Re: 2% of Scouts???...
settummanque, or blackeagle (blkeagle@DYNASTY.NET)
Mon, 2 Jun 1997 10:20:50 -0500
James Lade asked:
>I am curious to ask what kinds of external (or internal?) factors
>contribute to the drop in the number of scouts who continue scouts after
>First Class. It seems the boys either stay at that rank, drop from
>scouts, advance slowly, or quickly advance.
At the top of the list, I would place:
Lack of quality program
Lack of program period
Inability of unit to work/coach Scouts toward Eagle
"I don't care" attitude caused by unit not emphasizing what Eagle is all about
(yeah, I'm laying it on the unit, James...not the Scout. The Scoutmaster,
Troop Committee and older Scouts all play important parts in developing
and motivating Scouts from First Class toward Eagle. It's not just the kid.
Eagle, for the most part, requires a lot of personal effort. If the kid
sees that his personal effort coupled with the unit's willingness to "back him"
during his progress, he'll soon give up and find other things that he'll get
that positive feedback from -- from peers and friends and adults.)
In all of those other factors, I've seen lots of Scouts make it from First
Class to Star, Life and some to Eagle despite them. What made the
difference was the fact that the unit had a quality program, that they had a
program based on what the Scouts wanted to do and can do, and that the
adults involved were there for the Scouts, were trained and coached in their
roles, and that they allowed each Scout going toward the higher ranks to "do
their own thing" and to monitor and encourage their progres individually and
within the "larger group" (the Troop).
They also did NOT discourage the girlfriend, the car, the job, the work, nor
the sport skills....they encouraged those things and worked with the Scout
to see if he can combine his willingness to "go out for the team" with a Boy
Scout merit badge (Athletics, Sports), to date (Family Life, Public Health,
Personal Fitness), to work at a job (pick a vocational MB), to do things for
others (not a merit badge, but perhaps the start of a service project) to
the car (Traffic Safety).
It all goes back to the key word of PROGRAM. Scouts will stick around for
it, support it, and encourage others to come along with them if it's a good
program, one in which they have a lot of say in and that challenges and
gives them some enjoyment....and hey, if they happen to just earn something
out of it, that's cool too.
Settummanque!
(c) 1997 Mike Walton ("no such thing as strong coffee,...") (502) 827-9201
(settummanque, the blackeagle) http://www.vhm.com/~uscardnl/
241 Fairview Dr., Henderson, KY 42420-4339 blkeagle@dynasty.net
kyblkeagle@aol.com or waltonm@hq.21taacom.army.mil
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