The Power of the Program
Since coming back from Boy Scout summer camp last weekend, I have had the opportunity to reflect on the success of our troop's week at camp. Although there were many great things that happened (and a few less-than-stellar moments), the biggest success is what my buddy Mark calls "The Power of the Program."
Our troop had something like 18 first-time summer campers. With the graduation of a whole slew of seniors last spring, plus a successful spring recruiting season, the average age of the troop dropped a couple of years almost overnight.
Taking first-time summer campers is always something done with fear and trepidation. One never knows how they'll react to being away from home for a week. Once, years ago, a boy came up to me several times over the course of the week, fretting that his mother might have been in an accident, that she might have died without him ever knowing it, that it was urgent he call home. Difficult at best is a good way to describe those situations.
This year was different, too, in that the Scoutmaster had taken a crew of older boys on a 70-mile backpacking trek at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. That meant the responsibility for taking the rest of the troop to summer camp stood heavily on my shoulders. Although I've been with the troop for eight years now, I'd never been "in loco parentis" to the Scouts.
Our crop of first-timers included a pair of finicky eaters, one of whom swore he subsisted on a steady diet of PB&J sandwiches and the other claiming to be a picky vegetarian. The first guy, whom I'll call Paul, reminded me of a diminutive Harry Potter, complete with a mop of dark hair and roundish glasses. He's the boy who most reminds me of the Power of the Program.
Prior to camp, Paul's dad considered coming to camp to help out and to provide a lifeline for his son. He eventually thought the better of it, though, and let Paul come on his own. After the bus had delivered the troop safely to camp, it didn't take long for tears to well up in Paul's eyes as he told me he wanted to go home. Since home was four hours away, the bus had departed and we didn't have a vehicle to return him, that was an unlikely proposition.
The solution was to involve Paul in so many activities that he didn't have time to be homesick. Early Monday morning, he and the other first-timers went off to Mammal Study merit badge, followed by Swimming merit badge, advancement time, patrol activities and more. Mealtimes were still a challenge, but thankfully the camp provided us with extra loaves of bread and those kid staples, peanut butter and jelly.
We learned Paul was a swimmer and decided to capitalize on that fact. Tuesday Paul and a dozen or so other troop members swam a quarter-mile, the prerequisite prelude to eventually swimming a full mile in the middle of the lake. On Wednesday, he swam the half-mile and, at 6 a.m. on Friday morning, Paul jumped off the dock into the early morning mist to swim a full mile, earning himself bragging rights as one of three Boy Scout mile swimmers in the whole camp (all three from our troop, I might add).
Paul grew in other ways that week, too. For the first time, he went to the rifle range and learned how to safely and enjoyably shoot a .22 caliber rifle. He was quite a marksman for a first timer. He also experimented with foods, tucking into some cinnamon pancakes with great vigor. He even took some "no thank you" bites of food he wasn't too sure he would like.
That's the Power of the Program. In the span of six short days, Paul went from being a hesitant, fragile little boy into a confident Boy Scout summer camper. Seeing changes like this is what inspires me as a leader of this merry little band. Instead of hiding in the security of their parents' homes and protection, they venture forth, try new things, learn more about themselves and grow as people. Every boy I can help grow like this means so much to me, since there were other leaders who helped my own son along the way.
Little Karl is another example of the Power of the Program. Never in his life had anyone taken the time to teach him how to swim--until Mark did. A wonderful leader and father of four, Mark is an ex-Army Ranger who has expunged the word "can't" from his vocabulary. (I guess after you've rappelled headfirst out of a helicopter, there isn't much in this world that scares you.)
Anyway, Mark took Karl under his wing and spent more than an hour every day down at the waterfront, teaching Karl the fundamentals of swimming. Karl never did pass his beginner's swim test, but he never gave up either. And Mark was with him every step of the way, cheering him on and telling him he could do it.
These youngsters will be the leaders of our troop some day and, beyond that, leaders in their workplaces and communities. Helping them gain self-confidence and self-esteem makes all the time dedicated to the Scouting program worthwhile.
Our troop had something like 18 first-time summer campers. With the graduation of a whole slew of seniors last spring, plus a successful spring recruiting season, the average age of the troop dropped a couple of years almost overnight.
Taking first-time summer campers is always something done with fear and trepidation. One never knows how they'll react to being away from home for a week. Once, years ago, a boy came up to me several times over the course of the week, fretting that his mother might have been in an accident, that she might have died without him ever knowing it, that it was urgent he call home. Difficult at best is a good way to describe those situations.
This year was different, too, in that the Scoutmaster had taken a crew of older boys on a 70-mile backpacking trek at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. That meant the responsibility for taking the rest of the troop to summer camp stood heavily on my shoulders. Although I've been with the troop for eight years now, I'd never been "in loco parentis" to the Scouts.
Our crop of first-timers included a pair of finicky eaters, one of whom swore he subsisted on a steady diet of PB&J sandwiches and the other claiming to be a picky vegetarian. The first guy, whom I'll call Paul, reminded me of a diminutive Harry Potter, complete with a mop of dark hair and roundish glasses. He's the boy who most reminds me of the Power of the Program.
Prior to camp, Paul's dad considered coming to camp to help out and to provide a lifeline for his son. He eventually thought the better of it, though, and let Paul come on his own. After the bus had delivered the troop safely to camp, it didn't take long for tears to well up in Paul's eyes as he told me he wanted to go home. Since home was four hours away, the bus had departed and we didn't have a vehicle to return him, that was an unlikely proposition.
The solution was to involve Paul in so many activities that he didn't have time to be homesick. Early Monday morning, he and the other first-timers went off to Mammal Study merit badge, followed by Swimming merit badge, advancement time, patrol activities and more. Mealtimes were still a challenge, but thankfully the camp provided us with extra loaves of bread and those kid staples, peanut butter and jelly.
We learned Paul was a swimmer and decided to capitalize on that fact. Tuesday Paul and a dozen or so other troop members swam a quarter-mile, the prerequisite prelude to eventually swimming a full mile in the middle of the lake. On Wednesday, he swam the half-mile and, at 6 a.m. on Friday morning, Paul jumped off the dock into the early morning mist to swim a full mile, earning himself bragging rights as one of three Boy Scout mile swimmers in the whole camp (all three from our troop, I might add).
Paul grew in other ways that week, too. For the first time, he went to the rifle range and learned how to safely and enjoyably shoot a .22 caliber rifle. He was quite a marksman for a first timer. He also experimented with foods, tucking into some cinnamon pancakes with great vigor. He even took some "no thank you" bites of food he wasn't too sure he would like.
That's the Power of the Program. In the span of six short days, Paul went from being a hesitant, fragile little boy into a confident Boy Scout summer camper. Seeing changes like this is what inspires me as a leader of this merry little band. Instead of hiding in the security of their parents' homes and protection, they venture forth, try new things, learn more about themselves and grow as people. Every boy I can help grow like this means so much to me, since there were other leaders who helped my own son along the way.
Little Karl is another example of the Power of the Program. Never in his life had anyone taken the time to teach him how to swim--until Mark did. A wonderful leader and father of four, Mark is an ex-Army Ranger who has expunged the word "can't" from his vocabulary. (I guess after you've rappelled headfirst out of a helicopter, there isn't much in this world that scares you.)
Anyway, Mark took Karl under his wing and spent more than an hour every day down at the waterfront, teaching Karl the fundamentals of swimming. Karl never did pass his beginner's swim test, but he never gave up either. And Mark was with him every step of the way, cheering him on and telling him he could do it.
These youngsters will be the leaders of our troop some day and, beyond that, leaders in their workplaces and communities. Helping them gain self-confidence and self-esteem makes all the time dedicated to the Scouting program worthwhile.
posted by Joe Wollet at 7:46 PM
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