Does BSA trust us to deliver the Program?

[FScouter]

"The SM said this is a boy led troop and if that is what they want to do, then they can do it."

 

Translation: Training boy leaders is too much work, I'll just let whatever happens, happen. And blame the results on the boys. After all, it's supposed to be "boy led", right? Let them figure it out. I never wanted this job anyway.

[Its Me]

 

Could it be stories like the Basketball Scout of America that leaves national with the perception that we can't deliver?

 

I think there is a weakness between councils and individual units. Our district has so few Unit Commissioners that they don't even try to say, "we will get to you eventually." Our District held an emergency meeting about six weeks ago basically stating that from an administrative sense we were on our own from council. A new website will be created separate from council's, a separate calendar and various other split-list items were rattled off by the bravado District Chair. Clearly our District Chair has gotten frustrated with council's agenda and believes there is a disconnect.

 

So we have a disconnect in the communication chain from units to corporate BSA. Just like in units (boy led Vs adult led)instead of training, building and working on units to be self reliant and capable of delivering a FCFY program, national takes a shortcut. That shortcut is summer camp where all the units can come and get trained by a nationally certified camp program. Like a drug, the unit leaders come to summer camp each year to get their opium fix. Summer camp deadens the pain of having to run your troop to the letter of the code, having scouts teach scouts in your own troop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bob White]

It sounds to me like the problem in your community is simply that there are al lot of leaders, yourself included, who simply do not understand the Scouting program or their role in it.

 

Your District committee chair is a member of the execuitive committee. He or she IS your connection to the council. Your unit has a concil committee member in it, why are they not attending meetings or represetning your needs?

 

You are disconnected from National? I am sorry to hear that. Could I recommend that you buy a phone. They have lots of them and there are people at the other end happy to talk with you.

 

National's solution is not summer camp. National does not have anything to do with summer camps. They are council entities, owned, operated, programmed and delivered by your local council.

 

"Letter of the Code"? What code is that? I have never heard of a BSA code for Summer camps. Please share.

 

First Class Emphasis is a unit program plan. You either choose to plan, or you do not. You recruit and retain members or you do not. You have a scouting program or you do not.

 

This has nothing to do with the National office, this is about the unit selecting quality people with personal integrity...or not.

 

The units do not belong to the BSA, they belong to the charter organizations. the program is the BSA's and your charter organization promised to follow it as a benefit to the youth they serve.

 

You will either fulfill that responsibility or not. That is up to you and not the national office.

 

(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[Eamonn]

"So if the boys want to play basketball for the pre-opening gathering activity and carry it through for the entire meeting, what's wrong with that?? It's not the Scoutmaster's program.

 

Remember, it's not our program, "it's for the boys".

 

I was half expecting to see a little smiley face icon or something like "LOL" at the end of this.

Sadly it wasn't there.

 

I'm not sure what program this might be?

But to my way of thinking it sure as heck is not my idea of what a Scouting program should be.

Somehow I can't ever see any PLC that I have ever been involved with planning or wanting to plan a Scout meeting where the entire meeting was playing Basketball.

While maybe playing ball games does meet one aim of Scouting?

If the youth and the adults are only interested in this area of activity they are in the wrong program.

In our area the YMCA does offer nights when Basket ball is the activity that is offered.

I think if I were the SM of a Troop that only wanted to play basketball I'd be glad to provide details of the basketball programs offered by the YMCA, along with detailed directions on how to get there.

If the CO was unhappy with the idea that so many of the youth were jumping ship to join the YMCA? I suppose it would be time for the people in charge of the youth programs for that organization to take a long hard look at what activities they wanted to provide for the youth they were serving. Maybe Scouts and Scouting isn't the right activity? Maybe they should think about replacing Scouting with some other sports program. One that maybe doesn't stress the same things that Scouting does and doesn't maybe have the same values that Scouting has?

I'm 100% for us having a youth led program, but the program is a Scouting program and we remain inside the program.

There is a big difference between providing activities for young people to participate in and providing a Scouting program.

I see me saying to the PLC that having meetings devoted to basketball is fine and dandy would amount to much the same thing as me saying "Sure if you don't like the Scout uniforms, go ahead and don't bother with them"

No -Not in my life time!!

Eamonn.

(The fact that I know nothing about basketball has nothing to do with it!!)

[NeilLup]

Hello Its Me,

 

Does National trust you to deliver the program? "National" has no choice. If you don't, nobody will. National really has no means, mechanism or capability to deliver the program. Units must do that.

 

As far as First Class emphasis, I respectfully suggest that you, and many other leaders, have a serious misunderstanding of the program. It is an effect, not a cause. The idea is not to push kids to make First Class by barely completing the requirements in one year. Rather, the idea is that in a good, solid, active, camping Troop, the program will be such that as a natural part of being a Scout in the Troop and participating in activities, the Scout will complete the First Class requirements in one year. If one watche a Troop and Scouts make First Class legitimately and without pushing in about one year, it is a good solid, active program. And Scouts seem to stay in units of that sort.

 

Best wishes,

 

Neil Lupton

[Beavah]

Rather, the idea is that in a good, solid, active, camping Troop, the program will be such that as a natural part of being a Scout in the Troop and participating in activities, the Scout will complete the First Class requirements in one year.

 

Yah, dat certainly was the idea, eh? Da question, though, is "Has that been the effect?"

 

Lots of times when decent ideas hit the real world, the effects they have are very different than what was intended. I think BobWhite is right in that it can be a lack of understanding of "the program" on the part of those deliverin' it, or at least that's one possible explanation. But then yeh have to look further and consider whether it's really likely that an average volunteer will understand how to make that sort of holistic program happen, or develop that kind of nuanced understandin' in a few days of training and reading manuals.

 

I suspect not, and we seem to have at least anecdotal evidence to prove it. That's how the good idea fails and doesn't have the intended effect.

 

Now, I also have my doubts about FCFY even being possible in an average, active program without watering them down or turning 'em into a school curriculum that only bears passing resemblance to Boy Scouting. The requirements haven't changed all that much from when we didn't try to do 'em in a year, eh? Were we really just lollygagging durin' our first 80 years of BSA Scouting? 18 months seems fairly common for active units trying to emphasize First Class; longer seems more natural for units that aren't emphasizing advancement.

 

Point is, whether it's possible to do well but most volunteers don't "get it", or whether it's just too quick to be good Scouting in an average unit, it's a program failure. If our volunteers who are doin' their best don't "get it" we shouldn't blame the volunteer. It's our fault, eh?

 

Me, I think the marketing and numbers people ran off with the toy.

 

So Neil, how much effort is spent, do yeh think, on actually determining whether each of the supplementary modules actually have the intended effect in terms of understandin' and implementation? I reckon dat's the missin' piece in development.

 

Beavah