“Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.” ~Henry L. Doherty

I firmly believe that the youth of today don’t value education and the learning process as much as in the past. Today’s youth are tied up more in the social society and needing the instant gratification. Long gone are the ideals of hard work and satisfaction of a difficult task done well. I want it now and I want it easy. To a great extent I find ourselves to blame; parents, coaches, mentors. We all have such busy lives and welcome the satisfaction of being able to get something done easier or faster. Our youth pick up on this and make it the norm instead of the exception.

So, at Tuesday’s Roundtable I wanted to give our Scouting District’s Leaders something to ponder. How can you become a better leader, a better coach, a better Scouter. My belief is that you do this with education and training. Ya, it takes time, sometimes lots of time, but the results of the hard work and dedication pay much bigger rewards than the hardships they cause. I set out to share with the group that training doesn’t stop with getting your “Trained” badge. There’s so much more out there.

The thought started a few months ago as I approached a soon to be Eagle Scout to see if he’d be willing to talk about NYLT (National Youth Leadership Training) with our Roundtable group. Part of it was that I didn’t know much about it and I assumed others were in a similar boat, and the other was to help me fulfill a Wood Badge ticket item. You see, I needed to recruit 2 guest speakers to give presentations and Roundtables this year. He would make my first. He’s an awesome kid. Motivated, smart, well mannered and well spoken. All of this from a young man that is just now getting his driver’s licence. A rare breed in today’s world so I thought he would be perfect, and I wasn’t wrong. He was first up for the night and told our Scoutmasters and a few Boy Scouts from my Troop why they should be sending their Scouts to NYLT. He did an awesome job and answered some great questions. Just what I was hoping for. He even inquired how old he had to be before he could attend Wood Badge. I can only hope that I’ll be on staff in 2 years when he’s old enough to attend. He’s already an NYLT Bobwhite, might be why I like him so much.

Well, not wanting to only get half of my ticket done, remember, I needed 2 speakers, I rounded up another Scouter to talk about more training. This time Wood Badge. But I went a bit overboard with this one, I was actually able to round up someone from outside our district. Outside our council actually. Actually, outside our state!! My friend, I consider a good friend now, Adam Cox worked out his business travel just right so he could make it up here from Portland, OR just so he could help me knock off this Wood Badge item. He’s an awesome Scouter and I won’t hold it against him that he’s a Beaver. Check out his blog (link) to find out more about him. I can’t say enough great things about Adam, but I’m very humbled and honored that he went through this kind of effort to come share his Scouting story with our group. He’s serving as a Troop Guide for this year’s Wood Badge course over in Portland and his patrol (Bobwhites maybe??) will enjoy his teachings very much.

So, the night wrapped up with me presenting each of my awesome guest staffers a hand made leather woggle to thank them for their time and dedication to Scouting and their willingness to share with others the things they value so much. I hope they remember the impact they had on others each time they wear it. I know I am grateful to have had them both as the ones that helped me complete my second ticket.

Looking back on Tuesday night, I had such high hopes for how this Roundtable was going to turn out…. I was not let down. We broke our attendance record by 5 guests and we’re up about 300%-400% in attendance since I took over last May, everyone was willing to sing a song (a habit I picked up at Wood Badge and was caught on video here), we ate cheesecake as a reward for attendance, I had new Scouter come to his first Roundtable, I started and ended right on time, we had great questions, and finally I’ve received at least a couple of e-mails since Tuesday thanking me for the work I do. It must all be working.

In closing I’d like to leave you with a thought. I think our youth and adults alike find such a sour taste for learning for 2 reasons. For one, people don’t teach with a passion for what they teach. How can you expect others to want to do something you yourself are unwilling to do or not passionate about? You can’t. I eat, sleep, and study Scouting all day long. I see the results and that’s what drives me and I feel that’s what brings these adults to Roundtable each month. They want the same Kool-Aid that I have, maybe a different flavor, but they want more. And once they have the passion learning becomes natural. Secondly, we all take ourselves too seriously. We’ve lost the ability to have fun, to play the game with a purpose. Society is hard these days, I get it, but what happened to making life fun? Not fun at the expense of knowledge or getting the job done, but finding the fun in everything to get us to those places. Some may say I’m a goofball when I’m a Scout, but you know what, I’m OK with that. It works. I have fun, the boys have fun. So, to make yourself a better coach, a better mentor, a better person, find that passion, share it, and have fun while you do it. It makes everyone want to learn just that much more.

Ticket number two in the bag. I have two others I’m half way through. I’m looking forward seeing my Wood Badge patrol mates, my Troop Guide, my Scoutmaster, my Bear (hi babe), and my friends at my beading ceremony. It won’t be long now.

YIS

Phil