Re: Was I right?
(no name) ((no email))
Wed, 20 Jan 1999 00:26:43 -0600
"Robert M. Lewis" <rlewis3@IC3.ITHACA.EDU> asked:
"Was I right?"
Only *you*, as the Scouter involved, could really answer that
question, Robert. The rest of us, like I'm going to, can only
reflect upon, or offer advice to you.
However, let me please do some "wednesday morning quarterbacking"
here:
You stated in part:
>The troop committee did not let me run an effective program for
>the boys. One of the walls that they set up was that some of the
>parents didn't want their child to go winter camping in tents,
>only cabins. I have to admit that the boys range from 11-14, and
>this is upstate NY, but how are the boys to learn how to camp in
>adverse conditions that frequently occur, without experiencing
>them? We camp in rain, right? Why not snow?
I would have compromised. First, I would have found out if this
was something that the YOUTH MEMBERSHIP OF THE TROOP wanted to do.
If this was something that THEY chose to do and THEY wanted to
participate in, I would then go to the parents and committee and
say "They want to camp outdoors; let's go slow. This year, we'll go
and sleep in cabins, and to spend the days learning about winter
camping, dressing and winter activities. Next year, we sleep in
tents; and the year after that, we build our own shelters and sleep
in those. By then, the older Scouts would be around to coach the
younger ones, the older Scouts would be given a new challenge, and
if we have to "fall back" due to extreme weather or something we
couldn't control, we will still have the cabins."
>Another problem was the CC didn't really want to give up his old
>position of SM. When he was SM, he ran an, and I'm sorry to say
>this, ADULT RUN program. He did not like that I was changing it
>to a boy run program. He wanted the power.
It would be the CC or myself, Robert. A Troop only has ONE
Scoutmaster, but several Assistants. If he was willing to do this,
I would halve the year with him, and let him serve as SM for six
months and I lead for six months. Eventually, during my six
months, he will want to either lead again, which will become
self-evident to everyone else there that he's there only to "be in
charge" or he'll leave the Troop all together.
Your Troop's Committee needs to be reminded that the SCOUTMASTER
does NOT run the show; that's the job of the SENIOR PATROL LEADER,
one of the boys elected by all of the others to LEAD AND REPRESENT
THE TROOP. You know this...but your Troop Committee needs to know
this and I would have made it part of my "mission in life" to let
them know this.
>Thanks for lending an ear.
Hey,..that's a big part why we're all here!!
Settummanque!
(c) 1998 Mike Walton ("no such thing as strong coffee,...") blkeagle@mninter.net
http://mninter.net/~blkeagle Burnsville, MN 55306-7130 (612) 435-3085
privately at kyblkeagle@aol.com or waltonm@server.kaiserslautern.army.mil
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