Help...I am having problems motiviating my guys

[eagle96]

The scouts in my troop say that we don't do anything but when asked for their input for camping trips and other activities, that have none. We try to arrange the trips to where the plc plans them. They want to go on more "high adventure" type trips such as rappelling, canoeing, etc... and we have a better turn out for them. But when we go on district camporees and "ordinary" campouts, we have a very low turn out (like 6 out of a troop of 28). I am out of ideas to motivate the guys. Any suggestions???

[OldGreyEagle]

As much as it pains me to say this, why plan and go on an Outing that you already know will be poorly attended. Troops are not required to go to the Camporees, highly encouraged yes, but not required. And what do you mean, "ordinary" campout, if the PLC plans outings, then none should be "ordinary"

 

BTW, the troop I serve had a long history of aatending, but not doing well in the patrol competition portion of the Camporee. I challenged the patrols if they placed First, Second or Third overall, they could throw a pie in my face. Well, after three years, one placed third and indeed I was pied. The NEXT camporee they came in third again and I owe them a pie. It worked for us

[EagleInKY]

OGE is right. If they don't want to go, don't make them. Hopefully, they'll see a neighboring troop hoist the trophy and decide they want to come back and challenge them again in the future.

 

Coming up with other incentives, such as his pie example, also work well.

 

Our PLC wanted to do a campout once where we didn't have any agenda. They said we always pushed the boys too hard. So, they scheduled a campout where they would just "hang out". Well, you can imagine, by Saturday afternoon it was "hey what is there to do! We're bored!!". I didn't do a thing. It served as a good lesson for them about planning fun activities.

[eagle96]

Thanks for your input. I am actually taking over as scoutmaster after a fairly poor one who cost us about 1/2 our boys so I am trying to get our PLC back in good shape as well as the rest of the troop (with help from other adults and boys).

 

The incintives, like what was mentioned, would be something that I would be willing to try.

 

We try to encourage all the boys to go on the activities but have been disappointed about the turn out on the past few. I figured that if they planned them out, more would attend. It has worked a little but I think that if I put another incintive in front of them, it might grab their attention.

 

By ordinary campout, I meant ones that we plan as a troop where we go to a location and work on certain skills such as hiking, and pioneering to name a few.

 

[Laurie]

What is the goal in the motivation you provide?

 

That may sound like an odd question, but it is one that I am planning on bringing up a pack committee meeting this month. It's been awhile since we actually reminded one another of our purpose, and here is what some leaders are saying they are trying to motivate the boys to do: (1) earn Arrow of Light, (2) develop confidence in themselves, (3) earn all activity badges before bridging, (4) stay together after bridging so they can stay with the leaders, (5) try out something new in their handbooks, (6) make sure all the boys do all the activities, and (7) to create an environment free from bullying.

 

My concern is that the motivation in this unit be appropriate for Cub Scouting. I'm not convinced that all of the above goals that leaders are trying to motivate the boys to accomplish are healthy goals.

 

So, in this troop you serve, what sorts of issues might you have to overcome? My own experience in 3 different units now, troop and pack, are that each has different goals and therefore a different way of motivating the youth.

 

And, you mention that the youth have no input. Have they planned outings before? Perhaps they don't know what to plan or how to plan. Perhaps they are unaware of the opportunities they can create with the leaders' help.

 

I'm glad you're working on this and hope things work out.

[mich632]

Our troop "always" attends all 4 district outings. And we normally only get about 10% of the troop to go.

 

This year the PLC looked at attendance and decided to drop 3 of the district events and only do one. They came up with some great replacements.

 

The troop committee had a cow. The boys explained their reasons and logic and the troop committee accepted it.

 

Here's my thoughts.

1. It's the boys calender. If they are not interested in attending ALL district events fine.

2. I would rather have 4 troop events that are heavily attended, than 4 district events that are poorly attended.

3. How can you say you are meeting the goals the BSA established to have an outdoor program if no one attends.

 

It's more important to have a GOOD program that the boys are willing to attend, than meeting DISTRICT expectations of attending their campouts.

[OldGreyEagle]

And maybe, just maybe, if enough troops don't show up at district events, the organizers of those events will change the events so the youth want to attend them, in the words of the erstwhile Judy Tenuta, "It could Happen"

 

Just a note, be sure to let someone know a the District Level of the Troops decision, you can't fix something if you don't know its broke(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

[IBSteveC]

Council and District activities are meant to help supplement a units program- not replace it. I don't mean to sound disloyal to a Council or District but folks need to vote with their feet. In forty years of being in Scouting I have seen some great Council events and some poor Council events. I have always maintained that Council and District events should be great events to show units how things are properly done. Sometimes the only way to get the message to Council and District folks is to say either improve the event to the standards of the units or delete or replace the event so that Scouts will want to attend.

Some times we as Scouters also need to encourage our Scouts to go to these events... a special reward helps to encourage Scouts to attend. In my Troop we have a special overnight for those who attend the Council Camporee. (this is called bribery) But should the Camporee be a poor event I would not hesitate to seriously review whether or not to attend the following year.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Have an active PLC. Have adult support for the meetings and campouts. Have an active committee that supports the program.

 

The Scouts decide on a twelve month proposal of themes and campouts that are within the adult's abilities to support the proposal. It can be any combination of unit to Council activities. (*require Good Turns and Fund Raisers as well as something for the CO.)

 

The committee votes on the proposed calendar and may give further input/changes before it is finalized. The PLC reviews the changes and opts for revision and/or discussion. The calendar is then voted on, set, and published.

 

Meetings are defined by the theme and the ensuing monthly event. The meetings are also events and should be treated as such. It takes allot of adult support to have and active, interesting overall program. It takes boy leadership to new heights in planning and execution.

 

I do not support pie being thrown in one's face. I like eating it one slice at a time. It should be cooked in a Dutch oven and eaten with milk and or coffee. This method is much more rewarding, as most leaders generally know. An active program has its' own rewards for Scouts and adults.

 

FB

[Eamonn]

I am with Fuzzy and the planning that needs to be done.

When I look at District Camporees and the troops in the District I see some troops that never ever miss one. Sad to say for one or two of them this is the only outdoor activity that the Scouts get to participate in.Members of the District Committee do have to remind me about these Troops when I start going on about how I don't want the District to get in the way of the Troop program. We have troops that have not attended a Camporee in a long time, some because they are too busy, some because they never do anything, some because at some time in history someone got upset about something. We also have the troops that look at what the Camporee is doing and what they are doing and someone (The PLC??) decides what they will do.

One of the Camporees that had the best attendance was a Camporee that had a Sports Theme. Of course some SM's were upset that we weren't doing Scoutcraft type activities. One that the Scouts really seemed to enjoy was a night hike, with activities /problem solving along the way.

Our best attended District event is the District First Aid meet.

We need to do a better job of planning the events in advance and letting the troops know what we will be doing.

Eamonn.

[anarchist]

Eagle 96

First, remember that in most troops you need program for all levels...maybe your older scouts are tired of the "same old, same old!" Sometimes, I can't say I blame them. Some camps/camporees should be expected to 'be' for the boys who 'want to go or need to go'...usually the newer scouts...don't sweat it a lot.

 

But when planning with your PLC adults need to remember; sometimes it is not who is smarter or better or bigger...but really, who is most 'sneakie'. We found out a long time ago that with lots of 'new PLC's and 'planning, we had to "lead them to the water"...and then hold their darned heads in it 'til they drank...or drowned! Not really, but we did find that if you JUST ASK A NEW PLC WHAT THEY WANT...you get a lot of 'don't knows' and 'fun stuff' answers but little real meat and potatos...

 

But if the adult leadership works out a bucket load of activity options (Adult Troop Planning)

and then (this is where the sneakie part comes in)'targets' the boys you think might like the different activities ( Jimmy with canoeing, Mike with first aid, Sam for an 'aviation' trek and Robbie for LNT, etc. ) with 'suggestions' or you might 'run into a scout' and ..."hey bud, I just heard about...sounds awesome doesn't it?...you think the PLC might be interested it trying it? Gosh, if you like it that much, why don't you put it on the table at the next meeting???" then let nature take it's course...We have found after 'feeding' the boys a few ideas (gently) before long, the Scouts see that they can 'come up with' an idea and a plan' and more importantly; that the Adults don't 'step' on their planning out of had we support it! (unless it's a campout to Hawaii with dad footing the bill) And before long, they are doing it themselves.

 

Like MANY have said you do not have to go to CAMPOREES...If they don't meet expectations...find a better way to invest the boys scouting experience...After SAYING THAT I WANT TO CHALLENGE you and your scouts...If you think of a camporee program you would like to see...Have your troop "ADOPT" the program and offer to run the camporee for a future date... it will put a good opportunity in front of your older scouts to organize and operate a district event...(they are not required, necessarily, to do the program teaching if they do not have the skill sets or talent to succeed, but they do need to line up the necessary 'talent'...this can be a year long project and can be extremely rewarding...particularly if it requires the scouts to aquire new skill sets to run the show!

 

As to "ordinary campouts"...makeeach one less about work and more about fun and activity. Pioneering...have a race to build two or three projects (say a small bridge, a crain and table then have a race to carry a bucket of water across the bridge cup by cup, use the crain to move the bucket to the table and a scout then uses the waterbucket to 'douse' the SM if they win the race!)..for each patrol...don't want to get wet? give a prize...or take a pie in the face etc. Make it fun and they will come (most any way!)

[acco40]

Camporees are not district events or council events. They are events put on by volunteers from units in a particular district or council. There is a difference. With the attitude that the "council" (or more properly district) puts on a camporee and units then have the simple choice of attending or not - no wonder the events seem lackluster!

 

Similarly, troop outings are not just something the PLC or worse the adult leaders put on. They should be events that the boys thought about, passed along ideas to their PL, PLs brought it up the annual planning meeting(s), and then were implemented.

 

I know that is ideally how it should work. I also know that it takes effort and many of the boys don't want to put forth the effort. That is where the Scouters great leadership training, mentoring, and other skills come (on don't) come into play.

[Eagledad]

Hi All

 

Just like it takes practice for the brain to get good at math, being creative and thinking out of the box takes practice and exercise as well. Dont assume that letting them go that they will come up with new ideas. Believe it or not, scouting is the youth program where the idea of letting the youth create the program is the norm. Its no wonder our youth arent good at it at first. You just need to prime the pump a little.

 

I like the analogy of leading them to water than holding their heads underwater. Get some copies of annual programs from a dozen different troops and give them to your scouts to show them different ideas other troops do a regular campouts. Then get them talking, stand back and watch how it goes. If one or two scouts just sit there quietly watching the others, ask them for one idea. It never fails, once the scouts see they can get outside the norm, you cant seem to stop the snowballing effect.

 

I love this Scouting Stuff.

 

Barry

 

[SR540Beaver]

I agree with Barry about leading the horse to water. I've visited with Barry offline recently about the outings the boys in the troop I serve are planning since he and I live in the same area. The troop I serve is only about 6 months old and is made up of 11 and 12 year old boys less than a year out of Webelos. Ask them where they want to go and what they want to do and you get blank stares. They came from an adult led program and don't have enough life experience yet to know of many places they can go or what to do when they get there. What we had to do this month for planning the first 6 months of the coming year was to put a variety of locations and activities in front of them and let them pick from them. If they say no to a location; fine, it is off the list for now. If they trow in someplace that isn't on the list; fine, it goes on the list. At this point, we report, they decide as the cable news channel likes to say. As time goes by and the boys and troop matures, they will be more likely to start coming up with outings entirely on their own. It is easy for them to claim that a campout is lame if the adults do all the planning. Hey, I could give them a list of places and activities off the top of my head that I think would be crackerjack. They'd probably turn their noses up at it and complain all weekend at each one. The outings will only be as lame as they make them if they are in the drivers seat. I think part of battle is in getting the boys to understand that the greatness or the lameness of an outing is in their hands. If they think the district camporee is lousy, don't force them to go because it is tradition.

[Fuzzy Bear]

On Lameness and Greatness,

 

The decision was made to go to one particular camp because the program fit the troop's needs and the camp belonged to the Council but there was limited Scout involvement in the vote.

 

The Scouts obtained the vote for the next year and planned to go to a Camp one of the guys had attended about three years in the past in a separate Council. He had been eleven at the time. He told everyone about the wonders of the camp. The vote carried and the registration began.

 

Upon returning that year, the guys complained bitterly that the camp didn't offer them anything, was poor in resources and assistance. They decided that they would return to our Council's camp for the next year.

 

The best choice was when the Scouts made it to the wrong camp. They learned the most about leadership. They began to choose more carefully and wanted an inspection before leaping. They found out that the words from a Scout that had been eleven when making judgments about a camp is not the same as one that is fourteen.

 

The adults learned more about keeping good ideas to themselves so the Scouts would learn more about being good leaders. So,

the leaders best choice was the second one which was to allow the Scouts to choose for themselves. By taking the vote away, no matter how subtlety, the leaders allowed little room for improvement.

 

from the Confessions of a really Bad Leader,