How would you handle this?

[BadenP]

jet

 

Maybe in your mind this situation is more interesting, but I think Beavah has it right nothing more than "making mountains out of molehills". In reality all this truly was is a case of the complete breakdown of leadership by both the adult and youth leaders of that patrol. Time to replace that ASM before she allows something truly serious to happen to any of your scouts. Sorry for being so blunt.

[Basementdweller]

No body is going to suggest the boys run the scout law????

 

Trustworthy comes to mind. At minimum I would ask for the score sheet, sit down with the boys and see if they actually participated in what they earned points for. If they received points for things they did not participate in. I would remove those points and have the boys return the first place prizes.

 

I wonder if they understand they probably did not earn them in an honest manner. I could have been a mistake or could have been ego that help them win.

 

While I appreciate this not being the end of the world it is a teachable moment for sure.

[moosetracker]

I'm with you Basement..

 

And lets not forget the Flag Retirement ceremony..

 

The cheating for winning may have been all the ASM with the kids being clueless and not questioning that logically they should not have won while missing half the events unless all the other troops were pitiful.. Or they could know exactly how they won, and not care.

 

But the Flag Retirement ceremony and lack of respect, you need to put square on their shoulders.. Unless this was the first ceremony they ever had been to, and the ASM said, "Just go for it".. with no instructions.. They had to have known that they were being disrespectful, and not performing the ceremony correctly..

 

A learning expierence, and a time to let them know this type of behavior will not be tolerated in the future..

[Engineer61]

Boot the ASM immediately.

 

You select the replacement.

[sherminator505]

Her patrol?!

[gcnphkr]

I'm a bit surprised at how many are ready to throw the ASM under the bus.

 

After speaking with the various ASMs, SPL and PLs it was fairly minor stuff.

 

The scouts had known they had for several weeks that they were staying late to clean up. The ASM used to send parents an email regarding what the patrol was doing, but the scouts asked her to stop that a while back. They all said they had let their parents know that they were staying late. Chances are some either did not make this clear, or the parents forgot and looked at the permission slip for the return time. Simple mistake, easily remedied.

 

The scouts did leave the scout in the camp. But actually talked about it during the inspection so that the judge was aware of the situation and got a bit of a laugh out of it. Short discussion on being trustworthy and loyal, matter closed.

 

Asked the PL what happened at the Flag Retirement. They had expected to be using the main campfire but at the last minute had been told use a secondary one. Adults will tend to do this so that the main fire can be extinguished while the smaller one that the retirement is done in can be allowed to burn out on its own. People's sensibilities at flag retirements always cause issues. Anyway, this caused confusion in the scouts and resulting in their arguing about how to handle the changes. The PL is fairly quiet and a bit rigid, this would have been very challenging for him to deal with. We discussed strategies for the future, primarily in practice and planning for the wenches that adults will throw at them.

 

I've no idea how they won the contest. I don't really care. The PL, whose patrol took 3rd was fired up about taking 3rd and the boys all seemed to have a good time. There was not a hint among the PLC that this patrol did not deserve the win.

 

The big lesson from it all. Trust your people and remember that no matter how well trained we all might be we will still make mistakes.

[SeattlePioneer]

This impresses me as a distinctly low performing Scout Patrol that deserved to win no awards for anything.

 

The ASM has entirely the wrong ideas.

 

MOST scouting is about asking people (adults too) to do more than anyone can do. That forces people to make choices about how to use their time. Cheating is the wrong solution.

 

The main reason for the low performance is that the Scout ideals have been pretty much abandonned. I'd start by asking the patrol anjd patrol leaders to rededicate themselves to the Scout Oath and Law and to live by those ideals when on the next Scout outing.

 

 

[Beavah]

Yah, jet526, thanks for takin' the time to give us the follow-up, eh? And glad things worked out to be just a bunch of ordinary learning opportunities in Scouting.

 

Like you, I am surprised sometimes at how quickly we get down on fellow adult leaders (and kids) here. Myself included on occasion. Just an Internet thing I guess. Or at least I hope!

 

Beavah

 

 

[Engineer61]

"...but the scouts asked her to stop that a while back."

 

Well, hopefully, that will change.

[qwazse]

"ASM" "hands-on" and "she" in the same scentence = lightning rod

 

Anyway, my priority would be coaching the ASM away from the "involvement ledge". The time will come when her sitting back ready to handle a health and safety issue will be more important than making sure your McCale's Navy Patrol gets a fair shot.

 

The communication issue, well I'm sure your leaders have a "wall of infamy" somewhere (if only in stories after taps), let her know she's now on it!

 

Sounds like your boys have it together as good as any. A stern, yet understanding, warning about giggle fits is all they lack! Sounds like the PL's ready to give that one for you.