What do I do now?

A Scout misbehaves, makes a mistake, or even consciously does something wrong, and things spin out of control, now what?

If you hang around long enough your Scouts misbehave, and you’ll will be confronted by this sort of incident, so what is your plan?

I’ll discuss an incident shared with me some time ago to illustrate some core ideas about the crucial things a Scouter ought to know.

You can read more about the subject in Constructive Scouting Discipline.

It is a continuous struggle to measure supervision against granting the latitude required to grow and understand the oath and law. We can’t compel compliance if we expect the oath and law to have lasting effect. We only have a lasting effect if they internalize the ideals we champion voluntarily as a shared belief.

When I have had problems, and there have been plenty in 35 years, I am reminded that Scouting should be a very safe space for Scouts who fail, make mistakes, even those who consciously do bad things. Hopefully we surround our Scouts with compassionate, caring adults who have a sense of proportion and experience in addressing behavior problems in young people.

In This Podcast

0:09 The steaks are too high

Podcast Notes

Happy Wanderer Opening Music

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