Those who have been around Scouting, or at least Troop 58, for a while have surely heard one of these phrases – scout-led, youth-led, boy-led, etc. There’s a great article here about how to foster this in a unit, but more importantly – why this is such an important part of the scouting journey.
Last month, Troop 58 attended the Goose Creek District “Webelos-o-ree,” an annual event that is meant to expose Webelos to what it’s like to be a Boy Scout as they prepare to cross-over from Cub Scouts into Boy Scouts. A lot happens at that campout, but the most important in my mind is that the Webelos dens rotate through several stations where Boy Scouts teach them scout skills. This results in great learning (sometimes with dramatic effect, like when we taught first aid last year and several gallons of simulated blood were used) that is totally driven by our Scouts. In fact, as soon as each den arrived at our campsite, I funneled the parents away from their Webelos – ostensibly to talk to them about Troop 58, but more so that our Scouts could do their thing without parents hovering over them.
I’ll pause for a minute just to share how awesome it was to talk with 8-10 sets of Webelos parents. As our esteemed Advancement Chair and I talked them through who Troop 58 is, what we do, how we work, etc. – I felt an amazing sense of pride in the troop. More importantly, though, was the surprise and “just wow!” feedback we got from the parents about everything Troop 58 does, as well as a consistent “none of the other troops are taking the time to have this conversation with us” sentiment. Several times during each conversation, I took the opportunity to direct the parents’ gaze over to the 3 roped-off axe yards where Troop 58’s Scouts were teaching the Webelos. I don’t know about you, but the prospect of some kid handing my 5th grader an axe would have been pretty scary for me a few years back…and it was for them too! But there were Troop 58’s Scouts, utilizing the EDGE method and their Scout Handbooks to SAFELY train the Webelos on axe and saw usage – with no parents in sight. In fact, I also took the opportunity to indicate that the Scouts’ tents were in a different place than the adults’ tents, that they were cooking in a different area from us, etc.
You may be asking – why is he going on and on like this?!? Because the opportunity for our Scouts to define and manage their own journey is critical to Scouting. Their individual and collective successes & [safe] failures, the challenges our Senior Patrol Leader has as he contemplates “firing” one of his Patrol Leaders Council (PLC) members, wrestling with inefficient and unproductive meetings due to rowdy behavior, a Scout shivering a bit because he didn’t bring a wool hat to sleep in or realizing he waited too long to request a Scoutmaster Conference – these all contribute to the growth of our Scouts. By the way, our adult leaders could fix any and all of these challenges and we’d have the best-dressed, most-awarded, best-fed, cleanest campsite, most efficient meetings, etc. troop in BSA. But…our scouts wouldn’t grow in the way they will by working through this themselves.
So…the next time you wonder what the heck is going on in Founders Hall when you arrive to pick up your son, or get frustrated that the Troop isn’t helping your son advance quickly enough, or see a photo on Facebook that makes it look like things are pretty chaotic at a campout (they are!) – remember that it is part of the journey we’re deliberately leading our Scouts through. Believe me – this journey is bumpy. And messy. And frustrating. But being a Scout-led troop will pay dividends to our Scouts for years to come…and – plenty of 5th graders are now asking to chop wood instead of having Mom & Dad run to the grocery to buy a bundle.