[Philmont]: Realistic Training (Was Bear Bags vs. Bear Cannisters)

As I have said many times, the primary pre-requisite for becoming a
Scout leader is a pulse. "Having a clue" isn't mentioned anywhere on
the application. More's the pity....

What is unfortunate in our increasingly antagonistic society is a
willingness to accept - or maybe more importantly, give - any form of
constructive criticism. It takes a bold Scouter to walk into a
neighboring Unit's camp, take the leaders aside, and speak frankly about
problems being observed in that Unit. I have done so on a number of
occasions over my career (when noting truly egregious behavior), and as
often as not been aggressively rebuffed (or more commonly, given the
tight-lipped, grim-faced, semi-silent treament, then ignored).

One of the Various things "wrong" with current BSA instruction is that
it's real long on rules and "perfect" scenarios, but real short on
practical instruction. For example, take another look at the
safe-swim/safety afloat video, and ask yourself if you've EVER seen a
Unit behave this way on a river? And so on and so on, from perfect
PLC's, to meetings running like a watch, etc. And if you think Philmont
is any different, go back and review "The Right Stuff" again. All I
will say here, is "Yucch".

This lack of practical instruction, I believe, is one of the primary
reasons why most entry-level Scout Leaders are pretty much hopeless for
their first three years - most of the training they got was unrealistic
and misleading. You have to unlearn it before you can start to
function.

What I would like to see are training tapes (oops, DVD's I mean) that
show leaders and Scouts as they actually are, in situations as they
actually exist. Viewing how to do things right, as well as what is
being done wrong, and the reasoning behind everything. For a great
example, see Coop and Wally's Advisors Guide. Another great example, of
course, is this List-Server - "The Real Story", not "The Right Stuff".

- Dr. Bob

Tom Lindtveit wrote:
>
> As usual, Dr. Bob said it best:
>
> "There is a ceaseless need for education."
>
> In 2003 I engaged (along with a few thousand of my closest friends) in
> a pitched and heated battle with the New York State DEC over a proposal
> to tighten group limits and restrictions in the Catskill Park, which is
> just a tad bigger than Philmont. One of my arguments was that Scout
> units are better trained (Outdoor code, Leave No Trace, etc.), and
> groups showing proof of such training should be allowed slightly bigger
> group sizes. Well I have to tell you that I was blown away by the
> anecdotal evidence fired at me by the Rangers about Scout units engaging
> in "totally unacceptable" habits and committing infractions I found
> incredible. I came away from the fight resolved to do my best to help
> "clean up our act". I speak at Roundtables, and offer my experience to
> any Troop who asks. Most Troops with sloppy habits learn those habits
> from leaders who don't know any better. This can be fixed and we need to
> fix it.
> As for Bear canisters at Philmont, as I said before, I am agin 'em.
> Philmont is a very unique place where all users are educated before
> using the backcountry and that education is re-enforced throughout their
> trek. The current system is working. Bear canisters will not correct
> sloppy habits such as food odors in the tent, failure to clean up vomit
> or blood, and other issues which are the predominant cause of bear
> attacks these days. If there is to be a "next step" in bear suppression
> at Philmont, it should probably take the form of Bear Boxes in the
> campsites. Although the initial investment would be greater than
> canisters, the cost of ownership would be lower in the long run.
> Canisters cost about $80.00, think about the replacement cost to your
> crew when a bear takes one for a walk.
> The point is, all systems will work, but we all need to take it
> seriously and teach our youth how very important this is to everyone who
> travels in the outdoors, whether at Philmont, or anywhere else.
> Infractions by a few cause problems for everyone, so when a Scout leaves
> a candy bar on a rock "to see what might come get it" he has just
> contributed to a future bear encounter for someone who will come down
> the trail after him. It is our job to make sure everyone understands
> this.
>
> Happy Hiking,
> Tom
>
> By the way, could someone post the entire 2004 statistics from High
> Country so that those of us not in the PSA can benefit?
>

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Received on Wed Jan 5 09:05:34 2005