they have an obligation to give people the correct and proper information.

I don't have any problem with that what so ever.

In fact I really like when they post the resourse where they found what ever it was.

At times this comes off as sounding high handed or even sanctimonious. I don't think anyone wants to come off sounding that way.

Scouting should be fun.

Not just for the kids but for the adults.

I know that when I with our Scouts or Scouting pals I have a blast.

Sometimes when I look back I wonder what the heck was so funny?

The Scouting world isn't going to come to a grinding halt, because the kids were out on a hike and the leaders cooked supper. Little Timmy will still be a great kid when the school play is over and he returns to the Scout meetings.

Standing on my head will put the knot that is on my uniform upside-down right but will make the rest of them wrong??

Eamonn.

[John-in-KC]

One of the things we sadly have to remember is that human interrelationships enter in to all of this. When person X holds a grudge at person Y, it doesn't matter if that grudge came from Scouting, the golf course, the marina, or work. It's in place, and it impacts ... often to the negative.

 

Ditto the "I've done it my way for N years, and will keep doing it my way."

 

I think one of the reasons we're here is to share the bumps in the road with each other, to find a way to lower them a tad, and then to continue ... yes... having FUN.

 

Have a good Memorial Day, one and all. Please take a moment to remember why we have Memorial Day after all.