As a Scoutmaster, I cherish moments when I can sit back and
observe at my own pace the progressscouts are making. These moments are powerful and etched into memory as those “ah-ha” moments of pride when things are going the right way. Baden-Powell always emphasized the power of learning by doing. Daniel Carter Beard, one of the Founding Fathers of the American Boy Scout movement said, “There is but one way to learn to do a thing and that is to do it.” Scouts need to experience things to learn things.
We are now four months into a new patrol make up that
resulted in mixing all ages to give the same average in all patrols. There was much trepidation towards this major
change that resulted separating scouts who were together since they were cub
scouts. Still in the forming stage, I had
the opportunity to observe something that is a goal of the change up. Scouts working together! (What a concept).
The Patrol Leader Council (PLC) decided the focus for the
last few meetings was going to be lashing because several scouts asked about
building things on our next camping trip.
Separated into their new patrols, our Instructors and Guide, along with
the Assistant Senior Patrol Leader showed each group how to do the lashing emphasizing
their usefulness. Their leadership and
instruction was superb, everyone fully engaged in what they were doing. If our previous patrol structure attempted this,
the scene would look like this:
Pull the
curtain back to see four patrols set by age as they crossed over into the troop,
lightly participating in the lashing activity.
The oldest patrol is seen seriously working to get the task done, then seen
sitting around waiting for instruction on what to do next. The youngest patrol comprised of scouts with
less than a year of Boy Scout experience, is struggling with the task because none
of them know enough to be able to lead the others in completing the task; they
begin to lose focus, never completing the goal and never really learning how to
do the lashing. The other patrols in the
middle want to participate, but instead they are talking about their play on a
video game or whether or not Rey is Luke Skywalker’s daughter. Activity over, task accomplished, move on to
the next thing.
Instead, I witnessed three focused patrols sprawled out on
the floor watching and learning from their instructors, helping each other
learn and all completing the task put before them. They were so engrossed with what they were
doing, there was little side conversation, in fact eerily quiet because of
their focus and work.
With leadership there is always a big picture to be
seen. It’s easy to get caught up in the
small things that can distract from the real goal that is desired. It is lonely at the top for leaders who have
a vision and make steps to make it happen knowing there will be pushback, and
some who are not happy with those steps.
With that, it is easy to concede to those distractors, to avoid the
conflict they may cause, just to keep balance and the status quo. Why were patrols set the way they were? Because it has always been that way. Sometimes this is good, but I believe good
leaders are willing to look at how things are done and at least ask the
question, “Can we do it better?” The
answer to that question may not be the initiation of a change, but the question
should be asked nonetheless.
So, amidst this small but yet landmark observation, I also
continue to learn. Baden Powell shared, “Look
wide, beyond your immediate surroundings and limits, and you see things in their
right proportion. Look above the level
of things around you and see a higher aim and possibility to your work.” A plan with a focus is powerful tool. Mixing
things up so that older experience can help and teach those with less experience,
and despite what distractors say, stay the course. For a better experience to use to teach those
with less, we must look around and see the higher aim. Those older scouts in the “senior” patrol
with the experience were not using their talents and knowledge to make the
others better. The skills and knowledge
scouts learn is not just for Tuesday nights.
They are things these boys will take with them beyond one night a week. That is the level I see. That is how I will leave things better than I
found them, and that is an experience I can share with others.
