Scoutmasters should be careful to maintain the "inefficiencies" of Scouting. It is all too tempting to make things easier (for the adults, usually) and lose track of the goal. Parents may complain, Scouts may complain, your fellow leaders may complain that things would go so much more smoothly if we just made a few changes. Changes that compromise the responsibility of the scouts to do for themselves may make things more efficient, but they are inimical to the spirit of what we want to accomplish.
Patrol Cooking - It is much more efficient to cook as a troop, but it denies a patrol one of the most active and challenging tasks they must accomplish. I have have yet to see a scout starve to death on a weekend trip. Scoutmasters should examine their troop operations and eliminate anything that undermines Patrol responsibility and function.
Merit Badge Colleges and Classes - One of the key elements of the merit badge program is scouts finding and working with a counselor who knows the subject. Shortcutting this process denies a scout the challenge of communicating with an adult, keeping appointments and working through the requirements with a minimum of interference.
Life to Eagle Seminars- If a scout is going to to advance to Eagle he had better be able to find his own way through the process. He should not require the amount of hand-holding suggested by attending a seminar with his parents.
Making Mistakes - Scouts have to have the latitude to make mistakes that don't compromise propriety and safety. At least once a year my Senior Patrol Leader arrives at our meeting place without any plans for the evening. I do not rescue or berate him but briefly commiserate with his predicament and leave him to it. He usually makes sure that he never finds himself in that spot again.
Standards - I am a better instructor, can more easily maintain discipline, and have a great deal more experience than my best youth leader. As much as I enjoy instructing and leading when I do I am denying one of my scouts the opportunity. They will never do it as well as I can unless they are able to gain actual experience. They may not do things up to my standards, but it is their responsibility; it is their troop after all.
Letting the youth leaders totally botch a meeting is one of the hardest things for an adult leader. Especially if you've got new parents, visiting Webelos, or others "outside" the troop visiting. But if you rescue them once, you'll keep on having to rescue them.
Posted by: tw | April 04, 2006 at 06:59 PM