jim@alberta.UUCP (Jim Easton) (09/12/85)
*** 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. Last spring I participated in a regional workshop on "retention" and discovered that our pack was actually better than average and that the problem was worse than I had suspected. I took a few ideas of my own to the workshop and discovered a few things I hadn't noticed before. eg. despite a large dropout rate our membership doesn't change much so we must be good at recruiting but no good at keeping. I am not going to present any conclusions in this article because if I were to get started on that this article would be much longer than I intended. Instead I will save that for a later article and ask for ideas from scouters, from the boys themselves and from parents of boys (including those who have left) In particular one might address the following questions: - Do we have a problem? - What do boys expect from scouting? - What do adults (parents and scouters) expect from scouting? - Why do you stay/did you leave? - What can the scouting organization do? - What can the individual scouter do? - What can parents do? I also invite guiders, guides and parents of guides into this discussion as I believe that they must be having similar experiences. Jim Easton (..alberta!jim)
whitehur@tymix.UUCP (Pamela K. Whitehurst) (09/15/85)
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