Re: ADD Scout and Scout Spirit

> Jim McMaster wrote:
>
> >>but I have one problem scout. He is very bright, but extremely immature. He
> also is ADD. Ritalin did not help, so he
> now takes imipramine, which seems to help him quite a bit.... He also gets
> picked on a lot both in and out of scouts...one of those middle-schoolers who
> seems to wear a "KICK ME" sign wherever he goes.
> ..The problem is whether I should sign him off on Scout Spirit. He goofs aroun
> d a bit at troop meetings, but that is attributable to the ADD, and I am willing
> to let that go. Campouts are the problem. ... Camporee was the worst. It was
> cold, with plenty of snow on the ground. He refused to help set up the tents b
> ecause he was too cold. ... He was supposed to cook breakfast, but refused beca
> use he was too cold.<<
>
> Jim:
>
> This scout certainly seems to need our help.
>
> Please don't take this as second-guessing, but my approach at the camporee would
> have been tell the boy that if he didn't do his job, he would have to go home.
> I would then follow through and call his mother to pick him up. It does the
> troop no good to make exceptions for one boy who could do the tasks if he wanted
> to. I know that this is especially hard to do to your own son, but the impact
> on the troop because he is your son is three or four times greater, IMHO.
>
In retrospect, I should have sent him home. I considered it, but I had the
only working car in the family, and would have had to drive him home, leaving
only one adult with the troop for two hours. Hindsight is wonderful.

> Going ahead, I would try the following. First, ask one of your assistants to
> personally take an interest. I know that my sons listen to the other leaders
> more attentively than they do to me - their "dad filter" gets in the way. This
> ASM should sit down with this scout now for a "Scoutmaster's conference" and not
> wait until December. He should outline the problem as he sees it, and give your
> son every opportunity to express his side. I would encourage them to come up
> with a plan of action where your son could display his scout spirit over the
> next few months. If this pushes his advancement back into January or February,
> I don't think that there would be any permanent harm. Make sure that this
> leader knows that he has your full support, and make sure that you give it to
> him. Make sure that your son knows that he needs to look at this ASM as his
> Scoutmaster, and that you can't overrule his decisions.
>
I have decided to do this.

> As to the issue of continuing on campouts, we need to remember that the outdoor
> program is only one of the methods of scouting, and it's not a "make or break"
> item. You should continue to encourage him to go camping, but we shouldn't make
> attendance on camping trips a requirement for scout membership. Remember that
> the aim of scouting is to help the boys develop into citizens of good character,
> and not to make them into rugged outdoorsmen (this is a side benefit). There is
> nothing inherently wrong about a scout who only goes warm-weather camping. When
> he does go, however, he must fulfill his duties as a patrol member.
>
I have never made him go, and I respect his decision not to camp in the cold.
He says he would only make my life miserable by complaining, and he would
rather not. My concern is the lack of scout spirit on campouts. This is
where he has the problem, and he cannot demonstrate it is better until he goes
on a campout. By then, he will have long since passed all the other
requirements for 1st Class and Star if we let him.

> I'm sure that you'll get a lot of good advise from the list. Stick in there!!!
>
> Yours in Scouting
> Joseph A. Alessi in Ozwin 2.11
> At 08:36 EST on 31-Oct-96

Thank you for the good advice. Sorry to take so long to respond, but I got 40
responses, and it is taking me awhile.

--
Jim McMaster
mailto:mcmaster@sweng.stortek.com
SM Troop 70
Boulder, CO

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