The Challenge Slope

I don't generally agree with the common statement regarding Scouting to "let them fail". I think what is meant when "fail" is used is actually "learn". Burning pancakes is not failing - it is learning the point at which they're ready to flip. Taking the wrong path at an intersection is not failing - it is learning to orient a map with the world. Losing an SPL election is not failing - it's learning how politics and elections work. All of these examples (and pretty much any others you can come up with) can be tried as often as needed until the skills or requirements are met.

Actual Failing would be dropping out of the program without gaining anything significant from it. That is something adult volunteers should definitely NOT let happen, but it is often our fault because we don't provide appropriate challenge to individual scouts.



The Scouting program succeeds by challenging scouts to push their abilities. What is challenging for one scout may be boringly easy or frustratingly difficult for another. One scout may be ready to navigate 30 miles, cross-country, in a blizzard, at night. Another may be challenged to point north at high noon. Our challenge is to challenge each scout in ways that help avoid failure.

This simple graph keeps me focused on this concept. The slope is the difficulty of what the scout is being expected to do - the steeper the slope, the more difficult that activity. Every scout (every person) has a built-in graph like this, set specifically to their interests, abilities, and aptitudes. If too little is asked, it's boring and I'll find something else to do. If it's easy, I won't learn much new but I can help others. If it's challenging, I gain from it and can help others gain a little, too. If it's strenuous, all my effort will be to learn and I won't be helping others. If it's so difficult for me that it is frustrating, I'll not learn it and most likely eventually find something else to do that is fun.



As scouts gain skills and experience, their graph will get steeper. Those activities that were challenging may now be boring.
No activity will fall into the challenging area for every scout, but it may be easy, challenging, or strenuous for nearly all of them. That allows most of them to gain something from the activity. We get into trouble when activities are always geared at the same center of mass for the troop - those advanced scouts get bored of things always being easy and inexperienced scouts get tired of never doing very well.

Patrols of similar-aged scouts allow a smaller group with more closely matched skills to do activities together. This removes a lot of the frustrating, easy, and boring areas. Some scouts will be ahead or behind their patrolmates, but not as much as an entire troop.

High adventure treks help with advanced scouts falling in the easy area too often. Finding other ways to challenge them is important. Constantly asking them to "help the younger scouts" gets old fast.

The ultimate way to ensure each scout is properly challenged would be to track his current skills, interests, and needs, and then have a way to map that to planned activities so every scout gets exactly what he needs. I don't think that's practical, but holler if you've figured out how to do it. Instead, we can plan opportunities that will help nearly everyone.

Other ways to help keep scouts in the challenging zone:

• Talk with each scout. Be aware of his current rank and what he should be generally working towards next. Be aware of what he tends to find easy or difficult, whether it's public communication or knots.
• Hold Skill Sessions for a set time at troop meetings or campouts where any scout can get help with up to First Class skills. Either advanced scouts or adults (if no scouts know the skills) provide the help.
• Create incentives for scouts to help others. Some advancement requirements include this, but there are other ways to make helping "the younger scouts" more fun. Just keeping a sheet of signatures from every scout that comes to him for help might be enough for some scouts, or a prize for every 10 or 20 scouts helped, or a spoof merit badge, or a public Thank You at courts of honor.
• Be a Lurker. On outings, don't just sit and drink coffee. Watch the scouts and keep an eye out for ones that appear uninterested or frustrated, especially when skills are being put to use.
• Any other ideas? Share as a comment below.

As the graphs tend to show, Discouragement is a much easier target to hit than Motivation. It's important to make efforts to keep Scouting time focused close to that challenging zone for every scout.