Check Your Attitude

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

You've heard it before. An adult leader is supposed to set the example. The Scouts will learn more from what you do than what you say. We know that Scouts won't wear the uniform properly if their leaders don't. No matter what method or part of Scouting we're talking about, the leader sets the example. But there's one aspect of Scouting that many adults forget to set the example in. That's attitude.

Sure, we do our best to be positive, cheerful, show our Scouting spirit. We work hard to treat every Scout fairly and build them up rather than tear them down. We have gone through the training, attended Roundtables, poured through the manuals, and even counted on our own experience and expertise to provide the best possible program for the boys. In the course of doing that, though, we've come across a few things in Scouting we don't particularly agree with or know of a better way of doing.

It doesn't really matter what those things are, or how we feel about them. In most cases, our feelings don't even show up in our work with the boys. A few things, however, do crop up from time to time. Our attitudes about these things, when they are evident, have an impact on the Scouts. They see how our attitude effects our actions, and they learn from our example. It happens even with things outside Scouting. Our politics, our religion, our philosophy of life; all of these things have an impact on our attitudes, and can have an impact on our Scouts.

The Attitude Loop

Think of your attitude toward adult leader training. If you don't really believe in the need for it, that's an attitude that can creep into your work with Scouts. A Scoutmaster who has never taken training, and refuses to do so, may not understand that his attitude toward training is being broadcast to the Scouts, but it is. He may find his Scouts uninterested in junior leader training, never realizing that his own attitude is the cause.

An excellent example of this can be found in the Webelos To Scout Transition program. The Webelos program in a Cub Scout Pack is supposed to be very different than the Wolf or Bear program. The Webelos in the den are supposed to make some of the decisions, and start becoming more independent from their adult leaders. The Den Leader, of course, is still in charge, but the Scouts certainly have more responsibilities than they had in the Bear Den. If the Den Leader doesn't believe they're old enough to make those decisions, or doesn't believe they should - the boys in the Den see that and take it as an example. They won't take the responsibilities offered them, or won't think they have the ability to decide things for themselves.

It becomes a sort of self-fulfilling prophesy. The Den Leader doesn't believe 9 or 10-year-old boys are capable of making decisions properly and therefore doesn't teach them to make those decisions. With no training or practice, the Scouts can't effectively make decisions and, when given the chance to, fail miserably. Their failure becomes evidence supporting the Den Leader's attitude, and the cycle continues.

At the other end of the transition, if the Scoutmaster believes that these Scouts do not know enough to be real Scouts, he'll put them into a New Scout Patrol where they are treated more like Webelos than Scouts. The Scoutmaster's attitude will rub off on the older Scouts, and the new Scouts will be treated as almost Scouts. The new Scouts, of course, will see this attitude and believe they aren't really Scouts. The cycle will continue as long as the example still exists.

Believe, And Make It Work

As a district trainer, I've encountered plenty of adult leaders who complain about how this aspect of Scouting doesn't work, or that aspect of Scouting isn't effective. In most cases, it doesn't work because the adult leaders believe it doesn't work. The district chairman looks at an ineffective Roundtable program and comes to the conclusion that Roundtables do not work. This becomes his attitude, and it has an impact on the Roundtable program. Since the program doesn't work, there's no point trying to fix it. The unit leaders see this example in the quality of Roundtables, and accept it. Since Roundtables do not work, there's no reason to go, so the Roundtable program remains ineffective - all because of an attitude.

As adult leaders, our attitudes have a big impact on what we do and how we do it. We can't help it. We're passionate about our jobs and the work we do. But, our attitudes can have a negative effect as well. We know that our attitude about a particular person drives the way we treat that person. This is human nature, but in Scouting we are trying to teach our Scouts to treat everyone with respect; to do the right thing instead of the easy thing; to act according to the Scout Oath and Law. If we aren't willing to examine our attitudes and how they affect our Scouts, we can't expect our Scouts to do the same.