Re: Age-based vs Mixed-age Patrols
Andrew Hagemann (hagemann@VISI.NET)
Sun, 30 Nov 1997 15:15:54 -0500
David Ball wrote:
>
> <snip> However, I think one of the best
> advantages on mixed age patrols is that this is how the younger scouts
> learn. If there was a New Scout patrol, as I believe you have in the US,
> how do they learn the skills they need? Even if you have age-based
> patrols in general, how do the younger ones learn?
> The great thing about mixed-age patrols is that, as a younger scout, you
> can learn all the camping skills and tricks just by watching the older
> scouts, in particular the PL and APL. As a PL, it is always satisfying to
> pass on knowledge to the younger members, and hence keep the skills
> "inside the troop".
> I would be interested to know how your younger age based patrols cope with
> learning camping skills - is it the role of the SPL to teach them? In
> Britain, most troops do not have an SPL, and they are certainly not as
> prominent in the running of the troop as in the US.
> Of course, you are perfectly correct when you say that most of the scouts
> friends are in their age group, usually from different patrols. However,
> since we tend to split up troop activities by age, (or have patrols
> competing against each other), this has never caused a problem.
>
> A last note: the troop/patrol structure appears very different in Britain
> and the US - I do not really know enough about the US system to comment on
> it. The above are just my thoughts on my own experience in mixed-age
> patrols.
>
> David
>
> --------------------------------------------------------
> David Ball
> Nonsuch Venture Scout Unit, Ewell, England
> Oxford University Scout and Guide Group, Oxford, England
> Ridcully@Kami.Keble.Ox.Ac.Uk
>
David,
Unfortunately, our Scouts are learning the wrong things from the older
boys. That's why we keep them apart as much as we can. Perhaps British
youth are more respectful of the "golden rule" than are American youth.
I envy you.
When we had mixed-age patrols, our younger Scouts learned things like
how to sneak off to smoke cigarettes, how to shirk their assigned
duties, how to issue horrendous put-downs, and other "wonderful"
behaviors. Now that they are kept within their own age-group, I have
noticed much better deportment as well as a (slightly) increased
willingness to cooperate with each other. I hope we never revert to
mixed-age patrols.
To combat this problem, I'm relying heavily upon self-motivated and
properly trained Troop Guides to instruct the younger Scouts, both
during Troop meetings and on camping trips. As the assistant SM in
charge of training youngsters how to become good Scouts, I recruit the
most mature and self-motivated older Scouts as Guides. Once they pass
my (and my SM's) probationary period, they get the job while I stand
back and watch. I teach my Guides how to be a hands-on type of trainer,
one who shows by doing rather than talking or shouting. I am convinced
that this is the method that provide our younger Scouts with a means of
learning good Scouting skills rather than picking up the "average" older
boy's bad habits. Unfortunately, most of our older Scouts seem to go
out of their way to torment the younger ones instead of setting a good
example, and I am desperately trying to break this aggravation cycle of
behavior.
When I don't have adequate Guides, (sometimes my SM and I make a boy a
Guide to give him a safe haven from the older boys even though he's
really not right for the job) I do the entire job myself. Even when I
do have excellent Guides (as I do now) I'm not a "camp chair"
Scoutmaster. When we're out camping, I continually make random walks
through their area, assisting here, fixing there, praising publicly and
reprimanding privately.
Despite the bleak picture I've painted here, I still think have the best
job in Scouting.
YiS,
Drew
--
Andrew Hagemann <hagemann@visi.net>
SA, New Scout Patrol, Troop 6 (Colonial Virginia Council)
A "Charging" Buffalo, SR-158 / Jamboree '97 Metal Work MB Booth
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