1st Mate
12-31-2007, 02:49 AM
Well vacation and the flu are both about to end (great timing) so it will likely be a while before I have time to post much again. I'm sure that comes as a relief to some :).
I thought this would be an interesting topic to leave on. Soon many Webelos families will be looking to join a troop. A question I often hear is 'how do I select a troop?' here is what I recommend.
Get a Scout handbook and read the opening pages. You will find a some promises that are made to every scout about what they can expect from scouting. When you vist a troop ask how they deliver on the promise of scouting.
This is a wonderful program but let's be realistic there are tens of thousands of troops and not every one follows the program. If a unit is not keeping the promises of Scouting thank them for their time, tell them why you are leaving, and then go see another troop.
Now here is where I will say something not a lot of scouters will say, and that will make professionals cringe. I would not put my son in a school that did not teach, I would not take them to a doctor who did not know their craft, I would not send them into the woods with someone I did not trust to the enth degree. I would not enroll my son in a troop that did not follow the scouting program.
Your son would benefit more by spending 30 minutes more with you each week than he will by spending 90 minutes a week in a scout unit that doesn't deliver on the promises of Scouting.
But, find a troop that follows the program and the rewards are inumerable.
Here are some things to look for:
Adventure: do they go different places and do different things throughout the year.
Patrols: Are they made of friends of similar ages
Leadership: Are the boys being counseled by adults or told what to do by adults
Fun: is the program joyful or regimented
Games: Are they using fun ways to test and teach skills or is it just filler for lack of program.
Purpose: Does the Scoutmaster offer a Scoutmaster's Minute to explain the value of the scouting ideals and their role in everyday life?
Finally never make a boy join scouting, he will be miserable, you will be miserable, and the unit will suffer. People should follow their joy, and if scouting is not something your son looks forward to then help him find something with positive attributes that he does enjoy.
But if you want the benefits of Scouting for your son and the local units do not offer the growth and the adventure of real Scouting, then become the scout leader your son deserves. Take the training develop a team and start a troop with your local church, VFW, American Legion, Moose Lodge etc.
Scouting just might make a difference in your son's life, you just might make a difference in Scouting.
'Have a great 08'
I thought this would be an interesting topic to leave on. Soon many Webelos families will be looking to join a troop. A question I often hear is 'how do I select a troop?' here is what I recommend.
Get a Scout handbook and read the opening pages. You will find a some promises that are made to every scout about what they can expect from scouting. When you vist a troop ask how they deliver on the promise of scouting.
This is a wonderful program but let's be realistic there are tens of thousands of troops and not every one follows the program. If a unit is not keeping the promises of Scouting thank them for their time, tell them why you are leaving, and then go see another troop.
Now here is where I will say something not a lot of scouters will say, and that will make professionals cringe. I would not put my son in a school that did not teach, I would not take them to a doctor who did not know their craft, I would not send them into the woods with someone I did not trust to the enth degree. I would not enroll my son in a troop that did not follow the scouting program.
Your son would benefit more by spending 30 minutes more with you each week than he will by spending 90 minutes a week in a scout unit that doesn't deliver on the promises of Scouting.
But, find a troop that follows the program and the rewards are inumerable.
Here are some things to look for:
Adventure: do they go different places and do different things throughout the year.
Patrols: Are they made of friends of similar ages
Leadership: Are the boys being counseled by adults or told what to do by adults
Fun: is the program joyful or regimented
Games: Are they using fun ways to test and teach skills or is it just filler for lack of program.
Purpose: Does the Scoutmaster offer a Scoutmaster's Minute to explain the value of the scouting ideals and their role in everyday life?
Finally never make a boy join scouting, he will be miserable, you will be miserable, and the unit will suffer. People should follow their joy, and if scouting is not something your son looks forward to then help him find something with positive attributes that he does enjoy.
But if you want the benefits of Scouting for your son and the local units do not offer the growth and the adventure of real Scouting, then become the scout leader your son deserves. Take the training develop a team and start a troop with your local church, VFW, American Legion, Moose Lodge etc.
Scouting just might make a difference in your son's life, you just might make a difference in Scouting.
'Have a great 08'