One of our 20 YOs just pulled by another troop to be their SM !!

[moosetracker]

The kid was our acting SM on our last camporee.. Did a great job.

 

So a troop with an SM that is leaving just approached him today and asked him to be SM for their troop. He is all excited.

 

They will need to shuffle papers & put someone over 21 in the position at least on the forms until he reaches age. (That will be in Jan or Feb)

 

My husband told him he will need to come and talk to us because this is a great kid, but he has some organizational issues (which I don't think the other troop assessed at the camporee.) We will not be there to help him fine tune these skills.

 

Otherwise I am excited for him. He has been a second son for us. Our sons grew up together since 2nd grade. His parents weren't into scouting, so we were his scouting parents.

 

Still, I have to think this troop is desperate. I would think a troop would first look for a leader inside their troop, before they asked someone outside their troop. And then a boy of 21 I think you may consider if he grew up in the troop and you know him well. Again to recruit from outside a boy of 20 / 21 ... WOW... I thought our troop was daring and innovative.

[Beavah]

Yah, I like da units that attract and use young people. They make better role models to teens than us old farts.

 

Internationally, it's pretty typical for those of Rover age (18-26) to be running pack and troop programs, not parents. Works great.

 

Beavah

 

[Eagle92]

My advice to him would be to NOT be the de facto SM until he turns 21. Let him be an ASM, get some "On The Job Training" as well all the required stuff before become SM at 21. Also work on theose organizational skills IT IS A BIG RESPONSIBILITY! ( caps for emphasis) Not saying he cannot do it, quite the opposite in fact, but to keep things legit, get him trained, and get his organizational skills on par with the job.

 

Sorry you are losing him, but good for him!

[Eagledad]

>>but he has some organizational issues

[Gunny2862]

Look, I have organizational issues. Especially when one considers balancing Work, Family Life, Religious Activity, Scouting and it's many faces (the Boys, the Committee, the Parents, Council, the Public...

 

The trick is, IMHO, Is this young fellow Mature enough to chase all of these loose ends or just as importantly, know which ones to chase and which ones to Drop. Which ones are Important and which ones are Urgent and what the differences are in those two ideas.

 

I don't know him or his situation but also wonder if the next year might not be better spent doing the SM job in an ASM slot with an active mentor. Unless he's been FULLY exposed to what being the SM entails?

(Spelling edit)(This message has been edited by Gunny2862)

[moosetracker]

Eagle92 - hear you. He is also jumping into a unit he knows nothing about. What is the adult support that he will have behind him? How may scouts are in this unit? Unfortunately we can advise, but this is one headstrong person who has always jumped in feet first.

 

I don't know if it is the sign of the times, or if we hang around with very mature young adults.

 

We have a difficult time getting "of age" canadates to take on positions at district level as well as unit level.

 

My son took on district Eagle board by going "welcomed, but in guest mode" until they invited him to join. He also went to the committee meeting regularly and fought to get a vote on the committee. We have 3 or 4 other 18-21 YO that looking at my son at district level want to work at district level also. This "new" SM was one of them, I think he will not look to take on district any more.

 

If this is our unit I wonder what other fine young adults are eager to jump in, given the opportunity.

 

We are going to bring it up at the next district meeting. Ok, maybe by age they can't be voting members of the board. Maybe they can't be the chair of a committee. But, if they are eager and willing to work there must be something I can do with them as support staff.

 

Can I give them titled positions under the chair? Do I need to team them with an adult mentor and have both of them work the job equally?

 

I see nothing but good from the association.

 

For the young adults :

 

1) they get work expierence that they can put on job applications and if they take seriously can give them excellent references.

2) The pride in them when they get asked to serve is amazing.. When us old guys are asked, some of us are excited, but alot of times it is guarded and maybe even reluctant.

3) There may be other reasons they want the opportunity, but I'm not sure what it is not being that age anymore.

 

For the district / unit :

 

1) you get enthusiastic volunteers

2) They may leave to start a family, but chances are they will be back with thier children. These will be people who will get involved as parents again.

3) We are offering these young people opportunities, and isn't that what we are all about.

4) If I do have to pair them with an adult, I think I might find the adults easier, if they know they do not have to do the job alone.

 

Beavah - you said that Internationally they use young people for Pack & Troop programs. I wonder why the age limit here. I am also surprised they find young adults working the cub scout program. That one I though may be difficult to find a young adult with interest in, unless they are going into a field in day care, or to be an elementary school teacher.

[moosetracker]

Clarification - My son is on district on the Eagle board. But the committee position is at unit level, not district.

 

We do not invite him to district, and don't think he would be welcome.. Besides a few people set in their ways, Atmosphere has been pretty nasty.

[Eagle92]

Well I think everyone knows my views on the topic of young scouters taking on responsibility as I have major issues with folks who look only at age as the "expertness" factor

 

[sherminator505]

I don't have a particular problem with this scenario, so long as the young man isn't returning to the Troop where he started as a Scout. If that were the case, I could see problems looming with regard to parents seeing him as "one of the older boys" and not the SM. Even worse, some of the older boys might share that opinion.

 

Now if this is a Troop that the young man is new to, and he has the time to devote to the job, then I say go for it! And train him now!

[acco40]

I know ... let's make him the defacto Scoutmaster and put someone else's name down on the paperwork because we know that 20 year olds can't be Scoutmaster!

 

What part of trustworthy or obedient do the Scouters in this scenario not understand? And they want this person to be the role model for their boys?

[Eagle92]

Acco,

That's why I said wait until he's 21, unless the troop is going to die immediately ( which I seriously doubt).

 

But I read stories of WWII era scouts without SMs. I also heard of troops that have had SMs and ASMs deploy overseas where the SPL is running the show while a new leader is 'voluntold"

[acco40]

They will need to shuffle papers & put someone over 21 in the position at least on the forms until he reaches age.

 

Eagle92, my comments were not directed at you nor Moosetracker directly but those anonymous folks who think that the above is a good idea.

[moosetracker]

I talked with the boy more at the troop meeting last night.

 

He says the current SM was not planning to step down until December. The committee feels if he knows the situation he will remain on board until mid February when the boy becomes 21. So they will be looking for a legal solution.

 

But, it sounds like with the SM goes many expierenced adult leaders. They have some new crossover adults willing to step in. But in truth it will be a fairly new troop. He plans to check out the troop next Thursday.

 

He also wants to take my son & the another of our 18-20 YO adult leaders with him. But, my son is divided between helping him out and worrying that they can not pull it off. He also has good loyalty to his current troop. Also he is sort of committed to the troop until his woodbadge tickets are completed.

 

I advised him to go with his friend next Thursday. If he sees potential problems, he can point them out to his friend and then choose to not jump troops because of them. If he just says "No" his friend will take it personally. But, who knows he may find that there is a great group of Adult leaders, who may be green, but ready and willing to jump in. (although if there is why no one wants to take on SM.....)