Scouting, Volume 71, Number 5, October 1983 Page: 12
82 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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FRONT
LINE
STUFF
Scoutmaster T. L.
told, in our
May-June
issue, how he
handles disruptive
Scouts, primarily by
working through the
patrol leaders. How,
he asked, do other
leaders handle
disruptive boys?
Prevention, I think, is the best way to avoid the
problem of disciplining Scouts. It's important for
the Scoutmaster to share with his boys, perhaps
twice a year in a Scoutmaster's Minute, the con-
duct he expects of them. He should also make
clear how he will deal with Scouts who break the
rules. That way, they will all know where they
stand.
Another important point: When discipline
seems called for, doling it out should be a shared
responsibility. In a troop, the Scoutmaster should
confer with the patrol leaders' council rather than
making an on-the-spot decision that he might later
regret. In a Cub pack, the Cubmaster's support
should come from the pack committee. Likewise
in an Explorer post, the Advisor and the post
officers should do the decision making together.
Committeeman P.J.
Chicago, III.
My solution is to first talk to the Scout and his
parents about his conduct. Maybe his parents will
take some kind of action. If this doesn't work, try
suspending the disruptive Scout for a month or so.
Finally, if you must go to the last extreme, you'll
just have to eliminate him from the troop. Other-
wise, other Scouts may quit because of one or two
disruptive Scouts. This system has worked in our
troop.
Senior Patrol Leader D.G.
Highland, Ind.
Our Scoutmaster and I have had our share of
disruptive boys and have developed a warning
system that helps us to keep order during any type
of activity. The first warning is to let the Scout
know that his conduct is not appreciated and to
straighten up! If the boy continues to cause
problems, he is suspended from all troop functions
for 30 days. The third warning is the max! He is
suspended from the troop for the remainder of the
charter year. That sounds harsh, but over the past
three years we have found that it works well. It
took a while for the system to sink in, but after the
Scouts realized that we would back it up 100
percent, they settled down, and we haven't had to
go past the first warning in more than two years.
In my opinion, disruptive boys need Scouting in
a very bad way. They want attention, and if we
give it to them with the firm understanding of
discipline in their conduct, they should soon learn
to respect the rules we have handed down and
learn that the way to get our attention is to show
real effort toward doing something meaningful,
like learning or teaching a skill.
Assistant Scoutmaster P.
Columbus, Ga.
In Cub Scouting, the "good conduct candle" is
used by many dens. 1 learned about it in den leader
training classes. At our den meetings, the denner
chooses a Cub Scout to light the candle after the
opening ceremony. During the meeting, if a boy is
disruptive and refuses to stop after a few nice
warnings, he is asked to blow out the candle. When
the candle has finally burned entirely down
(approximately 10 meetings), the Cub Scouts
choose a special outing or activity. So the boys try
very hard not to have to blow the candle out. and
they enjoy the special activities very much as they
have been well earned.
Den Leader A .R.
Sacramento, Calif.
HOW CAN WE COUNTERACT
FOUL LANGUAGE?
"Bad language disdain," the old hymn advises, but
modern society—TV. radio, movies, songs, read-
ing material, and many adults—portray to our
youth the very opposite. Because of society's
effects, 1 find it difficult in talking to Scouts to
express in a meaningful way the value of the Scout
Law points "clean" and "reverent." How do other
leaders deal with the growing problem of cursing?
Scouter L. M.
SC.
Mail your solutions to L. M. 's problem to: Front
Line Stuff, Scouting magazine, 1325 Walnut Hill
Ln., Irving, Tex. 75062-1296. Selected answers will
appear in the January-February issue. We also
solicit new questions of a provocative nature and pay
$20 for each question used in Front Line Stuff. ■
12
October 1983 Scouting
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 71, Number 5, October 1983, periodical, October 1983; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353543/m1/12/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.