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Helping PL lead


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I was speaking with my PL after our Klondike derby about how things went. One topic that came up was how to deal with a Scout who will not listen/follow instructions. (Note he does follow instrctions from an adult.) I suggested giving him a job to do, but my PL said he is great at slacking on tasks given. What would you advise?

 

This withstanding, I have to say the Troop really impressed me at the derby. It was a day only event (no campout) and we were allowed to have the Webelos who will be crossing over in 2 weeks participate. Our most experienced scout has been a Boy Scout (crossed over Webelos) not quite a year and just made 1st class last week. Many sleds had their Scoutmasters traveling the course with them! I thought this was supposed to be boy led so I helped man a station after making sure my boys got there. (At the station I manned, any Scoutmaster help would result in a loss of points.) While they were by far the youngest group and on of the only boy only groups out there, the did not finish last. In fact they finished about 1/3 of the way up. The excelled at fire starting and knots!

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This may sound "odd", but try simply telling the Scout, "Your instruction from me is to follow the instructions of your PL." We had a Scout who wouldn't listen to his PL and even told an SA, "I don't have to do what you say. My mom said I only have to listen to the SM." Whoa! That went over real well...NOT! I had a SM Conference with him & explained how things are supposed to work...Chain of command, etc. I told him if he was going to do as I said, I was saying to follow instructions given by his PL, SPL, ASPL, SA's, etc. I also told him to follow this chain of command if there was a problem. If he didn't, he & I went back through the chain together. I warned him that if it continued, he'd lose privileges within the troop. We are a team, and if a team doesn't listen to the coach, we will all be running around aimlessly.

 

Meanwhile, congrats on doing so well at the Klondike Derby. We are hosting one next week, and one of the instructions to the judges is that the teams lose points if the SM (or any adult) helps. Scouts & leaders are told this ahead of time, too. This is one of my pet peeves. (We are also requiring teams to be at least 50% First Class & below.)

 

Which leads to another question...were there prizes or plaques for winning? I have some issues with this, too. I think that is why so many older Scouts & adults "help" which is tantamount to cheating.

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Thanks vmpost!

 

No prizes. The top two teams get to go to a council sponsered Klondike as I understand it. They were also told their patches would be 'special' in some way. I had a guess at the winning team before they were even announced. They really had their act together. (Also, they had no SMs accompying them around the course.)

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I was one of the adult "walkers" assigned to my son's patrol at Klondike Derby. Any adult help reduces the points that the boys receive. We adults are only there for the 2-deep adult leadership/supervision.

 

One of the boys pointed out how boy-run this really is, when I asked the patrol if any of them were going to do the optional compass course. The boys said they didn't want to do it, and when I reminded them that they might have a chance at winning the top score if they completed the course, one boy said, "You adults are always reminding us that it's not all about winning, it's about having fun. And right now, we are just going to have fun." The boys then continued with the snowball fight that they were having. We adults got quite a chuckle over that one!

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Cool! This is what I like to see. Our boys developed the plan for Klondike Derby this year and said they just wanted a "fun" one...not working on skills, competing, etc. Just playing. The points they are earning are candy, and that is their "reward"! All will get a certificate with total points earned, but no trophies, etc. The only "award" will go to the group with the best Scout Spirit.

 

Good of you to remind them, in case they had forgotten and wanted to place. Good for them for their outlook. Good for you for respecting that (& seeing the humor in it!)

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