[philmont] Little guys are Scouts also

A frank heart-to-heart will go a long way towards laying out
expectations, and maybe pre-resolving some of the salient issues. Your
shakedowns will be the test of fire.

You can be patient and encouraging. However, in the end the Scout has
to decide that he wants to do this - or not. For 99 percent of all
Scouts, "I want to do this" will cure all non-physical problems. But
also for 99 percent of all Scouts, "I don't want to do this" simply
cannot be overcome. It's up to you to steer the Scout towards "I want".

- Dr. Bob

Kevin Mineart wrote:
> I have a comment on this as well as a semi-dilemma of similar proportion.
>
> First the comment, in 2003 when I went to Philmont as a rookie advisor
> (w/ an experienced one) we had a small crew from our troop, 9 of us
> total, 2 adults over 21, 1 18 YO, 1 17 YO and 5 guys that were all 14
> (one turned 15 on the trail and 1 on the train on the way home.) Of our
> 5 14 YO's, 1 was a slightly overweight wall-toed, knock-kneed kid that
> was our resident First Aid example and 2 were small enough that we had
> to limit the amount of weight they could carry. There were different
> times that I worried about all three of them as well as my co-advisor
> that was in his mid-50's and not quite as prepared as he could have been
> (as well as fighting a few minor health issues, hypo-glycemia and
> stomache problems he blamed on the polar pure.) We all made it. When we
> got back, my co-advisor and I commented to each other as I'm sure a lot
> of 'us' do that "if it weren't for 'that one scout' it would have been a
> perfect crew" ....neither of us were disappointed in the trek, it was
> just an offhand comment that our 1 scout (the heavier, less coordinated
> kid) was a constant challenge to get out of camp in the morning and get
> set up when we arrived, did laundry and hung up his clothes without
> wringing them first... the list goes on and on... nothing disaterous but
> enough little things to be a challenge. We had attended mass trailbound
> night and were attending the non-denominational home bound and the
> pastor giving the sermon addressed just what we had said in his talk. He
> said 'think about it, if you make that comment and then imagine the trek
> without that scout, you next inclination is to pick out the next scout
> that created challenges on the trail and you'd be wishing that scout
> away...." he then made the point that, "We All Made It" means just that
> and part of the greatness of the experience is overcoming all the
> challenges and returning with your crew as a team. My co-advisor and I
> looked at each other knowingly and it was my feeling that we silently
> agreed at that point that we wouldn't discuss the thought again. I would
> say that it sounds like this senior patrol leader carries more than his
> weight and I would think that it would be a great learning and teaching
> experience to do what it takes to make sure this kid can have this
> opportunity.
>
> NOW, that being said, I'm going to call myself a hypocrite before anyone
> else can. When we started planning our council crew for 2007, one of the
> boys in my troop mentioned interest. This is a scout that is the
> epitomy of a 'picky eater'. He only survives our campouts because he can
> bring his own 'extra food' and survive a weekend. His campout diet
> relies heavily on 'Cracklin' Oat Bran' cereal. He is also a very
> inflexible kid that has a lot of trouble adapting to uncomfortable
> situations. He has very little physical involvement outside of what he
> gets on our troop calendar and is the only scout I've ever seen opt out
> of the OA Ordeal after spending his night out. When it came time to sign
> up I talked to my mentor (who also happens to be our High School
> Principal and former Scoutmaster of my Troop) he agreed with me totally
> and actually was more adamant that this was not the right event for this
> young man than I had been. We both discussed it with him and I also
> discussed it with both his parents (both agreeing with our assessment
> and apparently having not considered the rigors of a 60+ mile
> backpacking trek at altitude.) This youth has changed quite a bit in a
> year physically but is still fairly thin and would probably be on a pack
> weight restriction. His eating habits haven't changed nor has his
> inflexibility. I fear that he would starve on the trail and if he got to
> a point where he was physically exhausted, he would sit and refuse to
> move. There is a chance that we'll have an open spot on our crew and I
> am inclined to reconsider my decision after the recent 'small guy'
> discussion but am still VERY apprehensive about starting down the trail
> with him and I feel he is a different case than the one(s) mentioned
> below. I throw myself on the mercy of the list and ask for any wisdom
> and guidance of the collective experts here.
>
> Kevin Mineart
> Scoutmaster Troop 214
> Mississippi Valley Council Contingent Crew Advisor 618-E2
>

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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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Received on Tue Mar 27 21:51:15 2007