I have to stick up for us younger advisors here. I understand all the angles everyone has stated but as a 23 year old advisor coming back from Philmont for the 1st time (and a female advisor as well) I have to say that while there are plenty of unreliable, irresponsible 20-25 year olds out there most of them are not invloved in scouting at that age and those who are are generally more mature and better equipped to handle something like leading a group at Philmont. In fact, I've seen Philmont change boys into amazing leaders my brother being one of them.
I know that members of the military were mentioned as being good examples of the exception but I have to point out that it was because of scouting that my brother and he best friend joined the military. The leadership skills and sense of patriotism that scouting gave them pointed them into that direction and not the other way around.
j.tavares@comcast.net wrote:
Well stated an worth a lot.
Thanks.
-- Joe Tavares NOTICE: This email is only intended for the recipient and not legally binding. Unauthorized use, publication, reproduction or disclosure of the content of this email is not permitted without my expressed permission. > Another opinion, for what it's worth: It is not the age per se, that > matters, but rather the training, depth of experience, and overall > maturity. Usually the two are directly correlated, but not always. We > have all seen plenty of older Advisors at Philmont (and in other > wilderness venues) that couldn't be trusted to safely run a back-yard > barbecue, never mind take a Crew into the backcountry. And I have > personally seen some young 20's-year olds who were extraordinarily > competent. The prior comment concerning young Scouters with active > military experience being an excellent example. > > But as a general observation, older means better trained, more > experienced, and more mature - all very good attributes. We all can > recall the old saw about who would you rather have in a tough fight, the > grizzled veterans with torn and dirty uniforms, or the spruce new > recruits that look fabulous on a parade field? (Keeping in mind, of > course, that in our case some of the "spruce new recruits" are 50 years > old.) > > Anyway, there is a lot to be said for depth and breadth of experience. > Another old aphorism - anyone can camp in the sunshine. But can you > handle it when you have a cascading series of problems, multiplying and > then augmenting each other in a synergistic disaster? That is when > "been here before, seen this before" is an great comfort and safety net > - even if you don't recognize it at the time. I submit that in a really > hairy, multiple problem situation, a few 22 year olds would do quite > well, most would do OK, and some would disintegrate before your eyes. > The same is true of course, for an equal number of 50 year olds, but the > bell curve shifts a good amount to the left on the above scale. Who > would you rather have leading your Crew in a tight spot, John LeBlanc, > Calvin Grey, Jim Moss, Al Thompson - or yourself at the age of 22? > > I plead the Fifth.... > > - Dr. Bob > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------- > Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org > Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://usscouts.org/lists/ > Listserv Commands at http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp > ------------------------------------------------------- > Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com > Send postings to: philmont@troop47.com > List FAQ found at: http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp > List Administrator: philmont_owner@troop47.com > ------------------------------------------------------- > As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow > Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy, > loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, > cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. > ------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------- Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://usscouts.org/lists/ Listserv Commands at http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp ------------------------------------------------------- Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com Send postings to: philmont@troop47.com List FAQ found at: http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp List Administrator: philmont_owner@troop47.com ------------------------------------------------------- As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. ------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------- Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page ------------------------------------------------------- Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://usscouts.org/lists/ Listserv Commands at http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp ------------------------------------------------------- Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com Send postings to: philmont@troop47.com List FAQ found at: http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp List Administrator: philmont_owner@troop47.com ------------------------------------------------------- As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. -------------------------------------------------------Received on Thu Aug 18 14:26:45 2005
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