Troop behavior problem

[silvereagle982]

I recently rejoined my troop after taking a five year break for college i was a life scout and a member of the tribe of mic-o-say and ordeal member of order of the arrow. So i rejoined and after about month being back involved in the troop once again. The troop behavior is way outline and I will working with the new SPL that is going elected next month to help fix the problem with the behavior. I help need some advice to on how to go about fixing the troop and transiting the new SPL to a job to fix the behavior. we are going to h roe bartle for camp this summer and spl job is more important. my goal is fix to problem before we head to camp this summer. can someone give some advice on matter.

[Scoutfish]

First things first: Of what matter is the matter you refer to?

 

What is the problem you want advice on?

 

Lazy, in motivated, chaos, lying, fighting, non attendance?(This message has been edited by scoutfish)

[Beavah]

Yah, silvereagle982, thanks for returning and giving back to the program!

 

You didn't say what your position is, eh? Are you now the Scoutmaster, and ASM, a committee member?

 

Generally speakin', it should be the SM working with the SPL.

 

Behavior stuff is funny, eh? I think when behavior is bad, you need some strong-willed and "cool" adults to address it firmly and forthrightly. I wouldn't put that burden on a new SPL. You re-establish the behavioral norms as adults first, you deal with the most recognizable problems firmly. You might need to tick off some parents, you might even need to leave a metaphorical "body" on da floor, eh? (in other words, you might need to remove a bad actor or two from the troop).

 

By takin' it on as adults, you demonstrate by example what you want an SPL to eventually be able to do on his own with smaller problems. You make maintaining the troop's behavior a mature, cool thing to do for the senior boys - something that they will aspire to do for themselves. Then you coach them on how to do that, and back them up when needed.

 

But if yeh have some real problems, I think yeh need to start on the adult side. Otherwise you're just throwing a new, young SPL to the wolves.

 

Beavah

 

[silvereagle982]

ASM

 

i used to be the SPL of troop at one point when i was a scout in troop. Now that i am back in the troop it is not the same troop that i left with. The other problem is that there is not one scout that really stands out that could be a good new SPL. The spring/summer SPL is more important then the winter because of summer camp at Bartle which is 10 days of leading the troop. With a new scoutmaster that is currently serving is kind of soft as leader after having long run with really good scoutmasters.

 

some of the behavior problems would lack of leadership, uniforms not in check, constantly yelling to be quiet, technology, there is few bad weeds here and there also.

 

actually the Mic-O-Say Advisor from my troop suggest me to help out with the new SPL once he is elected and he talked to the scoutmaster and scoutmaster thought that it was a great idea to try?

[Lisabob]

Welcome back to scouting.

 

About behavior, I do think it helps if all the adults have a common understanding of what is acceptable and what isn't, first. If you lack that, the boys will pick up mixed signals and it becomes very hard to enforce any sort of standard at that point. So I would encourage you to see what other adult leaders in the group think and work to build a consensus there. Then the SM could work through the SPL and the SPL could work through the PLC to ensure that everybody knows what the expectations are. The SPL can be coached (by the SM) in how to lead that discussion with his PLC. Ideally, the PLC members are going to be the SPL's best allies in changing troop behavior.

 

Now from a different angle...

 

One thing that I think is really tough for a lot of people is to transition from seeing things through the eyes of their own experience as a scout, to seeing things through the eyes of their new roles as adult leaders. That must be especially challenging when a person returns to his old troop, rather than returning to scouting as an adult with a different troop.

 

The fact is, things do change. And because the people are different from those who were there when you were a scout, the program will reflect the different interests, strengths, and weaknesses of the current participants. Sometimes this may mean that things you remember no longer apply (even if you remember them fondly). You have to be willing to accept that this is no longer YOUR troop or YOUR experience, but rather, the experience of the current youth members. Don't try to make it the same as yours because it just won't be.

 

It can also be tempting to measure the current scouts by your memory of what your group was like when you were youths. But keep in mind, there were probably some adults back then who doubted YOUR ability to lead also (and yet, you probably did a great job). Many youth will grow into the job if they have the tools and role modeling and encouragement of a few key adults to help them do it. They don't have to START as the world's best SPL. Give them that chance to grow.

 

Some other differences to keep in mind: As an adult leader, your job is really very different than as a youth leader. You can offer a lot of encouragement and motivation, but many decisions are ultimately not going to be made, or implemented, by you. Sometimes the decisions that are made by youth leaders will be ones you don't like or agree with. Sometimes, you have to allow that to happen anyway, or else you risk turning the troop into a totally adult run affair.

 

Also, since you are not hte SM, despite the fact that you may view the current SM as soft (and maybe he is, I am not doubting you), you will need to figure out how to walk softly here. It just plain is not your job as a newly returned adult ASM to be telling the SPL how to do things. So I would suggest that you provide your insights to the SM directly. Then let the SM counsel and mentor the SPL. That is really how things are supposed to work, right? But be aware that the SM isn't always going to do things the way you would, and this can be immensely frustrating sometimes if you have a strong vision of how you think things should be, but the SM does not have such a strong vision, or the SM has a different vision. That is part of the role you now inhabit though, since you are an assistant to the SM. Again, tread lightly for a bit since you are newly returned, and a lot of things have probably changed in the intervening 5 years.

 

 

 

 

[silvereagle982]

I think have all the information I need now thank you