Our Really Bad Situation

[Eamonn]

If I was in your situation. Here is what I think I would do.

Go ahead with the sleep over in the church. Do all the fun stuff. Do not hold the planning meeting.

Until you get the adults to work out what they are doing planning will have to wait.

If the Scoutmaster is MIA? Then the Committee has to step in. They need to select a Scoutmaster and while there isn't one it is up to them to run the meetings.

If there are issues with the CC, these need to be addressed and things made right as quickly as possible. If these issues are disrupting the smooth operation of the troop and can not be fixed, sad as it might be someone will have to step down. As he or she is the CC I would watch my step.

When I had a minute to myself I would try to get a copy of the ages and stages video and watch it.

I would remind myself that I am not going to fix the families that the Scouts come from. I am going to help provide a Scouting program. Working within whatever my position is.

The Annual Planning meeting is for the SM and the PLC. Opportunities to go sailing and do other stuff are all well and good but only if this is what they want to do.

I would remind myself that I need to find fun and interesting ways of passing information on to the Scouts. I will never ever use threats such as "If you don't you won't".

If I'm not the Scoutmaster I will have a chat with who ever is running the troop and let him know that 16 weeks is not long enough for a Scout to be a Patrol Leader. He needs more time to find his feet and develop his leadership skills.

If by chance I am near a phone I might give the Unit Commissioner a call and see how he is doing? If he or she should happen to ask how the troop is doing? I will discuss this situation with him. I might mention that having a Scoutmaster who is never at the meetings who is married to the CC just isn't working.

Most of all I will remind myself that fun is the fuel of Scouting and I need to have some fun. If and when I stop having fun and it seems that my nipper isn't having fun? Maybe the time has come to do something else or be somewhere else.

Eamonn.