Scouts Fighting

[Lisabob]

Regardless of this boy's medical condition, if you do not respond firmly, you will quickly become known as a troop that coddles bullies and your younger scouts will leave. Webelos will opt to join other troops instead. I say this because I have seen it happen, including with special needs scouts who have emotional disorders.

 

At a minimum, the scout needs to have his parent attend events. And you should not hesitate to send him home, if he behaves like that again. I bet his dad would understand this and accept it, even if he is disappointed. Again, medical issues are no excuse for physically attacking others. The boy needs to be held to certain basic standards of behavior, and the other boys need to know that he will be held to those standards, if they are going to be able to work with him, too.

 

 

[evmori]

Why are we considering coddling this kid? Regardless of the reasons for what he did, there should be consequences for his actions. And they should be immediate. The longer you wait to deal with this the less of an impact it will have. Strike while the iron is hot!

[Phibbles]

I would have sent all boys involved home to wait further review. There is no cause for this on a camping trip and not sending the kids home just risks further incidents from happening.

[acco40]

I still say a jury of ones peers, the youth, not the adults, should take place.

[Eamonn]

No matter what you do now it seems to me that it would kinda be like bolting the door after the horse has gone on his merry little way.

 

If you have a working Committee?

This might be the time to have them take a look at the G2SS, have them think what action or actions they are going to take should something like this happen again?

 

If you don't have a working committee?

You need to read the Guide.

Spend a little while thinking what your role is?

Who do you serve?

Eamonn.

 

 

[asichacker]

Here's why I'm not a Scout Leader.

 

Any boy engaged in aggressive behavior with another is immediately bounced from the outing and the troop that instant.

 

Actions have consequences...

 

Severe actions have severe consequences....

 

I thought teaching this responsibility thing is what Scouting was about?

 

[Mafaking]

 

A little more to the story.

 

According to the dad, after taking the stick one of the other three boys jumped on his boy. That's how that one boy was tossed from his boys' back and into the thorn bushes.

 

I appreciate that I missed one good opportunity at the campout by not sending the scout home. I measured the consequences of everything involved and made the decision not to call out the dad based on how the scouts and parents would react. The father will come down hard on his son for his actions. Had I called him out the son and the father would have been the victim of unfair punishment.

 

The father has been told that he must attend the next few campout with his son. The father was planning to go to summer camp already.

 

[OldGreyEagle]

Sounds like you are doing the right thing Mafaking, God Bless you for what you do

[evmori]

Summer camp???

 

This Scout should at least be suspended from the Troop for a period of time. Behavior like this is uncalled for and should not be tolerated. And I feel not suspending this Scout just sends the wrong message to the rest of the Scouts in the unit. Whomp on someone and your dad gets to go camping with you.

[Fox 76]

This issue has recently come up in out Troop. However, in our case it isn't outright fighting yet. In our case, it's one Scout who is "handy," and sometimes impulsively strikes other Scouts.

 

The Scoutmaster and myself (CC), along with the other leaders, are crafting a firm policy to deal with situations like this. Clearly, there is a difference between horseplay and assault, so that consideration must be made.

 

What we are discussing at this point is first speaking with the parents of any boy who aggressivley lays his hands on another. If there is a repeat incident, the boy will be ejected from the Troop. Some kids are just angry or aggressively physical. Let them go play football or take up boxing.

[asichacker]

I agree 100% with Evmori...

 

You gave this kid a "pass" for fighting because you didn't want to make a scene at the campout.

 

Wrong answer.

 

Had this happened at your school, all of the kids would have been bounced from school for at least three days...

 

With an EC like Scouts, fighting MUST be an immediate and permanent ejection...no less.

[Horizon]

And will we also eject the boy who jumped the special needs scout?

 

This is why I believe in holding a BOR - you have to get ALL of the facts. If not, you are bouncing the boy who got caught - not necessarily all of the boys.

 

Not that I would not send a Scout home - but that we are all jumping on the one Scout, and now Mafaking has found some additional information. Strong response is required, but so is justice. I would bring all of the boys one at a time before the BOR to find out what happened. Then, after everyone has had a chance to talk, you can determine what the appropriate response is to ALL of the Scouts actions.

[Mafaking]

 

Schools use a zero tolerence policy. I don't wish to use such draconian measures in scouts.

 

 

[asichacker]

The ZT policy (Draconian or not) in the schools was brought about by the demands of parents (and society as a whole) because we had drifted away from it so much in the 70's-90's.

 

Since Scouts is an EC that supposedly holds to higher standards of behavior and morality, I would think the consequences would be at least as severe as our schools.

 

Of course, it's likely I haven't caught on to Scouts yet either..

 

$0.021416

[Scoutfish]

I do not condone fighting! PERIOD! But I don't jump at the gun either. I would not excuse physical violence in any way.

 

But having said that, I completelt feel that on the spot suspension is not the right answer either,

 

I might first have all invovled scouts under "tent arrest".

 

See, I will not say that since the scout is special needs, that he is excused. He's not. But I have to wonder.. was he put up to this by other scouts on his "side" , or did he just take ths stick of his own accord?

Was he previously teased about not being man or scout enough to get the stick?

 

I mean, even with a good group of kids, you all must have seen that my side vs their side mentality. And given the oppertunity, even the best behaived scouts will prod and egg on other scouts to do less than normal things in the name of fun or competition.

 

Basically, what we say when the kids all get together at family events: "It's all fun and game until somebody gets hurt!"

 

Horsepklay gone wrong may be what happened.

 

Again, physical violence should not be tolerated! But exactly when did it start?