ASMInVirginia

I believe that this is his driving motivation. I agree that the ASMs need to express their support for the patrol method especially when failures occur. They are to be expected, and they are not a reflection of his leadership. I think he feels that everyone will have more fun when things always go according to his plan, but I think they will have much more fun if things fail going by the scouts' plans.

Thanks Tampa Turtle. It's good to hear from others who have been in similar situations. Yes, morale is low, and we are losing some of our older scouts. I really enjoyed the boy-led chaos when we had it before, and I am completely fine with the scouts teaching skills to the other scouts. I also have no problem in allowing them to fail if they show up unprepared. The new SM makes his disappointment known rather than have a backup plan, and he definitely instills a fear in the scouts that their leadership may not count toward rank advancement when they fail.

Agreed. Thanks Chris.

Thanks Beavah. Our last SM holds a great deal of social capital. He's very wise and an excellent listener. I'll see if he would be up for a chat.

I'm the same way. I believe in getting right to the heart of the problem, and I am not much of a talker. The SM can spend over 10 minutes talking about something that can be said in one minute. I usually try to say what needs to be said in as few words as possible. After a while, I tend to tone him out, and he always assumes that silence means consent.

Love it!

Qwazse - We always try to set a reasonable distance between the adult camping area and the scouts. It is not always easy given the camp size sometimes, but it is our troop policy to do this. All of your replies are motivating me to go have that coffee with him. I was beginning to feel like throwing in the towel like the other ASMs, but that is not in the best interests of the scouts. I have about 10 years of various leader roles in Cub Scouts (have 2 boys 5 years apart) and 5 years overlapping with the Boy scouts, and I have run into many difficult personalities and people playing hardball

Sound advice. Thanks Stosh.

To be honest, I sometimes feel like I am the only one with the patience to talk with him even though he always tries to control the conversation and gives me little time to speak. I have tried to talk to him before about this - specifically the fact that he shoots down my ideas and interrupts me whenever I attempt to talk to him. I told him that it is frustrating, and he seemed to appreciate the feedback, but he does nothing to correct the problem. It was later that I heard from the scouts about their issues with him. The scouts feel much more comfortable telling me about their problems.

Hi Hedgehog, sorry - I missed the link to the graphic. Now I understand the ratings. I will try to submit this to our committee. Thanks!

Hi Hedgehog. I am not familiar with this rating, but it sounds like you are moving in a positive direction while we are falling back. My original thought was to share my post with our committee, but I don't know if this will create hard feelings with the SM. I agree that he wants the troop to function as a welled oiled machine, and he feels that it is very important that we win things like the Journey to Excellence Award. IMHO, these things are not nearly as important as letting the scouts run the PLC and plan their events with as little intervention as possible. I forgot to mention th

Thanks Beavah for your perspective. I had a feeling that some folks would side with the SM on those three points you mention, and I am totally fine with that. I am really not looking to replace this man with another SM. I like him as a friend and respect much of what he is trying to do. I just feel that he is a bit too controlling and unwilling to let the scouts run the show. He loves to hear himself talk, and he is a very bad listener. My preference is to see him do better, and I like your idea of the ASMs taking him out in a relaxed atmosphere and discussing these issues with him. I'm

I apologize for the long post, but it is written out of frustration, and I wanted to cover as much as possible. Our troop has a scoutmaster (SM) who has been performing the role for over a year and a half now. Things were fine under our last SM. We were scout led, and there was organized chaos. We gave our scouts a chance to fail within a safe environment. There were times when the adults would teach the scouts various skills, etc., but the scouts were usually encouraged to help out with this. Under the leadership of the new SM, things are very different. He came in with a full ag

Our troop has a scoutmaster who has been doing the job for over a year now. Things were fine before he started. We were scout run, and there was organized chaos. There were times when the adults would teach the scouts various skills, and this was a pet peeve of his while he was an ASM. When he took over, he stressed how he wanted the troop to be completely scout run and took the role with a new agenda. In his mind, things are much better now, although all of the ASMs feel that we have gone backward. Some examples: We have a monthly Patrol Leader Conference (PLC). Our last Scoutma