We all make mistakes, maybe we should not be too critical of others

[gwd-scouter]

Folks come here to vent, to find help, offer advice, or just ask a question. Others, it seems, come here to criticize or send the message that their way is the only way. I've certainly received my fair share of encouragement, advice, and criticism.

 

I am into the beginning of my fifth year as Scoutmaster for our Troop, going from knowing pretty much nothing to where I am today - comfortable and enjoying the job now, but still, and probably always, learning.

 

At the beginning it was my goal to take our small, apathetic, recruitingless, directionless, adult-led Troop toward the implementation of all eight Scouting Methods. Through these years I've made mistakes, tried different ideas, and made some real bone-headed changes that resulted in unintended and unforeseen consequences. I had my share of legacy scouts - older guys that never really bought into the changes and either transferred troops, faded away, or did the minimum required to 'get' Eagle.

 

So, I focused my efforts on the few younger scouts we had and worked toward training them to be real leaders in our Troop. Yep, made a lot of mistakes along the way with that, too.

 

The boy-led process has been difficult and messy. Hurt feelings have been had along the way. I consider myself fair, but sometimes my explanations for a perceived slight have fallen on deaf ears (both the scouts and parents). It's a sign of maturity when a guy can actually look past his own personal interest, stop asking "what's in it for me." and start thinking more about the "big picture." Maybe I'm foolish, but that for me is the major goal in my mentoring the Scouts.

 

This forum has been a great help to me. While I read and think about those posts that criticize what goes on in our Troop and others, I have gained the most benefit from those that have honesty shared their experiences: what was tried, what worked, what didn't. All troops are not created equally - and none is perfect no matter what anyone says. The problems I have with our Troop may be similar to those of other very small Troops, but probably aren't at all typical in large Troops. For instance: we've never had a group of Webelos crossover and have received new Scouts one at a time. A new scout patrol was never an option for us. New scouts just had to fall in with the rest of the guys, sometimes fitting in quickly and easily, sometimes not.

 

Now our Troop dynamics are changing again. We have three very experienced Scouts, two working on Eagle Projects and one about to earn Life. Four 7th-8th graders still learning how to be leaders, but a long way from the experience of our older guys. Three more in the Troop one year or less and frankly more immature than I remember typical eleven year olds being. Sorry, I digress.

 

We have about 10 Webelos crossing over in a couple of weeks. Preparations have been made for them, new scout patrols, Troop Guides, etc. At the end of the summer all the boys will form themselves into two regular sized mixed-age patrols. I have some definite ideas about this, but will not interfere. Once again, we have something new that may lead to some poor choices and I'll likely post about it in the future.

 

I hope that as I continue to share on this forum our Troop's experiences (the good, the bad, and the ugly), someone out there may see their own situation in my posts and will benefit from them.

[CA_Scouter]

Wow GWD, I think we are leading parallel lives/troops!

 

Time frame is about the same, adult to boy led, all the issues with the scouts... there is a LOT of similarity in my situation.

 

I come to the forum here to listen and learn and sometimes contribute. There was a time I would not post because I knew I'd get slammed by several people who were not friendly, courteous, kind or helpful. Thankfully those persons seem to have gone away for now.

 

Its so interesting to see the differences and similarites of scouting across the nation and to compare stories.

 

I too, love this scouting stuff!

 

 

 

 

 

[Hal_Crawford]

Gwd:

Well said, thank you.

 

In many ways you could be describing my troop. A group of 9th graders heading toward Life or Eagle, a motley crew of 7th and 8th graders and 7 new crossovers, a couple of which are outstanding and a couple are really immature. With the troop size at about 22 the new guys make up a third of the troop. The new scouts have some great parents in that they want to help out but they all seem to get the difference from cubs/webelos. We also have an 8th grade scout who just joined and another scout who dropped out after a couple of months and has now returned, three years later as a ninth grader working on Tenderfoot.

 

Never a dull moment.

Hal

[desertrat77]

GWD, it seems that forums develop "first families" of members--a faithful crew of old timers who set group norms and post a majority of opinions. All perfectly understandable, except when it strays to hypercritical commentary towards new people or ideas outside the group norm.

 

I too have learned alot from this forum over the years...thanks to all for posting their experiences, comments and questions. Whether at work or in scouting, "company answers" are only part of learning. I learn a heck of alot more from people who discuss--freely--their successes and failures.

 

True, not all troops are created equal. Each troop can have it's own way of doing things and still operate well within BSA standards. I think it's the troop leaders' privilege to make organizational adjustments to suit their units' unique circumstances. Some things are non-negotiable (safety, scout oath and law, etc.), but if adults are going to make the sacrifice to lead a troop, they should have the lee way to organize and lead as they see fit.