Re: Academic Requirements for Jr. Leaders
hilding holroyd (blustone!pennies!hilding@UUNET.UU.NET)
Tue, 6 Dec 1994 10:31:45 EST
>
> Do any troops hae any academic standing requirments for their junior leaders
> (Sr. Patrol Leader, Asst. Sr. Patrol Leader)? This question has come about
> as our SPL managed to pull straight Fs over the first quarter of the school
> year and this concerns a number of troop committee members who feel he is not
> a proper role model for the younger scouts. I would appreciate any input
> anyone can offer. Thank you.
>
In the troops with which I have been associated, there have been NO academic
requirements for ANY leadership position.
To me, how a Scout performs in school is really none of my business
(as an adult troop leader) unless he wants to share it. In talking
to many parents, they have a standing household directive (as do I)
that homework and school comes first before any sort of extra-curricular
activity, including marching band, sports, scouts, ... (even the part-time
job)
There can be many reasons for the scout getting such bad grades; ranging
from 'he did not try' to 'many problems in the home life' (if there is a home
life). The SM should have a frank talk with the young man and talk about
his committments. If I was that SM, I would ask him to tell me if he thought
that he could still do both Scouts and school or would he like a sabatical
from Scouts so that he could work on his grades. He may want to stick with
the troop just as a means of getting away from the grind. And no, I would
not take the leadership position away from him. If he chooses to take a
leave of absence, it would be, to me, a mark of maturity that I would
want to encourage. I would simply put the ASPL in charge until the Scout
came back.
Would the role model be better if the young man pulled those grades up
over the next semester?? Talk to him. But do not put him in front of the
whole committee. It will scare him too much and he won't open up.
As an aside, I have had to deal with fallout from school situations before.
One scout from my troop attacked another (my son) in the hallway. The attacker
got suspended from school, my son did not. I had to separate the school
behavior from Troop behavior. I informed another leader of the situation and
when the other boy arrived at the troop meeting that same night, I had that
other adult take him aside and inform him that he was welcome but that he HAD
to stay away from my son. It worked fine. We just had to show him that problems
from outside the troop were just that - outside the troop and not to be brought in.
Hilding W. Holroyd Advancement Chairman, Tr 250
Lakewood, NJ Jersey Shore Council
Eagle Class '68 Japeechen Lodge (Brotherhood)
"I used to be a FOX!", NE-IV-54
Bluestone
Voice:(609)-727-4600 fax: (609)-778-8125
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