At Scouts last night I was expecting them to be a little more subdued than normal – Wrong!
As soon as they came in they were fighting (not in a malicious way, but ‘playing’) and generally messing. When I was talking, they were chatting away to each other etc.
They do not have any concept of manners. I do wonder why we all bother sometimes.
We Bother… because we care Nick…
We may just the one to teach a bot of manners….
What I find is that if a Scout does not have manners at a Troop meeting…he probably does not have them at home either.
So we might just be the hope for teaching some manners.
Here is a technique for tackling the manners issue at meetings.
First- remember that boys are boys… they are going to be rambunctious. So take that and work from there.
At the outset of bad behaviour … settle them down. In the US we raise the Scout sign in the air..that is the signal to settle down and be quiet.
If that does not grab their attention… talk directly to the disruptive Scout (s). Ask them to take their conversation elsewhere…if they leave.. follow them and tell them that if they choose to leave they are welcome..but don’t come back.
This usually gets them to turn around and join the rest.
If it continues… then have a chat with mom and dad after the meeting and tell them that if the behaviour continues the Scout will be uninvited to the next outing.
Then comes the Scoutmaster minute.. at the end of the meeting reinforce with the troop the practical application of the Scout Law.
Were they being loyal and helpful, Trustworthy, and obedient, Friendly and Courteous… etc.
It should not get to the point of excluding Scouts…but at some point, disruptive behaviour can take a unit down into a hole you don’t want to be in.
Happy Scouting!
Jerry, you’ve confirmed what I was thinking!
I think a lot of the problems are the way some kids are allowed to behave at home. We have them for about an hour and a half a week and there is a lot of time to forget stuff in between meetings!
The Scoutmaster Minute concept is a new one to me (we don’t have such a thing), but I will give it a whirl!