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From: whitehur@tymix.UUCP (Pamela K. Whitehurst)
Newsgroups: net.kids
Subject: Re: scouts - retention
Message-ID: <517@tymix.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 15-Sep-85 14:20:42 EDT
Article-I.D.: tymix.517
Posted: Sun Sep 15 14:20:42 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 17-Sep-85 06:18:50 EDT
References: <638@alberta.UUCP>
Reply-To: whitehur@tymix.UUCP (Pamela K. Whitehurst)
Distribution: net
Organization: Tymnet Inc., Cupertino CA
Lines: 59
Summary: 

In article <638@alberta.UUCP> jim@alberta.UUCP (Jim Easton) writes:
>***
>	A couple of years ago I began to notice the problem of retention.
>Boys vote with their feet - if they don't like it they leave.  I began asking
>myself and the boys why did they quit scouting and in particular why did
>they leave my pack.
>
I work with Girl Scouts at ages 11-13, here is what I noticed:

>	- Do we have a problem?
Kind of,  there is a drop off between levels.  At the younger ages scouting
is very social.   A lot of their friends are doing it, and Mom or Dad are
encouraging it.  By Jr. High, Scouting is something you did as a kid, and
the girls who stay in seldom let others know what they are doing.  In Sr.
High there is less peer pressure and the girls are more open about being
scouts.  We are competing for the childs time with a lot of other
interests, sports, church groups,... I do not think it is a problem if
someone finds competative skating more important than scouting, unless
their reason for dropping out was that scouting did not fulfill its
stated purpose and they still want that purpose fulfilled.
I guess I recognize that a troop can not be all things to all kids and some
will drop out because it is not what they want. But,  if all of them drop
out because it is not what anyone wants, or what most of them want,  then
there is a problem.

>	- What do adults (parents and scouters) expect from scouting?
They expect scouting to reinforce what they feel is important to their
children, or those things which the children have found important and
of which the parents approve.  Mostly parents want interesting and
challenging activities in a wholesome environment. A few want a magic charm
to protect their child from all the evil influences in the world.

>	- Why do you stay/did you leave?
I left in grade 6 because I did not know anyone in my school who was a
scout.  I re-entered in grade 12 because a friend finally convinced me to
try it again.

>	- What can the scouting organization do?
To keep members?  At the local level provide a group that fulfills the
needs of the children of the area.  The national level may try to improve
the image, so kids will feel this is something they want, but it has to
be supported at the local level.

>	- What can the individual scouter do?
If the troop is good, let their friends know.  If it isn't, let someone
know what they need. If it doesn't change, find a troop that does what they
want instead of dropping out.

>	- What can parents do?
Volunteer. I have seen too many troops that were ineffective because there
was not enough parent involvement.  There is no age group that does not
need some type of parental involvement. A lot of activities need adult
advisors or supervison.  If the kids have to give up these activities
the troop experience suffers and they are more likely to drop out.

-- 

           PKW 
hplabs!oliveb!tymix!whitehur


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