I can't imagine my boys not earning their Eagles or my daughters not earning their Personal Progress. I would like my boys to earn their Duty to God, although I'm not as worried about that.
I don't think it's appropriate to hold something like a child's driver license over earning such an award.
I like the idea of teaching our children correct principles, modeling those principles in our own lives, and then giving them enough rope to either be productive or hang themselves. Not literally. Obviously at some point you step in and take drastic steps to avoid major life changing issues.
Children who are rebellious, lazy, doing poorly in school (I'm thinking really poorly, not just like B average poorly, but to the extent where they are being irresponsible), bad drivers, or otherwise not deserving of a driver license should not receive their driver license. That's probably not the real list but rather one I just made up right now and am not going to think much about. The point is that each child is different, so when it becomes time that it is an issue, you work it out with each child individually.
I can see daughter #2 coming straight out and telling us she doesn't even want to drive even if deep down she is desperate to. If there is something she is worked up about related to some award she doesn't want to be pressured to get, everything else in the entire world, good or bad, can be stacked up on every side, and she will retain her laser focus on not wanting to earn the stupid award. She will even be convinced herself that she doesn't want to drive. Until she wants to, at which point she will forget that she just told us 5 minutes ago that she doesn't care if she can drive.
Daughter #1 will have her Personal Progress earned the first day it is possible to have it whether or not there is any external reward for it.
The kids will be expected to help shuttle their siblings around as part of earning the privilege of driving. My parents didn't make me pay for my portion of the car insurance, but I think it's a good idea for them to understand at a deeper level that the cost of a vehicle is more than just the gas you put into it. Better grades and no tickets means lower insurance costs. You have to find a job and balance your time wisely in order to keep your grades up and earn the money you need and still participate in family and school activities.
I want my children to be responsible. If they are, they will probably earn their oh-so-important awards anyway just because they are responsible. If they are not responsible, not earning their awards may be a sign of that. They may also be very responsible but simply have to make decisions about what is important to them and the Eagle or Personal Progress may not be that. With the kids in my troop, I can tell within a few weeks of working with them whether or not they will get their Eagle. I think I know my kids a lot better than that so there should be no surprise to anyone if they earn it or not.
Showing posts with label awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label awards. Show all posts
Friday, September 23, 2011
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Training Awards
I've been putting together a list of all the training that the BSA provides. Some of the training is required, while some is optional. When I finish the list, I'll post it here, but I've got a little ways to go still.
The interesting thing to me in working on it was how few leaders in LDS troops actually do any of it, including the mandatory training. It's mandatory, folks. It would be scary to do an audit and see how many LDS troops are out of compliance. A lot of it is online now, so 'no time in my busy schedule' no longer applies as an excuse.
There are several knots for adults for completing training and for running the troop according to that training. I know a lot of leaders aren't interested in earning awards themselves, but working on these knots helps get you doing what you should be doing anyway. Get yourself and your boys trained, have some Courts of Honor, go on several campouts, be a merit badge counselor, go to roundtable, and hold a yearly planning meeting. Why would you be doing anything else but this?
I like earning awards so the boys know that I'm working on something, not just telling them what to do all the time, but there is a larger purpose. The adult awards are there for the same reason the boys have awards. They provide a path to follow to develop oneself into a better leader.
Fill out the paperwork, and get an award yourself at the next Court of Honor for running the troop like it should be run. If you're not doing what you need to get the awards, there is a major problem, and you need to get your troop in order (starting with yourself).
The interesting thing to me in working on it was how few leaders in LDS troops actually do any of it, including the mandatory training. It's mandatory, folks. It would be scary to do an audit and see how many LDS troops are out of compliance. A lot of it is online now, so 'no time in my busy schedule' no longer applies as an excuse.
There are several knots for adults for completing training and for running the troop according to that training. I know a lot of leaders aren't interested in earning awards themselves, but working on these knots helps get you doing what you should be doing anyway. Get yourself and your boys trained, have some Courts of Honor, go on several campouts, be a merit badge counselor, go to roundtable, and hold a yearly planning meeting. Why would you be doing anything else but this?
I like earning awards so the boys know that I'm working on something, not just telling them what to do all the time, but there is a larger purpose. The adult awards are there for the same reason the boys have awards. They provide a path to follow to develop oneself into a better leader.
Fill out the paperwork, and get an award yourself at the next Court of Honor for running the troop like it should be run. If you're not doing what you need to get the awards, there is a major problem, and you need to get your troop in order (starting with yourself).
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Mentor
We had an Eagle Court of Honor recently for Alex, one of my Scouts. They are always nice to have. I was especially happy that the family didn't arrange to have a live eagle there like another family had last year.
I know that it is a pretty rare occasion to have someone actually earn the Eagle award, but from the number of people I know who are Eagles, it seems like it should be more common. That's okay, though. It's nice to have something that really takes sustained effort over several years to complete. Of course, everyone has stories of Scouts whose mom really earned their Eagle for them or whose Advancement Committee passed them along too easily, but even with a few Paper Eagles floating around, it's still a big accomplishment. That said, some of the best leaders I know topped out at Life. There is more to being a good person than being an Eagle Scout, but it's generally a pretty good sign that someone is a hard worker.
Like I said, I haven't seen very many of these awarded. Part of the reason is that I've moved around a little. I had worked hard to really motivate my first group of Scouts, and they were on fire. They had rank advancements and merit badges like crazy. Then they turned 14 and moved on to Varsity Scouts. That's the point in time where it gets harder to motivate them to work on advancement. They are often active and excited about the program still, just that they get stuck on the hard required merit badges that they've been putting off. I had a bit of a surprise when I had to repeat the process again with my next group, but now I know to expect it.
Having moved to a new ward and being switched around a little between Scouts and Varsities, I've never really had a boy earn his Eagle who I really felt like I had that big of a role in helping him get there. Most of my beginning Scouts either fizzled out when they got older or did eventually earn their Eagle under a different leader. I've also had the opposite a couple times, where one of my boys earned their Eagle but for whom I was made a leader over just as he was wrapping things up.
I've been trying to figure out where Alex fits in. I've been his Scoutmaster the entire time he's been in. In LDS troops, the Scoutmaster doesn't work a ton with the 11 year olds, although I think we should do more with them. A lot of 11 year old Scout leaders don't actually realize they are an ASM to the SM in the ward. They are discouraged from having many activities together, and the 11 year olds are limited on the number of campouts they can go on. That said, Alex actually came and worked on several of the required merit badges we were doing together, even though he was still in the 11 year old patrol. So I did work with him more his first year than I have most 11 year olds. And I've been with him for almost two years since he turned 12. He's almost 14 now. Alex's dad used to be SM, and his mom has worked a lot with Cub Scouts. So, as it should be, he worked on a lot of merit badges on his own, since his parents knew what they were doing.
Of course I helped with things, being the Scoutmaster, but not much more than any of my other Scouts who didn't have parents to help keep them motivated and get the rest of it done. So is seeing Alex earn his Eagle while I was working with him simply representative of all the boys I've worked with who haven't finished their Eagle?
He gave me the Mentor pin, which comes with the Mother and Father pins. It was funny as the Committee Chairman and I were helping him and his parents present each other with their awards, and as I explained what the Mentor pin was for, I heard his dad whispering to him to give it to me. Alex is pretty quiet and reserved, so he just sort of took the pin and didn't do anything, not having been coached beforehand about what he was supposed to do with it. So I just moved on. I wasn't about to stand there and hold out my hand for him to give it back to me, especially if he had someone else in mind to give it to. I was pretty sure he didn't have anyone else in mind. I didn't even know there was such a pin when I got my Eagle. In fact, after seeing one awarded when I was a leader, I went back through my box of Scouting stuff and pulled out my Eagle award case. Lo and behold, there was a Mentor pin sitting in there that I never knew about and thus never gave to anyone. I wonder if one of my Scout leaders was there at my Court of Honor hoping I'd give him the Mentor pin that I didn't know was there.
After the whole thing was over, when everyone was eating delicious Sam's Club cake, he came over to me and said, "Hey Smyth" and tossed the pin to me without really saying anything else. It was totally Alex. It was all that needed to be said. I wouldn't have expected anything else from him. At the same time, it just makes it all the more weird.
I know that it is a pretty rare occasion to have someone actually earn the Eagle award, but from the number of people I know who are Eagles, it seems like it should be more common. That's okay, though. It's nice to have something that really takes sustained effort over several years to complete. Of course, everyone has stories of Scouts whose mom really earned their Eagle for them or whose Advancement Committee passed them along too easily, but even with a few Paper Eagles floating around, it's still a big accomplishment. That said, some of the best leaders I know topped out at Life. There is more to being a good person than being an Eagle Scout, but it's generally a pretty good sign that someone is a hard worker.
Like I said, I haven't seen very many of these awarded. Part of the reason is that I've moved around a little. I had worked hard to really motivate my first group of Scouts, and they were on fire. They had rank advancements and merit badges like crazy. Then they turned 14 and moved on to Varsity Scouts. That's the point in time where it gets harder to motivate them to work on advancement. They are often active and excited about the program still, just that they get stuck on the hard required merit badges that they've been putting off. I had a bit of a surprise when I had to repeat the process again with my next group, but now I know to expect it.
Having moved to a new ward and being switched around a little between Scouts and Varsities, I've never really had a boy earn his Eagle who I really felt like I had that big of a role in helping him get there. Most of my beginning Scouts either fizzled out when they got older or did eventually earn their Eagle under a different leader. I've also had the opposite a couple times, where one of my boys earned their Eagle but for whom I was made a leader over just as he was wrapping things up.
I've been trying to figure out where Alex fits in. I've been his Scoutmaster the entire time he's been in. In LDS troops, the Scoutmaster doesn't work a ton with the 11 year olds, although I think we should do more with them. A lot of 11 year old Scout leaders don't actually realize they are an ASM to the SM in the ward. They are discouraged from having many activities together, and the 11 year olds are limited on the number of campouts they can go on. That said, Alex actually came and worked on several of the required merit badges we were doing together, even though he was still in the 11 year old patrol. So I did work with him more his first year than I have most 11 year olds. And I've been with him for almost two years since he turned 12. He's almost 14 now. Alex's dad used to be SM, and his mom has worked a lot with Cub Scouts. So, as it should be, he worked on a lot of merit badges on his own, since his parents knew what they were doing.
Of course I helped with things, being the Scoutmaster, but not much more than any of my other Scouts who didn't have parents to help keep them motivated and get the rest of it done. So is seeing Alex earn his Eagle while I was working with him simply representative of all the boys I've worked with who haven't finished their Eagle?
He gave me the Mentor pin, which comes with the Mother and Father pins. It was funny as the Committee Chairman and I were helping him and his parents present each other with their awards, and as I explained what the Mentor pin was for, I heard his dad whispering to him to give it to me. Alex is pretty quiet and reserved, so he just sort of took the pin and didn't do anything, not having been coached beforehand about what he was supposed to do with it. So I just moved on. I wasn't about to stand there and hold out my hand for him to give it back to me, especially if he had someone else in mind to give it to. I was pretty sure he didn't have anyone else in mind. I didn't even know there was such a pin when I got my Eagle. In fact, after seeing one awarded when I was a leader, I went back through my box of Scouting stuff and pulled out my Eagle award case. Lo and behold, there was a Mentor pin sitting in there that I never knew about and thus never gave to anyone. I wonder if one of my Scout leaders was there at my Court of Honor hoping I'd give him the Mentor pin that I didn't know was there.
After the whole thing was over, when everyone was eating delicious Sam's Club cake, he came over to me and said, "Hey Smyth" and tossed the pin to me without really saying anything else. It was totally Alex. It was all that needed to be said. I wouldn't have expected anything else from him. At the same time, it just makes it all the more weird.
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