Moral Obligation?

[moosetracker 132]

Yeah, if it happened a year ago, then the SM has already formed his opinions of the scouts and their parents behavior. The behavior seemed to be such that it would only take a week or two to form you own opinion.

 

Maybe it would have been pertanint to pass on when the scout transitioned a year ago. At this point it is old news, and not worth passing on.

[ScoutMythBuster 10]

In regards to ScoutNut, no this isn't hypothetical. Yes the incident happened a year ago. The troop just moved into the area temorarily waiting for its new home and the youth just joined that troop.

[acco40 95]

What can easily be done by the Scoutmaster of the troop that the Scout in question left is to inform the other Scoutmaster that he has the advancement records of the Scout in question, Scout account money (if any) and if he would like to discuss anything about the Scout in question that he is available - and leave it at that. If the other SM inquires about the Scout I would keep everything very factual and professional.

[BSA24 10]

Gossip is never a good thing. It destroys relationships, breaks trust, and rarely helps anyone accomplish anything other than passing around vague half-truths which cause more gossip, accusations, cliques, etc.

 

Scouting is here for youth to learn to be better people. Let the boy try to learn to be a better person and give him a chance to start over. Let the sinners come to church, too. That's sort of the whole point.

[CalicoPenn 729]

Wait a second - where's the "violence" component. Who was the violent party?

 

So far, I see an incident with a knife, a scout speaking out about improper use of a knife, and a parent screaming.

 

Given that parents sometimes scream which is inappropriate, I;m not sure this rises to the level of "violence".

 

Improper use of a knife? What does this mean? He used a buck knife to spread peanut butter on a cracker? He ued a whittling knife to cut down a tree? The only things I can think of that would suggest violence with a knife are stabbing someone or pulling a knife and threatening someone with it. If that's what happened, why use the words "improper use of a knife"? Why not call it for what it is?

 

So far, based on what I've read, a parent screamed at a Scout for speaking out about a Totin' Chip violation.

 

If this was reported to the SE and the SE didn't flag anything to prevent the Scout from joining another Troop, it suggests to me that the SE's take on the situation is quite different from your Troops take on it. I wouldn't say anything to the other Scoutmaster at this point, unless I was asked.

[evmori 11]

Good read Calico. Excellent questions that need to be answered.

[Eagledad 2777]

>>Gossip is never a good thing. It destroys relationships, breaks trust, and rarely helps anyone accomplish anything other than passing around vague half-truths which cause more gossip, accusations, cliques, etc.

[Twocubdad 665]

Ditto to what Barry said.

 

I would absolutely consider it an obligation to let the new SM know what had transpired.

 

Wether or not it is malicious or gossipy has to do with what's in your heart and how you convey the information.

 

 

 

[boomerscout 35]

I would talk to the new SM, but only after 30 days had passed. The new people need time to make their own judgments afresh. Then, I would just stop by and ask how's it going, and only if it's not going well would I spill the beans.

Would this be too late? I don't believe so. Otherwise every new Scout into the troop would have to come with a vetted pedigree before being allowed to join.

If council wants to maintain a black list, that is their call

[perdidochas 658]

Boomerscout had the best solution. Talk to the scoutmaster after a month, and see if there are any problems.

[Lisabob 13]

I'd say keep out of it. If the scoutmaster of the new troop can't figure it out within a month then either the new SM is dense, or there isn't a problem. In either case, your "input" won't really change anything and amounts more to gossip than anything else.

 

To those who say "well if we'd just known *that,* we could have avoided all this trouble..." let me ask you what you'd do if a new boy joined your troop and the former SM called you to let you know that he had a real problem with "johnny." So, are you going to prevent "johnny" from joining your troop? Because short of that, I don't see how you would have avoided much of anything. Let the boy's behavior **in your troop** be your guide to how you treat him. If he transfers to another troop, wish him well and facilitate the transfer of his records, then let him be.

 

 

 

 

[Eagledad 2777]

>>To those who say "well if we'd just known *that,* we could have avoided all this trouble..." let me ask you what you'd do if a new boy joined your troop and the former SM called you to let you know that he had a real problem with "johnny." So, are you going to prevent "johnny" from joining your troop? Because short of that, I don't see how you would have avoided much of anything. Let the boy's behavior **in your troop** be your guide to how you treat him. If he transfers to another troop, wish him well and facilitate the transfer of his records, then let him be.

[Lisabob 13]

Right Barry, but probably you would have done that anyway. You didn't need a tip off from a previous scoutmaster to figure out that when a behavioral problem occurs, you should talk with the kid's parents about it.

[eisely 13]

I would be reluctant to volunteer derogatory information. If I was asked I would answer truthfully and factually. We still do not know enough of the facts regarding the incident that triggered this thread. If the incident was sufficiently bad to warrant reporting to the council and the SE decided not to throw the boy out of scouts altogether, then I would not want to unduly prejudice the boy's relationship with his new scoutmaster, but I would defer to the SE's judgment in allowing the boy to continue.

[Gary_Miller 10]

I don't want to know of any problems outside medical issues, which should be on the medical form. I want the boy and me to start off fresh on equal ground. That way I can form my own relationship with the young man.

 

While there may have been some problems in the last unit. The problems could of been personality problems with others in the unit both youth and adults.

 

It better for all involved if we just start fresh and work on what ever problems come up when they come up.