Re: Turning 18 (pt 1)
Anthony Mako (ajmako@NLS.NET)
Mon, 19 Apr 1999 14:55:12 -0400
<Michael W. Firestone" wrote>
Most important of all treat him as an equal!!
</Michael>
<Gary A. Musselman wrote>
Keith Hudy asks what to do with an active, interested, "good with
younger kids" Eagle Scout when he turns 18. I say, jump for joy and
make him an ASM. Get him trained and let him do his thing.
<Gary>
PART ONE - For Scoutmasters and other adult leaders
What do you do with an 18 year old Eagle Scout? There are several
things he is capable of doing, and probably several jobs he could do
without too much trouble. If you're the SM of the troop he was in as a
youth, you should have a pretty good idea of what he can do, and what
you need.
Regardless of the job, though, there are several things the current
adult leaders should be doing to help ease the transition from Scout
to Scouter (for the reasons, see PART TWO):
1) Make it clear to everyone, right from the start, that this person
is now an adult leader. If every other adult leader is called Mr. Name
or Mrs. Name, so should the new SA.
2) Give him a very specific job that will contribute to the unit.
Excellent possibilities include SA for the new Scout patrol, or as the
SA advisor to the PLC.
3) DON'T give him too much to do! And don't overload him with major
responsibilities from the very beginning.
4) Sit down and talk to him about the differences between a youth
leader and an adult leader!
5) Above all else, give him a chance to get used to being an adult
leader.
6) Training IS important, and you'll want to get him into a
Scoutmaster Fundamentals course soon, but he should already have a
pretty good understanding of Scouting and leadership concepts. Most of
what he would be learning in an SMF course, he probably already knows,
so the course won't be very useful. Start with informal training (i.e.
#4 above), and an adult YP session (most important).
As the new SA gets some experience as an adult leader, he'll begin to
understand the differences between being a youth leader and being an
adult leader. At first, he'll want to remain close to his friends who
are still youth members, and it will be hard for him to separate being
their friend and being their adult leader (giving him a job like PLC
advisor will let him put his experience to good use with people he
knows which should ease the transition).
Summer Camp staff and OA are excellent activities which help young
SA's transition from youth to adult. In the OA, he'll still be
considered a youth, but he'll probably have more responsibilities. On
camp staff, he'll be considered an adult and may have additional
responsibilities beyond his staff position. Even youth camp staff
members, though, have adult-like responsibilities when it comes to the
youth they serve.
