[Philmont] Skinning a cat

Dan Preston writes:.........

Philmont is a learning, life changing experience. Advisors should
advise the Scouts, but decisions that do not affect the welfare of the
entire crew should be left to the individual Scouts. We all learn more
from our mistakes than our successes and we gain confidence when the
decisions we have made on our own turn out well.

I agree with Dan and this whole thread. Mistakes are one the essential
elements in the curriculum of God's great classroom called life. Learning
from those mistakes earns you a life achievement diploma and is a required
pathway to achieve the Holy Grail of "responsible adulthood". As adult scout
leaders, we should be expected to actually mentor as adult *advisors* not
lead as adult *leaders*.

Our mission has a learning curve that is clear and often steep. We are
challenged with the task of staying out of the youths way and let them fail
in a controlled safe environment. If we do not embrace and practice the
concept of allowing the young men in our charge to learn by trial and error,
*they will not learn. *

* *

On this wonderful web connection I have had the pleasure of reading about
many crews that have come to Philmont with reports of life changing
experiences. I suspect there are many crews that come and go through
Philmont and have a great time, but don't experience the quantum leap we are
so fond of telling and reading about. Why is that? I suggest the
difference may be adult *advisors* helping to mentor a life changing
experience for some crews vs. adult *leaders*… leading a great trip for
others.

In my two years as a scout leader I believe that I have earned an A plus as
a *leader* but a C minus as an *advisor*. These are all principles and
concepts I know and understand, but I don't believe I have practiced as well
as I could have. This thread has been extremely valuable for me to keep
focus on being an adult *advisor*.

Let the boys problem solve ……..let them fail ……..let them learn from their
mistakes………keep them safe……..don't be afraid to walk a few extra miles and
hold your tongue. Besides, if you are anything like me you probably need the
exercise!

Kirk Maes, MD

Troop 503

Vero Beach, FL

Phil of the future 6/26/08

On 7/20/07, Daniel Preston <prestonar@bellsouth.net> wrote:

> >
> > And that my friends is the purpose of Scouting, to skin a cat.
> >
> > If you substitute the words man for cat and well prepared for
> > skin/skinned in the paragraphs above, you will see the purpose of
> > Scouting is to prepare boys to becoming a man.
>
> John makes a very good point. The question is, how do we apply this
> wisdom.
>
> We will not see Jim Moss on the trail, stopping every 20 minutes to
> drink from his Nalgene. Likewise, we will not see John LeBlanc or Pete
> Swiggum strolling through camp in their Crocs. We have all read
> contributors' preferences about tents, stoves, raingear and long
> underwear. We have all gained substantial backpacking knowledge
> through this list and our own experiences. It is our responsibility as
> advisors to pass on as much of this knowledge to our Scouts as
> possible. The question for me is: How many decisions do we dictate to
> the crew. If you have a Scout who drinks more water than everyone
> else, who will drink all of his Nalgenes and borrow water from everyone
> around him, do you tell him that it is your policy that hydration packs
> will not be used? Maybe a strict policy on water containers is unwise.
> If you have a 100 lb. Scout who is trying to limit his pack weight,
> are you going to tell him that he needs to take his basketball shoes
> instead of his lightweight Crocs or no camp shoes at all? Maybe a
> strict policy on camp shoes is unwise. If you have a Scout who's
> family has financial difficulty sending their Scout to Philmont, are
> you going to insist that he can't wear cotton T-shirts or Frog Togg
> raingear?
>
> Philmont is a learning, life changing experience. Advisors should
> advise the Scouts, but decisions that do not affect the welfare of the
> entire crew should be left to the individual Scouts. We all learn more
> from our mistakes than our successes and we gain confidence when the
> decisions we have made on our own turn out well.
>
> As John said, "The purpose of Scouting is to prepare boys to become
> men". You must be prepared to allow your Scouts to skin that cat their
> own way, sometimes making mistakes, sometimes surprising you with a
> better way to skin the cat.
>
> Dan Preston
> Scoutmaster, Troop 319
> Louisville, KY
>
>
>
>
>
>
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> 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.
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

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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 Fri Jul 20 14:43:25 2007