Finding Balence Between Adult Led and Scout Led or ...

[Eagle94-A1 2687]

THANK YOU EVERYONE, the comments and recommendations have been very helpful and needed..

 

One update as an FYI. My son's first camp out as SPL was suppose to be tomorrow. He started feeling sick this afternoon and has a low grade fever. So he missed out on a cooking competition tonight, and will be missing the camp out tomorrow. I remember the last time a sick kid went camping and infected the entire camp!

 

Anyway, we were talking, and he feels bad about missing out, like he is letting down his troop. I told him I would contact the SM for him, and not to worry about it. We talked some, reemphasized that he has my full support, his SMs support, and the Scouts' support. He told me his biggest concern is not doing a good job, and letting his troop down. I told him 1) he can always talk to the other adult leaders, and that he doesn't have to do everything, he can and should delegate to the other scouts.

 

I asked him if he thought if they should include ILST at the lock in coming up, andhe said yes. I was planning on asking the SM for him as I do need to go camping,i'm the designated 2nd leader as a third is on call, but decided he can tyalk to his PLs and ask the SM Monday.

 

[qwazse 4342]

...' date=' like he is letting down his troop. I told him I would contact the SM for him, and not to worry about it. ...[/quote']

 

You got a boy to be proud of!

I'd only give you one ding ... he should have contacted the SM, not you!

Do encourage the SM, if he has time, to give your son a call. That really is the toughest thing for most young boys, getting in the habit of touching base directly. Think about it, when a boy misses school, nothing he says matters, the call/note from the parent. Well, we direct contact leaders love hearing from the parents, but we really know that things are running smoothly when the boys are maintaining that 2-way communication.

[Eagle94-A1 2687]

I wanted to give you and update. First month has been a learning expereince for my son as plans had to be changed. But he's learned and overcame.

 

Our campout for this month had to be postponed because only 4 scouts could make it. Long story short, schools have put mandatory stuff on the weekend, specifically concerts and choruses, that knocked out a bunch of the Scouts. Instead we worked on the trailer we just purchased. So we did have an activity, and the camp out will be in March now. He took up the mantle of leadership by having the Scouts not working on the trailer at that moment doing advancment work while they waited. Ok so he wasn't leading the troop from the front on the running, he was third in line, but he got them working on advancement. Yep, he did great.

 

The troop conducted Arrow of Light and Crossover Ceremonies. For someone who is very self conscicous about speaking he did a tremendous job. Did he get hung up on a word or two, yes he did. Could you hear him and understand him from where I was sitting way in the back, yes you could. And I admit, I had a tear or two in my eyes when I watched him do his part, and again when I watched the video of it later that night. Yep, he did great.

 

Now I admit I worked with him some preparing for the the PLC and planning the next 2 months worth of meetings. But he did the bulk of the work. He came up with what was to be done, how long, and who was doing it. However I was bad in typing up the agenda and emailing it to the SM for approval. One thing SWMBO is adamint about is that he does not have an email account. Yep he did a good job, and I was bad

 

But last night was what made me extremely proud. It was his first PLC that he was completely in charge of, with little interference from the adults. And our interference consisted mostly of, "What date did you pick for that camp out?"; "Do you think a different weekend may be better since Mr. X won't be able to go?" "How are you going to raise money for the gear you need?"; and "Gentlemen, why don't we stick to the agenda as that topic is coming up?" The PLC liked how he assigned instruction duties to the scouts, how he thought about who should go into our second NSP (the 5 new guys from the 2 packs that just crossed over and out transfer Scout), and who their Troop Guide should be. The ASPL did ask a few questions and made a few comments that were incorporated into the planning. But it appeared that the ASPL was impressed with how my son thought through the process, and stated several times, "That makes sense." Again I was extremely proud of him last night.

 

So in retrospect I think I may have made a mountain out of a molehill.

[Stosh 3452]

When one gets "the hell out of the way" there are consequences and as you can see, they are often well beyond any expectations you might have had. I have stood where you are and jaw dropped every time when these kids step up, trust the system and do a fantastic job on their own merits. Now, get the adults out of the way and let the boys have at it! In no time at all you'll all be standing back amazed at what they can do if given the opportunity. Make opportunities, not rules! Just wait, the day will come when they do something far better than you would have done and it makes you look a bit foolish, but then, you made them what they are and you're the hero! Teaching leadership is like wiring a house with the electricity turned on.

 

Stosh

[TAHAWK 1420]

Beyond safety, there is no "balance." It's youth leadership or it's not Scouting. BSA promises the Patrol Method and now needs to do something to be sure we deliver on the promise.

 

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If the Patrol Method were important to BSA, what might be done?

[CalicoPenn 729]

There's only one thing to say Eagle94-A1: You did good!

[Torchwood 177]

+1 to Tahawk's last post...

[Eagle94-A1 2687]

Ok, I need to brag. I was told that last nite was the best meeting ever, better than the canoeing meetings we did in May. Reason I am told was because the Scouts did most of the teaching last nite. We were going over first aid, specifically CPR/AED. I suggested, and the PLC liked, that we add the use of Epi-pens to the instruction since we have one, now 2 scouts, that need to carry them at all times. Yes it's not required, but the Scout I knew about has had to use his epi-pen 2 times at Cub Scout meetings, so I want folks to know how to use it.

 

Anyway, the "Epi-pen King" taught how to use it, and made sure everybody used the epi-pen trainer properly. When I asked, would you trust your life with these guys using your epi-pen on you, he said yes.

 

Now I admit, I taught how to do CPR and use the AED. My work would kill me if I returned with a messed up AED trainer, that's why. BUT, I got two of the older Scouts to demonstrate the skills. Then I got 2 additional scouts who knew how to do CPR to man a total of 4 stations, 2 doing compression only CPR, and 2 doing standard 30:2 CPR, while I checked off AED skills. When I asked if they would trust them to do CPR on their moms, most said yes, and 1 said needs more practice. SO they practiced some more.

 

Was it organized chaos, yes it was. But was it mostly run by them, yes it was.

 

But what made me really proud was the SPL working with the second NSP we have. Long story short, I had to talk to the scout about why he was being transferred from his patrol to the 2nd NSP: we want him to be their TG. This was when the patrols had to come up with menus for our lock in in 3 weeks. He really did an outstanding job working with them and helping them learn the process.

 

I had to laugh watching him because I should have known that he could do the job.