|
|
There is plenty of training material available to scout leaders on the transition period and how to help the boys stay in scouting. There are videos, training sessions run by people like me, written material, etc. It's out there. It's just hard to get it through some of the leaders' brains that the boys need to be treated like boys in transition, and not like army recruits. I really applaud you for being willing to go out on the trips with the troop. That is also a hard thing to do with so many men around. I looked very carefully when my boys were crossing over to scout troops. We are fortunate in our area to have many troops to choose from. We found a great troop headed by mostly even-thinking adults who had no problem with a woman joining them. It's not perfect, and every now and then, some sexist fool says or does something stupid, but nothing is ever insurmountable in that regard. Know that having women leaders is a unit option, which means that the chartering organization can decide that no girls are allowed, so to speak. This is sometimes done for religious reasons. Other times it's just sort of a tacit tradition. I didn't have to overcome that issue, and in fact, when it was discovered that I had been camping all my life and was an avid solo backpacker, I got the job of teaching the boys about backpacking, too. Our troop welcomed all volunteers who were willing to be trained and who could commit to helping the boys.
I do hope it works out for your son. If you do join as a leader, be sure that you take advantage of all the training opportunities available to you. Your troop should have a training coordinator or advancement chair who knows when training is offered. (By the way, are the adult leaders of this troop fully trained? That's VERY important.) As a GSUSA leader, you should understand the value of training. The Girl Scouts really do a great job of requiring leaders to be trained. BSA councils and districts, however, sometimes vary on how strict they are on training requirements. Don't be afraid to help out. You're doing this for your son, and that really is a great motivator. And what's really cool is that most of us start out wanting to help our own sons, but in the process we help so many other boys and parents along the way.
Good luck! |
I don't mind at all that you sent my email along. - scout leader
