A commenter on a story in The New York Times made the observation:
Belief is the conviction that one already knows; learning, in contrast, requires an awareness that one has yet to know.
This is what happens when a mania for belief takes over your life. Eventually, you become incapable of learning. New information goes in one ear and out the other — it literally just does not register, as the mind, addicted to belief, blocks it out.
While the original context of the comment had nothing to do with Scouting, I certainly think it applies to some volunteers in our movement.
Too many Scouters come in to Boy Scouts with the belief that they know how the Scouting program should work, and they apply the beliefs they have acquired in life. Often these have to do with their experiences in areas like business management, sports coaching, and even Cub Scouting. They do not have the awareness that Boy Scouting is different. Continue reading “Belief or learning?”
Talking with the Cubmaster at a Blue & Gold banquet recently, I found out that her son is crossing into Boy Scouts this spring. In fact, he (and she) have already been on a campout of the troop that he is joining. Among other tales of the adventure that lies across the bridge, I gently advised her to quell the urge to do things that the boys should be doing. She had heard that before – from the Scoutmaster. On the campout, she thought it would be helpful if she’d wipe down the table after the patrol had lunch, whereupon the Scoutmaster reminded her that it was the boys’ job to do that – not the adults’. So she called her son over and told him to do it, and learned the next part – it’s not the adults’ job to direct the Scouts, but that they’re led by their own leaders.
Scouters sometimes get impatient with the way things are working. We’re frustrated that committee members aren’t getting things done. Youth leaders are clumsy and inept and we don’t fully grasp that this is the process of leadership in the learning stages.
If someone set a marshmallow in front of you, would you eat it?
Has this ever happened to you?