Re: Scout Problems
Mark Arend (arend@PEOPLES.NET)
Fri, 29 Nov 1996 15:07:26 -0600
> I am a Scout Leader. Plain and simple. I am not a nurse maid, a
>Doctor, or a shrink (I can't spell Psycologist).
But sometimes we are. Also a teacher, learner, advisor, spiritual leader,
friend, etc, etc. etc. At times I have been all of this & more to scouts.
> I do not have the time to
>spend with just one boy while the others go un-attended.
A fine line to draw, sometimes. But we have to be there not only for the
Troop as a whole but for each member of it.
> If we have problems with a scout and he refuses to obey, we call his
>mommy or daddy and tell them to come get their little monster....
Monster might be overstating it a little; how about demons? savages? :-).
But seriously, every kid is going to have those "monster" times--times when
they will be impossible to deal with. They usually get over it...and so
will you. I have been in this racket almost 20 years. I can remember only
2 cases where we had to ask someone to leave the Troop. In both cases it
was a last resort and I still feel badly, although I knew then and still
feel that it was the right thing to do.
>It is unfair for me to take time away from the others that are
>willing to sit still...
You have kids willing to sit still?
These so called "problem kids" may indeed be problems. But are they
permanent problems? My religion teaches that no one is irredeemably bad;
that there is both good and bad in all of us, that people can improve and
that we can make a difference for the good in other people's lives.
The "good" kids (and most kids are "good" sometimes) will turn out OK
whether they are in Scouts or not. The "bad" kids (and most kids are "bad"
sometimes) are the ones that really need something like Scouting. Yes, some
kids are more trouble than any dozen others. But these can be the most
rewarding.
Bottom line: we do the best we can for the boys who are willing to work
with us. When, occasionly, we have one who has so many problems that they
can't benefit by what we have and their presence is a hinderence, or a
danger, to the others, we reluctantly and gentely remove them from the Troop
and we try to find a program or service that can help them where we could not.
Just my rambling (and somewhat disorganized) opinion. Free, and probably
worth every penny.
Mark W. Arend
Beaver Dam Community Library
311 N. Spring St. Outside of a dog, a book is
Beaver Dam, Wisc. 53916 man's best friend. Inside of
(414) 887-4631 (fax 887-4633) a dog it's too dark to read.
--Groucho Marx
www.peoples.net/~bdlib/
Scoutmaster, Troop 736
mailto:arend@peoples.net
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