Re: Needed-Voices of Experience

Our role is to prepare young people for life. If they choose to give back
some of their experience that is a gift which we need to accept, but not
something we ought expect. As adult leaders we are there to create
individuals who can make choices based on values ... not to say what those
choices should be. Those choices may be to serve the community in other
ways.

I would argue that BSA as an organisation does not, may not, allow its young
leaders any real responsibility because the system places authority in the
hands of those who are (legally) adults. A youth may not be a merit badge
counselor, may not run a patrol camp without adult supervision, etc. and
maybe some of our best talent feels constrained by this. I can see that a
fifteen year-old Eagle Scout may resent having to be " supervised " by an
adult when lighting a Coleman stove. Of course, adult common sense says that
those rules are designed to manage risk in a way that insurers can
understand. All the while the USA has a legal system that awards huge
amounts of damages to a woman who is too stupid to realise that driving with
a hot cup of coffee between her knees is not a good idea, rather than
prosecuting her for driving without due care and attention, there will have
to be these restrictions.

Perhaps it makes sense for a young man who feels that he has developed to a
point where he is ready to go out and do new things to go ahead and do them
... and then hopefully to come back as an adult Leader with the benefit of
other experiences.

Just a thought ...

Ian N Ford

• Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]
• Next message
• Previous message

What's become of SCOUTER Magazine, the print publication?

Buy the Back Issues