Re: Academic Requirements for Jr. Leaders
Ian Ford (ianford@DIRCON.CO.UK)
Wed, 7 Dec 1994 08:36:22 GMT
Bob Condon writes :
> I would not allow this individual to be in the Greenbar until
> his grades came up to at least C. Where are his parents? If my child
> was doing this poorly in school, he would not be attending the scout
> meetings either.
And by so doing we have excluded a fair proportion of our Scouts from
leadership positions , and <de facto> from attaining Eagle Scout rank.
I dropped out of the equivalent of High School with first year grades
of D,G and H. I'm not pround of that ... but last week at age forty I
visited a psychologist and discovered that I have a fairly uncommon
right-sided brain deficit. It just happened that the subjects I chose for
"A" levels were science subjects where I was weakest ... and no amount of
effort , persuasion or punishment would have helped.
I'm grateful that my Scout troop and Venture Scout unit did not have
academic requirements for positions of leadership. At a time when I was
confused and lost I found in Scouting an opportunity to get away from the
pressure , to be recognised for what I was as an individual. As SP/L ,
PLC Secretary , Venture Unit Chairman etc. I started to learn skills which I
now use as Chief Officer of a Community Health Council. Far from causing
problems for me, that experience was taken into consideration when I
applied for my first clerical job and set alongside my academic grades.
Incidentally, I did manage to get my degree through correspondence , and
then a Diploma in Management Studies. I now supervise undergraduate students
from several local universities, and am working for a modular MEd degree.
Not bad for a high-school drop-out who you would not have had as your SP/L.
Sorry guys ... before you down the kid find out what's going on , talk to
him and help him. Quite seriously , kids are under a lot of pressure.
Teen suicide is a major killer , and I would hate to think that as a Scout
Leader I had helped to crank up the pressure which may push a kid over the
edge. Of course it would never happen in our troop , would it ? I had one
of my ex-Scouts kill himself at seventeen. I sometimes wish I had listened a
bit more and talked a bit less when he was in the troop.
Very often Scouting can provide a little corner in kid's life away from the
pressures of school. Please let's keep things in perspective, so that when a
kid needs us we don't reject him ...
YiS
Ian N Ford
AGSL 25th Greenwich scout Group
ASM Troop 401 BSA , American School in London
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Sorry guys... As you realise, this one has pushed my buttons, so I apologise
if I am getting a bit heavy. It's just I've been there , done that ...
failed the course and never did get given the teeshirt ...
ianford@dircon.co.uk
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